Korg's Electribe family of dance-biased synth and sampling sequencers has recently grown to six, after (amazingly) nearly five years since its inception. During that time, the range, which kicked off with the EA1 and the ER1 in 1999, has developed a significant niche for itself in the market. Given that much current electronic music exploration has become centred on computers and software, it's heartening to see that there are still plenty of people who value the hardware experience.

This latest Electribe product is a development of the EM1 (released almost exactly two years ago), a combination of eight-part drum machine and two-part synth/sequencer. The EMX1 grows a number of extras: one more drum voice, three more sequenced synths, more knobs and buttons, Smartmedia card storage, a much more informative display, an extra pair of outputs, an audio input, and — most unusually! — a stereo pair of Russian-made Electro-Harmonix 12AX7 valves