Manual PDF / Manufacturer Info
RADAR is much more than “8 envelopes.” The manual makes clear that it can act as:
That means the most interesting sounds come from using RADAR not just to open VCAs, but to cross-modulate timbre, FM depth, filter behavior, wavefolder amount, distortion drive, and pitch movement.
A few features are especially useful for aggressive and expressive patching:
This is one of the biggest tone-shaping features.
great for hard, snappy, clicky, artificial, mechanical modulation
Analog modelling
Shape is not just feel — it changes the sound dramatically when modulating:
This changes whether decay/release follows the same curve or the opposite curve.
This matters a lot for punch:
This turns lanes into cycling envelopes/LFOs. Since shape and modelling change the waveform behavior, repeating mode is useful for:
In Envelope Mode:
This “max” behavior is extremely useful for creating: - accented transient stacks - semi-random contour mergers - thicker modulation for distortion/filter drive - pseudo-logic dynamics
Instead of “one envelope to one VCA,” try splitting roles:
That’s where RADAR becomes monstrous.
For percussion, RADAR shines when you use different envelope shapes for different parts of the same hit.
Patch: - Oscillator sine or triangle to VCA/audio path - Lane 1: VCA amplitude envelope - Lane 2: pitch envelope to oscillator 1V/oct or FM attenuated input - Lane 3: filter cutoff envelope - Lane 4 composite max out: distortion drive CV or wavefolder amount
Suggested setup: - Lane 1: AD, EXP attack/decay, short attack, medium-short release - Lane 2: AD, very short, EXP, stronger than lane 1 - Lane 3: AD, short-medium, maybe LOG or opposite mode - Lane 4: another short AD or repeating burst, then use lane 4 composite output
Why it works: - Lane 2 gives the kick its “thwack” by pitching down quickly - Lane 1 gives body - Lane 3 makes the filter smack open briefly - Lane 4 max output can create a transient-heavy control shape for distortion drive, so the hit is dirtier at the start than at the tail
Use digital modelling for lanes 1–2 to get hard reset behavior. That gives a more artificial, clicky transient.
Use analog modelling for the pitch envelope lane so retriggers start from current level and smear in a less predictable way.
Patch: - Noise + oscillator mixed - Lane 1: VCA for noise burst - Lane 2: VCA/filter for tonal body - Lane 3: bandpass or highpass cutoff - Lane 4: wavefolder, sample-rate reducer, or distortion amount
Suggested setup: - Lane 1: very short AD, EXP - Lane 2: short AD, slightly longer than lane 1 - Lane 3: short AD, LOG or opposite - Lane 4: repeating mode at high speed or short AD envelope into timbral destruction
Interesting trick: - Put lane 4 in repeating mode and use trigger resets. - Every snare hit resets the cycle, so the distortion/wavefold amount starts in a repeatable but animated way. - In analog mode, if the lane is in release when retriggered, it can restart from current level, making each hit feel less static.
This can create claps/snares that sound like: - tearing foil - overdriven tape bursts - granular industrial splashes
Use short repeating envelopes almost like temporary oscillators or high-speed modulation sources.
Patch: - Hat sound source through VCA/filter/wavefolder - Lane 1: amplitude - Lane 2: filter - Lane 3: repeating envelope to FM amount or wavefolder symmetry - Lane 4: composite max output to stereo VCA/panner or second timbre destination
Suggested setup: - Lane 3 in Repeating mode - Use very fast rise/fall times - Try digital mode first for stable, rigid modulation frequency - Sweep shape from LIN to EXP/LOG
What to listen for: - high-frequency chatter - zappy alias-like edge - formant-like movement when modulating filter or fold amount
Because the manual notes repeating mode can run quite fast, this can push into audio-rate-ish or near-audio-rate behavior depending on settings.
This is one of the coolest tricks in the manual.
Set up: - lanes 3 and 4 with different AD times/shapes - lane 4 output switch to composite/max - send that composite envelope to: - distortion drive - VCA CV for accent - LPG CV - filter resonance/cutoff
Or: - lanes 6, 7, 8 with different contours - lane 8 composite/max to one destination
Why this is useful: A max-envelope combination behaves differently than a summed envelope: - it preserves peaks - doesn’t overload CV as easily - gives a more “selected transient” response - can sound like a dynamic envelope follower crossed with logic
Use this for: - flam-like transient shaping - ghost notes merged into a main hit - percussive accents that sound “designed,” not merely louder
RADAR is ideal for bass because those sounds usually need multiple moving contours at once: - amp contour - filter contour - FM/index contour - distortion contour - wobble/LFO - pitch dip or attack transient
Patch: - 2 detuned oscillators or a complex oscillator - filter - distortion/saturation - VCA - optional wavefolder/FM
Assign: - Lane 1: amp envelope - Lane 2: filter envelope - Lane 3: distortion/folder drive envelope - Lane 4: pitch drop at note onset - Lane 5: repeating LFO to filter or wavetable position - Lane 6: repeating LFO to FM amount - Lane 7: shape CV target somewhere dynamic - Lane 8 composite: merged accent modulation to “macro” destination
Dubstep/DnB bass sounds often come from different parameters peaking at different times: - filter opens first - distortion blooms second - FM grit appears later - pitch settles after a short slam
RADAR gives enough channels to stage all of that.
QUAD mode is especially interesting for bass because the lanes are phase-related and offset by 90 degrees.
The manual says: - only lane 1 or 5 sets time for the group - the other lanes can act as CV controls: - SPEED - GRAVITY - SDELTA
This is excellent for vocal, morphing movement.
Use QUAD mode on lanes 1–4. Send: - lane 1 to filter cutoff - lane 2 to wavetable position or formant filter - lane 3 to FM amount - lane 4 to distortion drive or second filter
Now the 4 outputs are phase-offset relatives of each other.
Modulates overall cycle speed for the whole quad. Use this for: - accelerating wobble - irregular phrase motion - “inhaling/exhaling” bass motion
The manual describes it as how the phase-shifted waves are attracted/repelled in time relative to the 0° waveform.
That means: - the relationship between the modulation lanes bends - the 90/180/270 offsets stop feeling evenly spaced - this can create vowel-like asymmetry and lurching motion
For bass, this is gold. Modulate a formant filter with one lane and distortion amount with another, and changing GRAVITY creates moving “speech” relationships.
Shape delta offsets shape across the phased channels.
This can create: - one lane more log - another more linear - another more exponential
That gives a coordinated but non-identical movement — very useful for “alive” basses.
Clock/reset the QUAD cycle rhythmically from your sequencer. Because QUAD mode resets all lanes together, you can force the bass movement to restart at phrase points.
This creates: - repeatable hooks - controllable wobble starts - more “performed” rhythmic growls
OCT mode gives 8 lanes 45 degrees apart.
This is ideal if your patch has many CV destinations: - main filter - second filter - distortion - wavefolder - FM amount - sub VCA - stereo panning/filter split - reverb send amount
You can build one giant animated bass voice where every parameter is moving in related but offset ways.
Take one sustained bass note and route OCT outputs to: 1. cutoff 2. resonance 3. fold 4. distortion 5. phase modulation amount 6. VCA level for a parallel band 7. chorus depth 8. delay send
Now adjust: - shape - speed - gravity-like lane functions depending on mode setup
The result can move from: - classic wobble - to tearing neuro - to broken robotic vowel - to spiraling modulated swarm
For basslines, AR mode is often more musical than AD because note length matters.
The manual notes: - in analog modelling mode, if the gate is short, attack may not reach full level - if held high past attack, it remains high until gate goes low
This is fantastic for expressive sequenced bass.
Now note length changes: - amplitude sustain - filter sustain - the relationship between body and transient
Short notes become gnarlier and less fully opened. Long notes bloom and snarl.
This is how you get basslines that feel “played,” not just triggered.
Use digital mode and feed rapid trigger bursts into a lane controlling: - distortion drive - filter cutoff - FM amount - wavefolder symmetry
Because digital mode hard-resets to zero, burst retriggers create abrupt control discontinuities. That can sound like: - tearing - zippering - machine-gun articulation - aggressive “yoi” attacks
Then compare with analog modelling, where repeated triggers can charge from current level and produce more fluid, acid-like tearing.
RADAR can make pads interesting because it can create many related but non-identical slow modulations.
The key is to stop thinking “envelope” and think: - phased contour generator - slow shape-morphing modulation bank - event-responsive pad animator
Use OCT mode for one sustained voice or layered voices.
Route the 8 outputs to: 1. main VCA 2. lowpass cutoff 3. bandpass center frequency 4. resonance or Q 5. wavetable position 6. FM index 7. reverb send 8. stereo panning or crossfade
Set long times and slow cycles.
What makes this special: - each lane is 45 degrees apart - modulation relationships are coherent - the patch evolves continuously without random chaos
Result: - spectral drift - ghostly stereo movement - tone opening before space blooms - delayed emotional swells
Use LOG shapes for some destinations and opposite release behavior. That creates swells that arrive slowly and disappear differently than they appeared.
Patch a keyboard/sequencer gate to several lanes in Envelope mode.
Use: - Lane 1 AR to amplitude - Lane 2 AR to filter - Lane 3 AR to oscillator shape - Lane 4 composite with lane 3/4 to reverb send or shimmer amount
Set to analog modelling mode.
Because short gates may not fully reach peak before release, playing shorter and longer notes gives: - incomplete blooms - fragile swells - dynamic spectral “underdevelopment” - a haunted, human feel
This is especially good for: - choir-like pads - bowed textures - dissonant drones - Boards-of-Canada-meets-horror motion
The lane 4 and lane 8 max outputs are not only for percussion.
For pads: - use lanes 6, 7, and 8 with different long repeating contours - take lane 8 composite/max output - route to delay feedback, shimmer amount, or secondary filter resonance
Because the output follows whichever source is currently highest, the modulation becomes: - selective - drifting - less obviously periodic - more “presence shifting”
This is excellent for making an effect send swell in a way that feels intentional yet elusive.
Take a rich pad and split it into 4 parallel processing paths: - lowpass voice - bandpass voice - distorted voice - shimmer/reverb-heavy voice
Control each path’s VCA or filter with one lane of a QUAD set.
Since each lane is phase-related, the pad rotates through spectral identities.
Now modulate: - SPEED for acceleration/deceleration - GRAVITY for uneven temporal pull - SDELTA for differences in shape between paths
This can create: - spectral orbiting - swelling that “leans” - cursed choral breathing - unstable dreamlike animation
RADAR is strongest when patched to destinations with nonlinear sonic impact:
Use: - digital for attack-heavy lanes - analog for repeating and AR lanes - shape around EXP for attack, LOG for evolving timbre
Use digital mode for hard restarts and harsh edges.
Reset occasionally from a gate sequencer so the whole atmosphere “inhales” again at phrase boundaries.
Use several lanes triggered from one source due to normalized trigger behavior: - one trigger into top lane - each lane configured differently - route outputs to multiple modulation targets on a drum voice
Then use lane 4/lane 8 composite outputs to create dynamic transient overlays.
The manual explicitly warns shape CV is offset by incoming CV and suggests external attenuation. This is true for most interesting RADAR modulation uses. Small modulation often sounds better than full-swing chaos.
For a single sound, use one of each on different destinations.
When an envelope controls drive, FM, or fold depth, shape behaves like a macro-timbre parameter, not just contour.
Especially in digital mode, retriggers are audible as control discontinuities. Lean into that for: - glitches - tearing bass attacks - machine-gun percussion
The max outputs are not obvious, but they’re one of the most unique features on RADAR for designing sophisticated transient behavior.
This gives transients that explode in dirt before the body settles.
Use OCT mode and route all 8 lanes to: - several oscillator levels - filter offsets - distortion amounts - effects sends
You get a single bass note that mutates like a living machine.
In analog AR mode, use intentionally short gates so attacks never fully complete. This makes every note feel like a failed bloom or a half-remembered swell — perfect for eerie pads.
Use QUAD/OCT repeating structures and reset them from your sequencer at phrase starts. This keeps modulations wild but musically aligned.
RADAR excels when you treat it as a multi-lane motion designer rather than just an envelope bank.
For your target sounds:
The manual’s most creatively useful features are: - digital vs analog modelling - shape and opposite-shape behavior - repeating mode - quad/oct phase offsets - lane 4/lane 8 max composite outputs
Those are the features that will get you from “envelopes” to genuinely unusual sound design.