MusicRadar

The gooseneck mic is included as standard.

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• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

Aside from the fixed editing controls, four favourite parameters can be assigned to the dials at the top level, so that when a patch is loaded they’re ready and waiting. This makes a lot of sense - since a sound’s character is all about the interaction of certain parameters, it's hard to imagine creating a patch without using this feature and perhaps this is where having more dials would be much more preferable. If they were placed in the centre of the unit, it would make access a lot easier for left-handed users to tweak, instead of reaching over to the far right every time.

The R3 is two-part multi-timbral. These can be used jointly in one patch or separately where each timbre can be addressed by its own MIDI channel. A timbre uses two oscillators to form the sound, and Korg have loaded it up with a feast of tasty algorithms to feed our gourmet appetites. If you’re not already familiar with what the Radias can do, then check this lot out as it’s much more than a virtual analogue wannabe.

Starting off with the simple pleasures of subtractive synthesis, we get a full complement of essential analogue waveforms. Pulse-width modulation is available on the Square wave, but bizarrely this feature disappears when Unison mode is engaged. What are they saying with this? You can only have a fat detuned square if it’s symmetrical? Following on, the Formant oscillator is an excellent choice for abstract vocal tones, and it can be modulated between three selectable vowel positions for Delay Lama-style singing.

The DWGS mode contains 48 sampled waveforms which cover the digital spectrum. These can come in handy for organ, electric pianos, attack portions on acoustic emulations and so on, but can also be twisted into more deviant activities in the wrong hands. Your next choice is Cross modulation. This dials up some hot and crunchy analogue FM interplay between the two oscillators. Lastly, VPM (Variable Phase Modulation) is Korg’s simple but effective method for achieving basic DX-style overtones. It uses its own sine wave generator and produces credible digital tones including crystal-clear vibes and tight, weighty basses with considerable grunt.

Waveforms

Oscillator Two is a different story. It only offers straight-up analogue-style waveforms, but makes up for it by dishing out ring modulation and sync by the bucket load. Flexibility is the name of the game for the filter section, with two sections and a full choice of routes to follow. Filter one boasts a powerful multimode array of low, high, band and thru. A mix control is used to smoothly blend between the types, so it’s possible to continually sweep between them or blend adjacent types together for interesting effects. The second filter might not have the blend option but it does have the rather special Comb filter - orthodox sound designers tend to use it for plucked string effects. If you unleash its full power and combine it with one of the many excellent wave-shaping FX, it’ll smack you in the face with metallic fury - pure joy for the noise terrorists out there.