A little video preview of my presentation Saturday at the ProCon LA. It needs a little tweaking… and a lot more rehearsal so that I can keep it under 50 minutes :-/
Yes this conference will focus on Record, but it doesn’t mean that Reason will be overlooked. I will try to fit in a section on how Reason Devices can be used for insert and send effects.
My friends in the band Scrabbel were on tour with 旺福 WonFu, one of the biggest indy/pop bands in Taiwan. Contracted by the Taiwanese Embassy and organized by Dan Lee of Scrabbel, the tour went around to various locations up and down the west coast.
As it turns out, XiaoMin, singer/guitarist and the groups producer, Eric, are not only fellow gear addicts, but they’re also huge fans of Reason. They especially like the Reason Pianos ReFill and claimed that it’s their ‘go to’ piano sound on their productions. Despite the language barrier, we could still talk about different sounds and patches - like hardcore Reason-geeks.
Anyways, it’s one of the moments in life where this shrinking world just got even smaller 
The Producers Conference is coming back to LA on Saturday November 14, 2009. We will be back at King King in Hollywood again. The topics will be Record-centric, so it’s a new set of presentations.
Hopefully we wont have the issues with video quality as we did last time!
Advance Ticket Purchase is recommended. Hope to see you there!
If you haven’t seen them yet, I’ve been working on some combinator programming tutorials which will be available on the Line6 website. Combi programming concepts are important for both Reason and Record users, so i’ve decided to focus my efforts in explaining some of the basics.
So follow this link and sign in to your Line6 account. If you’re not a returning user and need a code, click on the link that says: “Where can I find an access code?” a popup window will appear, and you just select one of the items like “Friend” or “Other”. A code will appear in the popup window and you can proceed to viewing the videos.
As of 9:09 am this morning CET, Propellerhead Software has officially released their new product, Record! I’m hoping that Record will be a huge success. Congratulations to everyone at the Props HQ for the years of hard work that went into development!
The Propellerhead Software Record Beta is now available for users to download and try! Visit, RecordYou.com for more details on how to participate! This is a fully operational trial version that will expire on 09-09-09. If you’re even remotely interested in using Record, either on it’s own or Record with Reason 4.0, you should participate to see how it performs on your rig.
On a side note - if you have both Reason 4.0 working with the Record Beta (and a MOTU 896HD), you can try all of the CV/Gate to Analog hardware example files from this site, and track the audio back into Record! The RPG-8 to analog CV/Gate, MIDI to analog CV/Gate, and the DIN Sync Generator Combi. Batteries not included.
In this continuing quest to interface analog hardware to Reason 4.0, It’s become very apparent that only a few brands on hardware interfaces feature DC coupled outputs which will enable direct routing of control voltage signals (CV) from software applications to analog devices. Since the release of MOTU Volta, people have been trying to determine if their interface will function as CV converter and many have discovered that their brand of interface is unsupported. From the Volta Blog, i found a discussion where people are reporting back on their findings on the Muffwiggler Forum
I am using a MOTU 896HD to interface Reason to Analog CV/Gates, and the files I am posting are subsequently calibrated for 6.15V / 12.3V range on outputs 1 through 8. The voltage range varies on the Main Outs and Headphone Outs, so the processing will behave differently if you are using an 896HD with these connections. The results will also be different if you use a different MOTU interface like an Ultralite Mk3 which has a range of 3.5V / 7.0V on the outputs. Again, the MOTU 896HD is proving to be well suited for this application - not be confused with the 896mk3 which is not compatible.
The bottom line is this: if an interface is deemed compatible with Volta, the interface will also probably work with these Reason patches.
Naturally the progression of this study has brought me to point of creating a combinator patch that generates Roland DIN Sync signals in order to slave Roland units such as the TB-303, MC-202, TR-606, TR-808, TR-909, etc. Roland DIN Sync requires two control voltages, a 24 pulse per quarter note (PPQ) clock, and a dual state (on/off) voltage to trigger start/stop on the transport.
Cabling from the MOTU 896HD is pretty simple, but requires that you create a custom Y-cable that connects two audio outputs to a 5 Pin DIN connector. On both XLR outputs, Pin 1 and Pin 3 are connected to the DIN Pin 2 (Ground). Only two conductors are used from the XLRs: Pin 1 and Pin 3 are tied to the cable shield. One of the XLR connectors has Pin 2 connected to DIN Pin 1 (Start/Stop); the other XLR connector has Pin 2 connected to DIN Pin 3 (Clock).
In Reason, a Thor Polysonic synthesizer Step Sequencer generates the 0 to +5V clock pulse. The sequencer resolution is set to 16T, and the step duration is set to 1/4. This generates 24PPQ. The Gate signal is routed to an audio output, and with the sequencer in repeat mode (on one step), the opening and closing gate acts as a pulse clock. For my patches, a Matrix Pattern Sequencer Curve CV controls the start/stop signal. The Matrix Curve CV is routed through the Thor Synth and converted to a DC Audio signal that triggers the transport on the Roland device.
See the demonstration videos:
TB-303 & Reason 4.0
MC-202 & Reason 4.0
TR-808 & Reason 4.0
Download the Reason DIN Sync Generator combis:
Peff-ReasonDINSync.zip
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the Sweetwater Campus in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company is celebrating their 30th year in the music business, making this years Gearfest a special occasion. The facility is quite impressive and has several recording studios and an auditorium. Naturally, these rooms are fully outfitted with just about every piece of contemporary equipment. There’s also a retail store, cafeteria, and balcony where you can stand and look down on the massive warehouse storing all of the equipment in their catalog.
The people in Fort Wayne are really nice. I encountered a few travel snafus, and people went out of their way to help me out. The staff at Sweetwater were equally as hospitable, and did everything possible to make people comfortable in the heat. If you’ve ever dealt with Sweetwater over the phone, you probably know how friendly and helpful, they are. I can confirm that they are no different in person.
Being there in an official capacity representing Propellerheads and Line6, left me with little time to listen to the presentations in the auditorium, but I had the nice chance to visit with neighboring vendors, Mark of the Unicorn and Solid State Logic. I was talking to Dave Roberts from MOTU about Volta and showed him my Reason to CV/Gate patches, and I found out that the 896mk3 does not have DC coupled outputs, so it’s not compatible with volta or my Reason CV/Gate configs. However, the 896HD is compatible. Out of their entire current product line, the Ultralite mk3 with 10 analog outputs seems like the best deal.
I also had the chance to play with audio stems from Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer running through the SSL XLogic workstation. Fadi Hayek was demonstrating their XLogic Alpha-Link MADI interface system with 128 audio channel capacity over fiber optic lines and extremely low latency (32 samples!) Here’s a link to a video on facebook.
Thanks to everyone who came out to see us. It was great meeting fellow Reason users who travelled from all over: Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, and of course, Indiana.
This video shows how I have the Reason/Thor MIDI to CV conversion process applied to the moogerfoogers. The MF-107 FreqBox oscillator output is connected directly into the MF-101 Low pass filter. Thor’s key note value, mod wheel, pitch bend, aftertouch, LFO, and envelope generators all modulate the two pedals to create a functional monophonic synthesizer.
For more information about how this is configured please see the prior post here:
http://www.peff.com/journal/2009/06/05/reason-cv-to-moogerfoogers/
I’m also posting the the Reason Song file. The CV to Audio cables in the Reason rack are terminated on the Spider Audio splitters in the Combinator. If you plan to make this work, configure your MOTU audio driver, get (make) the right cables with Pin 3 to Ground and Pin 2 Hot. Again, the moogerfoogers have +5dc on the ring contact, so isolate that connection. It probably wont do any damage if the current is going to your audio interface, but the calibration will be wacky. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
The file is available here:
Lately It seems like the only things I purchase from guitar cnter are connectors and jacks. Yesterday I wandered in to get (more) connectors to make some XLR to 1/8″ phone cables which would further my experiments using Reason 4.0 as a control voltage generator with some of my analog synthesizers. Surprisingly, they had some premade cables that fit the bill: Female XLR to 1/8″ mini plug!
After wiring everything up, it took about 90 seconds to find the right calibration settings and I had Reason sending Note CV and Gate CV signals out through the MOTU 896HD into an old Oberheim CPS-1 / S.E.M. module. A bit of tweaking was required to get the note cv scaling set, but after finding the right settings, I had Thor acting as a MIDI to CV converter.
With this Thor patch, it’s possible to control analog synthesizer systems (in this case the Oberheim S.E.M.) from the Reason MIDI Sequencer, Thor Pattern Sequencer, Matrix Pattern Sequencer, any LFO source in Reason, and the RPG-8 Monophonic Arpeggiator. It should also be noted that because the Reason 4.0 sequencer is sample accurate, theoretically, the synchronization should be very solid when sending CV signals through the MOTU audio interface.
This should work on Windows based computers running Reason 4.0, so PCers who are itching for Volta for windows can try this out, provided you have a proper interface. Make sure that your system meets the specifications outlined by Mark of the Unicorn on their site:
http://www.motu.com/techsupport/technotes/testing-analog-outputs-for-control-voltage-compatibility/
Disclaimer: Do not play notes into the combinator or run the song file if your system is not configured to control analog synths. The Reason file generates a DC signal directed at your audio interface which may cause problems. The CV/Gate signals are connected to the Reason Hardware Interface inputs 3 and 4. Disconnect these if you don’t know what you’re doing!
The reason song file containing the arpeggiator combinator patch is available here:
Peff - Reason CV to AudioCV.zip
The song file will not work without multiple audio outputs assigned. These should be enabled in the audio preferences. This file was calibrated for the MOTU 896HD. Other Interfaces may not be calibrated properly. You will need to adjust the KeyNote to Audio Out1 AMOUNT values on the Thor modulation matrix. Try adjusting the -29 value, and play octaves until you get a proper note division. AMOUNT Values of 79 and -17 might be more appropriate in some cases.
I have not tested this with an S-Trig system like a vintage minimoog, and I suspect that it will not work properly. As I try out new configurations, I will post updates. I’ve tested the file with an Oberheim Two-Voice and CPS-1, and an ARP 2600.
If you are using a Rewire Host application, make certain that the signal path is direct to the audio interface, and that the gain structure remains at unity.
The introduction of Volta from Mark of the Unicorn, is especially exciting news for those of us who have held on to our beloved analog gear. Volta is an application/plug-in that sends control voltage signals through MOTU hardware interfaces which can trigger and modulate analog hardware synthesizers and effects. The beauty of this system is that it is sample accurate and for old MOTU interface owners, adds new life to interfaces which might be considered obsolete.
I was pretty excited when I saw this since I have a MOTU 896HD (prior to volta I had seriously considered selling it). Then it dawned on me… in Reason 4.0, you can route control voltages to audio. Maybe i could create my own ‘ReVolta’? I’ve certainly used reason to trigger hardware envelope generators as gates, but the thought of sending DC signals from Reason had never crossed my mind before.
It was easy to test this out. I fashioned a couple of XLR to TRS cables, and connected them to a couple of audio outputs on my MOTU 896HD. In Reason’s audio preferences, I enabled the (normally dormant) motu outputs which would be used as control voltage sources. The plan was to route the connections to CV inputs on a Moog FreqBox and Moogerfooger Lowpass Filter.
Before making any connections, I read up on the MOTU specs and tested out the wiring with a voltmeter. Pin 2 is the positive connection and Pin 3 is the negative connection. The signal is DC coupled across the balanced outputs of the MOTU interface. To test the CV to DC relationship, an instance of Thor, with Rotary 1 routed to Audio Output 1, was connected directly into the Reason Hardware interface. Turning the rotary generated a steady DC voltage on the meter, which indicated that this was definitely going to work. One issue to take into consideration with this is that the moog devices have a low current +5dc on the ring, so the connections should be from the tip and the sleeve from pin2 and pin3 on the XLR. My cables also have pin 1 tied to the sleeve.
To convert Reason CVs to Audio signals, the CV source must be bridged through a Thor Polysonic Synthesizer. In the modulation matrix, set CV input 1 and CV input 2 as sources, Audio Output 3 and Audio Output 4 as destinations, and set the destination amounts to 100. For the Moogerfooger modulation setup, two Matrix Pattern Sequencers were created and the Curve CV outputs were patched into the Thor CV inputs. With this configuration, one Matrix Sequencer controlled the FreqBox’s pitch, and the other Matrix controlled the MF-101’s Cutoff setting. A Dr. REX provided a drum loop to process through the effect devices.
With the REX loop running through the effect boxes, I programming the Matrix Sequencers and listened as the two curve patterns modulated the Moog hardware. LFO Signals, Gate CV, Envelope Generators, Thor’s Sequencer all work great with this configuration. The one thing that I haven’t quite sorted out is accurate pitch control from the Matrix Note CV. A bit of CV math has to occur to make this work properly. When this is sorted, I’ll post some patches along with a few more details in setting this up with the Moog devices as well as other analog hardware.
Audio Demo of Moogerfooger Pitch and Filters modulated by Reason Matrix Pattern Sequencers:
CV to Moogerfoogers MP3 example
Audio Demo of Thor Step Sequencer (Note CV) controlling FreqBox pitch & Thor Envelope modulating Low Pass cutoff frequency. Live knob tweaking on top of repeating pattern sequence:
I’ll be in New York City during the beginning of June for a few days - long enough to drop in on the first official Reason Users Group NYC event at Dubspot. I’ll be talking about Malstrom stuff, Combi Stuff and building Malstrom effects. There’s also a Q&A session afterwards where we can hang and go deep into Reason.
For more information and sign-up, please visit the NYRUG page: