Propellerhead's Reason updated to version 7

Propellerhead’s Reason has been the software of choice for many producers ever since version 1.0 came out back in December 2000. However, at the beginning reason wasn't seen as the feature packed music production platform that we know it as today. Unlike most music creation software, Reason lacked the basic support for audio and MIDI that pretty much every other DAW boasted at the time. This wasn't the point of reason though; Reason relied of its unique take on the music creation process and its virtual rack that has inspired many creative minds since its birth.

Over ten years later and Reason has grown into a mature music creation workstation that isn't afraid to take on the big boys of the DAW world. Reason hasn't lost any of that unique charm though, it still relies on the virtual studio rack that made most of us fall in love with it at the moment we set our eyes on it.

Audio input was added in version 6 when Reason was fused with its sister program Record. This was a big step forward for the software as it meant that users who used rewire to link Reason with other DAWs could ditch the other software and work completely within the Reason environment.

Today we saw the release of Reason 7, the update that so many of us have been waiting for since its announcement at the beginning of March. The announcement wasn't really that long ago, but the hype that surrounded the update has made it feel like an eternity for hardcore reason users.

So what’s new?

Reason now has MIDI out! That’s right; the feature that we have been hoping Reason would adopt for years has finally been added to the rack. The MIDI out device is pretty self explanatory; it’s a virtual rack device that allows you to send MIDI data from reason and into your favourite hardware gear. So all that unused gear that’s been lying around your studio can now go to good use.

New audio editing features have also been included in Reason 7, most notable the new audio slicing capabilities. Reason now automatically slices recorded audio so you can easily edit, re-arrange and warp your audio. You can also bounce these slices to a .REX file and import them into the Dr. Octorex or the Nurse rex devices. Once loaded into these devices you can then further manipulate your audio inside the Reason rack. This is essentially like having ReCycle built into Reason.

When Rack Extensions were introduced in Reason 6.5 developers began making all sorts of cool devices that can be purchased in the Propellerhead shop. The most requested Rack Extension device was a spectrum analyser. After a while we began seeing very basic spectrum analysers hit the shop but they went as accurate as some of the VST devices that are available in other software. Propellerhead listened to these requests for a versatile spectrum analyser and built one into its already impressive mixer section. You can even apply EQ straight from the analyzer window.

One thing that Reason’s mixer lacked was the ability to group channels. There was a way of doing this in previous versions of Reason, but it involved lots of wiring around the back of the rack and doing this every time you wanted to group a set of sounds could get a bit tedious. Luckily Propellerhead have included the ability to create bus groups as a new feature in Reason 7.

Another nice addition the mixer is parallel channels, just by right clicking the channel strip and selecting “create parallel channel” you can duplicate the selected mix channel. This is useful especially for parallel processing where you can blend a highly effected signal in with the original.

Along with the release of Reason 7 Propellerhead also released a brand new Rack Extension called the Audiomatic Retro Transformer. The Rack Extension is free to anyone that owns reason 7 and is available in the Propellerhead shop for users of Reason 6.5 and essentials users to buy for € 39.00. The effect is described as a “psycho-acoustic future retro effect, inspired by the photo apps in your phone” which pretty much means that it allows you to apply vintage and futuristic sounding effects to your audio. Audiomatic has a really simple interface that features sixteen mode selection buttons along with dry/wet, transform and volume knobs. It’s a cool idea for an effect but only time will tell if it will prove useful in your productions.

Will reason still run on my computer when I upgrade it?

Unfortunately the answer to this is very hit and miss but if you have a relatively up to date machine then you shouldn't have a problem. The specs and requirements for Reason 7 are a little higher than the previous versions but you can find all the information you need about system requirements on Propellerhead’s website. Alternatively, if you’re a new user then you can download the demo and give it a good test run. The demo is the full version of Reason with the only restriction of not being able to open saved files so this is a good way of seeing if the software will run on your computer before you purchase it.

Overall I'm very impressed with the updated version of Reason. The new features have been implemented very smoothly and now that it has both audio and MIDI capabilities it feels a lot more professional. If you’re new to music production then I definitely recommend that you give reason a go. 

Creating a trance/electro synth using Reason 4 (Lucky Date)

Watching how the pros work can really spark some inspiration in your own tracks. Lucky Date is one of those producers that prefers to let his fans in on how he creates his sounds, so watching though the tutorials on his YouTube page can be really useful for the novice producer.

I've said it before but I'd like to say it again; learning a bit about sound design and how to create your own sounds is vital to electronic music. It's not really enough to rely solely on presets and sound banks, sure they are good for the odd sound here and there but if you learn to create your own sounds then your tracks will benefit from it. Not only that, but you will quickly learn to replicate sounds from your favourite tracks.

The video that I've embedded below is one of his older tutorials (over two years old at the time of posting this article) but the sound that he's focusing on is still relevant in today's popular music.
Trance and electro synths are still really big in both chart music and the underground scene. In the video Lucky Date shows us how to go about replicating this synth sound using Propellerhead's Reason 4.

How to spice up your drum patterns in Reason (Propellerhead)

When you're programming your drum tracks you might often find your self using the same old patterns. Every track you write doesn't necessarily have to have the same old 'four-to-the-floor' beat going though the whole song. Why not spice things up with some variations and changes.

Having the same drum loop throughout your track can get boring, not just for you but also the listener. Changing the drums every now and then can give your tracks a little more interest and a new breath of life.

In the video below Mattias from Propellerhead Software takes us through a few tricks that he uses when programming drums. He shows us how to use ghost notes to give a basic pattern a little more interest. Using ghost notes can make your electronic drums sound a bit more human especially when you change them up every two bars or so.

Mattias also shows us how he creates a simple top loop using Reason's Dr. Octorex. using the built in highpass filter he removes all of the unwanted low end elements (primarily the kick and snare) from the percussion loop and places it over his existing drum pattern.

Reason's 'alter notes' feature is also mentioned in the video. Personally this is one of my favourite features in Reason as it can be used to instantly change MIDI data (much like a randomizer function). This is a good way to create some alterations to your beats when you're feeling a bit stuck with the creative process.

The final thing that is mentioned in the video is polyrhythms. Polyrhythms might seem confusing at first but they are a great way of giving your beats a more organic or evolving quality. A polyrhythm (or polymeter in the case of this video) is where you take two parts and play them in different time signatures. for example: if you program your kick in a traditional 4/4 measure but your hi-hats in a 5/4 measure then you can get some quite interesting results. If you're still confused about polyrhythms after watching this video then there are plenty of resources online that go a little more in depth on the subject.

One thing that wasn't mentioned in this video is adding groove to your beats. All DAWs have a groove function where you can add some swing or shuffle to your programmed beats. Giving your beats a bit of swing or shuffle is a great way to get them sounding more human. If you combine the groove feature with ghost notes (mentioned earlier) then it is possible to fool the listener into thinking that they're listening to an actual drummer rather than programmed beats.

Even though the video is created for users of Propellerhead's Reason all of the techniques mentioned can be recreated in any DAW. So next time you're working on a track pay a little more attention to your drums, if they're lifeless and uninspired them maybe try a few of these mentioned tricks. They can change a dull track into something a lot more palatable.

Using the 'Autotune' effect in your productions

Love it or hate it pitch correction software is everywhere in modern music, software such as Antares Autotune can be heard on thousands of recordings. If you’re not sure what I'm talking about you must have been living in a hole for the past 10 or so years. Autotune has been used religiously by industry professionals to correct the pitch of vocals, making the singer sound better than they actually are. Used subtly it is nearly impossible for the average listener to detect but if you drive the software to its limits and set a high correction speed then you can achieve that instantly recognisable robot voice effect.

The effect that I'm talking about is most commonly associated with that infamous Cher vocal from her 1998 hit ‘Believe’. The robot like vocals created by Autotune has also been adopted by rapper T-Pain who has used it extensively throughout his career.

Although Antares Autotune is the most popular pitch correction software on the market it is not the only one. There are many other options out there for producers that want to touch up their vocals and experiment with pitch correction.

My favourite has to be Neptune, a device that is included with Propellerhead’s Reason. Neptune is the most intuitive pitch correction device that I have come across to date, it sounds fantastic and once you get stuck in it is really easy to use. Neptune isn't just an Autotune knock-off though; it comes with a bunch of extra features that many other pitch correction devises lack.

For me Neptune proves most useful when I'm working with a sample heavy production. Most sample packs come with key and tempo information so that you can easily find the right sample for the job, but this isn't always the case. Neptune can easily tune sampled audio to the key of your track so that you don’t have to worry about it sounding odd or out of place. Yes, it is true that pretty much all pitch correction devices can do this but not all of them can do it as easily as Neptune does.

The one thing that makes Neptune stand out from the competition is its ability to be used as a voice synthesiser. This feature allows you to play in realistic vocal harmonies with your midi keyboard.

The YouTube videos below are from the Propellerhead 52Reason/Record tips series presented by James Bernard. The first video shows you how you can take out of tune vocals and use Neptune to make them sound better. The second one shows you how to use Neptune to make subtle enhancements to fairly decent vocals.

 

Remember; pitch correction devices like Autotune and Neptune can be used for a whole lot more than just vocals. Experiment with different audio sources and have fun with creating music, because really, that’s all that matters.

Time-stretch and audio quantize with Reason 7

Correcting the timing of a real instruments and percussion is a practice that many producers use in their music on a regular basis. Time-stretching and audio quantizing can be used to subtly nudge a vocal back in time, correct the timing of a dodgy bass player or even to create new glitched-out sounds from your original audio.

These features have been included in most major DAWs (Most notably Ableton Live) for quite some time now, but it was only recently that Propellerhead announced that they would be adding this to Reason 7 (released April 30th). So what's the big deal, why are people getting exited about something that they've already seen on another platform? I guess it's not the actual technology that people are interested in but the way the company has intergraded it into their software. Propellerhead are notorious for doing things a little different, and this implementation of audio quantize is no exception.

The workflow and sheer beauty of Propellerhead's Reason sets it worlds apart from the rest of the competition. The modularity of the virtual rack makes it stand out to individuals that like to experiment and get their hands dirty while writing music. Flip the rack around to reveal endless routing options with audio and CV cables that give you the flexibility to create pretty much anything you like. After you've spent half an hour messing about you will realise that Reason is truly an audio geek's paradise.

The way that time stretching is implemented into Reason isn't necessarily different to other DAWs but it does look sleeker and more intuitive. You can even bounce your sliced audio to .REX format so you can experiment even further with Reasons built in Dr.Octorex player. Fair enough, it's taken Propellerheads quite some time to add audio quantizing and time-stretching to reason but features like this are worth the wait if they're implemented as flawlessly as this.

The video below shows off what can be done with the audio quantise and time-stretch features that will be available in Reason 7.

Kick drum compression in Reason (Lucky Date)

Drum processing is always a hot topic when it comes to electronic music. everyone wants to know the secrete to huge sounding punchy drums. Getting your kick to stand out in the mix without dominating everything else is a task that most of us face in pretty much all of our productions.

In the Video below Lucky Date shows us how he processes his kicks. It's a fairly basic method using just the Mclass compressor and EQ that come with Reason. This is a fairly minimalistic approach but it does show how easy this can be, all that you need is a basic knowledge of compression and you can get the job done with little to no effort.

However, like most things in the world of music production this is a matter of taste, things can vary depending on the style of music that you're working on and the kick that you're using. I find that it's best to experiment a little bit before deciding what works best for you. The technique that Lucky Date uses in this video is ideal as a starting point but don't expect it to work flawlessly for all of your productions.

Using shortcuts to increase productivity in the studio

Keyboard shortcuts can help you to increase your work flow and generally make your experience inside software a hell of a lot easier. Music software is no different, there are a lot of tasks and window switching that goes on in professional DAWs and sometimes knowing the basics will hep you navigate your projects with ease.

Beware though, keyboard short cuts aren't universal and will differ between different kinds of software so if you use a combination of DAWs when you produce, then you might have a hard time remembering what's what for each DAW. A good tip is to keep a print off or a note book containing the shortcuts near to your workstation.

There are also Keyboard overlays for your computer keyboard that display the shortcuts on the keys themselves. If you're a power-user then it's probably worth having a look at these; they're available for pretty much any DAW that you can think of. With a quick Google search you should be able to find the overlays that you're looking for.

Here, we have a video that was uploaded by Reason Explained that demonstrates some of the most common keyboard shortcuts in Propellerhead's Reason. Of course, these aren't all of the shortcuts that are available in Reason, but they should get you started. If you want to have a look at all of the shortcuts then there is a PDF file on the Propellerhead site that documents all of the shortcuts in detail.

Redrum Micro Tutorial (Propellerhead)

Redrum was the first drum machine to be introduced in Propellerhead's flagship beat-making software Reason. Redrum is a classic sample-triggering drum machine it can load up 10 different WAV or AIFF audio samples that can triggered from the on-board sequencer.

Drum machines play a vital roll in electronic music and Redrum does the job quite nicely. It's a simple device that allows you to quickly take the ideas from your head and put them into your productions with minimal effort.

Redrum has been in Reason since day one and it's still the 'go-to' device for many producers when it comes to drum programming. Over the years Reason has evolved and new devices have been added, devices such as the Kong Drum Designer (introduced in version 5) have given producers new ways of programming their drums and percussion, but Redrum still stands it's ground as a fan favourite.

If you've ever used a hardware drum machine before then the interface of Redrum will look instantly familiar to you. However, if you're new to music production then you might require a little introduction to the whole concept. The guys over at Propellerhead always do a good job of putting together mini tutorials that explain their instruments quite clearly, and this Redrum video (below) is no different.

Create a cool rising effect W/ Echobode in Reason (Lucky Date)

DJ and EDM Producer Lucky Date is back with another great tutorial for all of you Reason users out there. This time he's showing off one of his favourite riser effects using the Echobode frequency shifting delay Rack Extension.

Risers are an important part of many types of music, especially electronic dance music. If you can get it right, the riser effect is perfect for adding tension and interest to the breakdowns or build ups in your music.

The Echobode Rack Extension from Sonic Charge is perfect for creating these riser effects, however the device is not just a one trick pony. Echobode is capable of creating a wide range of effects and is a valuable device for the creative and experimental minded producer.



Make sure you check out Lucky Date's YouTube Page for more useful production tutorials.

Malström Micro Tutorial (Propellerhead)

Malström is probably one of the most underrated and unusual devices in the Reason rack. Propellerhead introduced it to the rack back in version 2.0 and since then it's been a staple in many producers sound design arsenals.

The Malström synthesiser uses graintable synthesis (Similar to granular synthesis) to create its sounds. The use of graintable synthesis allows Malström to create some very complex and interesting sounds. At first, Malström might seem a bit intimidating (especially if you're new to synthesis and sound design) but once you dive in, it's actually very easy to use.

Propellerhead have uploaded a brand new micro tutorial to their YouTube page that takes a look at some of Malström's features.


Propellerhead have many useful music production and sound design videos on their YouTube page. Why not check out the 52 Reason/Record tips presented by James Bernard.

Mixing with EQ sweeps (Lucky Date)

House music producer and Reason user Lucky Date is not afraid to share his knowledge when it comes to music production. On his YouTube page you will find lots of useful video tutorials coving many aspects of the creative process.

In this video tutorial Lucky Date shows us how he uses the MClass Equalizer in Propellerhead’s Reason to sweep for troublesome frequencies in his mix. This technique is especially useful when EQing synthesizer sounds, but it can also come in handy in pretty much any situation that you can think of. Notching out frequencies like this can easily create space and clean up your mix with minimal effort.

For more information on Lucky Date Check out his websiteHERE and don’t forget to check out his YouTube page where you will find more useful production tutorials.

Subtractor micro tutorial (Propellerhead)

Back when Reason was first introduced back in December 2000 there were only a few virtual devices in the rack. Subtractor was one of those devices, and it's still contained in today's 6.5 version of the software (over ten years later). Even with it's age, it's still a very useful and a very versatile instrument. I still use it in nearly all of my productions along with some of the more powerful RE synthesisers such as the Korg Polysix and Rob Papen's Predator.

Even with the choices that the Rack Extension format has given Reason users, it just shows that the included stock devices can still hold their own. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a great sounding synthesiser in your Reason rack. The ones that come bundled with the software are more than capable of getting nearly any sound that you're after. Sitting down and getting to know the instruments that you already have can save you a hell of a lot of money.

Propellerhead have uploaded a new micro tutorial to their YouTube page that shows of some of the features of the Subtractor synthesiser. Check it out below.