Korg Forums

zzzwol · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 5 Location: England

I hope someone knows the answer...

Reviews seem positive and from the published specs, it looks like the MS might be a possible solution to my needs. However, before I make purchase I need to know if sampled loops will time-stretch accurately to follow 'external' tempo changes when the MS is slaved to an external device generating MIDI clock. Documentation is vague and seems to suggest only delay-FX and the pattern-sequencer follow external MIDI clock. Probably, sampled loops only follow internal BPM.

I hope to use the MS to play back sampled percussion loops and single-hits triggered from my 13-note midi pedalboard while playing guitar along with live musicians (plenty of tempo variaton within songs). I already have a tap-tempo pedal which generates reliable MIDI clock, start and stop messages in use on my home DAW, which could be put into service as master clock generator for live gigs.

I use old versions of Acid Pro (v4) and Ableton Live (v7) at home, but don't trust my laptop to be robust or reliable enough for a live environment. The MS might be an ideal compromise.

TijeO · Joined: 01 Feb 2012 Posts: 3

I am interested in exactly the same thing. I would like to know if i can externally change the tempo on a continously playing loop. If so, I´ll instantly purchase a Micro Sampler!

Telengard · Full Member Joined: 07 Aug 2011 Posts: 237

I will try it out on mine in the next coming days unless someone else already knows the result. I know the microSAMPLER can be controlled as a slave, but haven't tried out changing the BPM on the fly and checking the samples to see if they update as well.
_________________
Korg Gear: Electribe 2, microSAMPLER, Mini Kaoss Pad 2, monotron, nanoKey, nanoKontrol2, nanoPad2
Korg Apps: iMS-20, iElectribe, iKaossilator
Old Korg Gear: Electribe EMX-1SD, monotribe (with MIDI), Kaossilator Pro, KP3, SOS

zzzwol · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 5 Location: England

Cheers Telengard. I look forward to a positive result.

Telengard · Full Member Joined: 07 Aug 2011 Posts: 237

Hi,

Just did a few quick tests and the sample BPM stays the same no matter what the master BPM is. I tried it by controlling the master clock via an external source and on the microSAMPLER itself. The pattern sequencer does update and change properly, but not the samples themselves.

Hope that makes sense.
_________________
Korg Gear: Electribe 2, microSAMPLER, Mini Kaoss Pad 2, monotron, nanoKey, nanoKontrol2, nanoPad2
Korg Apps: iMS-20, iElectribe, iKaossilator
Old Korg Gear: Electribe EMX-1SD, monotribe (with MIDI), Kaossilator Pro, KP3, SOS

zzzwol · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 5 Location: England

Pity. I was hoping sample loops would follow external control and still maintain their integrity as usable loops.

Thanks very much for the investigation Telegard. Ah well, guess I'll have to wait for someone to invent an 'Ableton' pedal...

TijeO · Joined: 01 Feb 2012 Posts: 3

Thanx! I was afraid that would be the case, but not sure. I'm looking for another solution now.

korakios · Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 10:30 am Post subject:

zzzwol · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 5 Location: England

Hold on, let me get this right... Provided I set a loop sample to BPM SYNC = TIME.STRC then it will keep pitch and follow external tempo control. All my loops are non-pitched ethnic percussion so theoretically the MS ought to work well for me.

Anyone actually done this? What is quality of time stretch? I dont need extremes, but enough to blend with the natural tempo fluctuations during a performance.

Aah, renewed hope...

Telengard · Full Member Joined: 07 Aug 2011 Posts: 237

korakios · Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 1:25 pm Post subject:

TijeO · Joined: 01 Feb 2012 Posts: 3

I found this example on the web:

http://en.audiofanzine.com/sampler/korg/microsampler/medias/a.play,m.101000.html

This kind (and quality) of time-stretching is far sufficient for me! I'm not sure about the context of this example though and who placed it on the web etc.

If i can pull this off live with an external tap tempo switch (i'm a guitarist and I want to be able to sync some pre-recorded loops to a drummer by tap tempo) I'll reconsider buying this.

@zzzwol what do you use as your 13-note footswitch and tap tempo pedal?

Else I'll go for the Jamman Stereo, that can pull off most off the things I want to do (reasonably simple stuff), but the jamman can't play keys / midi stuff, what i feel is an extra bonus.

Telengard · Full Member Joined: 07 Aug 2011 Posts: 237

zzzwol · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 5 Location: England

Cheers for feedback everybody. Sorry for late post back.

I agree with TijeO. Stretch quality sounds acceptable for me too. As an interesting experiment, I recorded a bit of a recent rehearsal onto tape and imported result into home computer to analyse tempo changes. One song ranges from 118 - 125bpm. Another song I'm currently working on ranges from 195 to 215bpm. If these results are typical then maybe I could expect 10 percent variation within a song.

From research, experiment and info on this forum, I reckon MS is perfectly capable of doing what I need. I've decided to order one shortly.

As for what MIDI pedalboard and tap-tempo pedal I use. Both were built by me about 2 years ago and both are based on cheap PIC16F628 chip. Work fab with Ableton. Ought to work fab with MS. However, I intend to modify the tap-tempo pedal by making an attachment for guitar so I can also tap-tempo with right hand when feet are busy.

Looking forward to possibilities...