Korg Electribe Review

In this video, Erik Magrini shares his thoughts on the new Korg Electribe.

The Korg Electribe Music Production Station, is a 16-track polyphonic synth groovebox. It features sixteen back-lit Trigger pads, an X/Y Touch pad, and is now more mobile than ever, because it can run on battery power (optional AC adapter available).

Magrini (a.k.a. Tarekith) is the owner of Inner Portal Studio in Seattle, providing production and mixing/mastering services.

The Korg Electribe Music Production Station has a street price of about $400. See the Korg site for more info.

If you’ve used the new Korg Electribe, leave a comment and share your thoughts on it!

via computermusicguidematrix

17 thoughts on “Korg Electribe Review

  1. Not sure if I’m interested in the Electribe, but this is a great review. Very fair on the strengths and drawbacks, things he likes and things Korg could have done better. Nice video!

  2. Look i’ve bought one on release and i sold it a couple of months afterwards.

    I think there was a marketing gimmic with the korg electribe, there are certain things the electribe is really good at making and really FUN at playing around with… that i can’t deny. great sound quality on the most part. what it lacks in my opinion is a decent workflow to get something more than just a basic 16-64 (1-4 bar) loop going.

    I felt it was marketed as a daw in a box kindof thing and while it MIGHT BE somewhat true it’s far from that. if you want to get an electribe to use as part of a bigger setup either hardware or software or mix of both then great you’ll deff have fun and it will give it’s own piece to the ensemble, but if you’re getting it as an all in one box then you’re definitely not going to be satisfied.

    Fingers crossed a new software update will fix a lot of the shortcomings that can easily be fixed using software. so far we’re been left out to dry on that update.

    my 2 cents.

    1. spot on. i’m in the same situation, but holding on for now in the hope of a firmware update (or even a third-party OS). for now using it as a drum machine (don’t have another one)

    2. I agree on some of the shortcomings, but I still really enjoy using it since I got it – especially when I pair it w/ the iconnectmidi and use w/ external controllers –
      I set up an lpk and mpk mini through and it allows me to quick switch the scenes to control the top row of instruments, and it allows an arpeggiator on both (which is sorely missing)

      1. Same here! When I’m not carrying it around I like to use it with the arpeggiator on the Korg Taktile controller. On the Taktile I have each of the 16 scenes setup for a different MIDI channel on the keyboard but the pads are always set to trigger C3 on each of the 16 channels. This allows you to set the electribe2 pads in a different mode if you wish and trigger play on the similarly constructed Taktile pads or I can hit the arpeggiator button and/or chord button on the Taktile and play both pads and keys. It was like they were made for each other. Still have my EMX1SD and ESX1SD which are slightly different animals and have little complaint about any of them.

  3. I got the electribe a couple of weeks ago and this video was the most informative of all the reviews I could find before purchase. There’s quite a bit of hate on the korg forums about it but the vast majority of this was due to it being launched with firmware containing fundamental bugs which are now sorted.

    I’ve had a lot of fun with it especially syncing other gear over midi. I got this because I couldn’t afford a beatstep pro/vermona Drm mkiii combo and I have no regrets.

    1. Sorry about that, at the time I only had access to a simple point and shoot to record the video with (Canon S100). I was in the process of moving from Seattle to Luxembourg, and most of my gear other than what I needed for my mastering business was packed up already. We literally moved 3 days after this.

  4. I think the sound on sound review trumps this one. It’s not bad though.

    I have the new Electribe, and I love it. It has it’s drawbacks just like any piece of gear, but I love the sounds and the workflow. No, it’s not a DAW, but it does export every part to an audio clip in a Ableton set.

    It’s no magic bullet, but then again what is? especially for 400 bux!

  5. Is there osc sync, ring mod or fm? Can you access the synth engine via menus, or at least an editor, or is this a lite synth?

    1. There are SYNC and VPM (aka FM) OSC waveform types that sound really great when you start messing with the OSC pitch and edit knobs and the other part parameters. I spent a lot of time touring these OSC types specifically when I first got it and it surprised me. Go download the manual and parameter guide from the Korg support site for the list.

  6. this to me looks like a boring grey box that does not inspire me,im sorry but where’s the tubes gone korg. the old tube version looked inspiring and compelled you to tinker.

    i think korg has lost something that made the old machine awesome,and i think they have lost their way a bit here.
    i think its time for korg and roland to start listening more to the common artist who have a better understanding of where to take these machines as the research and devolopment departments for both companies seem to be stagnant ,2015 and this is it…………………………………………………..sheep are easy pleased.

  7. Erik aka Tarekith gets paid buy Korg. So, keep that in mind that this review can sway you in the way you probably would differ hands on.

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