Is EXB-Radias a valuable addition to M3?

yeloop · Post by **yeloop** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 1:38 pm

Hi Guys,

I'm wondering how valuable the Radias card is as an addition to the M3...

For a few reasons I am looking at the M3 instead of Kronos, and while the M3 has some very nice synth pads I am looking for really analog-ey sounds that are modelled rather than just sampled.

My questions are...

1. Does the radias really add rich and thick analogue pads and leads to the M3, noticeably improving on the sampled leads that come as standard?

2. Will the 8 white sliders provide tactile control over the Radias for cutoff, resonance, etc - sort of giving some control similar to the knobs on the full hardware radias?

3. Does the radias card come with preset patches (combis and programs) that can be loaded into the M3 as a starting point?

Cheers and thanks heaps!
Mike

kimu · Post by **kimu** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:53 pm

hi mike, i have M3 with EXB-Radias.
imo it woths adding if you like to have a Virtual Analog engine and you are going to make some programming using it. if you are not into programming you can rely without problems on lead and pad sounds out of M3 engine.
anyway in radias-based preset you find some really weird leads and sounds:D

of course when you install the radias board it integrates completely with M3, so you can use sliders and the other physical controls.

and yes, there is a dedicated bank (F) for radias-based preset.

anyway you may also evaluate buying a stand-alone va or real analog instead of EXB-Radias...

iixorbiusii · Post by **iixorbiusii** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:28 pm

Mike,

What kind of music are you 'into' ? If you want to try anything remotely trance-like, then the Radias EXB is a very valuable add-on (for those massive Saw-type sounds and a lot more besides).

If you're a classical pianist or jazz-man, you can possibly live without the Radias EXB in my opinion...

I made a demo of some of my M3 combis here, making use of the Radias EXB for the trance sounds.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.sims ... Sept09.htm

Cheers.

iix.

yeloop · Post by **yeloop** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:47 pm

iixorbiusii wrote:Mike,

What kind of music are you 'into' ? If you want to try anything remotely trance-like, then the Radias EXB is a very valuable add-on (for those massive Saw-type sounds and a lot more besides).

If you're a classical pianist or jazz-man, you can possibly live without the Radias EXB in my opinion...

I made a demo of some of my M3 combis here, making use of the Radias EXB for the trance sounds.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.sims ... Sept09.htm

Cheers.

Hey,

Thanks heaps, I will check these out!!

I'm planning to use it mainly for pop stuff, originals for my band which has 70s and 80s influences... So I am looking for fat, warm analogue type sounds (both leads and pads). I'm interested in expressive leads that go a bit further than sampled lead patches.

Cheers and thanks again!
Mike

iix.

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:08 pm

OMG YES.

yeloop · Post by **yeloop** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:51 pm

McHale wrote:OMG YES.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, Mc Hale... I notice that you own a Kronos and an M3 with Radias...

I am trialling both (except the Radias card) at home at the moment (I have a very helpful music shop I've bought from for years!)... I really wanted a 73 note semi-weighted synth as it's my second tier (sitting above a Kurzweil PC3x)... it's mainly for synth pads and leads, and organ sounds. I actually prefer the warmth of the Kurzweil pianos to the Kronos, even though I am very impressed by the realism of the Kronos pianos with their resonance and cabinet sounds...

Anyway... the M3-73 is so tough for the road, with its metal end panels, and it's a fair bit cheaper than the Kronos 73. It's also much better for organ slides than a weighted action. With the change I can even pick up a Nord Lead, which I love for its rawness and the control knobs...

So... as an owner of an M3 and a Kronos, what would your thoughts be? Should I stick to the Kronos for my synth sounds and organs, or go with the M3 and then pick up a Nord Lead with the change?

I noticed that a lot of the patches on the M3 are identical to the Kronos's - you can tell the Kronos sounds are uncompressed, but really only when you have both of them side by side! That made me think that for synth duties, the M3 might meet my needs when paired with a Nord Lead for variety.

Anyway... interested to hear what you think!

Cheers,
Mike

gurn · Post by **gurn** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:05 am

I'm deciding whether to buy one or not.
I don't compose trance or house music.
I compose mainly orchestral stuff.

It's handy because it fits into my M3m.
But sound-wise I might be better off w/something else,
a Fantomas XR or Motif rack maybe.

What about arpeggiation on the EXB Radias?
Is that board good for an arpeggiator?
It would be worth it to get an arp w/the M3.

kimu · Post by **kimu** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:09 am

well then do not buy it, for orchestral stuff it won't give you any enhancements. for arpeggiator you have karma...

dumeril7 · Post by **dumeril7** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 3:05 pm

kimu wrote:well then do not buy it, for orchestral stuff it won't give you any enhancements. for arpeggiator you have karma...

Agree.

The EXB-Radias is all about synthetic sounds. I'm sure you could work it into an orchestral piece, but not as a realistic emulation of a traditional instrument. The EXB-Radias does not have a built-in arpeggiator per-se, although with some clever programming you can get the modulation sequencer to work like an arpeggiator (its actually a pretty cool trick). And of course there's Karma.

All that said, if you have even the slightest interest in virtual analog synthesis, the EXB-Radias is an absolute must-buy for M3 owners IMO.

To answer the original poster's questions directly:

1. Yes.
2. Yes, but obviously there are fewer controls than the hardware Radias. In my opinion its better for live control of sounds than for creating them from scratch, which is fine because the touchscreen interface is not too shabby for programming.
3. You have to download them from the Korg site. They're a good place to start, but IMO they don't give a good representation of what the EXB-Radias can do. You need to dive into programming the EXB-Radias in order to really appreciate its power IMO.

D7

madbeatzyo111 · Post by **madbeatzyo111** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:05 pm

To re-iterate what everybody said, the radias card is useful only if you plan to program; otherwise the included sampled VA sounds in EDS are pretty good if you're looking for analog-ish presets.

If you're looking to do orchestral, get the 256MB card instead.

iixorbiusii · Post by **iixorbiusii** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:41 pm

madbeatzyo111 wrote:To re-iterate what everybody said, the radias card is useful only if you plan to program; otherwise the included sampled VA sounds in EDS are pretty good if you're looking for analog-ish presets..

I wouldn't go along with that entirely - there are some very good presets included with the EXB Radias, which imo cannot be easily replicated in an M3 without an EXB Radias.

madbeatzyo111 · Post by **madbeatzyo111** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:55 am

iixorbiusii wrote:
I wouldn't go along with that entirely - there are some very good presets included with the EXB Radias, which imo cannot be easily replicated in an M3 without an EXB Radias.

You are right, there are some very unique presets included wiith the radias card. But I guess I meant that the presets alone are not worth $300USD if you don't plan to program your own sounds as well. In other words, I wouldn't recommend the radias card if all you're looking for is presets.