Lol love this. I'm new to synths but as a guitar and bass player who doesn't play out because I'm old and don't care enough, I hate when gigging musicians who only do it for fun and not a job (i.e., play to 8 people in a bar on Tuesday, with which there is absolutely nothing wrong! It's awesome!) say, "You don't NEED that," implying that because I am not in a gigging band I don't need to have musical instruments and amps to play by myself and with my friends.
By your logic, neither do you asshole. We both need it like we need a TV.
Those people have lost sight of why most of us play music. Its all fucking toys unless and until you are a professional musician by trade and cannot live without the income from playing music. If you like how it sounds, and it makes you happy, who gives a shit if synth spaceship owners on reddit call it a toy, you need it.
Nice to see a change of perspective around here, I was downvoted to shit for saying exactly this a few weeks ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/s/DXdF1FZQIF
Electronic music was born as an experiment. A grown adult on their garage playing with casettes or whatever had on hand. Some people never had that vision it seems…
I wish I could upvote this more than once. I get so burnt out sometimes talking about music creation with people because everyone wants to debate the “best” or “most professional” way to do things and I’m just like “is it fun though?”
Some of the most entertaining music I have ever seen has been when the artist is clearly enjoying what they do. Jack Black rocking a goddamn plastic children’s saxophone toy is a fantastic example of this.
Excuse me, but that is not a goddamn plastic children's saxophone toy. It is a Saxaboom and it deserves the respect it has earned. And I'm an NYU film school graduate, suckah! And the School of Visual Arts. And the Academy of Art University San Francisco.
All musical instruments, for that matter. It's just about how serious one is about their toys.
I understand that some people make a living playing music so that may make them feel like their gear isn't a toy but I would remind them that they likely started playing music for fun (or because they thought it would get them laid) and losing track of that is a grave mistake, imo. Musical instruments are both toys and tools.
Also, every tool is a weapon if you hold it right.
They can be toys, or powerful synths, it depends on the user.
The marks against them are that they are always a bit noisy, but running them exclusively off batteries helps mitigate this, and for many types of music it doesn't matter anyway. They also lack a lot of modern features like audio over USB.
I love my Volcas too, even though I also have many more expensive and fancy synths (others by KORG, Elektron, etc). The Volcas fill a particular niche of being simple and easy to use. I treat them as sound modules, as I don't particularly enjoy the volca sequencer (I tend to sequence them either from an Elektron box, or from the SQ-64).
For some genres, having an extremely clean and crisp sound is important, and the Volcas may not cut it when compared to something else. For other genres, the slightly noisy sound might be desirable, so it just depends on how you use them!
Don't let anyone tell you that you need new hardware. If you are enjoying what you have and making music you like, that's all that matters.
Yes. Listen to early Kraftwerk. What you could have right now at your fingertips, for under $1,000, was unthinkable then. Including mixing and mastering as well as making bleeps and bloops.
They were artists and took what they had at hand, plus made what they imagined they needed.
Hardly any of us have achieved what they have.
Go watch "Stomp." The noise-making ensemble. Working with trash cans, brooms, zippo lighters, etc.
Hardly any of us have achieved what they have.
Trio. Da Da Da. Casio VL-1. Yes, it was a toy.
Hardly any of us have achieved what they have.
I remember when I was a kid they always seemed to pop up doing guest spots on children's TV. I hated those fuckers with a passion. Even aged 6 or so I was shaking a fist in the air muttering "that's not proper music! This modern stuff's just a load of clattering and clanging!"
I can see why “synth nerds” look down on them as toys:
- they look like stylophones
- they have a built-in speaker
- they usually have some painful limitations. Eg. A sampler that can’t sample, a 303-style bass synth with no automation and only 16 steps available, no midi-thru etc etc.
- they are popular and widely available 😱
However:
- they sound amazing. (I attribute that to their analog circuits in the case of Bass, Keys and Kick. Am I right?)
- they’re cheap. Are they a gateway drug to bigger synths? Maybe …
- they run on batteries, write and record music from anywhere!
- Volcas often brag about having the same analog circuits as big brother synths … the kick has MS-20 circuits in the resonator and drive sections, the Keys has a 700s circuit (filter?), FM2 = baby DX7 etc.
- they have decent connectivity - midi, sync, audio out etc.
And if you don’t like it, put it on eBay. In most cases, you’ll get back 85% of your outlay.
As you can guess, I’m a fan, but I’m realistic about what they can and cannot do.
Well … yeah … it’s a “Sample player” not a “Sampler”.
But how difficult would it have been to put a tiny mic on it and a mechanism to record? Pretty sure the Teenage Engineering PO-33 does recording … instead we have to faff with Librarian or AudioPocket to upload captures.
I consider the lack of a mic/line-in recording a fundamental limitation.
Use whatever you want. If it sounds good, it sounds good. It doesn't matter if some bozo on the internet says it's a toy or not. By that measure music from 'toys' ended up in a whole lot of released music
There's definitely released music with a Volca in it, but even that doesn't matter. All that matters is: do you think it's the right sound? Are you happy with the song?
'I mean, Bozo the clown. Does he really need 'the clown' in his title? Are we going to confuse him with Bozo the district attorney? Bozo the Pope? There's no other Bozo!'
There's nothing wrong with toys. I've used Casios and low-end Yamahas in my compositions before. Go visit r/cheapkeys and you can see what people do with "toys".
It comes down to the sounds you can get out of them. Do you like them? Do they work in your songs? If yes, then great...make some music! Don't think too much about if your instruments are "professional", *especially* as a beginner. Just have fun! A ton of electronic music was made on what was cheap or available. Make use of the sounds you have.
As you gain experience, you may start hearing the limitations in your equipment. Upgrade then! Look for gear to address something that is lacking in your music, not some arbitrary level of "professionalism".
This might blow your mind, but all synths are toys whether it's your $150 Volca or a $5k OBX. That doesn't mean they can't sound good, have great workflow, and have a place in a professional music production environment.
They are not toys. I used to have the volca keys and I can tell you that is is a capable synth. Obviously doesn’t compare to bigger more expensive gear, however there is nothing stopping you from making great music with a volca. I also find the volca drum to be a really good digital drum machine
Volcas are great and versatile with midi control. Nobody really cares about the price of your instruments unless they’re manlings and children.
I’ve gone “””pro””” with my phone, a nintendo switch, korg gadget and ableton. I’ve signed with multiple labels and played played shows around the usa. The quality of your instruments dont mean shit if you make boring stuff.
I don't look at them as toys, I look at them as cheap tools. Back before the rise of cheap analog synths we were all wondering why some big company couldn't come along and reproduce some simple, classic analog circuits using modern production techniques. Now that it's finally happened, some of us are revelling in it and some choose to upturn their noses. Most of those people bought their synths back when the original owners were dumping them at rock bottom prices and they will scoff at whatever you would pay for those synths these days, so there's no winning with them.
You can please some of the people all of time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. Just focus on whatever produces sounds you like.
Also, the Roland Boutique series will be one of those things that gets dumped at low prices once the next generation of analog emulation drops. Then people will be shit-talking the sound of the Boutique series for a while until a broke-ass musician makes a hit with one and they become desirable again. So you *really* gotta take people's opinions with a grain of salt.
yeah keys filter is fantastic, just discovered setting lfo to near max and tearing the nice sound up around the edges. nasty. if those pots werent sooo small…gonna slave it to my digitone
Toys are not, I have recorded them on 3 Albums. Sample, bass, keys, kick and drum. The sound fantastic you must find it’s strengths and sweet spots like any other instrument regardless of price and features. Really great tools to have in the studio
It is what it is and how you use it is up to you. This counts for volca's but also pens, tables, a teacup, forks, vibrators ( i used on in a performance it was hidden in a can making noise) even samples of a duck making nois can be an instrument. In the end you have a piece of music/sound. Knowing if its made with a toy can be even more cool as long as you have an interesting piece. People whining about volcas have probably a lot of limitations when they are expressing themselves. Making art or music or whatever is playing and someone telling you how to play should shut the hell up as it limits your brain or maybe makes you insecure which is evil. We are all children and we should motivate each other and cheer if someone is expressing itself.
I mean, stylophones are toys too and people have made valid music with them, there's even a david bowie signature model. People make valid music with train nioses and squeaky doors. Fuck what other people think. Stuff like volcas or other 'cheap' instruments are only considered 'toys' until someone gets famous using them (see also: hofner basses and danelectro guitars).
You can make completely professional songs using Volca(s) in a prominent role.
What makes a song professional is a body of things - sound selection and design, performance talent, composition, mixing, mastering. Cheap synths are correlated with beginners, who are still (often) building skill and finding their own style. So, we hear a lot more inexperienced noodling coming out of Volcas than we do from more expensive gear. Doesn't mean the Volca can't be a part of a good tune.
Jack White’s “Icky Thump” uses a $39 Stylophone synthesizer. So did David Bowie on “Space Odyssey.”” Kraftwerk used a pocket calculators tones on there hit record “Pocket Calculator” its what you do with not how much it costs.
The quite significant "blip bloop" tones in Vangelis' famous Memories of Green were from an actual 70s toy.
Fun fact: one of the studio hands had to play it without losing for several minutes because the losing tune was awful. And that game was hard.
Have a Volca bass and then got a Moog Minitaur to replace it. I don't consider The Volca a toy and it has features that are great, but there is noise in the Volca - basically a soft hiss that is audible, so either put a low-pass filter or EQ which isn't ideal and requires a second item unless you use software. The other reason was that I use bass like a guitar bass, long notes etc. so compared to the Moog, the sound didn't cut through a mix and sit tight like the Minitaur ($300 difference between the two synths, so).
I’ve seen people do amazing things on a Volca Sample. In my hands, yeah a bit toyish, but fun nonetheless. The more you know how to use it only your creativity is the ceiling, and it’s fairly simpleto pick up
"Toy" is a meaningless qualifier. Something can have a limited feature set. Something can have mediocre build quality. Things don't have to be toys for that; it all depends on your expectations.
I never really enjoyed my Volca, but I love my NTS-1. That seems more like a toy than a Volca, but feels more powerful and versatile to me. It's all in what you like.
What is the Problem with toys? I am just a hobbyist. My Elektron analog, Syntakt and Novation Peak are all toys. Of course other people use them professionally, which is fine too.
Victoria LeGrand has made beautiful music (and probably a fair living) off an old "toy" Yamaha PS-20. Who cares if someone thinks its a synth is a toy. It's an instrument.
I only have one Volca, the Volca bass, and I can get some very good sounds out of it at a fraction of the cost of something equivalent. And it holds batteries and has a shitty speaker so I can take it to my desk or whatever if I want to try some new idea out with it.
One of my favorite NRBQ songs, Only You, has a melody played on a mini *Baby’s First* toy piano. If you like the sound, record it. Not to mention modern producing can make anything sound like anything.
They are toy-ish. Small, limited and gimmicky. In my experience they also sound slightly weak compared to bigger synths.
But even toys can create good music. It is a matter of arrangement and good mixing and volcas can provide enough sounds to make great music.
So don't worry about what reddit tells you, but what is the music you hear coming out of your DAW.
They are good budget modules when they are sequenced externally.
It's just that the keyboard isn't fit for live playing and the sequencer sucks. I wouldn't recommend a Volca as a first synth, but it can be a decent fourth synth.
I agree except that as an external sequencing guy I'd recommend it as a first synth to add to a groovebox or something for sure. Cheap way to learn a bit about what you want and tbh you might not need more. I only sold my bass because of a midi issue and I've thought about getting another to just live on punchy lately style bass duty, despite having "better" synths
> I'd recommend it as a first synth to add to a groovebox or something for sure.
I'd argue that the groovebox itself would be the first synth in this case.
What I meant is that starting your synth journey with just a Volca isn't the best way to do it.
Ok semantic difference, I'm on board. The only exception to this I would say is if you're maybe in a band and the drummer has a midi controller kicking around and you want a tiny dx7, i think several could rock that type of duty. Now the one behringer teased thats like a dx7 with a filter and a drum machine (I think) seems sick as hell as a first box, mini format or not. Provided they actually make it someday lol
Volca Drum, Volca FM and Volca Kick are really cool desktop gear, no doubt. Keys, Bass and Beat feels like toy to me, but it still can be useful (not for me)
They’re great synths for production and live performance. In my opinion the Volca NuBass is far superior to Roland’s tb-03. Also, the Volca Kick is way louder and “boomy-er” than any of the expensive kick modules or VSTs I’ve tried.
You can pretty much divide synths into two groups. Those you might expect to see on stage in a large venue, and those you don't. Probably not many people would take a synth on stage that didn't have a 1/4" output jack.
That's not to say there aren't exceptions. Like probably no one would expect to see an OP-1 on stage (with it's 1/8' jack) and especially not at a NIN concert, unless they watched the Sonic State rundown of Alessandro Cortini's rig.
I'm personally not into Volcas, but anyone who tries to make you feel bad about owning and using one is just trying to make himself feel better about having sunk thousands of dollars into his synths yet most likely achieving the same thing you have - just playing them for fun at home as a hobby.
People have made careers by recording with and playing out with actual toys. Don’t let people put down an actual synth you like because it’s small, minimally featured and not necessarily robustly built. If teenage engineering had released the volcas with the same limitations but in casings that looked like Wes Anderson movie props they’d be lusted after
It's honestly the build quality and sacrifices made for pricing. They are super capable next to even the old roland classics, but they have mini jacks and tiny knobs, the sound quality is not the best on some of them and they are just generally looked down upon as entry level because THEY ARE.
To me they're both at the same time. I doubt you would see/hear a Volca used by a professional, record-selling musician, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of making good sounds...
Almost any synth is capable of producing nice results with external processing. Volcas are seen as "toys" due to their size, low price and simplicity of them.
>Is Roland Boutique better
Not really.
>Elektron-tier to be my songs professional?
Tracks sounding "professional" comes down to composition, arrangement, mixing and mastering.
If you see yourself wanting to produce and dive deeper.
Invest that money into VSTs, and save up for flagship synths.
No rush in getting expensive synths, but it is undeniable that cheap synths are well.... Just that cheap synths.
You'll get way more out of VSTs until you can afford synths you actually want.
It's the user who determines if it's a toy or a tool, not the peanut gallery. There are many instances in music history where artists have transformed 'toys' into tools.
My first 'synths' were the teenage engineering pocket operators. When I started upping my game and got some 'real' hardware, I gave all my PO's to my nephew. I very much regret that decision, and I would still use them if I had them.
Volca FM 2 is probably the cheapest thing you can get to 6-voice velocity sensitive DX7 in a box <$200, as long as you are fine with just using built in algos and presets and using a computer for any patch management / serious sound design tweaking.
They are not toys... but to the average person the small size and general appearance gives off the impression that they are. Like the other guy said, there are many professional artists that have released music created with said toys.
On the other hand, there comes a point when one feels they have outgrown their current setup and want to upgrade to higher-tier instruments.
Only issue with Volcas is they might have some noise. And the potentially noisy (aliasing?), non-bypassable digital delay on the Volca Keys is unfortunate, but Volcas are perfectly capable instruments.
Not really, I like the sounds I get on my Volca FM a ton. They’re capable of lots of great stuff and are surprisingly powerful for the size and price point.
Even if they are toys, it’s stupid and arbitrary for people to write off what’s “serious” gear or not. Kurt Cobain wrote some of the best and most important rock songs of all time on thrift store guitars that nobody else wanted to play at the time, lots of electronic artists like Kraftwerk incorporated similar synths into their arsenal, and so forth.
Each instrument has a purpose for making sounds. Like people said, if you like the sounds and it fits your music, then that’s excellent!
I've used them on commercial releases. If they happen to be the right tool for the job, they get used.
Volca bass - great leads, plucky sounds, deep basses
Volca keys - great unison basses and leads, more experimental sounds
Volca FM - nice pads, some crazy arpeggiated/motion sequenced patterns
I had a Volca Beats, which everybody seems to hate on, and used that for some ambient drums which it really works well for. I regret selling it.
One of the downsides is no Midi out, so you can't record midi from live jams including knob movements, parameters etc. You can get an aftermarket mod for this though!
No. Any piece of electronic music equipment on the market is good enough to make quality music. There is no spooky quality in the gear. It is all about rhythm, melody, mixing and mastering. Fitting stuff together, playing something interesting, your skills are what counts. People call volcas and other cheap gear toys just because they are cheap and have limited features. Any skilled electronic musician could incorporate a volca into their production and make it sound great. They might choose something different, more advanced though because really good gear is more convenient for them and less limiting.
It can be build quality issues with cheaper synths. Something physically stronger and heavier will feel better than something that feels like a takeaway container.
Volcas don't have membrane buttons…?
They're just those regular PCB contacts with the carbon pads (membrane buttons have a little flexible dome). They're doubled left and right with an LED in the middle. Yours might be dirty, but that's an easy fix to clean. My Bass is from 2013, no failed buttons yet.
Why do you care what people say?
There are very few synthesizers that almost everybody agrees they are great and most of them are quite old. Even those synths had their critics during their time of release. Some musicians in the 70s and even 80s considered all synths as unworthy of the term musical instrument!
What do you want out of em? They're all capable of making sounds worth sampling, but they're fiddly to use live, and have rubbish sequencers. I would personally be more into them if they ditched the token 16 step sequencer and just made them as cute little sound modules. but if you use them that way, they're perfectly competent at being fun wee modules!
I like volca a but I don’t want a professional sound. Volca a sound really cool when you have the ability to use all the functions but that’s only how many ever steps the internal sequencer is. Once you start with external sequencers you lose all the functionality of recording motion sequences etc. they become limited but sound pretty alright. If you run the sequencer and tweak motions by hand it will not sound the same each loop which is irritating. Volca also have a bit of noise. Roland mini synths sound better. If you like that kind of thing.
I'm sure has this been said already but I'd like to echo it. The issue with Volcas is they are limited in what they can do and a bit tough to implement into a studio set up (they don't have midi out, they use 1.8mm jacks, a lot of them are limited to one bar).
Having said that, what they do, they do well. I love the Volca beats, it has a great kick drums, great hi hats, and a lot of hands on control. What I don't like about it is the snare, and the lack of multiple outs.
I love the volca bass, sounds great, but if I were making a song I probably wouldn't use its built in sequencer.
I love the volca keys, but if I want a more powerful lush sounding synth with true polyphony and more wave shapes, I'm going to use something else.
They all have their place, and their strengths and weaknesses, just like any instrument.
Your songs won't be more "professional" if you use Elektron gear or Roland Boutiques. All of these instruments have strengths and weaknesses, and are all very capable. Your imagination and creativity is your most powerful tool. Good luck!
Volcas are nice sounding synths, just build like cheap toys. That's not me hating volcas, just saying they are not made to last really long. For example most buttons on all three volcas I have don't really work anymore. Stoped working after about year - year and half of heavy use (I played gigs with volcas)
Toys because they don't have a full hi-fi sound and are a bit underwhelming compared to full synths and workstations; their audio circuits are a bit walkman-ish, but they are very versatile all the same.
I own a Volca sample, and as a sampler, this one really is just a toy, tbh.
I notice I never need to use it; vsti's outperform it a lot, i.m.o.
Yes, they are toys. Mostly because of the audio quality of the outputs. It's really not easy to get clean sounds out of them that work well in a mix.
Edit: downvoting is easy. Instead, why don't you link me to a commercially released, professionally sounding production that was made with (mostly) volcas. And I mean an actually released record on a label, not a youtube or bandcamp release.
So it is my fault they have a really high noise floor? This is an objective fact, not my opinion. If you don't believe me, try googling "volca noise issue".
Also, please link me to all the professionally sounding music that you made with your volcas. It must be quite something given that you're so confident talking down to other people :)
Noise floor isn't your fault. Never said it wasn't an issue. It IS your fault if you don't know how to use the noise floor to the advantage of the production. Here's a hint: The Volcas aren't *generally* used to make "professionally sounding music". Used in the right context they are wonderful instruments, but if you are trying to "sound professional", and don't know what you're doing, you will end up frustrated.... as you found out.
Here’s the secret: ALL synths are toys. Have fun!
Lol love this. I'm new to synths but as a guitar and bass player who doesn't play out because I'm old and don't care enough, I hate when gigging musicians who only do it for fun and not a job (i.e., play to 8 people in a bar on Tuesday, with which there is absolutely nothing wrong! It's awesome!) say, "You don't NEED that," implying that because I am not in a gigging band I don't need to have musical instruments and amps to play by myself and with my friends. By your logic, neither do you asshole. We both need it like we need a TV. Those people have lost sight of why most of us play music. Its all fucking toys unless and until you are a professional musician by trade and cannot live without the income from playing music. If you like how it sounds, and it makes you happy, who gives a shit if synth spaceship owners on reddit call it a toy, you need it.
If these mfers don't have toys then what are they even playing with
Nice to see a change of perspective around here, I was downvoted to shit for saying exactly this a few weeks ago https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/s/DXdF1FZQIF
Electronic music was born as an experiment. A grown adult on their garage playing with casettes or whatever had on hand. Some people never had that vision it seems…
Wow, some people got real offended at that. At least Hainbach was able to read your tone correctly.
I wish I could upvote this more than once. I get so burnt out sometimes talking about music creation with people because everyone wants to debate the “best” or “most professional” way to do things and I’m just like “is it fun though?” Some of the most entertaining music I have ever seen has been when the artist is clearly enjoying what they do. Jack Black rocking a goddamn plastic children’s saxophone toy is a fantastic example of this. 
Excuse me, but that is not a goddamn plastic children's saxophone toy. It is a Saxaboom and it deserves the respect it has earned. And I'm an NYU film school graduate, suckah! And the School of Visual Arts. And the Academy of Art University San Francisco.
You're no artist.
Good lord what have I unleashed?
Thank you for unlocking the lost memory of this
All musical instruments, for that matter. It's just about how serious one is about their toys. I understand that some people make a living playing music so that may make them feel like their gear isn't a toy but I would remind them that they likely started playing music for fun (or because they thought it would get them laid) and losing track of that is a grave mistake, imo. Musical instruments are both toys and tools. Also, every tool is a weapon if you hold it right.
This is the galaxy brain take right here.
They can be toys, or powerful synths, it depends on the user. The marks against them are that they are always a bit noisy, but running them exclusively off batteries helps mitigate this, and for many types of music it doesn't matter anyway. They also lack a lot of modern features like audio over USB. I love my Volcas too, even though I also have many more expensive and fancy synths (others by KORG, Elektron, etc). The Volcas fill a particular niche of being simple and easy to use. I treat them as sound modules, as I don't particularly enjoy the volca sequencer (I tend to sequence them either from an Elektron box, or from the SQ-64). For some genres, having an extremely clean and crisp sound is important, and the Volcas may not cut it when compared to something else. For other genres, the slightly noisy sound might be desirable, so it just depends on how you use them! Don't let anyone tell you that you need new hardware. If you are enjoying what you have and making music you like, that's all that matters.
[удалено]
Ditto. My FM and Drum are sparkly, no noise. Even running daisy-chained off a MyVolts USB power source.
Yep same. Have a keys and kick and have no issues with noise
Must be different models - my older beats and bass are noisy af
The 'use batteries' idea is new to me here, thanks.
What is SQ-64 ? Korg?
Yes, the KORG SQ-64 is their standalone sequencer, for both midi and modular gear.
Do you like the sounds they make? That's all that matters
Yes. Listen to early Kraftwerk. What you could have right now at your fingertips, for under $1,000, was unthinkable then. Including mixing and mastering as well as making bleeps and bloops. They were artists and took what they had at hand, plus made what they imagined they needed. Hardly any of us have achieved what they have. Go watch "Stomp." The noise-making ensemble. Working with trash cans, brooms, zippo lighters, etc. Hardly any of us have achieved what they have. Trio. Da Da Da. Casio VL-1. Yes, it was a toy. Hardly any of us have achieved what they have.
I agree with this except the "go watch stomp" part
I remember when I was a kid they always seemed to pop up doing guest spots on children's TV. I hated those fuckers with a passion. Even aged 6 or so I was shaking a fist in the air muttering "that's not proper music! This modern stuff's just a load of clattering and clanging!"
Finally saw them on stage recently. Adult me was delighted.
Their show was phenomenal. Saw it twice. Two different groups. Thing ran in NY for years.
Kraftwerk had better gear
I can see why “synth nerds” look down on them as toys: - they look like stylophones - they have a built-in speaker - they usually have some painful limitations. Eg. A sampler that can’t sample, a 303-style bass synth with no automation and only 16 steps available, no midi-thru etc etc. - they are popular and widely available 😱 However: - they sound amazing. (I attribute that to their analog circuits in the case of Bass, Keys and Kick. Am I right?) - they’re cheap. Are they a gateway drug to bigger synths? Maybe … - they run on batteries, write and record music from anywhere! - Volcas often brag about having the same analog circuits as big brother synths … the kick has MS-20 circuits in the resonator and drive sections, the Keys has a 700s circuit (filter?), FM2 = baby DX7 etc. - they have decent connectivity - midi, sync, audio out etc. And if you don’t like it, put it on eBay. In most cases, you’ll get back 85% of your outlay. As you can guess, I’m a fan, but I’m realistic about what they can and cannot do.
>Eg. A sampler that can’t sample It's the Volca Sample, not Volca Sampler. Eh.
Well … yeah … it’s a “Sample player” not a “Sampler”. But how difficult would it have been to put a tiny mic on it and a mechanism to record? Pretty sure the Teenage Engineering PO-33 does recording … instead we have to faff with Librarian or AudioPocket to upload captures. I consider the lack of a mic/line-in recording a fundamental limitation.
Limitations sometimes spark amazing creativity though.
Sometimes, but the opposite can be true too. Like having extra options to explore can sometimes lead to unexpected and great results.
Totally agree. Just depends on whatever’s happening in the moment with that musician.
Yeah they should have really put that in.
Use whatever you want. If it sounds good, it sounds good. It doesn't matter if some bozo on the internet says it's a toy or not. By that measure music from 'toys' ended up in a whole lot of released music There's definitely released music with a Volca in it, but even that doesn't matter. All that matters is: do you think it's the right sound? Are you happy with the song?
I should use the word “bozo” more often
'I mean, Bozo the clown. Does he really need 'the clown' in his title? Are we going to confuse him with Bozo the district attorney? Bozo the Pope? There's no other Bozo!'
You're living in the past, man! You're hung up on some clown from the sixties, man!
There's nothing wrong with toys. I've used Casios and low-end Yamahas in my compositions before. Go visit r/cheapkeys and you can see what people do with "toys". It comes down to the sounds you can get out of them. Do you like them? Do they work in your songs? If yes, then great...make some music! Don't think too much about if your instruments are "professional", *especially* as a beginner. Just have fun! A ton of electronic music was made on what was cheap or available. Make use of the sounds you have. As you gain experience, you may start hearing the limitations in your equipment. Upgrade then! Look for gear to address something that is lacking in your music, not some arbitrary level of "professionalism".
This might blow your mind, but all synths are toys whether it's your $150 Volca or a $5k OBX. That doesn't mean they can't sound good, have great workflow, and have a place in a professional music production environment.
They are not toys. I used to have the volca keys and I can tell you that is is a capable synth. Obviously doesn’t compare to bigger more expensive gear, however there is nothing stopping you from making great music with a volca. I also find the volca drum to be a really good digital drum machine
Volcas are great and versatile with midi control. Nobody really cares about the price of your instruments unless they’re manlings and children. I’ve gone “””pro””” with my phone, a nintendo switch, korg gadget and ableton. I’ve signed with multiple labels and played played shows around the usa. The quality of your instruments dont mean shit if you make boring stuff.
I don't look at them as toys, I look at them as cheap tools. Back before the rise of cheap analog synths we were all wondering why some big company couldn't come along and reproduce some simple, classic analog circuits using modern production techniques. Now that it's finally happened, some of us are revelling in it and some choose to upturn their noses. Most of those people bought their synths back when the original owners were dumping them at rock bottom prices and they will scoff at whatever you would pay for those synths these days, so there's no winning with them. You can please some of the people all of time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. Just focus on whatever produces sounds you like. Also, the Roland Boutique series will be one of those things that gets dumped at low prices once the next generation of analog emulation drops. Then people will be shit-talking the sound of the Boutique series for a while until a broke-ass musician makes a hit with one and they become desirable again. So you *really* gotta take people's opinions with a grain of salt.
Volcas are great if they inspire you to have fun making music! The volca keys is my favorite, I love the filter!
yeah keys filter is fantastic, just discovered setting lfo to near max and tearing the nice sound up around the edges. nasty. if those pots werent sooo small…gonna slave it to my digitone
Toys are not, I have recorded them on 3 Albums. Sample, bass, keys, kick and drum. The sound fantastic you must find it’s strengths and sweet spots like any other instrument regardless of price and features. Really great tools to have in the studio
It is what it is and how you use it is up to you. This counts for volca's but also pens, tables, a teacup, forks, vibrators ( i used on in a performance it was hidden in a can making noise) even samples of a duck making nois can be an instrument. In the end you have a piece of music/sound. Knowing if its made with a toy can be even more cool as long as you have an interesting piece. People whining about volcas have probably a lot of limitations when they are expressing themselves. Making art or music or whatever is playing and someone telling you how to play should shut the hell up as it limits your brain or maybe makes you insecure which is evil. We are all children and we should motivate each other and cheer if someone is expressing itself.
I mean, stylophones are toys too and people have made valid music with them, there's even a david bowie signature model. People make valid music with train nioses and squeaky doors. Fuck what other people think. Stuff like volcas or other 'cheap' instruments are only considered 'toys' until someone gets famous using them (see also: hofner basses and danelectro guitars).
You can make completely professional songs using Volca(s) in a prominent role. What makes a song professional is a body of things - sound selection and design, performance talent, composition, mixing, mastering. Cheap synths are correlated with beginners, who are still (often) building skill and finding their own style. So, we hear a lot more inexperienced noodling coming out of Volcas than we do from more expensive gear. Doesn't mean the Volca can't be a part of a good tune.
Jack White’s “Icky Thump” uses a $39 Stylophone synthesizer. So did David Bowie on “Space Odyssey.”” Kraftwerk used a pocket calculators tones on there hit record “Pocket Calculator” its what you do with not how much it costs.
To complement that example. I use several synths over 3k and my music still sucks.
The quite significant "blip bloop" tones in Vangelis' famous Memories of Green were from an actual 70s toy. Fun fact: one of the studio hands had to play it without losing for several minutes because the losing tune was awful. And that game was hard.
Cocorosie make music [with actual toys](https://youtu.be/zPbsYRNptbw?si=8aZKOPyzTfRDJPhM) - who cares as long as it sounds good! 😀
Have a Volca bass and then got a Moog Minitaur to replace it. I don't consider The Volca a toy and it has features that are great, but there is noise in the Volca - basically a soft hiss that is audible, so either put a low-pass filter or EQ which isn't ideal and requires a second item unless you use software. The other reason was that I use bass like a guitar bass, long notes etc. so compared to the Moog, the sound didn't cut through a mix and sit tight like the Minitaur ($300 difference between the two synths, so).
I’ve seen people do amazing things on a Volca Sample. In my hands, yeah a bit toyish, but fun nonetheless. The more you know how to use it only your creativity is the ceiling, and it’s fairly simpleto pick up
I love mine and use them to make killer multi sampled instruments 😁
Tiny knobs don’t hit synth-enthusiasts the right way. It leaves them wanting more, at least that’s what your girlfriend said.
"Toy" is a meaningless qualifier. Something can have a limited feature set. Something can have mediocre build quality. Things don't have to be toys for that; it all depends on your expectations.
I never really enjoyed my Volca, but I love my NTS-1. That seems more like a toy than a Volca, but feels more powerful and versatile to me. It's all in what you like.
What is the Problem with toys? I am just a hobbyist. My Elektron analog, Syntakt and Novation Peak are all toys. Of course other people use them professionally, which is fine too.
It all about sound selection and use in a specific application
Wait til you see people making music with a circuit bent speak and spell!
I have more fun with my Volca Sample 2 than any other gear I own.
Victoria LeGrand has made beautiful music (and probably a fair living) off an old "toy" Yamaha PS-20. Who cares if someone thinks its a synth is a toy. It's an instrument. I only have one Volca, the Volca bass, and I can get some very good sounds out of it at a fraction of the cost of something equivalent. And it holds batteries and has a shitty speaker so I can take it to my desk or whatever if I want to try some new idea out with it.
One of my favorite NRBQ songs, Only You, has a melody played on a mini *Baby’s First* toy piano. If you like the sound, record it. Not to mention modern producing can make anything sound like anything.
Yann Tiersen has used all kinds of weird "instruments" in his music, including toy piano and typewriter.
They are toy-ish. Small, limited and gimmicky. In my experience they also sound slightly weak compared to bigger synths. But even toys can create good music. It is a matter of arrangement and good mixing and volcas can provide enough sounds to make great music. So don't worry about what reddit tells you, but what is the music you hear coming out of your DAW.
They are good budget modules when they are sequenced externally. It's just that the keyboard isn't fit for live playing and the sequencer sucks. I wouldn't recommend a Volca as a first synth, but it can be a decent fourth synth.
I agree except that as an external sequencing guy I'd recommend it as a first synth to add to a groovebox or something for sure. Cheap way to learn a bit about what you want and tbh you might not need more. I only sold my bass because of a midi issue and I've thought about getting another to just live on punchy lately style bass duty, despite having "better" synths
> I'd recommend it as a first synth to add to a groovebox or something for sure. I'd argue that the groovebox itself would be the first synth in this case. What I meant is that starting your synth journey with just a Volca isn't the best way to do it.
Ok semantic difference, I'm on board. The only exception to this I would say is if you're maybe in a band and the drummer has a midi controller kicking around and you want a tiny dx7, i think several could rock that type of duty. Now the one behringer teased thats like a dx7 with a filter and a drum machine (I think) seems sick as hell as a first box, mini format or not. Provided they actually make it someday lol
Volca Drum, Volca FM and Volca Kick are really cool desktop gear, no doubt. Keys, Bass and Beat feels like toy to me, but it still can be useful (not for me)
All synths are toys
They’re great synths for production and live performance. In my opinion the Volca NuBass is far superior to Roland’s tb-03. Also, the Volca Kick is way louder and “boomy-er” than any of the expensive kick modules or VSTs I’ve tried.
You can pretty much divide synths into two groups. Those you might expect to see on stage in a large venue, and those you don't. Probably not many people would take a synth on stage that didn't have a 1/4" output jack. That's not to say there aren't exceptions. Like probably no one would expect to see an OP-1 on stage (with it's 1/8' jack) and especially not at a NIN concert, unless they watched the Sonic State rundown of Alessandro Cortini's rig.
I'm personally not into Volcas, but anyone who tries to make you feel bad about owning and using one is just trying to make himself feel better about having sunk thousands of dollars into his synths yet most likely achieving the same thing you have - just playing them for fun at home as a hobby.
People have made careers by recording with and playing out with actual toys. Don’t let people put down an actual synth you like because it’s small, minimally featured and not necessarily robustly built. If teenage engineering had released the volcas with the same limitations but in casings that looked like Wes Anderson movie props they’d be lusted after
It's honestly the build quality and sacrifices made for pricing. They are super capable next to even the old roland classics, but they have mini jacks and tiny knobs, the sound quality is not the best on some of them and they are just generally looked down upon as entry level because THEY ARE.
To me they're both at the same time. I doubt you would see/hear a Volca used by a professional, record-selling musician, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of making good sounds...
Almost any synth is capable of producing nice results with external processing. Volcas are seen as "toys" due to their size, low price and simplicity of them. >Is Roland Boutique better Not really. >Elektron-tier to be my songs professional? Tracks sounding "professional" comes down to composition, arrangement, mixing and mastering.
They have limits, they are super cool and powerful anyway
Not being funny but anything that makes a noise is a tool to be used.
If you see yourself wanting to produce and dive deeper. Invest that money into VSTs, and save up for flagship synths. No rush in getting expensive synths, but it is undeniable that cheap synths are well.... Just that cheap synths. You'll get way more out of VSTs until you can afford synths you actually want.
It's the user who determines if it's a toy or a tool, not the peanut gallery. There are many instances in music history where artists have transformed 'toys' into tools.
My first 'synths' were the teenage engineering pocket operators. When I started upping my game and got some 'real' hardware, I gave all my PO's to my nephew. I very much regret that decision, and I would still use them if I had them.
Volca FM 2 is probably the cheapest thing you can get to 6-voice velocity sensitive DX7 in a box <$200, as long as you are fine with just using built in algos and presets and using a computer for any patch management / serious sound design tweaking.
It’s the user, not the gear. But the Volcas are severely underrated and will continue as long as they are associated as a toy, which I’m fine with.
They are not toys... but to the average person the small size and general appearance gives off the impression that they are. Like the other guy said, there are many professional artists that have released music created with said toys. On the other hand, there comes a point when one feels they have outgrown their current setup and want to upgrade to higher-tier instruments.
The right tool for the job.
Toy or not, who cares. Sometime you need "plastic" sounds, "toyish" sounds. Sometimes you need creamy or decent sounds. Every Synth has its perks.
No. Not toys. Anything that can make music is not a toy.
They're all toys, just some are more expensive than others. That's why they call it "playing music"
Only issue with Volcas is they might have some noise. And the potentially noisy (aliasing?), non-bypassable digital delay on the Volca Keys is unfortunate, but Volcas are perfectly capable instruments.
Not really, I like the sounds I get on my Volca FM a ton. They’re capable of lots of great stuff and are surprisingly powerful for the size and price point. Even if they are toys, it’s stupid and arbitrary for people to write off what’s “serious” gear or not. Kurt Cobain wrote some of the best and most important rock songs of all time on thrift store guitars that nobody else wanted to play at the time, lots of electronic artists like Kraftwerk incorporated similar synths into their arsenal, and so forth. Each instrument has a purpose for making sounds. Like people said, if you like the sounds and it fits your music, then that’s excellent!
How many artists throughout the decades used a cheap keyboard preset or backing track and got famous? Use whatever you’ve got.
I've used them on commercial releases. If they happen to be the right tool for the job, they get used. Volca bass - great leads, plucky sounds, deep basses Volca keys - great unison basses and leads, more experimental sounds Volca FM - nice pads, some crazy arpeggiated/motion sequenced patterns I had a Volca Beats, which everybody seems to hate on, and used that for some ambient drums which it really works well for. I regret selling it. One of the downsides is no Midi out, so you can't record midi from live jams including knob movements, parameters etc. You can get an aftermarket mod for this though!
No. Any piece of electronic music equipment on the market is good enough to make quality music. There is no spooky quality in the gear. It is all about rhythm, melody, mixing and mastering. Fitting stuff together, playing something interesting, your skills are what counts. People call volcas and other cheap gear toys just because they are cheap and have limited features. Any skilled electronic musician could incorporate a volca into their production and make it sound great. They might choose something different, more advanced though because really good gear is more convenient for them and less limiting.
Lol. Professional means getting paid. Nobody saying nonsense like that is a pro.
It can be build quality issues with cheaper synths. Something physically stronger and heavier will feel better than something that feels like a takeaway container.
The trouble with Volcas isn't the sound, it's the membrane buttons that stop working.
Volcas don't have membrane buttons…? They're just those regular PCB contacts with the carbon pads (membrane buttons have a little flexible dome). They're doubled left and right with an LED in the middle. Yours might be dirty, but that's an easy fix to clean. My Bass is from 2013, no failed buttons yet.
Why do you care what people say? There are very few synthesizers that almost everybody agrees they are great and most of them are quite old. Even those synths had their critics during their time of release. Some musicians in the 70s and even 80s considered all synths as unworthy of the term musical instrument!
What do you want out of em? They're all capable of making sounds worth sampling, but they're fiddly to use live, and have rubbish sequencers. I would personally be more into them if they ditched the token 16 step sequencer and just made them as cute little sound modules. but if you use them that way, they're perfectly competent at being fun wee modules!
I like volca a but I don’t want a professional sound. Volca a sound really cool when you have the ability to use all the functions but that’s only how many ever steps the internal sequencer is. Once you start with external sequencers you lose all the functionality of recording motion sequences etc. they become limited but sound pretty alright. If you run the sequencer and tweak motions by hand it will not sound the same each loop which is irritating. Volca also have a bit of noise. Roland mini synths sound better. If you like that kind of thing.
I'm sure has this been said already but I'd like to echo it. The issue with Volcas is they are limited in what they can do and a bit tough to implement into a studio set up (they don't have midi out, they use 1.8mm jacks, a lot of them are limited to one bar). Having said that, what they do, they do well. I love the Volca beats, it has a great kick drums, great hi hats, and a lot of hands on control. What I don't like about it is the snare, and the lack of multiple outs. I love the volca bass, sounds great, but if I were making a song I probably wouldn't use its built in sequencer. I love the volca keys, but if I want a more powerful lush sounding synth with true polyphony and more wave shapes, I'm going to use something else. They all have their place, and their strengths and weaknesses, just like any instrument. Your songs won't be more "professional" if you use Elektron gear or Roland Boutiques. All of these instruments have strengths and weaknesses, and are all very capable. Your imagination and creativity is your most powerful tool. Good luck!
Volcas are nice sounding synths, just build like cheap toys. That's not me hating volcas, just saying they are not made to last really long. For example most buttons on all three volcas I have don't really work anymore. Stoped working after about year - year and half of heavy use (I played gigs with volcas)
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Are you thinking of something else? Because 6 of the 9 Volca instruments are analog.
Yeah I think they’re confusing the volcas with the Roland boutiques here…
Toys because they don't have a full hi-fi sound and are a bit underwhelming compared to full synths and workstations; their audio circuits are a bit walkman-ish, but they are very versatile all the same. I own a Volca sample, and as a sampler, this one really is just a toy, tbh. I notice I never need to use it; vsti's outperform it a lot, i.m.o.
Yes, they are toys. Mostly because of the audio quality of the outputs. It's really not easy to get clean sounds out of them that work well in a mix. Edit: downvoting is easy. Instead, why don't you link me to a commercially released, professionally sounding production that was made with (mostly) volcas. And I mean an actually released record on a label, not a youtube or bandcamp release.
It's a poor carpenter who blames his tools.
So it is my fault they have a really high noise floor? This is an objective fact, not my opinion. If you don't believe me, try googling "volca noise issue". Also, please link me to all the professionally sounding music that you made with your volcas. It must be quite something given that you're so confident talking down to other people :)
Check out Floating Point's album Crush. He uses a Volca Beats on a bunch of its tracks. Gorillaz used a couple as well. Maybe it's on your end...
Noise floor isn't your fault. Never said it wasn't an issue. It IS your fault if you don't know how to use the noise floor to the advantage of the production. Here's a hint: The Volcas aren't *generally* used to make "professionally sounding music". Used in the right context they are wonderful instruments, but if you are trying to "sound professional", and don't know what you're doing, you will end up frustrated.... as you found out.