Volca FM

  On 3/21/2016 at 6:36 AM, ieafs said:

even though it appears that you have access to the nitty gritty of 6op programming, i'm sure doing traditional FM editing that way will be way more of a pain compared to any of the other nefarious, older FM synths (tx81z etc).

 

BUT what i think the idea/approach here is... go on the internet and load up on a bunch of the zillion FM patches out there and then use like a rompler (creatively). it's actually a fairly neat idea - ghetto FM by just adsr/filtering/coarsely-editing existing patches. it will offend all of the INIT FM mavens of course, but it's a neat way of approaching FM in a groovebox situation like this.

To me, the real strength is that the motion control lets you go apeshit on any of the programming parameters in a way that makes the old Yamahas soil their Depends. Even the algorithm, that's bonkers! The sequencer, arp, and chorus are nice bonuses. I'm going to make so many ungodly drums, pads, basses, and plain fucked sounds with this thing. Lock me up with this, a 4-track, and a mini KP for a week and I'll write you a space opera.

  On 3/21/2016 at 12:46 AM, auxien said:

Sounds good in that cheap and shitty but purposefully so way that all the Volcas thrive on.

What other hardware are you comparing the Volcas to?

  On 3/21/2016 at 1:33 PM, paranerd said:

 

  On 3/21/2016 at 12:46 AM, auxien said:

Sounds good in that cheap and shitty but purposefully so way that all the Volcas thrive on.

What other hardware are you comparing the Volcas to?

 

Any musical instrument of the past 10 or so years that I've heard. In that sense I'd rather spend $100 on software than on a piece of hardware that is as generally limited as the Volcas are, but that's just my personal use case. Others buy them and use the hell out of them, I just know I wouldn't.

I think I should clarify what I mean when I say shitty: it's not a bad thing, necessarily. In this case it's definitely not. Referring to an inanimate object as shitty is just another descriptor meaning that it's heavily limited and constrained, cheap, or shoddily constructed. As I originally said, they sound good. They sound a bit cheap and 'shitty' in that they're not particularly versatile in comparison to norms, but again as I originally said, that's what they thrive on (and are priced for and marketed to be). They're well-designed towards a niche audience that is otherwise not very well served, and they do what they're made to do well...hence, they sell well and are good products.

all other volcas are kind of crap in my opinion. bass lacks bass and the filter is just thin, keys is paraphonic and the vca distorts, beats is most useful but also very shoddy in terms of manufacturing (although that seems to be the case of the early ones + there's lots of cool mods for it). never tried sample because it seems like the least practical sampler ever. it's all in the hands of the player, though.

but volca fm, if done right, may be kind of a hit. the limited polyphony is bullshit but if you can actually edit all the parameters (even via cc), it's a damn 6op fm synth in a small box! what's not to love. it's digital so you don't have to cut corners. even though they did on the polyphony. i wonder why. maybe to not make such a workhorse so cheap if they did normal 6 or 8 voice? i really don't get it.

i wonder if arp works with external midi. would be awesome.

  On 3/21/2016 at 8:02 PM, kinski said:

all other volcas are kind of crap in my opinion. bass lacks bass and the filter is just thin, keys is paraphonic and the vca distorts, beats is most useful but also very shoddy in terms of manufacturing (although that seems to be the case of the early ones + there's lots of cool mods for it). never tried sample because it seems like the least practical sampler ever. it's all in the hands of the player, though.

If you take them for what they're worth, then I argue they're pretty great, but I suspect many will be expecting more. I've found them great for little jams but not often making it into the more serious productions (save for a few exceptions).

The FM looks like the one to change this trend, however!

IMO the Reface DX is a way better investment. So is any old FM rack

I hope the Volca FM comes out soon. I just completed the series today and am excited to hook them up for a jam later.

Any of you guys tried writing loops in your DAW and then triggering them live? I was thinking of doing this with Ableton.

  On 3/22/2016 at 12:42 AM, clarktrent said:

IMO the Reface DX is a way better investment. So is any old FM rack

I specifically had the TX81Z in mind when I made my comment about flinging rapid parameter changes at it. They do -not- handle it well. If you want something more practical that you can just play chart toppers of the 80s and 90s on, then yes, definitely.

Reface looks promising but something about the whole shtick rubs me the wrong way. Yamaha trying to out-Korg Korg, especially on an FM synth, gives me Micron vibes, i.e. a lot of power buried under an awful interface. I guess the same could be said of the MicroKorg though.

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Volca Bass and Keys. I really like their limitations, it's great fun. The FM will be a blast I think.

reface dx are so cheaply made that i'd rather have a volca. also volca is 6op.

Yeah Volca's are pretty non-serious little devices. They're something you can just pick up and make a fun SAW-1 era song on. You have to hook them up to a computer or a keyboard to get any professional-like use out of them since the sequencers are very limited, and then the problems really become very apparent when you find out only half of the controls are midi-mappable.

I still love the things though. They're excellent for making looped samples.

Any word on the Volca FM release date?

https://youtu.be/4EVUu9FyQyc

Some damned fine sounds in there. Seems a touch noisy/low quality, but not terribly so; the grit lends character more than weakens the sound, IMO. Could just be those patches/recording/early unit or whatever...No matter, the important part is there's some great sounds.

fuck that sounds wicked

  On 3/23/2016 at 10:24 PM, Entorwellian said:

Yeah Volca's are pretty non-serious little devices. They're something you can just pick up and make a fun SAW-1 era song on. You have to hook them up to a computer or a keyboard to get any professional-like use out of them since the sequencers are very limited, and then the problems really become very apparent when you find out only half of the controls are midi-mappable.

 

I still love the things though. They're excellent for making looped samples.

Yeah, I put them away and work mostly in-computer when I'm creating something quite dense / complex / soundscapey, but half the time I fancy making something stripped back and catchy and then they come out in force. Whacked through a bit of reverb and recorded to my four track they do a great job of that SAW/AB sound without sounding like a ripoff.

My current plan, when I get the money, is to use Ableton as a sequencer, triggered by Push and triggering the Volcas. Which seems a roundabout way of doing it perhaps, but it gives the intricate programming of Live with everything else done completely hands on, without taking up much room.

That's what I do. Making a drum rack for the volca beats is a nice exercise, but I have gotten more use from the keys.

You can use the 8 ccs max device but I like tweaking the filter etc. on the keys itself. You can use the motion sequence on the volca while still sequencing with push.

It's cool to map to the CCs also.

Per se? The EGs are pretty much ADSRs, but the stages are called "Rate 1" for attack, "Rate 2" for decay etc, and you can set the level of each point explicitly. Setting up an EG on the carrier volume is basically the same as ADSR modulating the VCA on an analog, while EG modulating the modulator's pitch or volume will alter the spectral components and generally yield filter-like effects.

Yeah, the functionality of a typical ADSR is a subset of these EGs.

Who will be the first to marry a 150EUR synth with a 1249EUR programmer, btw?

http://dtronics.nl/pages/dt7.html

  On 3/24/2016 at 4:31 PM, digman said:

Any word on the Volca FM release date?

I preordered mine at the end of February and was told mid-May.

  On 3/28/2016 at 3:10 PM, psn said:

Who will be the first to marry a 150EUR synth with a 1249EUR programmer, btw?

 

 

http://dtronics.nl/pages/dt7.html

Seems like the Volca FMs have landed. Ctrl-Mod in Brooklyn just got a bunch of em

Musician's Friend says if you order with them they will ship on April 18th.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/keyboards-midi/korg-volca-with-6-op-3-voice-polyphonic-fm-synthesis-presets-chorus-sequencer-lcd-32-program-locations-16-sequencer-locations?cntry=us&source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=CLmlvYr168sCFUdrfgodYJ8JHA&kwid=productads-adid%5E92666429307-device%5Ec-plaid%5E137769760362-sku%5EJ34769000000000@ADL4MF-adType%5EPLA

unnng I'm so tempted to order from a non-Australian distributor. When I pre-ordered the volca keys I had to wait four months for it :/

  On 3/31/2016 at 11:56 PM, Braintree said:

Musician's Friend says if you order with them they will ship on April 18th.

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/keyboards-midi/korg-volca-with-6-op-3-voice-polyphonic-fm-synthesis-presets-chorus-sequencer-lcd-32-program-locations-16-sequencer-locations?cntry=us&source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=CLmlvYr168sCFUdrfgodYJ8JHA&kwid=productads-adid%5E92666429307-device%5Ec-plaid%5E137769760362-sku%5EJ34769000000000@ADL4MF-adType%5EPLA

Anyone pre-ordered with them before? Are they likely to honor this date or does it tend to slip?

Mine just shipped today from sweetwater.