Operation Manual
D Table of Contents
7 Common Operations and Concepts 51 The Sequencer 8 8 8 8 9 10 10 11 About this manual About this Chapter Conventions in the Manual Making Settings Tool Tips Context menus Undo Window Techniques 15 Audio basics 16 16 18 20 20 About this chapter How Reason communicates with your audio hardware General Information PC Specific Information Mac Specific Information 52 52 61 64 69 70 70 78 89 92 94 96 Introduction Sequencer basics Recording Recording automation About the toolbar About Snap Editing clip
123 Using Reason as a ReWire Slave 149 Reason Hardware Interface 124 124 124 125 125 125 126 126 127 127 150 Introduction 150 MIDI In Device 150 Audio Out About this Chapter Why use Reason with ReWire? Introducing ReWire! Launching and Quitting Using the Transport and Tempo Controls Synchronization Routing Audio Routing MIDI via ReWire 2 Converting ReWire Channels to Audio Tracks Details About Various ReWire Hosts 129 Synchronization 130 130 130 131 131 ReWire users – Read This! What is Synchronizatio
185 Subtractor Synthesizer 255 NN-XT Sampler 186 186 191 194 195 197 199 200 256 256 257 258 259 260 261 263 264 266 267 270 271 272 274 275 276 277 284 Introduction The Oscillator Section The Filter Section Envelopes - General LFO Section Play Parameters External Modulation Connections 201 Thor Polysonic Synthesizer 202 202 203 204 216 221 224 Introduction Thor elements The Controller panel Using the Programmer Modulation bus routing section Step Sequencer Connections 225 Malström Synthesizer 226 22
315 ReBirth Input Machine 365 Menu and Dialog Reference 316 Introduction 316 Preparations 317 Routing 366 366 370 386 387 389 389 390 319 BV512 Vocoder 320 321 323 324 325 326 326 Introduction Setting up for basic vocoding Using the BV512 as an equalizer BV512 parameters Connections Automation Tips and tricks Reason Menu (Mac OS X) File Menu Edit Menu Create Menu Options Menu Window Menu (Windows Version) Window Menu (Mac OS Version) Help/Contacts Menu 391 Index 333 The Effect Devices 334 335 335 33
6 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 D Common Operations and Concepts
About this manual Making Settings This is the Reason Operation manual, where all aspects of the program is described in detail. The first chapters deal with general methods and techniques, e.g. how to route audio and how to handle patches etc. Then follows separate chapters for each Reason device. Since a large part of Reason is laid out like a “real” effect and synth rack, almost all parameters are designed like their real world counterparts - mixer faders, synth knobs, transport buttons, etc.
Multi Mode Selectors Some parameters allow you to select one of several modes. There are two different graphical representations of this in Reason: ✪ This type of control is also used for some parameters that are not purely “numerical” (e.g. reverb algorithms and synth oscillator waveforms). D For the numerical position displays on the transport and in the Inspector (see page 74), values are changed in the same way, but you first select a value increment (e.g.
Context menus Context menus are “tailored” to contain the relevant menu items only, allowing you to work quicker and more efficiently with Reason. D To bring up a context menu, click with the right mouse button (Windows) or press [Ctrl] and click (if using a single button mouse on Mac). If you are using a Mac with a two button mouse, you may want to set this up so that clicking the right mouse button generates a [Ctrl]-click. This way, you can right-click to bring up context menus.
About Multiple Undos The concept of multiple undos may require an explanation: You can undo up to 30 actions, or in other words, Reason has an Undo History with up to thirty steps. Let’s say you have performed the following actions: 1. Created a mixer. 2. Created a synth device. 3. Adjusted the Amp Envelope Attack time on the synth. 4. Changed the panning for the synth device in the mixer. 5. Adjusted the playback tempo in the transport panel.
Views, Panes and Dividers On screen, Reason is divided into different areas or “panes”. The most obvious example is the rack and the sequencer area, but you will also find that the right part of the sequencer area can be divided into several horizontal lanes (for editing different aspects of your recordings). ✪ By holding down [Shift] while you drag however, you can limit the scrolling direction to horizontal or vertical only.
D You can also click and drag with the Magnifying Glass to create a selection rectangle. The view will then be zoomed in so that the selected area fills the lane. Enclosing these notes in a selection rectangle... ...will zoom in so that they fill the view. Scrolling and zooming with the mouse wheel If you’re using a mouse equipped with a scroll wheel, this can be used for the following scrolling and zooming operations: D Scrolling up and down in both the rack and in the sequencer.
14 COMMON OPERATIONS AND CONCEPTS
2 D Audio basics
About this chapter Outputs that are currently used have green indicators, available but unused outputs have yellow indicators, and any connections made to unavailable outputs have red indicators. This chapter contains some useful information about how audio is handled by Reason. Some of it may seem a bit technical, but we recommend that you read it, to get the most out of Reason.
About Sample Rates and Resolutions About using high resolution audio Sample rate and resolution are properties of digital audio, which determine the quality of the sound. Generally, higher sample rate and resolution result in better audio quality (but also larger audio files and higher demands on computer performance and audio hardware). This table shows some common sample rate/resolution combinations: Reason has the capability to play back samples with practically any resolution.
About Audio Levels When playing back in Reason, you should keep an eye on the Audio Out Clip indicator on the transport panel. If this lights up, the audio level is too high, resulting in clipping (digital distortion). The indicator will stay lit for a short moment, to make it easier to spot. General Information Master Tune By default, Reason plays back a “middle A” at 440 Hz, which is the standard tuning in most instruments.
What is acceptable? ReWire and Latency Normally, hardware synthesizers provide you with a latency of 3 to 7 ms (milliseconds – thousands of a second), at least if the instrument is targeted towards a “professional” audience. When you run Reason as a ReWire slave, it is the other program, the Rewire master that is responsible for actually creating the audio and playing it back via the audio card. This means that it is the master program’s latency you will get as a final result.
PC Specific Information About ASIO DirectX, MME and the Sound Buffer setting There are three ways for Windows to access the audio hardware: Via an MME (MultiMedia Extensions) driver This system has been around since Windows 3.0, and it is this type of driver that is normally installed in the Control Panel and via Plug’n’Play. Most regular sound playback (like when Windows goes “bing” on startup) happens via MME. • Practically all cards come with an MME driver.
3 D Sounds, Devices and Patches
Introduction ✪ Please refer to the Tutorial chapters in the Getting Started book for quick-start information on how to create devices and to select sounds and patches. Note that you can enlarge the rack area by clicking its lower edge (the divider between the rack and the sequencer area) and dragging downwards. This will shrink the sequencer area and make more of the rack visible (alternatively, you can detach the sequencer from the rack altogether. This is described on page 12).
Selecting devices Deleting devices Some operations (e.g. cutting, copying and deleting devices) require that you select one or several devices in the rack. This is done according to the following rules: To delete one or several devices, select them and use one of the following methods: D To select a single device, click on it in the rack. The selected device is displayed with a colored border (based on the color scheme selected for your operating system).
In this example an RV-7 reverb device is moved: In this case, the red line indicates that the reverb device will be inserted to the left of the phaser. Duplicating devices To make a copy of a device in the rack, hold down [Option] (Mac) or [Ctrl] (Windows) and drag it to a new position. D If you hold down [Shift] when you duplicate the device, Reason will attempt to automatically route it, just as when you move devices. See page 26. Cut, Copy and Paste This is the result.
Naming devices Each device has a “tape strip” showing the name of the device. When you create a new device it is automatically named according to the device type, with an index number (so that the first Subtractor synthesizer you create is called “Subtractor 1”, the next “Subtractor 2” and so on). If you like, you can rename a device by clicking on its tape strip and typing a new name (up to 16 characters).
D Folded devices can be renamed, moved, duplicated and deleted just like unfolded devices. A Quick Note on Routing D For devices that use patches, you can select patches in folded mode as well. ! This section only describes the basics in routing. For detailed descrip- D Playback is not affected by folding. tions of routing procedures and possibilities, see the “Routing Audio and CV” chapter. Reason allows for extremely flexible routing of audio and control signals between the devices in the rack.
Routing an Insert Effect between the Hardware Interface and another device D If you select the Hardware Interface and then create an effect, the effect will be connected as an insert effect between the Hardware Interface and whatever device was connected to the Hardware Interface inputs (normally the outputs of a a Mixer device). This is the intended way to connect the MClass Mastering Suite Combi, at the very end of the signal chain.
Using Cables Using pop-up menus ! For the cables to be visible, the option “Show Cables” must be activated 1. Click (or right-click) on a connector. A pop-up menu appears, listing all devices in the rack. on the Options menu. See below. 1. Click on the desired input or output jack on one of the devices, and drag the pointer away from the jack (with the mouse button pressed). A loose cable appears. 2. Drag the cable to the jack on the other device.
Hiding and Showing Cables You can choose whether you want the patch cables to be visible or not, by activating or deactivating the Show Cables item on the Options menu. When the cables are hidden, connectors in use are indicated by a colored dot: About patches A Reason patch contains settings for a specific device. Patches can either be separate files on your hard disk or files embedded in a ReFill - see page 32 for info about ReFills.
About the “Load Default Sound in New Devices” preference On the Preferences - General page there is an option (on by default) to load a default patch when creating a device. There are a number of patches for each device that exist outside category folders in the main Factory Soundbank folder for the device. These will be available on the browse list (see page 40) directly after creating a new device which allows you check out a few sounds for a device without opening the browser.
Saving device settings as patches on disk 3. Select the other device of the same type (in the same song or another song). Even though the device settings are stored in the song, you may want to save any settings you have made for a device as a separate patch file. This allows you to use the patch in other songs, and lets you try out other patches in your song without risking to lose your sound. 4. Select Paste Patch from the device context menu or the Edit menu.
About ReFills A ReFill is a kind of component package for Reason which can contain patches, samples, REX files, Soundfonts and demo songs. If you like, you could compare ReFills to ROM cards for a synthesizer. On your computer, ReFills appear as large files with the extension “.rfl”. All sounds included with Reason are embedded in two ReFills; “Reason Factory Sound Bank” and “Orkester”, which were both copied to the Reason Program folder during installation.
| File type Soundfont Bank | Extension .sf2 | Description The Soundfont format was co-developed by E-mu Systems and Creative Technologies and is used with many audio cards and software synthesizers. SoundFont banks store wavetable synthesized sounds, allowing users to create and edit multisampled sounds in special Soundfont editing programs. The Soundfonts can then be played back in wavetable synthesizers, typically on audio cards, thereby effectively turning an ordinary sound card into a sampler.
Opening the browser Browser elements You can use any of the following commands to open the Browser dialog (what file types you can browse for depends on which method you used to open the Browser dialog): D By selecting “Open” from the File menu. This opens the Song Browser where you can select to open a saved Song. D By selecting “Browse Patches” on the Edit menu with a patch device selected (or by clicking the “Browse Patches” button on a device panel).
Show pop-up menu Locations list This is only available in the Patch browser (it is otherwise grayed out). It determines what patch types are shown in the files and folder list view and thus which patches can be selected. See page 38. This is a list of shortcuts to different locations. You can manually add any locations (on any local drive) to this list. Selecting an item in this list will open the corresponding folder/ReFill as the root in the main files and folder list - see page 36.
The Info section in the left corner can show Song/ReFill splash images and the Details section will show information about the item currently selected in the file and folder list. Exactly which information is shown depends on the file type. For example, samples or REX files contains information about the file format and length of the selected file, while a selected song file can display comments from the author (Song Information, see “Song Information”), etc.
About hierarchic and flat lists Selecting and auditioning patches In certain circumstances the Browser will display a flat list without any folder hierarchy. In such cases there will be an extra “Parent” column displaying the parent folder location for all files. The “Where” pop-up will then contain a shortcut to a selected file’s parent folder. Flat lists are shown in the following cases: • When the Browser is showing a search result - see page 39.
There are basically two instances where selecting several files in the Browser file list is relevant: D It is possible to load several samples simultaneously into the NN-XT and NN19 sampler devices. See the NN19 and NN-XT chapters for details. D You can select several files to add them to a Favorites list in one go - see page 40. ! In cases where several selected files (e.g. patches or songs) cannot be loaded, the OK button in the Browser is grayed out.
Create Instrument/Create Effect The Search in pop-up menu This allows you to browse for any kind of instrument or effect patch. This is essentially the same as cross-browsing, except that you do not start with an existing device. This pop-up menu allows you to select where to search. The options are as follows: • “Local disks” will perform a complete search of all local drives. • “User Locations” will search all folders and ReFills stored in the Locations list (except the Desktop).
Opening files Using Favorites When you have navigated to the desired folder (on your hard disk or within a ReFill) and located the desired file, you open it by double clicking it in the file display or by selecting it and clicking the OK button. As described earlier, patches and samples are loaded directly upon selection, so clicking OK doesn’t actually “open” the file, it simply confirms the selection, and closes the Browser dialog.
Using Favorites - a practical example Handling Missing Sounds Here follows a practical example of how you can use Favorites for patch files: Sampler patches, drum machine patches and Soundfonts contain references to samples - files on your hard disk. The same is true for songs that contain samples (in sampler or drum machine devices) or REX files.
The Missing Sounds dialog Search Locations If you click the Search Locations button, Reason will search for the selected files in all Locations set up in the Browser (except the Desktop). If the program finds a file with the matching name and file type, the new path is stored in the song/patch and the file is shown as “Replaced” in the Status column.
D For the files you have found (status “Replaced”), the new paths will be stored in the song or patch. However, you need to save the song or patch for the changes to become permanent! D If any file is still missing when you click OK, there will be sounds missing in the song/patch. Sometimes, you may want to proceed with sounds missing, and then remove or replace the sounds from the device panels in the rack instead.
44 SOUNDS, DEVICES AND PATCHES
4 D Routing Audio and CV
About the various signals that can be routed MIDI Routing This chapter describes the various ways you can route signals in Reason. The following signal types are used: About Cables Audio Apart from the Matrix Pattern Sequencer, all devices have audio connectors on the back. The audio connectors carries audio signals to or from devices via virtual “cables”. D Audio connectors are shown as large “quarter inch” jacks.
Color Coding Cables are color coded in the following way, making it easier to discern between the various connections: • Audio connections are different shades of red. • CV connections are different shades of yellow. • Connections to and from Effects devices are different shades of green. These cables are green, indicating effect device connections. Automatic Routing Auto-routing is when devices are automatically routed according to default rules.
CV/Gate Auto-route D CV/Gate auto-routing occurs when you create a Matrix Pattern Sequencer with an instrument device (Subtractor/Thor/Malström/NN-19/ NN-XT/Combinator) selected. The Matrix Note and Gate CV outputs are automatically connected to the Sequencer Control CV and Gate inputs on the instrument device, respectively. Auto-routing devices after they have been created Manual Routing By selecting “Toggle Rack Front/Rear” from the Options menu or pressing [Tab] you turn the rack around.
Using pop-up menus 1. Click (or right-click) on a connector. A pop-up menu appears, listing all devices in the rack. 2. Move the pointer to the desired device (the device to which you want to create a connection). A submenu appears, listing all suitable input/output connections. For example, if you clicked on an audio output on a device, the hierarchical submenus will list all audio inputs in all other devices. In addition, occupied inputs/oututs are indicated with an asterisk (*).
50 ROUTING AUDIO AND CV
5 D The Sequencer
Introduction About tracks, lanes, clips and events The sequencer is for assembling your songs. This is where you record notes and automation and edit clips and events. D A specific instance of a device can never have more than one track in the sequencer, but a track can have many “lanes”. Sequencer basics The following sections provide an overview of the sequencer including track and window handling.
Track types About the two view modes There are three basic track types: The sequencer has two basic view modes; Arrange mode and Edit mode. You can switch between these views by clicking the button in the upper left corner of the sequencer. D Tracks for instrument devices and other devices that receive notes. Devices such as synths, samplers or the RPG-8 arpeggiator will automatically get a record enabled track when created.
Track handling Selecting tracks ! How to handle note lanes on tracks is described on page 63. Track specific operations apply to one or more selected tracks. Track elements D Clicking on a track in the track list selects it. A selected track is dark gray. By default, Master Keyboard Input also follows track selection but this can be changed as described above. In the picture below three tracks are shown.
D To solo a track, click the corresponding Solo (S) button. This mutes all other (unsoloed) tracks. Soloed tracks have green S buttons. To turn solo off, click the green Solo button again. Here, the track Redrum 1 is soloed (indicated by a green S button). Several tracks can be soloed at the same time, in which case you can turn off Solo for all of them by clicking the “master” S button at the top of the track list. ! Note that you can also mute individual note lanes on a track - see “Muting note lanes”.
D First select the device and then select ”Create Track for (name of device)” item on the Edit menu. This is also available on the device’s context menu. The new track will be connected to the device and will have the same name as the device. Basic sequencer window handling ! Note that if a track already exists for a device this menu item will be unavailable - a device can only have one track. Folding tracks D To fold/unfold a track, click on the track handle arrow.
Rack vs. Sequencer scroll focus Reason has two basic states when the sequencer is part of the rack; either the rack or the sequencer has focus. Scrolling with a mouse wheel or trackpad will correspondingly either scroll the rack or the track list. • Click in the sequencer area to switch focus to the sequencer, or on a device to switch focus to the rack. Working with the sequencer in a separate window Key, velocity and controller edit lanes are shown.
About the Transport About the ruler, song position and locators You’ll notice that when detaching the sequencer from the rack, there will be two instances of the transport on the screen - one in the rack and one in the sequencer window. This is for convenience since it allows you to control playback and recording regardless of which window is the active one. Should you wish however, you can fold one of the transports in the same manner as with any other device in Reason.
Transport controls - overview The transport panel is located at the bottom of each song document window. This is where you activate playback, recording, fast forward/rewind, etc. Here is a brief overview of the controls, to help you find your way in the recording and playback procedures on the following pages.
Using the loop About Snap to Grid The Snap on/off button. The Snap value pop-up. In loop mode, the sequencer will repeat a section over and over again, during playback or recording. You specify the section to be looped by setting the left and right locator: D Set the left locator (the start of the loop) by dragging the “L” marker in the ruler. Or, you can hold down [Option] (Mac) or [Ctrl] (Windows) and click in the ruler.
Recording Pre-count Setting up for recording Activating the “Pre” button on the Transport will generate a 1 bar pre-count click before recording starts. Note that anything you play during the count-in will not be recorded. Before you start recording, you need to make some basic settings: Quantizing During Recording Tempo and Time Signature If the Quantize Notes During Recording switch is activated on the Transport, notes will automatically be quantized when you record them.
D The recorded clip will be selected (indicated by the clip having a border and handles at each end) and the recorded notes will be visible as events in the clip. D You can undo the recording by selecting “Undo Recording” from the Edit menu or by the key command [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Z]. You can also press [Backspace] to remove a selected clip. D It is also possible to activate recording during playback (“punch in”), by starting playback and then clicking the record button.
Basic note lane handling Record enabling note lanes Adding note lanes and the New Dub/New Alt buttons Whenever a new note lane is created it is automatically record enabled. But if you have several note lanes on a track and you would like to record on a previous note lane you have to record enable it manually: You can add new note lanes for an instrument track. This is useful in the following circumstances: • If you want to overdub notes or performance automation to an existing clip.
Selecting/moving note lanes Note lanes are not selectable items in the same way that tracks are. Tracks (when selected) will adhere to track/device specific operations on the Edit menu for example. Individual lanes do not have any comparable edit-related functions. However, a note lane is selectable in the following circumstances: D In Edit mode, data for one note lane of a track is shown at a time. By clicking on a lane you switch the view to the lane you select. See “Editing Notes”.
Recording performance controller automation If you use any MIDI performance controllers when recording on a note lane, these are automatically added to the recorded clip. This makes sense as performance controllers are usually recorded at the same time you record notes, as a part of the performance. Standard MIDI performance controllers are Pitch Bend, Modulation Wheel, Sustain Pedal, Aftertouch, Breath Control and Expression. To record standard performance controller automation proceed as follows: 1.
About performance controller automation on multiple lanes Recording track parameter automation If you have several active (unmuted) note clips with performance controller automation on different lanes of the same track, and these note clips overlap position-wise, the following rule applies: Track parameter automation is the standard way to automate device parameters. Each parameter that is automated for a device will get a separate automation lane on the track.
D If the device that you wish to automate doesn’t have a sequencer track, the quickest way to add one is by selecting “Create Track for (name of device)” from the device context menu ([Ctrl]-click (Mac) or right-click on the device panel). This will create a new record enabled sequencer track for the device, without any automation lanes. 5. Stop recording. On the device panel, each automated parameter will have a green frame. The parameters Feedback and Pan are automated.
3. Stop recording when you are done. You have now replaced the automation from where you started recording to where you stopped recording. The Automation Override indicator will still be lit but it will go off if you click stop or play on the transport. D You can also click the Reset button below the Automation Override indicator during recording. This “resets” the parameter and the automation recording will stop (making the previously recorded automation active again, from that position).
Recording pattern changes If your song contains pattern devices, you probably want to use more than a single pattern throughout the song. To facilitate this you can record pattern changes in the sequencer (or draw them in manually, as described on page 88). About the toolbar The toolbar is located above the track list in the sequencer. It contains various tools for clip and event editing in the sequencer. 1.
About Snap When you select and edit material (both in the Arrange and Edit mode), the Snap function affects the result. By activating Snap, editing becomes “restricted” to the note values selected on the Snap pop-up menu (the Snap value). The Snap button and pop-up menu are located on the sequencer toolbar: You can also toggle Snap on/off by pressing [S]. Editing clips in Arrange mode Use this pop-up menu to select the Snap value. Click here to turn Snap on or off.
To select multiple clips in Arrange mode, click and drag a selection rectangle. D You can draw a selection rectangle covering several tracks or lanes. Any clips touched by the selection rectangle will be selected. D If you hold down [Shift] when you select clips, any already selected clips remain selected. This allows you to make multiple, non-contiguous selections: first select some clips, then press [Shift] and select some more clips, and so on.
Moving clips with performance controller automation data to another track Using Cut, Copy and Paste If you move note clips that contains performance controller automation to another track (for a different type of instrument device) there are a few things to note. You can move or duplicate clips using the Cut, Copy and Paste commands on the Edit menu. When you Paste, the clips appear at the song position, on their original lane(s).
Deleting clips D To delete a clip, select it and press [Delete] or [Backspace] or select Delete from the Edit menu. You can also draw selection rectangles with the Arrow tool, encompassing several clips and delete them all at once. The same rules apply as when selecting clips. Deleting clips with the Eraser tool Resizing the clip back makes the hidden notes visible and active again.
Drawing clips D You can also click and drag with the razor tool to cut out a range, on one or several lanes. You can draw empty clips in Arrange mode using the Pencil tool. This is useful if you want to manually draw events into a clip. D Select the Pencil tool and draw over the range you want the clip. Snap is taken into account. The type of clip you create depends on the lane type (note lane, pattern lane etc.).
D If you select a clip, two value fields appear, showing the clip start position (Pos) and the clip length (Len) in bars, beats, 1/16 notes and ticks (in that order). You can edit these numerical values by selecting a value field (e.g. beats) and dragging, using the spin controls or typing. This will change the corresponding start position (or length) of the selected clip in increments of the selected value. Snap is not taken into account.
About Match values When several clips are selected and their values differ in position and/or length, the Match values button appears beside the corresponding numerical value field (position or length). The Match values button. These buttons can be used to match the values so that all clips get the same position or length, respectively. It works as follows: If you click on the position Match values button all selected clips will get the same start position and the button disappears.
Inserting and Removing Bars Editing automation clips in Arrange mode When editing the overall structure of a song, you may need to rearrange the order and length of whole sections (e.g. make the “verse” two bars shorter, add a few bars to the intro, etc.). On the Edit menu or sequencer context menu you will find two useful functions for this: Double-clicking an automation clip opens it for editing, but unlike note clips you will stay in Arrange mode and not switch over to Edit mode.
The Edit mode The Edit mode allows you to edit events inside a clip. This is where you perform detailed editing of note and automation events. Opening a clip in Edit mode D To edit the contents of a note clip, double-click it, or select it and press [Return]. Opening a note clip automatically switches the sequencer to Edit mode. D To select Edit mode, click the Edit/Arrange mode button in the top left corner of the sequencer area. Double-clicking a note clip in Arrange mode...
The Edit mode elements In Edit mode, the view is divided into various edit lanes which are used for editing different types of events in a note clip (i.e. notes, velocity and performance controller automation events). Any Track parameter automation lanes on the track will also be shown and can be edited in Edit mode. Overview Note edit lane D Next you have edit lanes for performance controller automation. Each performance controller you use when recording will get a separate edit lane.
Edit mode window handling Resizing and Zooming D You can resize or hide edit lanes by dragging the dividers between them. Drum edit mode. This is divided vertically into note numbers, corresponding to the drum sound channels on a Redrum device (and named accordingly, if the track is connected to a Redrum device). Use this for editing drum tracks. D Where applicable, the lanes have individual zoom controls and scrollbars. D The Magnifying Glass tool can be used for zooming in and out.
Drawing Notes Notes are drawn and edited primarily in the Key lane, but all actions described apply to the Drum lane and the REX lane: Drawing notes 1. Make sure the note clip is open. If not, select it and press [Return], or double click it. 2. If you want to restrict note input to certain note values (e.g. sixteenth notes), set the snap value accordingly and activate Snap. 3. Select the Pencil tool.
Nudging event positions About resizing drum notes You can use the left/right arrow keys to “nudge” the positions of selected events. It works as follows: • Pressing [Command] (Mac)/[Ctrl] (Windows) and using the left or right arrow key moves the position back or forward by the set Snap value.
Editing velocity The velocity values of notes can be edited manually in the Velocity lane, The Line tool is probably the preferred method for creating regular, smooth ramps, or for giving all the notes the same velocity (by drawing a straight line), while the Pencil tool can be used for creating more irregular curves. ! If you hold down [Shift] when you edit velocity values, only the selected notes will be affected! This can be very useful, especially in “crowded” sections with lots of notes.
About subticks When editing you have a resolution of 240 ticks per 1/16 note, which allows for very accurate positioning. But when you record notes, the internal resolution is even higher which means that values can be fractions of a tick (subticks). This is indicated by an asterisk after the tick value. To round off the value to the nearest tick, [Command]-click (Mac)/[Ctrl]-click (Windows) on the asterisk. Editing automation Automation in Reason is vector-based.
D You can also remove automation lanes by using the Delete Automation Lane (“X”) button in the track list for the corresponding lane. If you try to remove an automation lane with clips on it, an alert dialog opens where you can select to cancel the operation or to proceed. 2. You open the clip for editing by double clicking it or by selecting it and pressing Return. The clip is now open for editing. Editing existing automation events As explained previously you can edit automation clips in Arrange mode.
About Automation Cleanup Drawing automation events D If you find you have gotten too many automation points when recording or drawing events, you can adjust the “Automation Cleanup” setting to “Heavy” or “Maximum” in the Preferences dialog - General page. This automatically removes superfluous automation points next time you record or draw events and simplifies the curves. Note that snap also governs the number of points when drawing events - see below.
Editing performance controller automation Editing Pattern Change clips To edit, draw or delete performance controllers, open the note clip. Pattern change clips are viewed and edited in the Pattern Select lane, which is available on Redrum tracks and Matrix tracks: A pattern change is shown as clips with a pop-up menu area at the top (given the clip is selected).
Drawing Pattern clips Manually editing pattern change clips You can draw pattern clips on the Pattern Select lane with the Pencil tool: To manually edit a Pattern change clip, proceed as follows: 1. Activate Snap and set the Snap value to the note position where you want to insert the pattern change clip. It is probably a good idea to set Snap to “Bar”, at least if you are working with patterns of a length corresponding to the time signature (e.g. 16 or 32 step patterns and 4/4 time signature).
Tool window - Tools page note editing functions The Tool window - Tools page contains some special editing functions. Proceed as follows: 1. Select the clips or events to which you want to apply the editing functions (in Arrange or Edit mode). The functions are mainly used with notes, but not all; the Scale Tempo function will also affect automation and pattern changes (see below), and Automation Cleanup only affects automation events.
4. Click the Quantize “Apply” button. The selected notes are quantized. Quantizing during recording You can have Reason quantize notes automatically when they are recorded. This is done by activating the “Quantize Notes during Recording” button on the transport, before you start recording. The Quantize settings apply as usual. Pitch (Transpose) D This function transposes the selected notes up or down, by the specified number of semitones. D You can also Randomize the pitch for selected notes.
Legato Adjustments Scale Tempo This function can be used to extend each selected note so that it reaches the next selected note. You can also shorten the note length for one of two selected overlapping notes to set a gap between them. You specify the desired gap or overlap in the value fields. Note start positions are never changed, only the note length is affected by Legato adjustments.
Copying patterns to sequencer tracks As described on page 288, you can use the “To Track” function when using the Dr.Rex Loop Player device. This creates sequencer notes on the selected track, so that each slice in the REX loop gets a corresponding sequencer note. Playing back the sequencer track will then play all slices in the correct order, with the original timing of the loop. Similar functions are available for the Redrum and Matrix devices.
Redrum notes The “Convert Pattern Track to Notes” function When you use this function with the Redrum, you should note the following: • The notes will have the pitch of the corresponding drum sound (see “Using Redrum as a Sound Module”) and the velocity depending on the Dynamic value. Soft notes have velocity 30, medium notes have velocity 80 and hard notes have velocity 127. • You probably want to turn off the “Enable Pattern Section” switch on the Redrum device panel.
Automating tempo and time signature The transport track can be used to automate tempo and/or time signature changes. It works by drawing or recording clips on automation lanes for the transport track. Automating tempo Automating tempo is done much in the same way as with other automation. You can either record the tempo changes by changing the tempo on the transport panel, or you can draw curves in clips on the transport track. 1. Set the desired tempo on the transport. This will be your static value, i.e.
Automating time signature 1. Set the desired time signature on the transport. This will be your static value, i.e. the time signature of the song wherever there is no clip present on the automation lane. 2. [Alt]/[Option]-click in the Time Signature field on the transport panel. This will select the Transport track and create a Time Signature automation lane in one go.
Importing and Exporting MIDI Files Reason can import and export standard midi files (SMF). This allows you to transfer MIDI data between Reason and other applications. D All controller data in the MIDI file is included. This means that standard performance controllers (pitch bend, mod wheel data etc.) are preserved properly and will included in the note clip as when recording in Reason.
6 D The ReGroove Mixer
Introduction The ReGroove Mixer Open the ReGroove Mixer (in the main window or in the detached sequencer window) by clicking the ReGroove Mixer button in the Transport Panel. The ReGroove Mixer combines all the benefits of quantization, shuffle, and groove templates into a single integrated environment, giving you real-time creative control over the feel and timing of individual note lanes.
Anchor Point Normally, all groove patterns start at Bar 1 and repeat themselves throughout a song. For example, a 4-bar groove pattern will begin at Bar 1 and repeat its pattern every four bars. Many times, however, songs begin with blank measures, pickup measure or, perhaps, a short introduction. In these cases, you probably don't want the groove pattern to begin at Bar 1, but at some later bar.
Groove Patch Name Shuffle This shows the name of the groove patch currently loaded into the channel. If no groove patch is loaded, then no name appears. Click this area to bring up a list of the patches in the current folder, just as with patch displays on devices in the Reason rack. At its most basic level, this knob adds a sixteenth note “swing” feel to the ReGroove channel. A value of 50% results in a straight (no shuffle) feel, and a value of 66% creates a perfect triplet feel.
Groove Amount Copy, Paste and Initialize ReGroove channels Use this fader to adjust how intensely the selected groove patch will modify your notes. At 0%, the groove patch will have no effect. At 100%, the groove patch will have its maximum effect. Obviously, values between these extremes will produce some amount of groove effect, but less than maximum.
Groove Settings Groove Patch Length This displays the groove's length, which is import for determining how often the groove repeats. D In general, if you apply different groove patches to different note lanes, you'll want their lengths to be multiples of one another. For example, if one ReGroove channel uses a 4-bar groove, you might want to use 4-bar grooves on other channels or, perhaps, a multiple (such as 1-bar, 2-bar, or 8bar grooves).
Velocity Impact Random Timing This determines the extent to which velocity information embedded in the groove template affects the velocity of your notes. Grooves modify only the relative differences between note velocities, not their absolute values. This way, soft passages remain soft and loud passages remain loud-the groove simply accents the notes differently. A 100% setting means that the feel is more or less exactly transferred from the template to your music.
Working with grooves 5. To hear some of the different possibilities, start by turning up the channel's Shuffle knob while you play the sequence. Applying grooves to your music Follow this example to learn basic ReGroove mixing techniques and hear the effect that various groove parameters have on your music. 1. If it's not already visible in either the Sequencer or Rack, open the ReGroove Mixer by clicking the corresponding button on the Transport Panel. 2.
7. Turn the Slide knob back to its middle position (0 Ticks), then click the channel's Browse button and navigate to the Groove Patches folder in the Factory Sound Bank. Commit to Groove - making the grooves “permanent” When you assign a ReGroove channel to a note lane, this will only affect how the notes play back. The notes will still be shown with their original, ungrooved positions if you open the note clip. If you want to edit grooved notes (e.g.
Creating your own ReGroove patches To create your own ReGroove Patch, proceed as follows. 1. Create a clip containing notes with the desired timing and dynamics (velocity). Alternately, you could import a MIDI File with the desired effect, or use the “To Track” function on a Dr.REX device to extract the notes from a REX loop. Groovy tips & tricks • D Note that some MIDI clips will make better grooves than others.
The ReGroove patches in the Factory Sound Bank Reason ships with a ready-made assortment of groove patches, arranged in a number of different folders: MPC-60 These grooves were created by analyzing the audio output of an Akai MPC-60. Use these patches to get the same shuffle feeling as an original MPC-60. Note that these patches do not contain any velocity or note length information.
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7 D Remote - Playing and controlling Reason devices
About the various MIDI inputs Setting up This chapter describes how you use Remote to set up your master keyboard and control surfaces, allowing you to play Reason devices, adjust parameters and control various Reason functions. This is the main way of sending MIDI to Reason, but there are also some additional methods: This is how you add your control surfaces - including the master keyboard. D Using ReWire 2.
6. An image of the selected control surface model is shown, often along with some information text - read this carefully. For some control surfaces, you need to select a specific preset to use the surface with Reason - this is noted here. 7. Use the MIDI Input pop-up to select the input port to which you have connected the surface. If in doubt, you can click the Find button and then tweak a control or play a key on the control surface to have Reason find the correct input port for you.
Other functions D To edit a surface, double click it in the list (or select it and click Edit). This lets you change its name and MIDI port settings, if needed. D To delete a surface, select it in the list and click Delete. D You can turn off a surface by deactivating its “Use with Reason” checkbox. This could be useful if the surface is connected to your system but you only want to use it with another program, etc. D There is still an “Advanced MIDI” page in the Preferences.
The “Control Surface Details” document contains some information about the standard mappings of the different control surface models. But you can also activate Remote Override Edit mode to see which parameters for each device are mapped to your control surface(s) - see page 115. D Note that if you have several control surfaces connected, some parameters could be mapped to controls on more than one control surface.
2. Pull down the Surface pop-up from at the top of the dialog and select the control surface device you wish to lock to a device. 3. Next, open the “Lock to device” pop-up menu. On this pop-up, all devices in the current song are listed. The “Follow Master Keyboard” item which is selected by default, means that the control surface isn’t locked (it instead follows the Master Keyboard input in the sequencer). 5. Close the dialog when you are done. The device is now locked to the selected control surface.
Remote Override Remote Override allows you to map parameters and functions to controls on your control surface device, overriding the standard mapping. D Note that you can select the Transport panel as well! Most items on the Transport panel can be mapped to controls. Note that by selecting the Transport panel any standard mapping will be shown automatically, unlike other devices where you have to first direct Master Keyboard input to the device from the sequencer.
D Or you can activate “Learn From Control Surface Input” and simply move (or press) the control you want to map the parameter to. The “Control Surface Activity” field momentarily flickers as you turn the knob, and then the dialog shows the control surface and control it is mapped to. D If the control surface has a keyboard, you can also select notes as controls. Notes work just like on/off buttons. If “Keyboard” is selected from the Controls pop-up, a Note Number field appears in the dialog. 3.
Additional Remote Overrides... D Patch selection is usually standard mapped to buttons on a control surface. If you wish to override this standard patch selection mapping for devices globally to select patches for any patch device that currently has Master Keyboard input, you can assign this here. For example, you may always want to use the same buttons on a specific control surface for selecting patches. D Select Patch for Target Device is also meant to be assigned to a Deltatype control (see above).
Keyboard Control Assigning keyboard remote commands does not involve MIDI, so there is no special setting up required. Keyboard commands can be assigned to parameters just as when using Remote Override mapping, but the functionality differs in one central aspect: D If you click on an assignable parameter to select it, you can then select “Edit MIDI Control Mapping” from the Edit menu. This opens a dialog allowing you to select a key command for that parameter.
Saving Remote Setups There’s no need to save MIDI Remote mapping as the Standard Remote mapping for each Reason device to supported control surfaces is built-in, and is always available. You may, however, wish to save specific Remote Override mappings or Keyboard Control setups as a template: D This could be done by saving a song document containing all the devices that are affected by the related Key or Remote Override mappings, but without any sequencer data.
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8 D Advanced MIDI - the External Control Bus inputs
About the External Control Bus inputs The External Control Bus inputs allow you to send MIDI directly to Reason devices. D These MIDI inputs are for controlling Reason devices from an external sequencer. This could be an external hardware sequencer or a sequencer application running on another computer. D If you want to control Reason from another sequencer application on the same computer, the preferred method is ReWire (see page 126).
9 D Using Reason as a ReWire Slave
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. It does not deal with using ReBirth and Reason together; that is described on page 316. In ReWire 2 A number of features were added in Reason version 2. The following are the most important: • • • Why use Reason with ReWire? While Reason is a complete music tool in its own right, you might want to add other elements to the music, such as: • Vocals.
Launching and Quitting When using Rewire, the launch and quit order is very important: Launching for normal use with ReWire 1. First launch the host application. 2. Then launch Reason. Using the Transport and Tempo Controls Basic Transport Controls When you run ReWire, the transports in the two programs are completely linked. It doesn’t matter in which program you Play, Stop, Fast Forward or Rewind. Recording, however, is still completely separate in the two applications.
Routing Audio Preparations in Reason When you route audio from Reason to a ReWire host application, you make use of the Hardware Interface at the top of the rack. Basically, each output in the Hardware Interface is connected to a separate ReWire channel. Therefore: D To take full advantage of the mixing features in the host application you need to connect the different Reason devices directly to the Hardware Interface.
Converting ReWire Channels to Audio Tracks Details About Various ReWire Hosts Most often, there is no need to convert individual ReWire channels to regular audio tracks! The channels already appear in the host application’s Mixer, and you can typically perform the same kind of real-time processing as with regular audio channels (effects, EQ, volume, pan and mute automation, etc.).
128 USING REASON AS A REWIRE SLAVE
10 D Synchronization
ReWire users – Read This! This chapter is about synchronization via MIDI Clock, and does not apply to users of ReWire. If you are using Reason together with a ReWire compatible application, ReWire automatically handles all synchronization issues for you. See page 123 for details. What is Synchronization and MIDI Clock? Slaving Reason to an External Device This example assumes that you have an external device, such as a drum machine, hardware sequencer, another computer, tape recorder etc.
Slaving Reason to Another Program on the Same Computer Synchronization Considerations Adjusting for Latency ! The preferred method for synchronizing two applications is by using ReWire, see page 123. However, if the application you need to sync Reason with doesn’t support ReWire, you can try the procedures described below. This section describes how to use MIDI Clock to synchronize Reason to another application running on the same computer.
About the beginning of the Song Due to the latency phenomenon, described on page 18, Reason needs some time to correct it’s playback speed when it first receives the Start command. This can be noted as a small glitch in the audio playback, when the program starts. If this is a problem, you need to insert a couple of empty measures at the beginning of the Song. Proceed as follows: 1. Set the Left Locator to “1 1 1” and the right Locator to “3 1 1“. 2.
11 D Song File Handling
About Self-contained Songs D Files that are part of a ReFill are indicated by a lock symbol instead of a checkbox (since they cannot be included in the song file). The rightmost column indicates to which ReFill each such file belongs. The song is the main file format in Reason. A song contains the device setup and all settings in the rack, as well as everything you have recorded in the sequencer.
Song Information Selecting the Song Information item on the File menu opens a dialog in which you can supply various information about the song. To add a splash picture, click the folder button at the upper right corner, and locate and open the picture file in the file dialog that appears. ! Splash pictures must be JPEG files (Windows extension “.jpg”) with a size of 256 x 256 pixels. To remove the splash picture from the song, click the cross button.
Saving a Song 2. Use the browser to navigate to the desired folder on disk or within a ReFill. See page 33. To save a song, proceed as follows: 3. When you have located the song file, select it and click Open (or double click on the file). The song appears in its own document window. 1. Set up the self-contained settings as desired (see the previous page). 2. Pull down the File menu and select Save (or press [Command] / [Ctrl]-[S]).
1. Select New from the File menu to create a new song document window. 2. Add/remove devices and make settings as desired. Typically, you may want the default song to contain your choice of devices and possibly some patterns. You could also make some special routing between devices, or even add some sequencer data. 3. Save the song anywhere you like, and under whatever name you like (to keep things organized you might want to save the song in the Reason program folder). 4.
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12 D Optimizing Performance
Introduction Reason is a program of infinite possibilities. You can create as complex songs as you like, using endless racks of devices. While this is one of the most exciting properties of the program it does have a drawback – it means that you must be careful with how you manage your computer processing power. Each device you add to the rack uses up a bit of computer processing power – the more devices the faster the computer has to be.
General procedure The basic procedure for optimizing the latency is the following: 1. Open a song and start playback. You want to choose a song that is reasonably demanding, i.e. with more than just a few tracks and devices. 2. Open the Preferences dialog. Under Mac OS X, this is found on the Reason menu; under Windows it’s found on the Edit menu. 3. Select the Audio page and locate the buffer settings.
Optimizing Songs Polyphonic Devices – Subtractor, Thor, Malström, NN19, NNXT, Dr. Rex and Redrum Below follows things you can check and change to make sure your song uses as little computer processing power as possible: D Try making the device play fewer voices. This can be done for example by lowering the release and setting the Polyphony setting to exactly the maximum number of notes played simultaneously by this device. Global D Delete unused devices.
Redrum D Do not use the Tone feature available on channels 1, 2 and 9. In other words, make sure the Tone controls and their accompanying Vel knobs are set to “0” (“twelve o’ clock”). Mixer devices D Avoid using stereo inputs when not required. For example, if your sampler or Dr. Rex player is playing mono material, only connect it to the Left input on a mixer channel. Leave the Right input unconnected. D Do not activate EQ (Mixer 14:2 only) unless required.
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13 D Transport Panel
Overview The transport panel has standard controls for the sequencer transport, but also features controls for setting tempo, metronome click, locator points etc. The main controls in the central area of the transport panel are as follows: Fast Forward Rewind Stop Tempo Time Signature Song Position Play Record Loop on/off Left and Right Locator positions Main Transport Controls The main transport controls function just like standard controls on tape recorders etc.
Tempo and Time Signature To round off the value to the nearest tick, [Command]-click (Mac)/[Ctrl]-click (Windows) on the asterisk. The tempo and time signature settings can be adjusted on the transport panel. The left tempo value sets the tempo in bpm, and the tempo field to the right allows you to fine tune the tempo, in steps of 1/1000 bpm. Left and Right Locator Positions D You can specify any tempo between 1 and 999.999 bpm (beats per minute).
Additional Transport Panel Items Audio Out Clipping Indicator Click When this is activated, you will hear a click on each beat, with an accent on the downbeat of each bar. The click is played back during recording and playback. You can adjust the volume of the click by using the Level knob. Pre (pre-count) All signals that are being fed into the Hardware Interface (to your audio hardware’s physical outputs) are monitored for clipping (signal overload) at the output stage.
14 D Reason Hardware Interface
Introduction 3. Try sending MIDI notes from the external sequencer, on the selected bus and MIDI channel. The indicator below the channel's name field should light up. Audio Out Reason supports up to 64 audio output channels. These are divided into two panels, each with 32 outputs. To see the outputs 33 to 64, click the “More Audio” button The Hardware device is where you connect Reason with the “outside world”.
15 D The Combinator
Introduction Creating Combinator devices Creating an empty Combinator device D Add a Combinator from the Devices tab in the Tool window. To see the Combinator device icons, the “More” checkbox must be ticked. D Select “Combinator” from the Create menu. This will create an empty Combinator. Empty Combinator devices can be used as a starting point when creating new Combi patches. It also allows you to browse for existing Combi patches.
Combinator elements In the picture below an unfolded Combinator device is shown. About internal and external connections Unlike other devices, the Combinator contains both external and internal audio connections. D External connections are used to connect a Combinator to devices outside the Combi. D Internal connections are how devices within the Combi are connected. External connections D The “Combi Output L/R” connectors carry the audio output of the Combinator.
D Therefore, all connections to/from a Combi should pass via the To/From Device connectors on the Combinator device if you wish to make the Combi self-contained. If a Combi contains external routing connections, this is indicated both on the front and back panels of the Combinator; On the front panel “External Routing” is displayed in the Patch name display, and on the back panel a LED indicator is lit.
Adding devices to a Combi D No sequencer tracks will be automatically created for devices added to a Combi. About the Insertion line About auto-routing The auto-routing of devices in a Combi is similar to devices in the rack: When the Insertion line is shown, new created devices will be added to the Combinator device. D To be able to select the Insertion line you have make sure that the “Show Devices” button is lit on the Combinator Controller panel.
D If you drag devices into the Combi with [Shift] pressed, the devices will be disconnected from the rack and auto-routed according to the insert position. The routing between dragged devices will be kept. If it isn’t possible to auto-route a dragged device (e.g. if there’s no free mixer inputs in the Combi), the device will become unconnected. D If you drag devices into the Combi with [Option] (Mac) or [Alt] (Windows) pressed, the devices will be copied. No auto-routing takes place.
Deleting devices in a Combi This works exactly as for devices in the rack. Select the device and then either select “Delete Device” from the Edit menu, or press [Backspace]. The Controller panel Uncombining devices You can uncombine a whole Combi or selected devices within a Combi in the following way: D If you select a Combinator and then select “Uncombine” from the Edit menu, the Combinator device will be removed, and all devices contained in the Combi will be connected as a single device to the rack.
Bypass All FX This button allows you bypass all effect devices in a Combi. It works as follows: • All insert effect devices in the Combi are switched to Bypass mode. • All effects connected as send effects to a mixer device are switched off. • Clicking this button will not affect effect devices that were bypassed or turned off already. Select backdrop...
1. Make sure the Combinator track has MIDI focus. About the keyboard 2. Select an instrument device in the Device list to the left (non-instrument devices, e.g. effects and mixers do not have key ranges). The currently selected device key range is highlighted and shown as a horizontal bar under the keyboard display, and as note numbers in the Key Range Hi and Lo fields at the bottom of the Programmer panel. By default, the entire range is selected (C -2 to G 8). Only one device at a time can be selected.
About overlapping Velocity Ranges You can set overlapping velocity ranges. Here’s an example of how this can work: D Device 1 has a velocity range from 1-60. D Device 2 has a velocity range of 41-100. D Device 3 has a velocity range of 81-127. D A Button control will switch between two set values like an on/off switch. Worth noting is that there are buttons on several Reason devices that will step through a series of values, for example LFO Waveform buttons.
2. Click in the Target column for the Rotary or Button control you wish to assign a parameter. On the pop-up that appears, all the available parameters for the device are listed. Naming a control When you make modulation routing assignments, you should give the associated control a descriptive name that reflects what it does, for example Vibrato On/Off or the name of the parameter that it controls. This is done by clicking the label on the Controller panel and typing in new name.
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16 D The Mixer
Introduction The Channel Strip AUX Sends 1-4 Pre-fader switch for AUX Send 4 EQ On/Off button EQ Treble and Bass controls The Mixer 14:2 allows you to control the level, stereo placement (Pan), tone (EQ) and effect mix (AUX Sends) of each connected audio device. If you have ever used a conventional hardware audio mixer, you will most likely find the Mixer very straightforward to use. It is configured with 14 (stereo) input channels, which are combined and routed to the Left and Right Master outputs.
Channel Strip Controls: | Item | Description Channel Fader The channel fader is used to control the output level of each corresponding channel. By adjusting the faders, you can set the desired mix (balance) between different devices connected to the Mixer. Each channel in the mixer that has a device connected to it, displays a read-only label with the name of the device to the left of the fader. The meter is a graphical representation of the channel output level.
The Mixer signal flow The Auxiliary Return Section The basic signal flow for a channel in the Mixer is as follows: Aux 4 pre-fader mode Input EQ Pan AUX Returns Solo Mute Fader AUX Sends Effects Devices Master L/R Output Note that the Solo function is true “in-place” solo, meaning that if the channel uses Auxiliary sends routed to effect devices, the soloed output signal will also include the soloed channel(s) including any Aux Send effects.
Connections Auxiliary (AUX) Returns All input and output connectors are as usual located on the back panel of the Mixer 14:2. Special connectors are used for “chaining” two or more Mixers together. This is described on page 168. Mixer Channel Connections D Each mixer channel features stereo left/right inputs for connecting audio devices. Use the left input when manually connecting a mono signal source.
Chaining Mixers Partially or Non-Chained Mixers You can also have several Mixers that are only partially or not chained at all. D You may for example wish to have different Aux Send effects for one Mixer. Then simply disconnect one or more of the Send Out to Chaining Aux connectors, and assign new Send effects. D You could for example send the Master output of one Mixer to another Input pair on the Audio In Hardware interface, instead of the Chaining Master inputs.
17 D The Line Mixer 6:2
Introduction The Line Mixer 6:2 allows you to control the level, stereo placement (Pan) and effect mix (AUX Send) of each connected audio device. The Line Mixer is configured with 6 (stereo) input channels, which are combined and routed to the Left and Right Master outputs. | Item | Description Auxiliary (AUX) Effect Send The AUX Send controls the amount of channel signal that is to be sent to other devices - typically effect processors.
Connections All input and output connectors are as usual located on the back panel of the Line Mixer. Mixer Channel Connections D Each mixer channel features stereo left/right inputs for connecting audio devices. Use the left input when manually connecting a mono signal source. D In addition, there is a Control Voltage (CV) input, for voltage controlling channel Pan from other devices. Auxiliary (AUX) Send D The Send connectors are used to connect to the inputs of effect devices.
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18 D Redrum
Introduction About File Formats Redrum reads two basic types of files: Redrum Patches A Redrum patch (Windows extension “.drp”) contains all settings for all ten drum sound channels, including file references to the used drum samples (but not the actual drum samples themselves). Switching patches is the same as selecting a new drum kit. Drum Samples At first glance, Redrum looks styled after pattern-based drum machines, like the legendary Roland 808/909 units.
Using Patches Both these methods play back the drum sample for the corresponding drum sound channel, with all settings for the sound applied. When you create a new Redrum device it is empty. Before it can play back any audio you must first load a Redrum patch (or create one from scratch, by loading individual drum samples). A Redrum patch contains settings for the ten drum sound channels, complete with file references to the drum samples used.
Programming Patterns Pattern Basics Redrum contains a built-in pattern sequencer. Unlike the main sequencer in Reason, the Redrum sequencer repeatedly plays back a pattern of a specified length. The typical analogy in the “real world” is a drum machine which plays drum patterns, usually one or two bars in length. Having the same pattern repeat throughout a whole song may be fine in some cases, but most often you want some variations.
D To select a pattern in the current bank, click on the desired Pattern button (1-8). If you like, you can assign computer key commands and/or MIDI messages to pattern selection. 5. Select a Redrum channel, by clicking the “Select” button at the bottom of the channel. The button lights up, indicating that this channel and the drum sound it contains is selected. D To select a pattern in another bank, first click the desired Bank button (A, B, C, D) and then click the Pattern button.
About the “Edit Steps” Switch Pattern Shuffle If you set the pattern length to more than 16 steps, the pattern steps following after the 16th won’t be visible, although they will play back. To view and be able to edit the next 16 steps, you have to set the Edit Steps switch to 17-32. To see and edit steps beyond 32 you set the switch to 33-48, and so on. Shuffle is a rhythmic feature, that gives the music a more or less pronounced swing feel.
D Applying flam to several consecutive step entries is a quick way to produce drum rolls. By adjusting the Flam knob you can create 1/32 notes even if the step resolution is 1/16, for example. | Function | Description Randomize Pattern Creates a random pattern. Random patterns can be great starting points and help you get new ideas. Creates a random pattern for the selected drum sound only - the notes for the other drum sound channels are unaffected.
Redrum Parameters Drum Sound Settings Redrum features ten drum sound channels that can each be loaded with a Wave or AIFF sample or a sample from a SoundFont bank. Although they are basically similar, there are three “types” of drum sound channels, with slightly different features. This makes some channels more suitable for certain types of drum sounds, but you are of course free to configure your drum kits as you like. On the following pages, all parameters will be listed.
D If the Vel knob is set to zero (middle position), the sound will play at a constant volume, regardless of the velocity. When Vel is set to zero, the LED above the knob goes dark. D When the pitch is set to any other value than 0, the LED above the knob lights up to indicate that the sample isn’t played back at its original pitch.
Sample Start Global Settings Channel 8 & 9 Exclusive The Start parameter allows you to adjust the start point of the sample. The higher the Start value, the further the start point is moved “into” the sample. If you set the Start Velocity knob to a positive amount, the sample start point is moved forward with higher velocities. A negative Start Velocity amount inverts this relationship. D When Start Velocity is set to any other value than zero, the LED above the knob lights up.
Using Redrum as a Sound Module Connections The drum sounds in Redrum can be played via MIDI notes. Each drum sound is triggered by a specific note number, starting at C1 (MIDI note number 36): C1 C2 2 4 7 9 On the back of the Redrum you will find the following connections: 1 3 5 6 8 10 This allows you to play Redrum live from a MIDI keyboard or a MIDI percussion controller, or to record or draw drum notes in the main sequencer.
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19 D Subtractor Synthesizer
Introduction The Oscillator Section Subtractor is an analog-type polyphonic synthesizer based on subtractive synthesis, the method used in analog synthesizers. This chapter will go through all parameters of each section of Subtractor. In addition to the parameter descriptions, the chapter also includes a few tips and tricks to help you get the most out of the Subtractor synthesizer.
Here follows a brief description of the Subtractor waveforms: | Waveform | Description ! Please note that the descriptions of the waveforms sound or timbre is 21 22 23 This waveform is suitable for saxophone-like sounds. A waveform suitable for brass and trumpet-type sounds. This waveform is good for emulating mallet instruments such as marimba. Similar to 23, but with a slightly different character. This waveform is suitable for guitar-type sounds.
Oscillator Keyboard Tracking Oscillator 1 has a button named “Kbd. Track”. If this is switched off, the oscillator pitch will remain constant, regardless of any incoming note pitch messages, although the oscillator still reacts to note on/off messages. This can be useful for certain applications: Oscillator 2 Waveform The waveform alternatives for Oscillator 2 are identical to those of Oscillator 1.
Phase Offset Modulation A unique feature of the Subtractor oscillators is the ability to create an extra waveform within one oscillator, to offset the phase of that extra waveform, and to modulate this phase offset. By subtracting or multiplying a waveform with a phase offset copy of itself, very complex waveforms can be created. Sounds complicated? Well, the theory behind it might be, but from a user perspective it is just a method of generating new waveforms from existing waveforms.
Frequency Modulation (FM) In synthesizer-speak, Frequency Modulation, or FM, is when the frequency of one oscillator (called the “carrier”) is modulated by the frequency of another oscillator (called the “modulator”). Using FM can produce a wide range of harmonic and non harmonic sounds. In Subtractor, Osc 1 is the carrier and Osc 2 the modulator. To try out some of the effects FM can produce, proceed as follows: 1. Select an Init Patch by selecting “Initialize Patch” from the Edit menu.
The Filter Section D 12 dB Lowpass (LP 12) This type of lowpass filter is also widely used in analog synthesizers (Oberheim, early Korg synths etc.). It has a gentler slope (12 dB/Octave), leaving more of the harmonics in the filtered sound compared to the LP 24 filter. In subtractive synthesis, a filter is the most important tool for shaping the overall timbre of the sound.
D Highpass (HP12) A highpass filter is the opposite of a lowpass filter, cutting out lower frequencies and letting high frequencies pass. The HP filter slope has a 12 dB/Octave roll-off. The darker curve illustrates the roll-off curve of the Highpass Filter. The lighter curve in the middle represents the filter characteristic when the Resonance parameter is raised. D Notch A notch filter (or band reject filter) could be described as the opposite of a bandpass filter.
Filter 1 Frequency The Filter Frequency parameter (often referred to as “cutoff”) determines which area of the frequency spectrum the filter will operate in. For a lowpass filter, the frequency parameter could be described as governing the “opening” and “closing” of the filter. If the Filter Freq is set to zero, none or only the very lowest frequencies are heard, if set to maximum, all frequencies in the waveform are heard.
Envelopes - General Sustain Envelope generators are used to control several important sound parameters in analog synthesizers, such as pitch, volume, filter frequency etc. Envelopes govern how these parameters should respond over time - from the moment a note is struck to the moment it is released. Standard synthesizer envelope generators have four parameters; Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release (ADSR).
Filter Envelope Amount This parameter determines to what degree the filter will be affected by the Filter Envelope. Raising this knob’s value creates more drastic results. The Envelope Amount parameter and the set Filter Frequency are related. If the Filter Freq slider is set to around the middle, this means that the moment you press a key the filter is already halfway open. The set Filter Envelope will then open the filter further from this point.
Destination LFO 2 Parameters The available LFO 1 Destinations are as follows: LFO 2 is polyphonic. This means that for every note you play, an independent LFO cycle is generated, whereas LFO 1 always modulates the destination parameter using the same “cycle”. This can be used to produce subtle cross-modulation effects, with several LFO cycles that “beat” against each other. This also enables LFO 2 to produce modulation rates that vary across the keyboard (see the “Keyboard Tracking” parameter below).
Play Parameters This section deals with two things: Parameters that are affected by how you play, and modulation that can be applied manually with standard MIDI keyboard controls. These are: • • • • • Velocity Control Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheel Legato Portamento Polyphony The following parameters can be velocity controlled: | Destination | Description Amp This let’s you velocity control the overall volume of the sound.
Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheels Legato Legato works best with monophonic sounds. Set Polyphony (see below) to 1 and try the following: D Hold down a key and press another key without releasing the previous. Notice that the pitch changes, but the envelopes do not start over. That is, there will be no new “attack”. The Pitch Bend wheel is used for “bending” notes, like bending the strings on a guitar. The Modulation wheel can be used to apply various modulation while you are playing.
About the Low Bandwidth button This can be used to conserve CPU power. When activated, this function will remove some high frequency content from the sound of this particular device, but often this is not noticeable (this is especially true for bass sounds). External Modulation Subtractor can receive common MIDI controller messages, and route these to various parameters.
Connections Modulation Outputs The Modulation outputs can be used to voltage control other devices, or other parameters in the same Subtractor device. The Modulation Outputs are: • Mod Envelope • Filter Envelope • LFO 1 Gate Inputs Flipping the Subtractor around reveals a plethora of connection possibilities, most of which are CV/Gate related. Using CV/Gate is described in the chapter “Routing Audio and CV”. Audio Output This is Subtractor’s main audio output.
20 D Thor Polysonic Synthesizer
Introduction Thor elements In the picture below an unfolded Thor device is shown. Thor is an advanced synthesizer with many unique features. The design could be described as semi-modular, in that the oscillator and filter sections are open slots that allow the user to select between various different oscillator and filter types, each with a distinct character. Some of these designs were inspired by selected vintage equipment. As a result, Thor is capable of producing an astounding array of sounds.
The Controller panel The Controller panel contains standard Master Volume and Pitch and Mod controls, Keyboard Mode/Note Triggering sections and four virtual (freely assignable) controls. The panel also has a patch display and standard Select/Browse/Save patch buttons (these are always shown even if Thor is folded).
The Pitch Bend and Modulation wheels • • • The Pitch and Mod wheels on the Controller panel will mirror the corresponding actions on your master keyboard. The Range parameter (like for all instrument devices) sets the range of the Pitch Bend action. Pitch Bend is pre-wired to the pitch parameter of the three oscillators, but you can of course use it to control any parameter you like. If you don’t want Pitch Bend to affect oscillator pitch, simply set the Range parameter to “0”.
D There are three open Oscillator slots, a Mixer, two open Filter slots, a Shaper, three Envelope generators, an LFO and an Amplifier in the Voice section. The open Oscillator and Filter slots allow you to select between different types of oscillators and filters. With a basic connection setup, the Oscillator outputs are internally connected to the “Mix” section. To pass the output signal onwards in the signal chain, you first have to activate a connection.
D The Filter 1 output passes via the Shaper (currently not activated), on to the Amp section, and finally to the Main Outputs. Actually, the Amp section output is routed via the Global section before being sent to the Main Outputs, but as currently nothing is activated in the Global section the signal passes through unprocessed. 9. Click the Arrow “left” button below the Shaper.
D The Arrow button in the top left corner of each slot opens a pop-up menu where an oscillator type can be selected for the corresponding slot. D Any oscillator type loaded into the Oscillator 1 slot can also be amplitude modulated by Oscillator 2 - see “About Amplitude Modulation (AM)”. Analog oscillator There are six Oscillator types available: • Analog • Wavetable • Phase Modulation • FM Pair • Multi Oscillator • Noise You can also select Off mode (no oscillator).
D There are 32 wavetables that can be selected using the up/down buttons or by clicking in the Wavetable display. FM Pair oscillator Some of the wavetables have waveforms that sequentially follow the harmonic series, i.e. each following waveform adds a harmonic. Others have waveform series that produce a sound similar to oscillator sync when swept, and other wavetables are simply mixed waveforms. The last 11 wavetables are based on wavetables used in the original PPG 2.3 synthesizer.
Multi oscillator Noise oscillator This versatile oscillator can simultaneously generate multiple detuned waveforms (of a set type) per voice. It is great for producing complex timbres e.g. to simulate cymbal or bell sounds, but can also generate a wide range of harmonic sounds. The Noise oscillator can not only produce white and colored noise, but can also be used either as a pitched oscillator or as a modulation source.
About Oscillator Sync Oscillator sync is when one oscillator will restart the period of another oscillator, so that they will have the same base frequency. If you change or modulate the frequency of the synced oscillator you get the characteristic sound associated with oscillator sync. D In Thor, Oscillator 2 amplitude modulates Oscillator 1. The Ring Modulated output will then contain added frequencies which are generated by the sum of, and the difference between the two signals.
Filter slots D The “VEL” parameter sets how much incoming note velocity affects the Filter Envelope Amount. In other words, for this parameter to have any effect it requires that the “ENV” parameter is set to a value other than zero. D The “INV” button inverts how the filter frequency responds to Envelope settings. D The “Drive” parameter allows you to adjust the input gain to the filter. By driving the filter harder you can add further character to the sound.
State Variable Filter Comb filter This is a multi-mode filter which offers 12 dB/octave slope Lowpass (LP), Bandpass (BP), Highpass (HP), plus Notch and Peak filter modes which are sweepable between HP/LP states, similar to the vintage Oberheim SEM filter. The filter modes are as follows: The Comb filter can add subtle pitch variations and phasing-like effects to sounds. D LP 12 (12 dB lowpass) Lowpass filters let low frequencies through and cut off high frequencies.
D The ENV-VEL-KBD knobs affect the “X” parameter. The parameter can be CV controlled. D The “Gender” parameter changes the basic timbre of the vowel generation between male (low Gender settings) and female (high Gender settings) voice characteristics. Gender can also be CV controlled. D The Pan knob controls the relative stereo position of the individual voices. By applying modulation to this parameter, you can make individual voices appear in different stereo positions when you play.
Envelope sections D The time ranges of each step are as follows: Attack: 0 ms - 10,3 s / Decay and Release: 3 ms - 29,6 s. Sustain is not set as a time but as a level (from Off to 0dB). Amp Envelope The Amp Envelope is also a standard ADSR envelope. D By setting up a Amp envelope you control the how the amplitude or some other parameter should change over time with the four parameters, Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release. Please refer to the Subtractor chapter for a description of these parameters.
Global section Global Envelope The Global Envelope 4 is an advanced envelope that is free to use for whatever purpose, but remember it is “single trigger” so it will not retrigger legato notes as explained above. It is an ADSR envelope with a pre-delay stage and a hold stage before the decay phase. You can make it Loop and Sync the time settings to the song tempo.
LFO 2 D The LFO 2 is a standard LFO but is not polyphonic like LFO 1. It is not assigned to any parameter in an “Init” patch so you have to use the Modulation Routing section to use it. • Also the LFO 2 “Delay” and “Key Sync” parameters are single trigger, i.e. the LFO will not retrigger these parameters for legato notes. Modulation bus routing section D You select a LFO waveform by using the spin controls beside the waveform display, or by clicking in the display and moving the mouse up or down.
The upper half of the menu contains Voice section source parameters, and the lower half contains various global play and performance-oriented source parameters and the Global Envelope, as well as the Step Sequencer, CV and Audio inputs. This means that Osc 1 pitch is now assigned to be modulated by LFO 1. Next step is to set the amount of modulation to be applied. 6. Click in the top row Amount column to the right of the Source column, and move the mouse pointer up and down to set an Amount value.
10.The modulation routing is now complete! You now have full control over the vibrato modulation by using the Mod wheel. • How much modulation will be applied when the Scale parameter is set to maximum is governed by the Source to Destination Amount parameter. • How much the Scale parameter controls the modulation is set with the Scale Amount parameter. • To clear any assigned modulation routing you can use the “CLR” button to the right of the corresponding bus.
Modulation Sources - Global | Parameter | Description The following parameters can be used as Global section modulation Sources: Step Sequencer This allows you to apply modulation according to the settings for each step in the Step Sequencer. On the sub-menu you can chose to apply modulation according to Gate/Note/Curve 1 and 2/Gate Length/Step Duration settings for each step. In addition you have Start and End Trig, which sends a gate trigger at the start and end of the Step sequence, respectively.
| Parameter | Description Modulation Destinations - Global Filter 1/ Filter 2 The following destinations are available on the Filter 1 and 2 sub-menus: • Audio In - this allows you to connect an audio source (e.g. an oscillator or an external audio signal) to the filter input. • Frequency - this controls the filter frequency. • Frequency (FM) - this will apply filter frequency modulation. The difference between Frequency and FM is that if a high frequency audio signal (i.e.
| Parameter | Description Step Sequencer This allows you to control various parameters belonging to the Step Sequencer. • Trig - this enables control over the Step Sequencer Run on/off status. • Rate - this enables control over the Step Sequencer Rate. • Transpose - this enables control over the Step Sequencer base pitch. E.g. if you apply MIDI Note as a source to this parameter you can transpose the sequence by playing notes. • Velocity - this enables control over the Step Sequencer Velocity response.
Setting the direction The Direction parameter is used to set the direction of the step sequence. The following options are available: D Forward - plays the sequence from the first step to the last. D Reverse - plays the sequence from the last step to the first. 4. Make sure that the Edit knob is set to Note. 5. Turn one of the step knobs above one of the steps.
Setting the number of steps Step Pattern functions D You can set how many steps a sequence should have before starting over using the Steps knob at the far right on the panel. Up to 16 steps can be used. The lit LEDs above each step button show the number of steps currently used. You can also change number of steps by clicking on a LED directly - the sequencer will then stop/start over at the selected step.
Connections The following Audio and CV connectors can be found at the back of Thor: Sequencer Control Inputs The Sequencer Control CV and Gate inputs allow you to play Thor from another CV/ Gate device (e.g. a Matrix or the RPG-8). The signal to the CV input controls the note pitch, while the signal to the Gate input delivers note on/off along with velocity. Modulation Inputs D The Rotary control voltage (CV) inputs (with associated voltage trim pots), can modulate the two virtual Rotary controls.
21 D Malström Synthesizer
Introduction The Malström is a polyphonic synthesizer with a great number of different routing possibilities. It is based on the concept of what we call “Graintable Synthesis” (see below), and is ideally suited for producing swirling, sharp, distorted, abstract special effect types of synthesizer sounds. In fact, you could go so far as to say that the Malström can produce sounds quite unlike anything you’ve ever heard from a synthesizer.
The Oscillator section The two oscillators (osc:A and osc:B) of the Malström are the actual sound generators, and the rest of the controls are used for modulating and shaping the sound. The oscillators actually do two things; they play a graintable and generate the pitch: • A graintable is several short, contiguous segments of audio (see above). • Pitch is the frequency at which the segments are played back.
Controlling playback of the graintable About motion patterns Each oscillator features three controls that determine how the loaded graintables are played back. These are: The “Index” slider, the “Motion” knob and the “Shift” knob. Each graintable has a predefined motion pattern and a default motion speed. When a graintable is looped (i.e.
The Modulator section The Malström features two Modulators (mod:A and mod:B) These are in fact another type of oscillators, called LFOs (Low Frequency Oscillators). They each generate a waveform and a frequency, much like osc:A and osc:B. However, there are a couple of important differences: • Mod:A and mod:B do not generate sound. They are instead used for modulating various parameters to change the character of the sound. • They only generate waveforms of low frequency.
D Pitch Use this if you want Mod:A to offset the pitch of osc:A, osc:B, or both (see page 227). The Filter section D Index Use this if you want Mod:A to offset the index start position of osc:A, osc:B, or both (see page 228). D Shift Use this to have Mod:A affect the harmonic content of osc:A, osc:B, or both (see page 228). Mod:B Mod:B can modulate the following parameters of either oscillator: D Motion Use this if you want Mod:B to affect the motion speed of osc:A, osc:B, or both (see page 228).
D To activate/deactivate a filter, click the On/Off button in the top left corner. When a filter is activated, the button is lit. D Comb + & Comb – Comb filters are basically delays with very short delay times with adjustable feedback (in Reason controlled with the Resonance knob). A comb filter causes resonating peaks at certain frequencies. The difference between “+” and “–” is in the position of the peaks, in the spectrum. The main audible difference is that the “–”-version causes a bass cut.
D Env (envelope) If you click on this button so that it is lit, the cutoff frequency (see below) will be modulated by the filter envelope. If you leave this deactivated, the Filter Envelope will have no effect. D Freq (frequency) The function of this parameter depends on which filter type you have selected: With all filter types except AM, it is used for setting the cutoff frequency of the filter.
The Shaper Output Signal Before filter:A is an optional waveshaper. Waveshaping is a synthesis method for transforming sounds by altering the waveform shape, thereby creating a complex, rich sound. Or, if that’s more to your taste, truncating and distorting the sound to lo-fi heaven! A guitar distortion box could be viewed as a type of waveshaper for example. An unamplified electric guitar produces a sound with fairly pure harmonic content, which is then amplified and transformed by the distortion box.
Routing Routing examples One or both oscillators without filters The Malström puts you in total control of how the signal should be routed from the oscillators, through the filters and on to the outputs. Below is first a general description of the routing options, followed by examples of how to route the signal in order to achieve a certain result. D Click on a button so that it is lit, to route the signal correspondingly. See below for descriptions.
Both oscillators with one filter each One or both oscillators with both filters in series With this configuration, the signals from osc:A and osc:B will go to filter:A and filter:B respectively, and then to the outputs. Again, this configuration allows you to work in true stereo. Osc:A routed through both filters in series. One oscillator with both filters in parallel Adding the shaper Osc:B routed through both filters in series.
Volume This knob controls the master volume out from the Malström. The play controls Spread This controls the stereo pan-width of the outputs from Osc:A/B and Filter:A/B respectively. The farther to the right you turn the knob, the wider the stereo image will be. In other words, the signals will be panned further apart to the left and right. ! If you are only using one output (A or B), it is strongly recommended that you set Spread to “0”.
Legato The Velocity controls By clicking this button you activate/deactivate Legato. Legato in Malström is unique in that it allows you to control whether the sound is monophonic or polyphonic by using your playing style: D If you play legato (hold down a key and then press another key without releasing the previous), the sound is monophonic. Also note that the pitch changes, but the envelopes do not start over. That is, there will be no new “attack”.
The Modulation wheel controls Connections The Modulation wheel can be set to control a number of parameters. You can set positive or negative values, just like in the Velocity Control section (see above). The following parameters can be affected by the modulation wheel: D Index This sets modulation wheel control of the currently active graintable’s index (see page 228) for osc:A and/or osc:B. Positive values will move the index position forwards if the modulation wheel is pushed forward.
Sequencer Control The Sequencer Control CV and Gate inputs allow you to play the Malström from another CV/Gate device (typically a Matrix or a Redrum). The signal to the CV input controls the note pitch, while the signal to the Gate input delivers note on/off along with velocity. Routing external audio to the filters ! For best results, you should use the Sequencer Control inputs with monophonic sounds.
Connecting the signal from the Malström itself If you connect one or both oscillator outputs to the audio input(s), the internal signal path from the oscillators to the filters is broken. In other words, no signals will pass internally from the oscillators to the filters, and the three routing buttons for the oscillators are ignored.
22 D NN-19 Sampler
Introduction A sampler could be described as a device capable of recording and reproducing audio material, like a tape recorder. Unlike a tape or hard disk based recorder, samplers allows you to “play” the recorded sound via MIDI, using a keyboard for example. This way, any reproducible sound can be integrated into the MIDI environment, and be controlled from sequencers etc. like synthesizers. The NN-19 is a sample player, capable of reproducing, but not recording or editing sound files.
About Audio File Formats When loading a REX file, each slice in the file is assigned to one key, chromatically. All parameters are set to default settings. The NN-19 can read audio files in the following formats: When using REX files in the DR. Rex loop player, it is possible to make a track play the slices in order to recreate the original loop. To do the same in the NN-19 requires a few extra steps. • • • • • Wave (.wav) AIFF (.aif) SoundFonts (.sf2) REX file slices (.rex2, .rex, .
About Key Zones and Samples Loading a Sample into an empty NN-19 1. Create a new sampler device. 2. Click on the sample browser button. This is located above the keyboard display to the left. ✪ When you browse samples, you can preview them before loading using the browser Play button. If you select the Preview “Autoplay” function, the samples play back once automatically when selected. 3. Use the browser to select a sample and open it.
Creating Key Zones Setting the Key Zone Range A “key zone” is a range of keys, that plays a sample. All key zones together make up a “key map”. To create a new key zone, the following methods can be used: ! Key zones cannot overlap. D Select “Split Key Zone” from the Edit or context menus. This splits the currently selected key zone in the middle. The new zone is the upper half of the split, and is empty.
About Key zones, Assigned and Unassigned Samples Removing Sample(s) from a Key Map When you load samples and rearrange your key mapping, you will often end up with samples that are not assigned to any key zone. In the following texts we refer to the samples as follows: • Assigned samples are samples that are currently assigned to one ore more key zones. • Unassigned samples are samples that reside in the sample memory, but that are currently not assigned to any key zone.
Looping Samples Automap Samples If you have a number of samples that belong together, but haven’t mapped them to key zones you can use the “Automap Samples” function on the Edit menu. This is used in the following way: 1. Select all samples that belong together and load them in one go, using the sample browser. One of the samples will be assigned to a key zone spanning the whole range, and the rest will be loaded in to memory but remain unassigned. 2. Select Automap Samples from the Edit menu.
NN-19 Synth Parameters The NN-19 synth parameters are used to shape and modulate samples. These are mostly similar to the parameters used to shape the oscillators in Subtractor - you have envelope generators, a filter, velocity control etc. Again, it is important to remember that these parameters do not alter the audio files in any way, only the way they will play back. ! These parameters are global, in the sense that they will affect all samples in a sample patch.
The Filter Section ! Note that the Filter Frequency parameter is usually controlled by the Filter Envelope (see “Envelope Section” below) as well. Changing the Filter Frequency with the Freq slider may therefore not produce the expected result. Resonance Filters are used for shaping the overall timbre of the sound. The filter in NN-19 is a multimode filter with five filter types. Filter Mode With this selector you can set the filter to operate as one of five different types of filter.
The Amp Envelope is used to adjust how the volume of the sound should change from the time you press a key until the key is released. By setting up a volume envelope you sculpt the sound’s basic shape with the four Amplitude Envelope parameters, Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release. This determines the basic character of the sound (soft, long, short etc.). The Level parameter acts as a general volume control for the sample patch. LFO stands for Low Frequency Oscillator.
Sync By clicking this button you activate/deactivate LFO sync. The frequency of the LFO will then be synchronized to the song tempo, in one of 16 possible time divisions. When sync is activated, the Rate knob (see below) is used for setting the desired time division. Turn the knob and check the tooltip for an indication of the time division.
Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheels Legato The Pitch Bend wheel is used for “bending” notes, like bending the strings on a guitar. The Modulation wheel can be used to apply various modulation while you are playing. Virtually all MIDI keyboards have Pitch Bend and Modulation controls. NN-19 also has two functional wheels that could be used to apply real time modulation and pitch bend should you not have these controllers on your keyboard, or if you aren’t using a keyboard at all.
Voice Spread This parameter can be used to control the stereo (pan) position of voices. The Spread knob determines the intensity of the panning. If this is set to “0”, no panning will take place. The following pan modes can be selected: | Mode | Description Key This will shift the pan position gradually from left to right the higher up on the keyboard you play. This will shift the pan position from left to right in 8 steps (1/2 octave) for each consecutive higher note you play, and then repeat the cycle.
Gate Inputs These inputs can receive a CV signal to trigger the envelopes. Note that connecting to these inputs will override the “normal” triggering of the envelopes. For example, if you connected a LFO output to the Gate Amp input, you would not trigger the amp envelope by playing notes, as this is now controlled by the LFO. In addition you would only hear the LFO triggering the envelope for the notes that you hold down.
23 D NN-XT Sampler
Introduction Panel Overview Features The Main Panel The basic functions of the NN-XT are very similar to those of its sampler companion in the Reason rack - the NN-19. Just like the NN-19, NN-XT lets you load samples and create multi-sample patches by mapping samples across the keyboard. The sound can then be modified by a comprehensive set of synth-type parameters. There are however some major differences between the two.
Loading Complete Patches and REX Files As previously alluded, you can load complete sample patches as well as individual samples into the NN-XT. • A patch is a complete “sound package”. It contains information about all the samples used, assigned key zones, associated panel settings etc. Loading a sample patch is done by using the patch browser on the main panel, and works in the same way as with any other Reason device.
Using the Main Panel All of the controls on the main panel are used for globally modifying certain parameters for all of the samples in a patch, by the same amount. ! Movements of the parameters on the main panel can be recorded as automation. However, controls on the remote editor panel (described later) can not! The following is a description of the controls and parameters on the main panel.
All of these knobs change the values of various parameters in the remote editor panel and affect all loaded samples. Thus they can be used for quickly adjusting the overall sound. The knobs are bi-polar, which means that when they are centered, no parameter change is applied. By turning them to the right you increase the corresponding value, and by turning them to the left, you decrease the value. Again, the movements of these parameters can be recorded as automation.
The Tab Bar area Synth Parameters This area gives you a visual indication of the key range of a selected zone. By clicking and dragging the “handles” at the key range boundaries, you can resize the key ranges, and by clicking in between the handles, you can move the key ranges without changing their length. The Key Range area This area in the middle of the key map display is where you keep track of all the zones and the relationship between them.
Selections and Edit Focus Almost all operations in the remote editor are performed on one or more selected zones or on the zone with edit focus. Several zones can be selected at once, but only one zone at a time can have edit focus. This is important since: D Editing operations that can be performed on several zones (like deleting), always apply to the selected zones. D Editing operations that can be performed on one zone only, always apply to the zone with edit focus.
Selecting zones via MIDI Moving Edit Focus You can also select zones via your MIDI keyboard. By clicking the button marked “Select zones via MIDI” above the key map display so that it lights up, you enable selection via MIDI. Moving Edit Focus A zone can be given edit focus independently of selection: D When you click on an unselected zone, it both gets selected and gets edit focus.
Adjusting Parameters D By clicking your way through the zones within the selection, you can see the settings for each zone. Adjusting Synth Parameters D If you adjust a parameter, all selected zones will be set to the same value for this parameter. The synth parameters are the ones that occupy the bulk of the remote editor panel (see page 260). Changes you make to synth parameters always apply to all selected zones.
Managing Zones and Samples 3. Use “Set Root Notes from Pitch Detection” to automatically set up the root notes (pitches) for the samples. 4. Select “Automap Zones” from the Edit menu. All selected zones are automatically arranged into a basic key map. You can now proceed with adjusting the synth parameters on the front panel to shape the sound! Creating a Key Map When you add an NN-XT sampler to the rack, its key map display is always empty. That is, it contains no samples.
Replacing a Sample Adding Empty Zones To replace the sample in a zone, proceed as follows: You can add empty zones to a key map. Empty zones are treated just like zones containing samples, in that they are automatically selected, gets edit focus and are assigned a five octave key range when they are first created. However, you can only add one zone at a time. It is also possible to resize, move and edit empty zones in the same way as zones containing samples. 1.
Working with Grouping About Groups Grouping has two purposes: Moving a Group to another Position in the List D Click on the group in the Groups column and drag up or down with the mouse button pressed. An outline of the group you move is superimposed upon the display to help you navigate to the desired position. D To allow you to quickly select a number of zones that “belong together.
Working with Key Ranges About Key Ranges Each zone can have its own separate key range, the lowest and the highest key that will trigger the sample. A good example of use for this is when sampling a certain instrument. Sampling of a piano for example is usually performed by making several recordings of different notes at close intervals, and then mapping these samples to separate, contiguous, fairly narrow key ranges. This concept is called multi-sampling.
D The inverse is also true - i.e. turning the Lo Key knob for several selected zones will apply the edit focused low key setting to all selected zones. A low key can never be set higher than one semitone below the high key in a zone, so if the edit focused zone has a low key above the high key of another zone, the other zone will be scaled to the minimum semitone range. • Dragging the left handle will only move the low key position of the zone with edit focus (the pictures show before and after dragging).
Moving Zones by Dragging the Zone Boxes About the Solo Sample function You can also move entire zones horizontally, thereby changing their key ranges. 1. Select all the zones you want to move. You can move several zones simultaneously. 2. Point on any of the selected zones, and press the mouse button. 3. Drag left/right and release the mouse button. Dragging multiple zones.
Sorting Zones by Note The Edit menu and the NN-XT context menu contains an item called “Sort Zones by Note”. This option lets you automatically sort the selected zones in descending order according to their key ranges. When you invoke this option, the selected zones will be sorted from top to bottom in the display starting with the one with the lowest range. Note however, that the sorting is done strictly on a group basis.
Tuning Samples Manually In addition to setting the root note, you may need to fine tune your samples, in order for them to match other instruments and/or each other: D Make sure the zone has edit focus (for example by clicking on it). D Use the knob marked “Tune” in the sample parameter area. This allows you to tune each sample in a key map by +/– half a semitone (-50 – 0 – 50).
Layered, Crossfaded and Velocity Switched Sounds Creating Layered Sounds D Zone 1 has a velocity range from 1-40. This means that the sample in it will be triggered by velocity values between 1-40. D Zone 2 has a velocity range of 41-80. The sample in this zone will be played back by velocity values between 41-80. D Zone 3 has a velocity range of 81-127. The sample in this zone will be triggered by all velocity values above 80.
• Zones with any other velocity range are shown as striped. Crossfading Between two Sounds An example: D Two zones are both set to play in the full velocity range of 1-127. The top zone has a full velocity range (1-127), and the lower zone has a partial velocity range (any other range), which is indicated by stripes Sorting Zones by Velocity Values The Edit menu and the NN-XT context menu contain an item called “Sort Zones by Velocity”.
Setting Crossfading for a Zone Using Alternate Manually To set up a crossfade for a zone, proceed as follows: About the Alternate function 1. Select one or more zones that you want to adjust. 2. Use the knobs marked “Fade In” and “Fade Out” in the sample parameter area, to set the desired values. At the bottom right in the sample parameters area is a knob marked “Alt”. It only has two states - On and Off. This is used for semi-randomly alternating between zones during playback.
Sample Parameters • The NN-XT then keeps repeating the section between the Loop Start and Loop end until the sound has decayed to silence. Play Mode By using this knob you can select one of the following loop modes for each zone: The Sample parameter area is found below the screen. They allow you to adjust parameters for one or several selected zones. Adjusting a parameter with multiple zones selected, will set the parameter to the same value for all selected zones.
Out The NN-XT features eight separate stereo output pairs (see page 284). For each zone, you can decide which of these output pairs to use. Thus, if you have created a key map consisting of eight zones, each of these can have a separate stereo output from NN-XT, and can then be routed to a separate mixer channel if you so wish. Group Parameters D To select which output a selected zone should be directed to, use the knob marked “Out” in the sample parameter area.
Legato and Retrig Synth parameters Legato Legato works best with monophonic sounds. Set Key Poly (see above) to 1 and try the following: The Modulation controls D Hold down a key and then press another key without releasing the previous. Notice that the pitch changes, but the envelopes do not start over. That is, there will be no new “attack”. D If Key Poly is set to more voices than 1, Legato will only be applied when all the assigned keys are “used up”.
LFO 1 Amt The Velocity controls This determines how much the amount of modulation from LFO 1 is affected by the Modulation wheel and/or the External Controller wheel. It does this by “scaling” the amounts set with the three destination knobs in the LFO 1 section (Pitch, Filter and Level, see page 282). We’ll explain this with an example: To use the Modulation Wheel to increase pitch modulation (vibrato), proceed as follows: 1. Turn the Mod Wheel all the way down, so that no modulation is applied. 2.
The Pitch section The Filter Section This section contains various parameters related to controlling the pitch, or frequency, of the zones. Filters can be used for shaping the character of the sound. The filter in NN-XT is a multimode filter with six different filter types. Pitch Bend Range D To activate/deactivate the filter, click the On/Off button in the top right corner. When the filter is activated, the button is lit. This lets you set the amount of pitch bend, i.e.
D Freq This is used for setting the filter cutoff frequency. The cutoff frequency determines the limit above or below which frequencies will be cut off depending on the selected filter type. In the case of a lowpass filter for example, frequencies below the cutoff frequency will be allowed to pass through, while frequencies above it will be cut off. The farther to the right you turn the knob, the higher the cutoff frequency will be.
D Sustain The Sustain parameter determines the value the envelope should drop back to after the Decay. If you set Sustain to full level however, the Decay setting doesn’t matter since the value will never decrease. A combination of Decay and Sustain can be used for creating envelopes that rise up to the maximum value, then gradually decrease to, and stay on a level somewhere in-between zero and maximum.
| Mode | Description Key This will make the pan position shift gradually from left to right, the higher up on the keyboard you play. This will make the pan position shift from left to right and then back again from right to left in a sequence of eight keys. Playing 4 adjacent semitones thus makes the pan position gradually go from left to right. The next 4 higher semitone notes will then change the pan position from right to left in the same way, and this cycle will then be repeated.
Mode (LFO 1 only) Key Sync (LFO 1 only) This lets you set the “operation mode” for the LFO. Click the button to switch between the available modes: By activating key sync, you “force” the LFO to restart its modulation cycle each time a key is pressed. D Group Rate In this mode, the LFO will run at the rate set for its group in the group section, rather than at the rate set here (see page 276). This way, all zones in the group will have the exact same modulation rate.
Connections The other output pairs are never automatically routed. If you wish to use any of the other output pairs, you have to manually connect them to the desired device - typically a mixer channel. The basics on Routing is described on page 26. On the back panel of NN-XT are a number of connectors. Many of these are CV/Gate related. Using CV/Gate is described in the chapter “Routing Audio and CV”.
24 D Dr.
Introduction About File Formats Dr.Rex can read files in the following formats: D REX (.rex) This is the file format generated by previous versions of ReCycle (Mac platform). D RCY (.rcy) This is the file format generated by previous versions of ReCycle (PC platform). The Dr.Rex Loop Player is capable of playing back and editing files created in ReCycle, another product created by Propellerhead Software. ReCycle is a program designed especially for working with sampled loops.
Adding a Loop To add a loop into the Dr.Rex Loop Player, proceed as follows: 1. Open the browser by selecting “Browse ReCycle/REX Files” from the Edit menu or the device context menu, or click on the folder button beside the Loop name display. Loading Loops “On the Fly” Another practical method for checking out loops, is to load them “on the fly”, i.e. during playback. This is especially useful if you want to check out a number of loops against other sequencer data and patterns previously recorded.
Creating Sequencer Notes To be able to make your REX loop start at the same time as other sequencer or pattern data, you first have to create sequencer notes from the slices: 1. Select the sequencer track connected to the Dr.Rex device. 2. Set the left and right locators to encompass the section you want to fill with REX notes. 3. Click the To Track button on the Dr.Rex panel. Activating playback in the sequencer will now play back the notes on the sequencer track.
Slice Handling Editing in the Waveform Display Selecting Slices A selected slice is indicated by being highlighted in the waveform display. To select a slice, use one of the following methods: D By clicking in the waveform display. If you hold down [Option] (Mac) or [Alt] (Windows) and click on a slice in the waveform display, it will be played back. The pointer takes on the shape of a speaker symbol to indicate this. D By using the “Slice” knob below the waveform display. D Via MIDI.
Dr.Rex Synth Parameters The Filter Section The Dr.Rex synth parameters are used for shaping and modulating the sound of the REX loops. These parameters are familiar synth parameters, similar to the ones in the synthesizers; The Subtractor and the Malström, and in the samplers; the NN-19 and the NN-XT. It is important to remember that these parameters do not alter the REX files in any way, only the way they will play back.
Filter Frequency Amplitude Envelope The Filter Frequency parameter (often referred to as “cutoff”) determines which area of the frequency spectrum the filter will operate in. For a lowpass filter, the frequency parameter could be described as governing the “opening” and “closing” of the filter. If the Filter Freq is set to zero, none or only the very lowest frequencies are heard, if set to maximum, all frequencies in the waveform are heard.
• The output of the two LFOs are never actually heard. Instead they are used for modulating various parameters. The most typical application of an LFO is to modulate the pitch of a (sound generating) oscillator or sample, to produce vibrato. In the Dr.Rex device, you can also use the LFO to modulate the filter frequency or panning. Rate The Rate knob controls the LFO’s frequency. Turn clockwise for a faster modulation rate.
Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheels The Pitch Bend wheel is used for “bending” the pitch up or down. The Modulation wheel can be used to apply various modulation while you are playing the loop. Virtually all MIDI keyboards have Pitch Bend and Modulation controls. Dr.Rex also has two functional wheels that could be used to apply real time modulation and pitch bend should you not have these controllers on your keyboard, or if you aren’t using a keyboard at all.
Connections On the back panel of Dr.Rex you will find the connectors, which are mostly CV/Gate related. Using CV/Gate is described in the chapter “Routing Audio and CV”. Audio Outputs These are the main left and right audio outputs. When you create a new Dr.Rex device, these are auto-routed to the first available channel on the audio mixer. Slice Gate Output This outputs a gate signal for each triggered slice in the loop.
25 D Matrix Pattern Sequencer
Introduction D Curve CV is a separate pattern, programmed separately from the Note/ Key and Gate CV. The Matrix is a pattern-based device. Matrix doesn’t generate sound on its own, but has to be connected to another instrument device. It basically works by sending pattern data in the form of Note CV (pitch) and Gate CV (note on/off plus velocity) or Curve CV (for general CV parameter control) signals to a device or device parameter.
Programming Patterns Selecting Patterns The Matrix has 32 pattern memories, divided into four banks (A, B, C, D). Pattern Basics Matrix contains a built-in pattern sequencer. Unlike the main sequencer in Reason, the Matrix sequencer repeatedly plays back a pattern of a specified length. The typical example in the “real world” (as well as in Reason) is a drum machine which plays drum patterns, usually one or two bars in length.
! Note that clearing a pattern doesn’t affect the pattern length, resolution or shuffle settings! 2. With the Subtractor selected, create a Matrix Pattern Sequencer. The Matrix Note and Gate CV outputs will now be auto-routed to Subtractors Sequencer Control Gate and CV inputs, as you can see if you flip the rack around. Using Cut, Copy and Paste By using the Cut, Copy and Paste Pattern commands on the Edit menu or device context menu, you can move or duplicate patterns.
4. Click inside the upper grid section of the Matrix pattern window. An orientation line is displayed in the grid to make it easier for you to find the desired note, and the red rectangles are placed according to where you click. You can drag to input continuous note values. 5. Click and drag in the lower area of the pattern window. You can create vertical Gate velocity strips of varying heights. The higher the strip, the higher the velocity value.
Using Curve Patterns Curve patterns are independent patterns that can be applied separately to the note pattern programmed in “Keys” mode. If you switch the Keys/Curve switch to “Curve”, the note, but not the gate steps, disappear from view, and leaves the upper area of the pattern window empty. You can now start programming a curve pattern. Proceed as follows: 1. Draw a curve, using the same method as for notes or gates. As you can see, the Curve pattern looks like large vertical gate steps.
Setting Pattern Length Pattern Shuffle Shuffle is a rhythmic feature, that gives the music a more or less pronounced swing feel. It works by delaying all sixteenth notes that fall in between the eighth notes. You may want to make settings for Pattern length, i.e. the number of steps the pattern should play before repeating: D The “Steps” spin controls are used to set the number of steps you wish the pattern to play. The range is 1 to 32.
Pattern Functions Converting Pattern Data to Notes When a pattern device is selected, you will find some specific pattern functions on the Edit menu (and on the device context menu). ! Curve patterns cannot be converted to sequencer data! Only the note Shift Pattern Left/Right You can convert Matrix Pattern data to note data, that can be edited and played back from the main sequencer.
Example Usage Programming “Acid Style” lead lines As mentioned previously, the Matrix is a very flexible device. Here follows a few examples of how you can use the Matrix Pattern Sequencer. By “acid style” lead lines we mean patterns that use a combination of Legato and slide (or portamento) effects to produce the widely used hypnotic “wavy” sound produced by the original Roland TB-303, and recreated in the Propellerhead Software product ReBirth.
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26 D RPG-8 Arpeggiator
Introduction Using the RPG-8 Setting up The basic procedure is to input note data, either live or recorded, to the RPG-8 device. This note data is in turn sent to a target device via its Sequencer Control CV/ Gate inputs. The resulting output from the target device can either be arpeggiated notes or simply mirror what is played on your control surface device. Proceed as follows: An arpeggiator generates rhythmic note patterns (arpeggios) from notes or chords.
4. With MIDI input directed to the Arp 1 sequencer track, play a few notes. The notes in the chord you play are now arpeggiated for as long as you hold down the keys. The arpeggio will change directly if you release all notes and play another note or chord. If you add notes while holding down a chord, the arpeggio will continue with the added notes. D You can transpose the arpeggio up or down in octave steps using the Octave Shift buttons. See “Octave Shift”.
Recording MIDI note data for the RPG-8 - simple tutorial The notes that you feed into the Arpeggiator can be recorded and edited in the sequencer. This works pretty much like recording/editing normally, but with a few exceptions which will be duly noted. In this section we will go through the basic principles of recording MIDI data. As several functions are described later in this chapter (e.g. the Pattern editor) we will keep things simple in this tutorial.
Rendering arpeggio notes to track This function allows you to render the arpeggio generated by RPG-8 to the target device track. The arpeggio output - rather than just the source notes that generate the arpeggio - will be rendered as notes allowing for full sequencer edit control. After rendering, the target device track will have a clip with the arpeggio notes and the RPG-8 track should be muted, so no arpeggiator parameter settings can be changed - only the actual notes can be edited.
Octave Shift Octave range buttons This allows you to transpose the RPG-8 Note CV output in octave steps. You can octave shift up or down 3 octaves. Octave Shift can also be CV controlled. The Octave buttons allow you to set the octave range of the arpeggio. Arpeggiator parameters 1 Oct Use as follows: | Octave 2 Oct 3 Oct 4 Oct range | Description The arpeggiated notes will be those that you press down on the keyboard. If you select this, the arpeggio will be extended to a two octave range, i.
Single Note Repeat Pattern editor Single Note repeat governs how the arpeggiator behaves when the user plays single keys or monophonic lines. D When Single Note Repeat is on, a single key will retrigger the gate, meaning the note will repeat. If the Octave setting is 1 Oct, the note will simply repeat (given the Gate Length setting is not set to “Tie”). If the Octave setting is set to anything else, the note will repeat according to the Octave, Mode and Insert settings.
D If you click on a step button it goes dark. This means that this step will insert a rest in the arpeggio pattern. Note that no arpeggio notes are “skipped”. Inserting a rest means that the step will be silent and the next active step will play the next note in the arpeggio pattern. 2. Right-click the buttons and select “Edit Automation” from the context menu. A Pattern automation lane is created and the Pattern buttons will have a green rectangle around them to indicate that they are automated.
CV connections On the back of the RPG-8 you can find a number of useful CV connectors. These are as follows: CV Inputs There are five CV inputs, of which four can be used to control RPG-8 parameters that have associated controls on the front panel. These parameters are Gate Length, Velocity, Rate and Octave Shift. If you use an external source to modulate these parameters, the incoming CV is merged with the setting on the front of the device.
Tips and tricks Using the RPG-8 for modulation You can use the RPG-8 as a modulation source, much like an LFO. The RPG-8 can generate stepped modulation that is both synchronized to tempo and controlled by note input. In this and in following examples we assume you already have a RPG-8 connected to an instrument device. D With the RPG-8 selected in the rack, create a Spider CV Merger/Splitter.
27 D ReBirth Input Machine
Introduction Preparations For the ReBirth Input Machine to correctly operate together with ReBirth, the launch and quit order is very important. Proceed as follows: The ReBirth Input Machine is a device dedicated to receiving audio from the Propellerhead program “ReBirth RB-338” (version 2.01 and later). This is achieved by using ReWire technology (see page 124), where Reason will act as master and ReBirth as a slave device. If you don’t have ReBirth installed, you cannot use this device.
Routing When the two programs are synced, you can route any of the eighteen available outputs in ReBirth, to separate channels in a Reason Mixer, or to the Hardware Interface for direct connection to a physical output on your audio card. If you flip the rack around, a row of 18 audio outputs is shown, with the L/R Mix outputs auto-routed to your mixer or to the hardware interface. What Signals are on the Outputs? Mix-L and Mix-R This is the regular master output in ReBirth RB-338.
318 REBIRTH INPUT MACHINE
28 D BV512 Vocoder
Introduction ✪ Even if a high number of bands will make the sound more precise and intelligible, this isn’t always what’s desired! Vocoding with a lower number of bands can give results that sound different, fit better in a musical context, etc. FFT vocoding The BV512 is an advanced vocoder device with a variable number of filter bands. It also has a unique 1024-point FFT vocoding mode (equivalent of 512-band vocoding) for very precise and high quality vocoded speech.
Setting up for basic vocoding This tutorial describes how to connect and use a typical vocoder setup. We assume here that you have a MIDI keyboard connected. For details on the parameters, see page 324. 5. Press [Shift] and create the instrument device you want to use for the modulator signal. Pressing [Shift] will add the device without auto-routing it to a mixer - this makes sense since we want to route it to the Vocoder in this case.
12.Try the different filter band options and note the difference in sound. Vocoded vocals The most common usage for a vocoder is probably the typical “singing” or “talking synth” sound, using vocals or speech as modulator. Since Reason doesn’t support live audio input you cannot sing and play in real time - instead you need to use sampled speech or vocals (with e.g. an NN-19 or NN-XT as the modulator device).
Using the BV512 as an equalizer FFT (512) mode The BV512 has a unique equalizer mode, in which the device works purely as an insert effect (the modulator input isn’t used). This allows you to use the processing filters of the vocoder as a kind of graphic equalizer. D In FFT (512) mode, setting all bands to ±0 dB is the same as bypassing the equalizer - the sound will not be affected.
BV512 parameters | Parameter | Description Decay Similarly, this controls the decay time for all envelope followers, i.e. how quick the filter band levels drop. Adjust this according to taste and context. Not available in Equalizer mode. Shifts the carrier filters up or down in frequency, drastically changing the character of the vocoded (or equalized) sound. This parameter can be controlled via CV, for phaser-like sweeps and special effects.
Connections Other CV connections | Connection | Description Shift (CV in) This allows you to control the Shift parameter from an external CV source. A sensitivity knob determines how much the Shift setting is affected by the CV signal. When a gate signal is sent to this input, the Hold function is activated (see page 324). Hold remains on until the gate signal “goes low” (falls to zero). By connecting e.g.
Automation Tips and tricks Choosing a carrier sound As always, which carrier sound to choose is a matter of taste and musical context. However, here are a few guidelines to help you get a good result: • The carrier sound should preferably have a lot of harmonic content (brightness) dark or muffled sounds will not “give the vocoder much to work with”. • Often, you want the carrier sound to sustain at an even level (i.e. it shouldn’t “die out” when you hold a chord).
D For a more distinct and precise sound, try using a narrow pulse waveform. You get this by selecting e.g. a sawtooth wave on the Subtractor, setting the Phase Mode selector to “–” and turning the Phase knob to the left until you get the desired sound. This type of carrier sound lends itself well to monophonic vocoder lines in the lower registers. D Use noise as a carrier. Try using pure noise (possibly filtered down a bit) for robotic voices, whispering and special effects.
Controlling the Hold function Extracting CV from the vocoder As described see page 324, pressing the Hold button on the front panel “freezes” the current filter spectrum until you deactivate it again. This can be used for creating sample & hold-like effects, stuttering or garbled vocoder sounds: • Connect e.g. the Gate output on a Matrix device to the Hold input on the back of the BV512.
D Connect the gate outputs on a Redrum to individual band level inputs. With this connection (and no device connected to the Modulator input), the Redrum will serve as a pattern sequencer, opening and closing different filter bands. To adjust the gate times, set the drum sounds to Gate mode and use the Length parameter. The result is totally different from using the audio signal of the Redrum as modulator.
Using the BV512 as a reverb This is a very special trick which can be quite cool. Proceed as follows: 1. Create a Redrum device. The “vocoder-reverb” is best suited for drums, even though nothing stops you from using it on other sounds. 6. On the Subtractor, set up a noise sound as follows: Turn the Oscillator Mix knob fully to the right. Turn on the Noise section (but make sure Osc 2 is off). In the Noise section, turn Color to around twelve o’clock.
Creating a stereo reverb What you’ve got above is a mono reverb. Here’s how to make it stereo: 1. Select the Subtractor and create a Spider Audio Merger & Splitter device. 2. Create a DDL-1 delay. 3. Connect the devices in the following way: The Subtractor output should be routed to a Splitter input on the Spider. One split output should be routed to one of the carrier inputs on the vocoder, the other split output should be routed to the delay.
332 BV512 VOCODER
29 D The Effect Devices
Common Device Features While the specific parameters for each device are described below, some features and procedures are common to all effect devices: The Input meter This shows the level of the incoming audio signal, giving you an indication of which devices are active, connected and playing. However, you don’t need to worry about clipping in effect devices, even if the meter goes into the red.
The MClass effects The MClass package consists of four effect devices, which are available separately or grouped together in the “MClass Mastering Suite Combi”. As the name implies, the effects are suitable for mastering purposes, i.e. to process the final mixed output, but can of course be used to process individual devices as well. The individual MClass effects are as follows: • The MClass Equalizer - this has low and high shelving bands, two fully parametric bands and a low cut “anti-rumble” switch.
Parametric 1-2 parameters This is most often used as an insert effect in stereo. A parametric equalizer will boost or cut frequencies around the selected frequency. The following parameters are available for both the parametric bands: ! The MClass Stereo Imager does not create stereo from mono input! For | Parameter | Description Frequency This determines the center frequency of the EQ, i.e. at which frequency the level should be decreased or increased. The range is 39 Hz to 20 kHz.
The MClass Compressor | Parameter | Description Adapt Release When this is used, set Release to the time you want for short peaks - when longer peaks occur, the Release time is automatically increased. This controls the output gain and can be used to compensate for the gain reduction caused by compression. Range: ±12 dB. Output Gain This is a single-band compressor capable of everything from subtle compression to aggressive pumping effects.
5. If you now start playback of both devices, the level of Device A will be lowered whenever Device B sounds, and be raised again when Device B stops. The amount of gain reduction, how quickly it lowers the level, and the time it take for the level to return to normal again is determined by the corresponding Gain/ Threshold/Ratio and Attack/Release parameters. 8. Route another pair of the split outputs of the Spider to the MClass Compressor.
The MClass Maximizer Scream 4 Sound Destruction Unit This is a loudness maximizer, a special type of limiter which can significantly raise the perceived loudness of a mix without risk of hard clipping distortion. Features include a 4 ms look ahead function for “brick wall” limiting and a Soft Clip function. The MClass Maximizer should be used as an insert effect, and is designed to be placed at the end of the signal chain between the mixed final output and the Hardware Interface.
Parameters Description of the various Damage Type algorithms Scream 4 contains three main sections; Damage (distortion and other types of sound destruction), Cut (EQ) and Body (places the sound in a resonant environment - can serve as anything from a cabinet emulator to a wah-wah to completely new special effects) which can be switched on or off independently.
| Type | Description Feedback This effect combines distortion in a feedback loop which can produce many interesting and sometimes unpredictable results. Feedback is basically when a sound source is fed back to itself. An open microphone picking up sound from a nearby loudspeaker that is also being used to amplify sound from the microphone will produce a feedback loop with the associated typical howling. For this effect the Damage Control knob controls the gain of the feedback loop.
About the envelope follower The Body section features an envelope follower for dynamic control of the Scale parameter. The envelope follower analyzes the amplitude of the incoming signal and changes the Scale setting accordingly - the louder the incoming signal the higher the value of the Scale parameter. The operating frequency (or size) range is set with the Scale parameter, and the envelope follower amount is set with the Auto parameter.
Tips and tricks Using the Body section as a sound enhancer/phaser/wah Don’t restrict yourself to using Scream 4 as a basic distortion stompbox, but try it in as many ways as possible - you may be surprised to find how often Scream 4 can add power, warmth and color to your sounds. Here are some examples: Nothing stops you from using the Body section on its own, without Damage. Try this: Creating a heavy drum sound 1. Create a sampler device (e.g. an NN-19) and select an electric piano patch. 2.
Creating a real dynamic wah effect with the envelope follower As we have shown, you can get auto-wah-like effects with the Body section in Scream 4 (by using the Auto parameter). You could also use the ECF-42 envelope controlled filter and trigger this with a gate signal - this is after all a “real” filter and sounds even more like a wah effect. However, to get a “real” auto-wah effect that responds to the signal level, you need to combine both these devices: RV7000 Advanced Reverb 1.
The main panel Reverb algorithms and parameters About the main panel parameters The RV7000 main panel. When you create an RV7000, only the main panel will be shown. This contains a section for handling patches, on/off buttons for the EQ and Gate sections, the most important reverb parameters and a dry/wet mix control. To select a reverb patch and make coarse adjustments, this is all you need.
Here’s a quick overview of the nine algorithms - for details and parameter descriptions, see below. | Algorithm | Description Small Space Room Hall Arena Emulates a small enclosed space (a small room or a resonant body). Emulates a room with adjustable shape and wall character. Emulates a hall. Emulates a large arena, with separate pre-delay for the left, right and center reverbs. Emulates a classic plate reverb. Emulates a spring reverb, as used in e.g. guitar amplifiers.
Plate Echo A classic plate reverb, excellent for vocals for example. The parameters are: This is an advanced echo effect, with diffusion controls and tempo sync. When Echo is selected, the Decay control on the main panel controls the echo feedback (the number of echo repeats). The parameters are: | Parameter | Description LF Damp Controls how quickly the low frequencies should decay in the reverb. Raise it to gradually remove low frequencies, making the reverb sound “thinner” and less boomy.
• You can also set Edit Select to “Repeat Tap” - this is where you specify the repeat time for the whole multi tap “package”. With short Repeat times, the first tap may be repeated before the last tap has sounded. This can be used to create very complex multiple delay effects. Reverse The Reverse reverb algorithm in RV7000 is special in that it actually “moves” the source audio as well.
The EQ section The Gate section The equalizer in RV7000 affects the wet reverb sound only and is used for shaping the character of the reverb. There are two EQ bands, one for low frequencies (shelving) and one full-range parametric EQ. The Gate section allows you to create gated reverb effects with a lot of options and possibilities. You can either trigger the gate from the source audio signal or via MIDI or CV.
The parameters for the Gate section are: | Parameter | Description Threshold When Trig Source is set to “Audio”, this determines the audio signal level at which the gate opens. If you raise this setting, only very loud sounds will open the gate. This modulates the reverb Decay parameter so that the decay time is lowered when the gate closes.
RV-7 Digital Reverb Reverb adds ambience and creates a space effect. Normally, reverb simulates some kind of acoustic environment such as a room or a hall, but you could also use it as a special effect. D The Reverb device can be used as a send effect or an insert effect. If several devices uses the same type of reverb, you should connect the reverb as a send effect, to conserve computer power.
DDL-1 Digital Delay Line CV Inputs The following CV inputs are available on the back panel of the device: D Pan CV. This allows you to control the panning of the delay signal. Connect an LFO to this for moving delay effects, or use a Matrix pattern to simulate random delay panning. This is a mono delay (where the output can be panned in stereo) that can be synchronized to the song tempo. The delay can be used as a send effect or an insert effect. D Feedback CV.
D-11 Foldback Distortion The D-11 is a simple but effective distortion effect, capable of producing anything from just a whisper soft touch of distortion, to complete thrashing. This effect is most often used as an insert effect. ECF-42 Envelope Controlled Filter The distortion has the following parameters: The ECF-42 is a multimode filter with a built in envelope generator.
The ECF-42 filter section has the following parameters: | Parameter | Description Mode This button sets the desired filter mode. Three modes are available: 24dB/octave lowpass, 12dB/octave lowpass and 12dB/octave bandpass. This is the filter cutoff frequency. When using the ECF-42 in “static” mode (without triggering the envelope), this parameter adjusts the frequency content of the sound. When using the envelope, the Freq parameter serves as the start and end frequency for the filter sweep.
Pattern Controlled Filter - An Example This example shows how to use the ECF-42 and the Matrix to create pattern controlled filter effects. Proceed as follows: 1. Start with an empty Song. D By increasing the Vel. parameter, you determine how much the gate velocity should affect the filter frequency. ✪ If the filter effect isn’t very noticeable, try lowering the filter frequency, and raising the Res value. 2. Create a Mixer. 11.Set both the Env.Amt and Vel knobs on the ECF-42 to “0”. 3.
CF-101 Chorus/Flanger D Delay CV. Allows you to control the delay time from another device. This may give best results if you turn off the LFO modulation in the device (turn LFO Mod Amount to zero). For example, by controlling the delay parameter from a Matrix, you can create “stepped flanger” effects, in sync with the tempo. ✪ If you use the Delay CV input for “playing” the feedback tone, note that a higher delay value gives a lower pitch. The CF-101 is a combined chorus and flanger effect.
PH-90 Phaser The PH-90 Phaser is a classic phaser effect with some special features for fine-tuning the sound. It can create the classic sweeping phaser sounds suitable for pads or guitars, but also more extreme effects if you like. The phaser is best used as an insert effect. | Parameter | Description LFO Freq. Mod This determines the depth of the LFO modulation, i.e. by how much the frequency parameter should be modulated.
UN-16 Unison The UN-16 simulates the sound of several detuned voices playing the same notes simultaneously. The voices are individually slightly delayed and also pitch modulated by low frequency noise. This produces a rich chorus effect with the voices spread across the stereo field (given that stereo outputs are used). The UN-16 can be used as an insert effect or a send effect. Parameters | Parameter | Description Voice Count Detune This switch sets the number of voices for the effect; 4. 8 or 16.
PEQ-2 Two Band Parametric EQ CV Inputs The following CV inputs are available on the back panel of the device: D Freq 1 CV. Allows you to control the frequency of EQ A from another device, creating subtle or dramatic EQ sweeps depending on the Q and Gain settings. D Freq 2 CV. Allows you to control the frequency of EQ B in the same way. While there is a simple two-band shelving equalizer available for each channel in the mixer, the PEQ-2 gives you much more precise control over the tone color.
Spider Audio Merger & Splitter Practical uses of merging audio There are many practical uses of merging audio signals together, for example: D Process several audio signals with the same insert effect(s). Perhaps you want to process certain channels in a mix with the same compressor, or use one ECF-42 to filter a group of instruments in a mix. You can also set up a chain of insert effects and process the merged signals. D Sub-grouping signals.
Spider CV Merger & Splitter For instance, merging Note CV and Gate CV from a Matrix does not make much sense if you want to use Matrix to play melodic patterns via the Sequencer Control inputs of an instrument device. There would only be one merged output whereas the instrument device would need a separate Gate and Note CV signal to work properly. Practical uses of merging CV The practical applications of merging CV are perhaps less obvious compared to splitting CV.
3. Now create a Spider CV and a second Matrix device and connect them as in the picture below. 6. Set the Curve type switch to “Bipolar” on the back of the second Matrix (Matrix 2). 7. Flip the rack around so that the front panels are showing, and make the following settings for the “Matrix 2”: • Set the number of steps to “1”. • Set the Curve/Keys switch to “Curve”. 8. Adjust the Matrix 2 curve for step 1 (the only step used) so that it is in the middle of the bipolar curve as the picture shows.
Splitting CV Two CV Split Inputs (A & B). Each of the two Split inputs provide four Split outputs. The lower right Split outputs will produce an inverted CV signal. On the right half of the back panel you will find two split inputs “A” and “B”, each with four output connectors. The signal connected to a Split input will be output by all four corresponding outputs, where one is inverted.
364 THE EFFECT DEVICES
30 D Menu and Dialog Reference
Reason Menu (Mac OS X) File Menu About Reason New This menu item opens up a dialog that informs you about the version of the program and the people behind it. When you select this, a new, empty song appears. The exact contents of this song is determined by your Preferences settings (see page 380). Preferences Open... This menu item opens up the Preferences dialog. See page 380 for detailed descriptions of the options in this dialog.
Song Information... To add a splash picture, click the folder button at the upper right corner, and locate and open the picture file in the file dialog that appears. ! Splash pictures must be JPEG files (Windows extension “.jpg”) with a size of 256 x 256 pixels. To remove the splash picture from the song, click the cross button. Author’s Web Page Allows you to specify your web site.
Song Self-contain Settings... ! Note that a self-contained song file will be considerably larger than the original song file. However, samples included in a self-contained song are automatically compressed by approximately 50%, meaning that the self-contained song will still be a lot smaller than the original song and the sample files combined. “Un-self-containing” a Song If you have opened a song that is more or less self-contained (i.e.
D All controller data in the MIDI file is included. Performance controllers such as pitch bend and mod wheel will be part of the note clips, while other MIDI controllers will be imported onto separate automation lanes, most often as alien clips. Since the MIDI implementation in Reason is different for different devices (and not always the same as in other MIDI instruments) you may want to move automation clips to other lanes (or delete them) to get the best result. “.sxt” (NN-XT patch files), “.
Export REX as MIDI File... If you have imported a REX file into a Dr. Rex device and wish to play back the loop via MIDI (typically from another sequencer), proceed as follows: 1. Select the Dr. Rex device in the rack. 2. Select “Export REX as MIDI File...” from the File menu. 3. Save the MIDI File to disk. Edit Menu Undo Virtually all actions in Reason can be undone.
D If you copy and paste several devices, the connections between these are preserved. Initialize Patch D If you hold down [Shift] when you paste a device, Reason will attempt to auto-route it. For example, [Shift]-pasting an instrument device typically connects it to the first free mixer input above it in the rack. Sometimes it is useful to start with a “clean slate” when creating a synth sound, a drum kit or a sampler patch.
If this is the case when you select a patch, the program will tell you so. You can then choose to either manually locate the missing files, to have the program search for them in all stored locations and ReFills or to proceed with missing sounds. D If the zone contained a sample prior to loading, this will be replaced, both in the zone and in the sample memory, unless the sample was also used by another key zone. Browse ReCycle/REX Files...
1. Select all samples that belong together and load them in one go, using the sample browser. One of the samples will be loaded to a key zone spanning the whole range, and the rest will reside in the sample memory. 2. Manually set the root key, and adjust the tune knob if the sample needs pitch fine-tuning. Without any information stored in the file, or if the file name doesn’t indicate the root key, you will have to use your ears for this step.
Delete Zones Group Selected Zones This menu item is used with the NN-XT sampler. Selecting this option will remove both the selected zones, and any samples they may contain. This menu item is used with the NN-XT sampler. It lets you put any number of selected zones together in a group. Grouping zones is good for two things: Select All Zones This menu item is used with the NN-XT sampler. This option will automatically select all zones in a key map.
Automap Zones 1. Set up the zones so that their velocity ranges overlap, as desired. This menu item is used with the NN-XT sampler. The automap function can be used as a quick way of creating a key map, or as a good starting point for further adjustments of a key map. Automap works under the assumption that you intend to create a key map for a complete instrument, for example a number of samples of a piano, all at different pitches. 2. Select the zones.
4. Pull down the Edit menu and select “Copy Pattern to Track”. Notes will be created between the left and right locators, according to the selected pattern. ! When copying Matrix patterns, only the Gate and Keys values will be included! D If you copied a Redrum pattern, you may want to turn off the “Enable Pattern Section” before playing back the new track data. Otherwise, both the main sequencer and the pattern sequencer will play the drum sounds, simultaneously.
Combine/Uncombine Convert Pattern Track to Notes D By selecting several devices in the rack and selecting “Combine”, a Combinator device will be created containing the selected devices.
Parameter Automation Get Groove From Clip This requires that a single note clip is selected. The function will look at the notes in the clip and extract a groove from these. You can apply this groove to other note lanes or save it as a groove patch for later use. 1. Create or record a rhythmic note “pattern” of some kind. You may for example record a drum pattern, or use the notes playing the slices in a REX loop.
Crop Events to Clips Quantize Notes Notes or automation points can be positioned before or after the start or end of a clip. For example, this would happen if you have resized a clip after recording. Notes outside the clip won’t be heard on playback, but you can view and edit them if you open the clip. Selecting “Crop Events To Clips” removes all such outside events from the selected clip(s). If the track list has focus, this function is performed on all clips on the selected track(s).
Clear Remote Override Mapping Mouse Knob Range This menu command is available when Remote Override Edit Mode has been activated on the Options menu. It will remove the Remote Override mapping for a selected assigned parameter. This lets you adjust the response sensitivity of the various knobs in Reason when manipulating them with the mouse. A higher sensitivity gives a higher degree of precision. You can choose between Normal, Precise and Very Precise.
1. Select New from the File menu to create a new song document window. 2. Add/remove devices and make settings as desired. Typically, you may want the default song to contain your choice of devices and possibly some patterns. You could also make some special routing between devices, or even add some sequencer data. If you turn this off, new devices will be initialized - parameters are reset to their default values and no samples are loaded in sample-based devices. Preferences – Audio 3.
D If you are using audio hardware for which there is a specific ASIO driver, you should select this. With an ASIO driver written specifically for the audio hardware you will get lower latency (see below), support for higher sampling frequencies (up to 96 kHz in 24 bit/32 bit float resolution), and possibly better support for additional hardware features such as multiple outputs. D If there is no specific ASIO driver, you should select the Direct Sound driver for the audio hardware.
Output Latency & Buffer Size The Output latency is the delay between when audio is “sent” from the program and when you actually hear it. The latency in an audio system depends on the audio hardware, its drivers and their settings. If the latency is large, you will notice that the sound is delayed when you play a device from a MIDI keyboard.
D The “Attached Surfaces” list in the middle shows the currently added devices. Selecting a device in the list allows you to edit its settings or delete it from the list, by clicking the corresponding “Edit” or “Delete” button. 3. An image of the selected control surface model is shown, often along with some information text - read this carefully. For some control surfaces, you need to select a specific preset to use the surface with Reason - this is noted here.
If your control surface model isn’t listed If you can’t find your control surface listed on the Manufacturer or Model pop-up menus when you try to add it, this means that there’s no native support for that model. However, the program supports generic keyboards and controllers. Here’s what to do: D Select “Other” on the Manufacturer pop-up menu and then select one of the three options on the Model pop-up menu.
D Under Mac OS X, Reason will use the language selected in the operating system (if applicable). Create Menu Create Instrument / Create Effect Selecting this will open the Patch Browser, where you can browse for patches, regardless of the device type. Depending on which menu item you selected, the browser will be set to show instrument patches or effect patches only. D Selecting a patch in the browser will automatically create a device of the corresponding type in Reason, with the selected patch loaded.
Options Menu Internal Sync/MIDI Clock Sync/ReWire Sync These three options are used to specify which type of tempo synchronization you prefer: Internal Sync When this is activated, the program is not synchronized to any external source. It plays in the tempo set on the transport panel. MIDI Clock Sync When this is activated, the program is synchronized to external MIDI Clock, as set up in the Preferences dialog.
5. Click “OK” to exit the dialog. The selected parameter is now tagged with a lightning bolt symbol, indicating Remote Override mapping. 6. To exit Remote Override Edit mode, deselect it from the Options menu. You do not always have to use this method - see below. D Locked devices can use remote overrides, just like unlocked devices.
Window Menu (Windows Version) Window List This lists all open song documents. Selecting one makes it the active window. Stay on top When this is activated, the Reason window will always stay on top of other program’s windows. Detach/Attach Sequencer Window Selecting this will detach the sequencer pane from the rack, and open it in a separate window. When the sequencer is detached, the menu item text changes from Detach to Attach. Selecting this will then reattach the sequencer to the rack.
Help/Contacts Menu Contents (Windows only) This menu item opens up the Help system with the Contents tab selected. Index (Windows only) This menu item opens up the Help system with the Index tab selected. Search (Windows only) This menu item opens up the Help system with the Search tab selected. Internet Page Menu Options About the Internet menu alternatives Regardless of which of the Internet options you select, you will be connected to the Internet using your preferred browser.
D Index
A Add Labels to Clips 379 Adjust Alien Clips to Lane 71 ADSR 194 Alien Clips 71 Alter Notes 91 Pattern (Matrix) 302 Pattern (Redrum) 179 Pattern (RPG-8) 312 Anchor Point (ReGroove Mixer) 99 Arpeggio Notes to Track 376 Arrange View 70 ASIO Control Panel 140 ASIO Driver 20 Attach Sequencer Window 80, 389 Audio File Formats 17 Audio Hardware 16 Audio Levels 18 Audio Out 16 Audio Out Clipping 18, 148 Audio Outputs (Hardware Interface) 150 Audio Quality 16 Auditioning patches (Browser) 37 Auto-color New Sequence
Combinator Adding devices 155 Bypass All FX 158 Combining devices 152 Creating 152 Creating by browsing patches 152 Creating new devices 155 External Routing 153 Insertion line 155 Key Mapping 158 Receive Notes 159 Run Pattern Devices 157 Select backdrop 158 Uncombining devices 157 Using the Programmer 158 Commit to Groove 105, 377 Compatible EQ 166 Compressor 358 Context Menus 10 Control Surfaces Adding and setting up 383 Controllers see Automation Convert Pattern Track to Notes 93 Copy 370 Copy Device 24
E E Marker 137, 369 ECF-42 Envelope Filter 353 Edit Automation 84 Edit Keyboard Remote 118 Edit View 78 Editing Automation events 85 Empty Rack (Default Song) 380 Enable Keyboard Remote 118 Enable Pattern Section 93, 176, 179 Envelope Filter 353 Envelopes 194 EQ Mixer 165 Parametric 359 RV7000 Advanced Reverb 349 Vocoder mode 323 Eraser tool Notes 82 Export as Audio File 137 Export Device Patch 369 Export MIDI File 96, 369 Export REX as MIDI File 370 Export Song/Loop as Audio File 369 Ext Mod (Subtractor) 1
K M Key Commands Syntax in Manual 8 Transport 59 Zooming 57 Key Maps NN-19 246 NN-XT 264 Key Zones NN-19 245 NN-XT 256 Keyboard Control Edit Mode 387 Keyboard Remote 118 Keyboards (MIDI) 383 Keys (Matrix) 296 Knobs 8 M Column 54 Magnification 12 Magnifying Glass tool 12 Magnifying glass tool 80 Malström About 226 Filters 230 Graintables 226, 228 Modulators 229 Oscillators 227 Routing 234 Routing external audio to 239 Shaper 233 Mapping variations (Remote) 113 Masked events 82 Master Keyboard Input 54, 38
MultiMedia Extensions Driver 20 Multiple Undo 11 Mute 54 Mixer 165, 170 Redrum 180 Mute Clips 378 N Naming Devices 25 New 366 New Dub/New Alt buttons 63 NN-19 About 242 Loading Samples 244 Parameters 248 NN-XT About 256 Group Parameters 276 Groups 266 Loading Samples 257 Main Panel 258 Remote Editor Panel 259 Sample Parameters 275 Synth Parameters 277 Velocity Ranges 272 Notes Altering 91 Editing 81 Editing Velocity 83, 90 Recording 61 Transposing 90 Nudging event positions 82 Numerical Value Editing 9 O
Pre-Align (ReGroove Mixer) 101 Pre-count 61 Preferences Advanced Control page 385 Audio page 381 General page 380 International page 385 Keyboards and Control Surfaces page 383 Preview (Dr.
RPG-8 About 306 Arpeggiator parameters 310 Arpeggio notes to track 309 MIDI-CV Converter parameters 309 Setting up 306 rps files 136 Run button 176, 177 RV-7 Reverb 351 RV7000 Advanced Reverb 344 S S1/S2 controls 180 Sample Rate About 17 For Playback 141 In Exported Audio 137, 369 Samples Browsing 372 Extracting from Self-contained Songs 134, 368 File Formats 32 Missing 41 NN-19 244 NN-XT 260 Redrum 174 Save Song 136, 366 Scale Tempo 91 Scream 4 339 Scrolling 12, 22 Search function 39 Select All (Sequencer
Songs Creating Default 136 Creating New 366 End position 137, 369 Exporting as Audio Files 137 Opening 136, 366 Optimizing 142 Published 136 Publishing 367 Saving 136 Self-Contained 134 Self-contained 368 Setting up the Default Song 380 Splash Picture 135, 367 Sort Zones by Note 374 Sort Zones by Velocity 374 Soundfont files 33 SoundFonts NN-19 244 NN-XT 257 Redrum 174 Spider Audio Merger and Splitter 360 CV Merger and Splitter 361 Splash Picture 135, 367 Startup Song 136 Steps (Pattern) 297 Stereo Consider
W Web Site 135, 367 Wheel mouse 13 Windows MME Driver 20 Z Zooming 12 400 INDEX
