KORGvolca Drum - Digital Percussion Synthesizer

The media could not be loaded. Korg Volcas are addictive, and this is the third one I've bought after modular and nu:bass - of the options for providing drums/beats, the Volca Drum is the most original and powerful, though the sample offers a lot of flexibility as well.It adheres to the standard Volca form factor and battery requirements, with the usual audio, sync and MIDI input. The pattern sequencer is also familiar, with 16 patterns of 16 steps for up to 256 steps in a song. There's no means of backing up the kits or storage, but you can get a third-party editor and VST which helps with that.What it does:Six-parts of synthesized drums consisting of two 'layers' each, each layer having its down sound character modified through the wave source, envelopes and other parameters accessed via the edit button. There's enough control to change sounds on the fly, and it's a VERY powerful drum synthesizer for the money, rivalling the likes of the Nord Drum 3P for sound and texture creation.Editing the six drum sounds is remarkably easy, though getting truly accurate or characterful original sounds can be tricky, it just needs a subtle touch. Bolstering the sound of the drums is a single resonator that affects all of them, which can be tuned and changed from tube to string, for bassy or reedy tones. This is really the only limitation of the sound generation, you can't have one part in a tube, and the other via string.It's intuitive to play basic beats, with 10 preset kits of straight electro/pop sounds with some wierd and wonderful squawks and breaks for good measure, but it rewards in-depth thoughtful programming.How does it sound?Remarkable. High-quality and clear, the bass can shake and the high pitches can ring with no aliasing or crudeness that you might expect of cheap PCM samples, this is true drum synthesis with rich harmonics and a lot of flexibility. It's at home in synthwave, garage, dubstep, grime or whatever, really, capable of being very solid or just plain bizarre.How vital is it to a Volca setup?This should be your second or third one alongside bassline and melody, but you could buy this for use alongside other synths and find it stands alone as an excellent drum machine. It's one of Korg's best yet and incredibly good value; I'm still finding more depth months into owning it. It's more enjoyable to program than the Nord 3P as well...Anything it benefits from?Effects of course - the Volca Mix has send/return, but I'd probably use this with a Kaoss KP3+ or kaoss pad for glitch, delay and grain effects if I weren't using the minikp2 for that via the mixer. It really suits that style of dynamic, effected playing and becomes a simple drum and bass machine if you take the time to program it.It also works well with the Volca Modular as an additive percussion synth for additional character. Think complex, shimmering and harsh metallic hits like early industrial music, backed by more 2000s-style heavy, long-decayed kicks from the Volca Drum.Any downsides?Not really, apart from the lack of sound bank/pattern backup. It stores them fine, but doesn't have much storage on board and there's no MIDI out or audio backup option. It would be nice if it would play an audio file of the memory contents for later restoration, in the same way that firmware updates are applied.You want it, basically. The Korg Volca Drum is one of the best Volcas yet; it's powerful, flexible and original - the sounds are versatile, and it could add something to any studio, not just a starter project or basic Volca layout. You could sample patterns from this until your fingers wear out.

If you need a portable (battery powered), low cost percussion synth, then the Volca Drum is easily one of the best options available. It is easy enough to use, but because of the extensive array of parameters and options, it is perhaps not so easy for absolute beginners, unless you are happy to stick with the preset kits, as the sequencer is easy enough to master.Although this is always a personal thing, I find the sound very good (stereo), and the sheer range of percussion and melodic sounds you can generate is mind blowing. As (nearly) always with kit from Korg, extremely cleverly designed workflow.Only gripe is the midi implementation, which is, like the Volca Sample, non standard and so it is difficult to sequence from an alternate midi source. For example, it does not work with my Arturia Keystep Pro, which is a real shame. Hope this gets rectified in a future version of the firmware.

I have several Volcas, and this one is one of the best; the range of sounds available is excellent, and most are usable! I do wish Korg would make them easier to use with other equipment - you can trigger notes over Midi for instance but you have to stop the sequencer manually each time you start the master device or the Volca will do it's own thing! Overall however, they are a reasonably priced, fun and easy way to expand your sound making, and I would highly recommend to beginners who fancy having a go at making electronic music. This machine can generate some excellent grooves/ rhythm tracks and is very tweakable (all Volcas are!). It has made such good sounds I have samples to put into my main drum machine to get around the problem above; you lose the live playability but is much easier in the studio. This may not be the best 1st drum machine (it could be, it depends what you want to do!), but is a worthwhile addition to any set up to add some variations/ fills etc. and help with ideas. Paired with the Volca Bass it could do your rhythm section.; then Volca Keys for chords, Volca FM for melody, chords or more bass, you may get hooked.....

Bought this unit because a needed something quick to run my td3 with.I have a behringer rm9 but still working it out.The Volca drum is easy to program/use and easy to set up with midi.Currently clocked with the td3 but my other synths will be clocked up soon.Overall for the money cheap beats...easy use sorted 👍

Clever little box that packs a lot of power into a small space. The user interface is similar to other Volcas but I found this one particularly easy to learn. The little screen is very useful and despite its size is very clear indeed. As with other Volcas the instructions are pretty minimal and maybe it's best to watch some YouTube videos to understand how to use it. Anyway you can be up and running in no time at all and it really lends itself to improvisation with a sort of industrial/techno edge. The built-in patterns are very conventional and don't really hint at what this box can do. The built-in effects processor is very interesting and adds a whole new dimension to the sounds you can get. The output is stereo and you can pan individual drums into different positions. Excellent value for money and very pleased I bought it.

Very cool, easy to use and high quality sound, I've had previous volca machine but I like this one better

The media could not be loaded. This is a superb little drum machine,with endless drum sound patterns,play along with any instrument and it improves your timing especially if using a guitar to play along with.

I know it’s a great instrument but the one I was sent was dead. Didn’t power up at all and quick look on google shows that people experience same problems sometimes with brand new units. I own volca sample 2, keys, bass, fm2 - all are awesome. I’m buying second hand from a music store. And waiting for Amazon refund. So yeah buy it and hope for the best.