9 years later this video makes me smile as I recently bought a Volca Bass (and Keys and Beats) second-hand and I needed this bit of confirmation that I did the right thing ;-) Thanks!
Thought someone would have already mentioned this, but at ~6:00 you were saying that the fine tuning is up/down a whole step. However I think you were correct in saying, initially, that the fine tuning operates within +/- a half step (not a whole step). Each note within an octave is a half step (e.g. C--C#--D--D#--E--F--F#--G--G#--A--A#--B) so the fine tuning goes up to n1 and down to n1 (half step each way). Beyond this range, the tuning is a half step at a time for each of the remaining notes.
These videos are phenomenal thanks :-) I take my Volca everywhere with me haha and its great to see what other people are doing with theirs. Its a really unique bit of gear. I was going to go for a Moog or Arturia but im glad I opted for this. At first glance it seems limited but ive been messing around with it for a few weeks and it is astounding. Its capable of creating kicks snares crazed fx melody lines basslines and pads with a bit of trickery
the vcos on the bass can be sequenced independently, offering polyrhythms and more complex sequencing options... you can also independently tune the oscilators and change its waveform, while the keys its only sawtooth i belive
hey nice vid. as i can see You like this device as i do. so i want to tell You a hidden function i found while playing with that gear. maybe You can show in a further video. so here is the function: press func+turn the Rate knob. This triggers a kind of stutter effect for the acitve step. It seems You change the resolution of the step. You can do that for every oscillatior seperatley. In the step programming mode lay down one finger on the step you want to program press func and turn the Rate knob, so you can set "the resolution" for each step and oscillator infividually (okay, i know this is crank finger acrobatic :) ) So have fun and stay healthy
Thank you for these videos - the Korg and other videos don't convey as much knowledge as you have. You have helped me turn my Bass and Beats into instruments I hoped they would be. Thanks!
Fj francois didn't allow replies: these are true VCOs. But there's pitch stabilizing circuitry built in; the tuning is digitally controlled, which is obvious since the oscillators are sequencer/MIDI controllable. But the waveform generation is entirely analog.
this little machine is a beast! its kind of showing up my minibrute & ms-20 right now! haha. & the price is stunning! still waiting on mine, back ordered
I just bought a Volca Bass online after weeks of debating which Volca I should start with. Can't wait to make trance and happy hardcore basslines. When the Volca Kick comes out, that's the second Volca I'll get. Who knows, I might buy them all eventually lol.
Has korg updated the KV Bass's firmware to allow external devices to control/toggle between all three VCOs? Is it possible to put VCo1, VCO2 and VCO3 on separate MIDI channels?
i want/need one of these now -the 2 main reviews of this wee box on youtube are a total snooze-fest -especially the official korg one - i hope they give you these things free coz you are doing a good job selling them!
Marc - are you hearing any issues with noise on the output? The Sonicstate review mentioned that the Keys had noise in the output that the Beats and Bass didn't. Thanks for the great videos.
hi! nice and useful video thanks! Sorry i still didnt understand, can i save my own "sound preset"? or anytime i switch off/on , then i have to "re create" my sound every time? if i can save my presets, then how many N. preset i could save? thanks again!!!
if you had to replace either volca keys or volca bass with volca fm which one would it be ? is fm more of a bass machine or a keys? i need make decision which one to get i cant get all of them right now : (
If I was forced, I'd replace Bass with FM. I wouldn't want to, though! Keys is my favorite, for sure. The FM is capable of being a great keyboard or a great bass synth, actually.
Amuk Tz Imo, the FM and Sample are the 2 best Volcas out. I'd go with the Keys and FM if I were you. FM synths are known for doing huge booming basses.
very dumb question but does volca bass produce all the sounds itself or did you have to download them somewhere? Plus can you change each button´s sound?
Hi could you tell me if this thing is capable of producing real low, boomy, sub bass type tones like those used in hip hop? I havent seen a demo online displaying this, they mainly show those acid bass style jagged tones for electronic music etc
It may be a bit late, but no, the Volca Bass can not do booming lows. It's meant for Chiptune-esque style sounds. Which of course tend to be buzzy and jagged at the low end. You'll need an FM Synth if you want booming lows.
+KitsuneCentral hmm ive managed to get subbasses by setting an ultra low cutoff with resonance and sustain. With some ext. processing I dont see why you shouldnt be able to get the low end in. I also dont know where you're getting chiptune from really. With the filter all the way up it sounds quite lofi but you just need to experiment with low cutoff settings and amplification. That's the major issue with the Volca. The amplitude is too low and the noise floor is too high so some tones get swallowed up in the buzz
Marc, great video, but I don't understand the keyboard. It doesn't look like a traditional piano keyboard the way teh Volca Keys does. How do you read it?
Yeah, after Chris's comment I figured that out, too. I wish the keyboard were longer, or at least like the Volca Keys. Can't complain, though, the thing sounds great and goes for about 3 tanks of gasoline price-wise.
It's as basic as it can be. You buy it when you want basic analog for a low, low price. If you want more functionality, you buy something that has more functionality, and you pay, probably, a much, much higher price.
Carlos R. Martinez Ch. LOL. Really man? This is a fully analog bass synth with a sequencer for $160. And it can be used as a sound module. There is really nothing to complain about at that price point.
9 years later this video makes me smile as I recently bought a Volca Bass (and Keys and Beats) second-hand and I needed this bit of confirmation that I did the right thing ;-) Thanks!
I'm so glad you made these videos. Beats the hell out of figuring everything from Korg's instructions. Your Volca vids are a great resource.
+ThePacratz Thank you!
Hi its really good video you can did I really learned a lot thanks 👍🎼
Thought someone would have already mentioned this, but at ~6:00 you were saying that the fine tuning is up/down a whole step. However I think you were correct in saying, initially, that the fine tuning operates within +/- a half step (not a whole step). Each note within an octave is a half step (e.g. C--C#--D--D#--E--F--F#--G--G#--A--A#--B) so the fine tuning goes up to n1 and down to n1 (half step each way). Beyond this range, the tuning is a half step at a time for each of the remaining notes.
Oh Marc, I love your enthusiasm! It rejuvenated my will to live! (And my excitement for my preorder to arrive!)
Best tutorial I've seen so far on the Volca Bass! Thanks!
These videos are phenomenal thanks :-) I take my Volca everywhere with me haha and its great to see what other people are doing with theirs. Its a really unique bit of gear. I was going to go for a Moog or Arturia but im glad I opted for this. At first glance it seems limited but ive been messing around with it for a few weeks and it is astounding. Its capable of creating kicks snares crazed fx melody lines basslines and pads with a bit of trickery
This is a great walkthrough of the volca bass. I'm looking forward to more! Keep up the good work ;)
the vcos on the bass can be sequenced independently, offering polyrhythms and more complex sequencing options... you can also independently tune the oscilators and change its waveform, while the keys its only sawtooth i belive
hey nice vid. as i can see You like this device as i do. so i want to tell You a hidden function i found while playing with that gear. maybe You can show in a further video. so here is the function: press func+turn the Rate knob. This triggers a kind of stutter effect for the acitve step. It seems You change the resolution of the step. You can do that for every oscillatior seperatley. In the step programming mode lay down one finger on the step you want to program press func and turn the Rate knob, so you can set "the resolution" for each step and oscillator infividually (okay, i know this is crank finger acrobatic :) ) So have fun and stay healthy
I don't understand how you do this hidden feature. Can you explain or do a vid? Thanks
Thank you for these videos - the Korg and other videos don't convey as much knowledge as you have. You have helped me turn my Bass and Beats into instruments I hoped they would be. Thanks!
+Josh Reineke Thank you for watching! I'm glad to help!
Looks like awesome series about volcas. Many thanks!
Great use of the retrigger/glitch feature in the intro tune. Funky!
I have to get this & keys. Will be so useful for the material I work with :3
You are amazing Marc!
Fj francois didn't allow replies: these are true VCOs. But there's pitch stabilizing circuitry built in; the tuning is digitally controlled, which is obvious since the oscillators are sequencer/MIDI controllable. But the waveform generation is entirely analog.
a DCO would still be analog
this little machine is a beast! its kind of showing up my minibrute & ms-20 right now! haha. & the price is stunning! still waiting on mine, back ordered
I just bought a Volca Bass online after weeks of debating which Volca I should start with. Can't wait to make trance and happy hardcore basslines. When the Volca Kick comes out, that's the second Volca I'll get. Who knows, I might buy them all eventually lol.
GT6SuzukaTimeTrials Try it with other music as well. Works great for anything really.
Has korg updated the KV Bass's firmware to allow external devices to control/toggle between all three VCOs? Is it possible to put VCo1, VCO2 and VCO3 on separate MIDI channels?
Still a great video. And poo poo to all those who say less talking. They're missing the point of your videos.
Thank you very much, Adam!
Great explanations and demo. Thanks!
Thanks for the videos! SUPER helpful!! By any chance are you going to do a video using the SQ-1 with any of the volcas? Thanks!
wow this is sick!!
The problem with trying to go multitimbral is that the paraphonic voices share the same filter and same limited EG, AMP, and modulation.
DAT OSCILLATOR!!!
SO UNIQUE!!
Well, it shows them up in regard to size, and battery-operatedness, in any case! :)
i'm learning so much ! Thanks so much !!!!! :)
i want/need one of these now -the 2 main reviews of this wee box on youtube are a total snooze-fest -especially the official korg one - i hope they give you these things free coz you are doing a good job selling them!
Thank you for this videos!
I'm kind of confused... I demonstrated the range of both waveforms?
You REALLY like your toy hahaha. Great Vid !
Looks like a must buy, though I like the demos of the volca keys I've heard more so far.
Marc - are you hearing any issues with noise on the output? The Sonicstate review mentioned that the Keys had noise in the output that the Beats and Bass didn't. Thanks for the great videos.
Your Volca tutorials are great. Do you have a tutorial for Volca Bass that touches on Memory/Write buttons/function.
hi! nice and useful video thanks!
Sorry i still didnt understand, can i save my own "sound preset"?
or anytime i switch off/on , then i have to "re create" my sound every time?
if i can save my presets, then how many N. preset i could save?
thanks again!!!
Is there any point in having one of these in preference to the Volca Keys? I think that the Keys can do just the same and far much more besides.
WOW! what a sound! i think im going to have to let my rx-5 go and pick up the beats and bass
Nice done...thx 🎼
if you had to replace either volca keys or volca bass with volca fm which one would it be ? is fm more of a bass machine or a keys? i need make decision which one to get i cant get all of them right now : (
If I was forced, I'd replace Bass with FM. I wouldn't want to, though! Keys is my favorite, for sure. The FM is capable of being a great keyboard or a great bass synth, actually.
The Keys is the only Volca I'm probably not going to get. Better to invest a bit more and get a Minilogue, or Microkorg-S or even Monologue.
Amuk Tz Imo, the FM and Sample are the 2 best Volcas out. I'd go with the Keys and FM if I were you. FM synths are known for doing huge booming basses.
kinda confused demo... what about showing the full range of both waveforms as you usually do?
Hey Marc, how would you say this holds up against a Moog MG-1?
Scott Campbell Not well lol. It's doing its own thing but it's not a Moog.
Super fricken coooool maaann
Is there anything the Bass can do that the Keys can't?
very dumb question but does volca bass produce all the sounds itself or did you have to download them somewhere? Plus can you change each button´s sound?
This Volca produces electronic tones as a result of electronic components, and not due to digital files you can download.
DCO, because I don't see the "Fine Tune" knob, like in the Minibrute, Moog Slim Phatty or the Sub Phatty. :)
Hi could you tell me if this thing is capable of producing real low, boomy, sub bass type tones like those used in hip hop? I havent seen a demo online displaying this, they mainly show those acid bass style jagged tones for electronic music etc
It may be a bit late, but no, the Volca Bass can not do booming lows. It's meant for Chiptune-esque style sounds. Which of course tend to be buzzy and jagged at the low end. You'll need an FM Synth if you want booming lows.
+KitsuneCentral hmm ive managed to get subbasses by setting an ultra low cutoff with resonance and sustain. With some ext. processing I dont see why you shouldnt be able to get the low end in. I also dont know where you're getting chiptune from really. With the filter all the way up it sounds quite lofi but you just need to experiment with low cutoff settings and amplification. That's the major issue with the Volca. The amplitude is too low and the noise floor is too high so some tones get swallowed up in the buzz
Spot on!
Can we adjust the knobs and save it as a preset like the Volca FM?
Eric Liss watch the other videos and see
Thats all cool n shit. But can it do regular clean deep sounding 808 bass?
The 808 is a drum machine.
comon part 2 and 3 and the keys !!! . cant wait like this =)
Can this be attached to a MIDI keyboard to add pitch bend?
t55a2
yep
I'm a noob so bare with me, but how do you know which was is sawtooth and square wave...they have the same symbols underneath.
Check this:
www3.eng.cam.ac.uk/DesignOffice/mdp/electric_web/AC/02293.png
Square wave is the top symbol, sawtooth is the middle symbol.
How long are the attack and release sections of the envelope? Anyone know?
Tone Deaf Envelopes are pretty snappy. Not sure the time though.
Bout as long as disdick
Marc, great video, but I don't understand the keyboard. It doesn't look like a traditional piano keyboard the way teh Volca Keys does. How do you read it?
You know, this stumped me, too at first! It's a keyboard, but the colors are reversed!
Yeah, after Chris's comment I figured that out, too. I wish the keyboard were longer, or at least like the Volca Keys. Can't complain, though, the thing sounds great and goes for about 3 tanks of gasoline price-wise.
Yeah, it took me awhile to get used to it... but again, it's worth it.
neeeeed...
i'm attempting to sync up my internal clock to Doty time.
this thing is on sale for under $200 bucks. Getting it
Same, this is the best thing under $200, I'll probably get them all.
It's always that price..
Ah, hehe This was 1,5 years ago. I don't know
you're an asshole!
Cool, but I can't imagine myself actually using on a track except for some cheasy retro sound. It just ain't my cup-o'-tea.
11:23 Mario loading
Ha ha. Good!
rip ears
wut
PWM? VCOS SYNC ? RING?
A missed opportunity to create a good synthesizer. too basic
It's as basic as it can be. You buy it when you want basic analog for a low, low price.
If you want more functionality, you buy something that has more functionality, and you pay, probably, a much, much higher price.
Carlos R. Martinez Ch. LOL. Really man? This is a fully analog bass synth with a sequencer for $160. And it can be used as a sound module. There is really nothing to complain about at that price point.
I just dont hear any bass sounds........
Cause you gotta listen harder.
Keep your hand out of the view!
Less talkee more playee
Jeff Strichart but he's so good at the talking!
Where is the continuation of the DX7 review? I don't want to look at this wonka-tonka-chinese-made wannabe bass thing