There’s a loop sequencer with up to 16 steps, allowing you to record your performance on the touch panel keyboard just as you play. It’s easy to create phrases that come to mind. Up to sixteen sequence patterns can be stored in internal memory.
And the motion sequence function records your knob movements, letting you add time-varying change to the sound. This is great way to polish your loops, and also lets you generate highly original live performances.
In addition to the active step function that lets you skip steps during a sequence, the volca fm provides new functions that enable you to generate more irregular rhythms. If the active step is fewer than 16 steps, you can use the warp active step function to compensate to occupy the same playback time as 16 steps; then by synchronizing the playback with another volca series unit, you can deliberately skew the step timing to generate truly unconventional performances.
In a first for the volca series, the volca fm is also equipped with an arpeggiator. By using this in conjunction with a motion sequence you can create extremely eccentric rhythm patterns.
Furthermore, the pattern chain function lets you connect multiple sequence patterns for successive playback, making it possible to construct large-scale developments of 32, 64, or even 256 steps by joining up to 16 sequences.