Understanding Sound Design on the Volca FM - Episode 3: Envelopes
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- čas přidán 21. 08. 2024
- Welcome to the third episode in the series where we dive into sound design and patch creation on the Korg Volca FM. In this episode we talk about the incredibly powerful and flexible envelopes.
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This is actually the best Volca FM video series on YT. You explain it in a very comprehensive way.
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Thank you! I have always been confused about the EG for FM but after you zeroed in on the word Rate, that crystalized it for me. Now it actually makes sense!
Holy shit... Thank you! I didn't think FM synthesis (particularly editing on the Volca FM) could be this simple to understand. You are doing great work here, and you have a great, natural presentation style. Thanks again. :)
Really pleased that it clicked for you! Thank you for watching!
(but also check out the free editor that I made called synthmata - it'll help you get away from the menu diving a bit. You can find details on the channel 🙂)
@@OscillatorSink Ah yeah, I've seen it, and it does look cool and useful. I have no way of connecting my Volca FM to my computer via MIDI at the moment though. Thanks for letting me know regardless!
@@OscillatorSink I guess now the real challenge is figuring out the ins and outs of my Volca Modular, haha.
@@mikeexits some videos coming on that soon!!
Well soonish anyway. Never enough hours in the day!
Thank you for posting this and helping me understand FM synthesis
You're very welcome.
These videos are the unofficial handbook for the volca FM and FM synthesis in general , thanks man
Glad you're getting something out of them!
Synth noob here: I started watching this series before buying a Volca FM and found myself understanding much better also subtractive synthesis (I have had a Volca Bass for a month). I like how you compare FM to subtractive to explain. Very informative and well made videos! Thank you :)
Thank you for watching, and I'm glad I could help!
Absolutely invaluable series. Thank you for your time and effort. So much respect to you. You are an EXCELLENT educator, and a highly intelligent person. Thank you again sir.👍
Volca fm is a great intellectual training tool too! Very good presentation 🤗
Man, setting aside just hoe great you explain FM synthesis, I could listen to you explaining any subject for hours
The quality of the explanation is unreal, like going to synth university or something.
Thank you!
fantastic video series, thanks a lot seriously
This was incredibly helpful, and was exactly what I needed! Thank you so much
Its criminal this series doesn't have more views
Cheers friend - people are slowly discovering it - I hope you found it useful!
Oscillator Sink I do not have a fm synth but this had very much demystified them to me and made them less scary
Love the enthusiasm in your voice around 7.00 when you "pad out"
Haha, thank you! If you want more "padding out" moments, check out some of my patch building videos on the Volca and my new DeepMind - I can't hide my love of a good sounding pad!
This one is so helpful- not only do I understand the Korg Volca FM so much better, but also this tells me a lot about why I would want to use FM synthesis in the first place! Thank you!
Great video series! Your envelope diagram showing the various EGR and EGL and how they relate to the envelope is amazing and has really given me a better understanding of what's going on with the envelopes on the Volca FM. It really should have been included in the manual and probably on the cheat card too. Thanks a million!
No problem - one tip with the Volca: dig up a copy of the DX7 manual online. It has a bunch of technical information about the synthesis engine. It's a little "dry", but very informative.
This is priceless! Thanks for videos!
Brilliant tutorial I'm beginning to get my head around the F.M now 👌☮
Best tutorial on FM I've ever seen! Well explained! Thanks so much for your time and hard work! I got a Volca FM for Xmas and had hardly any time on it! You inspired me! Thanks again!
Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoy your Volca even more now!
Had my Volca FM for over a year now...still sitting here looking at my parameter list while you explain it. Learning alot thanks!
You're very welcome, I hope you're having fun with it!
Just got an FM and I've found these videos super helpful. Thank you so much!!!!
Glad to hear you're finding them useful - enjoy your new synth!
Nice and comprehensive! Thanks for making this.
+Nicholas Valbusa thanks for checking it out!
Just when I'm about to go to bed, CZcams tells me you've made another video. Great as always. Thank you. I think I'm OK with EG working just with operator 1 in isolation but I know I'll need to return to this episode when you deal with the LFO/"all" settings and those bewildering algorithm thingomies.
+Dino Goldie those algorithm-thingomies are coming soon - trust me though: there's nothing scary about them and once you understand them, it'll open up the possibilities on the Synth massively. Thanks again for watching, and sorry for keeping you up!
Everything I hoped for! Thank you for making this. I take for granted how crazy you can get just tweaking the envelopes and had forgotten how great those lurking slow attacks can be.
+sweepstakes "FM is only good for bells and electric pianos," is one of the most incorrect synthesis myths ever, right? I LOVE building pads and drones on this thing. Once you involve the other operators and have them creeping and swooping in and out - it's just magical. Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching!
Oscillator Sink Yes! Great percussion too. But I bet pads are particularly nice on the volca FM with those handy knobs!
Thank you for this informations. Very helpful for dive into fm synthesis.
I am really loving this series! I don't even own a volca FM or any FM synth (yet).
Glad to hear I'm whetting your appetite! Thanks for watching!
finally the videos i wish i had when i first got the fm.
+Tim Jackson sorry they took a while to turn up! Hope you enjoy making use of the ideas!
Thank you 🙏
Ye dude you won on fm explanations. I’m a guitarist and actually understood this video 😂
The secret is: I'm a guitarist too. Don't tell anyone.
You're a solid teacher
+Jake Henderson cheers buddy!
R E A L L Y helpful. Thanks :)
Very good info. Thanks.
You're very welcome!
learned so much from you, thank u a lot.
+Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant thank you so much checking the videos out. I hope you put this new knowledge to good use and make some awesome sounds!
11:28 WAO!
Thanks for explaining this. The graph from Korg on the cheatsheet seems to be wrong: there is a long straight line behind L3, which doesn't make sense...
R4 should be a straight line, I think, not two lines.
Your graph makes more sense.
So, if I understand correctly, the value of EGR x could be translated to the angle in %, where 00 = 1% and 99 = 100% / 90°.
I don't think the equation is quite that simple because those sections of the envelope are actually exponential in reality...
Thank you so much!!!
I was struggling with EGr4/EGl4, I think because I was relating it to ADSR, from what you say I'm now understanding 4 to be a trigger itself. Depending on rate/level the act of releasing the note can behave as if it's another attack phase (relating back to ADSR).
very helpful
Any chance of a video on using the sequencer in the Minilogue? That would be awesome!
I haven't done any tutorials on the Minilogue yet... Not a bad idea. I'll add it to my (far too long!) list.
Hi there, I just knew this serie of videos. So, first of all, thanks for taking your time and doing these, they are really helpful! Secondly, do you know how to make an init patch? Greetings!
The Volca doesn't have an Init patch built in sadly, but have you checked out my Synthmata tool? That allows you to quickly send an Init Patch to the Volca over MIDI (and lots more!) - czcams.com/video/ysJ_uxxepAY/video.html
You're the man, man (Y)
Cheers buddy!
Thanks !!
why i didn't find your video earlier .. Thanks a lot
Glad to have helped!
I keep rewatching these hoping to catch the part where you explain how you arrive at the “init” patch. Is a quick select, or do you create and save that “init” starting point? Anybody PLEASE HELP!! Internet is telling me different things, none of which produce the same “fuzzy” little sine wave you have.
Hi, I've replied to two of your other comments with the answer.
Which is: use my editor to send an init
synthmata.com/volca-fm/
13:00 is ecco the dolphin title theme
Unintentional Dolphin.
Haha. The best soundtrack ever :)
Hey, thanks a lot for this in depth Tutorial. I now understand at least some of the basics of synthesis in general and especially a lot more about the volca FM. I fell in love with it at first sight, even though i have no clue at all. But somehow i connected immediately :D. But although i can follow your descriptions very vell, i cant imitate your envelopes in reality. I do the same stuff as you do, but the EGr1 for example just does nothing. Maybe i have some other parameters done wrong? I turned all the knobs in the position you have it. But i cant figure out which programm you choose? or how you got all the other parameters. I think i missed something very basic, maybe you can help me figuring that out?
Hi, if you have a midi interface you can get to a good starting point using the free browser based editor I made, details in this video: czcams.com/video/Y166FytVC8w/video.html
synthmata.com/volca-fm/
You can also use it to, you know, edit the patches and it even visualizes the envelopes!
@@OscillatorSink oh wow, this was a fast reply, thank you! i don't have a midi interface yet.. just 2 volcas and some headphones :D
@@miranova716 OK, try this, use algorithm 5, turn off every operator other than 1 and 2. Set operator 1's output level to full and operator 2 to about 80. On both those operators set EGR 1 and 4 to about 90, EGR 2 and 3 to about 10. Sent EGL 1 to 99 and the other levels to 0. That'll probably give you a good starting point for learning the ropes. If you have the patience set up all of the other envelopes the same way and save that patch as your starting point.
@@OscillatorSink Oh wow great, thank you so much!! i'm really looking forward to dive deep into the world of sythesizers. It is such a fun an interesting thing to do amd learn about :D
Hello! This is my first day with volca FM. Your videos are very helpfull. I had to come back to envelopes and ask you a question: Why the note doesn't turn off copletely. I only play carrier with EGR1 78 , EGL1 99, EGR4 48 and EGL4 00. the other EGs are 0. I can still hear a little sound. Can you help me?
I think that's a known issue with the Volca - there does seem to be a little bleed on some algorithms. But make sure you are running the up to date firmware as I know they fixed some issues in the latest one.
@@OscillatorSink Thanks!!! I'm afraid I have no way to connect MIDI to computer, so this firmware should do. But now I can continue watching the rest of the series, without feeling I'm missing something. You have good videos!!!
@@felippeboulderdash8453 you can update the firmware with just an audio cable. Check out the instructions on Korg's site
@@feteti Thanks!!! I'll try!.
My firmware is 1.04 and Korg's site has only 1.03. I don't know if I should up(down)date or not. I'm pretty happy with my Volca now.
So EGR = Envelope Generator Rate and EGL= Envelope Generator Level? Makes more sense if I think of it like that.
Yep, exactly those two things.
Are you going to buy a retrokit midi cable for your FM?
+OrangeJackson it's on my shopping list.
Could you share your init patch with us? I am trying to follow along but have trouble since i dont have the same patch to start out with. Specifically operator 2 level doesn't seem to change the sound at all!
To your particular issue - try switching your algorithm to 5 or 6, make sure both operators 1 and 2 are turned on and that operator 1's level is up full.
For an init patch, if you have a midi interface on your computer, using chrome as your browser go here: synthmata.com/volca-fm/
This is an editor for the Volca that I built - the init patch can be sent from there, and there's the added bonus of being able to edit the sound on screen rather than paging through the parameters on the Volca!
hello mate, can u tell me how i have todo to get that sound "in it", isnt in the "program" knob. Thanks a lot
+Matias Pereira hi there - annoyingly the Volca doesn't have an Init patch built in. So in this case I'm using a patch that I built which is similar to the Init Patch on the DX synths. If you want it, the easiest way is to use my free tool called "Synthmata". You can check out the details on my channel.
What do operators 3-6 exactly do?
Exactly the same as operators 1 and 2 - watch the algorithms episode!
AAAGH. Can we just once have a presentation that assumes that the viewers know what an envelope, a filter, an oscillator is??? These videos of yours are great, and are a wonderfully valuable resource that I deeply appreciate. I am really hating the ‘over-explaining’ time-wasting trend that everyone seems compelled to follow though. It’s tedious, didactic, unnecessary, and really frustrating to anyone watching these vids hoping to acquire specific info about a specific instrument. Newbs who don’t know what an envelope is can go somewhere and figure it out on their own; there is no reason for that kind of pandering.
Although I appreciate your comments given the price range of the Volca, I don't think it's unreasonable to imagine that the viewer could be coming to this series as a "Newb". Agreed, there may be other places where they can look into what an envelope is, but why diminish the usefulness of this series for them for the sake of a couple of extra minutes for others?
Either way - did you get the specific information you were after? Can I fill in any gaps?
Oscillator Sink Point taken, and I apologize for the tone of that comment. I am finding the volca fm a fascinating instrument, and frankly a true marvel technologically. Your videos are helpful indeed, and it’s very generous of you to share your knowledge here.