Hey guys, I'm back with a little bugfix and update for the Volca FM!
A lot of people has kindly informed me about the screw-up in FW 1.08 concerning the Program Change not respecting MIDI channels - thanks for the feedback! It is now fixed. One user (
u/gerardjugno) said an on/off switch would be useful, so now
Program Change needs to be switched on in GLOBAL SETTINGS number 12 (PCMidi on/off).
New feature:
SYSEX Parameter Change support.
The original DX7 could receive individual patch parameters updates over sysex, see e.g.
https://github.com/asb2m10/dexed/blob/master/Documentation/sysex-format.txt section C. There are 155 parameter settings for a patch.
This is perhaps not for everyone, but it means:
a) You can use dexed (or anything built targeting a DX7 really) with a MIDI cable as a live frontend to tweak patches.
b) You can automate all patch parameters in your sequencer of choice.
Important: the parameter changes will NOT propagate into already playing sounds. It is hard to make it do that. Besides I am not convinced that it is a good idea - the FM algorithms are stateful and messing with envelopes and frequencies in currently playing sounds can easily introduce a lot of zippering and discontinuity artifacts (yes yes I understand that EXACTLY this is probably what a good chunk of you think you really REALLY desire).
There are also SYSEX commands for setting 14 Function Parameters like aftertouch, portamento etc in the original DX. Those are NOT supported here.
Also, I put the SYSEX Parameter Change commands as NRPN number 0-155 if you e.g. happen to have a MIDI controller with NRPN support.
As an example, to set the ALGORITHM (parameter number 134) to "22" you will send CC99:1 (MSB NRPN#), CC98:6 (LSB NRPN#) and finally CC6:22 (NRPN value) etc. or B0 63 01 B0 62 06 B0 06 16 for MIDI channel 1.
Get it here while it is fresh:
https://we.tl/t-VU0pPYAOTh (expires feb 13th)
EDIT: New link:
https://we.tl/t-KphDvUjQDX (expires feb 22)
In other respects, it behaves like the 1.08 FW that was releasd and discussed here ( velocity on note in, LFO fix, patch transfer, more CCs etc ):
https://www.reddit.com/r/volcas/comments/dj7f7v/volca_fm_firmware_108_unofficial_velocity_on_note/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x