"Gear: anyone using the Korg Mono- or Volca- series?"
I've been continuously impressed by everything I've heard from the Monotron and, even moreso, the Monotribe. Was considering getting a Monotron for started for myself (and sharing with my son, who would probably love it), and at $50 or whatever, you really can't go wrong.
Sorta started looking into them and found Korg's introduced a companion series called Volca... I'm fairly intrigued by the idea of VolcaBeats, at $150 certainly very reasonable. We've been doing more full-band stuff and it's always a bit of a hassle multi-tracking a bunch of hand drums and claps, and then sometimes I still feel like the drums could go harder.
I think I'm leaning toward going with the Monotron (see what I can do/if I like or use it enough to invest in the Monotribe later) and the Beats. *shrug*
1. "I don't think I've even heard of these" In response to Reply # 0
but typically, I will give any musical equipment at that price range without a second thought...lol... even if i only use it on two recordings, it is worth it. sometimes i need the right sound or feel to unlock the creative block and get the juices flowing again. i migh pick up a theremin and a harmonica just for that reason.
let me look into this online though and see what it's about it.
3. "The monotron came to my attn about 18 months ago" In response to Reply # 1
when a dude I follow on Soundcloud used it to great effect as a kind of drone/overtone effect. I gave one to my brother for Christmas last year and he liked it so much he picked up the Monotribe recently. Haven't heard anything he's done with it though. Then came across a live recording from another folk act recently that used the monotribe for a similar droney effect that really worked great.
>but typically, I will give any musical equipment at that >price range without a second thought...lol... even if i only >use it on two recordings, it is worth it. sometimes i need the >right sound or feel to unlock the creative block and get the >juices flowing again. i migh pick up a theremin and a >harmonica just for that reason.
hah, yep. I've been trying to limit purchases for just one particular song, but even most of those have seen a lot of use when I'm feeling creative: kalimba, melodica, ukulele.
>let me look into this online though and see what it's about >it.
4. "to be fair, my needs are fairly limited" In response to Reply # 2
>edit: >but you are limited to the preset sounds. >can't load your own drum and perc sounds into it as far as i >can see.
so the possibility of me actually figuring how to load my own sounds in instead is probably not likely. But yeah, that does seem to be a drawback. That, and every demo I've seen has been oriented toward dance beats... I want crunchy beats.
All that said, I just realized the Monotribe has a kick, snare, and hi hat, so that might be the most versatile for me. And a lot of reviews seem to prefer the Monotribe's snare sound to the Beats's.
7. "Just ordered the Monotron and the Monotron Delay" In response to Reply # 0
think the kid will enjoy the Delay a lot - he loves stuff that makes noise.
Keeping my eye on the Monotribe pricing hoping there'll be a big discount at some point. It was down to $179 for a few hours one day but I didn't get my order in. *shrug*
In the meantime all Korg apps are on sale now. Might have to look in the iKaossilator, see what that's about. (Most of the others were for iPad, which I don't have.)
8. "The Volca beats is fun as shit" In response to Reply # 0
Its uses are narrow because you can't load up your own drums but I don't think it's the point; its supposed to just emulate an oldie classic drum machine. As far as thats concerned it's fully featured...I was debating on copping one to use as a very fun metronome for guitar practice/fuck around with on the train.
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