Zach Archer Blog Friend to analog and digital alike

4Mar/115

Dissecting the Korg Radias

The Korg Radias synthesizer was released in 2006, discontinued after a 4-year run, and seems to have polarized all its users. Some dismiss it as "digital crap", others hail it as a "future classic". Who is right? Are these people snobby analog purists? Is the other group Korg's minions, paid to drum up favor for this little silver beast?

5Jan/097

Synth review: The Head-Exploding FS1R

In 1998, the Yamaha Corporation unleashed a product that was convoluted and bizarre like no other: The FS1R Synthesizer.

Like the era-defining DX7, the FS1R is an FM Synthesizer, but it boasts a massive 8 operators per voice, compared to 6 in the DX. And the FS1R sports a new toy, Formant Synthesis, capable of mimicking voices, human and otherwise! Waves and formants can modulate each other in 88 different configurations. Top that off with LFOs, filters, on-board effects... It's so flexible, and so complicated. So much power.