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.

Sclr

October 8, 2012 @ 12:37 am

The first useful sampler i got. I have owned three of them over the years and finally moved on to the esx. But this thing is so instantaneous, easy and fun to use, i miss it. Surprisingly you can make some great bass lines with some longer bass tones and real time tweaking of the pitch knob.
Useful tip: you can load the es1 mkII os onto the older es1. giving you a mod delay that replaces the wah effect.

dan

September 17, 2012 @ 9:06 am

Hi, lots of love for the little machine... Does anyone has the ES-1 (mk2) service manual and willing to share it? Apparently impossible to find online.. Big thanks !!

ekho

April 21, 2012 @ 9:13 am

I got one off Ebay for 75euros and must say it's really great. Totally intuitive interface and quite a good sound.

Cool little machine to make rythms out of samples. Very fast.

Im' happy :)

Ed

April 4, 2012 @ 1:21 pm

Scored one of these on ebay for $180 US. My first drum machine/sampler, and definitely worth it. I haven't had any problems with it thus far, but song programming is a little tedious and requires some concentration. However, even though I'm a noob, I'm certain that the ES-1's interface is much better than many machines out there. Great for sound creation and rhythms, what have you. Probably the weakest part about it IMO are the effects, but I don't really use them too much anyway.

Overall as a first sampler/drum machine, I highly recommend it. Once you figure out the interface, you're fine.

Racer

March 9, 2012 @ 6:17 pm

I love this thing. the electribe series, lets be honest, make a case for ease of use over sound quality. and I raise my glass to that. I can't spend my whole afternoon scratching my head. an ES or EA won't exactly have you sounding like Boards of Canada, but they'll have you dancing in your bedroom in 10 minutes flat. and what's really important here? c'mon ;)

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