KORG Volca Drum - pros, cons, and how I use it

Having a little revival with the Volca Drum in my setup, and it felt like the right time to dive into it!
Note: comments are pointing out that I've said some inaccurate things about the sequencer here - it does have probability per step, and it does have pattern chaining. I very rarely use the sequencer on the Volca Drum so I guess I forgot about those features!

[@realmchat6665]

The Volcas are really great, sound great and are priced to make hardware affordable.

[@MJRinski]

Great review, mate!

[@dinogoldie9716]

imo: CONS: 1) No way to export/back up kits and patterns (Yes I know Oscillator Sink made that amazing online sound editor but there's still no way to get kits off the machine) 2) Lack of audio outs (ideally it would have had individual sockets for each voice) 3) Build quality (wobbly knobs and the buttons wear out over time and become a lot less responsive) 4) the sequencer being gridlocked to 16 steps. (yes I know you can ratchet notes for roll sounds but it's still quantised to 16 steps). PROs: 1) Ease of use and the directness/immediacy of access to all controls with either single buttons or simple keystrokes. 2) The ability to scroll through oscillator/envelope/modulation combinations via a single encoder. 3) The physical resonator sounds so good. 4) the splitting of complex drum sounds into independent "layers." 5) There are so few good drum synths on the market and especially at the price point (nearest comparisons being Elektron's Model Cycles at twice the price of the KVD and the Erica Synths LXR-02 at thrice the price). I've now got an Erica Synths LXR-02 and while it addresses all the cons of the Volca Drum (e.g. build quality, separate audio outs, exporting kits etc), its controls are a lot less immediately available than the KVD. There's a lot more hopping between pages on the LXR-02 whereas, on the KVD, I can use the encoder knob to pick my preferred osc/env/mod combo and then tweak all the values without going into different menus/screens. Also, while the voices on the LXR-02 do each comprise 2-3 oscillators, the oscillators do not have independent envelope controls like the "layers" on the KVD. If I'm programming, say, a snare on the KVD, I can alter the duration of the two layers so that the sizzle outlasts the pop of the drum. When making a snare on the LXR-02, the envelope and modulation are applied equally to both the pop and the sizzle of the snare.

[@minimal.camera]

Nice synopsis! I would love to try the LXR-02 some day, it does seem like the 'more serious' Volca Drum.

[@darrenpriede8075]

you can also set patterns to play continuosly 1thru 16, by copying patterns altering as you go,you can get very long patterns.great workby the way, oh and press 1 and 16 whilst in load pattern mode .

[@geraldclark5812]

The mistake you made where you got confused about what part and layer you were editing happens to me nearly every time I use the Volca Drum, really I think that's its biggest flaw. It was one of my first synth purchases, and not knowing much about them at the time I found this incredibly frustrating. Once you get past that issue the device is actually a lot of fun, but getting over the "why aren't my knob tweaks doing anything?" headache is a non-trivial barrier.

[@minimal.camera]

Yeah, in this case the mistake came from using an external MIDI controller, but I can see where it could happen just on the device itself as well.

[@andreschato]

You mention that it doesn't have probability but it does.

[@minimal.camera]

Oh snap, you are right, I totally forgot about it!

[@tomblaze2]

💥

[@electro-soma]

Nice overview. The Volca Drum does have pattern chaining. You can chain all sixteen patterns if you want. I think all the Volcas do this. At least my Nubass does.

[@minimal.camera]

Hmm, clearly I haven't used the sequencer in too long! I pretty much always sequence it from the Model:Samples or another Elektron box

[@skizzenmusic5025]

🔥🔥

[@CursedRecordingsUK]

Nice

[@jello-tarzan]

Great video! The Volca Drum is my first synt, I bought it to back up my guitar playing but it got me hooked on synths. One can learn a lot of the basics with that device. I'll never sell it, it has a lot applications and is very fun. The limitations are fine at that small price. Now, what about that blackbox?

[@minimal.camera]

Thanks, I agree! I love the Blackbox, it compliments just about anything. I have a bunch of other videos on it as well. I use it as a half utility, half instrument.

[@mrskullman40]

@jello-tarzan I had this same idea as I am learning guitar, do you find that this combination of creating sounds with the Volca pairs well with guitar?

[@jello-tarzan]

@@mrskullman40 yes, I do! But what I needed was more something like Arturia's Drumbrute Impact. If your looking to only program beats to play on, it's a better choice (good sequencer, polyrythmic, analog sounds, comfortable interface) but the sounds are limited, until you plug it into your DAW to trigger sounds.(MIDI). VOLCA DRUM is good for sound design and sequencing too, but in a portable hardware and with fm sounds.

[@djpvma]

Can you save sounds and configurations and beats that you make, or do you have to record them after you make the pattern and samples?

[@minimal.camera]

You can save them on the unit! Up to 16 patterns (sequences), and up to 16 kits (sounds and associated parameter values).

[@untoldstory176]

..stop myself from rambling too much 😄 very good! I see it all the same way you do. Volca drum is Absolut Unigue!° As far as I know, pattern chain works! do you have the latest firmware ?

[@minimal.camera]

Yes, I just totally forgot about the pattern chain function! I generally sequence it externally from one of my Elektron boxes, so I don't use the internal sequencer very often.

[@JohannesLind]

Do you know if there is a way where you can sequence it via a digitone, And have different notes from the keyboard represent the 6 drum tracks? Cheers

[@minimal.camera]

Yes! Set the Volca Drum in the single midi channel mode, and set one of the Digitone midi channels to that same channel. Octave down on the Digitone, and all of the lowest notes should trigger the 6 tracks on the Volca Drum. From there, I find it easy to set a few notes, then copy/paste individual trigs around to arrange your drum pattern (I find this easier than trying to remember which note is associated with which sound).