Electribe SX v EX

I have been looking into the electribe series lately for my next purchase. I am having difficulty deciding between the ESX and the EMX. I know the ESX is mainly a sampler, but a lot of the tracks I see using it on youtube have song parts like they are using a keyboard. I know you can do that with a sampler but I was wondering if it had a not-as-elaborate synth built in. I've read that it can have "2 keyboard parts" so I was thinking that maybe that was the case.

Inversely I was wondering if you can only use the factory sounds on the EMX.

Also was wondering if the only way you can load samples is through a smartcard(or whatever it uses). I would really like to be able to use usb like my mpc.

Any info on how you have used an MPC with either of these machines would be great info as well.

the blue one has more built in stuff... but cant sample and import. the card reader is for saving. the red one can sample but has less synth stuff etc...

didn't they just re-release those two with a new card type (CF or SD or something?) I heard they did, and the card reader is the only change they had.

I dont know which one suits you best, maybe another sample is best if you want a more flexible machine... but maybe the blue one is best because you have a sampler already and want more sound module type stuff?


Man, I liked the blue one though, nice synthesized drums and all that.

so by less synth stuff do you mean it still has them on there?

Esquilo wrote:so by less synth stuff do you mean it still has them on there?

I believe it has a little bit but not much... I think though that you can run all the samples through the params.

it has been a long ass time since I messed with those. A friend I used to have had those... he didn't have an mpc or anything but he mostly rocked drums and sound effects on the blue one and did the rest with his 1200's and rane. then he got his hands on a les paul for free from his brother and wound up getting into some other odd shit (musically)...

Cool. I really just wish I could play with the two and figure out which one I wanted. I went to guitar center to do just that but they didnt have them there. Just a bunch of synths and an MPC5000.

Esquilo wrote:so by less synth stuff do you mean it still has them on there?

no. the ESX has no synth.

the keyboard parts are just samples that are chromatically assigned on the step keys

so you take a sample and assign it to the keyboard part, then it will play at different pitches depending which key you press. if you do that with a looped sample, it will play as long as you hold the key down

you can route the keyboard parts through the filters of course, which gives some great sound mangling possibilities, as the ESX has fun filters and effects. but it's still just playing pitched samples.

mr_debauch wrote:
didn't they just re-release those two with a new card type (CF or SD or something?) I heard they did, and the card reader is the only change they had.

Yes. The new models have SD cards not SmartMedia, and have some new preset patterns.

Otherwise they're identical. It's just a minor update, not a new improved model as some people had hoped

I had the original two boxes. The major difference was that the SX can sample and play back samples only (no oscillators), the MX can play the pre-loaded samples and has oscillators (but cannot sample). There are a few differences in LFO parameters and FX sections or whatever, but from what I recall they were pretty minor.

So... the SX will let you use your own sounds, the MX will let you make your own synth sounds. You can certainly do a lot with either box, but I dunno. If you don't care about the FX then the MPC is more useful than the SX... if you want to craft your own synth sounds the MX might be the better way to go.

Personally though... I'd just say save your money. There are way better supplements to a studio than either of these if you have an MPC.

The first question you really need to ask yourself though is this... what do I want?

Sound module, synth, sampler, fx box...

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:

Esquilo wrote:so by less synth stuff do you mean it still has them on there?

no. the ESX has no synth.

the keyboard parts are just samples that are chromatically assigned on the step keys

so you take a sample and assign it to the keyboard part, then it will play at different pitches depending which key you press. if you do that with a looped sample, it will play as long as you hold the key down

you can route the keyboard parts through the filters of course, which gives some great sound mangling possibilities, as the ESX has fun filters and effects. but it's still just playing pitched samples.

yeah thanks for clearing that up... when I was using those I wasn't the one changing the instruments and all that.. plus I only tried it a bit.

but they do sound pretty good, I dont think the tubes do anything to be honest but I could be wrong. I have an EA mark one laying around here somewhere... that has some neat things it can do.

I don't think the tubes do much either, but people say it does make a difference if you replace them with better tubes.

I know my MPC1000 is more powerful than my ESX in almost every way, but there's something about the ESX I find more accessible and more fun. And if fun isn't a good enough reason ... well, I wouldn't own most of my gear!

Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:I don't think the tubes do much either, but people say it does make a difference if you replace them with better tubes.

I know my MPC1000 is more powerful than my ESX in almost every way, but there's something about the ESX I find more accessible and more fun. And if fun isn't a good enough reason ... well, I wouldn't own most of my gear!

yeah I dont know what the tube does... it isn't an amplified signal coming out... is the tube part of a preamp of some sort? I heard it is just a decorative gimmick. I also heard people changing them for better sounding ones...

mr_debauch wrote:yeah I dont know what the tube does... it isn't an amplified signal coming out... is the tube part of a preamp of some sort? I heard it is just a decorative gimmick. I also heard people changing them for better sounding ones...

it is a bit of a gimmick, but not purely decorative. vacuum tubes do colour the sound slightly, and every tube has slightly different characteristics, so the idea is to give the sound some analogue warmth. I can't say it makes a lot of difference with my ESX though.

apparently the stock tubes are quite noisy, so if you turn up the tube gain the main effect is mostly just noise

like you say, the signal isn't amplified, I think turning the tube gain knob mixes the dry signal with the wet signal from the tubes so the total level stays constant.

yeah the tube effect is kind of system to system. replacing them (especially if they are old) can help. My buddy had the Triton with the tubes in it and damn was it hot... then played with the same thing in the stores and it was a big let down. Had some tight chorus/strings coming out of his good old box though. My SX/MX were kind of meh. Take it or leave it... but sounded more like pissy distortion for most applications to me.

Dunno if it was the monitors, lunar position or what for my buddy's system... all I can say is that they can sound nice... but don't hold your breath on it.

EDIT: And you didn't qualify as far as I could tell at the start that you just wanted it for fun. Hell get both systems, you and a buddy can throw an f'ing techno dance rave party for yourselves and have a blast. Just don't spill the beer on the gear yo. The damn things are so hands on you can't help but smile. Totally the kind of box I wish I had when I was a kid.

NearTao wrote:EDIT: And you didn't qualify as far as I could tell at the start that you just wanted it for fun. Hell get both systems, you and a buddy can throw an f'ing techno dance rave party for yourselves and have a blast. Just don't spill the beer on the gear yo. The damn things are so hands on you can't help but smile. Totally the kind of box I wish I had when I was a kid.

you're right, Esquilo didn't say it was for fun, that was just my excuse for having an ESX. sorry for any confusion

I wany it for a more dynamic live performance. the 500 is fine for producing a beat with chopped samples. But I really want to be able to tweak multiple effects live on multiple samples. With only stereo outputs on the 500 I have virtually no option for doing that. I think as of now I am leaning towards the MX so I can tweak drums and synth with the knobs, and then maybe getting a Kaossilator for my MPC. I am a little worried that the drums on the MX suck though, and thats why I am still considering the SX.

And as for fun thats the only reason I want any musical products. I'm not trying to get famous or make money here. I just want to have a buttload of fun.