DoubleChecking, there is no way to turn off quantize-ESX-1 ?

[starving student]

just making absolutely sure if that is the case?

[killedaway]

just making absolutely sure if that is the case?

on the ESX, there isn't really quantization, per se. with a resolution of only 16 steps per measure, the ESX can't help but place your playing on those steps. notes can't "land" in between those 16 steps.

[jerseykorg]

At first I didn't think it would matter much but for hip-hop it's like no matter what drums you use after a while everything sounds sort of stiff with this kind 16-step thing. I suppose for songs that get directly mixed into each other like trance or house this is actually a good thing but on hip-hop where a dj switches songs and matches beats through scratching having every song you make easy to match isn't that important actually it's kind of a bummer.

I guess you could make the beat super slow and then put the bpm up so that it's like 90 bpm you set it to 180 so you'd have twice as many steps per bar but then you have half as many bars...Then I guess you could sample that and put it in a part somewhere and put the bpm back down or something? I keep hoping I'll see a good way to do that or to rearrange the samples after you slice them but I think there is no convenient way.

[killedaway]

At first I didn't think it would matter much but for hip-hop it's like no matter what drums you use after a while everything sounds sort of stiff with this kind 16-step thing. I suppose for songs that get directly mixed into each other like trance or house this is actually a good thing but on hip-hop where a dj switches songs and matches beats through scratching having every song you make easy to match isn't that important actually it's kind of a bummer.

well, there's the swing function. it certainly loosens things up for hip-hop; it gets you out of that rigid 4/4 feel.

I guess you could make the beat super slow and then put the bpm up so that it's like 90 bpm you set it to 180 so you'd have twice as many steps per bar but then you have half as many bars...Then I guess you could sample that and put it in a part somewhere and put the bpm back down or something? I keep hoping I'll see a good way to do that or to rearrange the samples after you slice them but I think there is no convenient way.

this is actually built into the ESX and EMX. they each have a "32 step" choice under Beat in the Pattern menu. this effectively doubles the resolution of the machines from 16 steps per measure to 32, but shortens the measure total (per pattern) from 8 to 4. that way you can still synchronize with other gear at the same/original tempo.

[jerseykorg]

That's good to know. Now is there a way to move around the slices samples after you slice them on the step keys? Slicing the sample right onto the keys is so fast compared to loading a bunch of pre-sliced pieces onto midi pads but after you slice them you can't move them around! That's why I keep the esx-1 still. I hope someday I will find out a way to do it but I don't think there is.

[killedaway]

That's good to know. Now is there a way to move around the slices samples after you slice them on the step keys? Slicing the sample right onto the keys is so fast compared to loading a bunch of pre-sliced pieces onto midi pads but after you slice them you can't move them around! That's why I keep the esx-1 still. I hope someday I will find out a way to do it but I don't think there is.

unfortunately, no, this can't be done, but i agree, it would be really cool if the Slice part worked that way.

[starving student]

okay well for some good instrumental hiphop this is imperative, the work arounds that I've heard about came from some cats on this forum I don't remember who maybe tron or ruso or dj pound I forget who but I want them to get credit for it, actualy they answered one of my threads so if you search my questions you prob find it anyway, one of them told me you could just turn on the metronome and play your beat without sequencing it but while you're resampling and that way you're basicly recording an unquantized beat, then you would stick that sample on one of the sample slots and trigger it in the sequence, and the other tip I read was somebody went from the midi out of the esx back into the midi in of the esx and was able to re-arrange the chops that way by the esx triggering itself somehow, its on this forum too but I was hoping someone would come along and just say turn this off or whatever you know

[killedaway]

...I was hoping someone would come along and just say turn this off or whatever you know

yeah, the Electribes just don't lend themselves to that sort of loose recording or feel. this is part of what makes the MPC the reigning hip hop hardware.

[Dj Pound]

yeah thats one of my favorite techniques for a looser feel.
Just go into sample mode and time slice a sample accordingly. You can either turn on the metronome and play the chops to the click track, or you can turn off the metronome and just set your BPM in pattern mode and than jump back into sample mode and watch the BPM light blink, and than just play your chops to the rhythm of the blinking light while the sampler is recording.

You can also assign your chops to the pads in pattern mode and hit record while you play to the metronome as well.

Works everytime.

[plosive]

That's good to know. Now is there a way to move around the slices samples after you slice them on the step keys? Slicing the sample right onto the keys is so fast compared to loading a bunch of pre-sliced pieces onto midi pads but after you slice them you can't move them around! That's why I keep the esx-1 still. I hope someday I will find out a way to do it but I don't think there is.

unfortunately, no, this can't be done, but i agree, it would be really cool if the Slice part worked that way.

that's not entirely true, but my memory is rusty atm and i dont have my esx1 plugged in so i cant give you exact directions. however, i know for a fact that after you slice a sample up across the 16 steps, you can most certainly fine tune the slicing by sensitivity and offset. while you can't do things like "move slice 14 to slice 1" you do still have quite a bit of control over everything.

[killedaway]

That's good to know. Now is there a way to move around the slices samples after you slice them on the step keys? Slicing the sample right onto the keys is so fast compared to loading a bunch of pre-sliced pieces onto midi pads but after you slice them you can't move them around! That's why I keep the esx-1 still. I hope someday I will find out a way to do it but I don't think there is.

unfortunately, no, this can't be done, but i agree, it would be really cool if the Slice part worked that way.

that's not entirely true, but my memory is rusty atm and i dont have my esx1 plugged in so i cant give you exact directions. however, i know for a fact that after you slice a sample up across the 16 steps, you can most certainly fine tune the slicing by sensitivity and offset. while you can't do things like "move slice 14 to slice 1" you do still have quite a bit of control over everything.

i don't understand; you said yourself that you "can't do things like 'move slice 14 to slice 1'", but then said that's not entirely true. it can't be done. the closest you can do is play with the Motion Sequence function along with the Start Point knob in order to leap forward and back within the sliced sample, but this is not a feature of the Slice function.

[tim from texas]

you CAN set a slice number as a drum pad.. do however many pads you want.. play it out in the sequence then resample the whole thing to free up pad space..

[killedaway]

you CAN set a slice number as a drum pad.. do however many pads you want.. play it out in the sequence then resample the whole thing to free up pad space..

okay, i get what you guys are talking about now. i was under the impression that SS wanted to rearrange the steps live, after slicing.