Need advice please help!

[Hydrocoptic]

Hello,

Need some advice on choosing the correct product to suit my needs. Please bare with my post as it may be lengthy, but all the information is important to the advice I'm seeking. And though it may not be apparent at first, there is a reason that I'm posting this in the Electribe forum.

I am a guitarist with 10+ years of experience playing and I'm sick of not being in a band. In the past I have been in many bands, but at the time I was living in a different city that had a diverse musical scene. I now live in a small city where there is no music scene and almost zero chance of finding reliable bandmates. After about 3 years of searching of no music in my life other than personal practice time, I have decided to go forth on my own with my musical ambitions.

My musical tastes are all over the map, but in general I seem to steer towards Hard Rock/Industrial/Electronic as my generas of choice. All the bands I have been in in the past were Metal bands with a heavy focus on guitar, but with this new solo project I would like to include some of my love for electronic/industrial music. Hopefully the Electribe EMX or I-Electribe may help me see this dream through.

Here is where I stand musically and the reasons for looking into those two products.

The only instrument I can play is a stringed one(ex. guitar, bass). I can't play drums cause I have no rhythm on a kit and I live in a small apartment where I couldn't practice anyway. I can play very basic piano, but can't read music due to a muscle problem in my eyes which also effects my abilities to read. All these things are a huge holes in my ability to create my vision musically.

However with that said I am a very musical person, as stated above I have 10 years plus experience on guitar which I learned all by ear. With the research I've done on the Electribe it seems that I may be able to fill those major holes. It will allow me the ability to create a beat to play to as well as a few bass & synth lines to fill in the gaps. On top of that I should be able to use it for live performances.

Now that all that is said, here is the advice I need.

In looking into the electribes I've found that the EMX is most likely the one I want to suit these needs, since I have no desire to use the sampling features of the ESX. I have also been looking at the I-Electribe for the Ipad and don't know if that might be a wiser choice. It seems to have all the rhythm/beat making potential of the EMX, but i am unsure about the synth side of things.

If I get an EMXSD, it will cost around $500, but if I get an Ipad with the I-Electribe app it will be about $520, but that will also open the doors for other App Store based music manufacturing Software.

So Ipad and I-Electibe vs EMXSD?

Is the I-Electibe an exact recreation of the ESX or is it part EMX as well?

If it is a ESX only, are there any plans for an Ipad EMX?

This is the main discussion i am struggling with at the moment any help choosing what product would properly suit me would be appreciated. Sorry for the lengthy post.

Oh and as a final note I did purchase a Kaossilator Pro, but that didn't suit my needs.

[renofr]

since I have no desire to use the sampling features of the EMX

Careful!: the ESX HAS a sampler feature, not the EMX. Basically it seems that the EMX would be the right choice for you (5 synth parts vs 2 synth parts for the ESX)

With regard to the iElectribe it's a limited version of the EMX: 4 percussion synthesizer parts, 4 PCM synthesizer partsparts (vs 9 and 5 for the EMX), and no song function. That could be a critical feature in case you want to compose with verse/chorus template.

[Hydrocoptic]

since I have no desire to use the sampling features of the EMX

Careful!: the ESX HAS a sampler feature, not the EMX. Basically it seems that the EMX would be the right choice for you (5 synth parts vs 2 synth parts for the ESX)

Haha, yeah i mixed up the EMX and ESX in my post, thats what i get for posting at like 3am, i will fix that.

[chad9477]

If you're just getting into electronic music, I'd go with the hardware EMX to learn the ropes.

I was where you are several years ago -- guitarist trying to expand sonically and make up for lack of rewarding musical partnerships -- and I began with an old EM-1, "graduating" to an EMX after they came out. I have never been dissatisfied. The EMX has an easy learning curve but also has a lot of power and flexibility. Best of all perhaps from a guitarist's perspective, the EMX's effects can be applied to the audio in, meaning you can play along with your loop using a tone that is perfectly suited.

Nothing wrong with going the software route if you're sure you want to head in that direction, but for hands-on music making at your stage I'd recommend getting hardware first while you save up for a computer. By the time you've got the money you'll know more and can make a better decision IMHO.

...my $0.02

[Pastor-of-Muppets]

With regard to the iElectribe it's a limited version of the EMX: 4 percussion synthesizer parts, 4 PCM synthesizer partsparts (vs 9 and 5 for the EMX), and no song function. That could be a critical feature in case you want to compose with verse/chorus template.

The iElectribe is a drum machine ONLY. The PCM synth parts are for cymbals and other drum sounds, NOT like the synth parts on the EMX.

The iElectribe is based on the ER1, which is a "rhythm synthesizer" - it is not equivalent to the EMX or the ESX

If you only want a drum machine, you could get a second hand ER1 a lot cheaper than the other options - but it doesn't sound like that's what you want

[johnagiambalvo]

I am a guitar player and like you I am seeking backing tracks I can play with. I just got my EMX and ESX and found both are very intuitive and easy to create backing tracks, easier that a plain drum machine. As far as style is concerned the sky is the limit Good Luck Johnny G..