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Problems recording with Volca Beats

 
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daleSMEDLEY



Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 8:21 am    Post subject: Problems recording with Volca Beats Reply with quote

Hi all,

I recently got a Volca Beats and I'm not having much luck with recording. I'm using a Lexicon Alpha with a Hosa 3.5 mm TRS to 1/4 in TRS cable and Reaper for recording. After a long time of mucking around, I finally managed to get output but I noticed that there are a lot of crackles and pops, and the audio seems to be out of sync with the Step Mode during playback.

Please help!
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Spheric El
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Joined: 21 Jul 2014
Posts: 795
Location: Liverpool

PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds like you are connecting volcas stereo l&r non balanced out into a mono trs balanced input.
Try a splitter cable from 3.5 to two mono 1/4 inch .
This is my guess from images (on my mobile) of the Alpha.
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jeftones
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Joined: 03 May 2017
Posts: 61

PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cables are key for making the volcas sound right. The volcas send a dual mono signal and with the wrong cables you lose half of the output volume. this equals boosting the signal high when the volcas are input into a mixer or interface and can cause compromised audio.

hosa cmp-135 3.5 mm trs to dual 1/4 ts
hosa cmp-105 1/4 ts to 3.5mm trs mono interconnected

those are the two cable i can recommend as i use both for my volcas. if you a trying to input into a mono channel the interconnected cable is the route and for stereo inputs the dual trs cable works.
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daleSMEDLEY



Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, damn! Would I need both cables or just one or the other?
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jeftones
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 3:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just one of the cables will suffice
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daleSMEDLEY



Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks heaps for that. And just to make sure, the 3.5 mil jack goes into the headphone port?
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megamarkd
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Joined: 15 Aug 2017
Posts: 635
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jeftones wrote:
cables are key for making the volcas sound right. The volcas send a dual mono signal and with the wrong cables you lose half of the output volume. this equals boosting the signal high when the volcas are input into a mixer or interface and can cause compromised audio.

hosa cmp-135 3.5 mm trs to dual 1/4 ts
hosa cmp-105 1/4 ts to 3.5mm trs mono interconnected

those are the two cable i can recommend as i use both for my volcas. if you a trying to input into a mono channel the interconnected cable is the route and for stereo inputs the dual trs cable works.


Interesting. I use a 1/8" TS to 1/4" TS cable for my VBeats and I find that the kick will eat all the output and cause the higher pitched instruments act like they are being ducked by a compressor. When lowering the kick level I reduce the effect, but it makes the kick sound weak. I ended up getting a VKick to remove the VBeats kick from use and make the unit usable. I had thought it could be the cable, but changing from an 1/8" TRS to 1/4" TS to the mono to mono cable may fix the issue (and remove any phase cancellation from merging two identical signals). Didn't work. I'm happy with how I'm running with my Volcas now, but it would be nice if there was a solution besides doing the individual out mod.
_________________
Stuff I'm using: Umm right now, well there's a Volca Drum, a Micro Freak, an ADX-1, a Pulse, a Blofeld, a UNO Drum, KeyStep/Beatstep Pro/Keystep Pro (one of each), a Circuit, a LiveTrak L-12 and this nonsense: The Brief-case as it was about a bit over a year ago (the the complete ridiculous GAS monster collection here)and here
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jeftones
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Joined: 03 May 2017
Posts: 61

PostPosted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

megamarkd wrote:
jeftones wrote:
cables are key for making the volcas sound right. The volcas send a dual mono signal and with the wrong cables you lose half of the output volume. this equals boosting the signal high when the volcas are input into a mixer or interface and can cause compromised audio.

hosa cmp-135 3.5 mm trs to dual 1/4 ts
hosa cmp-105 1/4 ts to 3.5mm trs mono interconnected

those are the two cable i can recommend as i use both for my volcas. if you a trying to input into a mono channel the interconnected cable is the route and for stereo inputs the dual trs cable works.


Interesting. I use a 1/8" TS to 1/4" TS cable for my VBeats and I find that the kick will eat all the output and cause the higher pitched instruments act like they are being ducked by a compressor. When lowering the kick level I reduce the effect, but it makes the kick sound weak. I ended up getting a VKick to remove the VBeats kick from use and make the unit usable. I had thought it could be the cable, but changing from an 1/8" TRS to 1/4" TS to the mono to mono cable may fix the issue (and remove any phase cancellation from merging two identical signals). Didn't work. I'm happy with how I'm running with my Volcas now, but it would be nice if there was a solution besides doing the individual out mod.



If you are using an 1/8 ts to 1/4 ts you will lose half of the volca signal, but the 1/8 (3.5mm) trs to interconnected 1/4 ts fixes this. The volca beats snare is practically unusable in the grand scheme of things and often gets lost in the mix. Personally I got a beats for the kick and te hats only
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megamarkd
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Joined: 15 Aug 2017
Posts: 635
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 5:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a nice Hosa 1/8" - 2 x 1/4" insert cable I used to use for my patchblock output, I'll try it on the VBeats and see if it improves the issue.

Oh the snare is a right-off, for sure, but I use it along side the RWolf snare to good effect. I've read about a mod that can resurrect the snare by adding a component (can't remember what sort) to the point on the pcb that seems to be missing a component (the pads are there for it and it is marked and all but nothing is there).
Using CC's to control the agogo's pitch, I can make a half decent cowbell too, but that is the worst affected by the ducking, disappearing complete with the kick at full decay and full level.
Now that my RY-30 is dead, my only source for a decent clap is the VBeats (M1's claps are way too 80's face slapping in a grotto sounding). The ADX1 can make some good clap-ish sounds though they are more like a clap-snare than a clap. It too was being ducked just not as badly as the agogo. To an extent, the hats fared alright with the ducking almost adding a jazz-like feel to them when ducking wiped them out of the mix.
After adding the VKick, I was able to use the VBeats' toms to better effect also.
All that said, I would like to get my VBeats' kick back in action. Five analogue kicks though compressors should make for some nice window bowing.
_________________
Stuff I'm using: Umm right now, well there's a Volca Drum, a Micro Freak, an ADX-1, a Pulse, a Blofeld, a UNO Drum, KeyStep/Beatstep Pro/Keystep Pro (one of each), a Circuit, a LiveTrak L-12 and this nonsense: The Brief-case as it was about a bit over a year ago (the the complete ridiculous GAS monster collection here)and here
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daleSMEDLEY



Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 7:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it possible to use a VST or download any plugins to make the Volca Beats sound better and/or different?
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megamarkd
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Joined: 15 Aug 2017
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Location: Australia

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 8:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes and no.

Yes you can get an eq plug-in (or physical) and use it to isolate and cut certain frequencies to give each instrument it's own breathing space in the mix. A plug-in maybe more economic than a hardware multiband eq (to really do a precise job, you'd want 15 bands per channel). You would need to pinpoint the bandwidths each instrument in the machine lives, choose some boundaries and put cuts in those frequencies to stop crossover and allow you to clearly define each sound.

No, as none of the Volcas have USB connectivity so they can't have programs written specifically for them to tweak hidden parts of the machines like, say, the Circuit can.

If you are really keen on doing something about the sound, do a search (using your favourite search engine) for "Volca Beats Mods" and you will find a few sites with instructions on how to do various modifications to the Volca Beats. There is a couple of mods that adds individual outputs to the Volca, each doing it slightly different. If you go that path, you can't go half hearted as only doing a couple of individual outs means you will still need to use the factory output for the others, leaving you in the same position really as you are now.
Now my VBeats is beyond it's warranty, I might try doing that mod, but I'll make sure I have a replacement lined up before I turn grab my miniscrewdrivers just in case!
_________________
Stuff I'm using: Umm right now, well there's a Volca Drum, a Micro Freak, an ADX-1, a Pulse, a Blofeld, a UNO Drum, KeyStep/Beatstep Pro/Keystep Pro (one of each), a Circuit, a LiveTrak L-12 and this nonsense: The Brief-case as it was about a bit over a year ago (the the complete ridiculous GAS monster collection here)and here
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daleSMEDLEY



Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 12:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wonder why Korg included such a crappy snare with the Volca Beats, it's definitely a let down!
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megamarkd
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Joined: 15 Aug 2017
Posts: 635
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Story goes that if you add a particular component to the circuit board it becomes a good snare. Look up "volca beats snare mod" using your favourite search engine for more details.
_________________
Stuff I'm using: Umm right now, well there's a Volca Drum, a Micro Freak, an ADX-1, a Pulse, a Blofeld, a UNO Drum, KeyStep/Beatstep Pro/Keystep Pro (one of each), a Circuit, a LiveTrak L-12 and this nonsense: The Brief-case as it was about a bit over a year ago (the the complete ridiculous GAS monster collection here)and here
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jeftones
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Joined: 03 May 2017
Posts: 61

PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 3:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

the mods are cool, ive heard a snare mod that makes the snare far more usable. Modding the volcas is really for the electronically inclined. I personally have decent soldering skills, ive put together pedals and modules, but would not attempt to mod the volca myself. the component are incredibly small on the volca pcb.
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daleSMEDLEY



Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 7:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Does anyone here use Cubase at all?
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