Korg Volca Bass

It's a 3x oscillator, 100% analogue synth, for less than 150 euros. We can stop right there - it's a must have.

Plus it has a really cool sequencer, which is very intuitive and easy to use. Although limited to 16 steps (or one bar). However, you can connect it to your DAW via midi cable, have your sequences running from there, and have as many bars as you want.

Oscillators sound really nice, as well as the filter, which turns into a beast with a lot of resonance. Without running it through any external devices, you can get an overdrive, which is a nice little bonus.

It is marketed as a monophonic bass synth, but it's a lot more. Actually it has a secret. It's not completely monophonic. You can sequence different notes for every OSC if you're using it's sequencer, or set different semitones for every OSC. By these methods you can even get triad chords out of it, which could be useful if you're making dub / techno dub music for example.

Another great thing is that it has an LFO which can go very fast, you can enter the audible range with it. It allows you to get all kinds of weird sounds.

The only complaint would be, that it's build doesn't feel very solid, it's plastic, wobbly, feels cheap. But hey, for this price, it's OK. If you take good care of your equipment, it shouldn't be a problem. And despite all of that, it looks very good.

There's also a little speaker integrated, and it can run with batteries. But I personally, find these features useless.

Overall, excellent product. Definitely a must have if your budget is limited, but you want a proper analogue synth. And Korg Volca Bass is exactly that.

I got into hardware (and analog) synthesisers recently and after some weeks of research and following recommendations from expert friends, I bought the Volca Bass as my first instrument.

I spent several months learning it inside out and I am in love with it. I had the chance to learn a lot about subtractive synthesis thanks to its simple flow that yield to exploration and experimentation.

It is limited compared to more expensive instruments but it has lots of depth and can be used for a lot of sounds, from wobbly basses to some spacey pads. It is so simple to do some acid techno but it can also create soundscapes and drones.

The filter is amazing considering it's simplicity and with a bit of resonance at the right spot, it can be really gritty and distorted.

The only drawbacks that I can list are the limited ribbon keyboard (the Volca Keys has a better one) and the very small knobs that limit the fine tuning of some parameters. Additionally the lack of motion recording is a pity.

All in all, it is a very nice little machine for beginners and for who wants to express their creativity through constraints.

The volca bass is one of the few volcas that survived my studio re-organisations throughout the years. And that's mainly because it's so versatile and has plenty of character in its sound.

Don't be fooled by the name "Bass" and that it has a lot of similarities with 303-type of synths. I used the volca bass more often as a lead sound in my tracks than as a bass synth, simply because it sounds really nice in the higher ranges. Layering it with other sounds works pretty well, too! Don't worry, I used it for bass sounds too and it does that just fine.

One thing that I find a bit of a letdown is that the Bass sometimes has a wonky phase when working with multiple oscillators. Because of this phase, it sometimes cancels out the bass frequencies for a brief moment, which might be annoying if you're doing a one-take recording.

Other than that, it's a great little box and is one of the volcas to probably not leave the studio anytime soon for its versatility and possibilities!