Ready to buy -- what would you do?

aerial7 · Post by **aerial7** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:48 pm

Rackmount or with keyboard, that is the question....

I have a very old Roland JV-80 that I simply can't let go of -- at least not yet; too many patches are too much a part of my sound. (I'm mostly a guitarist, so much of my G.A.S. is guitar-related.) The JV-80's 5-octave keyboard still works fine, and has aftertouch, but I don't relish the thought of configuring it to work with the Radias -- nor is it very portable, given its size & weight.

I love the look of the Radias with its keyboard, but someday I eventually want to have a Novation Remote SL as my controller.

If I don't get the RD-KB, I will then have to figure out how to mount the Radias....I think my only option is to buy another rackmount case. Shame you can't my the Radias with the tubular frame & tilting rackmount and all but WITHOUT the keyboard.....

What would you do?

gdh · Post by **gdh** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:52 am

the rackmount on the kybd would not work as a stand alone unit, might as well just buy the kybd as they are not very much $ anymore. I am glad I did and that was almost 2 yrs ago now.

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:36 am

Perhaps you should buy the R3 to get the basic MMT engine of the Radias, and since you have the JV-80, you can choose whether to use the R3 keys for leads, or the JV-80 as a midi controller of the R3 for it's full keyboard. With the editor software to build patches, I actually prefer the 4 assignable knobs with LED+LCD display of the R3 rather than all the knobs of the Radias. On the R3 you don't have to hunt for the right knob, since you can set up the 4 knobs exactly in the order you want for each patch.

rfoshaug · Post by **rfoshaug** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:43 am

gdh wrote:the rackmount on the kybd would not work as a stand alone unit, might as well just buy the kybd as they are not very much $ anymore. I am glad I did and that was almost 2 yrs ago now.

The Radias-R module that you buy with the RD-KB keybed is exactly the same as if you buy only the Radias-R.

So if you buy the Radias with keyboard now, you can remove it from the keyboard and use it as a rackmounted module later if you wish.

gdh · Post by **gdh** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:32 pm

I know this, the point I was making is that the rackmounting attachment on the kybd is not built to be taken off and use as a stand for the module, it is too flimsy for this. I have had no issues with the rackmount whatsoever but would not even think of using it as a base for the module to use instead of a proper rack.

slammah2012 · Post by **slammah2012** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:13 am

gdh wrote:I know this, the point I was making is that the rackmounting attachment on the kybd is not built to be taken off and use as a stand for the module, it is too flimsy for this. I have had no issues with the rackmount whatsoever but would not even think of using it as a base for the module to use instead of a proper rack.

If you want a stand alone stand, I recommend the old Alesis "BRC" stand

It rolls, tilts and is around waist high....

aerial7 · Post by **aerial7** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:46 pm

Thanks for the input.

The R3 makes a LOT of sense, but I generally don't like going for smaller siblings within a product line. And I'd swore I'd never go smaller than a 4-octave keyboard....

However, the R3 does have its own strengths. Some parts of the interface seem more inviting, and the R3 is far more portable (although the Radias isn't that bad). I guess my concerns are, what do I lose with the R3 -- in real-world terms is it just as capable? I guess the 2-timbre thing is my biggest concern, but effectively, how much of an issue is that for live- as well as studio-use?

(By the time you read this, I may have already ordered my Radias.....)

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:27 pm

aerial7 wrote:Thanks for the input.

The R3 makes a LOT of sense, but I generally don't like going for smaller siblings within a product line. And I'd swore I'd never go smaller than a 4-octave keyboard....

However, the R3 does have its own strengths. Some parts of the interface seem more inviting, and the R3 is far more portable (although the Radias isn't that bad). I guess my concerns are, what do I lose with the R3 -- in real-world terms is it just as capable? I guess the 2-timbre thing is my biggest concern, but effectively, how much of an issue is that for live- as well as studio-use?

(By the time you read this, I may have already ordered my Radias.....)

I've created several patches and I haven't used more than one timbre to do so. There is a lot of depth in the MMT engine that can be used to avoid going to an additional timbre, if you exploit it when designing the patch. I The R3 has only 8 poly, which may be a problem for some people, but not for me because I only use the R3 for leads/bass/pads/arps that are well within this limit, even when using unison reduces poly. Your mileage may vary.
If you intend to do huge multi-timbral pads, then the R3 (or the Radias) probably isn't for you, so the MicroX or X50 might be a better choice.

Have you looked at the X50? The Triton engine has a lot of depth too, and even though it's a ROMpler, it has all the basic waveforms with Pitch, Filter, Amp modulation for each OSC, and 89 insert/master effects. Much higher poly and timbres than Radias.

Next step up from the X50, in both price and capability would be the Roland Juno-G.

aerial7 · Post by **aerial7** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:35 pm

Wow....the Roland Juno-G would make a lot of sense as an upgrade for my ancient JV-80, and it seems I could get it for ALOT less than the Radias.....The built-in audio recorder could be very handy for me, and I'm already a COSM user because the heart of my guitar rig is the Boss GT-Pro.

But I dunno, I also could easily see me getting it and quickly concluding I hadn't really upgraded very far in terms of sound. And my JV-80 has been a bit of a mixed experience; the keyboard has been fine, the sounds I use still sound good, but the rest of the unit is nearly "dead" because the lighted buttons have almost all stopped working. That, and I just don't really want a ROMpler....

The VA synth in the RADIAS just takes me in a completely different direction, and would complement my JV-80 pretty well.

I just can't seem to talk myself out of the Radias. The sound, the ergonomics, the features -- esp. the vocoder, the styling, the whole deal. It seems there's nothing else like it, and not at its price.

The nearest thing is the R3, but I think I'll feel like I gave up too much....I've even realized that I could almost get the R3 WITH the Juno-G for the price of the Radias, but again, that still won't leave me with a Radias.

SynthAntonius · Post by **SynthAntonius** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:17 pm

You should consider second hand Virus (A, B, C or Classic) rack - I think most of them have vocoders

They are pretty cheap - and I'm so getting one, if I find one at reasonable price, that is! I saw Virus B @ 350 euro, but I missed it

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:31 pm

Well, since I currently have an R3 + Juno-G, I think I have a lot more capability than if I went with the Radias alone. These give you most of the Radias + Fantom engines, at a fraction of the price. I buy based on value, not just features. I would never be able to justify the purchase of a Radias, since I bought my R3 for under $450. I got the Juno-G for $800, and nothing else gives me those features for that price. The R3 and Juno-G are very different, but both sound great for what they are. I may upgrade from the Juno-G to the Fantom X6, but there's no way I'll exchange my R3 for a Radias, since I prefer the design of the R3 for my purposes.

aerial7 · Post by **aerial7** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:48 pm

Thanks for the thoughts, folks....I've decided to go with the Radias rack now and later I'll replace the JV-80 with the Juno-G (or whatever comes next).

All that's left is to figure out how to mount it for use in my studio and what sorta case I'll use for traveling with it. Ideally, those would be one and the same, but I don't want to get a full-size 4-U rackmount bag for the Radias given how thin it is.....

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:31 pm

Roland is now offering a $300 rebate on the Fantom-X6, making it a very good deal if you get it at a sale price + rebate.

aerial7 · Post by **aerial7** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:15 am

Just quick follow-up.....got my Radias rackmount about a week ago and am just thrilled with it. Didn't have 2.0 on it, and to be honest the presets weren't that great -- but I like the 2.0 set alot!

This is my first true synth, so at first I thought I'd just dive into creating my own sounds, but despite having a pretty good grasp of the concepts I've got zero experience and zero patience. So one day I just put everything aside -- the DAW, the manual, the synth programming books, the web, the guitars, everything....and put on the headphones and just got lost in the presets. What a blast!!! Song ideas were flowing as fast as I could dial up the patches....

The JV-80 is working well as a controller, for the time being, but I still need to figure out how to mount the Radias. Haven't found a rackmount case I like (esp. not for the price), and all of the tabletop racks are simply too big -- I don't need a 10-unit rack.....

Friendo · Post by **Friendo** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:06 pm

Fastening the module to two triangle shaped pieces of wood would work as a stand up thingy, I imagine. Maybe brace the two ends together in back as well, so as not to put any pressure on the front plate.

Just trying to help.