EB16 worth it?

i love my XL... but time is coming to where i feel i need to "upgrade" or something better for sound manipulation.

is the EB16 worth the $200-$400 they going for??

Spend as little as you can on it . Then you will feel like you got your moneys worth.
The effects ain't amazing but they are quite usable.
The big advantage is you can save all the effects settings to be recalled next time you load the .aps file.
That makes it worth having.
But $400? No way. You can get it for $200 or less if you are not in a hurry. People are starting to sell these off cheaper now so hold out for a good price.

ya im not about to drop $300 on that or anything close to $400...

i guess i will keep my eye on ebay.

thanks man.

You should be able to score one off eBay for $150 or less.

As *Pilchard* said, the FX aren't great, but like the FX in a mixer, you can get some nice results at unexpected times.

If you can find a S3200XL Sampler, these came from the factory with the board installed. You can somtimes score one for less than a loose EB-16 pull.

Keep a watch out on ebay and snap one up quicky if you get it for the right price.
Ive used it before on the s3200xl and thought it sounded quite good.

cool... if i can find one for cheap ill snag it... or ill just cop a 303.

if all fails, ill just upgrade to a newer MPC or new Workstation.

Comrade wrote:cool... if i can find one for cheap ill snag it... or ill just cop a 303.

if all fails, ill just upgrade to a newer MPC or new Workstation.

the 303 is for sure the better purchase. the only thing keeping the price high for the eb16 is because it's special for the akai samplers.

if the thing was an external multi effect it wouldn't sell for 10 bucks.


it does add something because something is more than nothing however dont go into an eb16 with high standards.

^^^ i got no standards, i still record some of my work on tapes.

Comrade wrote:^^^ i got no standards, i still record some of my work on tapes.

yeah but what does that mean? all i'm saying is the eb16 effects are nothing to write home about.

sure they add yet another effect but put it this way...

the filter is fine, cause it's a filter. most filters have better options and analog ones sound better but thats a different story.
the reverb is probably the worst sounding one I have heard
the distortion is probably the worst sounding one I have heard
the delay is what ever.... you could technically do the delays manually with a sequencer like the mpc

not saying you cant craft stuff with it... but if you got something like 200 bucks to blow and you are stuck between a 303 and an eb16... obviously the 303 is 10 fold the better move and in the long run will be worth more too.

Always wondered,, how do those fx compare to the ones that come standard in newer MPC's (1000/2500, etc)

elevated wrote:Always wondered,, how do those fx compare to the ones that come standard in newer MPC's (1000/2500, etc)

I like the eb16 effects in my XL better than the effects that were in the 2500 I had . They seem more straight to the point and a little grimier .

why dont u just get a cheap rack effects?

does n e body know if the 8 outs bypasses the eb16 fx i cant seem to get the effects thru.... am i missing somthin ??/

I got an eb-16 i can sell to you comrade for 150$+shipping.

fathertime wrote:why dont u just get a cheap rack effects?

its less hassle having the effect in the machine, and feeding sends to your sounds, also you need 8 outs if you want to send to a mixer and have some individual sounds having reverb etc..

by the way comrade, about the effects, its true that akai are not the best, but to be honest, its about the same as roland korg etc... yamaha is a bit better, and then you talk lexicons, eventide etc.. now you talking but this is way more expensive.

having the same effects in my 4k, i preffered those on the eb-16, maybe because of the converters of the unit (cd3000xl) but they more warm to my ears, i mainly tried reverbs so im talking about those.