Korg Volca Beats
Lesson 8: Longer arrangements, sync and MIDI
Goal: get past the single 16-step loop and play in time with other gear.
Longer arrangements
Korg’s manual describes no pattern chaining on the Volca Beats, so a song is built by switching memory slots by hand (MEMORY + step) while it plays, with mutes and stutter in between. For fully arranged songs, sequence it from a DAW over MIDI (below) and keep the Volca as the sound source.
Syncing with other Volcas or a Monotribe
Use the small 3.5 mm cable that came in the box.
- Connect SYNC OUT on the master unit to SYNC IN on the next one. Chain further units the same way.
- Set tempo on the master only. With SYNC IN connected, the Volca Beats ignores its own clock and steps forward on each incoming pulse.
- Press PLAY on the master. If a follower doesn’t advance, press PLAY on it as well.
SYNC OUT sends a 5 V, 15 ms pulse at the start of every step. SYNC IN also accepts clicks from a DAW audio track, which is a simple way to sync without MIDI. If sync misbehaves with non-Korg gear, try the Sync In or Sync Out polarity global settings (Lesson 2).
MIDI In
The Volca Beats has MIDI IN only, on a 5-pin DIN socket, so it can be played and clocked but can’t send MIDI out.
- Channel: hold MEMORY while switching on, then press step 1 to 16. Match it to whatever is sending.
- Clock: with the default MIDI clock setting (Auto), the Volca follows incoming MIDI clock and start/stop. Set Internal if you want it to ignore clock.
- Notes: each part responds to one note number.
| Part | MIDI note |
|---|---|
| Kick | 36 |
| Snare | 38 |
| Clap | 39 |
| Closed Hat | 42 |
| Lo Tom | 43 |
| Open Hat | 46 |
| Crash | 49 |
| Hi Tom | 50 |
| Agogo | 67 |
| Claves | 75 |
Kick, snare, lo tom, hi tom, agogo and claves are confirmed against Korg’s MIDI implementation document. The clap, hats and crash follow the General MIDI drum map; confirm them in the same document, along with the CC numbers for part levels and other controls, before mapping a controller.
Exercise 8
If you have a second Volca, sync them and switch patterns on the Volca Beats while the other keeps playing. If you have a DAW and MIDI interface, program a four-bar kick and snare pattern in the DAW and play it on the Volca Beats.