Korg Volca Drum, Beats and Kick - What's the difference and which is best?

Testing to use the Volca Drum, Beats and Kick to make Old School House and 90s Trance, and comparing how the different volcas solve the task!

[@jaromirdziewic]

Nice comparision. I own Drum and Beats. In my opinion, they are completely different instruments. Beats is more of a classic drum machine with limited sound adjustments. Very simple and intuitive to use. Drum is a complete drum synthesizer with unlimited possibilities of creation. Beats is a traditional analog machine, Drum is a full digital machine filled with algorithms - beats is just the tip of the iceberg of the device's capabilities. Completely different devices, different capabilities :) For building original sounds- Drum, for simple playing- Beats.

[@holdthebeans]

That crunchy beat you hear in the commentary is the new Korg Ft:Powr GRVL-01 now available at Foot Locker

[@AdamVoxMusic]

😂

[@johnstride3809]

I've just ordered a beats , now I have them all,, I use them all together 10 channel mixer + volca mix & a microbrute,, endless tweaking , I only had one 8 months ago ,, contagious like covid 😎👍

[@johnsterthemonster9181]

Was this guy walking on a trail of potato chips? Lol

[@MsVengaVenga]

looool

[@davidscholten6707]

I believe that noise is intended to cleanse your auditory pallet.

[@thomassimmons1306]

He added a bell curve and boosted it by 5db

[@lalalalalafify]

🏆

[@literaltrash2275]

I bought volca beats last year. Watching this I wish I bought drums! Hopefully this helps anyone asking which is better

[@rookmaster7502]

I have both, Beats and Drum. Drum is best when you want to synthesize your own drum sounds from scratch. But Beats is more fun to play, and certainly much faster to put together patterns.

[@electroshox]

Kick:SubBass, Drum:ExperimentalPercFx, Beats:LoFiDrumKit, AllTogether:SmallBudgetCyberJamSetUp

[@ubiquitousreverser]

I agree the drum probably has the most overall and it is the "newest". The beats I own and as much as people complain about the snare, it is 1 unique, and 2 if you get the controls in just the right position, and it is sensitive, you can get a good snare sound without the mod. The Kick, well, as many trance artist's would say is the heart of your track, so for those 4 on the floor types wanting to have a kick source well there you go. Great video, thanks for sharing your opinions and putting a great video together!

[@Two-Eyed_Boy]

Very cool comparison! My understanding is that the Drum is the most tweakable of the 3, but really it sounds like all 3 would fit into just about any mix!

[@Non-AquaticMammals]

Thank you! Very cool video and I feel like you get those Volcas working!

[@Kadenite]

I have the Drum and Kick: The Drum has a decent selection of kits and lots of options to warp the sounds. The Kick is extremely limited as a drum machine, but the sound can be mutated so much that it can double as a decent bass synth. Hope this helps anyone who is still choosing.

[@andrewverran3498]

Would love you to do a Roland T8 vs Volca Drum and maybe include the Volca Bass to be fair .. Love your work. Peace

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Ye, I have an eye an the aria compact series. I would like to compare ACB to real Analog, that would be interesting! Thanks for the comment! 👍

[@trevormalcolm4328]

You had me at “old skool house”

[@r3dsnow757]

you know what...i couldnt decide..so i'm getting both the drum and beats

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Decisions are always hard... solution so easy. :)

[@JosieCarr]

Great stuff!

[@Philiyan]

Appreciate this bro, thanks

[@pablowentscobar]

I love that he mic'd up his shoes for walking down that gravel trail. Not super annoying at all.

[@Mr.Tubster]

Great video 😍😎😍 thumbz up 👍👍👍

[@volt7cooltangs701]

Great Video Adam. Brilliant comparison. Thank-you. Well done 👏🏻 ps. Kick is also great for filter blips and zaps.

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Absolutely, you can do much more with Volca Kick then just Kicks! 🙂

[@VJFranzK]

5:19 you could use the Roll on the Volca Kick here! (A feature which the others don't have, but I wish they did!) good discussion overall. Also, I think Volca Drum, Kick, and Sample MK 2 have Step Jump that returns to the same point in the playback? which is usually better

[@ildafons]

Kick has more pleasant sound for 90's music. Drum has more sound design possibilities if you need it. Beats is quite old school and simple machine

[@gabrielshepard]

Thanks!!!! You really helped me narrow it down. Volca Beats it is!!! The Volca Drum sounded to shrill on the snare... I wouldn't say tin like. But it was something. And the Volca Kick sounded muffled... like someone trying to call you from a payphone at a rave party. I did like much of the parts spunds... it was the muffle on the snare and kick that kinda turned me off.

[@leewightman8619]

Volca drum sounds the best to me

[@jobsclaro1978]

thank you very much , this was very help

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Happy to hear! 😊

[@rayderrich]

A nice comparison, thank you. Would I ever pay over 100 Euros for just a kick sound? Probably not. The other two are cool though.

[@martinjarmara4112]

thanks for video, it helps ;)

[@Polarityshifter]

I'm just getting VAS, Volca acquisition syndrome😅

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Good abbreviation! :)

[@al.cavalu]

A much healthier one than Eurorack...

[@aseomg]

🤔..I wonder what these Volva dum machines would sound like, if their sounds were sampled then played back through the Volca Sample?

[@Answersonapostcard]

crunchy and lo-fi!

[@kayacura.music1]

Need to give it a try.

[@calinncalin1582]

i would like to buy one of them for tekno/mental/tribe and wanted to ask which could be the best for that, thank you!

[@AdamVoxMusic]

For Techno I think Volca Beats is a beast! Especially the kick and the toms.

[@dillipphunbar7924]

I only have the drum but from what I've heard and read, the sample may be a better alternative to the beats. The kick sounds good as a bassline too.

[@meinemudda3095]

But you can mod the shit out of the volca beats You can mod snare and individual outs And maybe all other analog tones

[@dillipphunbar7924]

@@meinemudda3095 individual outs would be very nice

[@Kadenite]

I avoided the Beats based on reviews, even though I don't think it sounds that bad. I wanted the Sample but heard it's really difficult to actually get samples on.. the Drum is an awesome drum machine though. The Kick I only bought because it was cheap, but I was surprised at it's versatility as a bass synth of sorts.

[@Ullish1989]

Sorry for the completely n00b question, just a simple guitarist starting his journey. Are the synth notes coming from the unit too or have you created them separately?

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Hi, only the drums are from the units. The bass and synth are created separately to add a bit of context.

[@Ullish1989]

@@AdamVoxMusic thank you! The music partner got the drum and I'm considering whether to get a volca synth or ik multimedia uno synth. It seems for someone so new, sticking to the same family might be a good idea

[@VJFranzK]

Of course, V. Drum is digital, as the ER-1 was before. Kick is just a good analog kick / bass for the price! Beats has a thin sound, like a 70's drum machine, maybe best for "retro" tracks. A lot of people use the V. Sample as their drum section also, as it does have that crunchy 90's sampler sound to it!

[@thescreenviewer1349]

Your recommendation for IDM?

[@AdamVoxMusic]

IDM is such a wide genre, but spontaneously I feel Volca Drum.

[@jymbopalysearmageddon6484]

Great comparisons. You got my thumbs up! But the walking while you talk . . . just chalk that up to a failed experiment. Cheers!

[@AdamVoxMusic]

No, I will not do the "walk on gravel" again... ;)

[@grouponspeam9236]

I've swapped my vDrum for vKick just a month ago, which IMO is a good bargain. vDrum is definitely a versatile FM drum machine and of course can produce sonically experimental perc sound, but the sound overall is too digital for me (I don't mean bad or thin or cold, just not my cup of tea). Besides, vDrum has only one stereo (two mono identical) mixed output, making it somewhat difficult to post processing the specific sound part. vKick is limited like all other analog synth but it does really a good job for the low-end sound. What's more, vKick is the only one out of the three that you can easily 'play' the note with via MIDI note, rather than 'trigger' sound part in the rest two, making it a great dedicated subbass sound module IMHO.

[@LynxSocial]

Same.. I sold my vdrum and got a kick- never looked back!

[@kayacura.music1]

I'm happy that the Kick workes for you. Tried to use it for bass lines bat the pitch drifted like crazy. It was impossible to use it this way. It bothered me even for the kick sounds. Couldn't find a reason to keep it, was happy to sell it. I might have experienced a faulty device, but learned from reddit that it's a common issue. The drum was my first drum machíne, don't use it much, but like the hi-hats it can produce. My main drum machine is Volca Sample. :)

[@user-uh5uo9np6n]

all volca best for techno

[@bandungbusdriver5256]

then volca drum it is

[@volt7cooltangs701]

great vid but volca sample probably better than all of them. Even the mk 1

[@kasparhartley266]

I vote beats!

[@AdamVoxMusic]

A valid vote! :)

[@doodleydoo2369]

Hey let's play background music to go with the loud trail noise. It's not like we're going to record audio or anything...

[@Yosser70]

Think it’s pretty clear you need all 3 a 3 pairs of hands for epic builds and drops lol

[@AdamVoxMusic]

It's all about planning! ;)

[@lukemakayabu4369]

Volca kick for me

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Great choice! :)

[@DeadlyMixKrew]

Is the mic in your shoes? lol

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Absolutely! ;)

[@Spudcore]

Maybe avoid walking on gravel when you're recording to camera! Thanks for the video though, I found used volca drum and volca beats near me so this was very useful.

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Thanks! Yes, I will avoid gravel in the future...

[@VJFranzK]

Those are the Volca Boots! footstep synthesizer

[@Spudcore]

@@VJFranzK Of course, how silly of me.

[@jenewbee]

Why'd you mic your feet?

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Haha, yes why did I do that... I think this was the last time I did a recording while walking on a gravel road.

[@jenewbee]

@@AdamVoxMusic or at least make she your mouth level is louder than your feet

[@huslaa4188]

I highly suggest to start hacking your volca gear. They sound much better and give you more options. Good luck and have fun.

[@AdamVoxMusic]

This is definitely a next step I could go for!

[@grunntalll]

noob here, what you mean by hacking?

[@user-lw8dr6xx8i]

@@grunntalllcircuit bending. don't do it unless you know how. otherwise you'll wreck it. lol

[@stevewoywitka3258]

Had them all and sold them all

[@AdamVoxMusic]

Better to have had and lost than to never have had at all. :)

[@lee3144]

vocal beat grooves the rest dont