Mod MIDI Out sur VOLCA BEATS

Bonjour,

Voici une modification du Volca BEATS pour installer une prise MIDI Out

Ceci fera du Volca BEATS un seq externe 16 Steps

L'astuce est sur le lien suivant:

https://blog.utopianlabs.com/2013/09/korg-volca-beats-midi-out/

KORG Volca Beats MIDI Out Mod

After seeing this little box, I had to have it, and after acquiring it, I couldn’t stop thinking how it could be modded. Following the Monotron tradition, the manufacturer has made it easy for you and even left labels to the appropriate solder points. I started with a fairly easy one, adding a MIDI Out Port

Disclaimer

The actions described in this post will void your warranty and can damage your equipment. I take no responsibility for your actions.

Info

Most of the details about what can be done with Volca Beats can be found in here. They mention that there is a possibility of adding a MIDI Out port, but don’t really get into any details. The solution was found in the comments of a youtube video. It is as easy as soldering three wires from the PCB to the connector. Let’s get into some more details.

The Connection

On the PCB you can clearly see three solder points, clearly labeled as VC, GND and TX. These are the points we must connect. Check the third image in order to see what must be connected where.

PCB

PCB Solder Points Closeup

MIDI Connector

Soldered

MIDI Out Installed

Result

After this mod, you get a 16 step sequencer, which can trigger 10 sounds over MIDI, with adjustable tempo. What you don’t get is any functionality provided by the knobs like Stutter, PCM Speed or the various Pitches, Volumes and Decays. Still a very easy and cheap mod (only a MIDI connector and the wires are needed) that can add some functionality to your box. It was done in about an hour with most of the time consumed in where to position the port.
This is the official user’s manual and check this to see which MIDI signals it recognizes.