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Hey guys, I'm a total synth noob. I've never owned one but I'm thinking about getting a Korg Volca.
Which one you think would be the best for drone and simple chord progression. I'm not gonna play some fucked up lead and stuff with it, I'm looking for something to ''fill the background'' with simple chord progressions and drone. Think Rancho Relaxo/BJM kind of organ sound and drone. I want it to have a sample/loop function so I can put it down and jam over it with my guitar. So Keys, FM, Sample? Something else that is kinda cheap? Thanks

The Keys or the Bass would be your best bet. I haven't used either, but those two are synths, the Sample is a sample-based sequencer. The Keys checks all your boxes. So, I'd recommend that one.

edit: keys won't play back samples, but it will play a 16 step sequence of notes on a loop

Keys is lots of fun. I really don't use the sequencer. Either play it or use midi sequencing.

For organ sounds, I would recommend the FM. Definitely better than the Keys for this ( I have both).

oscillateur wrote:For organ sounds, I would recommend the FM. Definitely better than the Keys for this ( I have both).

Thanks, is there something you prefer with the keys? I'm considering both but can't afford to get both for now.

Anybody knows a great alternative to them? can be a little more expensive but not too much

I personally think the FM is the raddest.

If you're new to sytnthesis the Keys would be the best for learning how to build synth sounds. FM is the most capable but also the most intimidating.

I would happily use a Keys + FM + Sample rig.

popvulture wrote:I personally think the FM is the raddest.

I have them all except SAMPLE (I have an MPC and a lo of sampler or two. If you are getting one....FM without a question. Unreal piece of equipment. I bought it brand new too. I think they could be around $110 used now.

They're all really cool and useful though.

Also interested for the same reasons. Just want to fill in sounds between drums and guitar. There is a volca bass in my area used for a decent price but the fm sounds great too.

I just got a kick and absolutely love the thing! Have had keys for a very long time, will probably get the FM eventually. I have one of those wooden rack dealies incoming for the kick and keys

+1 for the FM. Easily one of the most versatile pieces of gear I've played. My only complaint is it doesn't do velocity via MIDI by itself, but you can buy a special, third-party, MIDI cable that will allow it to.

If you're thinking of going with a Volca though, I'd highly suggest getting a MIDI controller if you don't have one. The sounds on the Volcas are killer, but their ribbon key layout leaves a lot to be desired

baremountain wrote:+1 for the FM. Easily one of the most versatile pieces of gear I've played. My only complaint is it doesn't do velocity via MIDI by itself, but you can buy a special, third-party, MIDI cable that will allow it to.

If you're thinking of going with a Volca though, I'd highly suggest getting a MIDI controller if you don't have one. The sounds on the Volcas are killer, but their ribbon key layout leaves a lot to be desired

100% this. Midi controller is necessary if you actually want to guarantee what you want you're trying to play is what comes out. My keystep works great. Also used to use a beatstep pro which was also fun.

+1 on the Keystep too haha
ps chris you can do some wild stuff with the CV outs on the Keystep to the Happiness or other Dwarfies and the FM if you haven't already tried that

baremountain wrote:+1 on the Keystep too haha
ps chris you can do some wild stuff with the CV outs on the Keystep to the Happiness or other Dwarfies and the FM if you haven't already tried that

No I haven't! I have my keystep set up for 5v CV though to play happy with my tabletop set up. I will put it on my list of things to try though, you can basically play the cutoff/scramble with the keyboard?

Yeah! And if you have the ARF another really cool thing is setting a really long attack/decay on the FM, and then setting a long attack on the ARF. Sync the Gate out from the keystep to the trigger in on the ARF and you get super long drones. You can also do this with a sequence playing on the FM & basically have your melody fade in while you hold out long bass tones - super wicked stuff. scramble does some wild stuff too when you sync it to the gate. Pitch + filter is a good combo, but it's only 0-12V, so you only get about half the range to play with unfortunately