Korg A5 Bass
Desiderato Chouinard
Aggressive sounds that stand up to the drums; fat sounds that support the rhythm; funky sounds that generate a groove - the volca bass is an analog bassline groove box that has what you need for a wide range of bass lines.
Although simple in structure, the analog sound engine has an unmistakable presence with subtle nuances that cannot be reproduced by a digital simulation; it's a great choice for acid house and many other styles of music. The step sequencer distilled from the Electribe is not only visually intuitive; it's also a powerful way to generate "free form" bass loops that will stimulate your inspiration.
All of the programs on the minilogue bass have been optimized by professional bass players and synth programmers to fit perfectly into any recording or performance although they can all be edited and customized to your taste. You can change the thickness of the sound using the VCOs and voice mode, the brightness of the sound using the filter and so on. All of the 100 presets were newly created just for the minilogue bass and you can save up to 200 of your own sounds (100 preset programs and 100 user programs).
In addition, all the programs for the original minilogue will also work perfectly in the minilogue bass giving you access to a huge library of sounds covering all possible music and sound genres.
The minilogue bass features an onboard sequencer that can memorize what you play in 16 steps. This polyphonic sequencer also includes motion sequence functionality, which memorizes the motions of up to four knobs or switches. With the sequencer, you can do real-time recording with overdub and step recording, and automatically play back repeated phrases while you use the keyboard to change the root position.
The built in OLED (Organic EL Display) features an oscilloscope function which displays sound as waveforms. Being able to view changes in the parameters in real time provides great visual feedback as well as being addictive fun!
The minilogue bass Sound Librarian lets you easily reorder and organize the programs inside your minilogue bass and has the functionality to save your program library on your computer. In addition to managing your programs, it is used to load factory and bonus libraries distributed by KORG. Also note that you can load in any of your existing minilogue sounds into minilogue bass through the Librarian.
With its three tunable analogue oscillators and specially designed filter, the Volca Bass can generate a massive variety of bass, and even lead sounds. Sequence the three oscillators individually or in unison, sync up to multiple Volcas or other gear in your studio, or make bass lines on the bus with battery operation and a built-in speaker!
Aggressive sounds that stand up to the drums; fat sounds that support the rhythm; funky sounds that generate a groove - the Volca Bass is an analogue bass line groove box that has what you need for a wide range of bass lines.
Although simple in structure, the analogue sound engine has an unmistakable presence with subtle nuances that cannot be reproduced by a digital simulation; it's a great choice for acid house and many other styles of music. The step sequencer distilled from the Electribe is not only visually intuitive; it's also a powerful way to generate "free form" bass loops that will stimulate your inspiration.
Following in the footsteps of the Monotron, Monotribe, and MS-20 Mini analogue synthesizers, Korg announces the Volca series. Volca is a new lineup of EDM production tools comprised of three distinct models: the Volca Keys lead synthesizer, the Volca Bass synthesizer, and the Volca Beats rhythm machine. These powerful and fun-to-use true-analogue devices deliver a diverse array of fat sounds that can be obtained only from an analogue synthesizer. Each is also equipped with sequencing/recording capabilities for intuitively generating performances. Multiple Volcas can be used in tandem via the vintage-style sync in/out, and with your favourite DAW software or MIDI keyboard via MIDI In. Battery operation and built-in speakers mean that you can conveniently play anywhere and anytime. These are the next-generation analogue synthesizers, bringing you the ultimate sounds and grooves with ease and depth. Whether used together or by themselves, the Volca series is poised to inject true analogue power into any performance or studio setup!
Generating the thick and modulated sounds that you expect from an analogue synthesizer, the three oscillators can be used in a variety of ways from one-part unison to three-part chords, giving you an incredible diversity of bass sounds.
By creating a sequence that uses each oscillator individually, you can create a complex pattern in which three different phrases are woven together. Using the oscillators in a 2+1 combination lets you place one set of oscillators at a low pitch and the other at a higher pitch, producing a bass line and melody simultaneously. When using the three oscillators together, you can slightly detune their pitch to generate thick unison sounds; alternatively, setting their pitch to 0, +3, and +7 will produce a chord.
The analogue filter has been fine-tuned specifically for the Volca Bass. Turning the Cutoff knob to open the filter will make the sound brighter and more expansive; closing the filter produces a rounder and milder sound. Using the Peak knob to raise the resonance will initially produce a clean peak, and further increases will create great-sounding distortion. The resonance distortion that's so important for acid music has been tuned especially to accommodate bass sounds.
In addition to the three VCOs, the Volca Bass provides a carefully selected parameter structure consisting of a single VCF, VCA, LFO, and EG, ensuring that the sound that you want can be created intuitively. This is also the standard structure of a synthesizer, making the Volca Bass an ideal introductory instrument for learning the fundamentals of synthesizers - the enjoyment of creating your own sounds.
This step sequencer is designed to make editing easy and to let you add or remove parts in an improvisational way. You can use the 16 step keys to intuitively enter notes while visually monitoring the timing of the notes within the measure. You can also enter completely different phrases for each of the three oscillators, and play the touch panel keyboard to record in real time, and up to eight sequence patterns can be stored in internal memory.
Active Step is a function that lets you skip a step during sequence playback. It can create effects similar to a short loop or unexpectedly irregular rhythms, allowing dynamic performances just as though you were performing the sequence itself.
Until now, the problem with analogue synthesizers has been that the pitch would drift with changes in temperature or the passage of time. The Volca solves this by providing a Self-tuning function that constantly tunes the oscillators. You'll never need to tune during a performance, or wait for the pitch to stabilise after turning the power on.
By using the sync jack you can enjoy synchronised playback with multiple Volcas or with a Monotribe. You can also use the "SyncKontrol" iPhone app to wirelessly control tap tempo, swing settings, and synchronised playback with iOS music apps via WIST.
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.
Verdict so far - sequencing is better than A4 for acid, thanks to the slide method being more sensible, no accents though. The filter is not great though, much prefer the Monotribe filter, and for acidic sounds the Monotribe is better than the VolcaBass IMHO
Still, it is very much a cool thing in its own right, and besides I am going to make a breakout for external filtering etc, so can get around it. For non acid type bass though it is pretty nice, can even get a little Juno-ey at times.
Viewed initially as an Internet hoax spawned by wishful thinking, it soon transpired that Korg's Volca range really existed. Not only that but each was priced well below Korg's previous exercise in analogue affordability, the Monotribe. This time it's almost like we're watching history repeat itself as MIDI inputs have been added across the board, but if you were hoping for full-sized hardware and regular quarter-inch jacks, I'm afraid Korg are still working to the 'small is beautiful' brief.
Anyone who managed to avoid the frenzied online speculation might be wondering what on Earth I'm talking about. Korg's Volcas are as follows: Beats (an analogue/digital drum machine), Bass (a three-VCO bass line synth) and Keys (another three-VCO synth, but with alternate voicing options, including pseudo-polyphony). There's some feature overlap but generally each has its own niche. Therefore, after a communal unboxing and LED-gawping, I'll go through them one by one before pondering the inevitable question: can you say 'no' to a Volca?
Spread across my musty carpet, the Volcas are similar but different. They're the same size and weight, which is 193 x 115 x 46 mm and 377g (without batteries). Six alkaline AA batteries are supplied and their life is quoted at approximately 10 hours. By default, each Volca turns itself off automatically after four hours unused, which seems quite a long time. However, if you're going to treat them like conventional studio gear, the purchase of external 9V adapters will be essential. Maybe this is an opportunity for Korg to supply a single unit to feed them all. Judging by the many black lumps on my floor, Korg clearly delight in designing every variation on the theme. The long battery life is great though and you get a rough idea of the amount remaining from the number of LEDs that light up at power up.
Constructed from shiny cases of see-through black plastic, the Volcas eagerly showcase their internal LED action. Each has a flashing tempo control and a small internal speaker that is disconnected when you plug a jack into the 3.5mm headphone socket, which is the single, monaural route to our ears.
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