Synth Fight - Korg Volca Bass & Beats vs Behringer TD-3 & RD-6 (303 and 606 Clones)

If you want to add real analog bass and drums to your setup, which company offers the best value? Korg or Behringer?

[@e-conrecords4665]

The TB-3 & Volca Bass are completely different beasts. The Volca sounds nothing like a 303. People who buy a 303 are looking for a very specific sound. They aren’t looking for a synth with a broader palate.

[@TheWoodenZozimos]

Agreed…he called the TD-3 sequencer terrible but it’s simplicity is perfect when you’re making acid house and techno. It just doesn’t do all the heavy lifting for you. If you’re trying to make a very specific melody of course it will be clunky before you get the hang of it, but once plotting the notes and rhythms become second nature it’s fine. It’s as simple as adding up sixteenth and quarter notes lmao. Constraint breeds creativity and the kinds of lines you get from the TD-3 are perfectly suited for trance-y genres

[@bicafotos3706]

Totally agree

[@urbannpa]

THANK YOU! I sold my Volca Bass after 3 months.

[@auntjenifer7774]

@@urbannpa what !? What why !? It's awesome, cheap and not worth the hassle of selling.

[@airacademymusic]

@@auntjenifer7774 Volcas are cheap & will obviously be limited in what they can do but they’re still fun af to use, sync easily to others and have a simple workflow. Not to mention how fckin portable they are! They’re small, lightweight, can run on batteries and have a built in speaker

Great video. I have the Volcas but have been looking quite often on the TD-3. The Moroder part was absolutely brilliant, love it.

[@SyncdAlien]

Brilliant synth fight! I enjoyed this very much!

[@Death_By_Media]

Glad to see you back doing these regularly. I remember you made a video that thought me how to make a kick and snare on my ms2000 way back in the day . Videos are still as entertaining today though I do the kick and snare trick on a hydra instead now days .

[@kerzwhile]

This is very well done and I completely agree with your summation! 😉

[@hovermotion]

Intresting vid, I often swap out my Td3 and Volca bass back and forth , when linked via a effects pedal like a Specular Tempus it opens up a new world of sound exploration.. Great vid..

[@chrisjunosmusic]

Thank you for this fantastic video !! !!

[@dankro279]

Why do so many people seem to think the Korg Volta Beats Snare is trash? I think it is lovely and has lots of character and is not so overused as the 606 or 808 which I really don't want to have to listen to anymore.

[@majicboxstudios3996]

Wow. An amazing video you put in a decent amount of work to make this analogy. If you add the Volca FM into your mix. For less than $1200 with what you can do with your talents and education, most people can’t do with $5000 of synthesizers. Of course I’m exaggerating to make an emphasis however this is a very humbling video, You let the gas right out the bag.

[@maxdavid4299]

Very interesting!

[@lucasdan09]

Good good video, +1 suscriber! Thanks, I enjoy watching this!

[@loneerv]

I have both, the Volcas and the Behringers, but all I can think about is Coast To Coast with George Noory 🤣… they used this Giorgio’s track for their intro

[@koskey06]

The volca bass is the MOST underrated volca that's out! The FM2 and the Keys get all the praise.....but the bass would be my second, if not first volca I would buy!

[@bobbythompson4268]

Just got one, and I LOVE it. I have the fm which I also love, the beats and the keys. Haven’t f’d with the keys too much yet, and the beats is ok, but seems a bit dated now that the volca drum is out. But I still like it. But the bass is amazing. All very intuitive and easy to use once you get the basics down, which doesn’t take too long thanks to videos like dish one. Edit: do you have the fm2? If so, do you think it’s better than the fm (if you have that one too)? Worth having both?

[@auntjenifer7774]

@@bobbythompson4268 they are all worth getting.

[@al.cavalu]

Modular was my first. Beats my 2nd. Let's see what comes next...

[@h2o1969]

I never liked the Beats. Not really a huge fan of the 303 either, but you made that clone sound great. I have always liked the volca bass.

[@cresshead]

the volca beats kick , toms and hi hats sound great just 8 one bar patterns suk mind you.

[@strykermoonfall2220]

SICK!

[@dustinfitz4651]

OHHHHH the Simulation. Was just listening to Art Bell this past week and was clicking random videos to get me back into playing my volcas, and to hear his bumper music on a random synth vid Blew my GD mind.

[@nyguezz]

OMG, these volcas are a Swiss Army knife. I have a Volca Beats and it is simply an amazing machine

[@jevogroni4829]

I've never been convinced

[@mcmike89]

Keep on jammin!🎶🎵🎹

[@xisotopex]

have you tried using the synthtool to program the sequences?

[@geraldclark5812]

I was not a fan of Volca Beats, Volca Drum would have been a better choice IMO. I have both TD-3 and Volca Bass, I will probably keep both. Bass is more versatile from a sound-design perspective, but the TD-3 is so easy to use and play with it's a no-brainer. There's a great 2015 KZbin video by Kebu of a live performance of Chase by Giorgio Moroder, one of my favorites!

[@AnthonyGoodley]

I never knew the name of this song. But I do recognize it from Coast To Coast AM. RIP Art Bell.

[@qrplife]

Fixing the bad snare on the beats makes a big difference in the overall utility of the synth. With the funky snare I would hardly ever use the beats, but now it gets more love in the lineup of little boxes.

[@Old_Man_Jay]

How did you fix it?

[@SynthesizersAreLife]

I have a friend who's been looking at getting into synthesizers and has been eyeing both of these behringer boxes, after watching this I'm thinking I should just send them my 2 volcas in the mail

[@cresshead]

I have all four of these, here's my opinion. Volca beats - horrible snare sound - i don't hardly ever dare use it as it's so bad. 8 patterns ... wot? volca beats no pattern chaining, no track writing either. volca beat bass drum and hi hats are okay as is the clap. horrible keybed to play choose sounds - esp low lighting fiddly little pots to mess with adding it's delay make it quite noisey midi in only headphone out only volca bass - sound good for bass though not acid bass really. 8 patterns... wot? volca bass no pattern chaining, no track writing either. horrible keybed to play choose sounds - esp low lighting fiddly little pots to mess with midi in only headphone out only the 3 layers for seq different ocs is inspired really good. behringer rd-6 all analog sounds clap sound is lo output but rd-6 has separate outs so you can balance the kit and add effects per drum 32 patterns plus pattern chain plus tracks all the sounds are really nice has a built in distortion circuit similar to boss distortion pedal midi in and out, cv gate also button knobs and keys are nice headphone out, main out and separate outs for each drum type you can program it just the same as a tr-606 or use the synthtool app behringer TD-3 not a huge range of sound/patches from the td-3 but what's there sounds really nice. has that classic TB-303 sound 64 patterns, pattern chaining and track writing has a built in distortion circuit similar to boss distortion pedal midi in and out, cv gate also button knobs and keys are nice headphone out, main out you can program it just the same as a tb-303 or use the synthtool app

[@janbpunktde]

So much this!

[@cresshead]

@@janbpunktde small update korg volcas DO have realtime writing as well as step time Beringer Td-3 and RD-6 are only step time Rd-6 does have separate outs

[@janbpunktde]

​@@cresshead I know. I owned four Volcas (Bass, Beats, Keys and Sampler) until a few weeks and still own the Behringers :-)

[@cresshead]

@@janbpunktde cool yeh i have the volcas and the behrngers here... AND later this week a Roland aira compact T-8 should be arriving!

[@janbpunktde]

@@cresshead nice =) enjoy!

[@leewightman8619]

A cheaper and easier to work opinion would be the roland aire t8 and it has drum and bass synth sequencing iv heard these behringer things are fiddly to sequence simple patterns but they look and sound great 😅

[@GONZOFAM7]

Can you sync the V-Bass and the RD-6?

[@bumfie]

Think ill run off and watch midnight Express . not viewed it in years .. thanks for review

[@MoeShinola1]

All four are nice, the Beats would be least valuable but still that stutter effect is nice. RD6 for sure the better drum machine. Just buy both bass synths.

[@landisti]

I'm just now getting into synths. Question for you experts: Is it better to stick to one brand, or do they all play nice together (e.g. Korg beats with Behringer bass)?

[@Bj5m17h]

Most gear nowadays is pretty universally compatible, ac power adaptors aside. For live stuff it's really nice to have the sync in and out for bpm/tempo, and midi connectivity is useful, but brand is more a matter of taste, and often cost.

[@insidesynthesis]

I like to combine the strengths and sounds of different manufacturers for variety.

[@EduardvanKleef]

Funny, from your spoken comments I'd actually conclude the the Volca Bass and the Behringer RD-3 would be your favorites. No need to group by company.

[@insidesynthesis]

The RD3 sounds better. But since you can't edit the sounds *at all*, I figure there's no difference in just using samples at that point. The Volca Beats at least gives you some editing and a cool glitchy effect that's makes it different than static sampled drums.

[@MoeShinola1]

Do you have a video with just the Moroder cover? It'd be a great wakeup alarm.

[@electribe2101]

The Melody on the TD-03 is legendary. Can you maybe show me how can you create this? I love my Electribe in Combination with the TD-03

[@insidesynthesis]

I sequenced it over MIDI so that I could get a four-bar sequence, but I believe you can chain 1-bar sequences on the TD-3. If you search for pattern chain TD-3, there's some videos on it.

[@chikoavena3407]

RD 6 sounds better imho. It has individual outputs too. The korg volca bass seems cooler, it is meant to be used as an acid synth, but it has more than a single OSC, kinda mimicking to the minimoog. Beats is alright, it also has more functions like automations but the single output and snare kills it in a bad way, altought it can be modded.

[@lwpweb]

which external effects are being used with volca bass around 4:15? The volca bass itself has no effects.

[@insidesynthesis]

At 3:55 there's a pop-up window "Let's add some external delay and reverb in Logic." I used the basic included FX in Logic, nothing special.

[@xisotopex]

so, your conclusion, get all four, right?

[@caeruscarriers7628]

And what about Uno Synth + Uno Drum pair?

[@SynthesizersAreLife]

new video!!!!!

[@v1o]

There's a snare mod for the Volca beats, makes all the difference.

[@cresshead]

korg basically sell a broken snare sound in the volca beats.. they didn;'t bother to fix it.....

[@micindir4213]

@@cresshead I think there was legal reason for it

[@cresshead]

@@micindir4213 what would that be? .... korg have made analog drum machines in the past

[@mack_solo]

Korg Volca Beats is the worst representative of the Volca line up due to poor sound reproduction - which is a bummer cos it happens to be one of the most sold Volcas (if not the no1). In fact it is the only Volca where while playing one would comment 'oh, that sounds like crap" :D (for those who consider purchasing one, i would highly advise to get Volca Drum instead). I had Reason Reverb for a while and that effectively cured my desires to own x0x clones - purely from sonic versatility point of view. I am confirmation biased here cos I agree with your conclusions :) Good video! cheeers

[@Drinkyoghurt]

Yeah, a friend of mine picked up a volca beats and I played with it and that snare just threw me off completely. Wasn't really convinced by its capabilities. I have a Volca Drum and Bass now and they're both really wonderful especially when paired with a Minilogue XD.

[@trongersy]

Rd6 and td3 are better option in my opinion

[@gokugoma3258]

buy both

[@jetset808]

man i feel like i'm about to hear Art Bell

[@bobbythompson4268]

Korg volca 4 lyfe

[@deaddaedalus]

Honestly they should've named it the Volca Lead

[@Synthesis1979]

The Volca beats has a PCM for a clap , Why didn't korg give us an analog clap, Grr!

[@playlistideale]

agree about analog clap, I doubt the toms would be used more than clap (even though the toms are one of the better sounds).

[@mcshafty1]

Great video. Here's my take. If you want that classic Roland Acid house sound then the Behringer combo will serve you best. If you want a bass synth with a wide range of sounds to explore then the Korg combo wins out. The Volca Bass can do 303ish lines if you need them, but its far more at home doing traditional moogy basses. Also, the Volca Beats is a terrible sounding drum machine. The Volca Sample would be a better sounding, more versatile, and similarly priced alternative to the Beats. I had the Beats/Bass combo and it was a fun, self-contained, portable setup (with speakers). I learned a lot about sequencing and synth programming too. Ultimately, I passed them onto a friend when I upscaled to a Moog Sub Phatty and and Roland TR-8. Funny enough, I just went on an Ebay binge (20% off!) and ordered an RD6, a TD3, and a used Volca Sample. But I do love acid house 😊

[@RichardDenRooyen1973]

its always Moroder time?!

[@lmcmulle]

why would you add after effects in your DAW to a review of a piece of hardware? Did you want to make it impossible to actually evaluate how these sound?

[@insidesynthesis]

I do both clean audio examples and examples with effects. Since the vast majority of users will use effects when they're actually making songs, I think it's good to show at least some examples of how an instrument takes to them. Some synths gets muddy fast with effects, others (like both of the units in this video) take really well and you can add a ton of delay and they still sound great. It's good to show that.

[@marike1100]

The TD3 and RD6 sound, not a “bit better”, they sound WAY better. 😂

[@janbpunktde]

Wow. That side note about "to mess with the TD-3's terrible sequencer". Guess, you're just not worth it.

[@insidesynthesis]

I'd say the TD3 is worth it for its sound. There's no cheaper way to get real analog 303 bass. The only disappointment is that Behringer could have easily improved the sequencing, but they aren't really good at original ideas, only cloning them. But they're great at cloning the sound, as with all of their clones so far.

[@janbpunktde]

​@@insidesynthesis AFAIK they cloned the way you program the sequencer the exact same way you would find at the original one. So why would you create a new way to do something particular in a device you want to clone completely? I really don't get your point here. Sorry.

[@insidesynthesis]

​@@janbpunktde - the appeal of the TB303 is its sound and features, not the clunky way you input notes. They could have updated the sequencer (like Roland did for the new TB03) to have real-time input and easier editing without affecting the sound. Behringer did improve in a lot of other ways, adding MIDI, USB, and distortion. That's great! But they could have also easily improved the sequencer. It doesn't sound like you've used one, but I can say no one loves the original sequencer -- they just begrudgingly accept it because they want the sound.

[@janbpunktde]

​@@insidesynthesis It's standing right next to me and I use it nearly every other day and programm it by hand. It's not rocket science.

[@insidesynthesis]

@@janbpunktde - It's definitely not rocket science, but the lack of real-time recording means that it's much more clunky to use than it should be. The second half of this song I made (kzbin.info/www/bejne/bofYoYJ-f72LrK8) has the TD3 running through it. It would have taken me 10 times longer to do that had I used its internal sequencer rather than MIDI. It sounds like I insulted your baby and I apologize. The TD3 is great value for the money and can create amazing tracks in the right hands. Please feel free to share any of the tracks you've made and I'll give a listen.

[@DaneXbsinthe]

Also … I thought you died. When was your last upload?

[@HiGlowie]

303/td-3 has the worst sequence programming of all time.