DIGITECH JAMMAN LOOPER vs ELECTRIBE SX

pertiet · Post by **pertiet** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:13 pm

Hi,

I hope I won't get killed for this question...
I already bought an Electribe MX (and a Koass Pad 3) but wish to have more possibilities with sampling.
My 'problem' ist that the SX is not really technical up-to-date, I don't like working with PC / laptop and am not sure wether I NEED a SX or not.

I found a DIGITECH JAMMAN LOOPER at Thomann's ( http://www.thomann.de/de/digitech_jamman_looper.htm ) which I thought can do lots of things better than the SX.

Any thoughts??
Thanks...

shabudua · Post by **shabudua** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:16 pm

Like you hinted, it really depends on what your personal needs are. They appear to be very different machines for very different purposes.

pertiet · Post by **pertiet** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:25 pm

Yes, yes, of course, it depends on ones needs...
I don't know much about the SX, neither about other sampling machines...
(recently I discovered Akai MPC 500)
I only know that I wish to have more sampling possibilties than the Electribe seems (!) to offer; I haven't tried one yet... Maybe I should !?

Myabe somebody could tell me some adavntages of the SX that cannot be beat by other machines??

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:31 pm

Audio looping and sequencing/sampling are different things.

That looper is monophonic, so you lose all the nice stereo effects of the EMX if you use it for looping. Same goes for most stompbox loopers, except the ElectroHarmonix 2880.

The Kaosspad 3 does stereo sampling, looping, and effects, and it works great with the EMX. Unlike the loopers, it can have 4 stereo tracks playing at the same time in sync, with full mixer control to set the levels and lighted pads to start/stop/observe them playing.

It still doesn't replace the ESX, however. Instead of the ESX you could use the MPC500/1000, one of the Roland SP404/555/606 samplers, or anything else that does stereo sampling, some looping, some sequencing, and some effects. But the ESX is designed to work very well with the EMX, despite the older Flash memory. The workflow between them is virtually identical. Which of these is better depends on what you want to do.

Dj Pound · Post by **Dj Pound** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:06 am

You can get way more creative and expressive with you're samples using an ESX. Ive contemplated buying another MPC, but the editing possibilites i.e. recording automations and complex resampling are IMHO lacking on the 500 and the 1000. And you really cant synthesize you're sounds on an MPC like you can on the ESX.

pertiet · Post by **pertiet** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 8:34 am

OK - you already made me buy one...

Still there's the problem with data storage. As far as I can see now the only way is to store data within the SX and on Smartmediacards. This seems to me very uncomfortable.
And these questions appear:
is it possible to load data druing live-sessions?
Some of you must have experience with the cards - does it really make sense??
Or is there a workaround with a better solution??

(Oh my god, I hope my english is understandable...)

Thanks
Henning

TrondC · Post by **TrondC** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:47 am

you have to stop any playback to load from the card, so no live data loading I'm afraid.
the cards are very handy, and if you have a card reader for your computer, you can save all the content of your esx onto a card (but you need one of the bigger cards for this), and save it on your computer for backup etc.

pertiet · Post by **pertiet** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:59 am

Puuuuh, its not easy with this baby...
Somehow I begin loving it without having touched it and although its a little bit complicated...

So, one new question comes to my mind: how would I find out wether my computer can read Smartmedia cards or not?

TrondC you wrote I would need one of the bigger ones. You mena the space available (eg 128 MB) ??

Dj Pound · Post by **Dj Pound** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:16 pm

A 128mb card would do, but if you cant find one a 64mb or 32mb card will also work well. I believe a completely full ESX loaded to its capacity with sounds and patterns/songs only takes up 21mb's of room on a card.

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 7:11 pm

There are adapters available to use xD or SD flash in SmartMedia slots. It won't increase the memory capacity or function of the ESX, but it will let you use more modern Flash memory. For the intended purpose of a sampling sequencer, 128Meg is more than enough storage, because you're only triggering lots of short samples to make long songs, not playing/sampling long tracks. If you need long sample times, then the SP-404 is good for that, but it's terrible for sample sequencing (patterns in SP terminology) compared to the ESX.

pertiet · Post by **pertiet** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:14 pm

Hi.

thanks for all the answers and hints - I think I'm convinced...
And as I just had an concert with many people coming, listening and paying I should be able to pay for one SX...

Thanks!!

gil videla · Post by **gil videla** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:39 pm

pertiet wrote:Puuuuh, its not easy with this baby...
Somehow I begin loving it without having touched it and although its a little bit complicated...

So, one new question comes to my mind: how would I find out wether my computer can read Smartmedia cards or not?

TrondC you wrote I would need one of the bigger ones. You mena the space available (eg 128 MB) ??

friend, it's no trouble at all. Just think of the card like an old floppy from the old computer days. No biggie, the card should be sufficient for your needs. I use an xD card with an adapter it's 64megs and it can hold all I need. Trust me man, get the ESX, I love it more than the EMX and the EMX is a performance tool ready to rock the house out of the box.

pertiet · Post by **pertiet** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:45 pm

I was so happy everything seemed easy now...
It is not!
My computer doesn't read smartmedia cards (nor does he read xd adapter...)

Any more thoughts??

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:29 pm

I bet with less than 1 liter of petrol/diesel, you can find a store that sells a USB Flash reader that can read xD and probably SmartMedia. With 20EUR, you can probably buy it and get some wurst and bier as well for dinner. I suggest a making a Radler, which was my favorite German drink. I gotta love a country that makes a Sports Drink containing half beer.

pertiet · Post by **pertiet** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:17 am

LOL...

OK - I guess you're right. I found exactly what you wrote... (but not near my place... this is a place where you get nothing but green trees and wild animals...)

Thanks again