I`m overwhelmed with REASON

[Ernest Buckley]

I love the possibilities this software has to offer. I listen to the demo songs that came with it and think to myself, I`m totally out of my league!

 

Then it occurs to me that REASON is what you make it so I can use it to develope my artistic needs BUT I do feel in over my head.

 

It just seems like there is too much. Too many ways to go, too many options.

 

I know a lot of this comes from not having spent much time with the program. However, is there a book or DVD I should own to get better acquainted with REASON?

 

Thanks,

Ernest

[Counterpoint]

I'm overwhelmed with CONFUSION.

 

[Anderton]

>

 

You're not learning an instrument, you're learning a studio.

 

I suggest you learn it one module at a time. Redrum is a great place to start. Once you learn how to load drum kits, use the mixer, and get audio in and out, you're off to a good start.

 

Then learn how to transfer the Redrum patterns over to the sequencer and get started with that.

 

Move on to the REX player, Subtractor synth, etc. Not to diss any of the books out there, but if you just concentrate on learning a piece of Reason at a time, you'll be okay. Pretend it's just a drum machine at first, and work up from there.

[Keny]

After buying 3.0, I found going to kinko's and printing the manual to be helpful. (though im not sure of the legality in that) The getting started guide is helpful but not really enough.

 

If you really want to understand the science in those synthesizers ( Malestrom, Subtractor ) i would suggest an encyclopedia book such as curtis rhodes "the computer music tutorial"

 

Reason's manual just brushes the surface of what is actually possible with their synthesizers. And once you learn the basics of synthesis, you will be able to understand every synth out there.

[Anderton]

>

 

Excellent point.

 

Re: the legality of printing out the manual, I'm sure there is absolutely zero problems if you bought the program and are using the manual for your own use. Propellerheads is one of those companies that really doesn't want to hassle legit users.

[amplayer]

I like Craig's suggestion of doing a module at a time starting with Redrum. Follow the Redrum section in the manual and you'll be off and running.

If you know something about synthesis already, the manual alone is probably going to do it for you. It is surprisingly good.

If not, then a book such as "Sound Synthesis and Sampling, Second Edition" by Martin Russ is highly recommended. Here's a link on amazon, but you can probably find it elsewhere, and possibly cheaper.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0240516923/103-8238418-2935824?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance

[Ernest Buckley]

Good points all around and I ordered the book because I really don`t have much knowledge of how synths work even though I have had a Korg M1 since 1991.

 

To be more specific, I am using the drum ReFills and want to know how to use the MIDI patterns that came with REASON to trigger the NNXT to play them.

 

I`m looking to get away from my tradition acoustic sound and get a little more electronic with my material and I have decided to go with REASON in my endeavors.

 

Any help is appreciated.

[Keny]

BTW I will personally vouch for the reason drums refill. it is really nice.

[Ernest Buckley]

I have the Drum ReFills and enjoy them also. However I have not been able to access them fully and that has been frustrating. I`m not starting full preproduction until January but I would like to learn about the program as much as possible before starting any major work.

I ordered the book, can`t wait.

[Spankmeyer]

Originally posted by Ernest Buckley I have the Drum ReFills and enjoy them also. However I have not been able to access them fully and that has been frustrating. I`m not starting full preproduction until January but I would like to learn about the program as much as possible before starting any major work. I ordered the book, can`t wait.

 

Hello there! Do you have any particular problem with the Drumkits ReFill? Just wondering if I'm able to help as I've been using Reason with Drumkits for quite some time since our drummer died in a bizarre gardening accident.

[Keny]

yeah the way I do that is I access the sounds through Protools, making and recording a midi track there and just sending the signal into reason. (I like to make my own drumbeats)

 

getting to the midi files in the drum refill is easy just make a nnxt, load up a drumset, import a midi file and set the midi file to play through the nnxt. the midi files are inside the drum refill under sequencer material. then you can edit them like any other midi file.

 

Sounds like you also should check out the Dr Rex deal because if you want preprogrammed drums thats an interesting way to go.

[amplayer]

 

Originally posted by Ernest Buckley To be more specific, I am using the drum ReFills and want to know how to use the MIDI patterns that came with REASON to trigger the NNXT to play them.

 

I'm not certain, but I think you may be creating more work for yourself than necessary.

I suggest considering using the Redrum module in combination with the edit mode of the sequencer instead.

What you do is load individual samples into the Redrum module (i.e. kick, snare, HH, etc). Then, you program it like an ordinary drum machine. This produces a sterile and perfectly quantized pattern. However, what you can then do is copy the pattern to a track in the sequencer. Then, you use edit mode to any changes you want to each and every note. You can change volumes, start times, and durations. Also, if you have any rex drum files, you can load one into a DrRex module, and copy the groove from it onto your pattern you originally created in Redrum.

All in all, I think this way is much easier and provides more control than loading them into the NN-XT. The only benefit of loading into the NN-XT is if you want to map the drum sounds to a keyboard for live use or for playing back MIDI files created with another program. Even that is actually possible with the Redrum, but the NN-XT is much better for that.

 

Dohh, I just realized that playing back MIDI files is precisely what you wanted to do. NN-XT is the right way to do that. Just read the NN-XT section in the manual and you'll see how to map the drum samples to MIDI notes.

I don't know anything about these particular MIDI files, but it does seem to me that if propellerheads made them, it should be pretty easy to use without remapping the drum sounds to a keyboard.

Is there any docs about the MIDI files?

[MoreGuitars]

I am a newbie to Reason 3.0, but I find it pretty easy to get going. I love the way it is relatively glitchless....

 

I might suggest another starting point, using the Dr. Drum Rex player, or inputing wave loops with NN-19. Anyway, it's a great compositional tool and it's very powerful.

[techristian]

NOW I'M CONFUSED !!

 

I went to Ebay to see how much this program costs and it is very hard to PIN DOWN a "street price" Reason 3.0 comes in so many forms, alone, complete studio, and with recycle . I looked up "completed" auctions with prices between $50 and $300 !!

 

Hopefully "recycle" will create an authentic TB303 sound.

 

Dan

 

http://teachmedrums.com

[MoreGuitars]

If you have a lot of loops, then I think getting it with Recycle is the way to go. My wife works at a College, so I was able to get Reason 3.0 and Recycle 2.1 for a little under $300.

[techristian]

REBIRTH was what I was thinking of for the TB303 sounds. I suppose there is also a package that includes that !!

 

Dan

http://musicinit.com/pvideos.html

[Anderton]

ReBirth is no longer made, but you can get it for free from the Propellerheads website. Yes, free.

 

And if you have Reason, you can get a free ReBirth refill. There's even a ReBirth museum web page.

 

Interestingly I'm about to install the Reason Drum kits refill

[Keny]

I remember having rebirth on my old powerbase Mac computer (200 MHZ!!!) and thinking it was the neatest thing in existence.

[TrancedelicBlues]

Originally posted by Spankmeyer our drummer died in a bizarre gardening accident.

 

pics??

[Ernest Buckley]

This may sound like a dumb question...(what else is new from me?) but how to you get the MIDI files to load onto a NNXT track?

 

I know this must sound pretty bad but I have been nosing around with it and cannot seem to grasp it.

 

Also I would love to load up all the mic positions from the Drum ReFills and play around with different drum sounds but I have also not been able to figure that out.

 

I`m sure its something simple I am overlooking and I just need someone to point me in the right direction.

 

Thanks!

[amplayer]

 

Originally posted by Ernest Buckley This may sound like a dumb question...(what else is new from me?) but how to you get the MIDI files to load onto a NNXT track? I know this must sound pretty bad but I have been nosing around with it and cannot seem to grasp it. Also I would love to load up all the mic positions from the Drum ReFills and play around with different drum sounds but I have also not been able to figure that out. I`m sure its something simple I am overlooking and I just need someone to point me in the right direction. Thanks!

 

I don't know anything about the drum refill or the particular MIDI files you refer to.

However, the "normal" way to play back drum sounds using a sampler is to map each of the drum samples to a note, and then play them back via a sequencer. In General MIDI, there is a kick drum on MIDI note number 36 (the C that's 2 octaves below middle C), a snare on 38, Closed HH on 42, etc.

So, in Reason, you'd map each of the drums to notes in NN-XT, and then you'd load the MIDI file into Reason's sequencer on the NN-XT track. If the MIDI file is GM compliant, then make sure to map the notes to the same notes as specified in GM.

I still think using Redrum to do the mapping would be much easier than NN-XT. However, the playing of the MIDI files would work the same as if using NN-XT except that the MIDI note numbers would be different.

[NoelEiffe]

The PTR book "Reason 3 Power" is one of the best of this series. Each chapter takes you through an instrument in the rack, and I've found working through the hands-on pieces very educational, and more useful than many other books of its kind.

 

Noel