erratic behavior by my Radias

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

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Marco Savante
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erratic behavior by my Radias

Post by Marco Savante »

One of my Radiases (Radii?) is exhibiting weird behavior. No matter which page I'm on in edit mode, at some point (usually sooner rather than later) the instrument jumps to the Filter2 page and begins self-adjusting the Resonance parameter. No matter what value the resonance is set at, it will jump to 45, or 50, or 55, and keep jumping around in that area. I can reset it to zero, for example, and a minute later it has jumped back to 55 again, or something like that. And it's not just the display, the sound changes accordingly too.

Even if I'm not in edit mode, this will happen. I suddenly notice a change in the sound and if I check the Filter2 page, the resonance parameter has changed itself. There may be other spontaneous parameter changes going on, but the Filter2 Resonance one is the most frequent and typical. This is very annoying, to say the least.

Does anyone have any insight into what might be happening, and how I might go about fixing it?

I would like to try a full factory reset and see if that might help. But I haven't been able to find any instructions on how to do this on the Radias. If anyone knows, please let me know how to proceed.

Thank you!
Korg OASYS PCI; Korg Radias; Korg M3; Korg Z1; Korg MS2000BR; Kawai MP11; Kawai MP5: Doepfer R2M; Ribbonium, and much more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX1fHKsjwaA
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X-Trade
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Post by X-Trade »

It sounds like the resonance knob may be dirty or otherwise jittering (i.e. loose ground, worn potentiometer track).

You can get around the problem somewhat by turning the page 'jump' off in global settings, but the parameter will still be adjusted. 'Catch' mode also helps prevent this somewhat because the value won't change unless it passes the set value.

The best solution would be to get it fixed by someone with some experience in hardware maintenance. Could just need a bit of contact cleaner or re-soldering, or replacing.
Current Gear: Kronos 61, RADIAS-R, Volca Bass, ESX-1, microKorg, MS2000B, R3, Kaossilator Pro +, MiniKP, AX3000B, nanoKontrol, nanoPad MK II,
Other Mfgrs: Moog Sub37, Roland Boutique JX03, Novation MiniNova, Akai APC40, MOTU MIDI TimePiece 2, ART Pro VLA, Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.
Past Gear: Korg Karma, TR61, Poly800, EA-1, ER-1, ES-1, Kawai K1, Novation ReMote37SL, Boss GT-6B
Software: NI Komplete 10 Ultimate, Arturia V Collection, Ableton Live 9. Apple OSX El Capitan on 15" MacBook Pro
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Rosen Sound
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Post by Rosen Sound »

As X-Trade said, it may be as simple as contact cleaner or replacement of the knob. Turning off Jump mode will also alleviate the pain. In my experience owning a radias, contact cleaner only helps if you have a precision applicator. Power washing usually helps too :)
Let me know if I can be of assistance.
<a href="http://www.rosensound.com"><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/365 ... r.jpg"></a>

Current gear: Korg Kronos 61, Oberheim OB-8, Alesis Vortex
Past Gear: Triton Extreme w/moss & ram, Korg Radias, Kurzweil Micropiano, Triton classic, & Karma
Come visit my Burbank California repair shop/recording studio! Rosensound.com
And my band: Sirion.us.com
Marco Savante
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Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2014 12:42 am
Location: Deep in the woods

Post by Marco Savante »

Thank you X-Trade and robbinhood for your helpful responses. They give me a better idea of what's likely to be going on with the Radias. I hope I'll be able to manage the problems. It sounds as though turning off the Page Jump function would prevent the page from jumping, but doesn't really get at the problem of the parameter changing its value. Changing the "catch" function seems to have the better probability of preventing unwanted changes.

Best would be to have the hardware serviced and fixed, but I live in a remote rural area and I don't know of anyone anywhere accessible who could manage the repair. I've done some minor repairs to some of my synths in the past, and if the Radias becomes unplayable maybe I can give it a try. I've never been inside the unit before.

I love the Radias and I think it is a very powerful and capable instrument that has often not been sufficiently appreciated. I never got along with the factory presets, but once I started programming it in some entirely different directions, I discovered what a wonderful instrument it is.
Korg OASYS PCI; Korg Radias; Korg M3; Korg Z1; Korg MS2000BR; Kawai MP11; Kawai MP5: Doepfer R2M; Ribbonium, and much more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX1fHKsjwaA
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Rosen Sound
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Post by Rosen Sound »

If you feel like shipping it to me I would be happy to have the repair done at a reasonable rate. Pm me if so.
<a href="http://www.rosensound.com"><img src="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/365 ... r.jpg"></a>

Current gear: Korg Kronos 61, Oberheim OB-8, Alesis Vortex
Past Gear: Triton Extreme w/moss & ram, Korg Radias, Kurzweil Micropiano, Triton classic, & Karma
Come visit my Burbank California repair shop/recording studio! Rosensound.com
And my band: Sirion.us.com
teka
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Post by teka »

Restoring the factory settings
------------------------------
p69 of Owner manual or p6 of the easy start guide

Not easily found in the OM because no index and not listed in contents!

To reload the factory data…
1. Press the GLOBAL key then using the PAGE - and + keys, advance to Page 3 of the Global Menu, “PRELOAD”.
2. Turn the PROGRAM/VALUE wheel to modify the “Load Data” request. You can load “All Data” at once; or choose to load a single Program to any destination, not just its original location.
Marco Savante
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Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2014 12:42 am
Location: Deep in the woods

Post by Marco Savante »

teka wrote:Restoring the factory settings
------------------------------
p69 of Owner manual or p6 of the easy start guide

Not easily found in the OM because no index and not listed in contents!

To reload the factory data…
1. Press the GLOBAL key then using the PAGE - and + keys, advance to Page 3 of the Global Menu, “PRELOAD”.
2. Turn the PROGRAM/VALUE wheel to modify the “Load Data” request. You can load “All Data” at once; or choose to load a single Program to any destination, not just its original location.
Thank you, teka. I did find this and did the re-load, but it didn't solve any problems which are most probably related to physical issues with the pots, as discussed earlier in this thread.

Also, I'm not sure if simply re-loading the factory program presets is the same as a full re-initialization of the machine, which is what I would like to try. Usually this procedure involves holding down some specific key combination while powering on the machine. Is there any such procedure known for the Radias?
Korg OASYS PCI; Korg Radias; Korg M3; Korg Z1; Korg MS2000BR; Kawai MP11; Kawai MP5: Doepfer R2M; Ribbonium, and much more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX1fHKsjwaA
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