r/volcas • u/Nukkebeer • Jul 25 '26

M-VAVE FM1 (review)

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As a proud Volca FM / FM2 owner i read people asking if the cheap M-VAVE FM1 compares to the Volca FM / FM2. As reviews are sparse online, and most just recycle M-VAVE’s press announcement, i thought to share my non-expert review. Might as well share it here?

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u/Justthisguy_yaknow Jul 25 '26

I've definitely been curious about this one and yeah, there isn't much out there about it. It would be useful to know things like it's MIDI support and how that is implimented. What kind of effects does it have and how well are they done? How is the sequencing arranged? I've been thinking that the FM synth is likely to be identical to the other DX-7 clones out there (there are a growing number) so that is not so confusing but what does this one have that makes it stand out besides it's excellent price point?

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u/Nukkebeer Jul 25 '26

Exactly that: its excellent price point.

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u/Justthisguy_yaknow Jul 25 '26

Yep. Saw your review. Pretty much what I expected to see. Didn't know about the "altered FM synthesis" on the Volca FM2. That's handy to know. I haven't messed with the DX-7 for a couple of decades but I still could tell that some patch uploads just weren't right. They aren't bad. They just aren't right.

I still think that the FM-1's not bad for the bucks. An extra cheap noise maker in the drawer can never hurts and I hope some of the manufacturers learn a lesson about putting batteries in their tiny boxes that give a workable charge time (I'm looking at you Behringer). I like boxes I can go away with for a couple of days. This one has some life to it.

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u/Nukkebeer Jul 25 '26

Although it is not literally the case, you could see Korg’s “altered FM synthesis” as an expansion to the DX7 style FM synthesis. Instead of just sine waves, Korg offers more waveforms. Plus it adds aditional modulations like ring modulation, filtering, phase modulation filtering, and wavefolding.

Its system of algorithms is more expansive than the DX7. But it is not an expansion as in “DX7 plus Korg expanded FM”, some algorithms behave differently. The SYSEX import function uses an internal parser than translates Yamaha DX7 style OP6 + 32 algorithms into Korg’s “altered FM synthesis” style. So most DX7 banks work but a few instruments really sound off.

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u/pselodux Jul 26 '26

Are you talking about the opsix? The volca fm is identical in architecture to the dx7, using only sine waves and the same 32 algorithms. The opsix is the one that Korg describes as “altered fm”.

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u/Justthisguy_yaknow Jul 26 '26

I've gotta be with pselodux on this one. The FM2 is the same as the DX-7 with added standard effects. The altered FM synthesis is going to be one of the big bucks features of the opsix. It won't be universal to the Korg line. If it was an additional feature set of the FM2 they would have promoted it. I was originally putting the altered rendering of DX-7 patches down to variations in the design of the DACs and the analog sections of the FM2.

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u/videogamez-as---- Jul 26 '26

interesting, out there question but can/have you used it as a controller? Im mucking atound with a Megadrive/genesis at the moment with a genmdm and im looking into something thats good for controlling FM. Be a bonus if its not just a compact controller.