Korg Volca

Korg Volca (stylised as volca) is a series of electronic musical instruments and accessories released by the Japanese manufacturer Korg. The various units in the range are noted for their inexpensive price and compact dimensions.^[1]

A Korg Volca FM synthesiser (first-generation version)

The series bridges both digital and analogue synthesis; synthesisers and drum machines, with many different types of noise generation represented in the 10 models available as of January 2024^[update].^[2]

The range was initially launched in 2013 with the Volca Keys, Volca Beats and Volca Bass, all initially at £119.99 each.^[3][1] These models all featured MIDI-in for external control,^[4] as do most of the later releases with the exception of the Volca Modular.^[5]

Models

Current

As of January 2024^[update] the range includes:^[2][6]

• Volca Bass - Analogue synthesiser intended for bass sounds
• Volca Nubass - Vacuum tube-based analogue synthesiser designed for acid-style bass sounds
• Volca Beats - Hybrid rhythm machine with analog and digital sound source
• Volca Drum - Digital percussion synthesiser
• Volca FM (second generation, AKA "fm2" and "next-gen volca fm")^[7] - Polyphonic digital synthesiser based around FM synthesis with 6 operators, 6 voice polyphony and 32 algorithms.^[7] Promoted as able to reproduce the sound of the Yamaha DX7 and completely compatible with DX-7 SYS-EX patches.^[7]
• Volca Keys - Analogue loop synthesiser^[6]
• Volca Kick - Analogue kick generator for kick drums and kick basses
• Volca Mix - Four channel analogue mixer featuring a built-in speaker
• Volca Modular - Semi-modular analogue synthesiser
• Volca Sample^[8] (second generation, AKA "sample2"^[6]) - Sample sequencer. (Slightly upgraded replacement for the original Volca Sample).^[9]

Other

As of January 2024^[update], the following models are no longer listed in the current lineup at the Korg Volca website.^[2]

• Volca FM (first generation) - Polyphonic digital synthesiser based around FM synthesis with 6 operators and 3 voices polyphony, and 32 algorithms^[10] based on the Yamaha DX7's engine.
• Volca Sample (first generation) - Sample sequencer.^[11] (Superseded by second generation Volca Sample/Sample2)^[9]

• 
  Volca Keys
• 
  Volca Modular
• 
  Korg Volca Bass
• 
  Volca Beats
• 
  Second-generation Volca FM
• Korg Volca Keys looped sequence demo. Further effects/adjustments were applied live during playback using only the built-in controls and no further processing.
• Korg Volca FM 2nd Gen Demo, demonstrating patches transferred from the original Yamaha DX7- "E.PIANO 1", "KOTO", "TUB BELLS" and "BASS 1"