5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible sound, really easy to use, loads of fun and superb value

M. · 2 October 2018

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } If you like analogue electronic music and you can't afford a "big" synth, then this is for you. I bought this one to complete my set of three Volcas, which also include the Volca Keys and Beats. These are extremely smartly designed instruments which will appeal to a wide audience. I like my 1980 electronic music and it only took minutes to get some superb pads, arpeggios and other wonderful sounds from these synths. Always been a real Korg fan, but never though I would be able to own three new Korgs for less than £350!What stands out for me on the Volca Bass is the ease by which you can make some great basslines in a matter of minutes. The 3 VCO setup is extremely clever. If you use the built in sequencer you can either create monophonic sequences using all three VCOs in unison (and detune them separately up to one octave up or down), or you can use two in unison and one as a separate voice or indeed programme 3 tone polyphonic sequences using each VCO for a separate part. By using the mute function you can then quickly switch parts on or off creating a lot of effect with just the one sequence in your performance. I also really like the way how you can set the destination of both the envelope generator and LFOs to control volume, filter cutoff and in case of the LFO also the pitch (of all three VCOs). The LED readout is extremely handy when you need to tune your VCOs, set the tempo or octave.Only thing you need to keep in mind, you do need to know a bit about synthesizers before you can really get the best out of these Volca's but it should not take a beginner long to understand how everything works. The instructions are limited, but there is plenty of information and videos on the internet to get you going.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for new percussion sounds

P.o.L. · 6 April 2021

I have several Volcas, and this one is one of the best; the range of sounds available is excellent, and most are usable! I do wish Korg would make them easier to use with other equipment - you can trigger notes over Midi for instance but you have to stop the sequencer manually each time you start the master device or the Volca will do it's own thing! Overall however, they are a reasonably priced, fun and easy way to expand your sound making, and I would highly recommend to beginners who fancy having a go at making electronic music. This machine can generate some excellent grooves/ rhythm tracks and is very tweakable (all Volcas are!). It has made such good sounds I have samples to put into my main drum machine to get around the problem above; you lose the live playability but is much easier in the studio. This may not be the best 1st drum machine (it could be, it depends what you want to do!), but is a worthwhile addition to any set up to add some variations/ fills etc. and help with ideas. Paired with the Volca Bass it could do your rhythm section.; then Volca Keys for chords, Volca FM for melody, chords or more bass, you may get hooked.....

5.0 out of 5 stars Great sounding synth, forget what it hasn't got and enjoy what it has got - a fat punchy sound and loads of fun.

R. · 14 November 2015

I purchased this and the Korg Volca Sample. You need to read the instructions, which seem limited but if you take the time to read them will help a lot. I use this to generate loops to use inside of Logic Pro, Reason and Ableton Live. Its a great sounding synth which DOES take a little time to experiment with to get the most out of. You can use the supplied mini jack to sync this to other Volca devices. It syncs nice over MIDI too - it will start and stop when it receives MIDI clock. The output is noisy, but it is an analog (budget) synth so this is to be expected. Too many people moan about what it hasn't got - MIDI out (only IN), no USB, 1/4 outs (it has minijack outs), limited memory - 8 patterns etc. But FORGET all that. Its cheap, and limitations are good. Buy one, sample it and enjoy the fat analog sound. Oh and heres a tip for you. Although it only has 8 memory slots for the sounds / patterns, each pattern can have a "Motion Sequence" recorded with it. You can turn the motion sequence off if you want, so you can its like having the ability to have 16 patterns stored. The motion sequence records knob movements to modify the sound. This can radically change the sound and feel of the sequence, so its worth exploring. Also the "Active Step" function turns steps of a sequence of and on, generating new rhythms / patterns. I've fired it up with the intention of having just 5 minutes on it. Only to see I've been on it for an hour or more. Great job Korg.Finally speedy delivery - next day in fact.

Il centro pensante dei vostri Korg Volca

L. · 21 December 2019

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } Il Korg Volca Mix è un mixer analogico a 3 (2 mono 1 Stereo) +1 canali delle stesse dimensioni di tutta la serie Volca.È l'unico della serie Volca che non suona ma ha alcune caratteristiche che mi hanno convinto all'acquisto, non ultimo il prezzo, inferiore agli altri della stessa serie.- La prima caratteristica secondo me fondamentale è che può alimentare 3 altri Volca, nella confezione infatti sono presenti 3 cavetti che prendono l'energia dal mixer e la distribuiscono. Considerando un prezzo medio di 10-15 euro ad alimentatore già avrete risparmiato ben 45 euro. (Impensabile usare 8*3=24 batterie per 3 Volca a mio avviso) Ovviamente è compreso l'alimentatore originale Korg per il mixer.- La seconda caratteristica è che funge da master clock; sincronizza tutti gli altri Volca e il tempo è ovviamente regolabile.Questo avviene grazie ai 3 cavetti sync compresi nella confezione (Altri soldi risparmiati!)Le altre caratteristiche sono ben note, il controllo dei canali che include Lo/Hi Cut, Send Level, Mute, Volume (aumento di +6dB) Effetti Stereo sul volume Master e un compressore (Dynamics, Speed). La funzione Mute in particolare potrebbe risultare utile a chi fa dei live e permette di silenziare uno, due o tutti i Volca con la semplice pressione di un tasto retroilluminato (Utile al buio dei locali).Come per tutta la serie l'assemblaggio e le finiture sono eccellenti, è nero satinato molto elegante anche se io lo avrei preferito bianco ma attualmente non esiste.

最高だぜ。ベイベー！

s. · 22 July 2022

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Genial!

C.A. · 22 March 2025

Estupendo sinte FM. Suena genial, 6 voces y admite sysex de DX7 de Yamaha.

The Little Bass Synth I Didn't Know I Needed

J. · 5 March 2022

This was an impulse buy on Bolo Warehouse (AW) on a bitterly cold night in early February, an evening when I had had a few too many glasses of wine. I was vaguely aware of the Korg Volca series, in that I had seen a few negative or neutral comments about them on various music forums, but I hadn't listened to any audio demos or watched any YouTube demonstration videos. Honestly, these tiny boxes had never appealed, as I like my synths with keys or something I can put in a rack and MIDI up to my rig. So when this popped up on AW in a "Used-Acceptable condition for what seemed to be nearly 50% off the retail price, I thought, well, if I don't like it, I can sell it on for a profit.I'm glad I did. I love this little box, and it looked absolutely brand new in the box when it arrived. Go figure. I like it more than my Pro-1 monosynth -- I think the Volca Bass sounds better than most of my keyboards, with the exception of my Korg Radias. I mean to say, the Volca Bass is fat sounding, and oh!!! it has that distorted squeal that is very similar to a Roland TB-303 (or the Behringer clone). The filter resonance (peak knob) on this wee thing self-oscillates, so if you're looking to do a bit of Daft Punk or Chemical Brothers-style late 90s and early 00s techno work, this little guy can do it, and do it very nicely.Let's get the cons out of the way:The speaker is rubbish. I get why Korg put it there, but the speaker doesn't have the range to actually hear what all the glorious goodness this synth can make. Tip: Use headphones if you're going portable with this. Otherwise, hook it up to your mixer / monitoring system / amp.The MIDI implementation is good, but you can't modulate the filter via MIDI. What???!!! Why not, Korg? What are you thinking? Sigh... So, you must use the Volca Bass's filter knob in real-time. Also, no MIDI out, but it is possible to modify the unit so that it can do MIDI out, so at least there's that option for the hardcore modders.Pattern storage is limited to 8 memory slots. You will use those up quickly, and then you'll have to decide on which patterns to get rid of for later sessions. Also, there is no pattern chaining, so you must manually change patterns in real time, and you will need to do that in perfect sync as there is also no "wait to change pattern" functionality. If you're sequencing a pattern, know that the filter knob adjustments do not get recorded. The octave knob's movements will be recorded, however. On the other hand, it is possible to create 24 patterns when in individual three-osc mode, and with a bit of clever muting, you can probably do quite a bit with that.The smaller, clear knobs ... it's sometimes difficult to see what their positions are. Also, when I reach for the tempo or the EG attack knobs at the top center/left of the unit, I often accidentally brush the big filter knob.No noise oscillator... that's a shame. But not a deal breaker...So them's me cons. On the the pros:Three very stable analog VCOs (digitally tuned for stability, but these bad boys are definitely analog oscillators), any of which can be a Saw or Square wave. You have the options of three independent VCOs, two stacked together, or all three stacked together. There is also a tuning knob for each VCO, so you're able to create a very thick and fat super saw sound. Note range can be adjusted per voice but only if you are sequencing a pattern. Otherwise, all three VCOs will change depending on where the octave knob is set.The playing surface (ribbon?) is really responsive to touch and it's fun to play and slide around on it, but it is important to note that the playing surface is not velocity sensitive. The Volca Bass responds to velocity when connected to MIDI controller, though. Keep that in mind if you want to get the most you can out of this tiny box of joy. It took me a few minutes to work out what the deal was with the black and gold "keys." Tip: The gold keys are the black keys on a keyboard. The rest are the white keys. The lowest note on the surface is an "A". Maybe an "E" would have been better, which is the lowest note on a bass guitar, but from keyboard perspective I suppose it makes sense (an 88-key keyboard's first note is an A.)The filter on this insanely good. I read somewhere that it's based on a Korg 700s filter. I dunno if it is or not. And I don't care. I really like a lot.The envelope seems limited, but it actually has two modes and it is perfectly serviceable. One mode with no sustain segment, just an attack and delay, which is superb for punchy bass tones, and the second mode is with a sustain feature, which is great for more synthy sounds and self-oscillating the filter rez. These modes are switched by holding down the function button and pressing the number 11 key marked Sustain.Pattern sequencing is quick, if not a bit imprecise when doing it in real time. There is some sort of quantization going on, which can be distressing if your timing is off. I much prefer to sequence a pattern in Step Rec mode. Speaking of modes, the Active Step mode is useful and fun.At the moment, I tend to use a Beat Step Pro to sequence more complex patterns. Other times, I will set up a zone on my workstation to play the Volca Bass via MIDI in real time. I'll even swipe at the playing surface from time to time when playing other synths. You'll definitely want to put some effects in the signal chain, such as pedals or some other multi-fx unit, as the dry sound may be a bit in your face. But even dry, it can sit in a mix at low volumes.All in all, I'm really impressed by the sound of the Volca Bass. I had no idea that I was missing this in my life, and I'm glad I bought it. I'm now considering selling my Pro-1, as I have had that turned off since the beginning of February when the Volca arrived and I don't need two monosynths which cover the same sonic terrority.For its size, it's a little powerhouse in a tiny, tiny box. Could the UI (knobs), memory storage and MIDI implementation be improved? Sure, those could be better, but if you can snag one of these for $100 or less, it's definitely worth it.

Excelent

R. · 15 February 2024

Recently bought a few Korg Volca's trough Bolo for a great deal. All are fantastic portable mini-synrhs.