Electribe

The order follows the sections on the panel: Oscillator (the display says “Sample”), Filter, Modulation, Amp/EG and Insert Fx. Korg's manual does not draw an exact circuit – take the picture as a map, not a schematic.

Modulation is not a station the sound flows through. It turns another control automatically, for example the filter or the level.

There is an Insert FX per part (38 types, e.g. Punch, Distortion, Decimator, Limiter, Pumper). There is only one Master FX (32 types, e.g. reverb, delay, Looper, Compressor, Limiter). According to the manual, the MFX Send button selects whether a part's output is sent to the master effect – parts without MFX Send bypass it.

You play the master effect with the touch pad after pressing the Master Fx button. With MFX Hold it stays on when you lift your finger.

Start point: for samples, the Edit knob in the Oscillator section moves the start point (and can reverse the direction). For exact values use START POINT in the SAMPLE EDIT menu.

Pitch: the Pitch knob, or fixed in the sample with SAMPLE TUNE (−63 to +63). Tune the kick to the key of the track.

Length: with the Amp EG button off, the Decay/Release knob sets how long a sample plays. At 127 the sample plays all the way to its end – usually right for a Hardtekk kick with a gap. With Amp EG on, Attack and Decay/Release shape the volume envelope: keep Attack all the way down or you lose the hit.

Effect: one insert effect per part. For kicks try Punch, Overdrive, Distortion, Decimator or Limiter. The Edit knob in the Insert Fx section sets the amount. There is no compressor among the insert effects.

Filter: if the click is too sharp, the low-pass (LPF) and the Filter knob take off some top end.

Resampling prints effects into the sample so you can stack more than one (e.g. Distortion first, resample, then Punch on the new sample):

1. Hold Shift and press Rec.
2. “Sampling mode”: choose Mono or Stereo with the Value knob.
3. Press > and choose Resampling as the source. Another > shows the free time.
4. For the whole pattern press Play/Pause – for a single part just strike its trigger pad.
5. Stop with Stop. The display shows “New Sample”: Write keeps it, Exit discards it.

Resampled samples automatically get PLAY LEVEL +12 dB so they sound as loud as when they were recorded. If that distorts, set PLAY LEVEL in SAMPLE EDIT to Normal.

Stereo or mono? Stereo samples cost twice the time. And they only play in stereo on odd-numbered parts (1, 3, 5 …); on even-numbered parts they play as a mono mix. So kick and bass are always mono.

Level and Pan sit in the Amp/EG section and apply to the selected part. PATTERN LEVEL (0–127) in the menu sets the whole pattern – handy for evening out patterns. Part Mute plus a trigger pad mutes a part.

Kick and bass not at the same time: in Hardtekk the bass plays between the kicks. When both hit together their peaks add up and the sum goes over the ceiling much sooner.

Clear the low end: switch on the high-pass (HPF) on hats, leads and pads and turn the Filter knob up until the part gets thin – then back a little.

No MFX Send on the kick: reverb and delay make the kick mushy. Use MFX Send only on parts that like some space.

Pumping without sidechain: Korg does not describe a sidechain function. The Pumper insert effect on bass or pads gives a similar rhythmic pumping – in time with the tempo, not triggered by the kick.

The demo is a simplified model: it assumes the worst case, where all peaks arrive at once. On the device you hear it as crackling and scratching in the drop.

The Master FX has a Compressor (type 25) and a Limiter (type 26). But there is only one master FX unit: use it as a limiter and you lose reverb, delay and Looper for playing.

The Master FX also only processes parts with MFX Send on, and you play it with the touch pad (permanently with MFX Hold). A limiter over everything would mean MFX Send on every part and MFX Hold on. It works, but it is a stopgap.

There is no master volume parameter and no limiter at the output in the settings. Whatever goes over the ceiling distorts.

Besides EXPORT AUDIO there is EXPORT CHAIN AUDIO (all chained patterns, one file each) and EXPORT P.SET AUDIO (patterns from pattern sets). As the format you choose “WAV File Only” or “Ableton Live Set”.

With “Ableton Live Set”, EXPORT AUDIO also writes an Ableton project next to the WAV files. FL Studio does not need it – “WAV File Only” is enough.

The exported files end up on the card under KORG/electribe sampler/ in a folder named after the pattern's number and name.

The device exports 16-bit. That is fine for mastering in FL as long as the sum on the Electribe was not overloaded – whatever distorted there, FL cannot take out again.

The values come from Korg's specifications, the Owner's Manual and the Parameter Guide of the electribe sampler.

When you delete samples, the free time sometimes does not grow right away. Run EXPORT ALL SAMPLE: the file gets tidied up (defragmented) and loads with more free time at the next start.

There is only one file with all samples per card. Swap the card and the Electribe loads that card's samples at startup – or none.