THE Volca thread

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The Volca Bass still makes me smile - 3 voices - 3 sequences - and I do a lot of layering with the Volca keys which plays really nicely with the MicroFreak. The only ones I don't have are the Volca Drum and NuBass. The Sampler is just a blast... so quick and easy and fun.

I am not enjoying the Modular very much. I may need more time with it as I had the same first impressions with the keys but I grew to really appreciate it. So far I like the idea more than I like the sound. The oscillator just doesn't sound appealing to my ears no matter how I patch it up. I'll give it time and perhaps I'll click with it.

I've done the Midi Out mod on most of the 7 Volca's I have (except the Modular and Kick). Overall I really like these little boxes and think that the limitations and features of each is what makes them compelling. They play very well with my other synths/keyboards. Glad to have them at my finger-tips.

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Guess I'll have to collect the rest of the Volcas 🤦🏻‍♂️

Drum seems super useful, but I'm not sure about nubass.. Bass beats nubass every way?

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A couple of fun links:

Hacked firmware for the FM (see the reddit thread for more details)

Fill your Sample with random sounds from freesound.org.
Image Image Image Image

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That unofficial FM firmware is really comprehensive. I didn't realize that the author worked on the midi spec with CCs as well as adding new features. I thought it was just enabling velocity which I have with the RK-002 cable. I can now repurpose that cable ... thanks for providing those links sprnva!

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Distorted Horizon wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2019 12:42 pm I'm not sure about nubass.. Bass beats nubass every way?
I am not sure if Volca Bass beats it in every way.. I understand that the sequencer in Nubass is more powerful. I just don't like the tone of the Nubass from the audio demos and videos that I have have heard. It is also more expensive than the other Volcas so at that price point I start to look at other options.

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Some more questionable live content with Drum/MinilogueXD/Reaktor6

https://soundcloud.com/fuzzyparts/tjdmxdsr6/s-aHhiw

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I like my Sample quite a bit more now that it’s connected to recent purchase of Digitakt. Only downside is only 4mb of storage and file transfer. Kind of a pain but vosyr app isnt too bad I guess. Besides that, it’s a sweet little machine.

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Couldn't help myself and bought a Volca Sample. Oh boy, a whole new world opened up! Didn't know that you can mess with samples so much that whole new sounds are created. It's almost like having a synth. The LED under No. 3 is broken so I have to send id it back for an exchange but I can't do without it yet.

Now I know why Public Enemy and the likes used samples so much. :)

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MeneerJansen wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 3:16 pm Couldn't help myself and bought a Volca Sample. Oh boy, a whole new world opened up! Didn't know that you can mess with samples so much that whole new sounds are created. It's almost like having a synth. The LED under No. 3 is broken so I have to send id it back for an exchange but I can't do without it yet.

Now I know why Public Enemy and the likes used samples so much. :)
Yup. Was so adamant about never using samples, or at very least, never using samples I did not create besides drum samples. Having a device like the Sample made me realize sampling in it of itself is sort of like an instrument. I now randomly choose sounds and throw them into Volca and mess with them to get new sounds and a couple will find their way into a song nicely. Wipe clean, then load more random after a few weeks, and repeat.

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The Korg Monotron was my stepping stone to the Volca Beats (elementary drum machine with fun stutter effect) - then I got a used Bass (lovely 3 voice bass, and more), FM (inspiring digital synth with so many presets) and Kick (not as powerful as I had hoped, but perhaps I should just RTFM).

The Sample doesn't tempt me, cause AFAIK it's just a sample player and I don't fancy building my own library and transfer it to and fro.

The Volca's convinced me hardware synths are fun for me, worth spending on.
A Behringer Model D and Neutron followed. And a Roland SE02.
Much too redundant to my liking, but the Volca Bass is so much fun, I don't think it's going anywhere.
I may sell the Beats and Kick later on, but they take so little space in my rack, they may as well stay for the time being.

A stand-out feature of the Volca is of course their portability (optional battery power, speaker) but mine ended up tied down in a rack, DAW-ready. At first I toyed with the idea of recording them with a little handheld recording device, but that would shave off the bass...

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Just ordered the volca FM. Can’t wait to get my hands on it! :D :hyper:

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And I'm having a gift card to our local music store. That gift card happens to be exactly the same amount as Volca Bass would cost :hyper:

I was thinking about buying this https://www.thomann.de/fi/behringer_rx1602_v2.htm
16 inputs in a budget price. Hook all my other synths too to that and piece by piece collect all the Volcas and build a shelf for them. Or wall mount or something.

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cptgone wrote: Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:13 pm I may sell the Beats and Kick
Where do you live? :D

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Belgium :shrug:
In my experience, it's not hard to find used Volcas for sale.

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MeneerJansen wrote: Mon Dec 09, 2019 3:16 pm Couldn't help myself and bought a Volca Sample. Oh boy, a whole new world opened up! Didn't know that you can mess with samples so much that whole new sounds are created. It's almost like having a synth. The LED under No. 3 is broken so I have to send id it back for an exchange but I can't do without it yet.

Now I know why Public Enemy and the likes used samples so much. :)
Agree, it's layeralicious and you can create really out-of-this-world ambiences :love:
And it's a swell drum tool...loving the 2 mono channels setup too, keeping the verb off.

On the other hand my FM will go on sale soon.

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