Dynamics mark a bold departure from the older generation which shouldn’t be underestimated. That said, I failed to generate any velocity below 27, despite playing so quietly the pad barely triggered. I found that, from a choice of four levels of velocity–sensitivity, a setting of ‘Heavy’ produced the most even spread of values from my wimpy technique. The drum pads are backlit with Red/Blue/Purple LEDs, so as well as note entry they act as status display. part selection) often require multiple button–presses. Even so, opportunities for improvement remain and functions you’d ideally access directly and consistently (eg.
#Electribe 2 manual series
There are way more menus than expected so it was some relief when, in the first OS update, Korg hastily added a series of shortcuts. Looking around, it was clear that some immediacy has been sacrificed in order to reimagine the Electribe around dynamic pads and menus.
Four multi-colour LEDs change colour ‘in accordance with the playing pattern’ and the only way to turn them off is by enabling power–saving mode, which also dims the LCD. In contrast to its sparsely illuminated panel, the Electribe 2’s underside is extravagantly lit. In a marked departure from previous models, there’s no dedicated Solo button. If I owned an Electribe 2, I’d consider invalidating my warranty and replacing some of the red LEDs with different colours. The active mode’s button glows red, but in a dark area of panel, it’s sometimes tough to tell ‘Part Mute’ from ‘Part Erase’. This is unhelpful (to say the least) to the row of buttons used to assign functionality to the drum pads. the conditions where Electribes are traditionally found) many of the controls become practically invisible. Unless you’re deep in a menu, such an accident will switch patterns in the background, a major downer in the middle of a long and satisfying tweak. The encoders are illuminated, four of them constantly, which should hopefully reduce the accidental grabbing of the main value encoder.
#Electribe 2 manual Patch
The LCD is informative enough but at present has an annoying tendency for parameter adjustments to time out and revert, pointlessly, to the patch name. Catch Mode is simpler and means no adjustment occurs until the knob passes the stored value. In the latter, the values change relatively until the knob’s furthest extent is reached, after which normal behaviour takes over. The knobs avoid awkward value–leaps during live performance thanks to alternate modes Catch and Value Scale. The controls are a mixture of knobs and encoders and, though closely packed, inspire far more confidence than the too–small rubber buttons.
The end result is a solid, sleek and heavy (1.6kg) slab of die–cast zinc that looks eerily like a soft synth rendering made real. The display is monochrome doing its best to be grey. Its grey buttons and knobs are set on a grey background along with a grey Kaoss pad and 16 drum pads in a slightly darker grey rubber. In this review I’ll be referring to it as the Electribe 2, just to avoid confusion with earlier models. Today we’re looking at the ‘Synth Electribe’, more usually called Electribe 2 but sometimes referred to as EMX2 - or simply Electribe. A licence for Ableton Live Lite 9 is slipped into the package, along with additional functionality to export in Live’s own format. Regardless of when and where inspiration strikes, your tunes can be exported, part by part, as loops to be arranged and elaborated upon in your DAW.
Tooled–up with an effect for every part, polyphony and velocity–sensitive drum pads, these ultra–slim pretenders to the throne will even run on batteries. Their would–be successors, the Electribe and Electribe Sampler are lauded as ‘Music Production Stations’ and packed with Korg’s latest modelling technology. By topping them off with effects, motion recording, valves and a brace of individual outputs, Korg set the bar high. Electribes earned acclaim for their direct and intuitive control over sound engine and sequencer. The reign of the Korg ESX1 and EMX1 Electribes couldn’t last forever, but in rapidly changing times for technology, a decade (and counting) is a remarkable run. Sixteen years after the first one was released, Korg have completely revised and redesigned the Electribe.
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