From Jason Proctor Sent Thu, Sep 5th 2019, 21:26
From Jason Proctor Sent Thu, Sep 5th 2019, 21:26
> Imagine the DX7 having instead of a bunch of buttons, a single tiny knob = to flip through every parameter. The algorithm slider effectively does that ;-) On Thu, Sep 5, 2019 at 2:18 PM Royce Lee <xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx> wrote: > > Hi list, > > I found a used Korg Volca Drum on Craigslist and decided to buy it to try= it out. > > I haven't seen many reviews on the web that I can relate to so thought I'= d share some thoughts about it. It is the first Korg volca or mini product = I've purchased outside of gifts for other people. > > The form factor is definitely "pocket calculator". I can't honestly consi= der it to be drum machine, though it has some aspirations. For example, if= you dare, here is a video that attempts to treat the Volca like a performa= nce instrument: > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D7gKncWEYfpY > > I would have to say my experience and approach to the thing is the polar = opposite to Mr. Buns. I am unable to get any of fingers, hands, or feet to = reproduce any of the gestures shown in the video. When I play it, I'm unabl= e to dance, bob, or sway. If I attempt to use any dance like moves near the= thing, I knock it off of the table or flip it upside down. In fact, becaus= e I need bifocals but have not yet bought them, I can't even read some of t= he text on the thing. > > Every preset on the thing aims to prove that the Volca is waiting for Aut= echre to make their new record on the thing. The presets are,without except= ion, repulsive. Wide parameter changes on drums, especially ones that repea= t every bar, are a terrible idea. The only way to get that kind of behavior= out of a drumkit is for something drastic to happen, like the snare falls = off of its stand, or the kick drum rolls off stage. So the real time parame= ter recording is a gadget begging to be abused. You will not wind up doing = this, because it is not allowed in music that is listened to. > > There is alot of hate on the web about the knob that controls which digit= al model is being used. A bit hard to explain, but a single knob will selec= t the combination of oscillator type, modulation shape, and envelope shape.= Imagine the DX7 having instead of a bunch of buttons, a single tiny knob t= o flip through every parameter. A puzzling choice. It would be a bit like c= hoosing what combination of beverage, meal, and desert at McDonalds using a= single knob. Not what one expects, but perhaps mathematically effective at= sweeping through a parameter space with fewer dimensions than one thinks. > > It is best to not ponder this GUI choice too long, in case you start agre= eing with it and applying it to real life choices. > > The sequencer is effective. It has a tempo knob, a play button, a record = button. No manual required to get started. There is a function button, whic= h means that many functions that are performance oriented require two butto= n presses, or 2 + n button presses to accomplish. I blame Elektron on this = GUI innovation. Or perhaps Microsoft, who do not want you to be able to log= in to your laptop while drinking coffee, in case were to spill the coffee o= n the computer. Likewise, you won't want to try to play the Volca Drum whil= e simultaneously using another drum machine, unless you have four hands. > > On the other hand, you will want to use the Volca Drum with another drum = machine. Its sync has some surprises. Korg includes the option to sync the = drum with analogue clock or midi. With analogue pulses, you can choose upgo= ing or downgoing signals. You can also choose two pulses per step or one pu= lse per step. Being able to make these selections is really great, allowing= the Volca Drum to easily integrate with...say...a TR606. I find the signal= does not have to be processed too much for sync to be pretty tight. There = is a downside: there is no reset...so you will need to manually sync the Vo= lca to the first beat by pressing play on the first beat. As much as I'd l= ike to criticize this to keep the sarcastic tone of this review consistent,= I have to admit it makes perfect sense and is an example where simple is b= etter. What kind of percussion instrument would not assume its user is capa= ble of this simple rhythmic act. > > What does it sound like? I have to admit I'm mystified here, even though = I've played with it for a few minutes each night. I seem to be able to make= three different sounds on it. The first is a sine wave based kick drum tha= t is deep, and can be enveloped tightly to replicate a 909 that is clean an= d effective. The other is a kind of hihat/snare hybrid that is noise based,= generic, and bland, but in a good way. In fact a kind of sound that I've b= een having trouble generating on my tricky Eurorack digital drums (Taiko, a= udiodamage, nord drum). Third is a large wastebasket category of drums I'd = probably never use but wonder if some minimal techno kid would wind up usin= g. Squishy sounds with a slow attack, or highly modulated sounds. The sound= s lack the grit of a TX81z. Note quite as punchy as an ER1. Tend to come ou= t "scooped". Sort of like if a Quadraverb hand a synth engine. > > It has a delay based effect that I had hoped replicated the wonderful ER1= delay. I've loved that delay when jamming with friends: rich, harmonic, wi= erd, and better than the drum sounds on the ER1 itself. This delay is not t= he same. It supposedly is thereto model tube based acoustics, leading some = ad copy to call this drum synth a physical modelling synth. If so, I'm not = hearing it. It doesn't sound good, and most sounds, with exception of cymba= ls, sound better without engaging this effect at all. There is also a bit r= educer effect: to my ears, it sounds bad whenever its level is above zero. > > I think I'll need to spend a bit more time with it to explore its paramet= er space. I generally find myself looking for warmer, full bodied sounds, a= nd winding up with either pretty good deep kicks or pretty good hihat/snare= like sounds with very little in-between. > > The sequencer has some genuinely great tricks. For example, if you press = one of the steps, it will repeat that step in time (16th note). If you pres= s three steps, it will repeat those three steps (3/4 of a beat). If the ste= p is blank, it will insert a series of blank 1/16th note steps. When you re= lease the step, everything is okay in the machine somehow winds up back in = right place. Brilliant! Easily creates useful variations that are truly int= uitive. > > There it is! I like it for its sequencer, and I like that Korg dared to p= ush out a digitally synthesized drum. Some of the performance enhancements = are great, some of them are terrible. All will beg to novice to try to crea= te impressive patterns. These efforts will lead to disappointment. But simp= le things, like an off beat click or zap, are perfectly fine. The analogue = sync is tight but will require some mental organization. It has some perfor= mance oriented features, but you will make mistakes on stage, because your = finger will be bigger than any of the steps/buttons. > > So...back to Kraftwerk's pocket calculator analogy. > > > > > > > > >