The patch memorizes the FM settings for the 6 operators (with complete envelopes and all) and a bunch of general settings for all operators.
The 16 memories let you record your sequence and thus automations (some plockable parameters have direct impact on the patch, such as algorithm which change the operators order, or attack and decay time).
Watch @cuckoomusic tutorial for in depth information.
Volca FM is cheap yet a real little beast. You can’t be wrong getting one 
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Yeah. I’m been watching some DX200 videos on YouTube lately and have been lusting over it. I think that Volca FM would be a lovely complement to my 
and 
combo - use the silver box sequencers with the Volca FM engine to expand / round out those machines’ FM setups to make a killer DX200 alternative.
That is really bogus. That and many other reasons are why I sold my Volca FM (only 32 preset storage, no banks, despite advertising tweak ability almost every parameter is buried, velocity and note on are not linkable without a 60 dollar additional piece from a 3rd party, loading patches is a pain in my current setup (A4, AR, OT, Sub 37), and shitty polyphony.
Preen beats it out in every single way. Don’t care that it’s not as thick as the volca, that shit gets eq’d out in the mix anyhow. I have my sub 37 for bass.
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Nope, I’m in the US.
I love the Volca FM!. Just throwing out there… 
The only thing I think is a shame, is that the pitch envelope apply for all operators. If there was a per-operator-pitch-envelope-depth it would have been perfect. Or did I miss it? This applies for the LFO as well. LFO has Amp depth per operator. Why not pitch depth per operator?
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By the way, here’s a Volca FM jam I put up the other week.
Chapters:
00:00 hello
01:47 jam 1
06:37 jam 2
14:44 jam 3
20:58 jam 4 (funky shit)
31:50 jam 5
40:21 jam 6
47:10 bye bye, midiflow app, how to donate, xxx
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Probably because he DX7II, last iteration of the legend, had pitch envelope as an addition to the original engine, and it was a global pitch env for each voice. I guess that makes it compatible with the TX802 patches I made back when I had it. Would love to be able to have that sound back again in this one, a portable device with sequencer.
Nice jam, cuckoo! Thinking of using MidiFlow myself for splitting a keyboard between the Volca FM, Volca Keys, etc. Clever solution mapping mod wheel to velocity.
Yes, I finally received my Volca FM last night.
Fun video Cuckoo, thx. You say at the end that this is your first Volca - that’s funny, I assumed you’d have been all over these little boxes of awesomeness. I dig them all, but only decided to keep the Keys and FM since they work best in my setup. I think you’ll get a kick out of trying them all.
Yep, and Sample first. It does overlap with the Elektron, but it has its special sauce
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Indeed! IMO IT’s the best sounding sampler in the shops, especially for the price. The mojo is strong with that one.
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The Volca Sample is a better augmentation than it is an Elektron replacement. If you must, it’s kind of the Octatrack-lite for sample manipulation, but it’s easier to dump samples to than the Machinedrum and hands on enough to get weird with an Octatrack.
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Damn. I just started sending banks to the Volca FM last night, from the selection of literally thousands of them you can find online. Just wanted to get a feel for the range of the synth engine (I’ve never really fully explored an FM synth). It’s crazy. The capability and depth of tones and textures you can achieve is immense. I can’t believe that nearly the whole DX7 architecture is packed into this tiny, cheap box. It’s the Volca with the most sonic range and potential, by far, but IMO a good editor is mandatory. Front panel tweakability also isn’t as rewarding as the other Volcas, so building up great patch banks will be key.
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Finally got my Volca FM this weekend. I had almost forgotten my general dislike of many of the stock DX7 sounds but after worming around with editing a little bit I learned to simplify things: boil it down to a couple of operators, and start working with those. So now I have it sounding like the kind of alien FM I’ve enjoyed making on the . I’m hoping that as I expand from there I can pick up with the 's FM leaves off and get into some really strange territory.
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I can’t buy anything but this FM has me all fizzed up!
I’m attracted to it for all the crazy sharp sizzled glass sounds and warbley perc snippets.
The warp step thingamajig that stretches the notes to fill duration of 16 steps can get you to lots of hypnotic areas, not to mention the Arp that is essentially uncoupled from the sequencer. The automation too is for bonkers loops, I’m obsessed with boxes that can spit things out that I couldn’t imagine, a bit like sparring with synthesis.
Don’t get me wrong I know my way around a synth but it’s fun to go crazy rather than all wizard approach from time to time.
I can hear the Strider soundtrack from the Sega Megadrive in most of the nuttier demos.
Hmm, think I’ll try the sperm bank, how much will they give me for a pint of electro submariners?
What do you think? Preen Fm or Volca Fm vs Push2 and Ableton Operator? Operator is quite well programmable from Push2. Is there a huge difference in sound quality concerning these fm synths?
If you’re happy using Operator in the box, it’s much better and more powerful than the other two.
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Not to mention the workflow is just way faster when it comes to designing sounds. The engine is also much more capable than either of those, though not as much as FM8, as far as I can tell…
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thanks guys. I think I’ll stick with operator then. they integrated it very will in push 2, with nice graphics and programming is relatively straight forward for an fm synth I guess. I won’t use it live so in the box is fine for me. Nord lead nice, you can do quite a lot with two operators but fm isn’t really a major focus of the NL.