I cannot get this to work either, and run into the same problem. Anyone can shed some light on this?

I am also in agreement that the snares are underwhelming...I use them with the snare and pitch all the way down and it kind of sounds a little like the toms with less umph except that really isnt the point. It really messes up the mix imo with the other sounds.

They do sound interesting going through the biscuit when everything is distorted and you can't really distinguish the pre-fx.

Eh, if we're talking 303ish sounds, I actually still prefer the Rocket. The rocket almost has the "clarity" of Sylenth1 and similar soft synths. It lacks the low end of a prophet 5 or minimoog, but like, DUH. Mine seems to be extremely clean and smooth sounding, but can indeed get a bit dirty when needed (but even the dirt is a sort of HiFi dirt)

The Bass sounds like a lo-fi toy by itself. There seems to be a fair bit of noise muddled on top of each oscillator, especially when using the saw. The filter isn't nearly as smooth as the rockets, and IMO is lacking in strength. It's like it has all the bad features of the MS-20 filter but none of the good (besides that it can scream). I love it though, it's an extremely usable timbre, and the ability to switch oscillator voicings is extremely fun. These statements are in no way negative because they totally make this thing a unique thing unto itself, where I was afraid it might literally be a 303 clone or pretty stylophone. Not to mention the synth is just super intuitive, no manual required. (I had to look up wtf was going on with the osc and tune functions on the rocket, once I read it, the symbols made sense, but beforehand I was just a tad confused.)

The bass also handles chords better than the rocket. IDK how that could have happened, but it did.


On the beats though, I have to agree that I also think the beats is craving to be sent through some distortion. When the individual outs and a few more mods hit, I'm going to be all over it.

I'll be excited when I get mine and plan out a Koma-style breakout box, and can work on each out separately.

Man no swing tho? Thats a bummer.

For swing, I saw one video where they used a monotron delay for the master sync for volca beats and bass, which gave it some swing. Have not done it myself though. Getting a sequencer for the extra pattern storage anyway.

Use the synckontrol app for swing. It works, though the swing is a bit wonky. There's no swing in any of the Volcas.

Anyone one who preordered from Thomann.de got their yet?
According to their website expected dispatch is 4th October, but the Beat is now available in some UK shops.

Not saying this is final but here's what i reckon. Select the part you want to stutter, record a motion sequence even it's just a nano movement of the stutter knob. Then you can turn stutter off but it will still effect the motion sequence part.
When you select another part you won't have the same prob'.

I don't rate any of the monotribe drums but they do somehow compliment the damn thing when i tinker around with it. Love its synth & filter though.
I've never had a 606 but listening to demo's of it, it sounds bigger & crispier than the volca.
I think that modding it is the only route to take with this volca beats & i am asking myself at the moment, do i return it to the dealer OR perhaps keep it solely as a project unit for the winter. Not 100 % decided yet.

Putting it through distortion or some other mangler of choice will do it. If you were not going to do that, all your gas would have been better used powering a light bulb !

It seems like the Monotribe is all boom and the Volca Beats is all snap. It makes sense that they'd work well together if that's accurate.

Ok so you have come to the wrong conclusion.

Maybe you mean decay? The sustain works as expected and stays triggered as long as you hold the note.

Nope.

Its effective enough in the expected duration of the Volca sequencer (ie maximum of 4 bars for the keys model), but certainly not really up to grade for general use over the MIDI input.

I dont agree. In particular I find the low tom with decay is a lovely smooth sound. Between the two they can effectively be another 2 note bass line source.

It can be effective if you layer it with any combination of the clap, clave, agogo and crash once you dial in the pitch and volume of each to taste for extra meat. But the TR-909 snare is still king....

Agreed - I love the Rockets sound and so versatile as well.

Yes, whoops! That's my bad.

Having had a bit more of a chance to mess around with the beats i can definitely conclude something.
I stand by what i have said about it so far as a stand alone-straight from the box view. It is the weakest sounding drum machine i have tried & it's limited too. I have to apply more gain at the mixer than for any other gear i have. In a way though ,that's ok because if it were too noisy then that would be a different game, at least it can be amplified. Also limited is a plus because i like simple things.
I played it through a spring reverb just for a tester & then tried it through a digital reverb & found that it showed more colour & sounded brighter as you might expect. Even that so called snare began to shine a bit.
There's no doubt that external processing is needed to make it sparkle, it just doesn't have it on its own. Anything you like will help it, distortion, compression, reverb, delay, or all of 'em, whatever, it needs something.

The big picture though is that you have to use all the tools in its box to bring out the full volca beats flavour & then it starts to get more interesting.
The stutter is without doubt your friend ! I thought it was going to be bit of a gimmick but i'll take that back now because it can expand the whole sound & give the illusion of different beat signatures.
Without that stutter section on board it would be very boring because there's no 1/8th or 1/16th notes but that is where the stutter comes in because it's bpm sync-able & it can offer the equivalent.
Add motion sequences to that & it starts to expand because there is quite a bit of editing to be had & its a classic one-knob-per-function so you can easily see where you left your last edit except for the pcm sounds which share a knob.

My thinking is that it could be useful for interesting pitched up or down sounds, unnatural echoes or high whispers & other weird stuff. Nothing you couldn't do with another drum box & a delay though.

I'm going to keep it for a project box, carry out some mods & see what comes out of it. If it were not modifiable i would be sending it back to the shop but also, if i liked it the way it is ,i would not desire to modify it ! I hope for midi out mod asap because that could be a game changer for me.

That's my findings then. When it was first unveiled back in march i was really exited so i did want it to be good but i just have to be honest with myself on order to be honest with anyone else.

Nearly forgot, the power adapter. I've seen a fair bit of discussion about it but i just plugged an unregulated multi voltage one into it. Seems ok to me.

Quieter output signal is possibly because it requires big headroom for the massive kick drum.

^ Could be !

I reckon in much less than a year when the novelty wears off, ebay and other sale sites will be crawling with 2nd hand volcas..
i'll wait until then

What is the general consensus on the best place to preorder the trio in the US? I imagine the first batches are already sold out, does anyone know what the fastest/most reliable place would be?

You don't agree with what ? You find them to be like real toms then ?

You might think that, but even the monotrons still go for £28-32 used and are £35 new, which is stupid. Monotribes are much the same.

Snap ! I didn't use that word. More like clicky,poppy,tinny. You can quote me on that if you like.
I would say that the monotribe, despite its shortcomings is a fab little box of tricks with an authentic analogue look, feel & sound. I really like having mine hanging around. With the added midi i/o kit & the cv possibilities, it's extremely good value. If i could get a longer decay out of it ,it could be ballistic !
The volca beats on the other hand... Remains to be seen/heard yet.I'm hanging in there for a revelation, optimistic that i will find a genuine use for it among my other stuff.

The Volcas will be $150 forever, then at some point in the distant future they will be more than that.

Can't see behind the curtain to all operations, but JRRshop is definitely reliable.

As much as I'd like to support smaller businesses, your fastest option is still likely going to be Sweetwater.

The big boys get to eat first, and the larger retailers will probably get the Volcas before smaller ones do. Not condoning or endorsing any particular business, just stating what I've noticed in my experiences ordering things online.

I'm sure "Uncle" Eric from JRR will have a different opinion on the matter, but hey let's be real, he's kind of here to sell stuff besides just to talk about the synth game.

(Not knocking JRR by the way - they seem well-respected enough by people here at GS. I had some trouble with them in the past but nothing so bad where I would advise somebody not to buy from them. They definitely have some seriously competitive pricing, and that's appreciated.)