Reason updates to version 12 with a new look and new instruments. Among the novelties we find the new Combinator, which allows you to put together multiple devices (instruments, effects and much more) in a single preset.
The new combinator has an editor that allows you to arbitrarily create rack panels by adding potentiometers, faders, wheels and buttons. In this way, you can easily control any parameter inside the rack or control multiple devices inside the rack with a single control.
For those who don't want to create new ones, there are tons of combinator with news coming out on a weekly basis.
A new entrance is also the Mimic Creative Sampler, which offers advanced sample time stretching, pitch correction and vocal harmonization features.
Reason 12 has a new graphics engine with full resolution devices and automatically adapts to the resolution of the monitor in use.
Reason +
With a lot of curiosity, I signed up for this new service offered by ReasonStudios to try what it offers and I discovered it offers a bundle made up of applications, devices and sound packs.
All with a subscription plan of 19.99 dollars a month.
ReasonStudios offers this subscription service that will be very useful to those looking for a range of sound options and not a specific product.
After downloading the Reason +, which made me register and configure the service, the first thing I did was go to see the Sound Pack section, in which I found some really interesting sound palettes.
Sound Packs are a great way to be “guided” by the sound to find a musical idea to develop.
The thing I liked the most is that they are not sample packages, but real instruments ready to use but always very configurable.
According to the Reason + website, there are new Sound Packs every week.
All these instruments and effects can of course be combined in the Reason Rack.
Combinator.
The Combinator is a container of virtual instruments (Reason device, rack, effects, mixer), but it is not a simple "collector". It is a bit like a box in which we put all the instruments / effects we want to use, connect them together, set the parameters and then save everything in a patch, so that we can quickly recall even a very complex setup.
Among the many features I point out the possibility of creating control panels where it is possible to put potentiometers, faders, wheels and buttons to control any parameter of what we have put in the combinator. You can also specify custom images for both the front and back of the combi.
Mimic Creative Sampler
Mimic is a sampler designed with the purpose of creating a fast and fun instrument. So its basic use is to add samples and then play them with the keyboard, changing their pitch or breaking them up. It comes with eight "slots" and in each of them it is possible to put a sample. Each slot has independent parameters: complete configuration of the synth parameters, with controls of the pitch, filter, envelopes, LFO ed effects.
Each Slot has 4 playback modes available:
pitch mode
In Pitch mode, one of the eight slots is selected for melodic playback, the sample can then be reproduced chromatically on all keys.
SliceMode
In Slice Mode you select one of the eight Play Slots and split a (longer) sample, manually and / or automatically.
The sections are then activated from the keyboard (chromatically, with the leftmost slice reproducing from note C1) without affecting the original tone of the sample
Multi Slots
In Multi Slot mode, several keys (CG in each octave) activate slots 1-8 such as a drum machine - without affecting the tones of the sample.
Multi Pitch
In Multi Pitch mode, up to eight samples (one sample per slot) can be played simultaneously for playback. You can set different ranges of intervals on the keyboard (overlapping and / or adjacent) for the eight slots and then play the samples in chromatic steps.
Conclusions
One article alone is very little to talk about Reason 12 and every single device deserves a separate chapter.
In the next few articles I will try to analyze in detail many of its features and we will focus on the powerful possibilities that Reason 12 offers to those who want to write and produce music.
Useful Information
Official website: www.propellerheads.se
Italian distributor: MidiWare srl
Cost Reason 12: About 399 euros including VAT
Cost Reason +: Approximately $ 19,99 per month (via download only)
