Korg Volca Keys Patches

[Pinkie Mclucas]

Therandom patch generator is especial fun for quickly getting very different sound out of the volca keys. By tweaking some crucial parameters like vco egint or lfo vco int to zero you get quickly some very usable sound. You can listen results of quick random patch changes on my soundcloud here.

The app runs on Bootstrap 4 for good responsivity and uses a webmidi.js javascript library by Jean-Philippe Ct for easier interaction with the webmidi API standard. The knobs comes from Anthony Terrien jQuery.Knob library ( -Knob).

With 6 voices (instead of the 3 of its predecessor) the new volca fm brings a new world of harmonic possibilities to your production.

Now it is possible to play, sequence or arpeggiate complex chords with up to 6 voices in order to bring a unique flavor to your music production. No more running out of voices when sequencing melody, harmony and bass all in one device!

Moreover, the new volca fm is now velocity sensitive via MIDI, which coupled with its 6 voice polyphony, provides a much more expressive and nuanced playing experience than ever before.

By popular request, volca fm includes a lush Reverb effect in addition to the Chorus effect. Each of these two effects can be used and adjusted individually to add the finishing touch to any FM sound you are going for.

In addition to MIDI IN the new volca fm also includes a MIDI OUT (IN/OUT 3.5 mm TRS), making it possible to use the intuitive volca internal sequencer to control other devices through MIDI, making it the perfect addition to your standalone setup. Of course, it also works well with your DAW of choice thanks to note, control, and clock receipt via the MIDI IN.

The internal sequencer offers looping up to 16 steps, allowing you to record your performance on the touch panel keyboard as you play. Up to 16 sequence patterns can be stored in the internal memory.

volca fm also incorporates a motion sequence function to record in real time all the subtle nuances of your playing and knob movements, letting you add time-varying change to the sound. This is a great way to polish your loops, and also lets you generate highly original live performances.

In order to spice things up, the new generation of volca fm includes a brand new program randomizer, letting you find new inspiration through happy accidents and unexpected patches.

Of course, it still incorporates highly acclaimed functions such as the warp active step, pattern chain and an improved arpeggiator, making it easy to create crazy looping rhythms and patterns.

In addition to the active step function that lets you skip steps during a sequence, the volca fm provides new functions that enable you to generate more irregular rhythms. If the active step is fewer than 16 steps, you can use the warp active step function to compensate so you occupy the same playback time as 16 steps; then by synchronizing the playback with another volca series unit, you can deliberately skew the step timing to generate truly unconventional performances.

Furthermore, the pattern chain function lets you connect multiple sequence patterns for successive playback, making it possible to construct large-scale developments of 32, 64, or even 256 steps by joining up to 16 sequences.

The volca fm perfectly reproduces the sound engine of the Yamaha DX7, the classic digital synthesizer that made the world aware of FM synthesis. Its six operators and 32 algorithms provide complete compatibility, and it can even load files in the SYS-EX/SYX format.

Following the volca tradition, the new volca fm comes in a portable, small form factor that you can take anywhere. Totally hands on with plenty of knobs for on-the-fly sound editing, volca fm runs on 6 AA batteries, has an integrated speaker and at only 360g/12.6oz (without batteries) is perfect for stand-alone use. Furthermore, with SYNC IN-OUT and MIDI IN-OUT connections, it integrates seamlessly with your live rig, production studio and of course any other volca!

In collaboration with Oscillator Sink, old and new volca fm users can use the completely free online editor to easily modify their patches; no installation required.

Synthmata includes an 'intelligent randomizer' which allows you to describe the type of sound you want using 11 sound-quality sliders, Synthmata can then generate infinite patches to help spark your creativity.

I've had all of them but one (never got the Bass, because I already have a lot of Roland bass synths). Sold a bunch of them. Now I only have the Beats, Kick and Sample left. (Can you tell I'm into drum machines?)

@brambos said:

I've had all of them but one (never got the Bass, because I already have a lot of Roland bass synths). Sold a bunch of them. Now I only have the Beats, Kick and Sample left. (Can you tell I'm into drum machines?)

I have had the Beats, FM and Sample. I sold the 1st 2 and have now 2 sample, with the samples you can do anything Maybe I buy a third in in the future. There's nothing compared to the sample for the price point

I hope they go Volca 2 one day, taking the best bits from all the Volca sequencers and extra features and making them standard across the line. Keys is the only one with Flux mode, only a few have pattern chaining...

Good stuff. For me though, nothing I know of quite sounds like the Keys. It's a little freak; makes for a nice SAW machine by default and can go completely weird when pushed. I mapped the knobs to my midi controller. That's when it really opened up for me: full size keys and well spaced controls. I can't play the same thing twice on the Volca keyboard itself.

Did the same mapping thing with the FM. Lack of velocity lets it down but again, a 'real' MIDI keyboard ups the playability considerably. I like the FM mostly because of the extra features like the crazy fast ARP clocking, etc. Wish it had a filter on it and the awesomely shitty delay from the Keys instead of the chorus. I mostly use it for bass, rando weird sounds and pads via a wah pedal as a filter replacement. Much fun. Still, with so many other FM options available in software, it's on the might sell list for sure.

The Sample on the other hand... it's absurdly fun to drum up little groves with it. I love the sound and most of the available controls are 'just right'. The main problem with using it stand alone like this is the lack of sequence storage! I think every stupid little groove increat deserves to be revisited in the future, naturally. Let down.

Instead, it mostly fills a role in my setup as a digital sample drum brain. I have the first few sequence slots filled with some super basic "just get going" rhythms. The others are generally blank. All 10 have different kits. I sequence it from the BeatStep Pro. The 32k sample rate gives it a crunch I really dig and the basic sound controls are pretty much what you need for a drum brain. Would love if each channel had a boost and HPF but otherwise, yeah, pretty perfect for this application. Small, battery powered and analog clockable become mostly bonuses.

There are other mini battery powered units now. e.g. I just the long delayed Softpop. Its just awesome, but it is not cheap. With the volca beats going through it, its an incredible combo as the Softpop filter brings the Volca beats weedier sounds to dazzling life.

3a8082e126