New Electribe

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 9:27 am

Hi guys,

do you think there is defintely a new Electribe to come? Maybe the discontinue the whole series?! I really do want an expansion to my EMX, and I cannot imagine buying anything else than another Electribe.

After more than a year of exessive usage, I find myself more frequently thinking about the EMX' flaws. Some drum sounds simply cannot be created by tweaking and layering; same goes with some bright and punchy synths. I love my EMX though and use it literally every day, but I would kill for new EMX which is aimed towards more modern sound.

Wavemaker · Post by **Wavemaker** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 10:15 am

Roland MC series has been discontinued... after MC909 in 2003 and MC808 in 2006 ( a big downgrade of 909) nothing new has come...

Korg introduced the electribes in 2003 and they've been the same since now, they only changed the sd card... well and few factory presets and the power adaptor...ok!

I watch other companies Yamaha, Waldrof, Clavia...not much there as well...

I think it's getting more and more difficult to sustain the idea of the "groovebox"-all in a box idea, pc's are getting more and more powerfull every day for electronic music production. The sounds in electronic music production are changing very fast you need updated libraries every 6 months!

I don't think Korg will fund another esx/emx idea- maybe one more model to come but after that you'll just buy the usb surface with the software and use it with your computer... too much competition out there!...

Electribes SD are just two years old, so i think no new models are yet to come. Maybe we'll see smth new in NAMM 2014... it's just too soon.

P-E · Post by **P-E** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 10:26 am

Your best move is to acquire a drum-machine or a an external synth module to expand your sound palette (you can use the EMX sequencer to control these).

Elektron makes awesome machines, but they are expensive.

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:08 am

Hm, if you are right, that would be a sad perspective. I do not understand why this is happening. Sure, DAWs are real great tools when it comes to serious production, and I would never argue that. Nevertheless, the Electribe's offer a lot and have a lot of potential. Especially for jamming and live action they are totally outstanding. No boot up time, neither bugs nor technical issues. There must be a market for people who appreciate this, especially as we are talking about music. Nobody cares if your sound is originated in soft or hardware as long as its sounds good.

Most probably I have to go for something different, as a new electribe is not going to be released soon I'm afraid. I am already using Ableton live as a external sound module and sampler triggered by my EMX, but it mostly pisses me off due to the bad work flow. Simple action, like adjusting pitch, lenght or level of a sample takes ages. You probably need to set up a controller and map everything until you get a working environment comprable to the Electribe.

hazabikit · Post by **hazabikit** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 2:02 pm

Korg has definitely hit a sweet spot with the Electribes, but if you want a groovebox with more capabilities (and more complexity) than the Electribes, you should check out the Machinedrums by Elektron or the Tempest by Dave Smith Instruments.

roblabs · Post by **roblabs** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 3:14 am

For me, working on an electribe is just too much fun. With a daw, it just doesn't feel as musical or intuitive.

neotechtonics · Post by **neotechtonics** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:34 am

It'll be a sad day indeed if the electribe series is discontinued or replaced with software and a controller (just look at the mpc renaissance... Mpc now stands for music production CONTROLLER) yes software is powerful and flexible.. But for me: NO COMPUTERS, NO COMPROMISE! All hardware, nothing else. I really hope Korg develops one last 'swansong' electribe. I'd be first on the waiting list.

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:03 am

I would not mind if they made an autark device with additional daw functionality, like a USB port. The KP 3 is a fitting example of how one can handle this.

Additionally, They should make an ad campaign where they show some real nice tracks sounding very modern and powerful. I do not say this kind of music is good, it is just for the purpose that people see how capable the new Electribe is. Imagine Skrillex used an Electribe. We would be overwhelmed by "how do i load sounds in my EMX" - questions, but it would also make hardware more popular.

FreshHorses · Post by **FreshHorses** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 2:45 pm

I think in the next few years an open-source groove box will appear. All the parts are there, cool open-source synths like the mutable-instruments' shruthi (and he is working on a six voice one) and also open source sequencers like the Midi Box people make. You can pretty much stick these in a box together and build a groovebox right now, with a ton of programming. I haven’t come across open-source samplers that could work in this context thou. It seems like the effects would be tricky too. maybe some hybrid of hardware synth and sequencer with VST-type effects section running on a little android board or something.

that’s my dream anyway, a cool open source groove box with all the intuitive fun of the electribes, plus people constantly adding new abilities and refinements. Its only a couple thousand programming hours away!

MarcusCarab · Post by **MarcusCarab** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 3:41 pm

Seconded! Open source / open hardware electronic instruments are the future! I am hoping someone with the knowhow will Kickstart a sweet open source sampler/groovebox - there have already been a couple of DIY synths and some MIDI devices on Kickstarter, so I don't think it'll take very long.

hazabikit · Post by **hazabikit** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 7:08 pm

FreshHorses wrote:I think in the next few years an open-source groove box will appear.

An open-source groovebox has already been around for years -- it's called the x0xb0x:

http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/

It's an open-source clone of the Roland TB-303.

MarcusCarab · Post by **MarcusCarab** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:49 pm

That is slick - but I'm also thinking of open source *digital* equipment -- like an open source equivalent of the Electribe, or the KP3, or the MPC, or the SP-404, etc...

skywalkman · Post by **skywalkman** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 12:56 pm

naaa, i like the fact they dont make it open source, if that were so, no one would ever buy anything from korg ever again as they wont need to, also the sounds included in the current line of EMXs make it unique

chad9477 · Post by **chad9477** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 2:45 pm

Olivander12 wrote:I really do want an expansion to my EMX, and I cannot imagine buying anything else than another Electribe. After more than a year of exessive usage, I find myself more frequently thinking about the EMX' flaws. Some drum sounds simply cannot be created by tweaking and layering; same goes with some bright and punchy synths.

After years with the EMX as my main electronic sound source, I was largely in your position. I did a lot of research and saved my pennies till I was able to go the Elektron route, and I am very happy with my Octatrack + Machinedrum combo. User-friendly, deep instruments that have groovebox-style flow and independence. They take longer to learn but will not present you with the tribes' limitations. If you want to stay away from software (and don't want a *really* boutique instrument like a Spectralis or a Rhizome) I'd look into them.

A buddy of mine says his Tempest is rapidly becoming his main synth. Not just groovebox, mind you, but synth. If you find you like the DSI sound (which I personally do not) it might be worth looking into as well.

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 10:20 pm

chad9477 wrote:
Olivander12 wrote:I really do want an expansion to my EMX, and I cannot imagine buying anything else than another Electribe. After more than a year of exessive usage, I find myself more frequently thinking about the EMX' flaws. Some drum sounds simply cannot be created by tweaking and layering; same goes with some bright and punchy synths.
After years with the EMX as my main electronic sound source, I was largely in your position. I did a lot of research and saved my pennies till I was able to go the Elektron route, and I am very happy with my Octatrack + Machinedrum combo. User-friendly, deep instruments that have groovebox-style flow and independence. They take longer to learn but will not present you with the tribes' limitations. If you want to stay away from software (and don't want a *really* boutique instrument like a Spectralis or a Rhizome) I'd look into them.

A buddy of mine says his Tempest is rapidly becoming his main synth. Not just groovebox, mind you, but synth. If you find you like the DSI sound (which I personally do not) it might be worth looking into as well.

Especially the Elektron devices seem to be really cool. They are mentioned in nearly every discussion, but are actually way to expensive for me, same goes for the Tempest. I was thinking about an ESX and a Mopho, but I am not too sure whether this would be a good deal. I also thought about an ESX which plays some loops/samples made on my PC, as I am partly using software, this would be also one possibilty.

On the other hand, the Uk Bass patterns showed me what the EMX is capable of. As long as I am not too often intercoursing with its limitations, it would be maybe even better to just concentrate on the EMX itself, and then later watch out for something different.

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