Electribe review in this months Sound On Sound

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 1:54 pm

Just a heads up for those that were waiting for it. Overall pretty fair assessment I'd say.

colulizard · Post by **colulizard** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 5:48 pm

Hello Erik
Are they reviewing the sampler or synth?

I guess if it's the sampler it's an indication someone somewhere has one that works :

apapdop · Post by **apapdop** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 5:51 pm

Thanks for the heads up. Always good to hear what SOS has to say.

Poumtschak · Post by **Poumtschak** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:39 pm

colulizard wrote:Are they reviewing the sampler or synth?

Help yourself:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr15/a ... ctribe.htm

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:51 pm

Guess I'll read it in 6 months when the article goes public.

The first few paragraphs seem fair enough. I like the description of the e2 as looking "eerily like a soft synth rendering made real."

I also agree that the display quickly defaulting back to pattern name is less than useful. I say stay on the parameter unless you adjust something else, or hit exit to go pattern name.

I try to resist posting my top 10 changes every few days. I wonder if any of my gripes/suggestions are in the review?

10. Needs second insert effect Shift Parameter (distortion needs level!)
9. Anti-aliasing too steep, kills filter res.
8. Needs an autoglide mode where only overlapped notes are affected
7. Give the MG filter high and band modes - perhaps at the expense of the Acid High/Band modes
6. Revoice tape delay to reflect the KP series, revoice short delay to reflect EMX style.
5. Ditch voice PCMs for MicroKorg XL+ style PCMs
4. Higher note res or 4 more measures
3. LFO needs a smooth freerunning fast mode.
2. MIDI effects need to return sequence to where it would have been once released
1. Parts need a roll function - 16th, 32nd, 64th - and a proper arpeggiator.

256K · Post by **256K** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 9:39 pm

Wow a 6 months wait to know that the electribe is, at best, a mediocre and somewhat anti climactic end to a long awaited device from Korg that has really been busting out bangers in other fields.

Leaving in a couple of weeks on a month long vacation where I'll be bringing my tribe and iPad (along with a couple of midi controllers) exclusively so hopefully I'll have a lot more time to get familiar with it.

circuitghost · Post by **circuitghost** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 10:06 pm

Actually, the reviewer seemed to be quite a fan of the entire franchise, and yet decided to not compare this new Electribe to the previous ones, mainly because he felt it's by intention not an attempt to improve, but to try a different direction.

I think it's a fair way to look at it. Disregarding legacy, the Electribe is a damn fine instrument. Regarding legacy, it still is. And so are the other Tribes as well. I guess there's just more flavours now.

Spheric El · Post by **Spheric El** » Fri Mar 20, 2015 8:09 pm

This is an excellent review and I haven't quite finished it.Its deffo a nice read,even if he is going over stuff we already know.

farfisa · Post by **farfisa** » Sat Mar 21, 2015 1:11 am

"eerily like a soft synth rendering made real."

Gold! Life imitating life!

123taste · Post by **123taste** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:57 pm

here https://mega.co.nz/#!qBcBmA4L!YpgBn9KN- ... gmLR1SJ144

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:10 pm

Thanks, man!

Reviewing the review:

Overall, a fair appraisal. High marks given to the warm and smooth filters, waveform variety, and the usual performance-based praise-points.

The "single edit" approach was vindicated by the sheer number of oscillator types, and it seems like the general approach was embraced once understood.

I didn't see many of this forum's pet gripes represented - the glitches, the tame voicing, the odd choices, the counterintuitive behaviors. But some of the restrictions did get a mention - the bar limit, the extensive menu and shift workflow.

So pretty good, and certainly defends it against the scorched-Earth naysayers.

What attracted me to the Electribe line in general was a years-long thirst for an affordable DSP hardware 303 substitute. Finally, in 2014, Korg had an "Acid" filter model running on a step-sequencing box.

But as I learned with a sigh, you can't program step-specific slides, nor can you simulate accents other than raw velocity bursts.

But most annoyingly, filter resonance gets quieter the higher cutoff goes, the result of aggressive anti-aliasing filtration - making a decent filter model completely useless in the range that gives a 303 it's signature sound.

I'd gladly trade paraphony for the ability to run the filter models and oscillators in a higher quality mode, where the frequency cap for overtones and root notes is higher and the anti-aliasing kicks in just out of hearing range.

dutchcow · Post by **dutchcow** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:26 am

The SOS review is not that good in my opinion. And it is easy to not compare it to previous models but with a product called Electribe 2 you best also mention and compare with the previous models. If Korg had intended this to be a new product they would've chosen a new name.

The box lacks so much that even the low price doesn't make up for it. Look at what Roland put out in the same price segment with the JD-Xi. Analog synth part with full ADSR and tons of polyphony.

The E2 sucks either due to bad coding or hardware that lacks beef. Either way Korg didn't do themselves a favour when they hurried product out on the open market. They are lucky it didn't got burning reviews like the Rhythm Wolf got.

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:08 pm

dutchcow wrote:The SOS review is not that good in my opinion. And it is easy to not compare it to previous models but with a product called Electribe 2 you best also mention and compare with the previous models. If Korg had intended this to be a new product they would've chosen a new name.

The box lacks so much that even the low price doesn't make up for it. Look at what Roland put out in the same price segment with the JD-Xi. Analog synth part with full ADSR and tons of polyphony.

If you think the e2 lacks so much compared to the EMX that it's not a real electribe, I'd be interested in your top 10 list of missing features.

In some ways e2 is more limited. In some ways, it's more flexible and relevant for this decade. It's a lot higher quality in terms of sound. You know that stuff that comes out the outputs?

Roland made a shiny plastic baby-key synth aimed at teenaged beginners and twee youtube demonstrators. It's got poly. You get 2 voices of last generation VA (supernatural engine), a standard PCM drum section, an analog mono voice, a few effects, and a basic sequencer.

The JD-Xi is a deep menu diver - the front panel controls are few. And everyone is excited for Roland's return to analog. But the Analog synth is mono, extremely simple, and the cutoff for the analog filter steps. Yes, it stair steps with audible low-res MIDI values. As do ALL THE PARAMETERS.

It's good to discuss the e2's limitations. And the JD-Xi will turn lots of people on. But let's not pretend a 4-part stocking stuffer from the late-to-the-analog-party-guests at Roland can scratch the groove creation of the e2.

meatballfulton · Post by **meatballfulton** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:03 pm

As someone who has been (still) thinking about buying, I read the review (paid my 99 cents) and it calls out pretty much every issue that's been discussed here in the forum.

The two most important takeaways:

-- Korg really needs to fix the many bugs unless they want the Electribe to become the laughing stock that the Waldorf Blofeld has become.

-- The author suggests "the emphasis has shifted from speed and spontaneity to preparation, performance and production" and whether this is good or bad he leaves for the reader to decide.

So I think it's a balanced review and certainly confirms the concerns of the folks here. Depending on how much more lukewarm reviews arrive from the other rags, maybe Korg will man up on the bugs.

I guess at this point my buying decision is made, I'll be passing on this unit. No instrument is perfect but too much of the potential I saw at first is counterbalanced by compromises and bugs.

Ted3000 · Post by **Ted3000** » Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:33 pm

I disagree a little with the reviewer. I don't think emphasis has shifted from speed and spontaneity (you still tap in beats and quickly change up sounds with a knob) nor do I think that the EMX wasn't a good production or performance machine (duh), nor did you not benefit from preparation on the 2003-era electribes. (who performed live with blank INIT patterns, anyway?)

I think the reviewer is searching for a way to define how the streamlining and changes make the e2 different, and failing to describe that evolution well.

I also think he missed most of the gripes and glitches we've uncovered.

But still: The review was mostly fair. Everything I liked about the EMX is in the e2, but at higher quality and paraphonic. Everything I disliked is gone. Also missing are some other things I'd like. But for the price and what it does, it's a no-brainer. For the price of 3 used Volcas you can have something much better.