Share your setup ideas!

Discussion relating to the Korg Volca Series.

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fant0mas
Junior Member
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:13 am

Share your setup ideas!

Post by fant0mas »

Hey guys,

seeing as this forum seems to have a couple of active users now, I thought it might be cool to share whatever ideas you have concerning setups - in a hardware sense. If a computer is involved at any point it doesn´t mean you can´t post it here... but I think due to the Volcas being analog hardware units, that should be the focus.

So let´s just use this as a sort of picture-dump/idea-pool. Sometimes all it takes is a little change in your setup, doing something you´re not supposed to with your gear, to spark new ideas.

So - whatever it´s gonna be, photos, plain text, little diagrams in MS paint, just put ´em up here!

Hopefully we´ll see some participation ;)

(oh yeah, non-Volca gear is welcome as well, of course - would be quite boring otherwise, wouldn´t it? ^^)
fant0mas
Junior Member
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:13 am

Post by fant0mas »

So, here´s my (temporary, going to take everything apart again as soon as I need my desk again ^^) little setup for the day.

I call it: "Sunday Cable Hell". :-P
Image

Just the Volca Beats connected here, signal path as follows: stereo output (well, dual mono, really) of the Beats split two ways, one path goes straight into the little mixer (behringer 1002b), for dry signal.

second signal goes to the Boss CS-3 compression pedal first, then to the SoundBlox Pro Multiwave Bass Distortion pedal, then into the Bass Envelope Filter (also Soundblox), then into its own channel on the mixer.

this second channel also sends its signal to the Alesis Nanoverb which can be seen sitting on top of my Venom synth up there, which can be set to a number of reverb/delay/chorus programs, which is hooked up on the mixer as the send/return FX unit.

... nothing fancy, but you need to try it out to be able to imagine what kind of freaky sounds you can produce with this... basically just a drum machine and effects, but you could jam with his for half an hour and nobody would miss anything else :D

basically, the compressor just boosts up the sustain on everything, which also sort of gives the drums a bit of a sidechain-sucking effect - which is then amplified by this CRAZY distortion, it has multiple settings, does multiband-compression and EQing as well. and last but not least, the envelope filter gives you straight access to nice variations - the "triple peak" setting I have it on here basically gives the compressed+distorted signal a real "vowel bass" character.

so, with this setup, basically I´m using the Volca Beats both for the drums, and for "melody". especially the tuned toms and a bit of PCM playback speed automation on the claves/agogo thingies can go a long way with this kind of setup.
I´ll try to record some of this soon, to show you guys how it sounds. :)

Hope this is a good start to this thread, now you guys have a go (pleeease? ^^)!
honolulu
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:00 am

Post by honolulu »

Hello,

Image

Roland Mc-09 (midi master)
Volca Bass, Keys (with digitech rp55), Beats (midi slave)

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V

4 channel mixer (with custom On/Off switch)

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V

beringher XENYX 302USB

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V

Pc
analoguekid
Full Member
Posts: 177
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:22 pm
Location: Staffordshire UK

Post by analoguekid »

This is the set up I've been enjoying of late

R3, Volca Keys, Nintendo DS10, Boss BX4 mini mixer, Boss ME50B FX pedal,

Volca synced with R3 clock, all 3 audio signals into mixer and then down to pedal which adds reverb, delay and the very useful programmable expression pedal that enables resonance sweeps, Oct up/down, wha, and sound hold. It lets me do the equivalent of knob tweaking with my foot :-)

Oh and not forgetting the little hold pedal for the R3

Image[/URL]

Image[/URL][/img]
Korg gear past and present:- DW6000, DW8000, MicroKorg, MicroKontrol, R3, Nintendo Korg DS10, VolcaKeys.
Other gear presently being used:- Tascam US1800 audio interface, Yamaha QX5, QX21, M Audio radium 49, Fender Precision lyte bass and Boss ME50B fx pedal. Yamaha TX1P, XRI xr300, Boss BX-4 mini mixer.
fant0mas
Junior Member
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:13 am

Post by fant0mas »

nice start, you guys! :) already got a couple of questions for you, and some new ideas! ^^

@honolulu:

do you just sync the MC-09´s clock to the other gear, or do you also use it to send actual MIDI notes to the others?
i mean, is it just for timing, or do you actually sequence with the MC-09? (not even sure if it can do that, never looked into it)

also, what´s the custom switch on your 4-ch mixer used for?
do you use it as some sort of killswitch/instant mute or something like that?

@analoguekid:

I´m still curious if you sync that DS10 to anything. In your picture I THINK I´m seeing a Y-Split cable coming out of the NDS, but there´s nothing connected to the Volcas Sync-IN?

Or do you just set the same BPM rate, and hope for a good sync when you hit start? :-P

Really good idea to actually use the foot pedal with your feet, by the way ^^ I was having a little trouble pressing 2-3 buttons at the same time with my hands in the setup I used above :-P
analoguekid
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Posts: 177
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:22 pm
Location: Staffordshire UK

Post by analoguekid »

Hello Mr F,

I haven't got the DS10 CV synced and as you wrote I just get the tempo matched as best I can. The last couple of nights I have had the DS10 doing all the stuff to do with tempo related parts and the other gear for everything else, had some spaced out drums last night from it but tend to steer clear of drums if I can LOL. When using the R3 clock sent via midi its a lot easier to keep everything matched when only having to worry about the DS10 and Yes the pedal is a great bonus and is like having an extra couple of hands :-)
Korg gear past and present:- DW6000, DW8000, MicroKorg, MicroKontrol, R3, Nintendo Korg DS10, VolcaKeys.
Other gear presently being used:- Tascam US1800 audio interface, Yamaha QX5, QX21, M Audio radium 49, Fender Precision lyte bass and Boss ME50B fx pedal. Yamaha TX1P, XRI xr300, Boss BX-4 mini mixer.
analoguekid
Full Member
Posts: 177
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:22 pm
Location: Staffordshire UK

Post by analoguekid »

Also what do you think of the Venom, I had one when they first came out for a couple of months and loved it but had to sell some gear for a bit of ready cash so that one had to go as it was the newest and least practiced with so to speak.
Korg gear past and present:- DW6000, DW8000, MicroKorg, MicroKontrol, R3, Nintendo Korg DS10, VolcaKeys.
Other gear presently being used:- Tascam US1800 audio interface, Yamaha QX5, QX21, M Audio radium 49, Fender Precision lyte bass and Boss ME50B fx pedal. Yamaha TX1P, XRI xr300, Boss BX-4 mini mixer.
honolulu
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:00 am

Post by honolulu »

Yes fant0mas, the switchs on the channel mixer are a killswitch/instant.

For the mc-09, the midi is just to send the start/tempo to the beats, and the beat send temp to the keys/bass.

Your behringer 1002b work fine ? I really hesitated to buy it.
fant0mas
Junior Member
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:13 am

Post by fant0mas »

@honolulu:
for me the 1002B works fine, because I´m really only going to use it for jamming/live stuff, where the noise levels don´t matter that much.
I have my MOTU 8pre USB interface with 8 inputs for recording my hardware boxes.

the 1002B is alright IF you don't push its faders too high. keeping everything at 0 dB or below is really important with this one, and you also musn't push the gain up too high - then it is fairly decent, especially for the price!
haven´t really used the battery-power feature yet, though I heard that the battery life is only about 4 hours, so you really shouldn't buy it for that.

I´m already starting to run out of inputs, though ^^ Already thinking about upgrading to a bigger mixer, or getting a second small one.

@analoguekid:
the Venom really is a mixed bag of feelings...

a) it is basically ABANDONWARE on the software-side (no more firmware/software updates to be expected, and what little software there is is working but not even finished!!)

b) while it has some fairly modern=digital sounding sounds, it is really awful to program (extensive sound creation is only possible through a -mediocre- software editor) and it´s sort of hard to get good sounds out of it, at least it never comes easy.

c) on the other hand, it really is very versatile if you put your time into learning how to use that crappy Vyzex editor - it has tons of sampled waves from classic synths from moog to oberheim you can use as your oscillators, and they sound decent

d) it is REALLY cheap - less than 200 euros, which is why I initially bought it - I wanted/needed a MIDI keyboard, and the ones I was looking at were 200 euros or more... so I thought, why not just get this and get a free synth with it? ;)
analoguekid
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Posts: 177
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:22 pm
Location: Staffordshire UK

Post by analoguekid »

d) it is REALLY cheap - less than 200 euros, which is why I initially bought it - I wanted/needed a MIDI keyboard, and the ones I was looking at were 200 euros or more... so I thought, why not just get this and get a free synth with it? Wink

That was the main reason I got one too :-)
Korg gear past and present:- DW6000, DW8000, MicroKorg, MicroKontrol, R3, Nintendo Korg DS10, VolcaKeys.
Other gear presently being used:- Tascam US1800 audio interface, Yamaha QX5, QX21, M Audio radium 49, Fender Precision lyte bass and Boss ME50B fx pedal. Yamaha TX1P, XRI xr300, Boss BX-4 mini mixer.
fant0mas
Junior Member
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:13 am

Post by fant0mas »

@mfk
oh nice, that looks really cool!

can you explain a little how you routed things - and, most importantly, how you synced everything, if at all?
I see you have two small-ish mixers there, is one just an extension of the other (from the looks of it)?

Also, since I plan on buying one - what patchbay is that? I´m thinking about buying one of the basic, cheap Behringer ones... since there´s nothing affecting the signal in those, I figure quality isn´t as much an issue, am I mistaken there?
thos.regan
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2013 4:37 pm
Contact:

Saw the thread and just wanted to share..

Post by thos.regan »

Arturia Microbrute > Behringer VD400 Delay Pedal > Kaossilator Pro
Korg Volca Beats/Keys
Akai MPX8

All to Behringer xenyx802 mixer

Also, a Lexicon Alpha USB interface w/ Cubase LE5 for recording..

<a href="http://imgur.com/K7iLBGd"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/K7iLBGd.jpg?2" title="Hosted by imgur.com"></a>

And if anyone is interested in some jams;

https://soundcloud.com/analogspirits
(the first few were done with a microkorg in place of the microbrute, and no volca keys..the most recent is with the setup mentioned above.)
analoguekid
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Posts: 177
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:22 pm
Location: Staffordshire UK

Post by analoguekid »

Looks cool, will listen to your SC tracks later on tonight :-)
Korg gear past and present:- DW6000, DW8000, MicroKorg, MicroKontrol, R3, Nintendo Korg DS10, VolcaKeys.
Other gear presently being used:- Tascam US1800 audio interface, Yamaha QX5, QX21, M Audio radium 49, Fender Precision lyte bass and Boss ME50B fx pedal. Yamaha TX1P, XRI xr300, Boss BX-4 mini mixer.
analoguekid
Full Member
Posts: 177
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:22 pm
Location: Staffordshire UK

Re: Saw the thread and just wanted to share..

Post by analoguekid »

thos.regan wrote:Arturia Microbrute > Behringer VD400 Delay Pedal > Kaossilator Pro
Korg Volca Beats/Keys
Akai MPX8

All to Behringer xenyx802 mixer

Also, a Lexicon Alpha USB interface w/ Cubase LE5 for recording..

<a href="http://imgur.com/K7iLBGd"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/K7iLBGd.jpg?2" title="Hosted by imgur.com"></a>

And if anyone is interested in some jams;

https://soundcloud.com/analogspirits
(the first few were done with a microkorg in place of the microbrute, and no volca keys..the most recent is with the setup mentioned above.)
Some unusual grooves there my friend, I like Tides and Wildfires, and very nice to see you are loosing the laptop, do you do these track as a one take live recording or are they multitracked?
Korg gear past and present:- DW6000, DW8000, MicroKorg, MicroKontrol, R3, Nintendo Korg DS10, VolcaKeys.
Other gear presently being used:- Tascam US1800 audio interface, Yamaha QX5, QX21, M Audio radium 49, Fender Precision lyte bass and Boss ME50B fx pedal. Yamaha TX1P, XRI xr300, Boss BX-4 mini mixer.
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