Radias Step Sequencers and overall sound

paugui · Post by **paugui** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 4:54 pm

Hi

I am a lot into electronic / ambient music like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Vangelis, Jarre...

In order to do this kind of music I am needing a synth with a good step sequencer.
Would the Radias fill this gap nicely?

Also, how is it VA engine when compared to the Alesis Fusion, Roland V-Synth, Yamaha AN1x and Clavia (Nord Wave and Modular G2 mainly, which are the units I am thinking about buying) ones?
Would I get something new with the Radias?
And would the Radias sound be nice for the kind of music I want to make?
Also, is it possible to get good drum sounds out of the Radias?

Best regards

Paugui

KevHammer · Post by **KevHammer** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:41 pm

I'm more into the electronic / hard rock hybrid styles myself, but I'll take a stab at the questions. I think the step sequencers are great. I find them very flexible. You can have two separate 32 step sequencers, or one 64 step sequencer. And then you still have your arpeggiator available on top of that.
The biggest complaint I've read about the radias compared to other VA synths is that it doesn't sound as analog or authentic as the others. I suppose the others sound more like the classic synths, but the radias is more about being a new synth than trying to be an old synth. The fact that it has pcm waves available and lets you record phrases for the vocoder make it great.
I haven't used the drums much on it but they look like they could be good. There are several pcm drum samples and I think you can even make your own synth drum sounds to build your drum sets.
The best advice I can give you is go on youtube and watch all of the radias videos on there. It will give you a great idea of what is possible on it beyond what the korg execs think synth customers are looking for.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 12:10 am

Hi,
It sounds like we are very much into the same type of music. I Have to say that I saw Tangerine Dream in london recently and they were using a radias, amongst other things.

regarding the other synths you mention, I think the only one which I personally would choose over the radias is the Nord Modular, purely because it is much more flexible than many other synths. I learnt the concepts of synthesis with SynthEdit and you really can't go wrong from there - its like growing up with a modular... and now i'm always finding I want things that you can't get from fixed signal path synths like most VAs. But obviously it does take a lot more time and effort to program.

That said, I believe the radias has one of the most flexible sound engines. if you want to make something sound old, you can get close enough, but at the same time you can make something sound new and exciting.
The note step sequencers (and arpegiator) are lacking in that you can't change patterns on the fly (so they're not like the electribe pattern sequencers unfortunately), but they are polyphonic and flexible. as well as two of those you also have the arp, and three modulation step sequencers (per voice!! they can operate on poly key triggered if you like). you can also do nice wave sequencing with those.

four timbres is useful, although I believe now other synths like the access virus can have more timbres in a combi... and the drums are also good, because you don't have to rely on samples - you actually have all the parameters of a whole voice for each drum (and there are up to 16 in a kit). so you can use the two oscillators, the two filters, waveshaping, envelopes, 6 mod patches, etc... Not sure if you can use the modseq though. I'm certainly happy with the drumsounds I get out of the Radias.

My only gripe with it currently is that the filters have been annoying me, although I guess they just take a little getting used to. you can also make interesting sounds by placing filter one between settings (it is continuously variable between LPF...HPF...BP...) and finally the effects... It is a biy like having the effects selection from the triton or New M series, and you get two insert effects PER TIMBRE, so you can use those to further shape your sound, which is an important part of any sound. not just flange and chorus and reverb but compression, limiter, amp sim, distortion, bitcrusher, delay, ringmod, rotary... etc.

the radias is certainly great for ambient music. I know several artists using it including TG... you can get some great washes and swells and weird noises out of it, step sequenced bits, basslines, lush pads...
There are also lots of ambient sounds available for download including my own sounds, and some recently converted from the R3... and there are some others in the download section here too.

von haulshoven · Post by **von haulshoven** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 5:35 am

listen to my 20-03-2009 track the whole sequence is made in one (own made) radias patch and I tweak the sound while it is playback.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... =126175505

play loud

ps. the whole solo part is also radias, want to make berlin school music? buy radias!

paugui · Post by **paugui** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 12:20 pm

Thank you all for the replies.

I have tried to search for Radias on Youtube, but most of the demos I've found and to tell you the truth, which aren't that much helpful.

But I think after hearing Von Haulshoven demo I am totally sold to the Radias...
Which parts are from the Radias. All?
If not, what other equipment did you used, because that is exactly the kind of music I want to do.
Also, I think it sounded like Tangerine Dream in most of the song, especially like the era from Ricochet to Encore, which makes me astonished if you haven't used any other equipment, especially if you haven't used any analog equipment, because the sounds are really similar to the ones TD used during those times.

My only grip with it now is the fact that it is impossible to change patterns on the fly on the step sequencer...
Are you sure about this X-Trade? Is that it seems a bit stupid that isn't possible, especially since they the knobs are there...
Also, I thought on Von Haulshoven I could hear the sequence change.

Is that I don't have any groove box or drum machine so that I really need something that can have those functions and hence I wanted the Radias.

I am hopping to get a Nord Modular G2 too, which could have sequencer duties too, but since it has really amazing sonic possibilities I hoped to have another sequencer box.

One other thing that left me wonder is the Wave-Sequencing.
Is it possible to do similar textures to Wavestation with the Radias?
I don't really mind with the rhythmical ones, but the pad ones would be really nice to have available.

I think this is all for now,
Thanks for your replies and best regards

Paugui

P.S. - By the way Von Haulshoven, during the writing of this post I was hearing other of your songs and you have really nice stuff

von haulshoven · Post by **von haulshoven** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 12:36 pm

I used 2 korg radiassen, korg m50 (pads) access virus B keyboard for the strings.

To be honest the whole sequencer part is not a sequencer but.. the arpegiator from the radias

, played live on the keys but the result is the same,

You realy don`t need real analog for this music, I have a moog L phatty which I almost never use........
A little programming skills is enough when you have a radias.

radias and a nord G2 is a super set up.

paugui · Post by **paugui** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 3:50 pm

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Indeed the arpeggiator in Radias seems to be quite powerful.

However I was more into a Step Sequencer because it seems to me that it would be more visual the way melodies would be made up, which I was hopping the Radias would do too.

But about the changing of the steps in real time, I was looking at the manual of the Radias and they seem to refer that it is possible to change the notes, at least it is what I could get from the manual...

It would be great if someone could confirm if it is really impossible to change the sequences in realtime, because that is a major feature of the Radias to me.

If it is impossible to change steps in real time what is the advantage of having a step sequencer over the arpeggiator?

Best regards

Paulo Santos

RexRhino · Post by **RexRhino** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 5:00 pm

paugui wrote: But about the changing of the steps in real time, I was looking at the manual of the Radias and they seem to refer that it is possible to change the notes, at least it is what I could get from the manual...

It would be great if someone could confirm if it is really impossible to change the sequences in realtime, because that is a major feature of the Radias to me.

If it is impossible to change steps in real time what is the advantage of having a step sequencer over the arpeggiator?

The advantage of having a step sequencer is that it can sequence non-note parameters. For example, you could create a step sequence that controls the amplitude for a 32 step pattern for a bassline, do a keyboard split so that the bassline takes up the lower half of the keyboard, and then press note keys for the baseline, but have the step sequencer playing the rhythm.

Or, you might want to sequence something such as filter cutoff, resonance, noise (useful for percussion), etc. Also, the arp only does pre-defined patterns like up/down/alt-Up/alt-Down/random/etc. of the keys you are holding down, where as you can sequence any sort of pattern you want with the step sequencer.

KevHammer · Post by **KevHammer** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 5:33 pm

A lot of the great tracks I've heard from the radias without an external sequencer have been a combination of the step sequencers, the arpeggiator, and live playing. You can come up with some really creative ways of arranging things. Say you use one step sequencer for a 2 bar drum loop, but have part of the groove silent unless the mod wheel is up, then you have 2 drum grooves to use in your song. Then you set up a bass line and chord pattern with the 2nd step sequencer that follows the pitch of a note you hold with your left hand, and controls two separate timbers via a split. You can use the knobs on the radias to have just the chord pattern or just the bassline sometimes too. Then you still have a 4th timber left for a lead sound that you can play with your right hand for a melody and even use the arpeggiator on. You can make some pretty complex sounding stuff this way, and since you're still playing a lot of it real time, it's more fun than just pressing go and saying here's my song.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 6:14 pm

I haven't tried it but it would certainly be interesting to see if you can change step sequencer data on the fly. I know you can mute/unmute steps just like on the arp...
I will have a look when I am back (where my radias is) if you can change the step seq from the PC/Mac editor whilst it is running.

If so then I would be interested in working on a program to transmit SYSEX messages which change the step sequencers, assuming it can be done.

And I believe there is some confusion here -
The radias has two step sequencers and an arpegiator for note data,
AND also three per-voice MODULATION Step Sequencers (modseq).

basically the drawback I was geting at for the note step sequencers is that it doesn't work for example being able to step through different patterns like on the electribe song sequencer, but it is polyphonic, which is an advantage over the electribe sequencer (seeing as they made a point of how it is based around and an improvement of electribe, it seems silly that they haven't given us propper switchable pattern step sequencers).
But I'm pretty sure you will be able to reprogram patterns on the fly with sysex messages....

but you can also program melodic monophonic parts using the modulation step sequencer routed to pitch.

the advantage of step seq over the arp is that... well there isn't one - its just different. you can program a bassline or such that you can't create with an arp (as there is no 'as played' mode for the arp), and it can be transposed based on what key you trigger it with (but it won't change tonality, it will just be transposed by that number of semitones).

also, with the radias ARP and SSEQ you can set gate and velocity time per step (which is an improvement over for example MicroKorg).

regarding wavesequencing, you can make 'wavedance' style rhythmic things, but you can't really make the same evolving pads as you don't crossfade between the waveforms, it only steps to the next waveform in a more arpeggiator stacatto style.
but then you can use the modsequencers routed to other parameters to make evolving pads. and with the modulation step sequencers you can easilly change their values in real time using the 16 knobs at the bottom of the panel.

by the way, I was going to mention von haulshoven's music in my first post, but I couldn't remember how to spell his name!

sorry!