Korg RADIAS 

Thanks for giving this guy some love. I agree that it's been overlooked and a bit forgotten, but it's only really the presets which have aged badly. The feature set and sound quality still stand up pretty well. I keep finding new things it can do - like you say, it's deep, yet not difficult to learn. The sound engine covers the ROMpler meets VA type of vibe pioneered by the D-50, with some unique twists, but all the sequencing features turn it into a groovebox too, with a very useable, tweakable interface. It makes you wonder what we've gained since 2006 - more vintage-inspired synths, perhaps? We've had wavetables, FM and other stuff for decades now. I think the Radias is still an inspiring and competitive musical instrument, and it covers a lot of uses. It's probably the most versatile bit of gear I've used.

I’ve had mine for 14 years and it is pretty awesome. I even have the MA-T and MA-L hinge and tray for mine - rare stuff back in 2010, never mind now. When I’m done watching, I get the feeling I’ll be getting mine out again today. Edit: finished watching and whoa you really went into this! Nice! 14 years and there’s a lot I never knew! Guess I should get the manual out (if I can find it 😂). Great video!

I bought a Radias a couple of days ago and was scared that I will never be able to understand it. Thankfully i found this video and now I am so happy to have a starting point from wich I can discover this Wonderfull synth. I still have a lot to discover but now I have understand the philosophy of the multitimbrality of it. This is so powerful and give me the opportunity to make rich and evolving sounds. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

I love these deap dives... Thanks Tim. Best wishes for 2024 and may your ocean of synth knowledge never dry out! Cheers!

I still have my Radias, although haven't used it for a while. I really must fire it up again. One thing I noticed over everything else sound wise is the absolutely earth shattering Bass this synth can produce. The second thing I realised was that sonically it has an extremely powerful cut off and resonance. Great layout of controls too.

Tim, thank you for the great video as always. You keep highlighting some of my favorite synthesizers which I use and seem to be unsung heroes. You really explain these instruments in a very easy to absorb fashion. The Radias is a great synthesizer and the interface really makes interacting with it more musical since there are so many controls at your fingertips.

Korg M3 with radius card installed is pretty fantastic You get a triton and karma and most of the radius via the R3 card

This synth reminds me of my newly acquired Korg Wavestate due to the screen and the way sounds can be built up with 4 layers. The video thumbnail really got my attention for this vid. The synth really looks the part and sounds incredible. Great video as always Tim.

thank you for such a clear view of the Synth layout this will help me so much!!

Other synths come and go in my studio, my Radias stays. All these years. It is brilliant and inspiring. Great video, thank you.

A rather pleasant and mellow Sunday synth show, I recently re-acquired one last October(when a sell stings, this happens) and was planning on diving pretty deep on it as a new year's resolution, thanks for the sign I was on the right track!

Thanks Tim 🫤 - now everybody is going to want one

I bought the module for $450 on local classified last year. It was a fantastic deal because it was cheaper than what the MS2000 is usually selling for in my area. The synth engine is fantastic but the presets are laughably bad by today’s standards. So you need to like sound design if you buy this synth. Another drawback is that if you are on Mac, Korg no longer supports the librarian software so you don’t have any easy way to manage patches. On PC, the old librarian still work if I remember correctly.

The Radias was my first real synth (monted on a M3-73), and after all this years, it always please me to see people continuing to tinker with it, still finding after such a long time how powerful and capable he is. Thanks for that.

Thank you for putting out such an informative video on a true legend. I have always said that this synth is truly one of the greatest synths that still remains under the radar. The keyboard version is a true architectural masterpiece for its design and uniqueness. I own that version. I can easily get lost in the sonic wonders this thing can do and the controls are what make it a prize. One famous LA professional keyboardist who has been in the business for over 40 years told me he has moved on to only using VST's but kept one synth, the Radias! I asked him why and he said it was the only keyboard that he got sounds out of that he has never achieved in from computer software.

Thanks for this, Tim. As you and others have said - dated presets, but awesome programming capabilities. Your section on the sequencers have inspired me to dig in further. Cheers.

I had one..need to get another at some point. One tip: you can use the mod sequencers to change the sample played per step. This leads to a ‘poor mana’s wave sequencing’ effect. Also, don’t forget the tone control between the filter sections. That can be real fun!

Thank YOU! Your presentation is inspirational!

Tim, greetings from Berlin, i really have to say, your are giving away so much intersting insights, its alway a pleasure to see you at work, thanks for sharing, really learned a lot from you👍🎶🎹

Man, I wish the Blofeld had this many knobs... Great video, and I loved how it sounds with the LP filters. Didn't like the resonance much, bu overall it does sound fantastic.

Proud to own one! 🔥🔥 Thank you for great work! 👍

Thanks, Tim - a fine treatment of a fine synth.

I've been curious about this synth forever

so great to see/hear this................not only does it sound great and have interesting features, in a dark setting, those LED lights around each rotary encoder make it so incredibly easy to read - there were one of my favourite features in my old Radias...........

Very underated synth. I found one for $200 and I use it a few times a month.

Still have mine, and it's one of those synths I think I'll keep forever. Love it. I have the keyboard too (though only using the module at present) and just love the industrial design of that whole setup

Thanks a lot for your videos. Believe or not, I have spent the last 2 weeks watching videos of the radias as I have seen a second hand one for a good price, and yesterday....you just convinced me again (like with the Jupiter XM and the medieval guitar music lol) I going to buy it right now. Thanks!!!!!!

I'm looking forward to watching this I bought a Radias a few years ago and I have had some issues with it's main encoder but i know it'll give me the results i want after some repairs

Thank you Tim for this video. I am a proud owner of the Radias but due to space limitations it doesn’t get much installation time. When I use it it is often more enjoyable to play than my Virus TI 2. It is a real gem and your video will inspire me to spend more time with it again. I have been drooling over the Roland Fantom of late, but this will help tamp down my GAS for a while. Thanks.

Really enjoyed this, thanks - and also enjoyed eyeing off that XV-5080 in the background ;) I always wanted one, was short on funds at the time so settled on a JV-1010 with SR JV-80 02 Orchestra card. Which sadly meant I missed out on front panel editing entirely, and couldn't put my own waveforms in the front of Roland's JV/XP/XV synth architecture like I wanted to do with the XV-5080. More recently got a Fantom X8 cheaply to scratch that itch. Off to watch your Jupiter Xm video now :)

Tim: here's a really cool, underrated mid-2000a digital synth. Me: That IS really cool, but I already have an Access Virus so I don't need that. Tim: This does NOT say the "C word". Me: Yes it does, and now I need it!!!

Bought my Radias in 2005. Still finding things about this synth. Some great sounds on this synth. Still using it. Great review. I also have a Yamaha SY85 synth/ Workstation. Again another underrated overlooked synth. Some great orchestral sound on this one. Richard

always wanted one, beautiful symth

Thanks Tim! First for a great and very thoughtful video and secondly for increasing the used price of my Radias by about £300 overnight 😁not that I would ever sell it though. I have had it since around 2008 and in that time, many highly regarded synths have come and gone in my studio but the little, unassuming Radias always remains thanks to its unique capabilities. On a side note, the Korg software editor still works for me even under Widows 11.

A beautiful synth, both sonically & aesthetically. Bought it twice & also had the R3 (the lite version) for a few months, years ago. Used it extensively on multiple projects, including many library & licensing tracks. Powerful engine, Glorious sound & pretty easy to use.

Thanks for giving the Arpeggiator a room here. Modern Synths have less and less arpeggio functionality like it is implemented in the Radias (Novation Supernova is similar and have even 8 Arps in parallel).

Used to have one of these loved the on the run patch, as I remember I had a keyboard to go with it.

❤Tim! Happy New Year! I'm very glad that you reviewed the Korg RadiaS, although it really could have been a review of almost any synthesizer of those years (I think you said 2006). Maybe synth mastadons like KORG will watch your video and remember what amazing results they achieved in 2006, and how much they have moved forward today? And in my opinion, they have even rolled back far.

Ignoring the PTSD-triggering 19" ears (I'd _never_ go back to the rack! 😱) that's a pretty amazing synth. ❤

I've had my R3 ( about a third of a radias) for almost a year now, bought it used in very good condition. I have a faderfox mx12 controlling it so I can program virtually with knob per function. Even though it doesn't have as much timbral flexibility as the radias, I mainly got it for the variety of features I cannot get in other synths, namely the recordable vocoder ( which I use to record wavetables into a speaker pushed into the mic, to get very cool bass pads) , and the cross mod. but also you can actually run a mod sequence and use x mod or vpm at the same time, which, once i figured this out i was kind of shocked that I could. The other thing I love about the R3 is being able to wave sequence different dwgs sounds together. Although the smooth function is nothing like wavestate's crossfading smoothness, with some filtering i can cover some of that. I actually really like the unique setup of its arpeggiator, and another favorite are the two input jacks which I have connected to three other desktop synths, my audiothingies micromonsta, my anyma phi, and I have a 1010 music nanobox lemondrop granular synth connected to the phis audio input. The main reason I got an R3 instead came down to affordability at the time. And I liked having the vocoder mic to be more immediately accessible as I have made a good amount of vocoder sounds with it so far. The gate per step and the extending sequence length on the radias is a really nice feature though Great video!

Your opening statement is SO true!

I recently dug this neglected old synth out from under the bed and have been trawling through its manual instead of buying something new. Would you believe, since buying it in 2006 I've only fiddled with it a handful of times. So this video has come at a great time and been something of an eye-opener and vindication. You seem the sort of chap I'd like to share a brew with someday, but in the meantime, have a beer on me and good work sir! 🍺

I love the architecture of this synth, it makes it so fun to explore. It doesn’t fit with my music, but I haven’t sold it because it is fun to use it, and no other synth I own gives me the same.

Sadly missed out on one of these for cheap years back because I'd just bought my first synth--a Korg R3--and told myself I couldn't justify the Radias. Too bad because I love the R3 and can only imagine how much you could do with 4 timbres, 3 motion sequences per timbre and those effects!

I have a radias and love it. Wish it had more polyphony but powerful. There is also software to edit. I learnt a lot from your video and you made some cool patches too

Wish they would add Radias to their Vst Collection or remake it in HW with 3 Analogue filter modes Minilogues 12 and 24 Pole filter + Prologues 12 Pole filter.

That EP sound with the pad was quite beautiful

As an MS-2000BR owner, I’ve always had my eye on this one. Learning to patch that synth was VERY DEEP and this looks to be even deeper. I totally agree that you must LOVE to patch to get the value of this synthesizer.

I have the Radius card in my M$, and I love it. It is a great synth.

Mine too, it's the standar synth when i jam !

That was a great demo Tim, thanks 😁, I’ve never owned one but agree with you 100%..., seems an interesting & deep synth ...thought about getting one a LOT🤔, I like a lot of this synths aspects but unfortunately I’m one of those who just dosent love it’s analogue emulation/filters that much. ( I guess I was naively hoping Korg would realise what they have and bring out a mk2 version). Doesn’t take anything away from the brilliant original though...

Great video. Thx

Love it! The interface and philosophy of usage is a little bit different than modern synths but possibilities are quite impressive. I bougth mine a few months ago and I am still learning of it... and you are right - building your own patches is a key element with this synth (especially if you want to use it for ambient/atmospheric music as I do).

I love how you mentioned connecting with an instrument because that's exactly what it is, a kin too a relationship. Get to know your partner, what they like doing and also not.

When I got mine there was a edit program that allowed you to program the radius from your computer.. and even load all the sound banks from Korg’s little brown synth that had a vocoder too. Unfortunately that doesn’t run on my later computers..I wish they had updated that program.❤thanks for this return to Radius..

I always liked and wanted a RADIAS. Just never got around to getting one.

The filter cutoff parameter is actually tuned to MIDI note number. So an increment of twelve brings the cutoff position up an octave. I believe 63 is middle C. Check the manual or simply try it out for yourself! 28:36 The Radias-EXB card for the M3 provides the MMT engine with eight virtual patches which is nice little upgrade.

I have one, just lying there. I bought it about a year ago for $600. Placed it in the rack and forgot about it until last week I power it up and started to play with t... On my God!!!!! It is not an Access Virus but it rocks the house! It sounds amazing. It has these digital sounds like a Roland JD-800 and these thick analog sound as well like a good Korg. It is totally worth it.

Im glad to see someone too uses Alesis HD24😎

Hahahaha! Your face when you play the patch at 8:10 ... hahahaha! It reflects pretty much my face when I heard this patch! 😅👍

I have a Korg Karma and always wanted to get one of these. Maybe someday

Nice spotlight on a quality machine, though you left parts of the synth unexplored (pt 2 perhaps?). The Amp section with its wave folders, punch, pre and post filter drive options, sub oscillators is an important ingredient for brewing magic sauce. Also the VPM (fm) oscillator section gets gnarly. Of note is the "original value" led that allows you to quickly dial a parameter to its saved value that has been a Korg staple since the OG electribes. Simple but effective. The effects per part are Virus TI levels of practical. Definitely a secret weapon of a synth. Rate it well over MS2000, though I wish it had some of the oscillators from the Korg Z1, which is equally worthy, though more obtuse.

I have two of them and and an M3, really great Synths...

Tim, I totally agree with you, that the sound of a synth can be "carbon dated" so to speak... and like you mentioned, the factory sounds often or always will start sounding cheezy after x number of years. Some years ago, I was looking for a good midi controller keyboard (73-76 keys), semi weighted with aftertouch but there are non available so I thought, why not just get a decent old synth instead and found a Korg M3 with 73keys which included the Radias module as well as a Radias Expansion card within the M3... so I got the M3 with two Radias synths 🙂 At first I thought the M3 sounded awful (The factory sounds) but starting to create my own sounds discovered that it actually sounds absolutely amazing. So, it turns out the M3 still can sound really good and the same goes for the Radias.

Hey Tim. Great vid as always. This synth sounds great for its time. Loads of features. What is the grey/blue unit with the large screens in the wooden rack to your right? Also are you on any other socials as I'd like to follow if you are? Cheers. 👍

I ran a synth department at a music store 2006-2007 and was always obsessed with the korg radias whenever I had time to play with something.. because I was working in a music store I was always broke so I never bought one. I did create a reaktor ensemble called kradias in the user library that took the things I really loved from it.. 1. Morphing filter like an oberheim (I now have an ob6 but being able to motion sequence was what was so awesome), 2. Motion sequencing... watching Tim's video is making me think what it's missing is the formant filter as that is a big part of the sound options I wasn't considering, and I'm also thinking it might do vocoding from one layer to another as well? I do have korg wavestate as I'm obsessed with motion sequencing (which it does along with wave sequencing) but i wish the op6 which I also have had motion sequencing. I still think of buying this sometime but worry what the life remaining on a digital synth of this era is. I think I'll open my reaktor patch and try to incorporate a vocoder, a formant filter and a sampler (something I forgot was key to a lot of those sounds as you could use samples basically as an attack or something for synth sounds, not just the simultaneous running drum loops which doesn't matter much to me). Now Tim has me wanting a radias again and I'm going to look at reverb... anyone have any thoughts on lifetime of this era of digital synth for the rackmount? I may be better just bolstering my reaktor patch based on tims observations and map it to my knobs on komplete kontrol

I tried to get a thing going to troll Korg in to releasing a Radias 2 by getting people to email them asking when it was going to be released.. couldn't get enough people on board but I seriously think it would work.

The fun really starts when you record into the mod sequencers by twisting knobs in real time! Parameter-locking at its best...

its one of the best synths ever. At one point i had the midi thru going to an analog synth that went back into the radias audio input , this opens up crazy possibilities , not only for the on board effects but you can do some clever modulations. As far as the presets go I HATED THEM ! LOL But man is it a fun and deep synth ALSO the drum sounds that are on board are very usable and tweakable !!!!!

I owned it. Enjoyed it!

When I first shopped for synths I didn't know what I was doing, so I ended up with a Microkorg XL. I would have been much happier with a Korg R3, MS2000, or even the original Microkorg, but I didn't realize how important it is to have a good interface for editing patches. The XL had a decent engine inside, but the interface made it impractical to actually do anything with it.

I had a rack version of this. Didn’t have it long. Seem to remember it sounded very thin. One thing I do remember was the knobs were so close together it was a real fiddle sometimes.

In 10 years I used mine mostly as a vocoder. I never used *any* of the presets and rarely as a synth. I learnt a lot abut its possibilities from your video. Thanks a lot.

100% agree with you about the Radias being underrated. I have one with its own keyboard kit and use beside the JP-8080

My first synth was a Korg R3, I always regretted not spending the extra money on a radias.

Nice video I want one now and I had suspicions the radius was as good as your showing here I thought it was one synth engine and not 4 layers

Instant Tangerine Dream that made my day,lol.

The Radias and most other VAs never really could touch the Nordleads/modulars. The Clavia stuff just sounds so much better. This one has the looks for sure.

"You can basically date any synthesizer" - What the heck. This is getting interesting. "... by the factory presets" - oh. OK.

Boy, that filter’s a real CNT!! 😏

The access virus gives me the same nostalgia So many used presets

im a sucker for these kinds of digital synths. i like my Virus TI. i would love to have more of these 90s and early 00s digitals like the Supernova. radias is weird though... they have this kind of sound... this one sounds Very good.

Good one, Tim. Most everyone can get on with the MS-2000 layout, having likely at least used a microkorg at a time or another. I like that as far as the VA, step-sequencing and PCM go, it's sort of almost smack-dab in the middle between an MS-2000's (got one here for about 20 years) architecture and an OASYS (only briefly encountered i'n the wild', didn't play it), . 24 voice, is it? The O is vaster by 10x, but outside of film scoring how much one would use of this sort of synthesis at any one time is hardly less than half of what the O offers of each method.

Great video, thank you. I have lusted for this synth for years as it is the follow up of one of my fave synths, the korg ms2000. I wanted to like it so much, but i couldnt. I really dont like the sound of the filter and another aspect that got me scratching my head is that it does not have a legato mode. How does a 2006 synth lacks legato??!?! After several years of having it on my studio, i trade it for a virus ti snow. I lost some money in the process and now, after seeing your video, i kinda miss it.

traded quasimidi polymorph to get my radias when i was broke - software editor is awesome

I remember, while working for sam ash music in ny, selling it. But for myself, i decided to aquire an open labs NEKO64. And then added a Radius. It was a return. Couldn't pass up on a good deal. Plus my boss threw in a DAT recorder.

The synth shares a lot of similarities with the Korg Wavestate: the 4 timbres, the multisample PCM samples, the keyboard ranges (called scan on this synth), the modulation sequencer and arpeggiator, the way the envelope generators and LFOs are both hardwired and freely assignable. But there are interesting differences too and they are not always in favor of the “latest synth”, this has 2 oscillators whereas Wavestate has 1 per part, this can act as vocoder, this has dual filters (Wavestate only 1j, this sequencer is polyphonic rather than monophonic. The Wavestate has some pluses too of course: step swappable samples, modulatable start and end points of the sequencer lanes and independent lengths, macro knobs, key quantization of pitch transpose. But I think I would quite enjoy the radias.

Review excellent. Bit of a dumb question but do you know if it will take OG microkorg patches? Got a great sound set that I use and I’ll be happy to transfer it over if that was at all possible

An Amazing synth very sort after now especially if you can find the complete set including the. Retro aluminium stand and keyboard incredible motion sequences and fantastic analog engine but you must be prepared to dive in work and experiment if they built them now it would cost a great deal of money to manufacture think several iPhone 14s worth of materials alone it’s mind boggling and this will stand out as being a milestone Synthesizer

Unfortunately, my comment was blocked, probably because it contained links to a demo and some Radias tools and sounds. Well, I wanted to point out that there is an editor for PC and Mac which makes it easier to program, manage sounds and visualize its many features on the manufacturer's website

I think the trick to getting the most out of the 3 sequencers is to slow everything right down then possibly play live or have the notes externally sequenced with another sequencer. I have played around with my Minilogue XD and used 30 BPM to get brilliant results for the motion sequencing. Given they're always and only 16 steps, it helps to slow everything down to almost a halt to get better variations. Thx for the upload, reminds me of a JD Xi but with a much better UI. 1 q, are the individual outs stereo or mono? I can see 2 pairs of stereo outs, do they act as 4 mono when tracking each individually? Would be a bit of a shame considering how well the synth behaves with the stereo imaging, that's the beauty of this synth imo.

One of these is selling for 800 near me and I got to mess with it today and holy shit I’m in love but have already well exceeded my gear budget for 2024

This was the very first synth I bought, back when I knew virtually (pun intended:-) nothing about synthesis, but knew I wanted to get into it. Unfortunately it got fried during an OS update and couldn’t be repaired. Now after seeing this I’m thinking I might try and find another one.

This is well timed as I am trying to sell my Radias 😀

Great video! Quick question, what’s the white synth behind you??? Looks like a Oberheim 2 Voices but with more keys!

I blame Dave Rossum and Timbaland for formant filters being the hot thing in the late ‘90s. And for them putting a bunch of similar patches in the Planet Phatt / Mo’Phatt. But maybe I need to blame Cher for the Kaoss Pad and Radias. 1993 E-Mu Morpheus = 23 formant filters 1996 Ginuwine - Pony (Timbaland used the Morpheus) 1997 E-Mu Planet Phatt 1997 Boss SP-202 1998 Yamaha FS1R = FM + formant filters 1998 Cher - Believe = autotune 1999 KP1 Kaoss Pad 2001 Boss SP-303 2002 microKORG 2005 SP-404 2006 KP3 Kaoss Pad 2006 Radias

Funny, I’m listening like it’s a college course (gonna be rested later). I don’t own one. Tim, this kind of makes the case (Certainly in the mix, like a hit song), that whatever synth a person has on hand (that has sorta similar features to Zebra 3, oops, another year and 3 is not out), Zebra 2, would do…plenty well. So why do I have 200+ soft synths and counting? I don’t know.

I kinda miss my Radias. DARN IT!!!! One day, I might consider replacing it with a Wavestate or something similar, if I don't get a GrooveSynthesis 3rd Wave. I admit, the filter on the Radias is nice.

Hi Tim! HNY and thanks loads for the excellent videos! Was just wondering... what is the white synth behind you? I thought it might be a white face System 8 but it's got 5 octaves... hmmmm puzzled....

HARNESS THE POWER OF RADIAS!