Korg Volca Modular - Features and Basic Patching

Here is a brief look at the Korg Volca Modular, just going through the main features and some basic patching.
My initial impressions are that it is a cool little portable device, the sonic range is perhaps a bit limited but in all fairness what it can do can sound very good. Bottom line is it is fun to play with and also a great educational tool in terms of getting to know modular synthesis.

[@Almanacs]

Finally an interesting tutorial of this toy that doesn't sound like a car alarm. Thank for this!

[@nevets68]

As the president (and only member of the North American Car Alarm Appreciation Society ) I take umbrage to your post.

[@valdiskrebs566]

You actually made it sound musical... many YT videos just get noise out of the Volca Modular. It does have that “west coast” sound.

[@TimShoebridge]

Thanks very much, though must admit I spent a lot of the time fumbling with that tiny keyboard! From my perspective I'm a keyboardist and musician first and a synth tweaker/wiggler second, so if I can't get something vaguely musical out of an instrument quite quickly then I tend to walk away...!

[@valdiskrebs566]

Tim Shoebridge Yeah me too! The Volca Modular does not have the ability to use a MIDI controller... I wonder if the CV-IN responds to an external sequencer?

[@smelliot95]

Valdis Krebs yeah, I’ve seen some videos of people using a Korg sq1 sequencer, and I think it works with any keyboard that outputs CV, like Arturia Keystep

[@valdiskrebs566]

Smelliot95 sq-1 sounds interesting... I wonder if the sq-1’s A and B tracks can each access a separate oscillator in the Volca Modular???

[@mickypoo4622]

This is definitely the best demo I have seen of the Modular so far and I have seen quite a few, Thanks and please keep up the good work.

[@TimShoebridge]

Thanks very much. Appreciated :)

[@DavidDeLuge]

By far, the best video I've seen on this synth. Great work.

[@L0K3E]

These are the best sounds anyone has made with this thing.

[@monasteryofsound9602]

I am amazed, with what you've done, mostly I just get weird experimental noises, and the same goes for a lot of the videos, but you've found a musical use for this. I also like your calm thoughtful style of video. More please.

[@squoblat]

Great introduction Tim, this looks like a very interesting piece of kit.

[@Mark_Ocain]

Thanks Tim for taking time to share your continuing exploration of this clever little box. another very sensible kit breakdown indeed.

[@The5thVolt]

This is the best sounding Volca Modular video on KZbin. Well done!

[@N.A._McBee]

Thanks, Tim, for this brilliant introduction! Very interesting and informative. And I like your laid-back style a lot!

[@TimShoebridge]

Thanks a lot. Am making a note to myself to keep taking the sedatives! ;)

[@deathbydesire9832]

I love your editing style, its so uncommon to use low contrast high saturation these days Keep it up, thanks for your review

[@metokyo4960]

Excellent demonstration! Thank you for not ruining this with yet another hysteric sound pallet. Greatly appreciated.

[@Mokkers_stuff]

Thanks Tim. Just got hold of a Volca Modular myself and your video has given me a good starting point.

[@mosonic]

So helpful! Thankyou for explaining it so calm and precise. And musically 🤗

[@JoeLaRocca]

Def the best and clearest video about this cool little machine

[@robbalbrecht]

This is great. I just bought one and watching this while waiting for it to arrive.

[@ZUrlocker]

Very helpful. I am thinking of getting one of these, and this is the best video I've seen for showing musical capabilities.

[@jonathankrisp]

Great video Tim, really useful

[@CmdrMic]

Absolutely brill mate. Thank you!

[@rekall76]

great, easy-to-follow introduction to major functions of the VM... thanks! cheers

[@barnabycross]

Very helpful patching guides! Thumbs up!!

[@hiddenagenda1779]

Very well done Tim. Very helpful!! Thx

[@chrislynch9364]

Very good getting to know the modular tutorial. I’ve been on the fence for a while and the lack of midi has put me off but having acquired a volca fm this little powerhouse can be tempo synced into my setup. Getting ready to pull the trigger.

[@TilliKommunikation]

There is a MIDI kit for the modular available. (DIY)

[@trevormalcolm4328]

Ahh! A new edition to my lockdown viewing list! Although I’m a fan of the volca series, I never really fancied the volca modular (I simply don’t have enough time just “noodle”) but the results of this seem okay 👌🏽🇬🇧

[@nickpritchard7130]

Great vid. Interesting bit of gear. Big thanks for this one..

[@bigdaddy4302]

wow, another video already! yes!

[@coolquentin]

Instructive, thanks. And from 11' to 13' it's a really good jam :)

[@void101com]

Great Video on the Korg Modular, many thanks :)

[@Falkarah]

Sounds great. Big help. Thx!!!

[@jean-luc5097]

Très instructif. très pédagogique.

[@dr.feelicks2051]

Thanks for some proper insight, subbed

[@seemikehack]

This is really easy to follow and a great introduction for someone who is just getting into modular with this device. I know I'm way late to the party, but I just wanted to clarify about your normalled connections comment at 8:37: the normalled connection is only broken when you patch INTO AN INPUT but not FROM AN OUTPUT, which is really powerful because you kind of have an implicit mult coming out from each normalled output. So, patching OUT FROM the positive output of the AR function generator does not break that normalled connection, but patching IN TO the normalled connection of the modulation input of the first LPG does. For example, if you triggered the AD function with the gate out and patched the positive output of the AD EG to the modulation input of the first LPG for a one-shot envelope.

[@LJPV777]

I have no idea what this means but I just bought the Modular and this comment will come in handy when I figure stuff out. So thanks lol

[@martinkukich9168]

thank you for your post...nice job

[@iosmusicman]

Ace. Thanks. Mine is on it’s way. Cheers. Lee

[@meneerjansen00]

Very good introduction if you ask me.

[@LORANBELTRAM]

very simple clear and very helpfull ......thank you very much !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@scorpiiaw]

Great video

[@georgeray3492]

Well done. Thank you.

[@unclemick-synths]

Good review. An intriguing product. Unfortunately a bit pricey here in Canada.

[@niyagentleman8143]

thaks so much dude

[@OngoingBox]

very useful, thanks!!

[@DeeJay003]

Excellent video. Subbed.

[@jamesbtex58]

Good Tutorial!

[@Psychlist1972]

10:40 Someone started up a game of M.U.L.E on the c64 :)

[@justinkinter8651]

Split also doubles as a mixer as well ;)

[@TilliKommunikation]

Thanks!

[@RonaldReagan84]

4:24 Gordon Freeman's HEV Suit powering up

[@3ric908]

Thank you, great vid. I regret very much that there isn’t a single simple Pitch knob (soft and progressive not as on left)..

[@BroodXindustrial]

Dayum! Bad ass!! Hit 11:30 and bam! One on the way. You sold that shit hook line and synther ;) Damn good vid brotha. Amazon will be here in the morning. :) Damn nice my friend. Had been thinking of doing so. There is no try. Lol Thanks! Preciate it and the info is superb. Well played !

[@annother3350]

I like the idea or the scales keys but if i cant record that to a sequencer and play it back, It's not for me

[@VictorSteiner]

At 16:22 how does the 2nd Envelope start to trigger itself? It wasn‘t externally triggered ... is it running in the background all the time?

[@TimShoebridge]

Hi, Very well spotted. My assumption is that there is a voltage present in the envelope's end-trigger connector whenever the envelope is not in mid-cycle. That voltage is therefore immediately available to start triggering the envelope when you connect it's end trigger connector to the start trigger connector. So it is not constantly looping in the background at all times but the presence of the voltage means you don't need any other external input to get it to start looping.

[@VictorSteiner]

Tim Shoebridge interesting ... haven‘t experienced that in Eurorack yet. Was that a Buchla thing or is it new?

[@TimShoebridge]

@@VictorSteiner Hi again, I just read through the user manual, it says "when the cycle ends a trigger signal is sent to the end trigger output", so that does not sound like a constant voltage at all. But my guess is that the Volca is detecting the connection between end trigger and start trigger connectors somehow to make the looping work. Maybe it's just a "korg thing" to help keep the instrument patching simple......?

[@VictorSteiner]

Tim Shoebridge interesting way of doing it that could also help to build cheaper EURORACK modules that „kind of loop“. I guess this is cheaper than what modules with a real loop button cost.

[@VictorSteiner]

Tim Shoebridge I think it‘s not complicated. At end of cycle there is a trigger that restarts the cycle. It‘s what people do with MATHS all the time but by also having two such cycles triggering each other for fun rhythms.

[@Seekthetruth3000]

Nice demo. Is it possible to connect a keyboard controller to this synth? Thanks😏😏😏😏

[@TimShoebridge]

Thanks very much. Unfortunately Korg did not provide any MIDI connectivity with this synth. You can pass in CV and gate signals but you'll need a MIDI to CV converter of some kind to get that to work...

[@somethingintheuniverse760]

Somehow it succeeds to sound (sometimes) like an old Ciani's record. This box is clever. Limited. But clever. And anyway, there really isn't an affordable alternative except the 0-Coast.

[@nopenullify8947]

Thank you for this. I own one as well and purchased the expert guide book by Tony Horgan. I read it DAILY and I'm still wobbly on my feet with it after about a month of semi daily/daily practice/ (The book I mention is available as a .PDF for those interested, very good book. I bought the physical form for TOO much money ... as whoever printed it doesn't know how to properly bind a book but they made good on it. I can't fault them 100% but $50 for a paperback sized hardcover that has a binding that can;t last 2 weeks? There are books from BIBLICAL TIMES that have stronger bindings!!! >.< Let alone the many $20 books of the same size and type that didn't fall apart. Yes, $50 for excellent information in a book that falls apart. Again, they replaced it but .. I can't express how shitty that is. I've read alot, I still read alot and I never had a problem with a binding/binding string being so tight the pages are just coming out. BY the CHUNKS! If you spent $50+ on a BOOK would you expect that?) *RANT INCOMING* ------ My God, I am FAR from rich. And I took the bite financially in my quest for knowledge to get a product not worth 1/5th of that in reality. Information/education is worth GOLD *BUT* Materialism and the ENVY of the MATERIALISTIC (who can afford it), is a HUGE part of the reasons the country is in the state it is in. I'd say a CORE part of it! As it does NOTHING but "stimulate the economy" (which is FINE) *BUT* then the economy becomes dependent (more or less) on the sales of frivolous garbage. And the cycle begins. And Americans suck it up. Sorry I'm going off topic. I just watched "The Corporation" and it changed my perspective on life forever as an American. Scary shit and It/you SHOULD be scared. Watch it if you care about these issues. It's right there in the search results. Very eye opening shit. Prepare for an hour+ ride into how disgusting and greedy humanity is and can be. Play music and remember to BREATHE! "MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES" is an understatement. God Bless you a;;. Love your neighbor despite your gut telling you otherwise. I get it..

[@scowlsmcjowls2626]

Can this replace a room full of modular synths

[@volcamodularbloke5816]

yes

[@fluentpanic3559]

Can I sync it to ableton??

[@dreamyrhodes]

The reverb sounds like a drain pipe.

[@scowlsmcjowls2626]

Wood you knot just give us the basics and let us create our own sounds. *all puns intended*

[@williamknight2433]

*black left the chat*

[@johnhorrobin8560]

This looks to me like a good recommendation to buy the Make Noise 0 coast, unless you have microscopic fingers and infinite patience and a scanning electron microscope handy to see where your connectors are going. I thought the Volca keys was horrendous to work with but Korg have excelled themselves here , the words ''cool'' ''Awesome'' ''Really Rad'' do not spring to mind. I will keep my cash for something else.

[@meneerjansen00]

What a surprise, something that costs 2.5 times as much is much better.... Kicking in an open door is always easy.

[@samusordicus]

You seem tired .. have a rest mate haha

[@annother3350]

Too small for school

[@droptherapy2085]

I have never seen someone use spaces in this way before.

[@johnhorrobin8560]

@@droptherapy2085 The space bar on my laptop has a fault or dead spot where my thumb usually lands and it fails to do a space so I double space quite a lot to try and get spaces in the correct places. It makes what I type legible and reduces the time and effort spent doing the spaces afterwards.