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  • Products of Interest

Korg Volca Analog Synthesizers

Korg's Volca series of analog synthesizers comprises a lead synthesizer, bass synthesizer, and rhythm machine. Each is a compact, portable unit, measuring just over 7.5-in. long. The synthesizers each have sequencing and recording functions. They can be connected to each other using a sync jack, can be used with Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software on a computer, or connected to a MIDI keyboard. There have built-in speakers for playback, and with battery operation the synthesizers can be fully portable.

The Volca Keys is the lead synthesizer in the set (see Figure 1). It is a 27-key polyphonic analog synthesizer with three oscillators and a filter section based on the Mini KORG700S. It includes a delay effect. A loop sequencer allows the user to record phrases, which can then be altered using an active Step and Flux function.

The Bass synthesizer has three oscillators and features an analog filter designed to give a crisp, bright response. It has a single VCF, VCA, LFO, and enveloper generator. Its loop sequencer comes from the Electribe series, providing the user with a 16-step sequencer, eight memory patches, a slide function, and an active step function for generating new bass lines. Both the Volca Bass and Keys have a self-tuning function to tune the oscillators. Volca Beats is a rhythm machine with six editable analog parts and a dedicated knob for each function.


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Figure 1.

The Volca Keys synthesizer from Korg.

The synthesizers have a mini headphone port, mini sync input/output ports, and a MIDI input port. They can be battery or AC powered, and provide around 10-hours of battery life. They weighs .8 lbs and measure 7.61 × 4.54 × 1.81 in.

The Volca synthesizers are listed for US$ 205. Contact: Korg; Web www.korg.com/.

Soundcraft Si Expression Consoles

Soundcraft has released a new line of digital consoles, the Si Expression series (see Figure 2). The Si Expression 1 has 16 microphone inputs and preamplifiers, the Si Expression 2 has 24, and the largest console, the Si Expression 3, offers 32 microphone inputs and preamplifiers.

Each of the consoles has four line inputs, four internal stereo FX returns, AES input, a 64 × 64 expansion slot, and 66 input processing channels. A dedicated high-pass filter, input delay, gate, compressor, and four-band equalizer is available on each input processing channel. Fourteen auxiliary/group mixes can be configured in a number of different ways, including fourteen monophonic mixes, or eight monophonic and six stereo mixes. Four matrix mixes can be configured as either stereo or mono. Four additional busses are used solely for internal Lexicon FX processors. Sixteen balanced line outputs are provided on all Si Expression consoles, along with a headphone monitor output, AES output, and the 64 × 64 expansion port. A number of Si series option cards can be used to expand the input/output options available, including AES, Firewire/USB/ADAT, AVIOM, CobraNet, BSS, Dante Cat5, and MADI.

The user can assign fader layer pages, adding and inserting faders as needed. Whole channels, buses, mixes, and Lexicon effects can be copied and pasted. Security settings are available to enable the whole console or selected elements to be locked. Dedicated controls are provided for every function so the user does not need to page through navigation screens to access them. Soundcraft FaderGlow is included on all fader slots, illuminating them with different colors for FX, stereo, linked mono, graphic equalizers, and post-and pre-fade auxiliary. A Function Focus displays information about the channel on the screen when a control is moved or a select key pressed. An interface for color touchscreen [End Page 95] is included and the consoles can be controlled with an iPad, using the ViSi Remote app.


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Figure 2.

The Soundcraft Si Expression 1 digital console.

The smallest console is 19 × 20.5 × 6.7 in. The Expression 2 is 28.2 in. wide and the Expression 3 is 40.2 in. wide. They weigh 24.2 lb, 34.1 lb, and 55.2 lbs, respectively.

The...

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