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Ok, so this is fairly straightforward question: What sampler should I buy to go with my electribe EMX? I've really loved my EMX so ESX would be a good one to add, but I really also love what I've heard about microsampler.

Also, does anyone know if I could use the microsamplers keyboard to control emx too? If so, that would prolly be better for me. I'm looking for a sampler to add some vocals to my emx tunes and maybe try to make some oldschool sample-based hiphop beats too... Maybe even chop some of my emx tunes and play around etc.

Thanks in advance!

The obvious choice would be the ESX... The two machines work beautifully together and you would have no trouble familiarising yourself with it.
However i do like your thinking with the microsampler, and am thinking of getting one too (i have the emx/esx combo). Although i am very happy with the esx, the microsampler videos and comments (good and bad) have me intrigued!

Now.. if you have the cash have you thought about the Octatrack?
Man that thing is awsome! I played around with one for around half hour and said id trade all my gear for one! From a performance aspect i dont think it can be beat, but i didnt get to try out the actual sampling/pattern building process.

MPC 500 synchs perfectly with the EMX. You may try it.

The ESX is more of a sampling drum machine than a phrase sampler. The MPC's would be worth checking. Also have a think about the boss SP 505- it's a hidden gem. It has 1hr high quality sampling time, a sequencer, a screen to view your waveform as you chop/edit etc, good effects and a host of other great features.- they are also not very expensive second hand. There is some good demo vids on youtube. Beware if you are looking at Rolands SP samplers- they only have one track- (so you can't mute individual tracks as you play).

If you had too choose between an ES-1 for 220 and an ESX for about 400 bucks, what would you choose?

ESX

I have both and ultimately the ES-1 is disappointing in sound quality, and features on the ESX make it far superior.

[quote="X-Trade"]ESX

I have both and ultimately the ES-1 is disappointing in sound quality, and features on the ESX make it far superior.[/quote]
Ok, but for some simple drum sounds the Es-1 is enough, isnt it? I only want to subsitute the drums of my EMX with samples, so an ESX would be too much for that approach. The Es-1 is fairly the cheapest solution afaik.

Yes the ES1 is sufficient functionally but the reason I upgraded was the sound quality, not the functionality.

But those extra features can come in handy, particularly multiple assignable effects and full filters on each part.

The ES-1 only has a lowpass nonreso filter per part, no envelope/lfos, one assignable effect, and a master delay. And it runs at 3200Khz which just seems to miss that top end fizz that brings definition to the drum sounds. In some ways that is quite cool because it imparts a certain character, but I just found it impossible to make it sound 'modern'.

X-Trade wrote:t found it impossible to make it sound 'modern'.

Ok, that convinced me. My sound shoudl defintily be modern. A lot of people do this acid/techno music which sounds great on their electribes, but I always wanted to achieve a sound character which is not directly associated with this gritty, dirty korg sound.

The microsampler is a good choice. I have a friend that uses one with his 2 EMXs. Its a good choice because you can also use it as a keyboard controller for the EMX.

I have an MPC-2500 and it is truly a beast, but the sampling/saving/loading stunts my workflow a bit. I use my Roland SP-404 far more because of its sheer simplicity.

you might prefer a pad-sampler (like the SP404/505 etc or MPC) over the keyboard of the microsampler. Personally I do because I like pads for triggering one-shot samples and for finger drumming.

the SP-404 works like a treat when using the EMX to sequence it, but still being able to tap out samples and trigger samples with the pads on the fly. has some decent effects but only one on at a time. BUT... its pretty difficult if you want to trim/chop/stretch loops/samples after they are sampled... which the microsampler is better at.

my recommendations on a budget: MPC 500, Roland SP series sampler, microsampler...

otherwise, get an ESX. perfect pair :p

If you have the money, invest in an Octatrack. It's simply out of this world in term of sample processing / sequencing / mangling / effecting / rearranging power, comes with a superfast workflow, designed with live-performance in mind and icing on the cake: it doubles as a MIDI sequencer that's faster and more powerful than the EMX sequencer.... I still use the EMX as a synth in my tracks, but now it's entirely sequenced by the Octatrack.

It's a bit pricey and it has a "OMG WTF" learning curve, but totally worths the time and money you put in it. I insist on "totally worths it": it doesn't sound modern yet, it WILL sound modern in a few years.

P-E wrote:If you have the money, invest in an Octatrack. It's simply out of this world in term of sample processing / sequencing / mangling / effecting / rearranging power, comes with a superfast workflow, designed with live-performance in mind and icing on the cake: it doubles as a MIDI sequencer that's faster and more powerful than the EMX sequencer.... I still use the EMX as a synth in my tracks, but now it's entirely sequenced by the Octatrack.

It's a bit pricey and it has a "OMG WTF" learning curve, but totally worths the time and money you put in it. I insist on "totally worths it": it doesn't sound modern yet, it WILL sound modern in a few years.

Sometimes I think Octatrack users just want to justiify the hundreds of dollars they spent on it :) I think it is a really, totally, cool device, but it is way too expensive for me.

I know that Korg Users are tending to be a bit biased about software, but I actually found a very cheap way of adding something to the EMX without noticably harming its workflow. At the moment, I think it is one of the best ways of using soft and hardware together.

I set up Ableton Live Intro so that it is able to trigger samples via the drum notes. It is easy and simple. I made 9 tracks corresponding to the EMX drum parts. (1,2,3,...7b) If I want a sample to be sequenced by a drum part, I just mute the drum part and drag a clip (sample) into the track.

Same goes with synths which can be also sequenced via the EMX. Just select a channle for the synth and the corresponding synth part triggers it. Very convienent. It does not depend on midi sync so real NO timing problems. Latency is about 5ms, you will not hear it.

I am totally fine with it and it only costs about 250 bucks. Basically the EMX works completely without a PC but if you want to add something, you can turn your notebook on and use a wide range of vsts and samples. The workflow remains as you are still working mainly on the EMX. I only use the mouse to adjust some softsynths but bascially it is pc free.

Sometimes I think Octatrack users just want to justiify the hundreds of dollars they spent on it

Did I tell you about my iPad?

That's the good thing about electronic music: there's no good or bad way to setup your rig, as long as it works for you and you are happy of the results.

Ok decided to go with the microSampler, have had fun with it a bit but haven't really played with it a lot, seems like a fun toy to have! Dunno if the roland would've been better for me cuz of the pads + more sample time.

I guess we'll see in time! Thanks for all the tips.

Marsu wrote:Ok decided to go with the microSampler, have had fun with it a bit but haven't really played with it a lot, seems like a fun toy to have! Dunno if the roland would've been better for me cuz of the pads + more sample time.

I guess we'll see in time! Thanks for all the tips.

Do you mean the Sp series?