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Korg Volca Sample or FM?

RUST( i )KRUST( i )K
in General App Discussion

Can get them for $100 each and need to pick.

Appreciate feedback.

«13

Comments

  • nrgbnrgb
    edited March 2017

    I don't have the FM but I love my Sample.

    I've loaded it up with sounds from all the classic drum machines. :)
    It's a really inspiring piece of kit.

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    Sample. its the most fun of all 3 that i own. (Bass, Keys adn Sample).

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  • LeeBLeeB

    Another thumbs up for the Sample, but I suppose it comes down to whether you want a synth or a drum machine/sample player.

  • AndyPlanktonAndyPlankton

    If you have to get one then go for the sampler (if 31Khz sample rate doesn't bother you) and then save up £300 and get the Reface DX if you want an FM synth. :)

    I considered both of these when making my recent mininova purchase....the lack of FX on the FM and only 32 preset slots put me off as I'd need to spend a couple of $100 to get FX....the reface has them all in one unit as well as infinite preset slots thanks to soundmondo.
    I also figured that I'd carry on using my iPad for my sample playback as it is one of the few things I am still asking it to do within my main setup.

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    Like @AndyPlankton said the FM was a little too limited for my taste. But the sample is just cake. It's 31khz sample rate actually gives that vintage but reduction that makes sounds better to me. And it's super simple to completely mangle whatever sounds you feed into it. Mind you it cannot sample by itself. But using he brilliant caustic editor you can feed it anything stored inside audio share. It's 4mb of storage might seem waaaaaaay too little but you can do tons of amazing stuff with it.

  • RulesOfBlazonRulesOfBlazon
    edited March 2017

    They are two completely different things. But think of the choice like this, and you will have an easier time deciding:

    Which do you have a greater need or desire for, a synth or a drum machine?

    The FM is a synth, and, honestly, the sample is a drum machine.

    For the money they're both great value, and it's hard to beat a hunnerd bucks for any of the newer volcas.

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    @RulesOfBlazon said:
    They are two completely different things. But think of the choice like this, and you will have an easier time deciding:

    Which do you have a greater need or desire for, a synth or a drum machine?

    The FM is a synth, and, honestly, the sample is a drum machine.

    For the money they're both great value, and it's hard to beat a hunnerd bucks for any of the newer volcas.

    Thing is though there are fm apps on the ipad that are better than the volca FM. but the sample is just a joy to play with. i honestly didn't even expect to love the sample as much as i do.

  • oat_phippsoat_phipps

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @RulesOfBlazon said:
    They are two completely different things. But think of the choice like this, and you will have an easier time deciding:

    Which do you have a greater need or desire for, a synth or a drum machine?

    The FM is a synth, and, honestly, the sample is a drum machine.

    For the money they're both great value, and it's hard to beat a hunnerd bucks for any of the newer volcas.

    Thing is though there are fm apps on the ipad that are better than the volca FM. but the sample is just a joy to play with. i honestly didn't even expect to love the sample as much as i do.

    Which FM apps are those? I'm aware only of Phasemaker and the Klevgrand one.

  • oat_phippsoat_phipps

    My vote is for the Sample. The FM is a cool little beast, but only three-note polyphony kills it for me. I've gotta have at least four for a polysynth.

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    @oat_phipps said:

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @RulesOfBlazon said:
    They are two completely different things. But think of the choice like this, and you will have an easier time deciding:

    Which do you have a greater need or desire for, a synth or a drum machine?

    The FM is a synth, and, honestly, the sample is a drum machine.

    For the money they're both great value, and it's hard to beat a hunnerd bucks for any of the newer volcas.

    Thing is though there are fm apps on the ipad that are better than the volca FM. but the sample is just a joy to play with. i honestly didn't even expect to love the sample as much as i do.

    Which FM apps are those? I'm aware only of Phasemaker and the Klevgrand one.

    Phasemaker is excellent. But Fm4 is brilliant in its own right. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fm4/id910545680?mt=8
    Then there is also dxi fm. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dxi-fm-synthesizer/id370138065?mt=8
    And of course Tf7:- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tf7-synth/id718101734?mt=8

    as you can see thats plenty of fm synth apps. my issue with the volca fm is you dont really have complete control over all the parameters.

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    @oat_phipps said:
    My vote is for the Sample. The FM is a cool little beast, but only three-note polyphony kills it for me. I've gotta have at least four for a polysynth.

    another problem is the fact that the volca fm doesn't detect velocity at all. its a crime really.
    you can load actual dx7 patches into it but without velocity it just isn't as expressive.

  • AndyPlanktonAndyPlankton

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @oat_phipps said:
    My vote is for the Sample. The FM is a cool little beast, but only three-note polyphony kills it for me. I've gotta have at least four for a polysynth.

    another problem is the fact that the volca fm doesn't detect velocity at all. its a crime really.
    you can load actual dx7 patches into it but without velocity it just isn't as expressive.

    Yes this too, one of the big things about FM was its ability to respond to velocity, with the volca you have to use the slider to change velocity or resort to MIDI script to convert Velocity into a CC for the slider

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    @AndyPlankton said:

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @oat_phipps said:
    My vote is for the Sample. The FM is a cool little beast, but only three-note polyphony kills it for me. I've gotta have at least four for a polysynth.

    another problem is the fact that the volca fm doesn't detect velocity at all. its a crime really.
    you can load actual dx7 patches into it but without velocity it just isn't as expressive.

    Yes this too, one of the big things about FM was its ability to respond to velocity, with the volca you have to use the slider to change velocity or resort to MIDI script to convert Velocity into a CC for the slider

    one alternative though is the cable made by the brilliant people at retrokits:-

    @RustiK keep in mind the volca sample has its own pitfalls. each drum part accepts midi over a seperate channel. so you need 10 channels just to trigger all 10 parts. its not really a big deal for me but could be a dealbreaker for you.

  • brambosbrambos

    The Volca FM is a pretty powerful synth for Volca standards, but it needs a modest lick of external effects to make it shine, as it tends to sound a bit harsh and in your face without. Also factor in the cost of a Sysex app if you want to make use of all those DX7 banks out there without resorting to a PC.

    I thought it was a bit meh, until I uploaded a bank of really neat DX7 edm patches. The factory patches are best removed and forgotten immediately after unboxing ;)

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    @brambos said:
    The Volca FM is a pretty powerful synth for Volca standards, but it needs a modest lick of external effects to make it shine, as it tends to sound a bit harsh and in your face without. Also factor in the cost of a Sysex app if you want to make use of all those DX7 banks out there without resorting to a PC.

    I thought it was a bit meh, until I uploaded a bank of really neat DX7 edm patches. The factory patches are best removed and forgotten immediately after unboxing ;)

    damn you @brambos you've now convinced me that i need to grab an fm at some point with that silver tongue of yours. just when i had finally talked myself out of it DX

  • brambosbrambos
    edited March 2017

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @brambos said:
    The Volca FM is a pretty powerful synth for Volca standards, but it needs a modest lick of external effects to make it shine, as it tends to sound a bit harsh and in your face without. Also factor in the cost of a Sysex app if you want to make use of all those DX7 banks out there without resorting to a PC.

    I thought it was a bit meh, until I uploaded a bank of really neat DX7 edm patches. The factory patches are best removed and forgotten immediately after unboxing ;)

    damn you @brambos you've now convinced me that i need to grab an fm at some point with that silver tongue of yours. just when i had finally talked myself out of it DX

    Well, it's an oddball Volca. It's not as hands-on as the others because 90% of the parameters are hidden in the rather cryptic menu. But its fun factor is in perusing hundreds of DX7 banks and finding a weird mix of classic FM sounds, interesting basses and leads, terrible brass patches and loads of vintage cheese.

    If you intend to start programming patches from scratch (without an editor) you're going to be frustrated with the FM.

    Edit.. I thought this was a pretty cool demo:

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    @brambos said:

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @brambos said:
    The Volca FM is a pretty powerful synth for Volca standards, but it needs a modest lick of external effects to make it shine, as it tends to sound a bit harsh and in your face without. Also factor in the cost of a Sysex app if you want to make use of all those DX7 banks out there without resorting to a PC.

    I thought it was a bit meh, until I uploaded a bank of really neat DX7 edm patches. The factory patches are best removed and forgotten immediately after unboxing ;)

    damn you @brambos you've now convinced me that i need to grab an fm at some point with that silver tongue of yours. just when i had finally talked myself out of it DX

    Well, it's an oddball Volca. It's not as hands-on as the others because 90% of the parameters are hidden in the rather cryptic menu. But its fun factor is in perusing hundreds of DX7 banks and finding a weird mix of classic FM sounds, interesting basses and leads, terrible brass patches and loads of vintage cheese.

    If you intend to start programming patches from scratch (without an editor) you're going to be frustrated with the FM.

    out of curiousity could you link me to the patches you uploaded to it ? would love to try them out in dexed on my pc.

  • AndyPlanktonAndyPlankton

    @brambos said:

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @brambos said:
    The Volca FM is a pretty powerful synth for Volca standards, but it needs a modest lick of external effects to make it shine, as it tends to sound a bit harsh and in your face without. Also factor in the cost of a Sysex app if you want to make use of all those DX7 banks out there without resorting to a PC.

    I thought it was a bit meh, until I uploaded a bank of really neat DX7 edm patches. The factory patches are best removed and forgotten immediately after unboxing ;)

    damn you @brambos you've now convinced me that i need to grab an fm at some point with that silver tongue of yours. just when i had finally talked myself out of it DX

    Well, it's an oddball Volca. It's not as hands-on as the others because 90% of the parameters are hidden in the rather cryptic menu. But its fun factor is in perusing hundreds of DX7 banks and finding a weird mix of classic FM sounds, interesting basses and leads, terrible brass patches and loads of vintage cheese.

    If you intend to start programming patches from scratch (without an editor) you're going to be frustrated with the FM.

    If you want to program it then the Yamaha Reface DX is a better choice, this also has FX built in and proper (well mini) keys, it is also supported by the soundmondo app meaning preset sharing and finding is a lot simpler to do, and I'm sure there will be people going through the old DX7 patches and publishing them

  • RulesOfBlazonRulesOfBlazon

    @brambos said:
    The Volca FM is a pretty powerful synth for Volca standards, but it needs a modest lick of external effects to make it shine, as it tends to sound a bit harsh and in your face without. Also factor in the cost of a Sysex app if you want to make use of all those DX7 banks out there without resorting to a PC.

    I thought it was a bit meh, until I uploaded a bank of really neat DX7 edm patches. The factory patches are best removed and forgotten immediately after unboxing ;)

    Can you please reveal (or link to) said bank of really neat DX7 edm patches? And for extra bonus points and my enduring gratitude, can you explain (in language an unsophisticated non-techie like me can understand) how to load these patches onto the Volca FM?

  • brambosbrambos

    DX7 banks are Sysex Midi dumps containing 32 patches. The filenames typically end with .syx...

    To get them onto the Volca FM use the MIDI port and an app(lication) to send the sysex dump onto the VFM (overwriting what's in there).

    Here's a thread discussing some apps that can do the trick:
    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/268285/#Comment_268285

    I'll see if I can find the cool sysex back back from my archive...

  • ExAsperis99ExAsperis99

    Where are you finding $100 Volcas again??

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000

    @brambos said:
    DX7 banks are Sysex Midi dumps containing 32 patches. The filenames typically end with .syx...

    To get them onto the Volca FM use the MIDI port and an app(lication) to send the sysex dump onto the VFM (overwriting what's in there).

    Here's a thread discussing some apps that can do the trick:
    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/268285/#Comment_268285

    I'll see if I can find the cool sysex back back from my archive...

    i look forward to the delicious sysex bank :D

  • oceansinspaceoceansinspace

    The sample is unusable for studio, very hissy and noise filled. I was horrified and had to sell it. Live its fine tho! OR jamming.

  • brambosbrambos

    @oceansinspace said:
    The sample is unusable for studio, very hissy and noise filled. I was horrified and had to sell it. Live its fine tho! OR jamming.

    And the fact that each instrument is on a different MIDI channel is rather inconvenient in a studio context, to say the least ;)

  • gonekrazy3000gonekrazy3000
    edited March 2017

    @brambos said:

    @oceansinspace said:
    The sample is unusable for studio, very hissy and noise filled. I was horrified and had to sell it. Live its fine tho! OR jamming.

    And the fact that each instrument is on a different MIDI channel is rather inconvenient in a studio context, to say the least ;)

    im fine with the hiss lol. all my volcas have a little noise. even the bass hisses a bit. They run much quieter when you run them purely on NiMh Batteries.

  • RulesOfBlazonRulesOfBlazon

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @brambos said:

    @oceansinspace said:
    The sample is unusable for studio, very hissy and noise filled. I was horrified and had to sell it. Live its fine tho! OR jamming.

    And the fact that each instrument is on a different MIDI channel is rather inconvenient in a studio context, to say the least ;)

    im fine with the hiss lol. all my volcas have a little noise. even the bass hisses a bit. They run much quieter when you run them purely on NiMh Batteries.

    I think the legendary "hiss" is basically imperceptible. The sample is somewhat lo-fi, but you absolutely can use it for studio stuff!

  • ExAsperis99ExAsperis99

    @gonekrazy3000 said:

    @brambos said:

    @oceansinspace said:
    The sample is unusable for studio, very hissy and noise filled. I was horrified and had to sell it. Live its fine tho! OR jamming.

    And the fact that each instrument is on a different MIDI channel is rather inconvenient in a studio context, to say the least ;)

    im fine with the hiss lol. all my volcas have a little noise. even the bass hisses a bit. They run much quieter when you run them purely on NiMh Batteries.

    Hissing worked for Joni Mitchell.

  • robosardinerobosardine

    What is the closest ios app to the Volca Sample?

  • KorakiosKorakios

    @robosardine said:
    What is the closest ios app to the Volca Sample?

    Elastic drums with the sample playback IAP

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