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Korg Electribe EMX1

definitely gonna be getting one of these in the coming weeks.

they look awesome, just what i've been looking for.

anyone have any experience with them?

many years ago i had emx and esx. they were fun but sounded terrible.

consider the volca instead

why don't you just get a maschine mikro or a second hand maschine instead?

had a look at the maschine models. not sure what to make of them.

but i've heard stories of a known fault on these electribes, which is common - with no real cure, so that has put me right off...

the whole reason for one of these, is that i find producing very unintuitive - almost like you are reverse-engineering in a way, i.e. a severe lack of spontaneity, which i thought one of these groove-box type things would help with...

what do you think?

Yamaha RM1x is nice too.

when FL changed from the pattern blocks to the new system, where you need to manually change between the patterns i found that give me brain damage.

it went from easy and intuitive, to being clunky and awkward.

maybe i am missing something?

quote:

Originally posted by rubez had a look at the maschine models. not sure what to make of them. but i've heard stories of a known fault on these electribes, which is common - with no real cure, so that has put me right off... the whole reason for one of these, is that i find producing very unintuitive - almost like you are reverse-engineering in a way, i.e. a severe lack of spontaneity, which i thought one of these groove-box type things would help with... what do you think?

I am extremely well versed in Electribes, and I have no idea about what you're talking about in terms of faults?

Here's the low down on the Tribes:

They're SO much fun to work with but you have to really learn them (which is fine as they are really intuitive) to be able to get their full potential. The sounds (depending on model) are useful but can sound a little dated if you're trying to make a track from scratch entirely in the tribe.

They are great to use for perc, bass and lead programming but I'd still run it in a DAW to make producing a whole track so much easier. The older generation (I still own one) are a bit of a pain in terms of integration as they only take 32k samples (don't ask) and use a ton of NRPN midi data messages meaning you have to manually map everything. Once done you never have to do it again, but it;s still a pain especially if you start getting any weird midi behaviour from your DAW.

However, the seond Gen (EMX, ERX & ESX) solved all those issues and for all intents and purposes are rock solid and again, so much fucking fun to use.

You can have a great groove going in under 5 mins - sometimes that has been the bed for a complete track.

The only thing Korg missed the mark on was not making them USB (they instead use SD cards for samples and dumps etc).

You can pick up electribes for great deals and honestly, unless you're someone that can't get you head around pattern sequencing the Tribes are difficult not to love.

i always thought they were toys were idiot ravers that wanted to pretend to produce but spent too much of their money on triple stacked mitsubishis to buy something better. I mean that was clearly the intended audience. And i've always hated ravers at least in canada with their fashion atrocities and overall sketchiness.

quote:

Originally posted by Looney4Clooney i always thought they were toys were idiot ravers that wanted to pretend to produce but spent too much of their money on triple stacked mitsubishis to buy something better. I mean that was clearly the intended audience. And i've always hated ravers at least in canada with their fashion atrocities and overall sketchiness.

this

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN I am extremely well versed in Electribes, and I have no idea about what you're talking about in terms of faults? Here's the low down on the Tribes: They're SO much fun to work with but you have to really learn them (which is fine as they are really intuitive) to be able to get their full potential. The sounds (depending on model) are useful but can sound a little dated if you're trying to make a track from scratch entirely in the tribe. They are great to use for perc, bass and lead programming but I'd still run it in a DAW to make producing a whole track so much easier. The older generation (I still own one) are a bit of a pain in terms of integration as they only take 32k samples (don't ask) and use a ton of NRPN midi data messages meaning you have to manually map everything. Once done you never have to do it again, but it;s still a pain especially if you start getting any weird midi behaviour from your DAW. However, the seond Gen (EMX, ERX & ESX) solved all those issues and for all intents and purposes are rock solid and again, so much fucking fun to use. You can have a great groove going in under 5 mins - sometimes that has been the bed for a complete track. The only thing Korg missed the mark on was not making them USB (they instead use SD cards for samples and dumps etc). You can pick up electribes for great deals and honestly, unless you're someone that can't get you head around pattern sequencing the Tribes are difficult not to love.

knob jitter issue is well documented and ignored by korg.

lots of theorys from bad solder joints, to pcb shorting out. all the 'fixes' have been debunked... and korg don't give a fuck.

was well up for one, now wouldn't touch one with a bargepole unfortunately.

they say it's only a matter of time till they go.

was looking at the maschine. but they look lame.

quote:

Originally posted by tehlord Yamaha RM1x is nice too.

quote:

Originally posted by rubez was looking at the maschine. but they look lame.

Word. Appearance is everything, dude. That's why I be rockin da house hard with my Beats by Dr. Dre, yo.

quote:

Originally posted by rubez knob jitter issue is well documented and ignored by korg. lots of theorys from bad solder joints, to pcb shorting out. all the 'fixes' have been debunked... and korg don't give a fuck. was well up for one, now wouldn't touch one with a bargepole unfortunately.

The knob jitter issue is a bit of misnoma and a storm in a teacup. It would only occur after hours of use (normally 3+) and the earliest I had ever heard of was 45 mins, and even then a quick switch off then back on solved it for at least another 45 mins.

Nearly every unit that was sent for repair has been fixed (mine included) and was perfect after that. Even those moaning wankers at Gearslutz said their units have been fine for 5+ years since repair. Dusty at Korg said they would just swap out the main board to be on the safe side and that did it every time.

On the tribe forums, they narrowed it down to two main issues:

1, the valve and it's heat. The stock ones were utter shit anyway, more of a gimmick and replacing them with a quality valve will not only make them that function useble but also stop jitter. A lot of people did a simple 5 min soldering mod that completely removed the valve from the circuit anyway and problem solved.

2, When they assembled them, they tightened the screws that hold the motherboard in place a little too tight. undoing the screws slightly, stops the ground interference the motherboard.

Basically, the combination of hot valves with assembly that was too tight caused the problems.

All in all, the units are great - go for one with a high serial number if you're really worried but honestly, they're great units and there's a reason why Korg sold hundreds of thousands of them.

And no, they weren't raver toys - so much of the good prog was made with them, and they were a staple of many a techno and minimal studio for the best part of a decade.

Again, if you want something that is fun and fast to make tracks on, you'll be hard pushed to find anything that can compete.

I have a friend who has a maschine, and while it's not quite as fun to use due to the menu based operation etc, it sounds fucking incredible.

thanks for your input. tempting, but i wouldn't even risk the bother. shouldn't need to open and mod devices due to production shortcomings.

had enough bother trying to return a pioneer 700 mixer for a month, gash. returned to the trusty xone92.

is a maschine mikro mk2 any good as an alternative?

from the videos i've seen, people were using it more of a live performance tool, finger drumming etc.

i'd like something easier and more intuative for production. 90% of the stuff in a DAW i would never use or need. and the whole interface is overcomplicated. i was thinking hardware would be more streamlined and focused.

plus i think with maschine you can use plug-ins etc.

quote:

Originally posted by rubez thanks for your input. tempting, but i wouldn't even risk the bother. shouldn't need to open and mod devices due to production shortcomings. had enough bother trying to return a pioneer 700 mixer for a month, gash. returned to the trusty xone92.

Honestly, you're way over thinking it; It only affects some of them, when it does it's after excessive use of several hours, and the fix to stop it consist of removing the knobs (by hand), removing 4 screws to lift off the main housing and placing a layer of baking paper or non conductive foil between the two boards. The whole thing will take 10 minutes if you even need to do it in the first place.

The fact you can pick them up for about $300 second hand is kind of a no brainer if you want a groovebox sequencer sampler that is fun to use.

Shit, I'm talking myself in to buying one again

you shouldn't be making excuses for it really.

i mean, who would be happy having to reboot their equipment because it was flawed?

or opening their new gear and fixing baking paper inside it?!

that's a joke.

quote:

Originally posted by rubez i mean, who would be happy having to reboot their equipment because it was flawed?

Erm, how about anyone that has owned a PC in the history of ever?

quote:

Originally posted by rubez you shouldn't be making excuses for it really. or opening their new gear and fixing baking paper inside it?! that's a joke.

Certainly not perfect, but again, you need to a get a grip - you're making a mountain out of a molehill.

With that attitude you'll never get anywhere making music; a crucial part of engineering (which itself a crucial part of producing EDM) is problem solving and fixing errors, whether it be editing, cleaning up sounds, making arrangements work, removing artifacts, complex routing,....

... so a one time, 10 minute fix, that a small child with one hand could do, to make an incredibly cheap and fun piece of kit work flawlessly is really not an issue. You'll spend more time installing a new plugin. I spend far more time setting up my smartphone each time I get an upgrade or warranty replacement.

i need to get a grip?

you're coming across as a rabid fanboy making excuses for faulty hardware. maybe you put up with that shit, but i don't accept poor workmanship right out the gate.

anyway, after research, a maschine is much better, and can host plug-ins and be integrated into a DAW to take it MUCH further than what you are able to do with the korg, which is extremely limited in comparison and basically a toy.

i don't lay down cash for brand new products only to have to open them up and perform some skanky homemade fix on them... are you crazy?!


oh, and you reboot a PC to fix a software fault, not an inherent manufacturer hardware fault

and with your other argument, i suppose car mechanics should have no qualms buying a brand new car that already malfunctions... because they can just fix it themselves, right?

quote:

Originally posted by rubez i need to get a grip? you're coming across as a rabid fanboy making excuses for faulty hardware. maybe you put up with that shit, but i don't accept poor workmanship right out the gate. anyway, after research, a maschine is much better, and can host plug-ins and be integrated into a DAW to take it MUCH further than what you are able to do with the korg, which is extremely limited in comparison and basically a toy. i don't lay down cash for brand new products only to have to open them up and perform some skanky homemade fix on them... are you crazy?! oh, and you reboot a PC to fix a software fault, not an inherent manufacturer hardware fault and with your other argument, i suppose car mechanics should have no qualms buying a brand new car that already malfunctions... because they can just fix it themselves, right?

lol, are that same rubez that had that epic meltdown a few years back?

I'd get rid of chip on your shoulder. It was an assembly flaw that Korg have since fixed, or you could fix yourself for less time that it takes to change a lightbulb.

No one, including me ever said a tribe was even close, let alone better, than the maschine (which while great, happens to be three times the price of a 2nd hand tribe).

I also suggest learning the subject matter; the only electribes you can buy new now are late serial number or factory reconditioned (meaning they don't have the problem) and with the second hand ones, you're getting them for a steal (and just like a second hand car you might well have to fix something to make it perfect again as it's not new). Brand new PC's randomly crash all the time for no good reason other than hardware/software conflicts - we know this is and will continue - it hasn't stopped people from buying them in the billions.

Either way, don't compare apples to oranges. Maschine has way more possibilities, far more expansion and integration options and you could easily make full tracks just using the maschine. Electribes are cheap, fast and very fun to get a groove going on.

Do whatever you want, my life is not affected whether Rubez on TA prefers a Maschine over a Trive or vice versa - just don't spout inaccurate nonsense about equipment you have never touched or used (where I have done both, for both).

"you could fix yourself for less time that it takes to change a lightbulb" talk about inaccuracies

anyway the EMX is �369 retail, which is hardly impulsive buy territory. so maschine isn't anywhere near three times the price, more bs on your part.

the US models go for more than �100 cheaper than the UK models which put the two nearly on par price-wise. don't usually go for import models, but since maschine is USB powered, theres no voltage issues to worry about.

tempting...

quote:

Originally posted by rubez "you could fix yourself for less time that it takes to change a lightbulb" talk about inaccuracies

4 screws and a piece of baking paper. If that's too hard I suggest you let SHM make all the music for you and just fistpump when needed.

quote:

Originally posted by rubez anyway the EMX is �369 retail, which is hardly impulsive buy territory. so maschine isn't anywhere near three times the price, more bs on your part.

Sucks to live in the UK. You can pick them up for $250-$300 here. That's about �180. The maschine's RRP in the UK is �495. That's very nearly three times the price.

quote:

Originally posted by rubez the US models go for more than �100 cheaper than the UK models which put the two nearly on par price-wise. don't usually go for import models, but since maschine is USB powered, theres no voltage issues to worry about. tempting...

Yep, but by the time you pay shipping and customs, not to mention no warranty, it's not worth it....

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