A frined of mine lent me an R3 and I cannot figure it out.

Discussion relating to the Korg RADIAS, RADIAS-R and the R3

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Xerg
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Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:08 pm

A frined of mine lent me an R3 and I cannot figure it out.

Post by Xerg »

Hi. First allow me to apologize for my complete lack of knowledge. I have never used synthesizers before and I am having trouble figuring this out. I have no friends right now who can teach me and am having trouble finding good information online about where to even start learning this. I tend to not be a total idiot but this is stumping me greatly.

What I really want to know is whether or not I can program a loop into the synth and then play other parts over it? Is that possible or do I need some sort of other sequencer to do that? I have tried reading the manual and am apparently too dim to figure out whether or not this can happen!

Again, sorry for such a dumb question. I am also hoping that you can recommend resources for someone like me to learn from. I know nothing about this so very basic stuff would be great. Thank you!
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Eat-Static
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Post by Eat-Static »

Xerg wrote:What I really want to know is whether or not I can program a loop into the synth and then play other parts over it?
What you can do is a split. With a bass arpeggio on one half of the keyboard and a lead sound on the other half of the keyboard.

Example :Preset A-1 Hypnotic

If you want to layer more sounds than that you'll need additional hardware.

Eat-Static.
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Xerg
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Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:08 pm

Post by Xerg »

Thanks! I just tried that preset and it's totally not what I would ever use. I guess there must be other presets that have different splits? Can I find a list of them somewhere or do I just have to experiment?

Also, is it possible to create my own "splits"? That might be ideal. Of course, that might be a little overambitious as I have not yet learned how to edit sounds at all.

And can you recommend other hardware to use to loop? Or could I even connect it to a pc with Reason or Protools or something installed to loop there?

Another sorta unrelated question is that I'm a bass player and was wondering if it might be possible to plug my bass in and use the R3 sorta as an effect pedal? Or maybe just sample the sounds and make something with them?

I am embarrassed to be such a neophyte at this. I know these questions are very stupid but I generally learn music best by asking others around me for advice and then fiddling around rather than reading. I just really don't know anyone who uses synths right now. So thanks a lot for the help!
xmlguy
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Post by xmlguy »

Every program can have two "sounds", called timbres, that can be used layered together when you hit a single note, or can be used separately by assigning Timbre1 to the left and Timbre2 to the right of a split, and you choose the note where the split occurs.

Some presets use one timbre, others use two timbres layered, and a few have splits. Any of those timbres can be copied to either timbre1 or timbre2 of another program, so that you can create a custom split.

The easiest way to do this is using the R3 Editor Librarian software by hooking it up to a computer with a USB cable. You should download the latest version of the editor and the USB-midi driver, if you haven't already done so.

The editor allows you to easily create a program with a split by dragging and dropping any existing timbre onto another program, and easily creating a split point. Using the editor is also the best way to learn how the R3 works internally, by far. It's also much faster to edit programs and less confusing than menu diving on the LCD screen. The R3 is designed to be edited via the software, because it doesn't have the individual parameter knobs and buttons for editing sound, like the Radias has. The R3 inherited most of the synth engine of the Radias, but not it's physical layout.

For looping, I would recommend Ableton Live with a controller like the APC-40, or NativeInstruments Maschine.

Yes, the R3 can use it's effects on any input source. You will normally need to create a new program to do it that doesn't make any sound of it's own, and then just builds the chain of effects on input1 or input2. However, the R3 cannot trigger changes to the filter based on the level of the input, because it doesn't have an envelope follower. The Radias does have an envelope follower, so it can do an AutoWah effect, for example, that the R3 can't do. The R3 can be controlled with an expression pedal to control a wah or whatever effect parameters you want.
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