Korg Volca FM 2 | Full Review & Demo

[@dinogoldie9716]

2:17 The Volca FM2 has SIX operators (as did the og Vfm and the DX7). This review is not off to a great start.

[@henrythaler4419]

Agree it sounds smoother than my old (2) DX7's. 2 small beefs: doesn't recognize MIDI program change, and since I use my Cobalt 5S to control it, any octave setting is automatically transferred to the Volca, and then I have to manually adjust that on the Volca. Otherwise, love it.

[@theleastsignificantbit4794]

Six voices, velocity sensitivity on an external keyboard, ability to use DX7 patches, nice sound, and affordable price-it’s pretty cool. The price keeps creeping up, which is a concern. The Volca Drum is pretty cool also.

[@matthewgaines10]

The Reface DX was more like a modern DX100, not a modern DX7. Yamaha just marketed it using the DX7 because more people know it. Operator count and function matches up closer with the DX100. The Volca FM2 seems better targeted to the DX7 than the Reface DX. A synthesizer isn’t a time capsule. An old synthesizer can make new sounds. You might want to think beyond your biases.

[@jerzilla3795]

Looking forward to comparison. I’m interested in hearing the features that aren’t on the dx7 or reface.

[@bernyboss]

FM is part of the ‘80s synths legends. Like it or not. Analog gears can be cloned but the originals are always better. FM is all digital (mainly) so you can find a lot of alternatives, even vst. This Korg little monsters are very cool! 😉😉😉

[@shapeshiftersmediagroup]

can it portamento? sounds like a great synth!

[@savoirfaire8979]

Zach really knows what he is talking about. I have been researching various synths for a while now. Even made KZbin playlists on JX-08 for listening prior to sleep. After listening to Zach videos more than once, the stuff he says makes sense.

[@itme7685]

He doesn’t even know how many operators this synth is.

[@Tulio-v1v]

Best sounding FM synth right now but people are not ready to understand

[@compucorder64]

It sounds really good. And I think that might be because the reverb, and maybe chorus are really well done. The reverb really suits the voice of the synth. It's a better more realistic hi-fidelity spatial reverb than the reverb in the Digitone. I'm thinking of picking one up second-hand later. To feed into the external inputs of my Digitone. To add 6 more voices of FM, because 8 of the Digitone aren't enough, if you use it for polysynth+percussion. And it's a 6-operator FM synth, I'm thinking to make it more compatible with DX7 or Dexed plugin patches. It's the perfect expander for the Digitone, so I can farm out the poly/pads to the Volca. It even matches it in the turquoise blue colour. Agreed on the pads, loving the glassy smoothness with the reverb/chorus. Btw, they call it GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Forgetting things like that when you have a baby is very normal. BAS: Baby Amnesia Syndrome ;)

[@sauermusicDE]

"it's a 6-operator FM synth" >> Correct! Strange that Zach didn't know that. The first version was already 6-OP.

[@compucorder64]

@@sauermusicDE He probably did know that. But he has Baby Amnesia Syndrome (BAS), from lack of sleep, with a baby in the family :)

[@neonpop80]

How does it compare to the Reface DX?

[@dinogoldie9716]

The Yamaha Reface DX has two more voices of polyphony but you can't import DX7 patches onto the Reface. The Elektron Digitone is only 4 operator synthesis but you get more lfos and a far better sequencer. Sonicware's Liven XFM, like the Digitone, is only 4 operator but you can freely route each operator to each other/themselves; freeing you up from prescriptive algorithms. Korg's OpSix seems to be the best of the bunch but it's in the same price bracket as the Digitone (so thrice that of the Volca/Liven and considerably more than the Reface).

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Reface DX is also only 4OP.

[@PorchBass]

As whenever I use one, editing FM unleashes tidal waves of alias noise!

[@sonicaids]

I'd rather yamaha release a affordable synth using their FM-X engine that's in the Montage/MODX.

[@AngMoKio8]

You were looking for GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome 😄

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Just picked up a V1 for $65 and free shipping.....gonna try to circuit bend it.

[@Melodic623]

Gear lust 😂

[@greenchilaquiles]

6 operator

[@myriad860]

What a weird review

[@tomkarlson86]

A shop reviews a product, it's always positive and great otherwise they didn't sell it. Stop reviewing, doesn't make sense!

[@fortheloveofnoise]

They don't wanna review stuff they don't like

[@themaritimegirl]

Why don't you tell us what's wrong with the product then? Because by this and other videos it looks pretty great.

[@tomkarlson86]

@@themaritimegirl I'm not a "reviewer", I just don't love when shops try to offer reviews of products that they sell. The review should be highlighting and critical at once and objective. In this case, the objective is impossible as they are a shop with the mission to sell the product. If they make a bad review, they don't sell their units.