electribe 2, a big disappointment.

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 1:08 pm

I don't think I'm a fanboy. (Don't fanboys have to love and accept everything?) I have a long list of improvements I'd like to see. Did you read my huge boring review of the effects, listing the problems with each one?

But I think if new buyers are scared off, we'll never see any improvements.

Korg isn't going to support a low-selling machine that's perceived as a flop. They're not going to continue developing the OS if the grassroots grapevine badmouths this thing constantly.

I think I made 2 good points. 1 was that the machine needs to be improved, we all agree. Point 2 was that your reaction is a reflection of you, not the machine.

I'm not saying any specific gripe is stupid. I'm saying that declaring the electribe a failure is stupid.

If it does what you want, then the e2 is great. If it does not do what you want, the e2 is terrible! If it exceeds your expectations, then it's fantastic! If you thought it did something it turned out not to do, and you're on a budget, then it's a ripoff. So which is it, really? What's the consensus? How does a buyer decide?

The electribe is a performance groove box. It's not something a fully finished track pops out of, with unlimited everything. But that's how the critiques seem to go.

If Korg made everyone happy, the thing would need to cost $2,000 and it would be the size of a mixing desk, because that's what happens when everyone's suggestions are added into a massive feature-bloated UI nightmare.

RedHouse · Post by **RedHouse** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 1:12 pm

22tape · Post by **22tape** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 7:19 pm

It is what it is. People will still make good use of it. Other's will be disappointed by the step backwards in terms of studio functionality compared its former models. I'm in the market for a more studio workstation groovebox, so I'm with the latter. Sucks though, I'd much prefer a sleeker design than the 13 pound MC-909, but nothing has its functionality 12 years after its release.

MS-DOS · Post by **MS-DOS** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 10:42 pm

Ted3000 wrote:I don't think I'm a fanboy...

right ted,
i will extend you the same courtesy and deconstruct your post in a douchy way and stomp out this mess you call "thinking".
get your comprehending glasses on.

"Everyone knows it could use some fixes and features. But jump into a forum and declare that it's a flop or junk or a toy and expect pushback."

jump on a forum and declare its a flop. my that is lovely. what are you on about please? mind pointing out where i said anything similar? ballpark even? or for that matter anybody in this thread.
i do not know what translation procedure you have going in your head but have that looked at.

i even mentioned the stuff i find great. groove templates are not to be found any peace of hardware sequencer i know of and for a hip hop producer they are godsend. i will get the sampler for that reason alone. it is divinely inspired.

"Fence-Sitters lurk and read. Why spook them and turn your negative declarations into a self-fulfilling prophecy? "

you are not even kidding here are you? so people will read my post and go: "this guy says its not that good. well thats enough from me". fck me i did not think i could sway internet. talk about clutching for straws.
not to mention all reviews are thumbs up...

"Put this thing in the hands of 1980s-era producers, they'd worship you like a god."

so what´s your point here? technology moves forward which is the crux of my argument. forward not back. put this on a box of the product:

"80ties producers would think this is the best sh!t ever." see how that goes.

since i established already that only way for you to argument something is to indirectly take jabs at people, i am not even going into "lazy dj´s that cant cope with 4 bars" i mean, that does not even make sense. like basic logic.
they should be happy for less bars.

fwiw, i do not get this bars limit critique. can you not just half the tempo and choose the 32step resolution? why cant this be a workaround? i dont care because the clickiness killed my vibe to even compose on it. i was actually using beatmaker as a sequencer and electribe as a controller. this worked as a great setup as it works via cck, but since i was not using the synth sounds i opted to sell the electribe and get the sampler for the same duty. also electribe has best pads for me. better than push, maschine, or the mpc. completely honest here.

moving on.

But I think if new buyers are scared off, we'll never see any improvements.

now this, THIS is why i am going on this tirade right now. this is what bugs me because the issue is broader that music products and extremely dangerous way of reasoning.
by this logic nobody should ever give a product a bad review because...what? it may not improve?
damn, this is so warped man. cant you not see it?

your consumer voice is your most important asset in a world that is straight up run by corporations. i am not giving you an socio-economic lesson right now, but for your own sake rethink this.

btw one thing corporations really care about is PR shitstorms. i am not a fan of them, but they get things done. i could give examples, but this is getting long.

also remember that mixer zero hiss? or the glitchy knobs on some emx batches?

I think I made 2 good points. 1 was that the machine needs to be improved, we all agree.

you are confused. that is the point of this thread. you were talking about obscure midi, uncreative people, quitters and generally lazy dj´s.

Point 2 was that your reaction is a reflection of you, not the machine.

aint that zen of you? whats the clicky envelope a reflection of then?
there is a fart joke in there - you will get that later.

I'm not saying any specific gripe is stupid. I'm saying that declaring the electribe a failure is stupid.

again no one said this. the only person thinking and talking in extremes here is you. you did not come to make points. you saw the thread title and jumped on that sh!t in two seconds flat to defend your purchase in some misguided way.

its alright though, just own up your crap and stop this noise.

everyone here likes the electribe i personally just wish it was better. and that is i will admit nobodies fault but mine.

if other people are enjoying electribe - fantastic. i hope for some great music or a genre coming out of it.

i think korg can do a whole lot better.

DrHoo · Post by **DrHoo** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:42 pm

I'm with the op. Only difference is that instead of selling mine i reboxed it & shoved in a shipping container pending future times & ideas. I didn't get far with it before it bored the hell out of me but i'll go back to it one day & see how i feel then. What's the worst that can happen ? ... No, that already did happen !

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 12:14 am

MS-DOS wrote:
right ted,
i will extend you the same courtesy and deconstruct your post in a douchy way and stomp out this mess you call "thinking".
get your comprehending glasses on.

I totally agree with everything you said. You win!

One last question: Exactly what is your stake in this forum, since you no longer have an electribe 2?

(And to answer your envelope question: The clicky envelopes are a reflection of people who don't understand voice modes, paraphony, envelopes, and freerunning oscillators. I don't have a click problem that makes me rant in forums about how Korg needs to get it together.)

22tape · Post by **22tape** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 12:45 am

Ted3000 wrote:
One last question: Exactly what is your stake in this forum, since you no longer have an electribe 2?

I don't own one either. Do I Have a stake in the forum? Or should I leave?

You seem like a great tool. Do you ship with the electribe?

Frenzies · Post by **Frenzies** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:06 am

There are people over on synthtopia who are close to declaring war on each other over the merits of Moog deciding to make an enormous wad of cash by making the System 15, 35 and 55.
It's just opinions.
If someone thinks you are s**t because you decided you can't get what you want from this unit, so be it, and if you think they are s**t for disagreeing with you, well, as they say, opinions are like arseholes.
The people who have already sold theirs are coming on here and having a gloat because they've seen how much better they are than the people who haven't seen the light as to just how badly Korg have got this wrong, and the people who are keeping theirs are coming on here all pleased that they are clever because they are getting more out of the unit than the silly quitters. in the end it's just a groovebox, and it's all just opinions. People really lose their s**t over some trivial stuff.

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 2:07 am

22tape wrote:
I don't own one either. Do I Have a stake in the forum? Or should I leave?

You seem like a great tool. Do you ship with the electribe?

So, you don't have an e2 and you weren't debating me about it in the thread. Maybe you simply enjoy a good synth fight?

That's enough of a stake - you can stay.

I just sold a Jetta. I think I'll register over at the VW.com forums and list all my complaints. "2014 Jetta - A Big Steaming Letdown." If any of those Volkswagen fanboys defend it, I'm going to get angry!

griotspeak · Post by **griotspeak** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:30 am

Ted3000 wrote:
MS-DOS wrote: Selling gear in the first 30 days is for quitters - or people who didn't research.
To be fair, it is also for people who have a receipt and want all of their money back. Keeping a piece of gear because you don't want to be a 'quitter' is a little silly. Keep it because you think it was worth the money. Return or sell it if you don't.

Research doesn't always translate to actual experience.

griotspeak · Post by **griotspeak** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:30 am

MS-DOS wrote: Selling gear in the first 30 days is for quitters - or people who didn't research.

To be fair, it is also for people who have a receipt and want all of their money back. Keeping a piece of gear because you don't want to be a 'quitter' is a little silly. Keep it because you think it was worth the money. Return or sell it if you don't.

Research doesn't always translate to actual experience.

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 9:05 am

I am wondering if people disliking the new electribe would have liked the emx when it came out. Soundwise, the new electribe is clearly better than the emx. It has a less fuzzy output, it has polyphony and drum samples are way better. It is battery powered, cheaper, has velocity sensitive pads. It even has a Kaoss Pad. This is exactly what 99% of the forum members wanted. There are dozends of old thread saying: "why is emx monophonic", "the drums samples sound flat", "i need new tubes, old sound fuzzy", "would be great to have a kaoss pad built in", "i built a battery pack for mobile use", etc. Nearly everything was implemented. Some things have been cutted, some things have to be improved, I agree. Nevertheless, from my perspective, people tend to focus on the bad aspects without mentioning the positive sides.

Nobody disliked the EMX compared to the ER1, eventhough the EMX could not replace the sound of it. For EMX 1 and 2, this does not seem to be important. When the samplers comes out, you have a setuo for 800€, which offers more than any other setup does.

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 2:53 pm

Olivander12 wrote:I am wondering if people disliking the new electribe would have liked the emx when it came out. Soundwise, the new electribe is clearly better than the emx. It has a less fuzzy output, it has polyphony and drum samples are way better. It is battery powered, cheaper, has velocity sensitive pads. It even has a Kaoss Pad. This is exactly what 99% of the forum members wanted. There are dozends of old thread saying: "why is emx monophonic", "the drums samples sound flat", "i need new tubes, old sound fuzzy", "would be great to have a kaoss pad built in", "i built a battery pack for mobile use", etc. Nearly everything was implemented. Some things have been cutted, some things have to be improved, I agree. Nevertheless, from my perspective, people tend to focus on the bad aspects without mentioning the positive sides.

Nobody disliked the EMX compared to the ER1, eventhough the EMX could not replace the sound of it. For EMX 1 and 2, this does not seem to be important. When the samplers comes out, you have a setuo for 800€, which offers more than any other setup does.

Wholehearted agreement!

The EMX has generally settled on a good reputation as a classic, but that was shifting around a lot in the last 12 years. There were points it was considered a Roland-killer (before roland killed the MC series on thier own), a letdown, a sleeper, a eBay bargain, an axe for YouTube D&B heads, a gimmick, and the last great all-in-one.

EMX finally issued with a SD card and dubstep factory patches - a storage format and musical genre that didn't exist when it was launched. It also came down in price by nearly half, adjusted for inflation.

But through all those up and down phases, the EMX had 5 monophonic synth voices, limited effects, noisy outputs, no ADSR, lots of useless PCM sounds, and a rusty ding-prone case with a overly complicated button-based UI.

The e2 addresses some of those shortcomings, adds a few cool features, streamlines away a few others. The reaction: "Wah! This isn't a sequel to the EMX becuase my pet feature is missing!"

thesigma · Post by **thesigma** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 4:17 pm

Olivander12 wrote:I am wondering if people disliking the new electribe would have liked the emx when it came out. Soundwise, the new electribe is clearly better than the emx. It has a less fuzzy output, it has polyphony and drum samples are way better. It is battery powered, cheaper, has velocity sensitive pads. It even has a Kaoss Pad. This is exactly what 99% of the forum members wanted. There are dozends of old thread saying: "why is emx monophonic", "the drums samples sound flat", "i need new tubes, old sound fuzzy", "would be great to have a kaoss pad built in", "i built a battery pack for mobile use", etc. Nearly everything was implemented. Some things have been cutted, some things have to be improved, I agree. Nevertheless, from my perspective, people tend to focus on the bad aspects without mentioning the positive sides.

Nobody disliked the EMX compared to the ER1, eventhough the EMX could not replace the sound of it. For EMX 1 and 2, this does not seem to be important. When the samplers comes out, you have a setuo for 800€, which offers more than any other setup does.

The EMX and ESX expanded and improved on the original series of electribes, without taking steps back. They gave you more, more bars, more sample time, more filters, more synth types, more motion sequences. They gave you new features, actual lfo's individual outs, the ribbon arp, stretch and key samples, and even the tubes( love the or hate them).

The only thing I can think of that I missed from the previous generation is no drum synthesis, and the master delay was wicked in a way that the delay of th x series was not.

As for the e2 series, I am waiting to see what the sampler holds, but I think the emx2 is just not for me. Glad some of you love it though that's just fine.

I have never touched one. I'd like to, I wouldn't buy one without trying it first. I for one am glad that people who liked it posted thief thoughts and those who didn't posted also why they didn't. Doesn't make one group better than the other. I for one don't think it would add anything to my studio. It also disgusts me when companies rush out a clearly unfinished product, I find it quite insulting and they should be embarrassed. Add features with firmware updates, that's fine. Don't release a buggy mess and make users beta test it. And clearly it is/was buggy when released.

Thank you all, have a great day. Try to make some music with whatever you like.

I'll be playing my ESX and EMX today. Enjoy!

ghostly606 · Post by **ghostly606** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 7:30 pm

Really interesting topic, including some cracking insults!

As a new Electribe owner I was a bit disheartened at the clicking and popping but now inspired to work with it and hopefully resolve these issues through creative tweaking.