[With Performance] A Total Beginner Tries Starting Music with a Modular Synth🍄

📖 What’s in this article 📖
☝️ I bought a synth because I wanted to turn mushroom electrical signals into sound
✌️ The patching rabbit hole where sound changes just by connecting cables is crazy
🤟 An honest review from someone with zero music knowledge! I’ll talk about all the points I was curious about

🍄 I bought it because I wanted to turn mushroom electrical signals into sound

Did you know mushrooms communicate using electrical signals? 🤯
I read an article and thought, “I want to actually hear that sound!” which is what triggered me to buy it!

Isn’t it a nice sound? So, I looked up the equipment shown in the video, and the place I finally ended up was

KORG volca modular!
I figured it should be fine since it’s a modular synth just like in the video 🤔 (idk though)

So, this time I’ll be delivering a review of the volca modular!
(*Actually listening to the 🍄 sounds will be for a later day)

If you’re curious, check it out here first! 👇

📋 First, let’s check the specs!

The volca modular is a semi-modular analog synthesizer that lets you experience the world of authentic modular synths in a compact body 🎹 WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN-!!

Contrary to its difficult-looking appearance, its biggest appeal is the intuitive fun of changing sounds just by plugging in the included cables! ✨

It’s not an instrument that uses guitar strings or piano keys, so even people with long nails 💅 can play music!
(Or so I thought, but nails might actually get in the way of turning the knobs 💦 But hey, it’s not an instrument you play super fast, so it might be okay!)

🔌 Feature 1: The sound changes just by connecting cables! The patching rabbit hole is too deep

The most crucial part of the volca modular is “patching” 🎯

By using the included pin cables to freely connect and reconnect the 8 modules (blocks that create sound), the sound changes dramatically!

It’s really fun to just endlessly experiment like, “What kind of sound will it make if I plug this cable in here?” ✨

It comes with these super thin cables!

Authentic modular synths are often expensive and large, so the fact that the volca modular lets you experience the gateway to modular synths in such a compact size is amazing 👏

It’s understandably difficult if you know absolutely nothing, so it’s best to try making sounds using the reference sheet at first!

The instruction manual explains the roles and functions of each module, so I absolutely must not lose it 💦💦

🎵 Feature 2: The sequencer is a time thief! You can enter a trance state while looping

What’s fun to play with even for people who aren’t good with synths is the 16-step sequencer 🎶

You can create rhythm and melody patterns just by pressing buttons, and there’s a pattern chain function that lets you connect up to 256 steps!
(Or so it said on the website! I don’t really get it, but it sounds amazing, right?)

What’s especially interesting is the randomize function and the stochastic sequence mode (= a system where the sound changes slightly at random every time) 🎲
The coincidence of “An unintended sound was born!” is so fun that I end up playing with it forever 🌀 lol

It’s written on the keyboard, but you can choose from 14 types of scales, so it’s quietly appreciated that the notes won’t sound completely off-key 😂💕

When you press the play button, it automatically starts keeping the rhythm and playing!
When it’s too hard to play on the keys, it’s nice to just play around with this!

🎒 Feature 3: Battery powered + built-in speaker! The freedom to make music anywhere

It’s subtle, but this is a super important point! It supports battery power + has a built-in speaker 🔋✨

Many authentic music devices require a power outlet, but the volca modular is a free spirit that you can use at home, in a cafe, or while traveling 💕

I wanted to use it in the forest to listen to the voices of mushrooms, so battery power was a must!!

As a tip for advanced users, if you connect it via the sync jack to other KORG volca series or the SQ-1, you can supposedly synchronize multiple devices and even have a jam session 🎤

Furthermore, it comes with music production software (KORG Collection M1 Le, Reason Lite, etc.), so it’s great that combining it with a PC gives you a full-fledged production environment!

Maybe I’ll start making music with this as my starting point? 👀

The battery life is about 5 hours, and it would be sad not to be able to use it when I want to, so I bought the separately sold power adapter too!

Next Page: I actually tried playing it & honest thoughts