Volca Kick & ARP Odyssey desktop module

Kick looks pretty cool but I can't imagine I'd use it very much. Might grab one on the cheap one day down the line. 

I love the idea of the kick but it just doesn't sound that great in that video. Not enough low end; seems weaker than the one in the volca beats actually. Also judging by the controls and description it seems to be simple/limited to a point bordering on self-parody. The retrigger-type rhythmic variations in that video were kind of interesting, though - that could be a fun trick.

I don't know too much about the Odyssey (or Arp in general besides the few hours I logged on a 2600 in a corner at my university's music department) but those are handsome modules and the synth lines in the video sound nice.

I am drooling all over Korg's lower-end and mid-range offerings lately though. It's getting hard to resist buying machines I don't need and they keep coming up with adorable new cheap ones.

ooh, didn't realise the volca kick was already available in australia.. *may* have to get one. Anyone got one yet, or played with one?

It's not here in Canada yet but i've been hearing very good reviews. It does decent bass lines too, from a couple of demos with people who know what they're doing. It's like they've taken the strong points of the Volca Beats and worked with that while removing the rest.

volca kick is pretty great if you ask me

That sounds pretty great, i wonder how much I could get for my Volca Beats with the snare mod and MIDI output, I really only use it for the kick since I picked up a DR110.

The strength is definitely in the sequencer and the touch effects. I kinda wish there was a hold button for the touch effects though, it'd be nice to keep a triplet loop going while recording pitch changes etc.

Yeah that's pretty cool, a lot more versatile than the original Korg videos suggested too. Might grab myself one of these at some point.

imo still too limited to be a separate modul

Just out of curiosity, have you played with one?

It depends how you use it. I honestly think I could play a whole Pan Sonic style set with this and maybe one other device; in fact I'm playing a live set with this setup soon:

I would have liked a built-in delay like on the Keys though; that could have added some extra depth, but I'm thinking I might just build a Patchblocks patch that takes the sync out and uses it as the timing for a delay.

I'm hoping they do continue with the single-use boxes—it'd be nice to see a snare/noise percussion synth with similar control depth. I think the form factor really works for something dedicated to one sound.

  On 2/5/2017 at 11:40 PM, modey said:

Just out of curiosity, have you played with one?

 

It depends how you use it. I honestly think I could play a whole Pan Sonic style set with this and maybe one other device; in fact I'm playing a live set with this setup soon:

 

I would have liked a built-in delay like on the Keys though; that could have added some extra depth, but I'm thinking I might just build a Patchblocks patch that takes the sync out and uses it as the timing for a delay.

 

I'm hoping they do continue with the single-use boxes—it'd be nice to see a snare/noise percussion synth with similar control depth. I think the form factor really works for something dedicated to one sound.

no haven't. we talked about limited setups but thing just has nothing special to me.

but hey...maybe i'm the right person to judge...maybe i played too long itb (max, ableton, reason, supercollider). i've only recently gone into hw world and whit nothing less then md and mnm. long time ago i had some hw synths but i sold them soon after i started to make tracks with them. i understand that a lot of ppl like these single-use modus but i'd rather see new versions of md and mnm. wouldn't you too?

p.s. which elektron box do you have? md iirc

  On 2/5/2017 at 11:40 PM, modey said:

  On 2/5/2017 at 11:40 PM, modey said:

I honestly think I could play a whole Pan Sonic style set with this and maybe one other device

Yeah, they're not a bad example of a group who could pull of something this simple. It depends on the type of thing you want to do, but going for a minimal but ever-changing sound, it really seems like an excellent box. When I can afford one I'll probably pop it together with the FM and Sample and try and do some interesting and hopefully unconventional jams with them.

  On 2/6/2017 at 12:04 AM, xox said:

no haven't. we talked about limited setups but thing just has nothing special to me.

but hey...maybe i'm the right person to judge...maybe i played too long itb (max, ableton, reason, supercollider). i've only recently gone into hw world and whit nothing less then md and mnm. long time ago i had some hw synths but i sold them soon after i started to make tracks with them. i understand that a lot of ppl like these single-use modus but i'd rather see new versions of md and mnm. wouldn't you too?

 

p.s. which elektron box do you have? md iirc

 

I've got the monomachine and machinedrum.. but honestly am thinking of selling the md, since it was a bit of an impulse purchase. I'll probably get a digitakt to replace it when it comes out, but honestly, I make more release-worthy music with nanoloop (and now, volca in that mix) than I ever have with my elektron gear.. Not to say that elektron gear isn't amazing—I just find that the quality of my output is somehow linked to the limitations of my gear, at least with a purely hardware setup. If I have the possibility to get as wacky as elektron machines allow, everything ends up being a mess lol. Maybe I need to go back to just trying to make music with the monomachine and nothing else..

  On 2/6/2017 at 12:30 AM, purlieu said:

It depends on the type of thing you want to do, but going for a minimal but ever-changing sound, it really seems like an excellent box.

Yeah, that's essentially what my 0F.digital project is all about—almost meditative, but heavy and abrasive at the same time.. and the volca kick really excels at that.

lol some words are missing in my last post like but i think that we understood each other, modey

yes, i understand what you're saying. that's why i'm playing with my mduw's rom machines these days. im uploading random samples in it and im trying to make tracks with as few samples as i can, no other sound sources

Anyone using a Volca Kick?

^cool! You might've mentioned that you had one, my memory is shit. I'm curious how diverse of the usable sounds are for it...I've heard some good demos on YouTube showing its range, but a good portion of those have been usually glossed over in the videos, and to my ear maybe weren't something I'd really use often... you find yourself using mostly for kicks I guess? I'm much more interested in the non-kick sounds from it, thinking of its capabilities more as like a cheap DFAM basically.

I got a Volca Kick. It goes well with the Volca Sample but its really a situation-dependent device. I end up sampling individual hits or loops moreso than live stuff with it. I'm sure there is a lot more versatility to it than just a kick drum but it's primary function is its greatest strength.

This kid gave me some chuckles.

@Stickfigger: I dunno, I'm seeing some stuff that I like outside of kicks (kicks are good though) but I know that's not the strength of it necessarily....you mentioned using LFO to control CC stuff, you're talking about an external LFO right?

Entor... hm. A bit disappointed in all you (okay just two) WATMM people just using an instrument like you're supposed to. Psh. ;D

I've had my eye on it since it came out. Not sure why I haven't picked one up yet. There's something really, really alluring about it in that "stone soup" kind of way. By which I mean, there's so little to it that it seems comical, but I see that as a challenge to see how messed up I can make it sound with crusty effects chains and sequencer abuse.

I bet it'd be a real hoot with a 4-track, a Bastl Dude, basically any effects (but especially filter and delay), and sufficient cables to create a feedback loop.

This guy knows what I'm talking about:

  On 9/25/2018 at 5:56 AM, auxien said:

This kid gave me some chuckles.

 

@Stickfigger: I dunno, I'm seeing some stuff that I like outside of kicks (kicks are good though) but I know that's not the strength of it necessarily....you mentioned using LFO to control CC stuff, you're talking about an external LFO right?

 

Entor... hm. A bit disappointed in all you (okay just two) WATMM people just using an instrument like you're supposed to. Psh. ;D

I feel like I can't work outside box with it too much except maybe some of the pitchbendy stuff mainly because its more focused as being a live instrument this time around. Lots of the options on it are only trigger-able through physical interaction and it becomes hard to justify it being in my set up for too long on account that it is way better for sampling bass, snare and high hat samples than it is to actually sequence them into the machine or trigger them. The noise gen in surpasses the beats, even with the snare mod, for making a tinny snare drum though. Turning it into a variable noise machine like in the vids is kind of meh for me.

I'll do a write up of each of the volcas at some point in the near future but I think two volca fm's and a volca sample is the penultimate volca setup. The analog sounds that come out of the volca bass and keys are very smokey and burned sounding, and they never get rid of the "dirty brass" sound that characterizes them. Volca fm is extremely versatile with textures and options, and if you know what you are doing, can get sounds that rival their analog counterparts in warmth if you choose to. The volca sample is good enough at what it does and has some neat granular synthesis properties that can be exploited.

I am >this< close to picking up a volca kick, got one in my shopping basket ready for payday.

Literally all I need for a live show is a decent kick drum that I can mash into my pedal chain and make it sound evil.

  On 2/5/2019 at 3:05 PM, fletcher said:

I am >this< close to picking up a volca kick, got one in my shopping basket ready for payday.

 

Literally all I need for a live show is a decent kick drum that I can mash into my pedal chain and make it sound evil.

If you had a little more time and patience, might be cool to wait for the new volca drum. Sounds pretty cool on some demos, actually reminds me of some of the percussion sounds from the RDJ album, unique synth engine as far as drum machines go too:

Thanks, will wait until March and check out the Korg stand at the Bristronica thing.. Hopefully have a play with them both