Korg - volca FM - Digital FM Synthesizer Module

If you like analogue electronic music and you can't afford a "big" synth, then this is for you. I bought this one to complete my set of three Volcas, which also include the Volca Keys and Beats. These are extremely smartly designed instruments which will appeal to a wide audience. I like my 1980 electronic music and it only took minutes to get some superb pads, arpeggios and other wonderful sounds from these synths. Always been a real Korg fan, but never though I would be able to own three new Korgs for less than £350!What stands out for me on the Volca Bass is the ease by which you can make some great basslines in a matter of minutes. The 3 VCO setup is extremely clever. If you use the built in sequencer you can either create monophonic sequences using all three VCOs in unison (and detune them separately up to one octave up or down), or you can use two in unison and one as a separate voice or indeed programme 3 tone polyphonic sequences using each VCO for a separate part. By using the mute function you can then quickly switch parts on or off creating a lot of effect with just the one sequence in your performance. I also really like the way how you can set the destination of both the envelope generator and LFOs to control volume, filter cutoff and in case of the LFO also the pitch (of all three VCOs). The LED readout is extremely handy when you need to tune your VCOs, set the tempo or octave.Only thing you need to keep in mind, you do need to know a bit about synthesizers before you can really get the best out of these Volca's but it should not take a beginner long to understand how everything works. The instructions are limited, but there is plenty of information and videos on the internet to get you going.

I purchased this and the Korg Volca Sample. You need to read the instructions, which seem limited but if you take the time to read them will help a lot. I use this to generate loops to use inside of Logic Pro, Reason and Ableton Live. Its a great sounding synth which DOES take a little time to experiment with to get the most out of. You can use the supplied mini jack to sync this to other Volca devices. It syncs nice over MIDI too - it will start and stop when it receives MIDI clock. The output is noisy, but it is an analog (budget) synth so this is to be expected. Too many people moan about what it hasn't got - MIDI out (only IN), no USB, 1/4 outs (it has minijack outs), limited memory - 8 patterns etc. But FORGET all that. Its cheap, and limitations are good. Buy one, sample it and enjoy the fat analog sound. Oh and heres a tip for you. Although it only has 8 memory slots for the sounds / patterns, each pattern can have a "Motion Sequence" recorded with it. You can turn the motion sequence off if you want, so you can its like having the ability to have 16 patterns stored. The motion sequence records knob movements to modify the sound. This can radically change the sound and feel of the sequence, so its worth exploring. Also the "Active Step" function turns steps of a sequence of and on, generating new rhythms / patterns. I've fired it up with the intention of having just 5 minutes on it. Only to see I've been on it for an hour or more. Great job Korg.Finally speedy delivery - next day in fact.

Amazon tends to smush the Volca reviews together, so for the record I'm talking about the Volca FM. It's a compact, three-voice sound module that puts the six-operator FM model of the mid-80s Yamaha DX7 into a small box with a sequencer.It's fun but slightly awkward. It doesn't work all that well as an FM sound module because it doesn't respond to velocity over MIDI and it only has three-voice polyphony. There doesn't seem to be a way to chain several of them together.On the positive side it's mostly compatible with DX7 patches, of which there are thousands on the internet, although you have to use a third-party utility (Dexed) to send the data to the Volca FM. On the negative side it's only compatible with the original six-operator-sine-waves-only model of the DX7/9/7II, not the four-operator-with-different-waves model of the later DX11/TX81Z, so it's not compatible with the famous Lately Bass patch (for example).As such it's a kind of FM groovebox, akin to the Elektron Digitone, but the sequencer is very limited. There are sixteen patterns that can be chained together, but not made into a song, unless it's a simple 1-2-3-4 arrangement. The sequencer has very limited live control, so I have the impression it's mostly intended to play static basslines. I use an Arturia BeatStep as a sequencer instead.As a kind of FM version of the TB-303 however it makes a lot of sense. The front panel controls respond in real time, and the built-in patches - which are surprisingly good - all have articulation, so you can have a lot of fun playing sequences through it while mimicking filter sweeps, but with clashing digital FM sounds. The presets are a neat cross-section of the DX7's most famous sounds. The pianos, bells, flute etc are all pretty good, although this sadly highlights its limitations as a sound module.In theory it doesn't make a lot of sense, because Dexed is free, but the front panel articulation is an advance over the original DX synths and it has a decent chorus effect, so if you think of it as a cheap bass-box it's not too bad. It's also half the price of the cheapest second-hand DX100 and it'll send sync pulses to the other Volcas, so if you have some of the more unusual Volcas - the Modular, example - it's handy as a "normal" synthesiser.You can edit the patches deeply, but good luck with that. Good luck with that.