Deciding on E2 or E2 Sampler - A few questions

JoyrexJ9 · Post by **JoyrexJ9** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:14 am

I'm torn on which one to pick up.

I was dead set on the E2 for the extra synth sounds and filters. Then it dawned on me, I have a Microbrute, Ultranova & Volca Bass + Keys, these should be able to provide all the synth sound sources I need. So....

A very simple question, but one I can't find confirmed anywhere: if I sample into the 'E2 Sample', can I play that sample back pitched over several notes? I know the Volca Sample can not do this.
If so would sampling single synth notes like this, actually sound any good when played back melodically?

Given the other synths I have, will I miss the built-in oscillators & filters sources on the E2?

apapdop · Post by **apapdop** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 10:00 am

Yes, you can play a sample chromatically accross the pads and in different scales too. If you play it at a pitch too far from the original sample pitch, it will sound very different indeed. Depending on your tastes, this might be a good or bad thing. Setting up loops can lead to good results too. The filters on the sampler are perfectly decent, but if filters are your thing then the ones on the synth version offer a wider pallette. But the sampler has built in synth waves, which are pretty good out of the box, plus you've got all those other synths ready to do synth duties... so why not use the sampler for more off-the-wall stuff?

JoyrexJ9 · Post by **JoyrexJ9** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:26 am

Fantastic thanks, this probably seals it for me.

I suppose once you get much more than an octave from the original root note it's going to start to sound strange, but I can live with that (I think!).
I guess layered multi-samples grouped across the keyboard range is way too pro a feature for this?

You hit the nail on the head, I have plenty of stuff to do my 'synth duties'. Fun as I'm sure the synth engine in the S2 is, it's never going to come close to something like the Ultranova. I'll lose some immediacy in sound creation, as I'll need to do much off it "offline" outside of the E2S, but gain flexibility in the long run.
Plus I can generally make better use of the Ultranova, as it is monotimbral

colulizard · Post by **colulizard** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 12:10 pm

I guess layered multi-samples grouped across the keyboard range is way too pro a feature for this?

Yes, it is.

However... you have 16 pads to assign samples to. So if you have the same sound as three samples in different octave ranges, just assign these to three pads and use them accordingly. Worth a try.

I tend to use my sampler for rhythmic / drum patters so haven't tried this - but I can't see why it wouldn't work

gizmoismogwai · Post by **gizmoismogwai** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 7:01 pm

colulizard wrote:
I guess layered multi-samples grouped across the keyboard range is way too pro a feature for this?
Yes, it is.

However... you have 16 pads to assign samples to. So if you have the same sound as three samples in different octave ranges, just assign these to three pads and use them accordingly. Worth a try.

I tend to use my sampler for rhythmic / drum patters so haven't tried this - but I can't see why it wouldn't work

This would absolutely work, though it might require you to think about your musical idea in sections rather than being able to play it perfectly through. One way to do it is to play the part as you intend on one part, then copy that to the other 2 parts. Now change those samples to the ones that will sound good for the notes in that range, and then use the step editor to omit whatever sound doesn't need to be on a particular part.

Then resample this to get it down to a single part.

JoyrexJ9 · Post by **JoyrexJ9** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 5:37 pm

Nice idea.

In a weird way these sorts of workarounds to the limitations of the Electribes are part of the appeal for me (and using 'hardware only' when making music in general)