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I was looking at SynthAntonius' post about the producer using what to my ear is definitely a virus. I wanted to open up a big fat question:

What will be the RADIAS' defining sweet spots?

There's been conversation about the VIRUS vs RADIAS but I don't think they need to be compared: we need to define the RADIAS as its own sound that will be just as easily identifiable as the VIRUS!

I love my RADIAS for the sheer tweakiness--I've found so many odd/great patches just by chaining mod sources and tweaking every knob. I've begun to realize several new timbres that I've found impossible to recreate with my microKORG (or the MS2000 for that matter), My Micron, any of the Native-Instruments softsynths, or my Little Phatty. It has a definite quality that I'm trying my best to fit into mixes.

Just a tip--use a low cutoff frequency and tweak the filter envelope then add a whole lot of drive and your mono leads will start to fill out and take on a nicer character (to my ear approaching the virus sound.) That's a good starting point. I think that there are so many RADIAS sweet spots that haven't been found yet because the presets exploited all the bells and whistles--almost too many at a time: every preset is its own song!

Get back to basics--imagine the RADIAS stripped of all the extras then start tweaking. Once this community starts sharing its own sweet spots, that's when the RADIAS will become its own extremely necessary synth!

I'm putting together a bank of RADIAS 'sweet spot' patches. If you've found any sweet spots let me know--I'd love to play around with them!
Maybe we'll be able to create another of our own forum-built RADIAS banks!

PS I just uploaded a new track on

myspace.com/fierlionmusic

'Beautiful/Useless' uses several of my new patches--everything is RADIAS but the obviously analog mid wah-wah bass (not the blippy square bass--that's RADIAS too) and the vox. It's not quite done, but there's some major RADIAS showcasing going on here!

The Virus has characteristic effects. The 6-stage phaser is particularly easy to recognise when you hear it on a track.

I'd definately say the Radias' Tape Echo effect is a sweet spot. Absolutely love it. You can really crunch up the sound if, after initially playing a note or two, you keep fading the feedback in and out just letting it take a life of its own.

One of my favourite sweet spots on all of Korgs gear is the Waveform Modulation of an oscillator, where it gently rocks between two octaves if you use an LFO to control it. You can use the effect for monster thick analogue brassy type patches. I even prefer this effect over and above unison. No other synth I know does it natively like a Korg. You can indeed program the effect on other synths, but you run into limitations and compromises (you can use only one oscillator as opposed to two, etc.), but with Korg gear (it's the same on my MOSS board too) you can have your cake AND eat it.

Undoubtedly one of the Radias' best trump cards is the modulation sequencers and step sequencers, although you wouldn't necessarily say "that's a Radias!" when you hear one, merely due to sequencing being so commonplace in pop music.

The Drive feature is a sweet spot I LOVE. I keep nudging it up until the sound becomes bigger than life - but hold off just before the dynamics go over and start decreasing - and I know I've hit the spot.

I would definitely make something with grain shifter effect... it seems useless, but you could do very interesting stuff with it, by modulating it's parameters. Random electronica madness

Vocoder rhythms would be also cool.

Comb filter is also something you don't see on every synthesizer (don't forget filter drive and morph filter)

I also find tape echo pretty awesome.

I have to agree that the tape delay is the most wonderful thing. Its my go-to effect before digital delay. I've been after nice tape delay for a while before I got the Radias anyway. it has such sweet saturation when you push it up and I usually have the wah setting in quite high (e.g. 40-60) at 0.17hz

Again the drive can really make it sound really big. And you can actually get a really nice analogue sound with large bass boost and usually around 20~34 drive. Allthough you will probably need the limiter effect.


Something else I use all the time is the ensemble effect, which just adds that nice extra fuzzyness. I would probably use that for processing too for example maybe vocals allthough I havn't tried that.


You can create some really interesting effects by modulating the Filter mix/morph with an EG.

and finally the 'pickup' waveshaper. Good alternative to the drive because it bites a bit more and is certainly more unpredictable! it can really add that hard edge and blend a few more harmonics into the sound.

Recently i've been making lots of thick, bassy, analogish, dirty sounds on the Radias. These will be on my patch library when I finish it (yes im still working on it)

SynthAntonius wrote:I would definitely make something with grain shifter effect...

Yes, the grain-shifter effect is an assured sweet spot for some very characteristic rhythmic splatter fx. Feed it a drum line and mess around with the parameters. It loves it.

fierlion wrote:we need to define the RADIAS as its own sound that will be just as easily identifiable as the VIRUS!!

I was listening to some of MCBudha's stuff today and if you go on his myspace and look at the songs Space Walk 11 and Metro Ride you can't help but say, "That's a Radias."

http://www.myspace.com/mcbudha

If one would call it the Radias "signature sound" or just good use of a preset is up for debate.

CharlesFerraro wrote:

fierlion wrote:we need to define the RADIAS as its own sound that will be just as easily identifiable as the VIRUS!!

I was listening to some of MCBudha's stuff today and if you go on his myspace and look at the songs Space Walk 11 and Metro Ride you can't help but say, "That's a Radias."

http://www.myspace.com/mcbudha

If one would call it the Radias "signature sound" or just good use of a preset is up for debate.

Please let sleeping threads lie. Please, create a new thread instead of posting to 2 year old ones, then merely link to the old thread to reference it.

xmlguy wrote: Please let sleeping threads lie. Please, create a new thread instead of posting to 2 year old ones, then merely link to the old thread to reference it.

Feels wasteful to create a whole new thread, like grabbing second helpings when you haven't finished whats on your plate. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with commenting on an old thread if its relevant.

I've been lurking through many of the older post so I'm up to speed on what's been discussed in these forums. Let me admit that reviving the 'scale tuning' thread was ridiculous as axxim pointed out for the obvious reason.

Topics like this can be finessed back to health, answering a technical question from over a year ago when the user has probably (hopefully) solved the problem since is a waste. Lesson learned.

I have to agree. A general ongoing discussion that has not been contributed to for some time is still relevant. It would clog up the forum creating a new topic when one already exists on it. for example, if someone were searching for 'Radias sweet spot', i'm sure they'd rather read one post than have to trawl through two or three.


on topic, I have to say the Radias cross modulation has a very signature sound to it, doesn't sound anything like that on the MS2000. For example Hayling - FC/Kahuna, I always think that the crossmod sound in the backing track sounds very Radias.

The problem is that going through pages of old messages just to see whatever you've added at the end is a pain. If you continue to do it, you'll just be ignored entirely when you're the last post, if that's what you want. If you open up a new thread, then nobody has to search through old messages to see yours, and providing a link to the old thread give access to the content for those who are interested.

iv found a few please check out www.myspace.com/projectradias let us now what you think

novac wrote:iv found a few please check out www.myspace.com/projectradias let us now what you think

Oh yeah I discovered that through some older posts, I like it!