28 thoughts on “Hercelot On Korg Electribe”

  1. im really disappointed they took the electribe in a less professional direction, in terms of synthesis options, sequencer features, etc… in many ways its less capable than the EMX ESX series

    maybe they will make a “pro” version or something

    1. The synthesis on the new e2 is much better. Maybe the sequencer is a little more streamlined at 4 bars, but the synth engine is fantastic in comparison with previous electribes. (Of course, no electribe can compare to a full VA with independent ADSR and true polyphony.)

      The EMX had a steppy generic multimode filter.
      The e2 has a bunch of smooth analog-modeled filters from the King Korg. (Moog, 303, MS-20 in low, high and band modes)

      The EMX was strictly monophonic with a “chord oscillator” workaround.
      The e2 has 4-voice paraphonic behavior.

      The EMX had a very limited LFO Modulation section.
      The e2 has a long list of sources (various LFO wave shapes, EG output) and destinations (such as cutoff, pitch, FX control, oscillator control, etc.)

      The EMX had a handful of oscillator types.
      The e2 has a ton of oscillators (analog, VPM, X-mods, rings) that have a dedicated edit parameter.

      The EMX had pure cheese for PCMs but decent drums.
      The e2 has great PCMs, and INCREDIBLE drums.

      The EMX had 3x mediocre effects
      The e2 has way more FX types on 16 independent inserts plus a master effect.

      The EMX had terrible reverb.
      The e2 has 3 types of much improved reverb.

      The EMX had gimmicky tubes.
      The e2 has a built-in Kaoss pad.

      The EMX had noisy outputs.
      The e2 has very pure noise-free outputs.

      1. everything you stated hast little to do with synthesis.
        for all its fancy filters and polyphony, i have gotten far more interesting sounds out of the old emx.
        i do think limitations lead to creativity but e2 is straight up gimped on purpose.
        1 param for editing? that figure app on ios can do more ffs.

        i am not going into a debate. hell, i do want emx to drop in price more – so keep it up.
        very glad i sold the e2. having the time of my life with volcas though. so something for everyone i suppose.

        1. “1 param for editing”

          I dedicated oscillator edit knob, which does different things for the ton of different oscillators. (Such as detunes a pair of saws, or does a bit reduction, etc.) You can still change the pitch, sweep cutoff and res, apply an LFO to plenty of destinations, tweak the speed and amount, change the filter model to one of 16, change the mod or amp envelope. You can do oscillator sync, ring mod, x-mod, etc. And you can play chords.

          And it does it all in higher quality and resolution with realistic filter behavior. How is that not deeper than the EMX’s noisy, steppy, lo-res mono synth engine that was limited to 5 parts?

          1. i am glad you hold e2 in higher regard then me. i like korg and wish them success.
            true, emx is steppy and noisy but it has loads of character and you can bend it into incredibly raw mess – completely unrecognizable as emx.

            in re of sounds: having multiple params to edit and automate, and having 3 chainable effects with also 2 params to automate meant you could twist sounds in far more flexible way then e2. i missed polyphony but actually it made me focus more instead of throwing bunch o chords right away (my problem to this day).

            the effects on e2 (no reverb or grain on inserts is bogus btw) are completely vanilla. no idea how someone can dig them, honestly.
            the emx can interchange the chain structure at will and really get incredible timbres.
            automating them takes it into madness territory.

            e2 is all meh. not to mention the bugs and the constant menu fiddling.
            e2 is made for the dj. they saw the emx was used by them alot and decided to streamline for that specific audience. thats not for me.
            sold mine, very happy about it.

            volcas on the other hand i want to sleep with. its a analog modular groovebox.

        2. I am enjoying mine – and I have a few of the old electribes as well – I think the big thing is that even though there are some things I would like on it (independent plain reverb sends outside of mfx and a sustain w/ the envelopes instead of just a an a/dr ) for the price point it is a very fun and capable little machine and the sound engine itself is really nice,esp compared o the old electribes.

      1. yeh this makes sense, but like i said im disappointed they chose to go “cheap” instead of “quality”

        its not exactly a toy, but id say its much more toy-like than previous electribes

        i was hoping for a step towards a more professional direction, in the same league as KRONOS or something… if its super capable and feature packed, I dont mind if its $1000

    3. When Korg originally introduced the Electribe series they were cheap,ok & sequenced 4 bars.Then came the EMX & ESX which cost more were absolutely amazing & sequenced 8 bars.Hopefully they’ll do something similar again.In the meantime I pass but I’m hanging on to my EMX & ESX & if I can find a good deal maybe get another ESX.

  2. Im not a huge fan of the post above dogging the EMX1 it had more thn a handful of oscillator types! the tubes made it sound aggressive as well and the LP filter was great! i have debated selling my EMX to get one of these new electribes but i think i want to have both! they seem too different. maybe after i use an E2 I will think differently but it is too early to tell for me.

  3. The quintessential example of a track that sounds like it came from one box. Doesn’t really make me want to try one.

    1. Since you have great taste and mad skills (as we all do), it should be no trouble at all for you to make a demo that’s 20 times better than the one above. I mean, even a tame and limited tool in the right hands – yours – would be incredible.

      Or do you need to see it embraced by a famous tastemaker in your favorite genre before you decide that multiple VA synths, drum samples, sequencing and effects in a neat box is something good? It’s $400, it’s great.

  5. These things look like fun, but sound weak af to my ears. Perhaps it is just the people that I have seen use them, but I have yet to hear anyone make these things sound good.

  7. for the record,

    i have played the emx together with ipad. wasnt even funny how bad it compared.
    trying not to hate – some kids may indeed do nice music with it but for me e2 is one of the biggest disappointments.

    its good sequencer and a midi controller. nothing more for me.

  9. still very hush about the sampler… starting to get worried considering the hype of this and its abilities vs the non hype of the sampler (and its non abilities?)

  10. I call my es2 The CD, it’s so right it’s almost sounding bad, like there is a mastering chain at the end of it.
    I’m still learning to think in that box…to fuck it up!

  11. I have found the EMX1 and E2 to play nice together as a pair that compliment each other rather than replace … but I did buy the e2 hoping it WOULD replace the EMX .

    Considering all the functionality that korg have in their own Gadget app this piece still feels very hobbled, especially for LIVE sound creation and sequencing, it takes many button presses on the E2 to do what was either on the front panel or just a shift function away on the EMX 1

    1. excellent point. right on the money.
      everyone is saying: why compare it to emx, its not a successor (dont know what the number 2 stands for though) and so on.
      but in the age of apps you have to do better man. gadget, polysix or ims20 kill it sonically, and even workflow wise. it is a great controller for those apps though. no friggin cc automation because “fck it” who need that right.

  15. I actually like thhe E2 but I will say that I still prefer a Monotribe for its sound. Maybe it’s less prone to any genre except acid or techno but it’s a very good sounding box and half the price. Also the monotribe can be modded to the extreme. The monotribe sounds great with a Strymon Big Sky and a Boss TE-2, which is what mine is hooked up to. Check out Darenager on YouTube, he’s done some very impressive mono mods and he makes some killer music with them.

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