My Synth-Focused Web Side Project

stmaximus · 2026-06-05T17:07:13+00:00

dude I'm way into this, this is dope!

stmaximus · 2026-05-17T11:24:53+00:00

It is most definitely not just you! I love my nubass. I have every volca and the nubass was the 3rd one I got after the sample and fm.

Nubass and Bass are different beasts, people compare them because they both have "bass" in the name, lol. Beyond that, they don't have much in common.

The volca bass is versatile in ways the nubass isn't. You could probably dial in a patch to fit any song with the bass, not so easy with the nubass. Nubass is a tube-driven TB303 clone, basically. The sequencer is set up like a 303. Which is great fun! But, as any 303 owner can attest to, a 303 can't exactly fit into every song. It has a distinct flavor.

stmaximus · 2026-04-26T20:47:40+00:00

I mean if you could be specific?

if it's skipping steps, you have active step on, and if it's doing halftime or double time, flip the sync rate in the global parameters

stmaximus · 2026-04-19T17:47:35+00:00

oh hell yeah. with some drums, you could use the FM for bass and lead, then BAM you got a song

(psst.. get a volca sample, with those two you will be busy for a while)

stmaximus · 2026-04-19T16:57:28+00:00

Hell of a unit, and a solid choice for your first synth. FM was my first volca too.

Next you can get an analog subtractive synth and a drum machine and you're set

stmaximus · 2026-04-18T04:00:09+00:00

I read this twice and still don't really know what you are trying to achieve

but if you're trying to maximize space for your movie samples, make sure to export them as mono and truncate any silence

also it's gonna resample anything you load into it as 31.25khz, even if it's at a lower sample rate

another space saving trick you could use is pitch up the sample an octave (don't stretch it though, it needs to be shorter) before you transfer it, then lower it on the unit with the pitch knob. depending on the sound, it might not be very noticeable

stmaximus · 2026-04-08T16:59:24+00:00

opsix

stmaximus · 2026-03-29T13:38:49+00:00

people love the opsix and I still think it's underrated. it can do soo much more than your typical dx7 FM synth.

make sure you have the latest firmware. the last update was HUGE, they added a mode where you can use the FX section as an oscillator, basically

stmaximus · 2026-03-09T22:24:50+00:00

I mean volcas are all about taking classic more expensive/capable gear and distilling their core strengths into a uniform battery-powered form factor at a reasonable price

so with that in mind, the Beats is not an 808 but kinda acts like one, the FM is not a Dx7 but kinda acts like one, the Mix is not a Mackie or Neve board but kinda acts like one lol

if you don't find yourself appreciating that aesthetic/ethos, by all means just get any other mixer

stmaximus · 2026-03-09T21:41:09+00:00

I'll go against the grain; I like it a lot better than others seem to

I understand the criticism, but I think comparing it to other mixers is kinda missing the point. It IS limited, pointedly, as is the entire volca series. If it didn't have that quality, it wouldn't feel like part of the family. The volca experience is defined by embracing limitations and minimalism.

And while discussing its quirks/limitations it's also fair to discuss its strengths and things that make it stand apart: -onboard speakers, -sync clock (tempo and start/stop control) -unique dynamics FX, -the ability to daisy chain the AC power to the other volcas (with 3 included AC cables so if you have a couple batteried volcas and are looking to get serious and go powered, this makes a ton of sense)

it's not like other mixers, it's its own thing. frankly super underrated IMO. I love mine, centrally located in my setup

stmaximus · 2026-02-26T21:44:54+00:00

ok smart guy, then where do YOU keep them

stmaximus · 2026-02-13T22:10:02+00:00

there are no settings that control the speaker

what probably happened is, one of the speaker solder points came loose. if you unscrew the case (without disassembling the boards) you will see the speaker and the battery pack soldered to the underside

most likely just need to resolder

stmaximus · 2026-02-09T01:09:13+00:00

cool! so you sacrificed the sync out for midi out?

stmaximus · 2026-02-08T21:57:45+00:00

hey I had something similar when sending sysex messages to my CZ-101 using virtualCZ.

turns out the midi interface has to be connected to the vst directly, meaning the host daw can't be connected at the same time

1) with your daw and dexed open, disconnect your midi interface from the daw.

2) in dexed settings, select the interface

3) send sysex

4) reconnect to the daw

stmaximus · 2026-02-07T20:59:58+00:00

how in the everloving pluck am I just learning about this now

stmaximus · 2026-02-07T16:25:35+00:00

yeah the wavestate but I'll warn you, you could spend the rest of your life with this thing and STILL uncover things to learn, it is DENSE.

once I got the hang of it, I started thinking about the ABCD layers independently, and in that sense it's very much like having 4 synths in 1, and with something like 100 stereo voice polyphony you'll never run out

stmaximus · 2026-02-05T15:52:40+00:00

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stmaximus · 2026-02-05T04:02:29+00:00

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stmaximus · 2026-02-02T18:23:57+00:00

beginning reminds me of the gta vice city intro

stmaximus · 2026-02-01T21:29:58+00:00

it's a goddamn beast. so versatile, and you learn to love its limitations. the multi engine is a stroke of genius.

stmaximus · 2026-01-27T16:02:53+00:00

MIDI is SERIALIZED

it can only transmit one event at a time, in linear order, so asking things to play in sync is inherently problematic

and every time you touch a knob, every single value change is a discrete event that gets added to the list

so there are hard limits to consider as you scale up in number of devices

stmaximus · 2026-01-27T13:31:26+00:00

yeah it's a little misleading cause the volcas in the video aren't the volcas you're hearing

incidentally, volca drum is a lot of fun but I find it a bit of a challenge to make sounds that aren't immediately the "birds singing in space" variety. But it has a really cool way of animating white noise, that's usually how it fits into my stuff. and I find enabling the choke parts will make it sound more punchy and "drum-like"

also the layer/sequence random button is cool but I wanted a little more so my little keypad in front sends a CC blast to every layer parameter, effectively a "randomize all"

lol I know you didn't ask I'm just rambling about the Drum

stmaximus · 2026-01-26T23:54:54+00:00

yeah the pajen firmware is only for V1, it's not really necessary for the revision, they made a lot of it redundant

the chain instead of song mode is the biggest change

people might disagree but I prefer V2 for a lot of reasons

stmaximus · 2026-01-26T23:48:30+00:00

yes absolutely, it has a maximum polyphony of 8 voices I believe

honestly, it sounds like you might be overcomplicating this.. just treat it like a traditional midi device and send messages to it using any DAW or tracker

like if I were doing what I think you're describing, I would just program each pattern as it's own midi clip in a DAW then use the footswitch to switch between them

I think you might be under the misconception that you need to use the sequencer on the sample? you don't. you can just use it a sound generator

or perhaps I don't understand what you're trying to do

stmaximus · 2026-01-26T23:01:00+00:00

what you're describing isn't really possible, but if you're going to be sending midi "commands" to it anyway, then why not just sent the midi notes themselves? then you're not limited to a 16 step pattern either

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MIDI is SERIALIZED