How to mod the snare on a Korg Volca Beats (ENTIRE PROCESS)

In this video I show how I modified the snare sound on my Korg Volca Beats drum machine. This mod is accomplished by soldering a capacitor across the open C78 contacts and was originally discovered by Darren Glen. Please also watch his video for more info.
Darren Glen's KZbin video
• Korg Volca Beats Hack-...

[@matthewcody1757]

Thx for this mate just did the mod am pretty stoked even though its not a great difference, it def gives the snare more ompf.

[@attizzoso]

i was expecting a line-out audio for the test

[@attizzoso]

@Micah Kyler spam

[@blahwars3891]

Cool! The down position is great!

[@kemek3000]

Very helpful, thank you.

[@housemachine509]

Oooo nice love this

[@michaela2440]

eyy thx brother/dude man!

[@drsquidd]

Cool. Doing it.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Wow the Volca circuit board is seriously condensed ! Don't attempt this hack unless you're REALLY confident about your skills, have a very fine tip iron and 0.5 or 0.355mm solder !

[@quarritadrien7167]

Very helpful thanks, however I’m not really familiar with electronic terms and I was wondering what kind of lead wires should I get to be able to plug the capacitor without soldering?

[@skipper6528]

Needs soldering

[@acidperex]

I had a problem with the silicon buttons, 8t was very hard to press the play, then the others. I opened it up to clean it, but it was clean. I found a Reddit where it says that could be the contact material, and suggests to fill the buttons with grafite. BUT I ended up damaging the cable from the batteries, so I tried to solder it, and I failed miserably and now it doesn't even turn on. 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@SISKworks]

ANDRES PEREX NOVOA oh bummer. Are you anywhere near Southern California?

[@acidperex]

@@SISKworks No, i'm in Cali, Colombia, South America. Any advice it's welcome anyway. I hope it can be saved somehow.

[@uli069]

Thank you for this video, Mike! Can you please name the exact specifications I have to look for in a capacitor to get YOUR mod? Is it 2,2 microfarad (uf?), 50V? Anything else to watch out for? Not that familiar with electronic terms but wanna do the mod on my beats as well. Thanks a lot!

[@SISKworks]

Uli Loe to get my snare sound you need to use a 2.2uF capacitor which should be marked as “225” on the capacitor. Not sure if the volt really even matter. The hardest part of this mod is soldering onto the board since everything is SMD. I would suggest getting a fine tip on your soldering iron and be comfortable with soldering before attempting this. Good luck.

[@uli069]

@@SISKworks alright, thanks. I will see whether I feel up to the challenge when I open that bad boy, haha. You made it look so easy and the mod is just too good to pass up on - I gotta go for it. Anyways, cheers & thanks again!

[@mightymike1978]

Uli Loe exactly the same thing I thought when I did watch it... I ve got a microscope from aliexpress which has a hdmi out & a tft screen. So I hopefully will succeed even with my bad eyesight... 😜

[@eurokush171]

I want to ask something What is the best korg volca for hip hop beats What do you recommend for my situation by the way Great video

[@Trig242]

I would think the volca sample is the way to go for that

[@stormevans6897]

Dang, I kind of want to do exactly what you've done with the switch, but it almost might be more worth it to send you $50 lol but I kind of want to get use out of my soldering iron.. I was thinking I'd have to get thinner solder, but I really shouldn't have to if I pre tin properly.. I'm honestly more nervous about the switch lol I've never installed one before.

[@BoathausMusic]

I definitely want to do this mod! You made that little dinky can snare sound like a gated verb snare! Great job and thanks for explaining. Any idea how to get rid of the crazy loud hum on the Beats?

[@SISKworks]

The Boathaus Thank you! Im not sure I know what mean by getting rid of noise on the Beats. Are hearing the noise when daisy chaining power? If so it is the daisy chain power that is causing that. Try on battery power to see if you still hear the noise.

[@dariuszjablonski1969]

How about variable capacitor? Have anyone tried this?

[@SISKworks]

Dariusz Jabłoński Nope. There is not much room in there so I’m not sure if that would work.

[@brocktunes]

so the idea of the cable sticking out of the bottom is to attach other capacitors if you want?

[@SISKworks]

brock o'cull yes exactly. However now that I’ve found which capacitor I like best I just keep it tuck inside the battery compartment.

[@brocktunes]

@@SISKworks I'm pretty interested in this mod with the switch, I've also seen one with a knob installed. would you be willing to do a similar install if I sent you my volca?

[@SISKworks]

brock o'cull yeah I might be up for that. Send me a direct message through KZbin and I’ll reply with my email. One thing I thought about doing was to put a rotary switch with a different capacitor at each leg to give a bunch of different snare options.

[@brocktunes]

youtu.be/addme/gpSpiriNog3RTrlc6JFKE1jOQbdP8A@@SISKworks is that it?

[@uait6134]

Does the switch serve to enable and disable the change?

[@SISKworks]

Daniele Jr. Boccato Yes it does. It is a three position switch that selects between Off and two different capacitor values.

[@spacetoilet]

Dude this sounds great would you consider doing this for anyone else? I’d pay of course.

[@SISKworks]

spacetoilet yes I do this for others. $50

[@VintageSlide]

Mike Sisk damn. You can get a volca beats for that price.

[@NathanChisholm041]

@@VintageSlide No you cannot! not new.

[@VintageSlide]

EGO TRIP well i bought mine ”second hand”. Still sealed in original box. Paid $50.

[@jnhutchinson]

@@SISKworks Hi Mike, do you still do these mods? Totally happy to pay.

[@martinheath5947]

Weird I've seen this cap soldered onto two completely different points on the board in other videos! Now I'm confused

[@SISKworks]

Martin Heath I think the guy that first discovered this mod was originally instructing people to solder onto different points. Then at some point he discovered the open “C78” contacts on the board and then changed his instructions. C78 is the best spot though.

[@OperantSound]

Do you still do the mod? Totally interested!