Why Korg’s Volca Series is a Game Changer

Korg is one of those companies that always seems to provide musicians with affordable, durable, and effective products. We all know that every band has had a MicroKorg at one time or another, and their new KR Mini Portable Rhythm Machine recently caught our attention. The Volca series however takes the notion of affordable effectiveness to the next level. Let’s face it, we all love our software synths and drum machine plug-ins. However, part of the reason those have become so practical is because really, who has the three grand to drop on an 808 right this second? The Volca series offers a pretty comparable alternative for a fraction of the cost. Granted, they will never offer the same power and character as everyone’s favorite machines of the 80s, but they will give musicians, especially those who work in dance music, the power of analog synthesis and knob turning. Plus they sound really good. Did I mention they are affordable? Each piece comes in at $150. Here is what I loved about the beats, bass, and keys without getting all geeky on you.

The first thing you’ll notice when you look at the Volca series is that they look pretty similar to Korg’s already popular Monotron Series. In a way, Korg used some of the same design and function features that made the Monotron’s really fun and easy to use. The Volca Beats offers up six different drum sounds, each of which are tweakable and can be dropped into a pattern much like the drum machines everyone has grown used to. The lows on this machine boom and when combined with it’s other elements and stutter fuction, it leaves you wondering if Korg has hired magical drum machine fairies to work inside the box. Probably not though, right?

In 1982, Roland released a bass-heavy sequenced synthesizer called the TB-303. The 303 is best know for defining the style of house known as acid. Since its initial release, the 303 has been fetishized and replicated by various boutique companies. The Volca Bass, although not exactly the same, or as powerful as the 303, is actually a really cool and versatile synthesizer. The best part about the Volca bass is that you can set a bass sequence as well as an acid style sequence at the same time which gives you the low end as well as the squishy high end in one box. It would be great to run two of these and combine it with the Volca Beats. Be careful though. This combo will have you raving for days. ACID.

The Volca Keys is a playable and sequenceable synth with a built in delay. Out of the three units, this box is probably the most tweakable, as it probably should be. I was really impressed by the array of features they managed to pack into this little guy; five different voicing functions, built in automation, step sequencing, kick ass delay, etc. The sound of the Volca Keys is thick and sharp, and although all of the Volca boxes have midi functionality, The Keys’ allow it to easily step away from its brothers and be integrated into any setup, electronic or otherwise.

It is hard to capture the true power of these boxes without using them together. This is perhaps their strongest feature and something that Korg has made very easy. The Volca series is something that could really have an impact on electronic music. Much like GarageBand did for software multi-tracking, it gives high power tools at a great cost, to those who may not be ready to fully dive into the rabbit hole of analog synthesis.