Korg volca mixer

[megamarkd]

I guess the quill in my ass comes from the fact that the speakers on the other Volcas don't feel like they're taking up space which could've been put to better use. I feel like they want those speakers to fill out the face panel so that it doesn't look so stark and void.

My idea of a sequencer would be 3-4 selectable lanes that would hold 16 patterns of 16 steps (with varying resolution a la Volca FM) of automation for volume/pan-balance/Isolator/FX Send/etc. It doesn't even need anything else like fake-ass stereo widening. The idea of a Volca Mixer is pretty straight-forward, yet they whiffed it with this turd. If they just took the time to write on a whiteboard "what is a Volca?" or, "what should a Volca Mixer do?" then it wouldn't be so far off the mark, but as-is it simply doesn't check enough boxes to fit into the product line. Luckily there's a lot of other goodies from NAMM this year to drool over!

Ah that idea of automating the controls on the mixer would be fun. Bouncing mutes on a different length pattern to that the units are running on could be interesting.
I agree about the stereo width knob; I only own the two percussion units and don't know if there is any stereo features on the others so kept quite about the uselessness of adjusting the stereo width on mono instruments.

[thehighesttree]

It seems like one of the better features, depending on the effect it has it could be cool. Maybe the onboard FX will really pound

[megamarkd]

It seems like one of the better features, depending on the effect it has it could be cool. Maybe the onboard FX will really pound

I'd like to think so. I mean really a compressor on the Vkick is not too needed, but I put one there anyway and the gate does make my ears a little less fatigued from hiss. I do think the Vbeat needs a compressor so that will be very welcome.

I'm currently using (like heaps of others) a Belkin headphone splitter and although it does the job, it's got it's issues. I'm pretty sure there is a little bit of componentry to level the signals as they are added. It doesn't do that good a job when trying to do PO's and Volca's. The Volca's are line level at full volume drowning out the PO's, but lose all their drive when levelled using it's own volume control. I really want a way to not have them all plugged directly into my console but not one of those terrible Yamaha gig consoles I have laying around. I guess once the VMix hits the local store I go in and suss out how well they actually work. Korg really do need to do two versions I reckon, the one they've announced and another with 6 channels, 2 sends, sync/MIDI in, onboard delay/reverb.

Although the Vixen has more channels and a couple of features that the VMix doesn't like 1/4" sockets, I hate those acrylic boxes they are being made from.

[MrJed]

No battery power was a killer for me so i’ve gone for the Roland go mixer... 5 inputs, one in stereo, power by smartphone or other USB port, record in garage band or iMovie if you want picture too. Also works as a laptop mixer / soundcard. Much much cheaper too

[thehighesttree]

Can we just keep slogging this thing? I find it incredibly therapeutic, like smashing something that's already broken.

[megamarkd]

Can we just keep slogging this thing? I find it incredibly therapeutic, like smashing something that's already broken.

LOL, why not.
Tell me why buying the Volca Mix is a dumb idea please, heheh.
I'm entertaining the idea of grabbing one tomorrow to just neaten-up some stuff. A Rhythm, Kick and a Bastl Microgranny 2.5. Pull all these dumb 3.5mm output units together into one and be done with adaptors and sh!t plus have compression and stereo width control and an effects send for them. Then Sunday I'm picking up a 2m production worktable with 50ru space in total.

[ranz]

You guys shouldn't dis it just yet - you can battery power it and it can play well with other Korg products like the Electribe - check out the video how:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3bLxf9RAmE

[Darkside]

May all the haters rant as loud as they wish, but overall the VM is not that bad and at least there are some users, for who it makes those little Volcas usable in a better way. I'm specifically about powering and getting several of them out'a single place and not having to mess around with strange cables/adapters.
Yes, there's lots of wasted or just empty space on the unit and how about those speakers - well, they could have been on the bottom like with other Volcas and pannel could be populated with some more useful stuff instead.
Those speakers can be actually handy when checking and making sure everything works before going out those RCA jacks into the outside world. So yeah, of course there could be better this and that, but overall I'm actually quite pleased with this solution. Combining this mixer with something like the TC Electronic M100 in my case could actually form quite a decent center of a tiny-mini-setup. I personally don't care about battery power as I don't use this feature on any of my gear, excluding the P.O-20 Arcade, as there's no other way of powering it. I may have stated it already somewhere else, but there's actually quite a concrete reason for that: having no eye sight keeps me also, well, "blind" to all the low battery wornings and I wouldn't want to risk losing important work or going mute in the middle of a performance or recording.

[ShoNuff]

No battery power was a killer for me so i’ve gone for the Roland go mixer... 5 inputs, one in stereo, power by smartphone or other USB port, record in garage band or iMovie if you want picture too. Also works as a laptop mixer / soundcard. Much much cheaper too

late responding to/seeing this:
those Roland Go things are (intriguing). the pro version appears to offer 9 inputs, 48khz recording via usb (vs 8 ins/44.1khz for the small one?)
multiple outputs on the pro version.

https://www.thomann.de/fr/roland_go_mixer.htm

https://www.thomann.de/fr/roland_go_mixer_pro.htm

[Darkside]

Well, reviving a dead topic, but I have recently discovered something nice.
While Volca Mix tends to sound not too good with volcas themselves giving them that nasty midfreq boost and making it all sound somewhat too boxy, it actually works way better with some other small devices, like those Behringer x0x series clones - Td-3 and Rd-6 in my to be exact. All together sounds quite like some early 90-s underground acid and that's cool!

[megamarkd]

Hey Darkside, wonderful to have you back in here!

I wasn't aware of the poor performance of the Volca Mix when used with Volcas, that is quite interesting. That said I have thought in the past that they would be an option for small devices with minijack audio-outputs as I really don't like using adaptors.

Cheers for the tip!

Well, reviving a dead topic, but I have recently discovered something nice.
While Volca Mix tends to sound not too good with volcas themselves giving them that nasty midfreq boost and making it all sound somewhat too boxy, it actually works way better with some other small devices, like those Behringer x0x series clones - Td-3 and Rd-6 in my to be exact. All together sounds quite like some early 90-s underground acid and that's cool!

[ShoNuff]

sort of wasting the capacity to power other volcas
although i spose you could use it as the multi-psu.

hey: i have one of those 5x way adapters: would that be a cause for hum?
or is it just pîcking up from another PSU? (haven't used it lately)

[megamarkd]

Oh look everyone here!

As long as the gear you are plugging into the Volca Mix can run on 9v 500mA, then there is no reason you couldn't use them. Though I have heard one person mention that the TD-3 can be a little noise if it is not used with the PSU supplied.

Really a 5x adaptor shouldn't cause a hum, but then again there could be many reasons why it can. Earth hum maybe from each device not drawing exactly the same voltage as each other?

But I've been wondering, have you actually got a Volca Mix? If you do, have you opened it and looked inside?

sort of wasting the capacity to power other volcas
although i spose you could use it as the multi-psu.

hey: i have one of those 5x way adapters: would that be a cause for hum?
or is it just pîcking up from another PSU? (haven't used it lately)

[ShoNuff]

But I've been wondering, have you actually got a Volca Mix? If you do, have you opened it and looked inside?

um no i don't. sort of um faintly curious but didn't seem a compelling thing to spend money on when i have other mixers already. and hearing that it gives a 'boxy' sound isn't very encouraging i thought the 3rd party version seemed more interesting - forget what it was called.

what would i find inside ?

i get that using it for behringer x0x could be quite good. possible hassle getting cables with different barrels on each end and reversing the polarity.
also often think about ways to reduce the mountain of psus and their nest.

[megamarkd]

Bugger, I'd have thought if anyone has opened one up, I'd have been you. But you can't open one if you don't have one!

I was thinking there must be a way to bypass the internal clock and run it off an external source and also swapping out the RCA's for 1/4" sockets.

Yeah it's interesting to hear it's got a boxy sound. I am on the fence about getting one. Like Darkside, I want all three of my Volcas to come out of one socket instead of having to use annoying adaptors, but also using one mean the loss of running them through separate fx.

But I've been wondering, have you actually got a Volca Mix? If you do, have you opened it and looked inside?

um no i don't. sort of um faintly curious but didn't seem a compelling thing to spend money on when i have other mixers already. and hearing that it gives a 'boxy' sound isn't very encouraging i thought the 3rd party version seemed more interesting - forget what it was called.

what would i find inside ?

i get that using it for behringer x0x could be quite good. possible hassle getting cables with different barrels on each end and reversing the polarity.
also often think about ways to reduce the mountain of psus and their nest.