Korg SQ-1 :

 

 Korg SQ-1 Step Sequencer

What Can I say about the SQ1 that you wouldn't have already picked up within thirty seconds in front of a google search bar?   Not much, but let me give you my opinion anyway.

This device is currently a bit of a niche product, being that analogue/cv implementation isn't exactly on top of the world's manufacturer's list right now but unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last three years like me you'll be begining to suspect that that might be about to change.  I know I'm not the first person to notice the rise in cv implimentation on new gear right?
Perhaps the companies that be have finally noticed the demand, perhaps it is just a cheaper way to produce?  To be honest I don't care why it's making a come back I'm just glad of it...
Either way like many people who have got hold of one of these Korg units I needed something to do a job amd this black box with flashing lights ticked all the metaphorical boxes.

So what is it like?
Well it 'feels like it should', by that I mean it feels like a product that is built to last... heavy, sturdy feeling.  The kind of weight that suggests it is a quality product. 
The buttons?  Likewise, chunky rubber like the Electribe range im so fond of.
The small dials however I'm not so sure about, put it this way I'll be careful not to drop it.

Ease of use?
Fiddlyness of those small dials aside it is pretty straight forward, it behaves in the way you would expect it too... assuming all you expect is a handy box for on the fly pattern sequencing or as a useful trigger device.  There are certainly more powerful step sequencers out there, but not many that are both in the <£100 price range AND portable.


I got mine because despite already owning a room full of sequencers I required a cv-capable sequencer that could work in unusual time signatures to send gate signals to a drum module, and that was about it.  Just one single application, and i have to admit it did the job as well as expected.
The only problem with the SQ-1 for this application (and I suspect for many other situations) is it's limited in/out possibilities meant I had to make it the primary sequencer, rather than a slave (driving a chain of MIDI and CV sequencers) as for some reason I cannot fathom Korg did not make it capable of recieving MTC (MIDI OUT only).   But I can't entirely count that as a flaw as as far as I was concerned (at the time) I considered the MIDI OUT as a bonus, it meant I could make use of the note quantising features at a later point on a 303 module that doesn't have a built in sequencer rather than use a larger midi sequencer.


To be honest I'm not a fan (infact Im something of the anti-fan) of Korg's recent mini module range (Volca and the like) but this little box has me optomistic that Korg's "let's throw it in a cheap plastic enclosure" mentality has come to an end.  ...When something feels like a toy it doesn't fill the end user with the required confidence that it wont fall apart and this does feel professional enough to merit some serious experimentation.
It's size, although fiddly when it comes to changing those value dials, is also a bonus...  Small enough to slot in between midi gear on a restricted surface area and also small enough to fit near (or on) a modular setup for patching.   ...and if it is going to be used as part of a modular setup I can imagine it wouldnt be too dificult to DIY-mount it in to a modular enclosure permenentaly by adapting blank spacer panels.



The sequencer's biggest bonus for me is its ability to be split in to two (8nt) parallel patterns, for my uses this is particularly handy!   It means I can use it to trigger two modules or up to two pairs of sequenced cv signals in to the eurorack (whilst freeing up a MDI/CV module for other things).
So, unlike the similarly priced "lets throw them in a plastic enclosure" range of small boxes from Korg I'd have to give this little sequencer my stamp of approval.  ^_^

Korg SQ:1 Specifications  : 

• Sequencer Mode ALTERNATE, ORDER, PARALLEL TURN, PARALLEL ORDER, CV/DUTY, CV/SLIDE, CV/DUTY RADOM, RANDOM
• Step Mode GATE ON/OFF, ACTIVE STEP, SLIDE, STEP JUMP
• Sequence Step Resolution quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes
• CV OUT Pitch Linear, Minor, Major, Chromatic
• CV OUT Voltage 1V, 2V, 5V (Oct) 8V (Hz/V)
• GATE OUT Polarity + (positive polarity), - (negative polarity)
• SYNC IN/OUT Polarity + (rise), - (fall)
• Connectors - littleBits OUT jack (mini monaural phone jack)
• OUT (MIDI OUT) jack (mini stereo phone jack)
• CV - A OUT - GATE jack (mini monaural phone jack, CV OUT : Output Level 1V, 2V, 5V, 8[Hz/V], GATE OUT: output level 10V)
• CV - BOUT - GATE jack (mini monaural phone jack, CV OUT : Output Level 1V, 2V, 5V, 8[Hz/V], GATE OUT: Output Level 10V)
• IN – SYNC – OUT jack (mini monaural phone jack, SYNC IN: Max Input Level 20V, SYNC OUT: Output Level 5V)
• USB jack (type B, USB MIDI)
• Power Supply Two AA batteries OR USB power
• Battery Life around 5 hours
• Dimension (W x D x H) 93 x 84 x 63 mm/7.60" x 3.31" × 2.48"
• Weight 641 g/1.41 lbs.
• Includes a mini plug – DIN cable (*for outputing tempo etc)

#4 EMU ESI-4000 Turbo

http://www.vintagesynth.com/emu/esi4000.php  pretty much lays out what this beast does, or at least what it is technically capable of.

I'm note sure where it sits in the hierarchy of Emu rack samplers (being that this is the only EMU I own), and I have no way of comparing the sound of a 4000 to that of the rest of the EMUs all I can do is compare to the sound of Akais... (which is difficult as I will explain)

The thing about samplers is they each have a distinctive sound to them, this is because of the AD/DA hardware and the associated processes.  Another thing that adds to a samplers characteristics is its limitations and abilities.
The 4000, coming with a load of onboard fx etc, doesnt have that many limitation just a load of chararcter,

Before I got the EMU I had also heard of a list of producers that preffered the EMU samplers over Akais and that helped sway me in the direction of an EMU.

The fact this particular model (without the Turbo extension) already comes with some FX and processes makes it quite powerful to start with, when we throw in the Turbo options it opens so many more possibilities.

Editing

Editing samples directly through the sampler isn't as bad as it seems (although visual editing is always preffered), it can be a bit tedious at times but considering the fact a sample only needs to be trimmed once the time pays off.  Editing is done via the buttons and dial on front unless you have the ability to edit and save in the correct format on to disk or scsi drive.

Loading and Saving

It is also worth noting that it is ompatible with Akai S-1000/1100 and E-mu EIIIx, ESI-32, and EmaxII libraries via SCSI, and its own format can be loaded on other samplers (depends on the sampler) in the same way. 

For me that means I can load samples and loops saved in S1k for,at from my S5000 disks, but little more.

Creative Use

How it is used is down to the individual (and I certainly aint giving any secrets away) but with

• Stereo phase-locked time compression/expansion
• Audio scrub
• Auto normalize
• Compressor 
• Auto truncate
• Crossfade looping 
• Doppler/Pan
• Exciter 
• Pitch change
• Parametric EQ 
• Sample rate conversion
• Transform/Multiply

- A lot can be done, not forgetting it has 64 digital 6-pole filters *18 different kinds*, its got 8 outs (4 on standard 4000) and for what its worth the stereo fx are 24 bit.
Its also 64-voice polyphonic which is double any Akai sampler of the era with the exception of the Akai S5000 and S6000 (which have 64 as standard and are expandable to 128).

Being a rack sampler it requires an external sequencer and thats pretty much where the creative side comes in to play... A good sequencer (on top of letting you edit and trigger notes) will allow access to the machines SYSEX control signals and unleash its potential.

 

**Unfinished**

# 3 - Akai MPC 5000

I cant say enough good things about akai...

When I got her (^_^) I already had a few samplers that were serving their purpose (and I basically didn't need another addition) but I was looking for a synthesizer...
I was also tiring of the time it takes to set up a midi session and the process of loading samples in to multiple machines only to get side tracked by some thing on the sequencer side. (not to mention the electricity bills associated).
...I obviously did some reading up about the machine, specs and reviews etc.

The claims were correct the MPC 5k is pretty much a studio in a box, and when I say studio I mean studio...
Studio quality multitracking, internal mixing, processing and fx, and editing.
And then there is the synthesizer - which I wont go in to here.
Last of all there is the actual MPC sampling seuqencer at the heart of the machine which is the main reason people get this machine but in my case an additional bonus.

Some how before the MPC5000 come along I had never actualy used an MPC, my only experience coming from either my S20 and Korg/Yamaha grooveboxes, or rack samplers and so had no appreciation for the whole MPC style production.  I envisaged using it as the mother of all sampling, synthesizing, multitracking sound modues as part of my studio, or maybe using it as the heart of my Live Techno set up ...and of couse recording beats.
It wasn't long before I realised it was making a lot of other equipment redunadant.

To be honest I struggle to find flaws with this machine and when I push myself I can only find one...
There is a change to the workflow that happens when using an MPC, the limitations are that of the sounds and the way sequences are put together (which always changes with new arrangements and sounds.) these limits are lifted as soon as you connect the MPC to an external software sequencer though.

Sample Transfer

The USB transfer of samples etc makes all the difference. Tracks or sounds created elsewhere can be transeffer to it and likewise recordings can be lifted off the 5000 and dropped in to an editor or sequencer to be worked on.
Backing up & transferring sample libraries makes perfect sense too, and when your talking about 80Gb or more of data USB wins over floppy/SDcard/ZIP or MIDI DUMP lol

The Sequencer

I think its safe to say that ever since Akai released the first MPC everyone else has emulated that, and so having used things like Korg Electribes, Yamaha Grooveboxes and even the S20 I wasn't expecting to notice anything in the actual feel of the sequencer - after all they are just arranging totes right?
Well I did notice the difference and its all about swing..
I guess having a big ass display and a button to quickly switch between auto quantising helps, but there is also the way the phrases can be strung together very quickly and the fluid way that differing tempo phrases can be put together,  ...and that is just when in Step Mode!

I wont say anymore about the sequencer only that you simply have to experience it..

***unfinished**