Now that I have hooked up my computer to my Radias...

[X-Trade]

MIDI is a protocol that allows you to tell a synthesizer or other piece of musical equipment what to do.
It consists of messages along the lines of:
-Play note C3 at velocity 85
-Stop playing note D2 (at velocity 0)
-adjust controller 123 to value 21
-change to patch number 14
-tempo sync pulse
etc


It has nothing to do with audio. What you can do with MIDI is use a computer program to write a 'score' and send it to your Radias, at which point the Radias will play it! From there if you wanted an audio recording, you'd have to have an audio track open on your computer at the same time and have your Radias connected to the computer from its audio sockets to the computer soundcard's Line In (NOT Mic In) and be recording the resulting sound from the Radias at the same time that the MIDI track is playing back.
Some people who do a lot of playing and not much sequencing might just use their DAW's audio recording facilities and not use MIDI at all - just playing along with the synthesizer to what they have already recorded.


As far as patch editing goes, you can use the editor in which case all parameters of the synthesizer are laid out in front of you, you can drag programs around in the librarian section, you can even create a new library and drag patches from one to another.
But if you prefer not to use the computer for editing, then all of the parameters are still easily available from the front panel of the synthesizer. I've only touched the editor once or twice for editing and found it too difficult to switch back and forth all the time auditioning the changes etc.
You'd still have to use the computer editor to store your patches away if you want them on your computer to share or for safe keeping.

If you don't like some of the factory presets then don't worry about overwriting them because you can always get them back later, there is a built in functionality to restore an individual or all factory presets.

To move programs around just from the synthesizer... well you can't literally 'move' one.
But when you 'write' or 'save' a patch you get a prompt up asking you where you want to save it. Just turn the wheel or use the buttons like you would normally do to select a patch slot, and hit Yes. The patch will be saved over whatever slot you selected. Now you will have two of them, yes. But the point is that you don't have to overwrite the one you were working on. For example if I have a patch and I make a variation on it and want both, then you just 'write' it to a different slot when you've finished editing, then you'll have the original in the 1st slot, and the new edited one in the 2nd.

Keep in mind that most or even all synthesizers except maybe on the computer have a finite number of program slots. The Radias has 256 or 512 or something like that. When you've used them all up, the only options you have are overwriting them. Of course you can back them up on the computer beforehand.

Synthesizers, computers, software, etc are all essentially work tools. Each does certain things and has certain functions. There is no set way to use them, and it is up to you to figure out how to use them best. A good workman always knows his tools. And the best way to understand is to start reading and using them, and exploring the possibilities. One of the biggest barriers to understanding is believing that you are not capable. "I'm not very good at reading manuals", "I'm don't understand all this MIDI nonsense", etc. are only because you haven't tried to understand or apply the information to the real thing.

I often say the same thing about computers. They're very robust. If you're learning then experiment. You can't break it using any of the functions on it, they were designed to be used. At worst you might lose a few patches but the factory ones can be restored and you should have a backup of your own. It is not going to blow up or be bricked. If you read about something interesting in the manual or here then try it.

[xmlguy]

I don't want to initialize any instruments in the process! Isn't there some way to just bring a blank into existence as is, without overwriting anything? If I have to move factory instruments or custom instruments to my hard drive (if possible over USB), I would.

There is a backup copy of every default patch built into the ROM that you can restore at any time into the Flash memory that's currently in use. You can wipe out (initialize) any preset patch and get it back in about 15 seconds. All this is described in the manual, if you would read it. See page 69 and 116.

[Synthoid]

There is a backup copy of every default patch built into the ROM that you can restore at any time into the Flash memory that's currently in use. You can wipe out (initialize) any preset patch and get it back in about 15 seconds. All this is described in the manual, if you would read it. See page 69 and 116.

[Re-Member]

I don't want to initialize any instruments in the process! Isn't there some way to just bring a blank into existence as is, without overwriting anything? If I have to move factory instruments or custom instruments to my hard drive (if possible over USB), I would.

There is a backup copy of every default patch built into the ROM that you can restore at any time into the Flash memory that's currently in use. You can wipe out (initialize) any preset patch and get it back in about 15 seconds. All this is described in the manual, if you would read it. See page 69 and 116.

I remember one day I was curious to see how the "PRELOAD" button functioned on my R3 since I had never pressed it in the four years I've owned the synth. Found out the hard way that it automatically writes over the existing patch with whatever you select. Classic example of where I should have read the manual before messing with it.

[mastere]

Dear zalo,

May I ask why you decided to jump into the world of hardware if you were not able to understand software(which can be cheap if not free)?

I wanted to get the full experience. I wanted the big cheese, the real deal. The little programs that I've become accustomed to, Famitracker and pxtone, are only so strong and useful in the big picture.

And why you chose the radias?

Because it seemed like the most powerful device I could buy within my price range.

Are we just feeding the troll?

There was a time when I was young and I joined a forum about audio production. Because I didn't know much about the internet and audio itself, I often tried to be "mister tough and mature" and, quite frankly, childish.

But that is off topic. No, you are not feeding a troll. I legitimately want to use the power of my Radias as much as possible. So, I asked a forum.

What DAW are you using?

Earlier in the thread, I called it a notation program or a mixing program. Thank you for correcting me.

As for the question, no. I have no "Workstation" program that uses MIDI connectivity.

You are actively using all 256 current programs on the radias and therefore can not overwrite a single one, correct?

Well, I have 16 custom instruments and all the factory instruments. What I want to do, but don't know how to do, is make more blank instruments that I can mess with while not deleting anything in the process. I'm guessing I can do that by taking the instruments in my Radias somehow and putting them into a folder somewhere in my computer, right? I could overwrite instruments to make more of my own, I just don't want to.

What do you mean by "use my radias to it's fullest effect easily and properly"?

I wasn't meaning anything greater behind that statement. What I want to do eventually is use my Radias' capabilities to their fullest and do whatever I want to do on it easily. Though, as we all can clearly see, that isn't the case right now. So, again, I asked guys who knew what they were doing.

It seems like you know too much for how ignorant you are acting.

I tinker with my Radias. I play with my Radias. I see what is where, how it works, and how I can use it. (Other then Global stuff that I understand even less the the concept of MIDI.) What I want to do is do much, much more with my Radias then just create cool sounding instruments with it.

I don't mean to be dumb to the point that I deserve scolding. I just am in these areas. As I have been saying, this is all very very new territory for me. So, I sorta need somebody to hold my hand through it all. And, let me say it again, who better to ask then people who have been using all of their machine's features for years?


Sorry for the wall of text, I just want to get things clear that I'm not a troll and I legitimately need help walking through these "uncharted grounds".

EDIT: And, as you have probably all learned, I'm not exactly an avid reader. It's not that I can't read, it's just that I don't find reading instruction manuals very entertaining, if you know what I'm saying. I'll do that before I ask any new questions, OK? Again, sorry if I'm wasting anybody's time.

[DaniH]

Dear zalo,

May I ask why you decided to jump into the world of hardware if you were not able to understand software(which can be cheap if not free)?

I wanted to get the full experience. I wanted the big cheese, the real deal. Famitracker and pxtone are only so strong and useful.


And why you chose the radias?

Because it seemed like the most powerful device I could buy within my price range.

Are we just feeding the troll?

There was a time when I was young and I joined a forum about audio production. Because I didn't know much about the internet and audio, I often tried to be "mister tough and mature" and childish.

But that is off topic. No, you are not feeding a troll. I legitimately want to use the power of my Radias as much as possible. So, I asked a forum.

What DAW are you using?

Earlier in the thread, I called it a notation program or a mixing program. Thank you for correcting me.

As for the question, no. I have no "Workstation" program that uses MIDI connectivity.

You are actively using all 256 current programs on the radias and therefore can not overwrite a single one, correct?

Well, I have 16 custom instruments and all the factory instruments. What I want to do is make more blank instruments that I can mess with while not deleting anything in the process. I'm guessing by taking the instruments in my Radias and putting them in a folder somewhere in my computer, right? I could overwrite instruments to make more of my own, I just don't want to.

What do you mean by "use my radias to it's fullest effect easily and properly"?

I wasn't meaning anything greater behind that statement. What I want to do eventually is use my Radias' capabilities to their fullest and do whatever I want to do on it easily. Though, as we all can clearly see, that isn't the case right now. So, again, I asked guys who knew what they were doing.

It seems like you know too much for how ignorant you are acting.

I tinker with my Radias. I play with my Radias. I see what is where, how it works, and how I can use it. I want to do much, much more with it then just create cool sounding instruments.

Also, I don't mean to be dumb to the point that I deserve scolding. I just am. As I have been saying, this is all very very new territory for me. And, I sorta need somebody to hold my hand through it all. And, let me say it again, who better to ask then people who have been using all of their machine's features for years?


Sorry for the wall of text, I just want to get things clear that I'm not a troll and I legitimately need help walking through these "uncharted grounds".

EDIT: And, as you have probably all learned, I'm not exactly an avid reader. It's not that I can't read, it's just that I don't find reading instruction manuals very entertaining, if you know what I'm saying.

We're gonna take a quick commercial break and be back in a bit, with more of this interview.

[mastere]

Dear zalo,

May I ask why you decided to jump into the world of hardware if you were not able to understand software(which can be cheap if not free)?

I wanted to get the full experience. I wanted the big cheese, the real deal. Famitracker and pxtone are only so strong and useful.


And why you chose the radias?

Because it seemed like the most powerful device I could buy within my price range.

Are we just feeding the troll?

There was a time when I was young and I joined a forum about audio production. Because I didn't know much about the internet and audio, I often tried to be "mister tough and mature" and childish.

But that is off topic. No, you are not feeding a troll. I legitimately want to use the power of my Radias as much as possible. So, I asked a forum.

What DAW are you using?

Earlier in the thread, I called it a notation program or a mixing program. Thank you for correcting me.

As for the question, no. I have no "Workstation" program that uses MIDI connectivity.

You are actively using all 256 current programs on the radias and therefore can not overwrite a single one, correct?

Well, I have 16 custom instruments and all the factory instruments. What I want to do is make more blank instruments that I can mess with while not deleting anything in the process. I'm guessing by taking the instruments in my Radias and putting them in a folder somewhere in my computer, right? I could overwrite instruments to make more of my own, I just don't want to.

What do you mean by "use my radias to it's fullest effect easily and properly"?

I wasn't meaning anything greater behind that statement. What I want to do eventually is use my Radias' capabilities to their fullest and do whatever I want to do on it easily. Though, as we all can clearly see, that isn't the case right now. So, again, I asked guys who knew what they were doing.

It seems like you know too much for how ignorant you are acting.

I tinker with my Radias. I play with my Radias. I see what is where, how it works, and how I can use it. I want to do much, much more with it then just create cool sounding instruments.

Also, I don't mean to be dumb to the point that I deserve scolding. I just am. As I have been saying, this is all very very new territory for me. And, I sorta need somebody to hold my hand through it all. And, let me say it again, who better to ask then people who have been using all of their machine's features for years?


Sorry for the wall of text, I just want to get things clear that I'm not a troll and I legitimately need help walking through these "uncharted grounds".

EDIT: And, as you have probably all learned, I'm not exactly an avid reader. It's not that I can't read, it's just that I don't find reading instruction manuals very entertaining, if you know what I'm saying.

We're gonna take a quick commercial break and be back in a bit, with more of this interview.

Announcer: "Hey!"
Average Joe: "Yeah..."
Announcer: "Yeah you!"
Average Joe: "What do you want?"
Announcer: "You look like a composer of music, right?"
Composer: "Yeah! How did you know?"
Announcer: "I could tell because you have been humming that tune all day!"
Composer: "Yeah... I want to send it to an orchestra, but I don't have the money for that..."
Announcer: "Orchestra's? Where are we?!? In the 1800's? No way, man! You gotta get a synthesizer!"
Composer: "A synthesizer? But they look complicated and difficult!"
Announcer: "Not if you stick with moo- *static*


It was a joke! Korg forever!!!

Also, I like to humor myself sometimes...

[tpantano]

In order to save sounds, you need to overwrite something on the radias, or use the editor librarian available on korg's site to save sounds to a PC. you need to make sure you have preferences in the librarian set to send to the right USB device as well. From there, all you need to do is right click an init patch, choose receive, and save either the library or patch to your computer.

just to make sure, you know the difference between audio and MIDI right? I'm assuming you do, but I'll link this anyways:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=50987

And excuse all of us. We like to pick on people who don't read manuals, its our thing.

[mastere]

In order to save sounds, you need to overwrite something on the radias, or use the editor librarian available on korg's site to save sounds to a PC. you need to make sure you have preferences in the librarian set to send to the right USB device as well. From there, all you need to do is right click an init patch, choose receive, and save either the library or patch to your computer.

just to make sure, you know the difference between audio and MIDI right? I'm assuming you do, but I'll link this anyways:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=50987

And excuse all of us. We like to pick on people who don't read manuals, its our thing.

Well this tells me that I won't get the audio through my computer speakers. So, no need to fret about that.


Before downloading, I might as well ask, is the library user friendly?

Or, at least friendly enough for anybody to go in, do what they want, and then go out?


As for the apology, I understand completely. In fact, if I were in your guy's shoes, I'd do the exact same thing you are all doing!

[tpantano]

In order to save sounds, you need to overwrite something on the radias, or use the editor librarian available on korg's site to save sounds to a PC. you need to make sure you have preferences in the librarian set to send to the right USB device as well. From there, all you need to do is right click an init patch, choose receive, and save either the library or patch to your computer.

just to make sure, you know the difference between audio and MIDI right? I'm assuming you do, but I'll link this anyways:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=50987

And excuse all of us. We like to pick on people who don't read manuals, its our thing.

Well this tells me that I won't get the audio through my computer speakers. So, no need to fret about that.


Before downloading, I might as well ask, is the library user friendly?

Or, at least friendly enough for anybody to go in, do what they want, and then go out?


As for the apology, I understand completely. In fact, if I were in your guy's shoes, I'd do the exact same thing you are all doing!

I can speak on behalf of the R3 library, and yes it is.

[Blankman8503]

The Radias Library is just as friendly as the R3 library. If you can understand the controls on your Radias, you can understand the Editor. It is actually a little easier to use than the synth itself. You get easier access to certain parameters that you have to access through the menu on the Radias. V-patches for instance are much easier, for me at least, to edit in the editor than on the machine itself.

[axxim]

....And, as you have probably all learned, I'm not exactly an avid reader. It's not that I can't read, it's just that I don't find reading instruction manuals very entertaining......

From what I see at this thread, you are an avid writer and for doing this you must have read the answers

....I sorta need somebody to hold my hand through it all...

Supposing someone here will lead you by the hand to achive what you are thinking, it would take a lot of time and reading ( you make a question, someone replies, you read and try it, it maybe doesn't work or you didn' understood it well and then you ask a question again and so forth..) . Provided, someone will accept to go such a hard process with you, I think you will need at least 6 to 12 months and a lot of reading/writing to reach the average knowledge the users have here. So you may considere reading the manual first and then ask the questions then this will be the shorter and easier way, trust me.

You can connect the audio out from your Radias to your PC's audio in (soundcard) or directly to active PC (or Monitor) speakers.

You can use the sound editor (once the Radias USB drivers were properly installed!) to edit any sound directly in the Radias from your PC without overwriting nothing. If you reach a point which you think it is worth to be keept, just save it on your PC and continue with editing or create a new one.
While editing on the Radias and/or sound editor, all changes are only made on the actual selected patch (sound) and are tomporary until you write them. This means they get lost once you change the patch number or you turn the Radias off.
This is what the sound editor is best for, then this way you can save (and load) millions(!) of sounds if you want.

[mastere]

At least I didn't go on a big stupid rampage like I did when I was a little kid on 8bc...

Sorry for reviving a zombie guys, but thanks for hearing me out!

[dflan83]

It is strongly advised to read the manual here. I do believe its probably one of the best out there if not the best. The manual is clear and concise and guess what.. the manual is designed for someone who needs their hand held.

Not trying to be rude here or anything but thats why the manual is there. It tells you exactly how to use the radias/r3 with your favorite daw. It tells you even how to transmit the different timbres on a midi channel(s).

If the manual is not your thing then google never fails

[Morshu]

ur joke was funny lol. but i think you should stick with nord and korg they make the best stuff(although korgs not german) (and sadly, nord isn't either )