How My Studio Works - MIDI Connections and Using Korg Electribe 2 to Control Everything(No PC) 

This is one of the most informative videos I've seen on gear set up . I want to get into dawless music , but i never really understood how to connect and sequence hardware until I've watched this

My RetroKits RK004 arrived yesterday and it is well worth the price tag. At the moment it is a bit of overkill for my setup (6 Pocket Operators, 5 Volcas and 1 Boutique) but as my setup grows it should prove to be the only MIDI hub I will need for at least a decade. Thanks for sharing your setup. :)

Thanks for doing basically part two of the 2 part series on midi sequencing and using the electribe. My electribe is still collecting dust and this will truly help as for really want to sequence two synths.

@3:09 ftr, Roland's TR-8, VT-3 and TB-3 NONE of them have a MIDI thru port but the TR-8 and TB-3 can change their Midi out to a thru. The TR-8 MIDI Thru: This is set with PAD 2. As you do when setting the MIDI Clock, you access this setting by holding down the PTN SELECT button while powering on the device. When PAD 2 is lit, MIDI THRU‘s ON is activated. The information received via MIDI IN will be re-transmitted from MIDI THRU via the MIDI OUT. When PAD 2 is unlit, MIDI THRU is turned OFF and the TR-8 will not re-transmit MIDI data. TB-3 Midi Thru:PAD D - MIDI THRU LIT - MIDI THRU is on UNLIT - MIDI THRU is off Enjoy! #djrtnyc

wow cool set up

Your rig is RIDICULOUS.

Amazing Setup...very helpfull!

Wonderful video! Thank you for sharing this!

nice set up just listened to your stuff on soundcloud & really enjoyed them great tunes

Nice set-up... good explanation, thanks!

I love your set up mate

animo con alegria,very good,muy bien music.

Just piping up to say thanks - I'm in the process of taking my 'in the box' setup to something using more hardware that I can play live. The midi linking is driving me bananas but this is a pretty clear demo, so thanks for that. I would honestly just pay someone to set up my gear for me if I could!

Man! this was super helpful! thanks!!

Good video, I’m trying to do the same but I want to use a controller keyboard to record into the electribe and then have it trigger my external synths instead of using the electribe pads to record midi. It gets annoying because the electribe doesn’t have midi through even when you have it on the midi channel of an external synth it won’t pass through midi from the controller keyboard, so you can’t actually hear what you are playing!! The solution seems to be a midi merger and midi though box but this has done my head in all weekend! I’ll make a video about it if it works!

Notebook, notebook notebook. Documentation saves the day. You make what looks complicated into a very logical system. Keep your eyes out for an old school Midi router- JL Cooper made an 8 in by 10 out that might help if you expand anymore.

Good stuff mate

You need an active midi splitter. As it is, patching through in/through(daisy chain) starts to add latency, and depending on the length of the cables, that would be another factor to consider.

Similar set-up to mine, I use a 'Midi Solutions Quadra Thru' which was about £40, it's passive - so no mains connections, which is a help, but they are pretty hard to get a hold of these days. I do like the idea of the 2 way splitter, I shall be ordering one or two of those as a back-up, cheers.

Hello, this is all amazing but a lot for me to understand. I have Korg Pa700 and I have been trying to upload my audio samples in those 4 multi-pads the keyboard has but they don't have much space and the RAM limitations. Is there any external device I can connect with my keyboard and which can serve like those multi-pads through midi. Please help me in that. Thank you

Hi,im trying the following and not having much luck. Electribe esx2 midi out into tb3,tb3 out into mx1,mx1 out into sys1,sys1 out into tr9. This works great,pads respond to relevant tb3 and sys1,tr9 starts stops. Now if i connect the tb3 using the aira link all midi stops working. I need the esx to be the master clock as some patterns have diff tempo but the aira link is messing it up.i would identify like the aira links to control the midi aswell but f knows how you do that,just using it for power would be great.cheers

U can record all channels with the MX1 so u can rearrange or remix if neccesary.

Thanks for the great video! shows allot of future possibility's. I just got an electribe2s (es2) and i'm now trying to link this with my TR-09 --> TB-03 --> Volka Key's via MIDI. So far i can't get any signal out of my es2 to control anny of the other hardware. I've tried each individual but i can't control them. I think i must have a couple simple MIDI settings wrong. To just start with the volka keys, i connect on my es2 midi out to midi in on the volca keys both midi channel 2 go to trigger pad 2, then keyboard but i can't get any sound out of it. Do you have any idea of what's going wrong here? Thanks allot for your'e support! Kind regards Freek

Wow!!!Nice View!!

Hello, watching your video it's looks very cool, but I'd like your help. How can I sync my Android synth with hardware Roland Jd-xi synth. What host or cables or else I need to play sync together two synths without a Pc. Sorry for my English. I'am Russian and live in Estonia. Good luck!✌

Good stuff Bro 👊💪👏 More Electribe as a controller would be cool. I'm going to be basically doing the same sort of set up

Hi i like your setup without pc, but i have a question about the electribe, can It send program changes? if not, how do you change to the next song when playing in a live show? thnx and greetings from Spain

What kind of RAM, processor and hard drives do you have to handle all of that equipment plugged in?

How do I get around the clock issue when neither of my instruments have midi thru? When I play my drum pad, it triggers my electribe sounds. I only want to send clock data to make a beat. I'm using the midi out from my drum pad (yamaha Dtxm12) going into the midi in of the electribe. I use the Dtxm12 for drums and the electribe for samples. Do I need a quadra thru?

great video man!! But i think that you can sequence the volca's from the E2 just conneting them with the Sync out!!! I think!! This can be a solution to your "dead end" Nice studio and nice work!!

The old UNITOR8 functions as a Midi-Router (configurable if i remember right) without a computer - and as a midi interface with a computer. Supercheap second hand and maybe a bit more direct ;-)

Does the polyphony on ELECTRIBE 2 STUTTER when syncing midi? 24 notes only?

Nice ! Damn all I need is there, on this table :D

do you disable the internal sounds for midi channel use? poly limits per channel is it the same as the elecribe - 4 notes?

Question: when I push play on my electric sampler, the pre-recorded sequence on my Volca keys or Volca Bass plays. How do I get it so that when I push play on the electribe only the electribe plays and it doesn’t try to start playing sequences recorded in my other mini connected devices?

When you say that you can control everything with the Electribe 2, is there anyway to use the 16 pads as different parts for the other gear, or can only the sounds that are in the Electribe 2 be used when the 16 pads are triggered? I'm sure it's not possible, unless you have the sampler version...but what are some tricks that you can do with the Electribe 2 and the other gear?

thanks for the video, i learned a lot... been racking my brain over routs... what racks are those that sit on the top of the desks?

Hey great and informative video. I am still having trouble in my own setup. I was hoping you could help me out. I currently have an MX-1, a TR-8, Volca FM, Arturia Keystep, Arturia Microbrute, and MicroKorg. I have the Quadra Thru Midi solutions box and a USB hub. My MicroKorg has MIDI thru. I think my Keystep is functioning in the same way as your Electribe in this video. I am having trouble bringing it all together and getting proper audio out...

I thought of wiring it like this at one point, but then I discovered that my Electribe has a loose power jack. Bummer. Even putting in batteries as backup wasn't a good solution because you never know when you accidentally touched the jack the wrong way and it's now running on batteries. The idea I have right now is to power it with an AC/DC adapter via the battery compartment.

Have you found a way to send midi sequences from the iPad and not just samples? Like can you run the volcas without programming the sequences into them?

Not sure about the Microfreak either. Good but hard to get some rifs going on it. Bit of a mad thing.

this is insane !! in the best way :P looks like you might make good use of an arturia beatstep pro .

Couldn't use IFX or MFX if you have Aira products as MIDI channels on the Electribe..

how tr-8 send midi thru on midi out?i read somewhere that those splitters would not have enough power to send data and can damage the transmiter whatever that means

You have provided us all with a great wealth of information through your videos. For someone like me who is new to all of this (midi and audio routings) your tutorials are a great resource to attempt to get this all correct and working. In addition, your passion for music and achieving your hardware goals is inspiring. Question: I have watched all of your tutorials, over and over, and I’m confused in regard to the iPad/ UM-1 relationship. Could you please outline for me the connections for the iPad? If I understand correctly, the UM-1 has the usb end connected to the powered usb hub. The UM-1 the receives midi IN from the MIDI-thru hub and the MIDI return is run back to the MIDI IN of the MX-1. Thanks again!

Instead of using midi splitters could you use a midi thru box to have the same results?

Hey, Loving your videos! They are getting me psyched for my Electribe Sampler which should arrive any day now. I was hoping to control my synths with the Electribe, but this video made me realize that none of them have midi thru. Some people have been mentioning the "Midi Solutions Quadra Thru" as a solution, but I'm wondering if I could double up on splitter cables(split a splitter) as a cheap and messy solution to my soon to be problem. Would this work, or am I an idiot?

First thing is MIDI thru...Ooops. Thank you Korg for not having stupid uselles MIDI output , it saved me a lot of time ...I sold mine.

Great video! I have a question though. I get my full setup which is: E2S, Volca FM and Sample, Arturia Keystep, Novation Mininova and 7 way midi splitter. I can play all the external synths via Keystep, however I cannot record their sequences into my E2S. Do you know if it is possible with that kind of setup? Or maybe I need that midi splitter cable? Thanks in advance for your response.

Following our last exchange I now have a setup where I can use my Electribe Sampler as a midi controller. I also have an Akai so I have options. So, here’s another question for you - when you want to use your Electribe Sampler as an instrument and not as a controller - do you have to change cables? Is it just an internal setting on the Electribe? (Sometimes I want to control all with the Akai and just include the ES as the awesome instrument it is.)

Hi ya mate. How you doing. Paddle Round the pier Festival on down here at the mo and it's wicked. Got me old Midi thru quadra thing. Still cant get that Modal Craft 2.o to work properly. trying to create a new set up with Keystep using Arps out Midi 1 to In on thru box. Thru to in on Modal midi 1 and thru to in on Volca Drum midi 10. Modal keeps crashing. Think it may be faulty. Any help would be cool. Thanks for your help. AL

hi! does electribe send program changes? can you save it into the pattern? thank you!

Do splitter cables have any disadvantages compared to a splitter box?

I'm not entirely sure why you would want to get a Roland System 1, unless you specifically want to play 2 keyboards at the same time, left and right hand (which is how I have it set up on a dual rack). But the way you have it set up is rather prohibitive for that kind of two-handed playing. Keyless Roland System 1m synth would have given you far more options, being semi-modular than System-1. Just curious. I ended up getting System 1m because I'm a 2-handed synth player, and 2 keyboards I have including SL-MK III as a controller and sequencer were too many as is. Other than that, great setup, dude. Kudos!

hi rezzonator, please HELP ME! I'm trying to use my electribe 2 sampler as my sequencer as described in your vids. I have a tr-8, a volca keys and a minilogue. I got a midi splitter like the one in this vid. I've set it up tr-8 as clock, midi out to electribe, then used the midi splitter from midi out of electribe to my minilogue on midi channel 15 and my volca keys on 16. I can write a pattern on the electribe on channel/pad 15 to run on the minilogue but when I try to play a note or write a pattern on my volca on channel/pad 16 it silences what I've wrote on the minilogue, so I can only have either the minilogue or volca being controlled by the electribe, not both at the same time. any ideas?

I have a boss gt10, it sends midi to be use with daws, to control VTS with the guitar. I have an Electribe2, the point is that I cant find a way to control it using my gt10, I dont know what kind of midi cable I need. All I find in the stores is 2 midi cables that fuse in a standard USB. You know what cable I am talking about because everyone from the videos know about what cable you need to have, except me, I dont have a single idea what to buy or where to get it.

Can the Electribe 2 be used as a slave though, with other gear? Or does it have to be the main unit?

Awesome!!! Thank you for all your videos, they are very informative and interesting. I am waiting for my Electribe to come (hopefully in a few days the postman will bring me my present). I have one question which is probably a very basic, noob question - After you have played your sequences (like you did in your quick example), can you save all of those sequences as an overall pattern / song? So with the example you made, can you save that on the Electribe as “Pattern 1” (for example), switch everything off and come back to it another day and load it up and have it play all the sequences you recorded in that pattern? So Pad 2’s TB3 sequence and Pad 3’s TB03 sequence etc? Sorry if this is a really stupid question.... Also, I have my Kaoss KP3 setup as an Aux effect like yours and I was wondering there is any point adding a midi cable to it? I was considering doing it just so its in time with the other gear? As its an Aux send, is it really worth it. I could also control it with the Electribe then too. Would this be worth it. Sorry for the long comment and keep up the good work

Stupid question I'm sure, looking for a sequencer for my set up, no where near as crazy as yours, I have 3 peices of gear I want to sequence. What I've seen so far this Electribe could do it no problem, as well as giving me a 4th piece of gear to make noise and sequence. . . However last time i jumped on something with a sequencer I was disappointed. . . I digress, how does this guy handle Polyphonic steps in the sequence, yeah or neigh? Thank's for the videos, definitely enjoying them!

YOUR iPad is it the APPLE OR THE SAMSUNG... JUST FOR CONNECTION PURPOSES? How do you connect with the iPad thx !

is it good to buy Behringer iS202 for my old ipad 2?

So,can you record midi on the electribe by playing the actual synths keys?

My Korg EMX-1 Electribe has MIDI Thru.

Where die you installed the flux capacitor?

Bit disappointed with the midi implementation on the electribe. If i hook up a midi keyboard to it it will only play on the channel the keyboard is set to i.e if keyboard is set to ch1 it will on play pad/part 1,if i then want to record on pad/part 2 it wont,id have to change the channel in keyboard,thats crazy!!! Is it possible to set the electribe to receive on all channels but only play the pad/part if it’s selected? If not its pretty stupid

So are you using passive midi splitter?

Nope. Only one watch cycle required. Well done.

You said that the TB-03 has Midi-Thru but I can only see In and Out. Where is the Midi-Thru?

Please help me with my midi connection

You lost me at "turn on the TR8 and everything starts playing". For starters, how do you stop all your instruments repeating the notes that the other ones do?

Right, hello.

Why not use a Motu timepiece?

Ever heard of a Roland A-880?

so you have to input everything with the electribe pads....not a keyboard

That'll take only five minutes to set up for a gig, eh? ;-) Actually, quite an interesting video for the niche audience I'm part of.

Most of your devices have USB MIDI. Is there any reason you couldn't use USB with a USB hub instead of DIN5 MIDI cables on the devices that have USB?

I am shocked that those MIDI splitter cables work at all.

hello electricity company, I'd like to ask if I can pay my 130000 pound bill in seperate payments...

Plz try not to move the camera to much ! Impressive set up but , I’m getting dizzy!

You're making me feel stupid for spending 650 on an Elektron Analog 4 instead of an Electribe 2

man i'm dizzy from the camera work

Trinkets lol

Very complex routing here .... my set up is even more complex than this and took some time to develop I also have had to draw some flow charts to keep track of what the hell I`d done ha ha ha

stop constantly moving the camera

Bad organization of those machines

nice set up, awful music.

You can your mx1 as a sub brain set ,realy handy!!!you must only know how you set this on !!!