Korg Forums

[Ted3000]

This is for anyone who is not 100% clear on Audio Input into the good old grey electribe 2, and I'll explain why I found this important - if your rig is simple, you may too.

Audio Input Jack: STEREO (not mono balanced)

Audio Thru: The Audio Thru setting under global (on/off) passes the input signal to the outputs digitally. This signal is STEREO. Volume is controlled by your source volume, plus the level of the Input Level knob.

Audio Input oscillator type: This oscillator type is MONO. It's a digital sum of the left and right channels. Level is controlled by your source level, plus the Input Level gain knob, plus the Oscillator Edit knob. (Osc Edit goes from Silent at zero, to Unity Gain at 100, to an Overdriven Boost once past 100)

Now, I have a set of cheap powered monitors, and 3 pieces of gear. The electribe 2, Bass Station 2, and a Mother-32.

So the problem - how to get all the audio into the monitors. I was running the Mother-32 into the audio in of the electribe (for effects and to conserve cable), the electribe into the main quarter-inch inputs on the back of the monitor, and the BSII into a second pair of inputs on the back of the monitor - RCA style.

Problem is like most cheap multi-input monitors, the 2 sets of inputs are bridged - meaning it's meant for either/or, and not set up like a multi-input mixer. If you unplug one thing, the other gets louder - which means the impedance load is going to the other piece of gear's outputs. This is not an emergency short term, but longterm this can cause problems. You're just begging to fry something eventually.

But since the electribe's Audio In oscillator is mono I had an idea. We know that the mono summing is not analog, since the same hardware passes stereo audio simultaneously thru mode - as well as stereo audio on the hardware-identical sampler.

When the L/R mono summing is digital, you CAN use an adapter on the Audio In jack - running 2 different signals in, one on the left, the other on the right. No mixer required.

My adapter is a single stereo 8th inch jack on one end, and 2 mono RCA jacks on the other. They don't sum, they maintain L/R.

The electribe 2 is now the heart of the setup. Everything goes in, everything comes out. All I have to do is reserve a part, usually 8, as the audio in - fill a bunch of tied steps in the sequence, and I have a common insert effect, filter, etc to play with. As long as the sequence is running, I'm in business. Mute everything except part 8 if you want to jam on a single price of external gear without drums.

For a little extra stereo separation, I can turn the e2's Thru on at the same time, which puts the dry signal of my other synths hard left and right and can sound neat on wet effects.
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[apapdop]

Cool!!
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If I'm not listening to music, or if I'm not making music, then I'm probably thinking about music.

Volca Sample, FM, Beats, Kick. OP-1, Monologue, Pocket Operators. And an ipad.

[Ted3000]

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www.soundcloud.com/astrospy