Electribe release schedule / roadmap?

Splatterhouse · Post by **Splatterhouse** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:17 pm

Wouldn't it be great to have some idea from Korg of:
- when they plan to release firmware
- what they are likely to include
- what is in the realms of possibility and what is never going to happen

How could we persuade them that being more open in this way is in their interests?

Perhaps a petition? Send it to Korg product specialists on LinkedIn? Try to involve websites like Sonic State?

Any ideas?

MaartenNl · Post by **MaartenNl** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:39 pm

I'm just as curious as you. I think we have to find a way to combine pur collective power and ask it to sonic state first. Another thing: does Anybody ever tried to call korg? Cause i red that Some people send Some e-mails, but if you call straight to Japan, if that is possible, we have more chance.

Also, iTS important that we have one spokesman for this call, wich representeren the people on this forum, for example:

korg: You are speaking with kolg, how can i help you?

Korgforum-Guy: hello, i am the representative from korgforums. I represent a Large Group of fans of your product(s), we have Some questions about the korg electribe series, can you connect me with the person who's in charge of the electribe?

Frenzies · Post by **Frenzies** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:51 pm

It's an interesting one this.
I started buying hardware in the early 90s when firmware updates were non existent. We bought it, we used it. If it wasn't what we wanted we got rid of it. Though I can understand that all of these things would be nice my mindset is still stuck in the 90s. I don't expect my items to be updated and upgraded after I've bought them, though I like it when it happens. I'm more concerned with trying to make music, and if it doesn't do what I want I'll get rid of it.
I live 5 minutes form the Korg UK hq and have dealt with them a few times and their service is usually excellent, though they are obviously hamstrung by the information they are getting from Japan.

DiscoDevil · Post by **DiscoDevil** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:09 pm

Back in the 90s, companies released fully featured products and didn't expect people to pay to be beta testers.

Frenzies · Post by **Frenzies** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:13 pm

DiscoDevil wrote:Back in the 90s, companies released fully featured products and didn't expect people to pay to be beta testers.

There is always that.

brambos · Post by **brambos** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:26 pm

DiscoDevil wrote:Back in the 90s, companies released fully featured products and didn't expect people to pay to be beta testers.

Back in the 90s, there was no internet or social media. Companies were a lot more tight-lipped and inaccessible than today. Technology push was the industrial mantra, basically meaning consumers had zero influence over what would be made and prices for anything were a lot higher.

If you think everything used to be better in the 80s and 90s you have a rather romanticised memory of things.

h.vel · Post by **h.vel** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:57 pm

DiscoDevil wrote:Back in the 90s, companies released fully featured products and didn't expect people to pay to be beta testers.

This is true. Maybe (I'm also started in the 90s with electronic music) there has been some hardware which has been buggy - but it was never that heavy like today.

I have also contacted Korg (in my country) to ask if there will be update(s) in the future. But they told that they also getting informations about it not until it is released.

Would be really nice to know if Korg is planing something - also if they just say: that's all, no updates anymore. Just a bit more informations...

DiscoDevil · Post by **DiscoDevil** » Thu Sep 03, 2015 10:10 pm

brambos wrote:
DiscoDevil wrote:Back in the 90s, companies released fully featured products and didn't expect people to pay to be beta testers.
Back in the 90s, there was no internet or social media. Companies were a lot more tight-lipped and inaccessible than today. Technology push was the industrial mantra, basically meaning consumers had zero influence over what would be made and prices for anything were a lot higher.

If you think everything used to be better in the 80s and 90s you have a rather romanticised memory of things.

I'm 45. I've bought and sold many, many pieces of gear over the years. I did not say things were "better" back then but I will go ahead and say so now. They were. I have a studio full of gear that has lost little if any of it's value over the decades and in some cases is worth more than it sold for 30yrs ago. There's a reason. They made classic instruments that were complete and fully functional upon release. There were firmware updates even in the early 80's but the overall quality was there even on the "budget" pieces. I don't think people are expecting a $400 machine to do everything but there's an expectation that the product will do what it's supposed to do and be enjoyable to use. These days it truly is as easy as putting some resources in to collecting feedback from customers and implementing those requested features/bug fixes/etc within the means of the hardware since it's pretty much all software and DSP these days.

brambos · Post by **brambos** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:34 am

DiscoDevil wrote:I did not say things were "better" back then but I will go ahead and say so now. They were.

The 90s were only "better" if you had a mega-budget. Today, if you have €1500 to spend and you do so wisely, you can have a [nearly] recording-grade setup. And that budget even includes the PC with recording software. Back then (corrected for inflation) you had, what? A sampler OR a box full of generic vanilla piano/organ/bass-guitar sounds?

Times have never been better for musicians.

Frenzies · Post by **Frenzies** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 8:57 am

brambos wrote:
DiscoDevil wrote:I did not say things were "better" back then but I will go ahead and say so now. They were.
The 90s were only "better" if you had a mega-budget. Today, if you have €1500 to spend and you do so wisely, you can have a [nearly] recording-grade setup. And that budget even includes the PC with recording software. Back then (corrected for inflation) you had, what? A sampler OR a box full of generic vanilla piano/organ/bass-guitar sounds?

Times have never been better for musicians.

Or like me you had a Korg 01/w full of sounds that were brilliant, and pads that people still sample today.

brambos · Post by **brambos** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 10:10 am

Frenzies wrote:
brambos wrote:
DiscoDevil wrote:I did not say things were "better" back then but I will go ahead and say so now. They were.
The 90s were only "better" if you had a mega-budget. Today, if you have €1500 to spend and you do so wisely, you can have a [nearly] recording-grade setup. And that budget even includes the PC with recording software. Back then (corrected for inflation) you had, what? A sampler OR a box full of generic vanilla piano/organ/bass-guitar sounds?

Times have never been better for musicians.
Or like me you had a Korg 01/w full of sounds that were brilliant, and pads that people still sample today.

Yes, so? You are actually proving my point. The same kind of budget would buy you a multitude of high quality things today.

The biggest problem is that people feel so incredibly entitled these days. Gear was just as quirky in the 90s as it is today. Things had problems too. It's just that people used to research a product's capabilities and limitations BEFORE purchasing. And didn't expect to get a lifetime's worth of support and upgrades for free.

When my MC-303 got an upgraded OS (in 1997 iirc) the EEPROM had to be changed and Roland happily charged the equivalent of €100 for that. And that was fair. Right now people would accuse them of greed and all sorts of evil conspiracies.

DiscoDevil · Post by **DiscoDevil** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 10:18 am

The 90's is when things started going to s**t. There are a handful of classics from the 90's but overall quality took a dive. Yes, you get more functionality for your money now but the quality has gone down. What you pay $1500 for today, will be worth $500 next year and 10yrs from now will be put out on the curb for the garbage collector. Korg released an unfinished product. No need for all this rhetoric.

apapdop · Post by **apapdop** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 10:34 am

Hehehe... I remember upgrading my Yamaha A3000 operating system in 1998. I had to physically remove a chip and insert a new one, and that chip cost over £100. Plus I nearly sh*t myself doing it...

My faithful Bosch cordless drill, which I've had since 2000 or so, finally packed in the other week. I bought another Bosch, it's smaller, lighter, cost relatively less, has the same power as the old one, but as soon as you pick it up, you know it's not going to last 15 years. It's the same thing across the board. You want to pay less for more? Then it ain't gonna last as long.

Splatterhouse · Post by **Splatterhouse** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 1:46 pm

The thing is, the E2 has a powerful ARM9 micro-controller in it that could do anything from running an Electribe, to a video camera, to a smart phone.

There is 0 probability that Korg COULDN'T fix a lot of the things that we would like fixed. Simple things like MIDI thru are not going to take up lots more program memory or processor cycles, but would really make the E2 into the machine that it should be.

A similar case is Akai MPC and JJOS, where someone who takes the time and care to progress a piece of hardware can work wonders.

The question is whether Korg thinks it's in their interests to keep developing the E2, or switch to work on the next product.

So, maybe if we petition them, or enough of us make our thoughts known to them we can help to push them (and their bean counters) in the right direction.

brambos · Post by **brambos** » Fri Sep 04, 2015 1:57 pm

Splatterhouse wrote:The thing is, the E2 has a powerful ARM9 micro-controller in it that could do anything from running an Electribe, to a video camera, to a smart phone.

There is 0 probability that Korg COULDN'T fix a lot of the things that we would like fixed.

And you were not aware of these limitations at the time you bough the device? Did KORG promise you a minimum number of features that would be added after launch?

THAT is the issue here. These are not a matter of buggy or broken products. None of the things you mention are "fixes", but upgrades. This is about demanding that KORG provide upgrades over time, adding value to a product at no extra cost. Why would they do that?

Don't get me wrong, I like free stuff as much as the next guy. But asking KORG for an upgrade roadmap smells like you feel you purchased a subscription to new features in addition to the actual product you bought.