So if anyone here goes onto the electribe sub forums knows that ive been quite active on that forum, im now considering getting a volca to play around with... now im debating between the bass and the keys i much prefer the control of the sound on the keys but from the demos i really like all the step editing you can do with the bass volca.
namely what im talking about is active step edits and the individual slide note and all that jazz.... the demos from the keys i saw only talk about the diff vco sounds and combination of sounds and the option to double or quadruple the length....
thanks in advance
Also if you guys that already have the volca series have any preference i would love to hear it. i currently have the tribe and im not 100% satisfied, planning on selling it but maybe getting an add on like the keys or bass could make it my new fav setup.
APC80 - kaoss pad quad - Launchpad - Launch control - an iPad Air 2 with a slew of useless gimmicky apps - electribe 2 free! - and future volca owner.
256K wrote:So if anyone here goes onto the electribe sub forums knows that ive been quite active on that forum, im now considering getting a volca to play around with... now im debating between the bass and the keys i much prefer the control of the sound on the keys but from the demos i really like all the step editing you can do with the bass volca.
namely what im talking about is active step edits and the individual slide note and all that jazz.... the demos from the keys i saw only talk about the diff vco sounds and combination of sounds and the option to double or quadruple the length....
thanks in advance
Also if you guys that already have the volca series have any preference i would love to hear it. i currently have the tribe and im not 100% satisfied, planning on selling it but maybe getting an add on like the keys or bass could make it my new fav setup.
You do get the active step mode on the Keys, you don't get step recording or the note slide like on the Bass. You get a nice step trigger mode that works with the motion sequencing. It's much harder to program than the Bass, without step recording and the fact that the keyboard isn't easy to play. The Flux mode is really good, allowing you to ignore the steps on the unit and have it play back exactly what you played into it. Which do I prefer? Well I use the Bass loads more than the Keys, but I think the keys is probably a more interesting instrument, the range of sounds from 3 sawtooth oscillators is really good and the LFO can be really dirty up in the audio range. It can make some very odd noises. Using sequences from the electribe to trigger the Keys is a lot of fun.
01/WFD - M3 - MS-20 - Volca Bass - Volca Beats - Volca Keys - electribe emx2 - Monotron - KP3+ - iPad with too many Korg apps
Moog Sub 37 - Arturia Microbrute - Roland Gaia SH-01 - Boss DR660 - Akai S1000 - Akai S01 - Yamaha RM1x - Roland SP-404SX
The simple solution to trying to play the ridiculously minuscule built-in keyboard is to use an external keyboard controller connected to the Volca's MIDI in port. You can still record using the built-in sequencer, and it also makes the Volca Keys a practical performance monosynth for stage or studio use. If you assign your keyboard's modulation wheel to cc 47 (I think!) you can use it to add vibrato - the pitch-bend wheel should work correctly by default.
Well i could always use the tribe's built in keyboard to play the keys but since im looking to sell it i wouldnt have that luxury for a long time. It's a shame about that lack of step edit. Thats kindof why i dont like the tribe. You have to play real time. Im not really a live player. Though with active step that kindof creates a workaround. Just play a really bogus close to what you want and then empty out steps. Is there also step mute? I do t even know if that wxists on any of them (step delete) on the tribe you can just turn on and off a step in the sequence.
Also anny recommendations for a cheap midi keyboard i could use and customize cc signals without being routed through pc? Or is that a luxury item?
APC80 - kaoss pad quad - Launchpad - Launch control - an iPad Air 2 with a slew of useless gimmicky apps - electribe 2 free! - and future volca owner.
Just to double up on what butterfingersbeck said, I think a midi keyboard is a must for the volca bass/keys. Then they become sound modules and very very cost effective if you consider that they're analog synths for a ridiculous low price. Personally I like the bass better but I think the keys is pretty versatile all around, slightly more than the bass.
I can't remember the model number now, but look into m audio - can't remember if it was axiom or oxygen, it's a 4 octave joint with faders and rotary knobs and you can set up cc values. A friend of mine had one and I was able to map the Keys' knobs to the m audio - no pc needed
Buy both (Keys and Bass) AND Keep the Monotribe - they are just perfectly complementing each other in my opinion. To have more fun with the Monotribe I do recommend a Midi In/out-Mod (for example from amazing machines).
For Midi-keyboard I had the QX49 which I did not like and therfore sold recently and bought a (almost new) used Samson Graphite 25 for only EUR 60.- - that´s at least for me absolutely sufficient to play my Volca´s and Monotribe via MidiIn. (I use it only to "programm" the various sequences - then I take it away and play only with my gear)
