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codetocontra wrote:About the Volca Kick, how hard or easy is it to program a sequence with a massive kick sound and another higher sounding snare-like/bleep/blip? Could this stand on it's own as the only drum machine in a party of noise makers or is it really best as a supplement to another drum source?

It's fairly easy BUT i ultimately ditched mine because of perceived level difference between the higher pitches and the lower pitches (higher pitches too loud for me). Also standing alone as a drum machine, you'd have to do some very clever programming - I wouldn't be able to hack the monophonic nature of it. Works great as kick and toms though.

What about the Beatstep*, how is that for the Beats and Sample? How well can it integrate?

*the little one I mean

Also what are you dudes powering your Volcas with

Korg KA350.

They were at 3$ in GC for a week or so, got 1 for my Sample and 1 for my Monologue.

damn that's a great price

friendship wrote:What about the Beatstep*, how is that for the Beats and Sample? How well can it integrate?

*the little one I mean

Not sure about the little beatstep - they updated the pro recently that allowed the drum sequencer section to have a different midi channel and note specified per pad - if they added that to the regular beatstep you'd be golden.

I power mine from a regular 9v wall wart with a 2x daisy chain that inverts the centre neg to centre positive and the stupid 1.7mm barrel connector ends korg insist on using. Alternatively I sometimes use one of those USB phone charger lithium batteries with a USB 5v -> 9v transformer cable and 2.1mm -> 1.7mm barrel adapter.

chrisdermo wrote:

friendship wrote:What about the Beatstep*, how is that for the Beats and Sample? How well can it integrate?

*the little one I mean

Not sure about the little beatstep - they updated the pro recently that allowed the drum sequencer section to have a different midi channel and note specified per pad - if they added that to the regular beatstep you'd be golden.

I power mine from a regular 9v wall wart with a 2x daisy chain that inverts the centre neg to centre positive and the stupid 1.7mm barrel connector ends korg insist on using. Alternatively I sometimes use one of those USB phone charger lithium batteries with a USB 5v -> 9v transformer cable and 2.1mm -> 1.7mm barrel adapter.

Oh dope, where did you get the polarity inversion/barrel adapter? Stupidly I had assumed Volca ran on regular pedal-type power. HUBRIS. I also ordered the Volca-specific adapter off Sweetwater but will probably need something I can incorporate into a daisy chain in the future.

friendship wrote:

chrisdermo wrote:

friendship wrote:What about the Beatstep*, how is that for the Beats and Sample? How well can it integrate?

*the little one I mean

Not sure about the little beatstep - they updated the pro recently that allowed the drum sequencer section to have a different midi channel and note specified per pad - if they added that to the regular beatstep you'd be golden.

I power mine from a regular 9v wall wart with a 2x daisy chain that inverts the centre neg to centre positive and the stupid 1.7mm barrel connector ends korg insist on using. Alternatively I sometimes use one of those USB phone charger lithium batteries with a USB 5v -> 9v transformer cable and 2.1mm -> 1.7mm barrel adapter.

Oh dope, where did you get the polarity inversion/barrel adapter? Stupidly I had assumed Volca ran on regular pedal-type power. HUBRIS. I also ordered the Volca-specific adapter off Sweetwater but will probably need something I can incorporate into a daisy chain in the future.

It came free with a third party 'volca power supply' which was basically a 9v -ve 2.1mm power supply with a whoooooole load of barrel adaptors of various sizes and shapes. eBay would definitely be the best bet I reckon.
The daisy chain one I got custom made by some duder on ebay ....... can't seem to find him now. He was UK based though.

Thanks Chris!

friendship wrote:Thanks Chris!

http://www.metronics.co.uk/

That's the dude. But on re-reading my email exchange with him it doesn't change -ve to +ve so I must be using a +ve 9v with it. I believe smaller +/- changers do exist..... somewhere.

I have one of these really crappy 'caline' or 'cadine' whatever power bricks (non isolated £20 jobby) which came with a 2 inch long polarity switcher cable which I use to go either way as and when necessary! Also cioks bricks come with +ve cables.

I put my volca beats on my pedalboard. I used a regular 1/8 trs cable with a 1/4” converter into my fewtility one, into pedalboard. The sound was extremely quiet. Unuseably quiet.

So I did some internet sleuthing and got a stereo 1/8” to two 1/4” mono cable. Works like a charm. There is something that gets grounded when doing what i did the first time.

Just posting to help someone out!

Love the Volcas: once I used to have a Bass. Then after years without, I first first the FM, then the Kick, and for xmas my girlfriend gave me as a present the Keys!
Price/features-wise these machines are unbeatable!

friendship wrote:I got a Volca Sample off BST. Not sure which setup I'm going to try first: mono through some dirt and compression, or with a stereo breakout to some stereo reverbs/delays. I could also theoretically hard pan samples and have one channel running into a mono chain and the other running into a stereo chain. I'll probably learn how to use it with its built-in samples but I'm reallllly looking forward to loading my own stuff up.

Panning + 2 different effect chains is how I really opened up my sample. Drums get panned left and compressed noises and bloops go hard right through my geetar effects. So great. Volume is hard to control but that is what a mixer is for.

Back on the Volca train, got an FM for Christmas. I'm absolutely loving it.

I have an FM on the way! Just got a monologue, a po-24, and a Bastl Kastle. Sold all my modular off to fund some credit card debt but I really missed synths...so went with a simpler/cheaper format. Next up will be Beats probably.