Weird how 99% of the people on RU-vid have no idea how to make a simple hardware sequencing tutorial for beginners. This is literally the only video on the entire internet that actually breaks it down simple enough for someone who knows nothing to actually be able to understand. Thank you
Every sequencer hardware company clamoring to make another box with barely labeled and extensively multifunctional buttons, artfully absent UI, and threadbare documentation.
It's hard to use MIDI sequencers when MIDI IS not understood. The video is great, but due to Electribe limitations, it's incomplete about sequencing & control. Midi is really simple to understand, just learn about how MIDI works, it's basic.
Thank you for volunteering to demonstrate your midi-prowess and knowledge for us dum-dums. Outside of midi-clock-tempo-syncing, I am not very midi literate. I'm currently trying to use my Electribe ES2 Sampler to sequence my Roland SH-4d to no avail. Even though the words are English, and I think I understand the concept (send Channel 1 - receive Channel 1), I must not understand the menus or what is supposed to happen. I know what I want to happen. I want to build sequences in the Electribe using the SH-4d as the source of the sounds? Why? The SH-4d offers zero pattern chaining... but the Electribe does offer pattern chaining. On my Electribe, I go to Global and set the Global midi channel to 1. On my SH-4d, in the midi section of the global menu, I have Midi-TX and Midi-RX all 'ON'. Since the SH-4d is a 5-part multi-track/multi-timbral device, I have Part 1 CH-1 set to 'On'. Since both are set to CH-1, I would have thought that when pressing the Electribe corresponding pad, the SH-4d's sound would be heard. But, this is not working. I am about to try this again with my Polyend Play... but I don't have too much hope. Obviously, people out there are comprehending something that I appear to be missing. Seriously, any assistance here.. or videos truly dumbing this down for me (and others confounded by midi) would be most helpful!!
I read The Hacker uses an Electribe to sequence his entire set - 16 tracks of poly midi is crazy. Most sequencers not are more like a daw and smaller manufacturers come and go, so this is a good value bet plus it’s a great skethpad when you don’t want to switch everything on. I read the manuals of this one and the older unit. Plenty of info/charts showing midi implementation etc. but no instructions on how to program sequences until now. Powerful with basic features. A strip of pads is fine as I’m not a pianist. I’m very happy about this. Thank you!🥁😉
Hope this tutorial helps some people out 🙂 I hope it has a good balance of information and entertainment. Lol Let me know what you guys think. Also, dont hesitate to leave me ideas for future tutorial topics. Thanks! 👊🙂
I have a volca bass. I didn't grasp why you need the adaptor cable to connect it. And why is the other volca different and just going through the midi thru?
You need the adapter for the Electribe because it isnt equipped with a full size MIDI OUT. If you are using a sequencer such as the Arturia Keystep, which IS equipped with a full sized MIDI OUT, than you can just use a MIDI cable only. Hope this makes sense. 👍
@@littleBIGsynths Thanks, think I get it. Another quick question. The demo guy is good at playing the pads, but I'm not. Could you connect a keyboard to the Electribe for playing in stuff via keys?
Yes! Which gives me a great idea for a quick tutorial! 🤔 😉 When I am using the Electribe for creating jams/ideas... I will use the Arturia Keystep keyboard to input all of the chords, melodies, bass lines etc. It is MUCH easier to use a keyboard in my opinion 👍
Thank You-Thank You-Thank You....man ...like holy f'n sht.......the whole music world thinks that everyone knows this. Thank you for breaking this down like a fraction, taking the time for guys like me who are putting ideas together, setting things up slowly - to actually explain this. Holy Sht!! Finally someone explained this. Love your channel- subscriber for life. Stay safe.
Don't know what us synth-heads would do without RU-vidrs like this. It’s almost like manufacturers are relying on us to figure out their equipment and teach each other.🙏🏽
Little Big Synths just saw this vid like an old friend it’s magic as has been described you may be the master of midi tutors helped along by your powerful inexpensive sidekick! Yee Haa🐎🐎
If you dont want the Volca''s sequencer starting hold FUNC when powering up and make sure step 6 is unlit and then push Rec to save the setting. This will set the midi clock to internal and the sequencer wont be triggered from midi. This is valid for ALL Volcas, just check the manual which step sets the midi clock.
I have Moog Taurus 1 from 1979 and yes the Volca Bass can create some juicy low tones that are very similar to the Taurus 1 if you know how to tweak it.
Like most music makers here, I would like to thank you for creating this clear and well explained video. I'm going to use this to go from a synth with a double arpeggio (one lead, one rhythm) and control 2 older synths at the same time for their sounds.
@@littleBIGsynths ya definitely make it so easy. Seriously the best one I've seen. Ever! I know quite a lot of it & I'll still watch it. It still helps. I'm playing live next week with an "Electribe brain" & wouldn't have realised that I could/should use It, if it weren't fer this vid. So thank you!
Great, great video, this answers all of my questions! Thanks a lot. Now I know what to do, I love hardware synths, but never knew exactly how to control them simultaniously, now I do. 👍👍👍
thank you for taking care of each and every tiny detail in such a comprehensive, hands-on, and non-patronizing way. your teaching attitude really makes a splash here!
If you want to have the electribe quiet you could set the sample to "Audio in mono". That way the electribe will use cpu power for effects, but not for playing a sample at least. Don't know if it is programmed to process nothing, if volume is set to 0...
been gradually getting into making music using electronic hardware and i can't thank you enough. i've had such a difficult time understanding how machines interact and i feel this video finally busted the door open. subscribed!
This is how hardware synths under 1000$ are supposed to sound! Thanks for explaining things a bit. My electribe will be seeing the light again soon enough. I didn’t realize I could sequence external gear with the electribe, thank you!
I'm new to using more than one device at a time, and this is the clearest tutorial I've found for beginners like me. I like that there's no assumption that the viewer already knows terminology like 'thru box'.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video. 🙂 Yeah. The Electribe 2 definitely has some limitations and quirks, but I think it's actually a pretty great piece of hardware... just gotta give it a chance. 😉👍 Thanks for watching!
LBS I’ve been using my E2’s and volcas with sync and audio in. I can’t believe it never donned on me to go midi!! I thought it would be about the same. I never thought about editing notes and on board fliters!!! You just opened up a new realm for me!!! Thank you man!!
Way more flexibility and creativity to be had with midi. The sync is convenient yet has many shortcomings. I would rather get the SQ64 but most reviews pretty much state that Korg has been neglecting bugs that is consumer base has been constantly screaming to be fixed but it's like Korg is acting like how a lot of pay to play video game studios have been as of late; basically promising stuff and not delivering.... just taking the money and nothing more. Why I won't buy any new stuff from Volca. He'll they can't even be bothered to fix the sustain and midi bugs in the Nubass which is a damn shame because the few but major bugs it has keeps it from being something anyone with a clue (I was clueless) would buy or even recommend. I honestly just want this for is sequencing abilities and offering my gear that is limited to a 1 bar loop to now have 4. Should be standard these days (you would think) but sadly it's not.
Thank you very much! 🙂 I'm glad you enjoyed it. Haha yeah, MIDI can certainly be confusing. I tried my best to cover some general concepts without deep diving into a full blown MIDI tutorial. Lol For me, Its always a matter of providing as much info as possible, while keeping the video somewhat entertaining as well. Lol 😉 Anyways, thanks for watching and taking the time to leave feedback. 👍
Thank you for this simple but very informative tutorial. In 15 minutes you have assisted me, personally, so much. I’ve been following your channel for a few months and greatly enjoy your content. Could you also provide a tutorial showing sequencing with the Arturia Keystep and or the Beatstep Pro? Thanks again!
Awesome! 😁 I am really glad you found it useful. I actually do have a video on Keystep sequencing. Check it out if you havent. 👍 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hzpNx_WF8wc.html I just got rid of the BSP unfortunately.... waiting for my Keystep PRO to arrive. 😁
very cool ! I have the Electribe 2 and with the Roland FA, it's possible to control 15 differents sounds in differents channels at the same time , a lot of fun and possibilities ! with any good workstation like Kronos, MODX etc will be the same, but maybe with small gear like volcas it's more fun
Good video, might want to mention that the Electribe 2 sends cc data as well. Meaning for the channel selected you can control the target devices filters, amp envelop, level and pan.
Thank you! 🙂 I really appreciate the input. Yeah, the video was intended to be as "simple" as possible... but that could definitely be a good topic for a future video. 👍
This is really one of the best videos about syncing the Electribe and brought back hope to me😂 Just a question: for recording I'm using an audio interface connected to my laptop. E.g. for your set up, when I'd put the audio cables from electribe to the cinch of my audio interface, the electribe should actually also transmit the audio singals from the volcas and the synth to the interface, right? Thx for a feedback😉
Fab "little" video! I wish you had posted this two years ago..it took me quite a while to fathom some of the this out (like the volcas' sequencers starting when I pressed "play" on the Electribe...got it sorted now. I solved the "Electribe triggering it's own sound" issue by setting each of the "pads" being used to sequence external devices to "Ext"...thus ensuring it didn't interfere with the Electribe's limited polyphony. Ranzee (check out his channel if you haven't seen it...) is doing a live stream on Saturday afternoon (2:45 pm UK time) dedicated to the Electribe series. I'll send him a link to this video so that he can feature it (if he wishes!).
great video as usual ! i wonder if its also possible to use the old electribe sx as a sequencer for multiple snyths ? having 4 volcas and an electribe sx makes me need a sequencer/control unit for all of them. now i think about the arturia keystep pro and the electribe 2. what you think is the better choice ? greetings
Really great video! So I see you use a new channel for new Synths, but what about Patterns? Do you select a channel, and then press another pad for a pattern?
Cheers - great tutorial! Any idea whether the Electribe 2 can sequence CC messages? Specifically, I have a midi-controlled looper that can be triggered to start and end looping by CC message (CC3 and CC9 respectively). In Ableton, these CC messages can be sequenced, but I want to drive everything from a hardware sequencer.
Hey Guy, a little late I know but, enjoyed the video and subscribed. Question.... How did you record this? Where was audio out sent to and from what? Thanks.
So helpful. I was trying to connect my E2S to my 404sx and was wondering why Korg's midi cable was a 3.5 to 5 pin din FEMALE! like how am I supposed to connect this to the midi in of my sampler?! Ended up ordering some other cables lol. Thank you for posting this!
Thanks for this! I know it was posted over a year ago, but only recently got an electribe.Can the gate arp on the electibe send recorded arp patterns to the external synth as well?
For beatstep pro/volca rigs, the transport messages can be problematic as a bug in the beatstep keeps you from silencing. Two approaches to solve, the one you don't mention here is to switch the volcas to internal clock only. That will keep you from some hassles or open up more possiblities with motion sequencing, or save internal sequencer space. Also, midi thru kits are pretty cheap for thrifty folks with soldering irons. Can link one if anyone is interested.
Oh, or the midi thru box that has midi messaging filtering built in. I think Slenterende Beer uses one of those, the us-available midi solutions one doesn't work unless you go high end.
I echo the thanks posted already. I do this same thing with the first gen Korg EMX-1, but it takes up a lot of desk space and each channel is mono, except Channel 10 (drums). Glad to see you can do the same thing with the second gen, and it looks like you have polyphony when you record the Keys, which is great. Are all the midi channels the same? On the EMX 1 you are limited to preset drum notes, so if you send channel 10 to the Volca Beats, you can play the Kick, Snare and Hats, but a couple drums aren't mapped. Can you play all the drum parts on the Beats? Does it play all the parts on Volca Drum? If each channel is the same polyphonic midi channel it should work but I'd like to know before I upgrade to the E2.
Love it Bro. I haven't touched a Synth in 20+ yrs. I have wanted to get my kids into it. And got a few bits and pieces. Arturia Beatstep pro Arturia Keystep 37 volca FM volca sample 2 monologue circuit Electribe 2 Sampler and a Circuit. Just need to hook it all up. So much love for doing this video Bro 👊💪👏🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 U the Man 🙏 💪 Oh, Got myself a midi thru box as well. I hooked up the beatstep to the Electribe, and no joy. Although I was in the middle of something. None of it is set up at all yet. As work going on in the house. So haven't really even touched it yet. I couldn't resist any longer. I just had to plug something in. Anyway, my question is.... Is there any other setting in the Electribe I might have missed. I changed the midi channels to check. But I saw other settings on the Electribe about MIDI. I'm not willing it right now and can't remember 🙏 Keep the 🔥 coming bro 👏😯💪✊🔥
Thank you for the tutorial, I've encountered some wierd trouble in setting each part's level down: when I tweak the 'Level' knob down, my hardware synth will also turn down. Does it mean the 'Level' volume actually link to the velocity of keys? If anyone has the same problem, please let me know how you fix it.
Any idea how to use the keystep arpegiator et séquencer using sound wave coming from the Electribe 2 ? I’m trying to use the e2 has master and the Arturia has slave but can’t get them to connect
Ok so you can sync all this unit through midi and control them with electribe, but what with the sound? What mixer you recommend to use with this setup to send audio from all volcas to electribe ? Or any other sollution? Ive got 3 volcas, I am thinking of buying electribe 2 sample and midi splitter, but what you reccomend to audio signal? Ive got djm2000 from pioneer but i think that its not good mixer for quality music production? Or am I wrong?
Hey there how could I do if I want few external synth to send midi informations to the electribe. Like is it possible to put different outputs in the electrible single midi In ?
Don't be hard on yourself. This video was EXTREMELY informative and well put together. I'm into synths but MIDI is something still a bit foreign to me, so this cleared up a lot of confusion for me Also, I presume connecting an external midi keyboard to the Electribe is as simple as making sure the Electribe and keyboard are on the same channel and then I can control the connected synths with the keyboard depending on midi channel?
Thank you! I really appreciate your feedback. 😊 So connecting a keyboard to control the Electribe 2 is pretty simple, but the Electribe 2 is not equipped with a MIDI THRU, which means MIDI can not pass "through" the electribe from another device. You can still use the keyboard to create the sequence or pattern on the Electribe, but the connected synth will not make a sound.... until the Electribe itself plays back that sequence. Hopes this make sense. ☺ I will try and make a video on this topic real soon. 👍
I Am trying to connect a keystep to an electribe2 via midi ,can you please tell how you connect n controls the e2 and what the settings are on e2 [eg]global/channel and stuff like that as stuck,thanks
