Wow it looks like updates are out for all Volcas that at minimum add the ability to set the sync pulse rate! Wow, I’ve been wanting this for years!!! I don’t see anything in the Volca FM release notes regarding velocity response though…
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BTW, if anyone is not seeing the updated manuals on the Korg US site, they are up and live on the Japanese support pages for each product.
Can you explain what this means exactly? I have a bunch of Volcas and want to understand this better. Thank you!
The Volcas have traditionally sent and received sync (not related to MIDI) as one pulse per two steps, one pulse moves the sequencer two steps forward. Now you can choose to have the sync sent and received as one pulse corresponding to one step, one pulse moves the sequencer forward one step. The Sample had the ability to switch between these configurations at launch, the earlier Volcas did not. I’m not sure about the ones released after the Sample, but it looks like all Volcas now have this feature. This is really useful if you want to use a Volca with gear that can’t alter it’s own sync scheme, like if you want to slave nanoloop to a Volca.
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Listened to Oscillator Sink’s presets for the VD and whaaaaaam, was blown away by the sound he gets out of it. 
Is the VD that annoying to edit without an external editor?
It’s a bit fiddly, but after a couple of weeks of use I’ve started to get a bit quicker with it. My only issues with it are fairly minor—parameters aren’t viewable without turning a knob, meaning that editing each layer can get a bit unpredictable; it’s easy to accidentally select a different drum sound while editing and auditioning, which is solved somewhat by just running a sequence without touching the pads; and some of the key combinations confuse me a little, for example at the beginning I kept trying to use FUNC+MUTE instead of just MUTE to mute sounds, which instead saves kit, meaning I’ve accidentally overwritten a few kits 
… oh and I kinda wish it were possible to back up patterns/kits, as I’ve come up with a few things I’d love to keep. I guess I could use Synthmata or something, but that means I’d have to do all the editing on a computer.
That may seem like a lot, but other than that, it’s a great little device. I’ll probably get sick of it eventually, but at the moment it’s filling a void in my setup, as I haven’t had a dedicated drum synth since I sold my Machinedrum.
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Yeah, it definitely eased a few of my regrets about selling the MD back in the day – if anything it’s a little better for rippling LP5/EP7 abstractions.
Yeah I’m definitely getting some gritty, digital, almost Nord-style sounds out of it, and coupled with being able to automate the tune setting of the waveguide to get some squishy effects, it’s like a mix of EP7 and almost Confield/Draft 7.30 textures.
I do kinda wish it had a global overdrive or something to glue everything together though! I think I mentioned that earlier in the thread.
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I use software per channel and the volca drum, with an app that has a resonator the same as the volca drum but more easy to dial. With two drum sets, its better than probabilty.
Found a detailed explanation of this fix on /reddit from Etienne Noreau-Heberta, Chief Engineer - Analog Synths at Korg:
When the waveguide resonator’s tune parameter goes below value 24, delay times increase to the point that the resonating frequency is below 20Hz and enters standard delay territory (although the delay structure is a bit atypical). Delay times for values below 24 are relative to the current tempo. However, until this update (v1.14), they were not properly calculated from the external clock when present. This update adresses this issue.
Also, after testing the new pitch quantization parameter, it’s appears that turning it on introduces a kind of slide / portamento / motion smoothing effect between different pitched triggered steps of a part. It would be really great if that effect could be toggled on/off.
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Damnit Korg! So close!
If anyone is willing to give me a heads up (seq w/ OT), if I already have trigs on an OT track, and use track trig copy and paste to MIDI track, parameters such as note on/off (attack/decay/length), retrigs and pitch are copied too?
I should be able to use the MIDI LFO for randomization/custom on pitch for both VD voices per channel?
VD is supposed to be defaulted to split channel, after updating it I checked the MIDI and it said 1-6.
already have patterns and plocks programmed so I am assuming I would have to turn off the clock and transport send off on OT, or no?
I should also be able to program change when I change banks (or would it be parts?) on OT, so the only time that I can see I would have to fiddle with the tiny VD buttons I guess would be the Choke grps or waveform randomize?.
I would really like to integrate the Drum in a (dark) live setup/gig next time and actually think they could have made the newer Volcas just a wee bit larger and playable/readable.
Other than that, it’s neato.
Maybe a proper OT/Drum video is in order now that the VD split works? Especially with the OT live resampling/preslicing etc.
So it turns out the motion smoothing / slide effect only occurs when sequencing pitch changes on the Volca Drum itself, even if a new pitch is set per step in Step Edit Mode. So the motion sequencer seems to be adding interpolated pitch movement between steps. @OscillatorSink describes this in the comments thread for his Using the Korg Drum Melodically - Part 1 YouTube video.
However, as demonstrated by Retrokits (on Instagram here & here, or Twitter here & here, or Facebook here & here), if you turn on the new pitch quantization feature and have a way to assign MIDI notes to different values for MIDI CC 28 (to set the pitch of both layers 1 & 2 of one drum part, with the Volcas Drum in split channel mode), then external sequencing of melodic play doesn’t have the slide / portamento effect.
If using Retrokits’ RK-002 Smart MIDI Cable, they have taken the method of assigning notes for melodic play takes it one step further by adding polyphonic MIDI chaining, with their Volca Drum MIDI Expander firmware app for the RK-002. Using their special PolyMUX method, this firmware allows the RK-002 to spread up to 6 notes played polyphonically from a single MIDI keyboard across the 6 parts of the Volca Drum. Or, as their demo videos show, mix a combination of external polyphonic note sequences synced with a percussive sequence on the Volca Drum itself, using the remaining unused parts.
Additionally, although Retrokits hasn’t yet implemented it in an RK-002 firmware app, in theory the two individual layers of a drum part could play different notes, allowing up to 12 note polyphony, but only with the somewhat “simpler” sounds that a single layer would offer.
I own an RK-002, which I’ve used for melodic polyphonic play on my Volca Sample, but I haven’t tried out this new RK-002 firmware app for the Volca Drum yet, so I’d like to note one other important thing, as observed by @OscillatorSink over on his YouTube channel:
To turn on pitch quantization, you need to be in Edit mode; twist the select knob like you would for bit-crush, folding etc. and at the end you’ll see “QPI” - turn that bad boy on!
Now, for that part, when you twist the pitch knob you’ll see pitches rather than numbers! However - the pitches shown don’t seem to be accurate all the time, even relative to each other (C4 and G5 are an octave apart for me?).
In spite of that, the intervals are generally more musical and pleasing, so if you’re tuning my ear, it seems to be loads easier to get things to sound “in tune”. So ignore what you’re seeing and use your ears.
Update: the pitch weirdness… …seems to be something to do with using the Layer 1-2 editing. If you’re just editing Layer 1 or 2 on its own, the tuning looks good!
He doesn’t mention whether the strange pitch tuning that only occurs when editing layer 1/2 together also applies to MIDI CC control, so I’m not sure that will effect the RK-002 solution for melodic play (or other similar solutions people may come up with.)
All in all, this is fantastic news, though! I am really looking forward to messing around with melodic sound design on the Volca Drum and playing notes using my RK-002. I will post any of my findings here when I have a chance.
I also highly highly suggest subscribing to @OscillatorSink’s YouTube channel because he is planning on doing a Part 2 video on Melodic Play on the Volca Drum and will likely cover all of the ins and outs and considerations for using it in that way.
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Thanks for that!
When this came out I completely glanced over it.
Now, I’ve been getting a bit into micro house and minimal house type productions. Just out of curiosity I re-watched one of the demos on Youtube. The thing looks like a beast. How are you guys liking it? Is the midi implementation any good? I intend to use it with ableton and just sample it.
I’ve been a bit distracted by another setup (Lyra-8 vs. Nord Modular for a gig next weekend) but I’m hoping to get back to the Volca after that, as I’ll be using it in late-October for a gig, along with the Digitone.
It’s got a great sound! The MIDI implementation is very deep; in fact, even the Octatrack doesn’t have enough assignable CC parameters to control it fully. I think it could really shine with an external MIDI controller (60 knobs comes to mind!).
I’m gonna try putting it through my recently-repurposed eurorack setup (just bought an Intellijel Palette) and see how it goes through some overall filtering, overdrive, waveshaping etc…
The midi implementation is really good and flexible.
If you want you can configure it so that it listen to one channel (perfect for digitone par example, cause you only have 4 midi tracks there, and not 6), or otherwise that it listen to 6 different channels.
With multi channel you can cc to more parameters, with single channel config not so much, but good enough. Single channel with CC works only with the latest firmware, before that it ignored cc’s and i wondered if I’m with stupid.
I’d say it’s a perfect compagnion for the Monomachine, as it has 6 midi tracks 
edit: The following is not true, as pselodux stated below!
Only downside: you can’t change kit or pattern remotely. But anyway, it’s a very very flexible synth.
end of edit
Just take a peek at the implementation charts: https://www.korg.com/us/support/download/product/0/809/
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It accepts program changes! I’m relying on that for my DN+volca set!
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Oh nice! well, thats actually good!
Thank you for clarification - i need to debug my kit.
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I keep coming back to this vid. Not only is this the actual performance amazing, but it really demonstrates the variety of tones that can be created with this thing. Sorta like a digital modular to my ears…
I think I’ll be getting one, not only to sample hits/loops into the DT but to use as a Elektron-controlled noise generator as shown here.
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