Korg Radias

Back in 2006, this synth burst onto the scene with Korg's MMT engine, blending virtual analog modeling, PCM waveforms, FM, and even formant synthesis for vocal-like tones—all in a strikingly angled chassis that could sit flat as a rackmount or tilt upright for hands-on tweaking.

Dual oscillators per timbre deliver nine waveforms on osc 1 (including saw, square, triangle, formant for vowel shaping via mouth size and position knobs, plus 64 PCM synth and 128 drum samples) and four on osc 2, with noise gen, unison stacking up to 25 detuned waves, and audio input options. Twin multimode filters (low/high/bandpass, 12/24dB/oct) run parallel, series, or side-by-side, fueled by three EGs, two LFOs (six shapes, tempo-sync), six virtual patches, and a mod matrix for deep routing. Hands-on controls shine with 16 step buttons for dual 32-step polyphonic sequencers (combinable to 64 steps), arpeggiator (six patterns), plus knobs for osc mod, filter cutoff/resonance, and assignable effects params. Up to four timbres per program mix leads, bass, drums, and vocoder, with 24-voice polyphony, 2-band EQ, two insert FX per timbre, and one master from 30 types like talking mod, grain shifter, or Polysix ensemble. I/O covers stereo outs, dual 1/4" plus mic/line ins, USB/MIDI DIN, pedal/footswitch; internal memory holds 256 programs plus templates for quick starts.

Players still dig its versatility for everything from gurgling basses to euphoric pads and crisp vocoders, praising the intuitive editing and librarian software, though some note the learning curve for its packed feature set.