User Manual

REWIRE
546
About this chapter
This chapter describes how to use Reason as a ReWire slave; that is with Reason delivering audio to another ReWire
compatible application. Using ReBirth and Reason together is described in “ReBirth Input Machine”.
Why use Reason with ReWire?
While Reason is a complete music tool in its own right, you might want to use other elements in your music, such as
special software synthesizers and effect plug-ins.
Connecting Reason to another application allows you to integrate your Reason devices and songs with other type of
music and recordings, etc. By recording Reason tracks onto audio tracks in another audio sequencer, you can also
continue processing your Reason tracks with other software plug-ins.
Introducing ReWire!
To make this integration between two audio programs possible, Propellerhead Software has developed ReWire. This
technology provides the following possibilities and features:
In ReWire version 1
• Real time streaming of separate audio channels, at full bandwidth, into another audio program.
• Automatic, sample accurate, synchronization between the audio in the two programs.
• The possibility to have the two programs share one audio card.
• Linked transport controls that allows you to play, rewind etc., from either program.
• Less total system requirements than when using the programs together in the conventional way.
In ReWire 2
A number of features were added in ReWire version 2. The following are the most important:
• Up to 256 audio channels (previously 64).
• Bi-directional MIDI communication of up to 4080 MIDI channels (255 devices with 16 channels each)
• Automatic querying and linking features that (among other things) allow a host to display the slave’s devices,
controllers, drum sounds etc. by name.
How does it work?
Basically the key to ReWire is the fact that Reason is divided into three components:
• The Reason application.
• The Reason Engine (a DLL on the PC and a Shared Library file on the Macintosh. Both located in the Reason
program folder.)
• ReWire (also a DLL on the PC and a Shared Library on the Macintosh).
ReWire and the Reason Engine are common resources to the two programs (the other application and Reason) that
generate the audio and passes it onto the other audio application.