Reason 4 software tutorial

Essential Components in Reason. Hardware Interface Mixer pt. Saving and Opening Projects Reason Sequencer in Detail. Inputting Notes pt. Quantizing Notes Clip Labels and Color End Marker and Exporting Audio Synthesiser Overview Subtractor Essentials pt.

Subtractor Filters Subtractor Envelopes Subtractor LFO Subtractor Velocity Subtractor Misc Malstrom Oscillator pt. Modulator A and B Filter A and B Shaper Routing Oscillators Saving and Browsing Patches Reason Samplers. NN pt. NN-XT Basics pt. NN-XT Bascis pt. NN-XT Programming pt. Redrum Drum Computer. Redrum pt. Rex Loop Player. Rex Loop Player pt. Thor pt. Thor Song Example Reason Effects. RV-7 Digital Reverb D Foldback Distortion PH Phaser UN Unison Scream 4 Distortion RV Reverb pt.

BV Digital Vocoder MClass Mastering Suite. MClass Equaliser and Stereo Imager MCLass Compressor and Maximiser MClass Compressor Sidechaining MClass Sidechaining and Spider Audio Other Devices. Matrix Pattern Sequencer Matrix and CV Merger and Splitter The control set remains simple, but complexity abounds.

Two waveforms are modified to create changing timbres and different filter—like characteristics. Genuine FM is also present, with the FM pair oscillator. In this, one sine—wave oscillator is a carrier and the other a modulator, and a surprising range of complex sounds can be generated.

The Multi Osc is related to the analogue option, with sawtooth, pulse, triangle and sine waveforms, and its big trick is detuning — adding measurable intervals though with a random option to the overall sound. The full range of colours — white, pink, red and the rest, with all the in—between bits — can be generated. Interaction between the oscillators includes amplitude ring modulation of Osc 1 by Osc 2, and oscillator sync.

Each oscillator has its own routing to control each of the two filters. The first two will self—oscillate in an authentically analogue fashion, and the formant filter is particularly welcome from my point of view. These two filters can be operated serially or in parallel. The shaper module is fed from filter one, so if activated it treats the signal before the signal is processed by filter two. The waveshaping offered by this module could be thought of largely as distortion, but the changes it makes to basic waveforms can range from quite subtle to full—on destruction.

The outputs of the two filters is mixed, gain adjusted under velocity control, if desired and pan position set. The global filter is identical in function to the other two, save that its envelope control is, initially at least, wired to the single—triggered global EG.

I found it rather disappointing that only 13 patching busses were provided. Seven offer a straightforward source—to—destination routing, with a modulation amount parameter. Typical sources and destinations can be seen in the screenshots peppered around this review. This configuration lets you, for example, assign LFO source to oscillator pitch destination , under the control of modulation wheel scale parameter , in which case LFO modulation will only be heard when the mod wheel is tweaked.

Four more busses work in the same way, except that the source is routed to two destinations, effectively doubling their effectiveness. The last two modulation busses have one source and one destination, but two scale parameters, allowing complex cross—modulation effects to be produced. Finally, we come to the step sequencer — and its 16 step knobs are just the start. One row of 16 steps? Steps can be muted, and playback is one step each time Play is pressed, all steps in one go, or a looped playback.

The steps can be played forward, backward, at random or in two pendulum modes. Just like classic analogue modular devices, this step sequencer is free—running. Some of the analogue waveforms have the Propellerhead signature ie. With the RPG8 monophonic arpeggiator, a picture says it all. The results were often in the right ball park, and trying to get there revealed interesting programming possibilities, but the real thing is most welcome. RPG8 immediately looks easy and straightforward to use — and it is — but this simplicity hides layers of sophistication that few other arpeggiators approach.

Ah, the joys of software! As a monophonic arpeggiator, RPG8 breaks up chords in various fashions: up, up plus down, down, random and manual. A hold function lets you input a chord and have it loop infinitely. However many notes you can input and hold down, RPG8 will arpeggiate them, over a range of between one and four octaves, with octave shifting and control over velocity response and step and gate length.

You also have control over patterns, whereby you can adjust the pattern length and disable steps. External sources can control gate length, velocity, resolution, octave shift and start of arpeggio trigger in.

RPG8 is monophonic, but layering the device with attached synths in a Combinator patch provides a pretty good stab at polyphonic—style arpeggiations.

Not surprising, since most of its funky stuff is edited somewhere else! The brand—new, and rather unexpected, ReGroove Groove Mixer changes that without going too far in the auto—accompaniment direction. Each of the channels generates a user—tweakable, flexible groove template.

The result can be as subtle, funky or obvious as you like, and not only will ReGroove add the desired shuffle or syncopation, but tracks can be made to push or lay back in the groove. Global shuffle is an option, too, and this control which can still be applied to the pattern—based devices is now in the ReGroove window.

A closer look at the attractive new look of the sequencer. The new features found here move Reason closer to the sequencing facilities of DAW software.

As much as we might love Reason, most of us would have to admit that the linear sequencer that lives just above the transport bar is not as well-developed as we would like. But anything much more sophisticated has always had to be offloaded to a bigger sequencer hosting Reason in some way. That situation is now history.

Power users wondering if their years of begging for tempo and time signature tracks have been heeded can let out their breath. Next best improvements are to the sequencer track lists. Lanes also come into play when doing multiple takes of a part, as you can stack takes and choose the best bits later.

Recording a new part automatically creates a highlighted clip. Such grouped data would previously have had to be created manually. New buttons enable automation recording, and data display is also different, and better.

Changes have been made to the tool bar, making drawing data much easier than before, due in some part to differences in how that data is shown on screen. Even experienced users will have to take time to get re—acquainted with this side of things, though. Want the line tool? Editing in general has been enhanced. Remember the floating tool window? Most editing is now accessed here, including quantising which has been removed from the sequencer window , note length, velocity, transposition, legato response and tempo scaling.

Detailed ReGroove parameters also have their own window. But I advise you to go beyond the automatic: RPG8 has amazing potential as a source of general control voltages. New samples are given a key group of one semitone each, without reference to root pitch, which is just fine for banging in loops and hits from your sample library. There are also more data filters, and helpful tweaks to the programmer. All in all, Reason 4 is a pretty fine upgrade to what was already a powerful and desirable package.

Operationally, the changes to the sequencer are, now that we have them, long overdue and really help to streamline that side of the package.