Korg ER-1 Electribe

This is a very easy and enjoyable instrument to use. It really is a rhythm synthesizer not a drum machine. The presets are decenly programmed by I can't imagine anyone buying this unit wanting to use presets, you're going to want to write your own patterns and create your own sounds. Sound creation is very simple, you have two waveforms to work with. They are physically modeled waveforms that resemble a sine and something between a saw and sine. You get a lot of mileage out of modulating the waveforms. This may sound simple and actually it is with one big caveat, the changes are huge and you can get an incredibly flexible sound out of these simple tools. Besides the synthesizer section there are sampled open and closed hi hat, crash and hand clap. They are there mostly to fill in rhythmic patterns. They can be manipulated but not to the extent of the four modeled drum sounds. If you've ever worked with a pattern based synth or drum machine you'll understand this almost instantly. If not it's still very intuitive. Should you need the manual it is decently written, a nice departure from Korg's usual confusing manuals.

With the four PM based sounds and 4 sampled sounds you also get two inputs that can be effected by the ER-1. Besides the flexible modulation (which only works on the PM sounds) there is a pitch control available to all sounds and a simple decay, pan, level and low bass control. These controls actually influence the sound more than one might think. The bass boost is interesting in sounds that are high frequency. It's a basic filter that appears to have a fairly high frequency level that gets boosted. Another important part of the ER-1's sound is the Delay section. You have three sections, straight out like a normal processor (good for dub effects or tight flanged ringing) and Motion Sequence mode where you can track the effects processing to the rhythm sequence which produces interesting effects that remain automated once recorded. There's also a Tempo Delay that allows the Depth and Time controls to function within the timing of the beat. That all you get by the way, Depth and Time, no additional features. This might sound restrictive but once you check it out you'll see that the ergonomics and function of this equipment is very clever. Instead of a million controls there are about 15 knobs or soft buttons to adjust the lion's share of all your sound programming. As a rhythm programmer it's about as easy as it gets and what's beautiful is you can tweak in real time, mute sounds, solo, whatever and not lose the original settings, or if you find you created something better you can save it. The rotary entry dial is laid out nicely and feels solid. You can save to 256 locations with rhythm sequences anywhere between 1 to 4 measures. This is similar to a hopped up TR series drum machine which is where the similarities end. It's not a rhythm programming powerhouse like typical drum machines, but if that's what you're looking for then this is not the place.

Although it may sound limited, and to a $2000 synth it is limited, but at it's price range it does a lot with sound and seems to make endlessly interesting sounds, from emulative (in a old school kind of way) to strange noises that would make for good sound beds as much as they would rhythms. The pads are not velocity sensitive, it's not meant to be played in realtime, even when it's running you are changing rhythms with a one measure delay before they take effect. Simple and easy to get the hang of. When programming the biggest changes tend to come from the modulation type of which there's six types mixed with Modulation Depth and Modulation Speed. Forget about traditional synths, you'll have to try these three knobs to get a feel for the machine and really you should try this out before buying. Too many people are hoping for a TR in the box solution and although you can do things similar it's not a replacement by any means. This is very much it's own instrument and taken for what it is it has a rewards that most inexpensive equipment doesn't. I didn't even mention the Audio In capabilites but they are impressive and worth experimenting with. If you dig messing up sounds you're probably going to be happy with this synth.

I read in other reviews that the knobs seem a bit flimsy. I agree to a degree, nothing I'd be scared of using at a gig. The unit is light but balances well on any reasonably flat surface. It has a very low profile which may not be suited to some. Personally, I prefer the low profile setup, it's out of the way and easy to access everything.

No experience so far.

I would replace this in a heartbeat. It's one of the most fun music making tools I have. It's addictive to play with. If you like changing and evolving rhythms this thing is fun, you can reprogram it on the fly (can't save while it's playing though.) Also, the number of tweaks and flexibility in sound make this a winner for someone looking for their own sound. You really can't compare it with drum machines as that's not the point to this equipment. I can sound like a vintage unit in it's own way but that is such a minor part of what this machine can do.

The sounds are pretty good for the price tag. There are about 256
preset patterns (you can write over all of them too) each with their own edited variation of the 4 DSP drum sounds. The PCM clap, crash, ch, and oh are not DSP generated so they vary by the effect and level settings. The little box is easy to program with dedicated knobs for all sound maninpulation and a grid menu system/dial for global settings (BMP, midi CH, ect). All in all this machine is very straight forward right out of the box.

I am assuming the poly is 8 note here, one note for each drum sound. The rubber buttons make me a little nervous since I remember the ill fated MMT-8 and they are not velocity sensitive by the way. I think they are meant for auditioning the sound and programming the sequencer only and not for banging live. The ER-1 has a built in delay that can sync to the tempo and 2 of the 4 DSP drum sounds are assoiciated with a ring mod, 1 mods another DSP drum sound and the other mods one of the external inputs. Currently there are no expansions/revisions that I am aware of. The unit operates on 1 user set midi channel (1-16). You can assign note numbers to each of the drum sounds to trigger an exteranl midi source on the same channel (ala TR-707). The sequencer is 16 step pattern based, patterns can be 4 measures long. You can link these up in song mode. In pattern mode you can record 1 knob movement per drum sound (motion sequence) and have this data be interperated as smooth or trigger and hold ( uses whatever the value is when a note on occurs ). You can record more knob movements in song mode for more complex motion sequences. I like the sequencer a lot. It is very easy to get a pattern going quickly and it is a snap to kill the volume and trigger a external sampler. The audio inputs can be used in conjuction with the sequencer to yeild a gated input signal along with the ring mod effect allowing great rhythmic variations of your original signal. This can be lots'o fun.

This is not to be used for realistic percussion sounds. It has a DSP analog feel all the way over. Sounds very punchy to me despite what others may say and the hats are 909ish. You can get some deep kicks ranging from the 808 boom to a distorted 909. In fact you can also make some fantasic bass sounds too, record pitch knob movements or make a second/thrid/forth copy of the sound with another pitch to sequence simple bass lines. The different pitch mods allow you to acheive some bizzare FX stuff to. Let's not forget the ring mod for metal clanks and robotic textures. Sounds much better then any of the PCM drum boxes out now, I say this because I have a sampler that I use for those types of sounds. I like the electronic only sounds you can get out of this box that you can't from static ROMplers (like the MC-303 or Boss DR-202).

I have never giged with it and it does have an el-cheapo plastic feel to the casing and knobs but I don't think there would be any problems as long as you don't drop it. Now my ASR-x has the right idea in this department, a solid metal case with pads that can take a beating.

I own several Korgs (WaveStation, S3, DSS-1, and DS-8) all of which have never given me one problem in the slightess, although most of these have a better build then the ER. So I can't comment on Korg's Support only to say my machines they built work great.

Considering what is out in the market right now for drum boxes and the going price of these new I would have to say it is a great bargin. You get very tweakable sounds and plenty of user pattern space (unlike the MC-303) that it is well worth the price. I was going to just buy this and sample the hell out of it but it is quite dynamic sonically. Worth keeping it as a sound source and saving me the sampling time. I really like TR drum programming and get a lot of bang out the the sequencer as well.

Super easy to use...editing is just turning a few knobs that drastically
change sound. The manual is easy to use and thorough.

it features sampled hats, ride, and claps...and four percussion synthesis sound banks
that you shape to what you want to hear (bass drum, snare, bass line, noise etc)...very versitile and extremely fun.
The best thing about these machines are the Audio Ins...there are two banks that if you hook a sound source to, you can punch
them in on the ER-1's sequencer and you will hear the sound source. Ex: I sample a simple melody in my SP-202 from a casio...time stretch the sample
and match the number of bars...sync them together and bamm! it's like having a hardware version of ReBirth. well, almost...the ER-1/SP combo has alot more possiblities!

The sounds are as good as you make them... Hard to get a good snare...but
you can. It's the hardest sound for me to find on the machine...well, that I like anyway.

yeah, it seems dependable. but I'm not a touring musician.

I also use an Akai MPC2000 and a Ensoniq ASRX-pro...the thing I love about the ER-1
is that it does things that these machines can't...and is completely use-able. You always gotta love that...it reminds of something I read once...A guitar player said that
he buys alot of guitars because every guitar has a few new songs to offer him...that has nothing to do with this, except that the ER-1 has
helped me write songs that I wouldn't make on my other machines.