Korg Volca FM - intro (Control Panel)

I love the Volca FM.

This cheap tiny box is so powerful.

Three note polyphony. 6 operators.

It's amazing what you can do with just 3 notes.

FM is very different from Subtractive Synthesis .

There isn't a filter, or oscillator.

Subtractive synths start with oscillators that are harmonically rich which

you filter down.

In FM you have things like Operators, Modulators & Carriers.

The operators generally use Sine waves which sound boring as they have just 1 frequency in them.

You need to combine these harmonically poor sine waves to create something richer.

Think of it like this:

Operator = Oscillator +amp+ EG 

Carrier = The operator that makes a sound or a tone.

Modulator = Operator that modulates (the frequency of the carrier).

                     Modulators are not LFOs. They are HFOs ... high frequency oscillators.

The controls:

Starting from left to right.

Transpose Slider : shifts octaves. Its a great performance effect.

                              This slider raises or lowers the pitch in units of octaves or semitones

Velocity Slider : this controls the brightness (pitch or frequency of the modulators). 

                           In PLAY mode, this slider controls the global velocity giving you greater

                           control over timbre.

                           In EDIT mode, this slider functions as the VALUE slider for editing 

                           the FM synthesis parameters.

Modular/Carrier section.

Remember : 

Modulators and Carriers are both Operators.

Operator = Oscillator +amp+ EG

These 4 knobs make global changes to all the envelopes in the Carriers & Modulators. 

The envelopes [EG] control how fast an operator comes up to full level (Attack) and how fast an operator dies down (Decay) after the key 

is pressed or released.

ALGRTM
This knob selects the operator algorithm for the FM sound engine.

You have 32 options. Tree like structure.

Thus it helps you decide which operators will be operators, and which will be modulators.

Eg: Algo 32 = all operators are carriers.

      Algo 1  = 2 carriers & 4 modulators.

These arrangements of Ops vs Mods make a huge difference to the sound

LFO

This is a general global LFO.

+ RATE: This knob sets the LFO speed of the FM sound source parameters.
+ P.DEPTH: This knob sets the depth of the LFO applied to the pitch of the 

   FM sound source parameters.

Program Knob.

These are our presets.

Normally, this knob selects the program. 

In EDIT mode, this knob selects the FM synthesis parameter

VOICE MODE : Poly/Mono/Unison

Press Func + 1/2 or 3

•FUNC + POLY: Up to three-note chords can be played.
•FUNC + MONO: One note at a time can be played.
•FUNC + UNISON: All three voices will sound in unison, operating as a mono

Chorus:

Press FUNC + 4

ARP on/off:

Press FUNC + 5