Korg • ElecTribe/S ES-1
Korg adds a Sampler to their fantastic series of Electribe tabletop modules. "The Electribe-S is a new type of sampler that doesn't simply play back a recorded sound - it lets you aggressively process the samples to create your own signature sound. Play any sound or phrase in and use the pitch, filter and effects knobs to drastically alter the sample." Connect it to the Electribe-A and Electribe-R for a complete studio for under $1,500!
The sampler is excellent and is complemented by synth-like controls for filtering, pitch and effects and a great loop-based sequencer. It can get up to 95 seconds of sampling time, and the sounds are "as fat and gritty as ever". There are 11 effects plus delay that you can apply while sampling, a feature that works great with Resampling to add and layer different effects to each of your samples. You can also use the knobs to modify the tone while resampling a sound.
A new Time Slice Function will cut up samples to make them fit the tempo. Time Slice detects the attacks of each part within a loop (e.g., bass drum, snare, and hi-hat) for simple and accurate loop manipulation. And the "Motion Sequence" function from previous Electribes is also on-board to record real-time changes to effects, filter, and Time Slice Elements.
The Electribe-S provides a Smart Media slot for storing data. 3.3 V Smart Media ranging from 4 MB to 64 MB can be used to store your own sampled sounds, patterns and songs. It can also load AIFF and WAV files via Smart Media, allowing you to take advantage of sampled data stored on your computer. As a standalone or part of a Midi-Studio, the Electribe-S is a very affordable, functional and productive sampler/sequencer. It is used by Nine Inch Nails, The Crystal Method, A Guy Called Gerald, Mouse On Mars, Dead Silence, Praxis, The Prodigy, Crystal Distortion, Freddy Fresh, and the Chemical Brothers.
Must have a Smart Media Reader/Writer and a Smart Media card to do a product upgrade. Copy o.s to smart media card. Put Smart Media card into ES1 and power on holding SAMPLE and GLOBAL. When the display indicates end, power down.
Check O.S. Power on holding RECORD and STOP, current o.s. 1.04
The pots are not fragile and the memory cards are easy to come by.
You can also back up the memory card on your computer or use the Electribe wihout a memory card at all! All the card does is give you more storage for samples, beats, and songs.
The sound is great and all of the paramters are tweakable. You can also record your knob turnings in real time and play them back .
Smartmedia cards arent that hard to find either, a single 32 MB card will give you plenty of storage.