Electribe Review
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- čas přidán 21. 08. 2024
- Part 2 of this review is now at: • Electribe Review Part 2
Review and quick walkthrough of the new Korg electribe. Check my blog at:
innerportalstud...
for more electribe related videos, tests, and other info. And please, pass this on to anyone else you think might be interested! - Hudba
this is hands down the most comprehensive review of this that I've seen. you went into everything that I've been wanting to know about it and in a way that's not completely boring me to tears. Thanks for making this video
+Jacob Frisenda No problem, glad it was helpful!
I learned more about my new electribe watching this video than the previous 30 videos. I was already pleased with this unit and my purchase, this re-confirmed, thanks.
Thanks for putting together such a thorough review. Much more in-depth than any of Korg's own videos.
Thanks a lot for the quality review. I don't usually find reviews of gear that are this in depth.
Thanks for the great review. I've been torn as to which equipment to start back up with. Back in the day I had an EM1 and an ESX. There are just too many options now. I think your review has sold me on the Electribe. I understand its not the most well built machine out there, but as far as price and versatility, I don't think it can be beat. I love raw hardware, yet I want the ability to hook up an Ipad or mac and journey in to new dimensions. Thank you!
I watched your vid as I had seen a lot of other various vids of people playing and giving tutorials on this Electribe. However, after watching your very comprehensive and thorough review I decided to buy one AND it arrives tomorrow! SO, many thanks for your skilful and honest guidance. Please keep up the good work.
This is a cool video. I just bought iElectribe for iPhone (which runs on both iPhone and iPad no problems) for $19.99. It sounds really great! Have it synced with other iOS apps like IKaossilator (also $19.99) using Ableton Link -- works extremely well.. they stay in time. Also use Korg SyncKontrol on another iPhone to have a dedicated tempo dial -- again uses Abelton Sync. IElectribe sounds really awesome! Was blown away by the analog type sound and ability to tweak each sound in an analog fashion.. shaping the waves.
Great review! I'm picking mine up tomorrow, so I really appreciate the in-depth rundown of this thing.
I'm glad to see you're as engaging and informative now as you were in the Elektron days, Tarekith. Good on you.
Fantastic review! I'm really excited about the audio input oscillators. Being able to route oscillators from my modular and then process it 16 different ways at once....come on! That is huge
That is a pretty dope application yes :)
Great review, thanks for taking the time to do it. I love my Electribe, can't wait for the sampler model to be released
Best review yet very cool thanks
No problem, glad it was useful!
Again: very nice review and great presentation of what this little box of wonders is capable of. 😀 well done!
glad i found this review! i have a few of your mixes on my hard drive, downloaded after stumbling across them years back surfing the web. didn't know you had a youtube. from what i remember i really liked the "dark dj set" or something like that. peace.
Seriously best review ever any category! Now i know everything i wanted to know and all those things i didn't know i wanted to know!!
Thanks very much! Pass it on if you know anyone else interested in the electribe!
Parallel processing of external sounds.
Thanks for the wonderful tip!!!
+Computing.Sound Very powerful!
a million thanks for excellent and proper review........ as always!
Very thankful
Great review, methodical overview! I looked with envious eyes at the EMX but never took the plunge. This is more and better.
Could you title this video specifically "Electribe 2 Review" so it narrows down searching away from the first model? Thanks.
Thank you, answered so many technical stuff I was wondering about.
Great, glad I could help!
Really good, detailed review.
*****
I'm really on the fence about getting one of these. Would you say it syncs well (BPM) with an iPad and OP-1, assuming one has all the right connections? I think this would be a really fun, powerful, and portable solution.
Great stuff as always Tarekith!!! Thanx for the in depth review.
hey Tarekith - just wondering if you are planning on a follow up video to offer your thoughts on this device now that you've had it for a few months? how much do you use it? what to you like most/dislike about it, are there any surprise features, hidden functions that make it better/worse than your initial impressions? what work arounds to you find yourself having to implement? also, if you've had a chance to get your hands on the Sampler version - how do they compare?
***** czcams.com/video/0xbqbfdY2Z0/video.html
Great in-depth tutorials. Thank you! I recently got eh E2 (Blue) and (though dated) this was very useful. How were you using the iPad? Was the use of a Synth App to Audio-In to E2? Seemed all your performance controls was on E2.
Thanks a ton. Even while watching this I put some of the tips to use. Love the trance loops you added too btw.
Great review!
Does it charge the ipad when connected to a power source? And you is the ipad's audio output connected directly to electribe's audio in? I mean is the recorded sound coming directly from electribe's output?
No it doesn't charge the batteries when connected to a power source. And yes the audio in the video is coming directly from the electribe. :)
Excellent review, thank you.
Bought one last week cuz of your vid :) Great review, bro.
I am surprised you did not mention the two part amp envelope as a downside. I somehow expected that decay and release could be set seperatly with the shift button, although there is only one knob.
I guess i never really found it an issue considering how many other things don't have panel controls.
Fair point. I guess when it comes to the abilities of modulating and changing the synth sounds, I am a little spoiled by the Circuit :D But I am impressed how nice the electribe sounds can be anyway.
very thorough and intelligible. great job fella.
@tarekith::Do you find yourself using the electribe or the Octatrack more?
Great review, thanks
Very thorough, good job. I've really been digging mine
Hmm, so I purchased one. Next day shipping cuz that's how pathetically excited I am. :P Was really hard finding one!! What I was hoping you could help answer for me, does the new electribe have a 808 and 909, and perhaps a 707 sound? I was all 100% for getting the tr-8 literally today, but... if the electribe has the capabilities then I would know I need to go with my other choice.
Yes, quite a few of them in fact. I've been using them a lot myself, good variety on hand.
nice review. One problem with this thing is that it doesnt nearly have as much personality as the EMX. The EMX is so raw and cool sounding. This sounds like just another generic Maschine type thing, same drum sounds as everyone else etc. Still its cool and all I just don't think I'll be getting one, love my EMX. Maybe the sampler version though
great notice about connecting ipad via usb for midi. Seems that the new electribe 2 implements coremidi
It makes it so easy to run something like Gadget along side the electribe, I'm planning on using the pair for live use now.
Get Korg SyncKontrol for your iPhone and plug your iphone into the electribe (audio out) .. it will send the clock info and since SyncKontrol also uses Abelton Link, you can link up wirelessly to your other iOS devices on teh same wife network.. and everything will be in time :)
+Jennifer Gwinn Oh wait, I think SyncKontrol was made for monotribe not electribe. But I know it works with Pocket Operator line. Maybe it would work with this electribe of your's as well?
I don't understand why there's no reverb on it though, on the Sonic State video with Mistabishi introducing the unit, he said it comes wirh a studio quality reverb, and then he played a sound that was immersed in this reverb
There's a few different reverbs on the master effects actually.
what's a choke group
Great Review man. probably gunna get the sampler versions though.
Nice. I really like your room!
Thanks a lot, always a work in progress :-)
great, informative in depth review! good to know someone actually spent time digging deep in this little machine to give us the scoop the PR videos just ignore completely.
i was wondering something about the use of the SD Card though. on the EMX-1 you could read patterns from the memory card loaded into the machine. can this be done on this unit?
i know 256 patterns is quite a lot, but considering certain genres that always strive for production overkill and maximising the use of every sound known to man in one song (drum & bass, neuro-hop, etc.) before you know it making one DnB tune you can easily use up 12 or even 16 patterns, giving one between 12 to 20 songs, which isn't a lot if you're constantly producing new music on the unit.
cheers!
Apoplexia yes, you can load patterns from the memory card too.
Then this little machine just got a whole lot more exciting!
Why is the screen on the machine glitching, or is that what it does? It's really annoying.
I think that is just due to refresh rate and camera something like that. so only in the video?
Good review, but could you describe how the poly/paraphonic stuff works? I get that each part can play up to four voices at once now, but does it work like the old Electribe's chord function, where you're stuck with picking a chord from the menu (play a C and then pick major, minor etc.), or and you play a chord by hand on the pads (or through an external keyboard), and make it store the 4 notes, so you could potentially hook up an external synthesizer and play polyphonic music on there through the electribe sequencer?
fisk0 You can play any chord you want with 4 notes, however hey all share the same amp envelope.
*****
Thanks! As long as it's transmitted on the same MIDI channel, external gear shouldn't be affected by the amp envelope stuff, I'd think?
oh wait. I forgot This isn't the sampler version so it's less similar. Anyway,thoughts between the two?
Definitely my next purchase, super helpful video also.
Hey Tarekith, Great video. I just picked mine up today and the video was a big help. My question is, how do I delete the patterns that come with the machine? Most of them are pretty lame and I would rather use the space for my own stuff. Subbed. Thanks!
Hopefully this helps: innerportalstudio.com/electribe-blank-all-patterns-file/
Great review for great machine...
Great review indeed. Loving mine already too. About the pattern copy function. In my opinion it is not necessary since you can easily save your current pattern to a new one. I think this comes from the whole "no song mode, just 250 patterns idea". Anyway thanks for the insights I got a couple of new ideas now ;-)
It's an issue if you're trying to combine two patterns into a new transitional one unfortunately.
***** now I'm confused, perhaps i don't fully understand what you mean to copy a pattern to create a transitional effect. i understood that to be able to copy your pattern to a new one (for lets say another section of the song) you can't and have to remake it all from scratch. the workflow i would imagine using with this is basically starting to make a fully loaded pattern then copy it into a new one and then start modified certain parts of it then copy to a new one modify more that way with 3-4 patterns and muting parts i can have a full song on my hands....
Please elaborate? :)
PS thanks again for this very nice review, i wanted to get it on launch but unfortunately korg doesn't seem to like canada very much and i have to wait for march or order it online and pay more from the states. glad that I'm watching people i respect their opinions talking about it though
fayekhelmi No, you CAN copy a pattern from one location to another, that's easy. You CAN'T copy a Part from within one pattern to another though.
ohhh okay that's less of a problem then but i would still like to see it being implemented in a future uipdate
Yeah i was a bit too quick with my response. After Messing around with it some more i have to admit that It is indeed annoying not To be able To copy just a part To another pattern. My bad :-)
Big thank you.
Great, clear guidance through most of its functions and excellent review overall, but I'd like to ask about the arpeggiator - is it the same as on the Kaossilator 2? Can you play notes in order and have them arpeggiate? Thanks for any feedback - looks like a powerful tool. I might replace my MC-505 and MICROKorg for this one, tiny box...
I don't have a Kaossilator 2, sorry.
Got it! Thank so much. Determined to make this thing my slave. Going too you for unexplained functions. Appreciate it.
Mike
so can i creat a complete backing track for the song and play it live? if i can how many backing track i can save the unit?
There's no built in song mode per se on the electribe unfortunately. You can use up to 16 pattern sets to set the playback order of patterns, but it's still pretty hands on if all you're looking to do is press play and ignore the electribe while you plan another instrument.
soundcloud.com/soundofbalcali here is my 2 song i made.(ne yapacaksın and bir şeytan bir melek) can you please check it. i done the beat with pro tools. can i do with electribe 2. yes im gonna press play and play guitar.
How does the device hold up in 2023? Rather outdated compared to the newer gear (groovebox wise), or does it still hold its value in niche live situations?
I like the E2 and I'm aware of its limitations, but $400 for a 8 year old device is making me possibly reconsider an alternative. I'll keep an eye on the used market though.
Unless you absolutely love the Electribe workflow, I think there’s a lot better options these days. The Novation Circuit or Roland MC101 for instance.
naw this has a dirty sound i love it and have you ever used a MC101 menu dive city @@tarekith
Sweet review
Very interesting unit
Very Nice review! Does is still hold up today? And how do you think it compares to a Novation Circuit?
I ended up selling it to be honest, the Circuit is way more fun, easy to use, and sounds a ton better too. I like the premise behind the new Electribe, but I just never really bonded with it well enough to write much music given how much time I was using.
Got it now for 5 hours, I noticed the glitch, i noticed strange plops when you play samples without the amp eg, the micro timing is a BITCH, song mode is nice too have in the 2.0, but what really bangs me in the head is when you really push it seems the electribe cannot keep up with me. After 5 hours i got the work flow down because it's pretty ez to get around. Get your masking tape and fineliners guys because u wanna mark them shift shortcuts. I dunno man im listening your track now and ur pushing it too and i csn hear the crackle in the sounds, the Korg needs more memory...
nice review but I would have liked more examples of stuff you were talking about
$400 groove box with a $2500 converter :D
Great review! Thank you. Have you managed to figure out about smooth transitions between patterns?
PopsGribs My day job is as a mastering engineer, so the convertor comes in handy :) This is how I've been doing transitions lately with the electribe: czcams.com/video/4TboTDpd28M/video.html
LOL, I know I was just joshing with you :)
Good job, better than the manual. Question: sometimes a part doesn't sound on all beats in the sequence, e.g. I select a part to play on beat 1 of measure 1,2,3,4 and it only sounds on 4th measure? Help. thx.
You could be using all of the 24 voices available, set those parts to High Priority if you want them to sound at the expense of ther sounds. Long AMP release settings and IFX like delay also eat into the voice count. On average I get about 4-5 drum parts and 4-5 complex synth parts before I start getting drop outs. You definitely can't use all 16 parts at once unless they are very simple and short.
Thanks for this comprehensive overview. I'm going to be getting an electribe soon and the lack of in-box ways to transition between patterns seems to be a bit of a problem for doing live sets. You think something like a mini kaoss pad with its loop function would work for doing transitions? take a loop of the current pattern, and then build the next pattern with the electribe?
I would think any looper would work ok for this. I experimented with my Strymon Timeline doing this awhile ago, worked great so I'm sure the kaoss looper will too.
Great video. Thanks. This and op1 are my first pieces of music hardware so I am trying to learn both right now. Adding an ipad app may help with the flow. What app is that you are using at the end and what does it offer? any other apps you think may help? i basically just plan to use this for drums/percussion and the op1 for synth and vocals. thanks again!!!
FuzzyWobble That's Korg's Gadget app, highly recommended. There's tons of amazing music apps out there, try the Audiobus forums for more ideas. :)
*****
nice. thanks!!! any app recommendations related to recording/looping? i could do ableton with an apc40, but might be overkill...
FuzzyWobble Loopy HD
Thanks a lot, tarekith!
Man. They must have been asleep when they came up with this design. Look at how nice the ESX & EMX looked.
Super Informative! Awesome review!
Great review. Thanks. Can you do some videos on how to actually record patterns from scratch. I'm new to electribe and the manual is a bit confusing to me. Thanks
Good review mate. A cast magnesium case would probably explode though - it's actually cast zinc :-)
Nah man, this thing is white hot, I'm telling ya!
:)
Gotta love this machine!
In your opinion what would be the best piece of hardware to start with in terms of not being too dificult to learn to get some decent results,i've seen electribe 2,t.e.op1,push,machine,the aira stuff, there seems to be so much choice it's a lot overwhelming!
Quality review, I agree with most of what you've said! ( See my reviews, demos. ) Differing, I really like the Kaoss / FX pad ( which is the same surface as the mini KP ) thought I would like to see more parameters assignable, and I notice the first note it produces isn't quantized! ( Unlike the EMX arp ribbon ) Also, the colors are caused by the voice usage, not frequency. Green < Red I'd like to be able to run those on battery mode also, even though it drains power, it's cool looking for shows! ; - )
Great review! The only thing missing on the electribe2 is to show in the screen the last saved knob value ! The Emx1 has that function that is one of the most important to me . How do you know your last settings if you go crazy on the filters and all parameters in a live situation ? How to return to last saved original knob values ? Can you help ? Thank you
22:40
what a great review, thanks
Happy to help!
Nice review thanks. Would you recommend this as a good starter unit for music making? Also how can you record what you've made / transfer it to a computer to an MP3 file for example? Thank you!
Lewis O'Kelly Yes, this is a GREAT box or getting into making music, most definitely. You can't transfer fileas as MP3, but you can export as wav files or in Ableton format and convert to MP3 on your computer easy enough.
Thanks for the review, good stuff. Can you actually get Gadget to sync with the Electribe? I am waiting for mine to arrive, and in the meantime, I have been trying to sync Gadget to my beatstep, which is also controlling my Microbrute, and Volca Keys. Gadget is always horribly out of sync. Hoping the Electribe works better.
I actually JUST NOW recorded a new video exactly about syncing the electribe with Gadget, and Ableton Live. Uploading in a few minutes, check back shortly :)
***** Awesome, thanks!
good job! thank you
nice review
I ordered this not realising it will have to wait a month for it. Im debating now if I should cancel it cus of the 4bar thing though but not sure yet. Do you know if I can plug it into my synth via midi and use the sequencer in the electribe to sequence patterns on my synth and then record them back into the electribe?
Would really help if you can answer my question.
Cheers
housebrigade Yes you can sequence external gear with this, though it's not possible to record the audio from them back into the electribe per se.
***** Cool, it can sequence external gear! Can it record midi from external gear too? For example, can the new electribe record midi (if it is on the pre assigned channel 1-16) from an external synth like the Bass Station 2? and THEN play the recorded midi back to the BS2, or even modify the sequence that was recorded?
The BS2 has an internal sequencer but it is limited in a rather stupid way. The sequencer cannot be triggered externally, only by the built in keyboard, and not quantized to sync. It's really very silly. $150 Volcas can play their sequencers from an external midi trigger, but the BS2 is a great synth and I'm wanting to close its live performance gaps. Perhaps the electric can serve this purpose.
Thanks for your time
It unfathomable that you cannot set the scale setting differently to each note. What if you have an off note or pattern like a 1/12 or 1/24? At least this is what I have been told and heard on u tube. If I'm wrong, let me know, because I really want to get one of these babies.
They're still selling these new, with the "latest" firmware from 2016!
Very good review.I understood quite a bit even though i don't know much,i am new to making electronic music,i think you would be the ideal person to demo how to construct a very basic track,as in how many bars/steps is suitable for certain passages.Should you change key after a certain amount of bars etc,how to link things together.I know there are no rules parse but basically how to construct tunes,is there a basic formula ? Is this too basic a question ? English is my first language!!
Start here: innerportalstudio.com/guides/
tarekith c
Knowing that there is a sampler version available. I wonder do you see one as, at least on paper, more powerful/capable than the other?
Hard to say really, because I haven't seen anything about the sampler version, even on paper. I'm waiting for more info just like everyone ele, unless Korg wants to send me a pre-release version :)
***** Here's what Peter Kirn said,
"The electribe sampler is basically the same as the electribe; the easiest way to tell it apart is its darker gray color.
The difference is the sound engine, which on the sampler (versus the standard electribe) is a hybrid sampler-synth engine.
You still get analog modeling sound engine. (It seems this is missing all the PCM melodic content, but that’s it.)
In place of the preset PCM engine, you can add your own samples - 999 preset and user samples, with a maximum 270 seconds of sampling time (in mono, or half that for stereo).
Time Slice automatically detects attack transients, so you don’t have to do any work to slice things up. And there’s of course pitch-independent tempo changes. You can take slices and add them to steps or parts, or add per-sample effects.
There’s also resampling, with knobs controlling pitch or modulation."
from createdigitalmusic.com/2014/09/new-korg-electribes-focus-live-performance-export-ableton-live/
So i suppose it comes down to how pleased one can be with the PCM melodic content.
Ahh, can't decide!
TechnoCougher I think a lot of it will come down to the implementation though. Can we have sliced samples on all 16 tracks? Is there limit for sample length per track? How are modulations handled on sliced tracks, retrigger with each slice? Another difference I've read is that the sampler version doesn't get all the different filter models too, and I find that very useful on the electribe.
Still a lot of unanswered questions I feel.
Samplers often give you more flexibility, but I personally dislike all the prep work that goes into the samples before you can even use them in the unit. So for me, it's a question of does the Korg workflow make thing more straight forward than say the Octatrack. Supposedly it's due out at the end of March, so we'll see soon enough!
***** Ah, well the filter modes are a big selling point, so I'll pass on the sampler. Thanks for the heads up! You are right about the time required to set up user samples. I haven't even bothered importing my own into the Volca Sample (which, after using for a couple weeks, I think the VS will cannibalize Volca Beats sales). I bought an ES-1 when it originally came out, but the landscape for electronic music production tools was mostly occupied outside of the computer then, so it didn't *seem* like such a hassle to set up and import. I remember how happy I was to get a scsi zip drive for my MPC2000XL. We've been very spoiled with DAWs since then.
I see the new electribe as a good live performance tool, as well as a portable standalone sketchpad for getting things going that can be taken into Ableton Live for completion. It's kind of what I always wanted NI Maschine to be.
One place I think the new sampler would work well is if you wanted to reconstruct and perform already produced compositions. Perhaps the two together, plus a Volca or two could be lethal!
Hey i have another question! i just picked up my electribe the other day and im loving it, although diving into the menu seems a bit intense, there are no i'nstructions that come with the electribe for the menu, is there another one online?
Only two outs??
So, SD card first. Then download on to card then insert into unit, then pause will go away?
Thanks you. Really helps
Could you please explain exactly how MIDI can be sent back and forth to the Ipad from Electribe? I am thinking of getting the Electribe but I would like to use it together with my Ipad. Thanks!
Nice review ;)
Nice review...
Thank you 😊
Can you lock the xy pad? i.e can it be used as a midi controller and made to hold the setting when finger is released? Reason being I want something to control the vector of my wavestation SR as it doesn't have the joystick of the KB models. I know the korg mini controllers do have a hold function and the touch pad can be set to any midi controller, but since I plan to get an electribe it seems, it would save me money and space not to need another controller for this one function.. Cheers
thank you for this video, very good. How do O import wav samples into the unit, and is this fully programmable, ie, are you limited to the parameters of each knob or can you change functions via a comp based editor?
I'm shopping for an ES-1 MK2 but this could be better. hard to find a real comparison with older units
thanks for your input and review...
You need the sampler version to load your own samples, and the process is detailed in the manual (free at Korgs website). The knobs are hard coded to their functions and can't be changed.
awesome review, thanks! :)
What lil amplifer is that behind you to the right? VU meters on LCD screen? Looks cool :)
+Jennifer Gwinn It's a Lynx Hilo D/A convertor.
Really useful, thank you!
@tarekith how smooth is the filter? how would you rate the synth sounds vs. Gadget, kaossilator, or even the OP-1?
really useful thanks man
Can you load in your own wav samples into it and just press play?
Only in the sampler version.
That's why I purchased the Sampler version ;)
whats the software editor looking thing on the track at the end ?
can the unit be played through daw via the usb ?
how does the midi in and out work with he mini jack, can you have in and out or just one at a time ?
Hi and thanks for your review! Great! It has some sort of the sidechain function on compressor? thanks! Ciao from Italy!
DIego Colognese It's not really a side-chain per se, it's just an audio effect that sort of sounds like that. More like a beat synced tremelo.
Good video, thank you
is there a "in menu" way to control dry/wet for insert fx? Or are there hidden fx parameters that give you more options than the one knob?
+casey krupp Nope, just the one knob for insert fx.
+tarekith thanks! arrrrrgh, i like my microsampler more then:)