SuperCollider

Korg Volca Beats

An interface for the Korg Volca Beat drum machine.

To start using this instrument you need to include it in the library, you can do this in the Preferences & Miscellaneous.

This is a interface for the Korg Volca Beats drum machine. It sends MIDI out and receives audio back which makes the Volca Beats act as if it was an internal instrument local to LNX. Only the controls Korg allows on MIDI cc are here and changes can only be sent from LNX but not received. These control can use Automation and store changes in Presets & Programs. There is a step sequencer for sequencing and a MIDI clock to synchronise the on board sequencer.

This help file is here to get your Volca Beats working in LNX_Studio and not as a tutorial on how to use the Volca Beats.

  1. Audio In channel - this sets where the audio for this Volca Beats is coming from. (i.e which audio bus). Inputs always come in stereo pairs but individual channels can be chosen in the channel setup. You don't need to have the audio coming back into LNX to control the Volca Beats.
  2. Channel setup - can be Left & Right, Left + Right, Left or Right or No Audio depending on your needs.
  3. Off behaviour - tell the Volca Beats what to do when its turned off.
    • Audio In - turns the audio off but leaves the step sequencer playing.
    • Sequencer - turns the step sequencer off but leaves the audio playing.
    • Both - turns both the audio and the step sequencer off.

  4. MIDI - opens a window to select the MIDI out channel + port. See MIDI Devices & Controls.
  5. Cntrl - opens the MIDI Control editor and allows you to edit the MIDI controls you set up on the Volca Beats. See MIDI Devices & Controls.
  6. MIDI Clock - turns the MIDI clock on and off. Normally MIDI clocks only work if they have been playing since the start of a song. If you are turning this on you may need to press stop and then play to get it working. Also you might need to set the BPM of the Volca to match that of LNX_Studio.
  7. Controls - saves the MIDI cc controls with a preset. When the preset is recalled only those that have changed are sent out.
  8. The Mixer - has the same controls you find in GS Rhythm. You can turn the drum machine on/off, solo it or change its volume. You also have the same control for each individual channel.
  9. Drum Controls - has all of the MIDI controls you can use on the Volca Beats. When changed here it will change them on the Volca Beats. Any control can use Automation and store their changes in Presets & Programs. As the Korg Volca series has no MIDI out there is no way of telling what position the controls are in.
  10. Preset Manager - Add, remove or select presets, see Presets & Programs.
  11. The Step Sequencer is the same one you find in GS Rhythm. It has 32 steps and its speed and length can be changed on each channel independently.
  12. Overview & Channel tabs - The overview tab lets you see the sequencers for each channel together on one tab. The individual channel tabs let you see the volume / accent of each step.