I don’t have a lot of time to go further in my searches these days because I’m suppose to study hard but as far as I’ve searched/thought, I think i’ll maybe purchase an ESX rather than an ES-1. The thing that annoys me with the ES-1 is the sample rate of the samples you load in it. 32kHz if I remember well. I’m afraid of the result on the high frequencies. In another hand, the two boxes doesn’t fit on the same budget…
Anyway I’ll go further this week-end. Bad thing that THIS offer ends so quickly. I could have track it. But I’m not sure so I’ll wait for another one.
I’ve thought about your advices, made more searches, and now I’m pretty sure that I’ll buy a Korg Electribe ESX-1. This is a bit over my budget. Too bad.
The thing is to decide if I want a gadget which I’ll use from time to time in my compositions, or a more serious piece of hardware that could play a master part in my songs. I’m thinking about the ES-1 and the ESX-1. Calling them respectively as a gadget and a serious workstation is certainly oversimplified, but I can’t imagine to use a box that re-sample all the sounds you put in it at a 32KHz rate in all my compositions. I think that’s the only think which really directs my choice.
Now comes the question about the item’s condition : used or new ?
The best price I can get for a new one is 400 € (but I don’t have any information about the warranty yet), and for a used one about 280 €(I missed an e-bay auction yesterday : 270 € for a not much used one, still warrantied until 2011…).
By the way, do some of you have an idea about the cost of the reparations for such a machine if the warranty is over ? Do you have to ship it back to the constructor (and do you need to own the original bill ?) or you can bring it to a specialized shop ? I suppose that you can’t consider to do it yourself even with basics is electronics…
Used or new: as long as something’s used but in good condition, I don’t care. It sounds like maybe you’re prone to worrying too much about…well, everything But don’t! Don’t worry. Be happy. Korg will do repairs, but like with any other electronics company, the repairs are relatively expensive…but if it’s a repair that can’t be done yourself, using parts it’s impossible to get anywhere else, it’s usually worth it. Unless the cost of repair is more than the cost of a replacement second-hand unit However, it’s very unlikely that your stuff will go wrong if you treat it respectfully. Korg stuff is sturdy enough, anyway.
And remember: warranties aren’t gospel. There’s lots of small print and most companies will try to avoid doing repairs under the warranty if at all possible. You need to take a few risks in life, my friend
Seems like you want a drum machine more than a synth. Synthesizers can produce the same sounds as the drum machines but as you said, not as easy to perform live.
Analogue gear is nice but most of it is pretty old. To my knowledge starting prices for most analog drum machines start around 800 euro (or $1000 usd). I hear JOMOX, Vermona, and Analogue Solutions make respectable equipment.
I would second the ESX-1. I currently own an EMX so I have some thoughts on this.
If you get a used one it takes smart media cards to save data beyond the on board memory. SM cards are outdated and expensive. Though there are adapters for the SM to SD cards, you may want to get the newer model (http://www.korg.com/product.aspx?&pd=159) that uses SD card directly. If you are recording to computer anyway then get the EMX. Keep the samples on the computer. At least you will get a synthesizer AND drum machine in one. This will allow you to do live and programmed drums. The EMX uses the same modeling engine as the MS2000 which also serves as the basis for the RADIAS. A midi keyboard can be used on the synth section for noodling around or programmed if you like.
I finally bought the ESX at a reasonable price, and found a guy who sold 128 Mo SM cards for 25 €, so I buy one.
Here is (for now ; I own it since about 2/3 weeks) my feeling right now : the ESX provides me what I was looking for. A live feeling that I can’t found on a software right now. All is in your hand quickly, and I really appreciate that. We began to jam with my room-mate (who plays guitar) and it’s really pleasant to play with him with electronic sounds.
In the other hand, I assume that my use of the ESX won’t play a big part in my compositions, because its sound is not so good. I mean it quickly becomes a mess if you start to use the internal FX. It’s actually all right for jamming, but I prefer to use software programming for my computer-based tracks. In fact, i think that I’m going to continue my compositions with Renoise, and also create some other songs in this groovebox, with the live feeling that it provides, and which I can share with friends more easily.
Also, I think the Keyboard part of the ESX is not really serious, but it’s not the aim of the box, isn’t it ? Maybe I’ll buy an EMX later (are some of its tracks polyphonic BTW ?). I imagine that with a midi keyboard plugged in it, it becomes a real fun.
Conclusion : thank you all for your advices, I didn’t know that this box exists before to start this topic, and i’m sure that it was the right choice for now ; I mistaken myself by writing “analogue hardware” anyway.
However, it’s very unlikely that your stuff will go wrong if you treat it respectfully. Korg stuff is sturdy enough, anyway.