try the quantize on it too. you can quantize after you lay your sound into the sequence.
hit command, then the track button. scroll to quantize. then you can select 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, etc... like the mpc. pick your setting, i suggest trying 1/16 to start out or if you're working in double time, dupstep tempo like 140bpm, then try 1/8. then you hit yes. it will let you hear what you laid in with the quantize you selected, it also has no to the left of it where you can hear your original unquantized version. you select either no or yes. no if you like what you laid in not quantized, yes if you like and want to keep the quantize.
i suggest starting with 1 or 2 bar drum grooves and quantizing them to with 1/16 or 1/8, depending on what tempo you're working at. then append the sequence after it's tight to make it 4 or 8 bars so you can lay your bass, samples etc... on top. with basses and samples try the quantize too. sometimes it tightens things up in a good way, sometime with basses and samples it's good to leave them unquantized.
def play with some basic boom bap and breaks, to get a 1 or 2 bar drum groove going. quantize them drums, append that sequence and start laying in your bass and samples. trust me, you'll thank me for those tips.
i think the eps 16+ has a tap tempo too. i know the asr-10 does and a lot of people don't even know about it. if you got a break sampled, hit the key and tap on the yes key while you're in sequence mode. this should adjust the tempo like tap tempo on the mpc. the eps only works in whole numbers (ie. 86bpm, 93bpm, 70bpm, 140bpm). it doesn't have in between numbers like the mpc (ie 86.34bpm or 98.72bpm). with some good chopping and fine tuning the pitch, you can get things looped up quick or just tap a tempo you hear in your head and get busy.
keep me posted on your progress. it's agreat machine. spend some time using just the 16+ and you'll get a lot out of it. if i think of any more tips & tricks, i'll post them up here for you.
don't forget a lot of dope artists used the eps (rza, el-p, portishead, massive attack, tricky, a tribe called quest, havoc, black moon and i heard even aphex twin used an eps 16+ heavy in his early production, which is pretty mind blowing. if you search on google for aphex twin ensoniq eps 16+, there should be some old interviews that pop up with him talking about it.
here's a link to an interview with Warp Records artists AUTECHRE. they talk about how them and aphex twin modified their eps 16+ to do all kinds of crazy things.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_ar ... echre.htmlAUTECHRE ON ENSONIQ SAMPLERS
Sean: "We use modified software on the sampler for live work. We found some nerd in America who writes interesting software."
Rob: "We were then able to take the sampler input and convert it to a thru for a start. Then we were able to use the software to write our own effects in the EPS."
Sean: "It's even better than the [newer, more powerful] ASR-10. You can select samples independently from the sequencer, which means that as the sequencer is running you can select your sample and edit it, turning it into a synth really. It's already got a decent OS in there, but it's really easy to modify as well.
Rob: "It's really only the American manufacturers, Ensoniq and Emu, that turn their gear into synths and not just sample playback machines."
Sean: "The EPS is just like using the Prophecy really. Everybody beats on about how smart the Prophecy is but we've been able to do that with samples for years. Much of the multiple LFO routings and the assigning of controllers to modulate controllers and so on, we can do on the EPS -- setting up quite elaborate patches on it really quickly. It's weird that Ensoniq is getting ignored in preference to Akai, which admittedly is a tighter more accurate sampler, but it still lacks a lot of scope for exploration, you can't really do a lot with it. With the EPS and the ASR-10 we're still finding things, like changing aspects of effects that you're not supposed to be able to alter."
Although when you originally bought the EPS you obviously didn't know what you know now.
Sean: "No, we bought it because we got a good deal."
Rob: "And it had on-board effects. We thought, 'it's only got two outputs but then it does have effects -- f**k it, we've only got this much money'. Before that the only sampler we had was 1.4 seconds worth on our Boss delay, so anything on top of that was a luxury."
Sean: "By necessity we've struck up a good working relationship with our samplers. The only current sampler that we would get, knowing what we know now, is probably the Kurzweil. It's the only thing that I've used that intrigues me.
Rob: "Emus as well, they seem to have a lot to them."
Sean: "Just in terms of the editability if you put a sampler into a synth you know you'll be buying all those synth facilities, whereas if you're just buying a sampler then that can be limiting. I think a lot of manufacturers still see the sampler as being limited in those respects, which is bullshit, considering the amount of DSP chips that they pack in there. There's so much you can potentially do with them."
