Korg - volca Bass - Analogue Bass Machine Synthesizer

Product Information

The Volca Bass is a three oscillator analogue synthesizer. Whilst it is named and marketed as a bass synth, the Volca Bass has a range of six-and-a-bit octaves: its touchpad covers 16 notes, A to C, with an octave knob transposing the touchpad in one octave increments.

Jump to April 2013 and Korg's Volca range previewed at MusikMesse showing once again that Korg really mean business when it comes to new analogue. Roland must surely be concerned, especially as the model on review here, the Volca Bass, is obviously inspired by the 303. Let's see how worried it should be! Best of both worlds After 18 months, Mieda built a programmable organ that Keio sold under Korg’s name. This was named using each founder’s name and RG that came from their planned emphasis on the organ market (R and G are related to ORGAN). Kato changed the company’s name to Keio Giken Kogyo Inc in 1971. Whichever waveform combinations you choose, the Volca Bass sounds surprisingly fat and alive. Its greatest sonic richness is obtained by subtly detuning each VCO and you can gain further movement by introducing slow LFO sweeps of the filter cutoff — enough to loosen up the most robotic of bass lines.

VOLCA BASS

The Bass's MIDI spec is fairly extensive. Played from an external keyboard you can enjoy its response to incoming velocity and pitch bend, plus there are dedicated CCs for the pitch of the oscillators, for each envelope stage and for filter EG amount. But both cutoff and resonance are off limits to MIDI, though; they're exclusively reserved for hands-on tweaking via the 303-style knobs. It is marketed as a monophonic bass synth, but it's a lot more. Actually it has a secret. It's not completely monophonic. You can sequence different notes for every OSC if you're using it's sequencer, or set different semitones for every OSC. By these methods you can even get triad chords out of it, which could be useful if you're making dub / techno dub music for example. Both the Volca Nubass and Volca Bass are great buys for anyone looking for versatility and good-quality sound. The Volca Bass is inspired by the TB-303, and so is the Volca Nubass to some extent. The Volca Bass was released in April 2013 at Musikmesse Frankfurt alongside the Volca Keys and Volca Beats. [1] The Volca Bass was received well by critics, with MusicTech calling it "the best sounding of the three [original Volcas]". [2] Design [ edit ] The TB-303: an inspiration for the Volca Bass I got into hardware (and analog) synthesisers recently and after some weeks of research and following recommendations from expert friends, I bought the Volca Bass as my first instrument.

Oscillators sound really nice, as well as the filter, which turns into a beast with a lot of resonance. Without running it through any external devices, you can get an overdrive, which is a nice little bonus.The MIDI IN connector lets you synchronise with other devices as well as play the Volca from your MIDI keyboard. You can also send note messages from your DAW and use the Volca as an analogue sound module. Compact size, battery-powered operation, and built-in speaker for enjoyment anywhere

In the event that Third Party Software is supplied, you agree to be bound by and to observe any terms and conditions relating to the use of such Third Party Software. Overall, the Volca Bass sounds great. While it sounds pretty decent within a tiny speaker, it will surprise you with its excellent beats when plugged into a studio monitor or a bigger system. The Volca Bass’s sequencer has 16 steps, but you can make longer sequences when it is used as a sound module from your DAW. This library does not provide owner’s manuals and product information for all of the products sold by the Company. Owner’s manuals or product information may not be available for all products indefinitely or at all, and may be permanently discontinued at the Company’s discretion. Alternatively, you can use the one-finger chord built from the three mono parts. The oscillator groups on the Volca Bass control one, two, or all oscillators simultaneously while the MiniKorf-700s filter overdrives it.If Third Party Software has been supplied (whether in conjunction with any Korg instrument or equipment, or as a stand-alone product) a notice to that effect will be contained with or on the disk supplied and in such circumstances Korg shall be deemed to be acting as the agent only of the supplier of such Third Party Software.

Each oscillator can be switched between square and sawtooth waveforms (sadly, there is no pulse-width adjustment or modulation of the square wave). The oscillators can be tuned up or down relative to each other. Small movements of the VCO Pitch knobs will tune the oscillator in cents, to a total of 50 cents (a quarter tone). Beyond 50 cents, tuning continues in semitone increments to an octave above or below the midpoint. The oscillators are self-tuning, to overcome problems of pitch instability. The Korg company was among the first to feature a synthesizer’s effects. In 1988, they proved they are pros at their work by selling sober 250,000 units at the M-1 workstation, making it the most sold synthesizer ever to hit the markets. Volca Bass Vs. Nubass However, to get the best out of a performance/ sequence we advise connecting an external MIDI keyboard. The Bass responds to velocity over MIDI and all the Volcas react reliably to MIDI note input. Each unit can also have its own MIDI channel but there's no multi-timbrality on any Volca.

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a b Goldman, Dan 'JD73' (2013-10-23). "Korg Volca Bass review". MusicRadar . Retrieved 2023-02-28. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link) Contents of owner’s manuals and content as found on korg.com may differ. Information on korg.com may be updated as necessary based on changes to the product specification, operating system, included contents, and so on. Additionally, owner’s manuals may be updated to reflect these and other changes with updated production of the product.