Well we seem to finally be getting demos of a higher standard now. This box really does sound very good for the price.
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Here’s something a bit tangerine dreamy I did, the chords are the A4, the rest the electribe
https://soundcloud.com/smokyfrog/bolifero
(it’s not a proper tune just a quick mute and unmute of stuff at random)
I thought it was Circa Survive’s meet in montauk!(?) hahaha awesome video and song man! thanks for sharing!
Well, I’ve had mine for a few days now, and I’m still on the fence about it.
As for the previous topic on how it compares to the Tempest (which really has nothing to do with Elektron gear but hey, here we are), I think as a stand alone instrument for creating tracks, it’s the better choice. It’s more complete and you’re not cutting corners all the time to compensate for polyphony or lack of fx and so on.
Sonically, though, the Tribe is inferior - it’s a matter of taste, I guess, and I just really like the warm and rough tones from the Tempest and all the weird stuff that comes out of it when you start modulating stuff. With all that going on when you build the sound and then sequences, it’s hard to find something that can match the Tempest in what it can achieve sonically. The Electribe has a colder tone to it, and it’s limited in its soundscape. It doesn’t take you to new places, although it’s version of the familiar is quite vast and versatile.
Korg has made clever choices in what you can do with what’s in the Electribe. The combination of it all makes it the better choice if you’re looking for an instrument that can produce more complete sounding tracks. There’s nothing to match it in that aspect, though I’m sure someone will try at this year’s NAMM.
But for me, the Tempest remains undefeated when it comes to sound, and that’s why I’m keeping it. For me, the question is if I need a production solution like the Electribe, and if so, if I like the sound enough to justify its place in the rig.
But it’s obvious that for many, the answer is yes to both questions and for the price, it’s a damn attractive package. It’s a trailblazer in what you can expect from modern music hardware.
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Agree sort of with andreas. Had the grey one for a month now. I’m using it for the stuff i used the emx/esx for, perfect for jamming rough grooves, (and it sounds fat, clubby, in your face, hell you can even do oldskool jungle on it) but it’s always layered with other instruments, so as to get away from the electribe “character”. As a sketchpad and live performance tool: great. Even as an ableton controller. But i do tend to have to “escape” from it after programming 6-8 channels, so as to complement the quite specific sound of it. I’m not on the fence, i love it, but i think i might sell it at some point to get the black box, the sampler, so as to get more freedom with the basic sounds.
So… I bought one last week, been keeping my eyes on it since it was announced so I was really excited! I Played around with the presets for a while and thought it sounded quite alright. When I started to make something from an empty patch I though “is this it?” in terms of the sounds I could get out of it.
400 sounds and one knob to change the “character”? Was trying to find a good kick and all the knob did for almost every sound was to distorting it, which is already an effect in the effect section…? Am I missing something?
I read through the manual, and gave it a good try for a few days. I found it was really boring to work with, it felt like a toy in terms of creating sounds. Every time I started using it I ended up putting it down and picking up my Octatrack and had a LOT more fun, for hours. It wasn’t what i expected, never used the old electribes so i have nothing to compare it with in terms of how good it is compared to the old ones. It might have been that I just didn’t get it, but it just wasn’t clicking for me. Anyways, its back in the store now. They didn’t give me my money back but I got one of those receipts that I can use to buy something else. Considering Analog Four instead. If anything, its good they are keeping my money in check so I can save up for it faster 
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You liked the presets? I thought they were atrocious, with a few exceptions. (151, yeah!)
And it only got better once i deleted them all and started from scratch…
Btw. The one of the nicest kicks is the one called “warm”, towards the end of the kick section. pitch it down by -19. or more. shorten the decay…
If you were only using the oscillator edit knob to add distortion, you did miss about 98% of the machine, sorry to say…
I love my OT and AR, but i got so into the e2, it was three weeks before i thought of touching anything else. (At which point i had to get away from the electribe sound urgently! Heheh)
But yes, i suppose it does require a certain way of working… No offense if you did not like it, i for example, never thought the a4 is desirable for my workflow.
Hope you get what you need with the A4.
You liked the presets? I thought they were atrocious, with a few exceptions. (151, yeah!)
And it only got better once i deleted them all and started from scratch…
Btw. The one of the nicest kicks is the one called “warm”, towards the end of the kick section. pitch it down by -19. or more. shorten the decay…
If you were only using the oscillator edit knob to add distortion, you did miss about 98% of the machine, sorry to say…
I love my OT and AR, but i got so into the e2, it was three weeks before i thought of touching anything else. (At which point i had to get away from the electribe sound urgently! Heheh)
But yes, i suppose it does require a certain way of working… No offense if you did not like it, i for example, never thought the a4 is desirable for my workflow.
Hope you get what you need with the A4.
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Yes its unfortunate, I was looking forward to it 
Not sure what you mean by “only using the edit knob to add distortion”, as far as i could understand by the manual it only does one thing per sound. And that thing was distortion for kick drums in almost all cases. Obviously there is the other sections too, which i tinkered with. But to me it felt too limited. Like I said, maybe I was doing it wrong, or maybe I was too used to how the OT worked by then I couldn’t change my mindset. Maaaaybe, if i gave it a few weeks i could have appreciated it more, but I was not willing to take that chance. 
Edit: Most of the presets were corny as hell. I just ment it sounded promising moving forward. Especially the 8-bit ones!
The Tempest advantages:
- Better pads w/pressure
- More flexible modulation routing
- 8 bars / 32 beats vs 4/16 or 2/32
- Individual outputs per voice
- Technically more advanced synthesis
- An actual arpeggiator rather than “gate arp”
The Electribe Advantages:
- Legato / glide that works properly
- Free running LFOs
- Easier to synthesize a usable kick drum sound
- 13 filter models including resonant hpf / bpf
- 16 Insert & 1 master FX
- Up to 24 voices (depending on oscillator type)
- Polyphonic sequencing (up to 4 notes)
- Proper MIDI implementation
- Can play ALL sounds via MIDI not just one
- All parts send MIDI not just one
- Fast & easy import/export to SD card including Ableton sets
- PCM sounds are more tweakable
- External audio input
- 1/5 the price
- Smaller, more portable
- Runs on batteries
Honestly aside from pattern length, the Electribe pretty much shits all over the Tempest. From a practical perspective even though it’s synthesis is far simpler, you can actually get much more variety and create sounds much more easily. In fact from strictly a synthesis POV I even like it better than my Analog Rytm. The Rytm edges it in the sequencer department however because obviously p’locks > motion sequence. (not that motion sequence isn’t awesome and totally better than the 4 FX sliders that record steppy automation on the Tempest.
I have been a huge Tempest supporter and got a lot of use out of mine, but after the holidays it’s going up for sale. I mean the Electribe is only a couple days in the wild and already it’s a much more complete and satisfying instrument. [/quote]
Tempest has free running LFOs.
+1
I have a saying "people are pros not machines. If you’re keeping a machine you dont get much use out of because “its used by pros” I kind of think thats a form of self delusion. If I don’t love something after some time I always sell it like I did with my Tempest, octatrack and various other gear over the years.[/quote]
Yeah I have a saying too…'People who can’t make heat on an instrument always blame the instrument.
The Tempest is a beast when comes to making hot beats if you know what a hot beat actually sounds like. If you lack the golden ear, then you don’t have a chance to make anything relevant no matter what you use anyway.
Just because someone doesn’t use an instrument all the time does not mean they are self-delusional; maybe they have choices? Ever think of that?
Yes but only on a monophonic sound locked to a voice. It’s nice to have though.
I’ve spent more time with the Electribe now and it’s really not growing on me. Quite the contrary, as I’m frustrated by the idea I have in my head of what this piece of gear could be, but ultimately is not. But that’s in my head and hardly something I can blame Korg for, unless they’re mind probers who actually planted that thought in my head and then subliminally forced me to buy the Electribe. Those bastards. I knew it.
Anyway. Provided the above conspiracy is not true (BUT IT COULD BE tin foil hat), these are not limitations within the instrument but a clash between my expectations and what it is. Obviously it’s designed for a specific purpose and calling it limited is like saying that the Volcas are limited. They’re not, in what they’re aiming to be.
I’ve made a few tracks with it, I’ve worked with it stand alone and together with other gear, and I’m just broken by my acquired (cursed (snobbish)) taste for pure dirt and having the tools to dig into that dirt as much as I like. I’m hitting bottom too quickly with this instrument.
It actually feels more like an instrument in the Kaoss category rather than Electribe, because the EMX for me is the more satisfying instrument, granted not deep like an ocean either, but still interesting things going on with the effect chains, the LFOs and so on.
In fact, if this had been called the Kaoss Komposer or something, it would’ve made much more sense. Especially since the latest Kaoss products look like the Electribe in terms of design and material.
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This was really great, enjoyed it very much!
I have a saying "people are pros not machines. If you’re keeping a machine you dont get much use out of because “its used by pros” I kind of think thats a form of self delusion. If I don’t love something after some time I always sell it like I did with my Tempest, octatrack and various other gear over the years.[/quote]
Yeah I have a saying too…'People who can’t make heat on an instrument always blame the instrument.
The Tempest is a beast when comes to making hot beats if you know what a hot beat actually sounds like. If you lack the golden ear, then you don’t have a chance to make anything relevant no matter what you use anyway.
Just because someone doesn’t use an instrument all the time does not mean they are self-delusional; maybe they have choices? Ever think of that?
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If you’ve got lots of spare money then by all means do whatever floats your boat. But if its just sitting there gathering dust my philosophy is sell it and try something you might actually use regularly.
By the way I wasnt having ago at either of those machines (Ive owned both very much liked the Tempest and still have the RYTM) just the attitude that some machines are “pro” and some aren’t. That attitude is a bunch of ass.
Really got excited when I saw the announcement for this. On paper it’s almost the groove box of my dreams, but I think the negative experiences posted here are probably what I’d have too.
I’ve yet to find any demo, even the ones posted here, that convince me it actually sounds good.
I used to have the EMX-1 and it was a lot of fun, but I was never able to get past this hard tone that it had.
I wasn’t terribly convinced by the King Korg either last time I tried it out.
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Sorry, not posting any sound demos on here because my tracks (lots of e2, lots of AR) went straight to the record label. (Contexterrior/Tuningspork) Will post them once they are out in march, hopefully.
All i can say is: don’t let the youtube and hobbyist demos fool you. And don’t listen to the factory presets.
ordered mine!!! can’t wait… I’m glad i resist to teenage engineering to invest in that!
Cool
It just seems universally that its wimpy sounding Like every demo sounds really weak.
I’ll say one thing about the E2 - whimpy, it’s not. It has a hell of a punch and can break through brick walls.
For me, I’m just not a fan of its voice, and the cutbacks Korg has done in its workflow. But there’s nothing wrong with the Tribe, I’m just more of a Tempest guy.
But I’ll have to admit, it gives the impression that as long s you’re ok with its sound, it’s the groove box you need. This isn’t necessarily true, because I still think it sounds cool enough for me to make some solid music on it. But there are short cuts in the work flow which I don’t enjoy. And I could learn to get past that, like I’ve done with all the Tempest issues one might have because what’s in there is what’s worth it, but I just like my grid visually laid out as notes in the display, I enjoy tons of modulation, I like to have multiple live fx accessible without tweaking the sound itself, I like creative beat switching, I like stutters and rolls and reverse beats and all that.
I guess I’m damaged.
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