DataBeat · Volca Studio XL

WMC quick start

Prepare and send a sample kit with WMC 1.0.1, a locally installed application that opens in Google Chrome. No terminal is needed.

1. What you need

• A computer with Windows 10/11 x64, macOS on Apple silicon or Linux x86-64 (glibc 2.35 or later).
• Google Chrome — free from google.com/chrome.
• An original Korg Volca Sample (first generation) running LUMON OS XL for patterns and grooves. To install LUMON OS XL v1.0.2, download Korg's official volcasample_updater_1_42.zip from korg.com and add it in Reintegration: WMC builds LUMON OS XL from it. Studio includes no firmware.
• A 3.5 mm audio cable from the computer's headphone/line output to the Volca's SYNC IN socket.

2. Download and open

1. On the download page press Download WMC. Check that the suggested package matches your system and CPU architecture; All downloads lists the alternatives.
2. Extract the download and open Volca Studio WMC, following the steps for your system below.
3. The local helper opens Whole Mind Collective in Chrome. You do not need to type an address.

Packages are unsigned. Verify the download against SHA256SUMS on the Studio 1.0.1 release. Use the following opening exception only for that verified copy, if you trust it.

• Windows: right-click the ZIP → Extract All → open the folder → double-click Volca Studio WMC. If Windows protected your PC appears, click More info → Run anyway (first time only).
• macOS: open the ZIP and drag Volca Studio WMC into Applications, then open it. If macOS says it cannot verify the developer, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway (first time only).
• Linux: extract the archive, open the folder, double-click Volca Studio WMC (or right-click → Run as a program).

Opening WMC again opens another window of the running session.

3. Choose your samples

1. In 01 Gathering click Add samples… (or Add a folder…) and pick your WAV files. WMC stores imported copies in its library folder. To use an existing folder in place, choose Manage libraries…, enter its full path and choose Register folder. It also becomes available in Innie and Outie.
2. Click a sample to select it. Hold Shift to select a range, Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (Mac) to pick several.
3. Route Chrome's sound output to speakers or headphones, away from SYNC IN. Listening source offers Source audio or Volca preview (mono, 31.25 kHz). Press Space to listen; Stop ends playback. Autoplay selection listens as you select individual samples. The output chosen in Connections is for transfers; it does not change Chrome's listening output.
4. Press Enter to put the selection on the workbench.

Choose All samples to search all available libraries, saved kits and variants. Use Previous page / Next page for more results, and Refresh after files change outside WMC. Manage libraries… → Unregister removes a folder reference, including one on a disconnected drive; it leaves the files in place.

4. Prepare the kit

• Put samples in the order you want with ↑ ↓, Alt+↑/↓ or by dragging.
• Keep an eye on the meter: up to 100 samples and 65 seconds.
• Optional: select workbench rows and press J (lower) or K (raise), type a number of semitones (0–99) and press Enter. Optional: Align keys… proposes transpositions to match a reference sample’s pitch class. Review uncertain samples; they stay unchanged unless you adjust them. Nothing changes until you press Accept. Varispeed changes both pitch and duration.
• Make ×2 variant (Ctrl/⌘+D in either sample list) adds a version one octave higher and half as long, keeping existing workbench entries. J/K replaces the selected workbench entries. From the library it replaces matching entries already in the workbench, or adds the variant if its source is not included.
• Type a kit name (lowercase, e.g. dusty-breaks) and click Save as new kit.

5. Transfer

Sending a kit clears all 100 sample slots on the Volca first. Keep copies of any sample audio you want to reload. A pattern backup does not contain sample audio and cannot recover samples cleared from the instrument.

1. Connect the cable: computer audio output → Volca SYNC IN. Disconnect speakers and headphones from that output: the computer will play data signals. Pause music, videos and notifications; disable EQ and other audio processing.
2. Open 06 Connections and choose that output under Transfer output → SYNC IN.
3. Back in Gathering, click Send saved kit to Volca…. WMC prepares the signals and shows a summary. Read it, then click Clear & send (or Cancel — keep the Volca as it is).
4. Wait until Signals sent appears, then check the samples on the Volca.

Signals sent means the computer finished playing the transfer signals. The SYNC IN connection sends no acknowledgement back to WMC. Confirm the samples and their order on the Volca before relying on the transfer.

To keep prepared signals for later, save the kit first. The clear/upload WAVs are data signals: do not audition them through speakers or headphones. Playing the clear signals to SYNC IN erases all 100 slots. Choose Download SYRO files…, then Prepare download. WMC downloads a ZIP and sends nothing to the Volca.

Optional: back up and restore patterns

A pattern backup saves the ten pattern memories and a current-edit snapshot. It does not save sample audio or all GLOBAL settings.

You need a USB-MIDI interface (computer → Volca MIDI IN) and a cable from the Volca headphone output to your computer's audio input. In Connections choose the Backup input and the MIDI output, then in 03 Memory type a name and click Capture backup. Don't touch the Volca for about two minutes. macOS asks for microphone permission the first time: click Allow. WMC saves a bank only after it receives all eleven complete frames.

Restoring replaces the pattern memories you select. In Memory, open the saved bank, tick the memories to replace and choose Restore selected memories…. Review the destinations before confirming. The extra current snapshot needs Restore snapshot… and an explicit destination. Check a restored memory on the Volca after Signals sent.

Do not audition pattern SYRO WAVs through speakers or headphones. To prepare files without sending, choose Download selected SYRO files…. For the current snapshot, first choose its destination memory (1–10), then Download snapshot SYRO…. Playing those files to SYNC IN replaces the specified stored memories.

For grooves, open 04 Movement. Choose stored memories or the bank's current snapshot with an explicit destination, assign templates per part, then choose Review change plan before saving. The catalogue lists all sixteen offsets and identifies measured, reconstructed and analytic steps. The WMC guide explains source copies and rollback files.

If something goes wrong

Connections → Check installation shows installed tools and Studio's folders without opening audio or MIDI devices. It does not check the instrument or cables.

To finish, click Close WMC (top right). Your kits and workbench are kept. More details: WMC guide.

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