JoMoX Alpha Base Analog Drum Synthesizer

Great stuff! you wont be disappointed… its a beast. :thup:

1 Like

got my AB today!
First and foremost, it is beautiful and feels solid.
First steps with the interface were really easy for an Elektron user :wink:
Tweaked the Kick and the Mbrane. First minutes with It, it seems higly usable and extremly versatile and of course, sounds great!
I was a bit affraid of the 909ish sound of the kick, but i think I will like it. The attack is crazy!

1 Like

Is there a way to edit the micro timing of each note?
This is the only feature feel I am missing now :confused:

As far I know you cant unless you turn quantization off and play it in? Sorry am not very useful here as I sequence it externally but I’ll try later tonight and revert.

How are you finding it?

Hi!
I am pretty sure quantize cannot be turned off :neutral_face:
It is a shame because i actually like the sequencer appart from that!

I am still on first impressions, but i like it so far. i will come back here to share my thoughts in a few days. Still have a few days to decide if i keep it or leave it! :grimacing:

1 Like

what are you using to sequence it Nikarga?

Cirklon

1 Like

Hi everyone.

That is it! I will keep my Alpha base! :heart_eyes:
I sold my AR to buy it. Feature Wise, it is nowhere near what the AR can do so at first i had a lot of hesitation.

BUT : what the AB does is nicely implemented i think. it is quite a pleasure to tweak it.

AND IT SOUNDS GREAT. VERY DISTINCTIVE SOUND.

  • The kick is sick, and has a very distinctive sound.
    the 2 differrently reacting pitch envelopes, various noise sources and numerous other parameters makes it very versatile. and oww my god it is punchy. Not sure it can get insanely subby but it is definitetly punchy!
    The various kick engines of the Rytm were so good and numerous that i can’t say that the jomox is better, but i am certainly not disapointed. Getting sounds i like is instant wereas i felt i had to tweak more on the Rytm.

  • The Mbrane is also very versatile with 2 osc with 2 VCF and 2 VCA, osc interaction, various source of noise, LFO ect…I have a hard time to produce different kind of snares but i think the root cause is my limited sound design abilities…this engine is sure powerfull.

  • The hybrid sample channels 5-6-7-8 are completely analog appart from the sample source. they have a self oscilating filter and a dedicated noise source. I am not an expert but i quiclky got GREAT SOUNDING analog toms and claves tweaking it!
    I really like it so far.

  • parameter lock is limited but ok for me. You get 2 parameter locks per step max.
    One is hard wire to pitch the other for a selectable parameter. I think there is one more parameter lock “per track” but i don’t know how it works yet…

  • i like the live recording feature a lot! very easy to use.

  • Midi implementation seems quite extensive so the machine should be easilly driven by an external sequencer for more Advanced features.

  • instant preset change, you can load a completely different kit and parameters instantly. Multi kits allow you to instantly load a new sound per voice (instantly swap kick presets for example)

Cons :

  • internal sequencer : No microtiming. Impossible to turn off quantization! :disappointed_relieved:
    you only get a shuffle per track. Lets hope for a future firmware update :crossed_fingers:

  • internal sequencer : unable to edit note length. notes can only be 1 step long! maybe i didn’t find the parameter??

  • poor visual feedback / screen resolution too small… each parameter is displayed with very few letters witch makes it difficult to read.

  • enveloppes are weird sometimes. if you want to set a simple Attack decay enveloppe with no sustain/release, the decay tail is quite abrupt… in the end i always managed to get the engines sounding the way i wanted but…it is a bit weird…

  • As you are working you constantly have to save your patterns and sounds to RAM before you store it in the Flash Memory. Saving to RAM is litterally just the push of a button but if you don’t you easilly loose everything if you accidentaly change pattern (happens often). I don’t know … i quickly became used to it but it is a bit annoying … weird

more later, especially on the HH specialized engines!

6 Likes

Still happy with my AB…but

The live recording feature is buggy. After sending 2 questions to the jomox team via email, I can saddly report that they doesn’t respond at all!

Its a small team and Jurgen personally answers all the support emails.

I know an early adopter of the AB spoke to him via phone a few days ago and he is actually travelling at some art/music fair thingy and wont be around for a week or so…

1 Like

I sent my email on november 8th…
What is the a forum where the jomox community is the most active?
If it is a small team it would be interesting to group all the bug reports / requests in a single thread before sending it to jomox.

Judging by what I read on German forum sequencer.de, JoMoX seem to have a horrible track record in software development, so I wouldn’t hold my breath. Also, responding to customer inquiries doesn‘t seem a priority for them.

It seems with Jomox it either works or your fucked unfortunately.
That guy has extremely questionable business practices

2 Likes

I recieved my box with OS 1.25 one month ago.
I saw on the website that many updates were done earlier this year, meaning some work is done to correct the problems.
Appart from that live record thing, i haven’t experienced other bugs. Overall the box works great, that is why I decided to keep it (bought it new with a free return Policy).
I hope my support questions will have answers though…

I know some have had very binary experiences with Jomox products in the past, and appreciate Jurgen can rub folks the wrong way… :joy:

But - the guy is an f*** wizard when it comes to circuit design, and the AB blows any Elektron box out of the water when it comes to sound, dynamics and punch… analog VCF/VCA interaction that melts your face off…

I love Elektron products and have owned all their boxes (except the A4/AR MK2s)… i am a huge fan of the OGs and MK1s and my opinion is based on my ears first.

Most haters dont even own one and base their opinion on past experiences with legacy boxes - but thats not an accurate reflection of the AB.

I was an early adopter and spent some time diagnosing/reporting bugs which, for the most part, have been completely ironed out.

By comparison dealers have never seen so many MK2 boxes come back. Theres a reason you can pick up A4/AR MK2s for £800-900 second hand. ABs rarely come up for sale - its pretty easy to deduce why…

3 Likes

My prediction is not many AB for sale second hand is they haven’t sold many to start with

1 Like

How did you report the bugs?

Thats nonsense… Juno, Thomann and Music Store are constantly out of stock. And its more expensive.

Also, its a much smaller company so that curbs supply. Hes been ramping up production because demand is quite high.

Regardless, you wont find an AB going for less than £1100 used.

Initially email - then I called up and when he eventually picked up we spoke for an hour

1 Like

So now you are our ambassador!
Can i send you my feature requests next time you call Jurgen? :wink:

2 Likes