What is the Radias really?

apex · Post by **apex** » Sun May 09, 2010 3:52 am

I mean what does it do? what's it good for...

is it kinda the same thing that the moss board was to the triton?

will it be useful in gospel music? maybe R&B and Rap style...

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sun May 09, 2010 10:54 am

It is similar to the MOSS board in functionality yes. Some people may jump on me and say its not the same: No, it is not exactly the same board, obviously, but it's purpose and functionality is equivalent.

It is more than a virtual analog though. Whilst the M3 is a 'sample playback and filtering thing', the radias is 'multi modelling technology' - MMT. It is a pure synthesizer. It offers analog modelling, Phase Modulation (a bit like FM), Wavetables (DWGS - and with it some primitive wave sequencing), waveshaping, some hacks at basic physical modelling, it has a vocoder. The possibilities literally go on ad infinitum.

The rack version also adds some simple PCM waveforms and has its own set of nine effects. I assume they thought the PCM waveforms would be redundant because of the functionality offered by the M3 so they didn't include it in the EXB, however a lot of fun can be had passing the sampled waveforms in the rack through the variable filter and waveshaper.

apex · Post by **apex** » Mon May 10, 2010 3:48 am

but what exactly is that functionality... i don't get it. lol

sorry if it seems noobish... just being honest.

alland · Post by **alland** » Mon May 10, 2010 4:52 am

As EXB Radias Manual says:

"The EXB-RADIAS is a synthesizer/vocoder option board that uses Korg MMT (Multiple Modeling Technology) to provide a wide range of tonal variety and 24 voices of polyphony.

When the EXB-RADIAS is installed, you’ll be able to use 128 RADIAS programs in program bank INT-F. You’ll also be able to save original RADIAS programs you’ve created in bank INT-F or user banks that you’ve assigned as bank type RADIAS.

Up to four RADIAS programs can be assigned to timbres in a combination or MIDI tracks in a song, allowing you to create combinations or songs that use them in conjunction with the programs of banks INT-A–E, INT-G, and USER A–G."

Read more details
http://www.korg.com/uploads/Support/EXB ... 460000.pdf

apex · Post by **apex** » Mon May 10, 2010 5:22 am

could it at all be a usefull tool in gospel music though?

alland · Post by **alland** » Mon May 10, 2010 5:33 am

RADIAS-EXB seems to be very good for trance/dance and kind of similar music (leads, synt basses etc) I do not play much.

I use however some e-pianos and pads from RADIAS for contemporary worship style live playing. I do not think I would miss RADIAS terribly for playing gospel, but I also cannot say that I have got everything out of it.

orpheus2006 · Post by **orpheus2006** » Mon May 10, 2010 10:59 am

The Radias is Really A Damn Impulsive Analog Synth.

Read http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr06/a ... radias.htm
and listen to
http://www.korg.com/mediaplayer.aspx?md=3460&pd=262
http://www.korg.com/mediaplayer.aspx?md=3460&pd=262

cyphersuit · Post by **cyphersuit** » Mon May 10, 2010 1:13 pm

If you want it for gospel - not worth it, save your money! it's really made for electronic music.

What it does it, that you can build sounds from scratch, starting with a simple "beep" aka sine wave which you can then transform into a "sound".

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Mon May 10, 2010 2:12 pm

orpheus2006 wrote:The Radias is Really A Damn Impulsive Analog Synth.

Read http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr06/a ... radias.htm
and listen to
http://www.korg.com/mediaplayer.aspx?md=3460&pd=262
http://www.korg.com/mediaplayer.aspx?md=3460&pd=262

Nice links, and acronym. However as I tried to get across before, to call it an analog synth would be only appreciating about 10% of its capabilities.

It's also not just great for dance music. I program the module and would like to get some patches converted over to EXB. Particularly some really expressive electric pianos, really strange textures and pads, as well as all kinds of distortion and sweet analog sounds that you might associate with dance music.

In particular things like the electric pianos I've made can be considerably more expressive because they are continuously variable with aftertouch and velocity, not just two or three switched or crossfaded velocity layers.

Personally I'm into progressive rock, dance, and soundtrack music and it actually fulfils a large proportion of the sounds for all of these genres. Of course you might not find all these types of sounds in the presets. But it certainly goes way further than dance and typical popular electronic music.

That said, I don't really know what's involved in gospel music, but I imagine it might not be that useful in that genre if most of your staples are for example strings and organs (from what I gather)?

apex · Post by **apex** » Mon May 10, 2010 3:50 pm

brass, piano... yeah of the stuff that say the motif xs is real good at.

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Tue May 11, 2010 1:35 am

Hey X-Trade, got your email by the way. Been hectic at work and had a gig last weekend and another every weekend for a while but my weeks are freeing up again.

-Mc

tpantano · Post by **tpantano** » Tue May 11, 2010 2:51 am

orpheus2006 wrote:The Radias is Really A Damn Impulsive Analog Synth.

impressive instead of impulsive maybe? lol

orpheus2006 · Post by **orpheus2006** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:21 am

X-Trade wrote:I program the module and would like to get some patches converted over to EXB.

It's a pitty that KORG doesn't offer a conversion tool (or publishes the data formats at least).

tpantano wrote:impressive instead of impulsive maybe? lol

yep, maybe. insane, intriguingly, or idiosyncratically would probably also work

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Tue May 11, 2010 11:02 am

orpheus2006 wrote:
X-Trade wrote:I program the module and would like to get some patches converted over to EXB.
It's a pitty that KORG doesn't offer a conversion tool (or publishes the data formats at least).

I think a conversion tool would be very complicated. For a start the Radias rack has four-timbre programs where the timbre is part of the program, whilst the M3's EXB programs are in the typical KORG workstation format with separate programs going into combis, So a single program from the Radias could be either a single program on the M3, or a combi with up to four associated programs. And there wouldn't be as much sharing. Also the Radias has PCM waveforms which the EXB lacks - in exchange for more DWGS waves I think.

Also I don't think the M3 has an individual program/combi file format, only banks can be saved.

I get the impression the EXB would possibly be a more powerful synthesizer though because of the M3's more flexible effects routing and the EXB having more modulation slots, however I would actually miss the PCM waveforms on the Radias, despite EDS on the M3. Putting strings through the variable filter (and then polyphonic flanging with the comb filter) or EP, Organ, or Bass Guitar through the waveshaper offers a lot of fun. You couldn't do that on EDS or the EXB - not polyphonically anyway. You can do it using a radias timbre as an audio-in processor rather than a synth part. I think.

Anyway, there are enough differences to make a conversion program a fairly big job.

McHale wrote:Hey X-Trade, got your email by the way. Been hectic at work and had a gig last weekend and another every weekend for a while but my weeks are freeing up again.

-Mc

Thanks Mc. Its no rush but I am eager to hear how they turn out. And I get the impression there aren't that many EXB-Radias sets for the M3 so maybe we can set that right!

orpheus2006 · Post by **orpheus2006** » Tue May 11, 2010 9:39 pm

X-Trade wrote:I think a conversion tool would be very complicated. For a start the Radias rack has four-timbre programs where the timbre is part of the program, whilst the M3's EXB programs are in the typical KORG workstation format

Thx for clarification. Hm, there are more differences between the EXB-Radias and Radias Rack than I initially thought. Looks like the name and MMT chip are the only things they have in common.