Introduction
When the Korg Electribe 2 came out, i wanted one instantly. I had been trying to piece together a similar instrument using all 3 nano Korg controllers as an outboard control system for Ableton Live. The Electribe 2 unified that control system into its own standalone unit, with “all the voices of the King Korg” from what i hear…
Pros:
- 16 voices/tracks
- 64 quick access patterns
- Good variety of synth waves & sounds (408 with 409 used as an audio in/thru)
- High pass filter included
- Master Compressor & channel effect limiters
- Wet Reverb
Cons:
- 1 “section” per “project”
- Color scheme
- Lack of labels, functions and shortcuts are obscure
- Song does not stay in memory through power cycles
- Naming & versioning is rigid & tedious
Sounds & FX
It does have good synthesis options. loads of voices to start with. Also it has some nice and punchy kicks (missing from the Yamaha RM1X – which only had a few I’d use regularly)…and brought in the ability to switch the main filter from HPF to LPF and BPF, with the ability to add a second filter (LPF or HPF only) as a channel effect. It also unified the X/Y pad as a controller for the master effects, also a “nice touch” pun intended. I had been using the pad controller with the X/Y to control my reverb which was all built in using the Wet Reverb and the X/Y pad on the Electribe 2. Great stuff.
The Korgs also have the ability to motion record on the patterns which is a quick way to add automation to various parameters via knob twists or X/Y pad movements.
Saving
One thing I appreciated about the Yamaha RM1X is the way it remembers what you have in it’s internal RAM or memory, even between power cycles. With the Korg, I have to save the pattern before i switch it or power it down, which makes it a bit more fragile of a system to me, as I sometimes hit the wrong knob to adjust oscillators and instead, accidentally, will hit the knob to switch patterns instead! Yikes! i need a custom knob there with a different color. I tried getting one but the company had stopped offering them online and I’m not sure where to get them (not chromacaps, the official korg electribe 2 knobs in different factory colors, black, blue/silver, red/silver, grey…). But I digress.
No Doubt
The Korg is a powerful unit, I won’t deny. Having seen guys like Mistabishi use it and create amazing music, very dynamic and evolving – and also created my own mini sets at times… I know it is a powerful unit. For some reason, I’ve only used the last 50 user presets, keeping the factory presets, just in case. I suppose i could always try to restore them or save my patterns to an SD card, but I’ve been keeping it to those last 50 presets. Which feels a bit limiting. I’ve filled those all and continue using them as they’re mostly keyed and I’m using the unit for percussive elements mostly these days, not so much leads or synths anymore.
Conclusion
There was a time, however, when it was my newest box, offering the punchier kicks, still giving me 16 tracks, smaller, had high-pass filters, even channel based limiters and a compressor on the master effect…nice wet reverb, all those King Korg synth voices… That was it then. I was using it for synth leads, pads, basslines, drums, effects…everything too… mostly using it to record however. Because I was limiting myself to those last 50 tracks (see previous section, above), I never really evolved into using 3 or 4 patterns per “song,” which, from listening to the factory presets, is a nice way to compose the various sections of the track…at least using the Electribe 2.
The sounds and synth engine do sound great, no doubt. The effects also. I appreciate that there is a master effect, a channel effect and filters, LFOs, oscillator parameters. It does have some limitations but I find that has forced me to be creative. To compose creatively. I do wish it had a longer sequence length than just 4 measures. Like I mentioned before, I’ve heard people use this to great effect, as though it has little to no impact on the way they compose or create, maybe just perform. To me it’s a limitation, considering that I was trying to do it all within the same pattern and didn’t expand to multiple patterns per song or concept. That would really be essential to using this device effectively.
All this being said, I never used the sampler version and can’t speak on that unit.
Want to see how it compares to other grooveboxes that I currently own? Read my full Groovebox Showdown post here.