Volca Bass - doesn't save "AMP EG ON" state and ot

ls_dado · Post by **ls_dado** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 9:34 am

Hi community,

i was wondering if somebody can tell me why the volca bass doesn't save the state of the "AMP EG ON" function. Does this belong to the synth parameters which are not save-able?

Is there any other workaround to get the synth parameters saved anyway?
(except kicking it old school with a printed volca pic and a ballpen...)

Is there a way to control the volume of the 3 VCO's seperately? Some kind of a "Mixer" option?

Is there a way of having a sequence playing longer than 1 bar?

After a few weeks of having my first volca i am thinking about getting another one for xmas. I am opting for the keys, but many rumors are floating around on the web about it, sounding sad, sounding too flat, weak filter, blabla.....
I'd love to have the beats too, but since i already own an er-1 mk2...

any constructive infos on that topic?

thanks in advance.

Spheric El · Post by **Spheric El** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 3:17 pm

Volca Keys rules .
Sounds really nice and the sequencer can run at quarter speed making it last for long chords over long time.
The sound engine is versatile with its ring mod and other settings and it can record pot movements.It's the best one IMHO.
Maybe not the best at acid but its my first choice volca coz I use a TB3 for acid.
Keys is good at IDM type stuff.
Can't comment on the Vbass sorry, I don't own one.

ls_dado · Post by **ls_dado** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 7:22 pm

Hi Spheric

Thanks for your reply. Yes, that's exactly the impression i got from the videos. I think people tend to make the mistake expecting the keys to be a similar device to the bass because they look similar. I made that same mistake before i heard the sounds of the keys and at first my impression was "sounds like a cheesy version of the volca bass and the filter sucks". but looking at all the - more or less hidden - sound shaping possibilities, 4 bar patterns and motion sequence recording makes it a really interesting device.

In fact, from my video experiences i can tell that it's a totally different device with a different approach in synthesis and usage of the features. Where the bass may be a more live tweaking bleeping acid ghettobox, the key seems more like a small, but advanced sound-creation synth. Please correct me if i'm wrong.

Spheric El · Post by **Spheric El** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 8:35 pm

Yes we are on the same page there

Dragan · Post by **Dragan** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 8:30 am

Forget about the bad rumors about Volcas, they are all fine. There are faulty items here and there, like everywhere in mass production. But if you're buying at your local dealer there should be no problem to quickly return and get a new good one.

Most of the 'bad rumor' problems come from first time users, these mostly have no experience and very little knowledge about analog devices in particular. They hear hum & click sound etc. which are all pretty normal at some point. On the other hand we have masterings of experienced users where Volcas are so perfect.

I have 3 Volcas (except Sample). The little beasts have surprised me and have positively influenced my workflow & sound creation process. My music is mostly loop based so onboard sequencing is great to have. Don't be deceived by the simplicity of control parameters as they are pretty well thought out. You can have a great deal of interaction & control over sound.

I don't think of Volca Bass to be somehow inferior to Keys. I see them as same base (they share similar 3-oscillator core engines) but with different controls to fit different musical needs. Keys can deliver lush (polyphonic) sounds which can make you think of a much bigger synth. Bass on the other hand can be compared to other simple analog synths like Novation BassStation2 or Arturia Brutes family.

Bottom line: while Volcas don't give you the whole spectrum of classic sound design options of analog synths, it is more about reduction to essentials (which was very well selected by Korg btw.) and the addition of simple (but very usable) sequencer. That's what makes them extreme fun to use.

ls_dado · Post by **ls_dado** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 7:19 pm

word.

thanks for the very detailed description. It is nice to see that we all share the same idea about the volcas. I'll probably get my next one tomorrow

can somebody help me out with the amp eg on question maybe? does your bass have the same behavior?

Dragan · Post by **Dragan** » Fri Dec 25, 2015 3:35 pm

ls_dado wrote:word.

thanks for the very detailed description. It is nice to see that we all share the same idea about the volcas. I'll probably get my next one tomorrow

can somebody help me out with the amp eg on question maybe? does your bass have the same behavior?

Sorry for missing the AMP EG ON question, my Volca Bass always boots in this default state:

VCO Group (1)
Cutoff (6)
VCO Wave (10)
Memory Pattern (1)

So, to answer your question AMP EG is off, same as yours.

Spheric El · Post by **Spheric El** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:21 am

Volca Sample is ment to be the $#'+ from reviews I've read.
It's deffo on my to buy list.
It's great for drum samples and 1shots and comments like "every home should have one" makes me think it may be the best out the four.

ls_dado · Post by **ls_dado** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 11:53 am

@ Dragan

ah thanks for the confirmation. That fact sucks actually.

@spheric

yeh, i liked the sample very much from the videos, but it's a digital sound processing device (duh...) and i wanted something analog in my setup.

probably i'll buy the sampler one day. I'm afraid to break my fingers while trying to step-edit a whole beat on that ribbon thing.

By the way, xmas eve has passed and the vkeys shines on my desk

And, yeah, it's more complicated to learn and hell yeah, it sounds f*ck*ng awesome! It for sure will stay here for a while.

Dragan · Post by **Dragan** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 1:21 pm

ls_dado wrote:@ Dragan
ah thanks for the confirmation. That fact sucks actually.

Volca knobs obviously stay in the position you left them last but other parameters that are located on the keyboard area do reset to a default state. Since these settings can be pretty deep you at least know where you're starting from. So I don't really see a problem here.

If you'd like to call presets you have created or build a library of your own sounds & patterns outside the Volca there is a way for this. A software editor exists which does the job and much more: http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=87013

@spheric
yeh, i liked the sample very much from the videos, but it's a digital sound processing device (duh...) and i wanted something analog in my setup.

You're asking for the impossible, there aren't any analog samplers on this planet anymore. If you'd like to work analog get yourself a used tape machine on Ebay and run the recordings through some analog effects if you have them. Simple!

probably i'll buy the sampler one day. I'm afraid to break my fingers while trying to step-edit a whole beat on that ribbon thing.

I'm not quite sure if you're aware of this: Volca Sample cannot sample, it is NOT a sampler but a digital sample player. You need some extra device (smartphone or PC) to be able to feed it with your individual samples.

No need to use the built in keyboard on Volca except to set the parameters, you can plug any MIDI-controller of your choice in there! This is a very comfortable feature.

By the way, xmas eve has passed and the vkeys shines on my desk
And, yeah, it's more complicated to learn and hell yeah, it sounds f*ck*ng awesome! It for sure will stay here for a while.

Santa, well done!

Cheers, D

ls_dado · Post by **ls_dado** » Sat Dec 26, 2015 4:36 pm

lol i didn't mean i wanted an analog sampler but i wanted an analog device and thats why the vsample was not an option in my case

im aware of that sample-player only functionality, which doesn't make the vsample more interesting to me. I've had korg es-1 mk2 twice, everything else would be a step back IMO. Tho, the es-1 has it's disadvantages which has twice been the reason why i sold it. On the other side, i think the vsample is a gread completion of the volca series. At least just to get vocals in your tracks.

yeh, santa liked me this year, since i was a good boy

Dragan · Post by **Dragan** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 10:04 am

ls_dado wrote:lol i didn't mean i wanted an analog sampler but i wanted an analog device and thats why the vsample was not an option in my case

im aware of that sample-player only functionality, which doesn't make the vsample more interesting to me. I've had korg es-1 mk2 twice, everything else would be a step back IMO. Tho, the es-1 has it's disadvantages which has twice been the reason why i sold it. On the other side, i think the vsample is a gread completion of the volca series. At least just to get vocals in your tracks.

yeh, santa liked me this year, since i was a good boy

Except for direct sampling Volca Sample ist quite similar to ES-1. I agree with you that Volca Sample is a superb complement to the Volca zoo. Only bitter pill is you are forced to embrace that specific workflow. It's the question of good integration & features versus the change of workflow (if you had any). For starters it's a no brainer.

ls_dado · Post by **ls_dado** » Sun Dec 27, 2015 2:56 pm