Understanding Sound Design on the Volca FM - Episode 4: LFOs

[@LucianoBSQ]

This tutorials are amazing! The volca FM is an incredible machine and you help me to understand a lot of parameters. THANKS!

[@OscillatorSink]

+Luciano BSQ you're welcome! Enjoy making cool sounds!

[@nutmeg91]

Excellent hands on demonstration of the volca FM ,take delivery this week of mine so I’m looking forward to experimenting with it. thank you

[@manuelgarzon990]

Awesome tutorials man!!! Thank you!

[@OscillatorSink]

Thanks for checking them out!

[@climbingapplied]

so good at communicating this super complex stuff

[@OscillatorSink]

Thank you! I'm glad it made sense.

[@josephkarstens9592]

Your LFO key sync selection explanation...thanks for that one.

[@hansvisser1990]

Absolutely great video. It makes everything much clearer! Thanks very much.

[@OscillatorSink]

Thanks for checking it out, I hope you enjoy the rest of the series!

[@s3nsec0rruptr80]

"And if you're Nick Batt, you send it to the pulse width"...😂😂😂😂

[@OscillatorSink]

Damn straight.

[@Leemtome]

So interesting! Thank you very much for all your videos

[@OscillatorSink]

You're very welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying them!

[@nic0247]

Thank you very much for your tutorial series. It helps me to understand the volca fm. 🎩✨👍

[@cesarvalerio4292]

Great stuff! Greetings from Brasil!

[@michaelvance1838]

Want to pause on this takeaway (likely a simplification but still significant): LFO -> amp = tremolo LFO -> filter = wobble LFO -> pitch = siren LFO -> pulse width for pulse width modulation.

[@flightofsound2497]

Another great tutorial - thanks!

[@vegasystem23]

having watched your hands, i am convinced you were a lobster in a former life..... ;-) good vid!

[@OscillatorSink]

+vegasystem23 old Oscillator "Lobster Hands" Sink. That's what they called me.

[@synriser6742]

Again, a great tutorial!

[@OscillatorSink]

+SynthPimp thank you!

[@datdarkcraydatdarkcray5627]

thank you!

[@marianafranssell8849]

Another excellent video. Thank you.

[@user-or3ce4gt2r]

Which firmware are you running today ? Thank you

[@OscillatorSink]

1.04

[@s3nsec0rruptr80]

So I replied about the nick batt joke and I'm now realizing I didn't make it through the whole video. When you mention syncing LFO delay to tempo, do you know if the numbers correspond to any specific units of time? Or is it mostly by ear in relation to incoming midi clock (if any)? Anyway, these videos are truly opening up FM synthesis to me...if slowly because so much of it is counterintuitive lol. But thank you so much for the videos!

[@OscillatorSink]

The LFO numbers do mean something, but it's just Hz rather than being clocked to midi. The trick is to get something close enough and then turn on LFO Key Sync in the global operator settings so it resets with each key press, that way it never gets too far away from sync.

[@rainerd9890]

thanks for going above and beyond - much appreciated! i didn't really want to get into this much detail for the fm but i fear i must to get the most out of the beast. i like the way the earlier vids simplify things and start out with only 2 operators, a carrier and a modulator so you can actually clearly hear the changes. do i simply turn off operators 3-6? which algorithm is best to use, some have a 'looped' modulator 2? my biggest gripe with the fm is the difficulty creating/recording a track or layering different patterns over each other. i much prefer the volca bass way of doing things, with 3 oscillators/voices that can be layered over each other and a step mode. right now i'm forced to record a loop from fm into audacity and then create a new pattern/loop with a new program and algorithm etc and record that over the 1st loop. is there an easier way? thanks again.

[@OscillatorSink]

If you're just playing with two operators (a great strategy for learning!), use algorithm 2. Op 1 is your carrier, Op 2 is your modulator which also has Feedback to play with as well (increasing the feedback will increase the richness and raspiness of the sound generally). What you're describing is the only way really - you only have one timbre to work with at a time I'm afraid.

[@rainerd9890]

@@OscillatorSink on that topic, is there a way to save an algorithm? i know i can save tweaked programs with 'save' but when i turned operators 3-6 off on algo 2 they turned off for all the others.

[@OscillatorSink]

@@rainerd9890 I'm afraid not - the operator status belongs to the whole patch not just the current algorithm.

[@rainerd9890]

@@OscillatorSink ya, i finally clued into that so i just saved the whole patch, e piano, with the algorithm editing for 2 operators (1 and 2). went through episode 2 again and tweaked along with you and didn't quite hear the changes as clearly as in your tutorial (maybe it's the e piano sound carrier?) but i was able to eliminate some 'nasty' treble' overtones with the 'FreC/F' settings. didn't hear much difference with 'Fdbk' changes also (using algo 2 with only 1 and 2 enabled with feedback loop on the mod, 2) thanks again, much appreciated. plan to do the same thing with the envelopes episode today. your info is a much needed addendum to the rather thin FM manual.

[@naedyr]

With the sample and hold LFO, to avoid the glitches, you said there are certain things you might want to turn down. What are they?

[@OscillatorSink]

Primarily keeping the Amp Mod Sense (AMS) and overall level on the operators you're modulating down. But essentially this glitchiness shouldn't exist at all and appears to be a bug with the Volca's firmware.

[@naedyr]

@@OscillatorSink Thanks!

[@hardgainer7396]

Ok for some reason when I want lfo to modulate amp on operators, it doesnt do anything. I set all "AMS" parameter on all operator to 3 and I dont hear any difference even though depth on lfo is all the way up and "LAMd" parameter all the way up as well. Im getting frustrated :/

[@OscillatorSink]

The "LFO Pdepth" on the front panel is just for pitch, so you shouldn't need to alter that. I would start with just one operator to trouble shoot. Turn off all the operators but 1 and set the algorithm to 32 so you are sure you're hearing that operator. Set that operator's level to 75, the AMS to full In the all operators settings, set the LAMd to full (double check it's the LAMd that you're changing and not LFOd). And set the LFOW to 0. Do you hear any tremolo now?

[@hardgainer7396]

@@OscillatorSink Unfortunately not edit: It seems it just needed firmware update, now it works. Weird. Anyway, thank you for your answer, sir.

[@OscillatorSink]

@@hardgainer7396 have you ever updated the firmware on your Volca? On the very early ones there were some fundamental issues with the synthesis engine, so I would try updating the firmware.

[@TheSuperMrG13]

what parameter does the modulators wave form modulate in the carrier? thanks

[@OscillatorSink]

The level - same as with the Modulator, which gives you a kind of tremolo sound.

[@ajdooom]

I always wondered why the modulator is on the left and the carrier is on the right. It seems obvious to have the carrier first, then think of the modulator affecting that. Especially since the carrier is operator 1? Is this a Japanese right to left thing?

[@OscillatorSink]

I think it's more that the modulator flows into the carrier - if you think about the way the algorithm is laid out, that's modulators at the top as well, again, flowing down into the carriers. Modulator first is a more natural way of reading it for me anyway.

[@ajdooom]

@@OscillatorSink thanks, that makes sense. As you mentioned in a previous video, I think I'm still thinking of subtractive filters.

[@holydiver4728]

Is it possible to 'export' (save) a patch to pc ?

[@OscillatorSink]

+Holy Diver short answer: no. Better, longer answer: yes, but you have to mod your unit to have a midi out port. The capability is actually present in the unit, but there's no port. You can buy kits to do the mod (they are solderless and look easy to install), and then when you perform the procedure to send patches to another unit over the sync cable, the added midi port sends out the raw sysex data as well. I'm going to buy one and install it very soon because I want to share some of my patches on the channel - I'll do a review when I have done it. Also, there are other ways to approach the problem that I'm looking into and working on in the background... But more on that as I get further along in my research ;)

[@holydiver4728]

Thanks a lot ! (have solderless Midi out on Keys works fine)

[@OscillatorSink]

+Holy Diver ah, awesome! I'll take that as an endorsement and pick one up really soon!

[@Pai3000]

Wow. This one was complex...

[@Tory8er]

There are 6 operators??? What is the other 4?

[@OscillatorSink]

You select them using the operator selector buttons, the LFO works identically on all 6. If you want to see all 6 in action check out the Algorithms video in this series.

[@dinogoldie9716]

Thanks again. I was wondering why the LFOP knob didn't work on certain preset patches. Now I know. Currently experimenting with chord-spread/pseudo-arpeggio on algorithm 32 (as explained in kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZTId3l_iMhkZ6M). I like the LFO-delay setting very much. Keep up the good work as it's really appreciated here.

[@OscillatorSink]

+Dino Goldie I'll have to check that out, thanks for the heads up. Glad that the series is helping you out and thanks for watching!

[@pyrox2518]

LFO is really not working no matter what. Could it be that the synthmata editor stops that from working?

[@OscillatorSink]

+pyrox are you talking about the pitch or amplitude LFO? If pitch, remember that you need to turn up both the Pitch Mod Depth AND Pitch Mod Sensitivity.

[@OscillatorSink]

+pyrox no problem!

[@pyrox2518]

Nope :( i turned on 2 OPs 1 and 2 and if i turn on the LFO AMP mod depth+ in both OPs AMP mod sense max nothing happens while turning the lfo knobs. I can send a patch link so you can see if i did something wrong

[@pyrox2518]

synthmata.com/volca-fm/?p=8EMAAAEbUAAAUGMAAAAyAAAAAAAAAFwAAQAAUAAAUGMAAAAyAAAAAAAAAFwAAgAAUAAAUGMAAAAyAAAAAAAAAF wAAQAAUAAAT2MAAAAyAAAAAAAAAFwAAgAAUAAAUGMAAAAyAAAAAAAAAGMAAQAAYwAAY2MAAAAyAAAAAAADAGMAAhAAMjIyMjIyMjIAAABGAABjAAAAGHN5bnRobWF0YSBDPvc%3D

[@pyrox2518]

i had to cut it in half else i could not hit the replay button

[@pauloduelli7994]

no LFO sync to tempo :(

[@OscillatorSink]

+Paulo Duelli sadly not. It wasn't there on the DX7 so I guess that Korg made the decision not to include it. It would have been pretty great in the context of using it as a groove box though. You can get it close manually though, and then make sure the LFO key sync is turned on, that way it'll be nearly in time, most of the time!

[@pauloduelli7994]

yeah, it's a shame because even if you get pretty close you can't do these rhytmic cuts of going half or double for a step. It's still a beautiful machine, I got one last week and I'm loving it. Your work on these videos is great man, it's an awesome way to begin with FM, thanks for sharing!

[@OscillatorSink]

+Paulo Duelli you're more than welcome! Enjoy your new synth!