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...Get the Most Out of Your ES-1
(By E. Wetzell)
Hooking it Up
Of course, the ES-1 is fully functional all by itself (plus some headphones or speakers), but here are some ideas for integrating it into your rig.
A mixer with Alt Outputs or Subgroups is a great help with the ES-1. Connect the stereo outputs from the ES-1 into a stereo input channel on the mixer. Then, connect the Alt Output, Subgroup Output, or even an Aux Output from the mixer to the ES-1's Audio Input. If you wish to use stereo instead of mono, of course, you will need two outputs. By connecting the ES-1 this way, you can not only mix the ES-1 with the rest of your gear, but you can easily route any of your other equipment through the ES-1 for sampling or effecting. All of the effects are very good, particularly the BPM Synching Delay, which will allow you to find that "perfect sync" with your Delay on the fly, even with non-MIDI gear.
Using the Audio In
It's important to note that the audio will only be processed when the Audio In button is held down or triggered. This is a good thing. The Audio In can be added to a pattern just like any other Part, so with a little creativity, you can do some pretty complex things. For example, if you are running a kick track from an external piece of gear or instrument, and want to add an effect only to the last beat of the measure.
· 1.Sync the ES-1 to the other instrument via MIDI (more on that later).
· 2.Find an empty pattern.
· 3.Identify which beat you want to effect.
· 4.Add the "Audio In" part to the empty pattern at the beat you want to effect (i.e. a 4/4 kick track using whole notes, you would add "Audio In" at beat 13 on the ES-1 to effect only the last beat)
· 5.Select and adjust the effect you wish to use.
· 6.Route the instrument through the ES-1 as discussed above. By adjusting the ES-1's output you control wet/dry ratios.
· 7.Hit play and see how you did.
Of course, you can use the Delay as well as one other effect in the ES-1 at one time. You can certainly use the Motion Sequence function to add some extra dynamics or "tweak" to the effect. By using multiple patterns based on this template in Song Mode, you can "automate" the effects to some extent. This approach works for any type of audio, and can be used in conjunction with any patterns or sounds in the ES-1.
Using the ES-1 as a Sequencer
In addition to sequencing its internal sounds, the ES-1 can also be used as a basic sequencer for external gear. Each sample pad can be assigned to any one MIDI Note, when the pad is triggered, either manually or as part of a pattern, a Note On message is transmitted to the assigned MIDI Note, i.e. if a pad is assigned to C2, each time that pad is triggered, it will sound C2 on any gear connected to it (that's on the same MIDI channel). There are limitations to this function, only Note On is transmitted, not Velocity, Aftertouch, Pitch Bend, etc. Motion sequence and other knob data is transmitted, but as SYSEX, thus it is only understood by other Electribes. Since you have a total of 11 pads, you can sequence (in half tones) a full octave, the pad note assignments are global. Limited? You bet, but you can still do some neat stuff with this feature. This can be used very effectively to sequence drum or single-octave bass lines or riffs. The really cool stuff happens if you have a keyboard with an arpeggiator. By using the ES-1 to trigger the arpeggiator, you can generate patterns far beyond the presets in the keyboard, and get some pretty interesting results. A few points to help you get the most from this feature.
· The ES-1 only transmits on one MIDI channel, so when running in Multi or Combination mode, you can select which timbre is sequenced, leaving the rest free to be played manually.
· You must set the keyboard to slave to the ES-1's MIDI Clock. In addition to enabling the sequencing function, this locks arpegiator patterns generated to the tempo of the patterns in the ES-1.
· MIDI Data Filters are a big help. The ES-1 also transmits Program Change messages, so if you change patterns on the ES-1, the keyboard patch will also change. If you have one, enable the Program Change filter on the keyboard to prevent this from happening.
· What I like to do is create a split on the keyboard, devoting one timbre to the range of the ES-1, the other to the rest of the keyboard for manual playing. Then, select a pattern in the ES-1, assign each pad sample to "none" so the ES-1 doesn't generate any of its own sounds. Even if no sample is assigned to a pad, it will still transmit its MIDI Note when put into a pattern. Using the routing method mentioned in the first section, loop the output from the keyboard to the input on the ES-1. At this point, you are using the ES-1 to trigger the keyboard, which is then fed back into the ES-1 so you can use the Delay, Effects and motion sequences to tweak out the sequenced pattern.
It's not quite ready to take on the Triton, but it's a great feature nonetheless.
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