Ableton Forum

It seems like every youtube video of people playing this thing all sounds the same - cheesy trance leads and arpeggios. I like the concept of the electribe but I'm really turned off by what I've heard people do with the EMX. I guess it's just a matter of taste and it's all subjective but does anyone use this thing to make unique original sounds?

then have a look at the ESX, the sampling version.

you can put whatever sounds you like in there, and then mangle them with many many real time controls. theyre limited compared to Live, but an incredible amount of self contained fun.

adventurepants_ wrote:then have a look at the ESX, the sampling version.

you can put whatever sounds you like in there,

.............and whatever you do will sound poor. The problem is it uses some kind of internal compression which turns anything you put there weak,cheesy.
Better idea is to use EMX with ext modules of choice, taking advantage of what is really great, the interface.

Tools are tools.

People have pioneered genres by playing with cassette decks.

BTW - The ESX rocks.

The EMX would be more fun if the drum parts were either synths or samplers...

the ESX sounds fine. Ive heard a couple over a good PA, and they were great.

The so called "tube" stage is garbage and noisy, but if you leave it alone it and run it through a decent compressor, theyre fine.

it can do more than trance. imo its weakness is that since its always quantized, at lower tempos the rigidity really shows in a bad way. pretty much impossible to do downtempo/hip hop beats with any feeling at all.

re: arpeggios...this is its strong point. its monophonic and not-velocity sensitive so the synth is not all that 'playable' in the traditional sense, thus making arps hard to resist.

the emx and esx both have this compressed, aggressive element to the sound and you'll either like it or you won't. personally i love the sound, but even then it can be limiting...

the emx comes up about every other week on this forum. i'm sure you could search and find more threads to which me, rikhyray, and adventurepants have said the exact same things and more before, heh.

and fwiw here's a decidedly non-trancey dancehall track, made with esx and emx.
http://www.strongforthefuture.com/music ... mix%29.mp3

love the song, whatever the limitations might be, when there is will(idea) there is always a way. Great job.

Check the videos of the ESX on Youtube by a guy called "Denektribe" or Denketribe". He really gets the most out of his ESX.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6taDlk9gX0

He's using the built-in formant synth

thelike5 wrote:Check the videos of the ESX on Youtube by a guy called "Denektribe" or Denketribe". He really gets the most out of his ESX.

You meant EMX ? I didnt find any ESX by this fellow. Anyway was interesting to hear. Reminded me that it can be turned around, the stereotyped sound of MX can be useful, for utility music - jingles, soundtracks for radio, Tv etc, since in those 10s to 1,5 minute stuff the sound wont wear off the ears and the clients mostly want exactly the stereotype sound. The only MX made ( with some add ons in Live) music I sold was for this kind of stuff. No one expect you to work for a week, neither are prepared to pay that much, you can make several version in no time with MX, once client accepts, you finish it, pimp it up in Live, burn the CD and get your check or cash.

rikhyray wrote:

thelike5 wrote:Check the videos of the ESX on Youtube by a guy called "Denektribe" or Denketribe". He really gets the most out of his ESX.

You meant EMX ? I didnt find any ESX by this fellow. Anyway was interesting to hear. Reminded me that it can be turned around, the stereotyped sound of MX can be useful, for utility music - jingles, soundtracks for radio, Tv etc, since in those 10s to 1,5 minute stuff the sound wont wear off the ears and the clients mostly want exactly the stereotype sound. The only MX made ( with some add ons in Live) music I sold was for this kind of stuff. No one expect you to work for a week, neither are prepared to pay that much, you can make several version in no time with MX, once client accepts, you finish it, pimp it up in Live, burn the CD and get your check or cash.

No, I meant ESX. He's actually a bit of a master in getting the most out of all Electribes and various groovebox type equipment such as Korg KP2/3 MFB stuff, Dave Smith Evolver, etc.

Yeah, he's got the EMX up there too. pretty much everything he does sounds great and like Detroit. Can't beat that sound in my own opinion.

I had one for about a year and had great fun messing around with it, and got some amazing arp sounds from it, but that was it. Just gathered dust in the end. Got £300 for it though

http://www.sonicwroom.com/listen.htm

Abstract duo that uses EMX + a guitarist with "too many" pedals & loopers.

Mind you, its painfully easy to do stupid stuff on any of the electribes, imo. But they cretainly aren't limited to it. Esp. with their audio inputs.

rikhyray wrote:love the song, whatever the limitations might be, when there is will(idea) there is always a way. Great job.

thanks! that emcee (dj collage) is a local friend of mine. he's guested on tracks by a ton of great artists....ghislain poirier, sofa surfers, machine drum, kid 606, etc. glad you like it.

laird wrote:its painfully easy to do stupid stuff on any of the electribes

ha, so true. it is so easy to make bad "dance music" on these things.

my philosophy on gear is to get used to buying and selling...you never know what stuff you vibe with, so the more hands on time you can get the better. if it sits for six months doing nothing, sell it and buy something else cool.

Look for the youtube videos of a guy called HarriL, he rocks on the EMX...