Korg Forums

Greetings fellow enthusiasts!

I've only owned the M3 for a few months now, however as the time goes by it's becoming increasingly more and more apparent that upping the sonic power of this marvelous machine with a Radias board is the way to go.

In addition to Bobby Nelsons sounds there seems to be quite a number of programs/combi's that take full or at least partial advantage of this upgrade. I'd love to have the physical knobs to tweak and come up with new sounds on my own however at present I can't quite justify the cost differential between the Radias module or the version with keys and the EXB option.

1) In your opinion and experience how much does the Radias contribute in the following areas and how well does it do the job? Have you done any programming in regards to the below?

Spacey, Out there, Expansive
Expressive, Dense
New Age, Drones
Plush and Lush
Background/soundbeds
Textured layers
Gorgeous, complex, timbre evolves over time
Soundscape/trak quality material
Washes over and around and immerses the listener/player. Motion pans.
Classic Analog Pads that are suitable for chord progressions/chords held for a sustained period.
Timbre shifts, swirls and changes
Swept... filter decays and sweeps.

The above coupled with select instruments and choir is what I utilize to create and enjoy music with. Hence the nature for this inquiry.

2) I'd like to find the documentation online on how it's installed and a copy of the manual so it can be ascertained if the average user can do it themselves.

3) What are the types of sounds where it shines best (and the reverse)?

4) Does it add the capability to appegiate other than to use Karma's way of doing that?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how essential do you think this is to ones "arsenal" as it's relatively inexpensive and complements the M3 sound pallette. Are you happy with it and do you know of any prices under $299 which seems to be the universal price (almost) online?

Any comments, feedback, info or suggestions is appreciated.

Thanks a lot,

Bruce

I should have also inquired as to the cross compatibility, exchangibility & conversion potential of the sounds between the following modules and boards.

R3
EXB-Radias
MS-2000
MicroKorg
Radias/Radias R

Again, thanks in advance.

Bruce

Hi Bruce,

M3forever wrote:I should have also inquired as to the cross compatibility, exchangibility & conversion potential of the sounds between the following modules and boards.

R3
EXB-Radias
MS-2000
MicroKorg
Radias/Radias R

The MS2000 and microKorg can exchange sounds without any intervention. None of the others listed can say the same.

So far I've built a converter from MS2000/microKorg to Radias, but that is "alpha" and needs some further refinement. Converted sounds often need a little hand tweaking (the app gives you hints about that). I shared that publicly. One of the Korg voicing team did a fantastic job of taking MS2000/microKorg presets converted using my app and adding all the necessary polishing finishes.

Far more refined is my R3 to Radias converter, which I am on version 2 of. I haven't shared that publicly, but have shared all the sounds that I've converted using that on the forum here.

I would like to use some of the technology I've built to share more sounds for the EXB-RADIAS when I can get access to one.

Daz.

M3forever wrote: 2) I'd like to find the documentation online on how it's installed and a copy of the manual so it can be ascertained if the average user can do it themselves.

Check in the Operation Guide that came with your M3. It shows how to install the various EXB boards. As I remember you just remove a plate (4 screws) from the rear panel of the M3 module, mount the EXB-RADIAS with a couple of screws and attach a ribbon cable from the EXB-RADIAS card to a connector inside the M3. Then pop the plate back on and you're done. Many moons ago I did the same thing to install the EXB-MOSS into my Triton and it was a doddle.

3) What are the types of sounds where it shines best (and the reverse)?

I have the actual Radias and have also played with the R3, and as you can imagine from doing those conversions gained a great deal of familiarity with the engine. In my opinion and experience, it's a VERY flexible engine and is very happy to cover anything you want it to do. It's a hybrid of analog and digital technologies, has a very capable/flexible filter routing arrangements and oodles of modulation goodness (3 envelopes, 2 LFOs, 3 modulation sequencers) and the 8 way (6 way on the Radias) modulation matrix has been recently enriched with a whole bunch of extra modulation destinations. Funky extras like the Comb filter (great for plucked string emulations and other effects) and the waveshaper (can act as sub osc, decimator etc) add to the flexibility/creativity.

4) Does it add the capability to appegiate other than to use Karma's way of doing that?

I don't think the EXB-RADIAS, has the real RADIAS's step sequencers and arp, just the 3 modulation sequencers.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how essential do you think this is to ones "arsenal" as it's relatively inexpensive and complements the M3 sound pallette. Are you happy with it and do you know of any prices under $299 which seems to be the universal price (almost) online?

To me a sample based synth and a DSP based synth are the perfect compliments, the yin and the yang as it were. I had the MOSS board in my Triton, the EXi in my Oasys, so the EXB-RADIAS in a Radias strikes me as completing the picture. Just my taste obviously.

Daz.