I'm still hoping for a firmware update that raises the hi-hat levels.

any chance you could post photos and details, in addition to the videos?

swook theres a resistor near the mixer (watch my video where i jump the resistor to boost the snare level) that controls the hi hat level. Would be a simple thing to whack a resistor over it and boost the hat levels as well. i dont think any firmware update is gonna do it for you. its a hardware thing.

but honestly man then youll find the clap levels are too quiet, etc. youll just keep chasing your tail. youre better off just turning down the other elements to get your hats up and then just turn up the volume overall....

probably not grawk. it took me all day to make the vid. easier to explain. i got other mods to work on now already! do you not get the idea from the video?

I took the liberty to screen cap these..

cool vstace cheers! pics look nice and sharp considering they are from my vid. Glad i made it HD now. Blue writing is a bit hard to read but thanks for your help!

Good job on the mod Blackout-. *applauds*

Makes me wanna get one now. Well, in the near future.

Changed to red. Thanks again for the infoz Blackout-!

thanks

hats off to you good sir!

This is one of the best instructional videos I've seen, most impressive.

only thing missing from the pics (vstace?) is a pic of the pot which is a B10k for those interested.

Thank You very much for this awesome mod!!!

Great work on this, Blackout. Not sure I want to really attempt this, my iron has a rather larger tip than the one you've used, and I definitely don't have enough experience yet to do this. But it's a brilliant mod and the results are clearly audible. The Beats just became a whole lot more desirable, I'd say.

Added. Do you happen to have a part number for that pot? Looks like it was a perfect size.

vstace...um...it was a pot i pulled out of my MFB-522 heh. it is essentially the same as the pots that are in the Volcas but the knob stem is shorter. It needs to be shorter to line up with the other Volca knobs when the new pot is sitting higher on the new PCB i installed.

Hey there,
this is the thread i was waiting for since my beats has arrived.
Many many thanks to Blackout.

So i would love to do the mod on weekend. Unfortunally im not that much in electronic components and additionally im in germany where components has other names. Let try to get the components together so everybody can do the mod as easy. Im not sure whats the important point on each, so it would be great if somebody with more knowledge checks the specs.

Poti: b10k-Potentiometer
Germany: Link
US: Link

Capacitator: 104k Ceramic
i assume that means a 100n, but which nominal voltage do we need, 50V?
Maybe ist one of these?
Germany: Link
US: Link

Resistor for Boost: 2k2 (2.2kohm Resistor)
Again how much capacity do we need? Is 0,5W to much?
Germany: Link
US: Link

Whats the Bridgeresistor here?
(Picture attached because of forbidden use of IMG)

youre welcome

ok allow me to help you out

neither of these. Both are far too big to fit into the KVB. they will hang too low and they will touch the original PCB. youll never get the box closed. and youll never be able to get in another pot one day for another mod left or right of this one either.

you need this one:

Altronics - R1976 10k Lin 18T Spline 9mm Single Vertical Short PCB Pot

yes it is 50V. it is the second link you provided (the US link) that is correct. One thing....BEND THE LEGS ON THIS CAP FIRST 90 DEGRESS DOWN, SO THE CAP IS ALREADY LYING DOWN IN POSITION, THEN SOLDER. do not solder the cap vertically standing up on the small surface mount resistor and then think you are going to be able to push this cap over flat and bend it onto the pcb so it is lying like i have it shown so you can close the box. you will put massive pressure on the little surface mount resistor and it will pop up and off the PCB, and then you are most probably screwed in a major way, because you will almost never be able to get the tiny resistor chip back down again. it will start to get very messy for you. you will cry a lot. if you do this and it rips up the actual track on the PCB, then you will probably need to throw your KVB in the bin and start again, because you will probably never find the uprooted PCB track, it is hair-thin, i cant even see some of them under a magnifying glass and they are also hidden under the black mask paint. So use a 15 watt soldering iron, i have this iron http://australia.rs-online.com/web/p...irons/4509680/ (a 25 W soldering iron is FARR TOO HOTT!!) and touch points for no more than 2 seconds. with a 25W soldering iron, you will only have to touch for 1/2 second and you will already have a melted surface resistor and a lot of headache.

do not say "its ok ill be fine ill try with my 25W or 30W soldering iron, i dont want to go out and buy another soldering iron just for this job". Dont do it. Go and buy the 15 W soldering iron (you will use it again one day i promise) ...or you will fail. I promise this. The 15W soldering iron will also have the thinner iron tip that you need to do this job properly.

Also put a little bit of double sided tape under the cap before you put it down. It will help with its weight, and hold it down so it will be easier to solder. Otherwise one day you will be gigging and just have to knock your KBV on the desk and the cap will just bounce down under its weight and crack off the resistor and then your gig will be ruined as well. it needs support underneath, so just let it sit on some double sided tape across the other components on the board. it will not short, it will be fine


i used a .25W mini carbon film blue resistor. 2.2K. the resistors you linked to will work, but they are a bit big. You will have to bend the wires around a lot to get them back to the small soldering location and then it will be extra weight on such small solders. I say the smaller the resistor size you use the better for this job so go for a mini resistor. if you cant get a carbon film one and you use a standard mini .25w or .5W "cream colored" resistor then it will work just fine, just choose a mini size one. Again, bend the resistor wires first. then solder. do not try and move or touch the resistor once it is soldered down. or it will crack off and probably take other things with it.

you are asking the number of the resistor on the PCB that the wire connects to going to the pot? it is mentioned in the video...R134. but the decal for R134 is offset a little on the board so it is not directly next to the resistor, the decal is shown off to the side where my pen tip is pointing. so you need to watch the video.

hope this helps clear up any doubt.

Cheers!
Blackout

Wow Blackout, fast AND detailed reply.
Thx for that.

But i didnt get your last two sentences
Do you replace the R134 with the new capacitator or do you add it?

the capacitor is not across R134 man. the Pot is. you need to watch the video im afraid you are confused. This is why i made a video instead of photos and text, so it is clear what to do. i want it to work for you 100% so please watch the video!

Hey, first of all, a big thank you. I really love the modded tone, however I think I can hear a long noise tail in your videos... Am I imagining things or did it really appear? Is the snappy portion just gated or does its volume follow any kind of envelope? Shortening the gate should probably help.

hi kokoon, there is no noise tail. its a clean, tight snare that finishes to silence. im not 100% what you think you are hearing but i dont think you should be concerned. Have you done the mod? when you tighten up the decay knob on the snare it can be so tight and short it is almost like a tiny little closed hat.

if you use any capacitor other than the 104 50V ceramic i used however, as i explained on the video you can get some noise "bleed" around the envelope which starts to sound like some residual noise after the envelope. It sounds a bit like a snare "reverb" tail after it. this is why it took a long time to choose the right cap. it has a lot to do with the other components in the circuit.

Cheers,
Blackout

So one thing I'm not entirely clear on....

bridging with the pot: does the bridge happen between CCW and the wiper, or CW and the wiper?

good question elmegil...

for pots its always between the centre pin, and one of the other two left or right of it. so then its just a matter of whether you want to turn the pot to the right and it gets duller, or turn the pot to the right and its gets brighter. Some might decide to label this pot a "filter" and then you would want it to get duller as you crank it right. others (like myself) want it to be brighter as you turn it right.

if you want it to behave like mine, then put it across the centre and the CW (clock-wise) wiper. Then the snare will get brighter as the pot gets closer to shorting out the connection.

if you get it wrong and the snare gets brighter as you turn the knob left instead of right, its not a big deal to swap the wire to the other terminal and reverse the behavior.

And just for clarity, it does not matter which wire from the Volca Beats that you connect to the centre pin of the pot. just pick one of the two coming off the board that you have soldered in place as per my video and go with it. Polarity is not an issue in this case.

Cheers,
Blackout

anyone in the US want to mod my volca with the snare and hi hat mod???

(for $)??

has anyone sucessfully performed the mod yet? l hope it went well...let me know!

Cheers,
Blackout

wow. snare is much nicer, but the triangle mod on hihat - sounds fantastic. nice to have a switch to both.

is it possible to mod this thing for individual outputs, not unsimilar how 606 was modded for outs for years now..?

hi Cluster, individual outputs are a simple mod. some of the points are even labelled by Korg. there are vids on youtube of ppl who have done this already.

Some pics here with individual outs

MUFF WIGGLER :: View topic - volca beats-E

Another suitable pot from a place with great prices - 10K OHM Linear Taper Potentiometer Round Knurled Plastic Shaft PCB 9mm

EDIT: here are all the parts (with SKU #'s) from https://www.taydaelectronics.com enough to do 10 units! I actually bought 10 more capacitors than needed, so might even be less than $7 shipped to the US - Note the discount code


And people, if you're serious about doing this mod you MUST watch the very detailed video Blackout- made. I only did screen caps for position reference after your unit is open. Also the mods on these Volcas are all quite new; many would be wise to wait as long as you can before modding your units as new mods will become available all the time. The more you open your modded toys the greater the chance of breaking something.