I bought from ebay so i could use the not as described to return
To be honest id like to sort it out as id sounds great
How can i find out if its from the early batch?
Thanks
I bought from ebay so i could use the not as described to return
To be honest id like to sort it out as id sounds great
How can i find out if its from the early batch?
Thanks
Id try to contact Jurgen from Jomox directly. Ppl say that he rarely responds to emails and if he does heās rude but other people say completely opposite things, some apparently talked with him on the phone for hours, so try your luck, you have nothing to lose imo.
Agree I mean the weak point of the Jomox is the sampling and project management. It is limited compared to Elektron but I bought mine for tge awesome kick, snare, and hi hats. Those blow away any Elektron sound. I use my Elektron gear more for sound design and sampling. Jomox is to get down phat house, trance, and techno beats. LXR02 has similar weak points but better sequencer and project management but nails industrial and techno drums. Then again other drum synths like my DFAM do not have anything but bare bones and sound great. I record into my DAW anyways.
I emailed Jurgen to explain what the samples consisted of and he never replied. Hopefully I do not need a repair or anything. Elektron responded to my recent questions right away. Jomox sound > Elektron but Elektron support and Elektron features > Jomox
Somethings up. If you donāt get a rapid response from Jürgen that fills you will confidence whatever is up is resolved I would return it rather than go round in circles.
We pay too much for this type of stuff to wear other peoples mistakes.
I have had mine almost 12 months and itās no elektron but operationally its been fine.
I need same more objective perspectives here pls!
I was thinking of getting an AB but tbh⦠it have second doubts; im not sure whether itās worth it. Ofc that worth is something that everyone should determine for themselves but im starting to doubt that itās worth 2000 euros really and itās would like to hear more from you guyz who think itās well worth it for you. I mean, ppl say it sounds good but how good can it sound. Iāve listened some demos online and i sounded good but not as good as letās say Vermona DRM-1, which is a different story, no sequencer, no modulation and efx, itās just an analog synth but itās raw sound is rich and creamy. The down side is that it not much versatile and id like to have something more of a wider range of sounds. I have a Syntakt and tbh im not impressed with its, to my ears, cardboard sounds, quite flat at times but it can sound good enough tho. I also have DN2 that often question if I need anything else. It can produce some interesting drum sounds and ofc it comes with all of the benefits of Elektron sequencing and modulation. I also have an LXR-02; cute and fun but sometimes too distinctive and unapologetically digital. Only other drum machine/synth that interests me are the Nords, which are also just synths and the Alpha Base mk2. Problem that i have with AB is that it only has two analog synth voices, an FM synth and the rest are samples that are apparently problematic change with your own. Also that sequencer is rudimentary, an mk2 can parametar-lock 3 parameters per step, which is probably good enough but LFOs can modulate only pitch afaik. So what am I missing here? 2k euros is a lot of money! And good is for more experimental stuff? Iām not a house music guy so thereās that too
I swapped my AB MK2 for a MK1 version because of this;
The MK1 version is much much more stable. Yes you have the learning curve cause Jurgen is simply not good at simplifying user interfaces, they always turn out way too complicated in my opinion. But the MK1 does what it needs to do.
For me the AB stands out because of this;
High audio dynamics and headroom.
There is always room for more sound, everything holds its character. Like what good acoustics do to a symphony orchestra. The AB has just so much of it.
Highly articulated mid and high end
Simply the best sounding hats, claps, snares Iāve heard on any device. The exact right crunch but also transient. You know that feeling when hats are introduced in a track they can feel out of place and you donāt know what that is? That does not happen to me with the AB. They sound good, groovy and sit really well with the rest. Also, Iām not a fan of claps, but thatās because they are hard to get right. Not with the AB. This is also the reason why all samples on the AB sound really really good. Of course this has everything to do with the extreme dedication Jurgen had with designing the analog circuitry.
If this sound architecture would be available in an Elektron Analog Rytm style device I would easily pay ā¬4000.
Iām using the AB with an external sequencer (DT2). Work perfectly because everything is MIDI CC mappable. Now you have best of both worlds, perfect sound and perfect sequencer (p-locks and LFOās, CTRL-ALL included)
My current setup is Alpha Base mk1 and Digitone 2. Pair very well together because AB have full MIDI CC support and can be sequenced/modulated with DN2. Also the out signal from AB is mono, so you can put a kick separately from other drums and use it with DN2 sidechain compressor, or use Overbridge for even more processing fun. Iām also sometimes thinking that DN2 might be enough, but the drums on DN2 have a different flavour. The drums on AB are more juicy. Even though AB have only two analog voices, the signal path for sample drums are fully analog. It also have a certain crunchy sound when you lower the pitch. I would say try to find a second hand AB mk1, for lower price. If you didnāt like it, I believe you can sell for the same money. Also I emailed Jurgen once, and even the reply wasnāt instant, he was quite helpful with my question.
Pssstā¦hey you : Look for a Jomox Airbase 99. I heard it has many more analog models/tracks than the AB. I heard it reacts pretty good to external midi. I heard it bangs like hell ! I heard it doesnāt has a complex OS so its not riddled with bugsā¦
Great advice! Never researched it.
which nords are you looking into? if its the nord leads/racks and/or the nord drum series, they should be pretty stable and easy to use
also, autechre used the nord leads/nord racks often back in the late 90s (starting from around cichlisuite/lp5 era) so maybe that should pique your interest if experimental*** is what you want?
***try to keep in mind that āexperimentalā is more of an approach and mindset thing that is more than just āuse x thing in y wayā imo, may be more helpful to get the most out of this sort of gear
Yes! Thatās the sound ppl always mention when talking about AB and it really intrigues me and i want to hear it in person on my speakers but tbh in all honesty i wasnāt that much impressed with demos ive heard online⦠if you have any good example, a link or something you made? Id appreciate!
Also, im not a fan of sequencing it with anything else just bc i love to focus on a single piece of gear that has its own sequencer; if id have to control it with my DN or OT i could stick to my DRM-1 instead or add something like Nord Drum or something⦠I mean is the sequencer that bad? Also, do LFOs control anything else besides pitch?
I believe that it sounds great but a 19 inch rack unit? Sorry i just canāt do those anymore
it was not until I got my Jomox AB MK2 and tested it through nice monitors that it impressed me. It always sounds magnificent with very little processing. In comparison as much as I love my Elektron gear, it requires more tweaking to get it to sound as massive. I think Jomox nailed the analog circuit and filters on their devices to perfection. User interface is not as robust or powerful as Elektron gear but not a big deal. I would love to see Jurgen at Jomox collaborate with someone like Girts at Erica Synths or Elektron on a future drum project as it would be incredible. The sequencer and features of Elektron with Jomox analogue sound would be nirvana.
My experience with Jomox gear lately has been so poor that Iād recommend avoiding that company. The kick is the most compelling aspect of the Alphabase, but it requires additional processing to sound right IMO. An MBase 11 paired with a nice EQ/compressor might be a better proposition. Personally, Iād prefer a nice sampler loaded with good samples.
Yes, i was thinking about Nord Drum 2 or 3. But im waiting to see what will version 4 bring to the table; its probably in the pipeline
Re: experimental
Yes, i agree with you but thereās probably more than a few reasons why in studios of ppl that make more experimental stuff you rarely see a AB. Or read about that they use it.
fair point, a nord drum 4 with the features of the nord drum 2 (that arent present on the 3p) and more features on top of that would be awesomeā¦
as for why studios of people who make more experimental music not often using the alpha base, i dont really know either, besides that it seems to be marketed towards techno and house styles. or at least artists who work in those types of genres gravitate to it more, but im not really sure.
I read this all the time! I guess ill have to hear it on my speakers. Iāll probably buy it in the next week or two; i can easily return it for a refund.
Yes, sorry to hear that! i remember you returning the Mod FM iirc. AB too? Was it buggy or something?