Reason 13.1 Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin
Remote - Playing and Controlling Devices
This chapter describes how you can use Remote and the Easy MIDI Input function 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:
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Using the External Control Bus inputs.
The External Control Bus inputs (set up on the Preferences - Sync page and in the MIDI In device in the hardware interface) let you send MIDI directly to the individual devices in the rack. This is mainly used if you control Reason from an external sequencer, etc. See “About the External Control Bus inputs”.
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Sending MIDI Clock to Reason.
This allows you to synchronize Reason’s tempo to other devices. See “Synchronization to MIDI Clock”.
MIDI from control surfaces (keyboards, remote control units etc.) is handled by a protocol called Remote. The Remote protocol allows for seamless integration between Reason and control surface devices. It is basically a mapping system that provides direct hands-on control of parameters for each Reason device - including transport and sequencer track selection!
At the time of this writing, Reason supports a large number of control surfaces and keyboards - the knobs, faders and buttons on the devices are automatically mapped to parameters on each Reason device.
Remote drivers for more control surfaces will be added continuously. Check the Reason Studios web page in case your model isn’t listed on the Preferences - MIDI page.
Remote controlling Reason devices couldn’t be made any simpler. Let Reason automatically look for all available MIDI Input ports on your computer and automatically connect your master keyboard. Or, manually set up your control surface for use with Reason - the program handles the rest!
#Automatic set-up using the Easy MIDI Inputs function
By default Reason automatically scans and detects all available MIDI In port(s) on your computer. If you have a MIDI keyboard or MIDI control surface connected to your computer, Reason automatically connects and lets you use it for controlling Reason. This way you don’t have to do any manual set-up but can start controlling Reason right away.
At the bottom of the MIDI tab in Preferences all currently available MIDI In Ports are listed:
All available MIDI In Ports on your computer are listed in the Easy MIDI Inputs list.
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The Easy MIDI Inputs function supports input of MIDI Note On/Off (with Velocity) as well as standard performance controllers, such as Mod Wheel, Pitch Bend and Sustain Pedal.
You can also do manual Remote Overrides to assign Reason parameters to knobs/sliders/buttons on your control keyboard/surface, see “Remote Override”.
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Deselect the Enabled box(es) to disable MIDI Ports you don’t want to be available for Reason.
For example, if you have a drum machine connected via USB to your computer, you might not want it to start sending MIDI Note data to Reason, especially if it’s synced to MIDI Clock to Reason’s sequencer.
#Adding a specific control surface or keyboard
If your specific MIDI keyboard/control surface model is featured in the list of supported surfaces in Reason you will get even more functionality if you add it in the “Remote keyboards and control surfaces” section at the top - with knobs/sliders/buttons already pre-assigned to parameters in Reason.
This is how you add your specific control surfaces - including the master keyboard.
1.
Open the Preferences dialog and click the MIDI tab.
2.
If your control surface is connected via USB (or if you have made a two-way MIDI connection), try clicking the Auto-detect Surfaces button.
Reason sends an ID request to all MIDI ports and checks for answers from any connected control surfaces. Note that not all control surfaces support auto-detection.
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If a MIDI Port of your connected control surface/keyboard is already used by the Easy MIDI Inputs function (see “Automatic set-up using the Easy MIDI Inputs function”), this detection will override this and automatically remove the MIDI In Port from the Easy MIDI Inputs list.
3.
To add a control surface manually, click the “Add manually” button.
This brings up a new dialog.
4.
Select the manufacturer of your control surface from the Manufacturer pop-up menu.
If you can’t find it on the menu, see below.
5.
Select the model of your control surface from the Model pop-up menu.
If you can’t find it on the menu, see below.
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.
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Some control surfaces may have more than one MIDI Input pop-up menu.
You need to select ports on all MIDI Input pop-up menus.
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Some control surfaces will have a MIDI Output pop-up menu.
In some cases this labeled “Optional” - then you don’t have to make a selection. In other cases, a MIDI Output is required. This is the case if the control surface uses MIDI feedback - motor fader, displays, etc.
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Reason only “grabs” the MIDI inputs you are actually using.
MIDI inputs not selected here or on the Sync page (see “Advanced MIDI - The External Control Bus inputs”) are available to other programs.
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Note that other MIDI programs may “grab” all MIDI ports in your system when you launch them!
8.
If you like, you can rename your control surface in the Name field.
9.
Click OK to add the surface.
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Depending on the surface model, alerts may appear, reminding you to select a specific preset etc.
In some cases, Reason can restore a preset in the control surface to factory settings for you. In such cases you will be informed about this.
Finally you return to the MIDI tab in Preferences, where your added surface is now listed.
#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. These alternatives might be more useful than the Easy MIDI Input alternative described earlier - if you have a control surface (or keyboard with knobs/buttons/sliders) that you want predefined parameter destinations for. Here’s what to do:
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Select “Other” on the Manufacturer pop-up menu and then one of the three options on the Model pop-up menu.
or, if the Manufacturer is listed but not your specific model:
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Select one of the three “Other” options on the Model pop-up menu:
In both cases, the options are:
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MIDI Control Keyboard
Select this is you have a MIDI keyboard with programmable knobs, buttons or faders. You need to set up your control keyboard so that the controls send the correct MIDI CC messages, depending on which Reason device you want to control - check out the MIDI Implementation Chart. If your control keyboard has templates or presets for Reason devices, these can be used if you run Reason.
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MIDI Control Surface
Select this if you have a MIDI controller with programmable knobs, buttons or faders (but without keyboard).
You need to set up your control surface so that the controllers send the correct MIDI CC messages, depending on which Reason device you want to control - check out the MIDI Implementation Chart. If your control surface has templates or presets for Reason devices, these can be used if you run Reason.
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MIDI Keyboard (No Controls)
Select this is you have a MIDI keyboard without programmable knobs, buttons or faders. This is used for playing only (including performance controllers such as pitch bend, mod wheel, etc.) - you cannot adjust Reason device parameters with this type of control surface.
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MIDI Multichannel Control Keyboard
Select this is you have a MIDI keyboard with programmable controls that use multiple MIDI channels (different controls send the same MIDI CC but on different MIDI channels). With this model there is no automatic mapping to device parameters - you need to use Remote Overrides to map each control to a parameter on a device.
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MIDI Multichannel Control Surface
Select this is you have a MIDI control surface with programmable controls that use multiple MIDI channels (different controls send the same MIDI CC but on different MIDI channels). With this model there is no automatic mapping to device parameters - you need to use Remote Overrides to map each control to a parameter on a device.
After selecting a model, proceed with selecting MIDI input port as described above.
About the Master Keyboard
One of the control surfaces can be the Master Keyboard. This is like any other control surface, but it must have a keyboard and it cannot be locked to a specific Reason device (in other words, it always follows the MIDI input to the sequencer). This is the surface you use to play the instrument devices in Reason.
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The first surface with a keyboard that is added (manually or auto-detect) is automatically selected to be the master keyboard.
This is shown in the “Remote keyboards and control surfaces” list on the Preferences page.
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If you want to use another surface as master keyboard, select it in the list and click the “Make Master Keyboard” button.
You can only have one surface as master keyboard at a time.
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If you don’t want to use any master keyboard at all, select the current master keyboard surface and click the same button (which is now labeled “Use No Master Keyboard”).
#Other functions
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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.
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To delete a surface, select it in the list and click Delete.
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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.
There is also the Sync tab in the Preferences. This is only used for External Control MIDI buses and for MIDI Clock Sync settings. All hands-on MIDI control is set up on the MIDI tab.
#Example Setups
There are several possible variables when it comes to what type of setup you are using. Please read on.
#A single MIDI keyboard with controls
With this setup, the keyboard is your master keyboard, which means it is always routed via the sequencer (it controls the device connected to the sequencer track with Master Keyboard Input). To control another device, you move the Master Keyboard Input (the keyboard symbol in the In column in the track list) to another sequencer track.
You can, however, use Remote Override to control parameters on other Reason devices (or global Reason functions such as transport).
#A basic MIDI keyboard and an additional control surface
The keyboard and the control surface should be connected to separate MIDI ports (or use separate USB connections). Here, the basic MIDI keyboard is your master keyboard - it is used for playing and recording via the sequencer. You can have the control surface follow the master keyboard - this lets you tweak the parameters of the device you are playing (just like in the example above).
You can also lock the control surface to another device in the rack - this lets you play one device while adjusting the parameters of another.
#A MIDI keyboard with controls plus one or more control surfaces
This is the ideal setup! Again, all keyboards and control surfaces should be connected to separate MIDI ports (or use separate USB connections). The master keyboard is routed via the sequencer track and you can use its controls to tweak the parameters of the device you are playing. The additional control surfaces could be locked to the Main Mixer or to different devices in the rack.
If you have additional MIDI keyboards locked to devices in the rack, you can also play and record on their corresponding sequencer tracks simultaneously. This is perfect if your band has several keyboard players who want to play and record their tracks simultaneously into Reason!
For example, if you lock a control surface to the Main Mixer, you will always have control over levels, pans and additional channel strip parameters - see “Remote controlling the Main Mixer” and “Remote controlling multiple mixer channels”. You could also have dedicated controls for transport, Undo/Redo, sequencer track MIDI focus selection, etc.
Parameters and functions for each Reason device are mapped to controls on supported control surface devices. As soon as you have added your control surface(s) in the Preferences, you can start tweaking parameters!
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By default, all connected control surfaces follow the sequencer’s current Master Keyboard Input.
This means that you set Master Keyboard Input to a track in the sequencer to route the control surface(s) to the track’s device in the rack. You can bypass this functionality by locking a control surface to a specific device - see “Locking a surface to a device”. Or you can simply use Remote Override mapping (see “Remote Override” for specific parameters - these will then be mapped to the selected controls regardless of Master Keyboard Input.
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The Reason device associated with the track with Master Keyboard Input will have its parameters standard mapped to logical controls (faders, buttons etc.) on the control surface device.
E.g. if a Subtractor has Master Keyboard Input, your control surface will control the most important Subtractor parameters. If you set Master Keyboard Input to a track connected to an NN-XT, the control surface will now control parameters on the NN-XT device, and so on for each device. There are standard mapping variations for most devices as well - see “About mapping variations”.
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Supported control surfaces with dedicated transport controls will be standard mapped to the equivalent transport controls in Reason.
If you do not have transport controls on your control surface you can still map transport controls to controllers using Remote Override mapping - see “Remote Override mapping”.
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Other important functions such as switching target track in the sequencer, selecting patches, Undo/Redo can also be remote controlled.
See “Additional Remote Overrides...”.
#About Standard vs Remote Override mapping
Reason parameters are “standard-mapped” to supported control surface devices. There is nothing the user needs to set up to remote control any Reason device. You can, however, use Remote Override mapping to map a specific parameter to a specific control if you should want to.
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By using standard mapping, the remote mapping for each device will be the same for any new song created in Reason, given you have the same set of control surfaces connected.
If you use Remote Override mapping (see “Remote Override”), the overrides will be saved with the current song, but won’t be there if you create a new song.
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Which parameters and functions that are standard mapped for each Reason device depends on the control surface(s).
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 “Remote Override”.
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Note that if you have several control surfaces connected, some parameters could be mapped to controls on more than one control surface.
This is not a conflict of any kind, but simply a consequence that stems from the fact that all control surfaces by default follow Master Keyboard Input. By using Surface Locking (see below) or Remote Override (see “Remote Override”) you have full control over your control surfaces.
#About mapping variations
Since there are often more parameters on a device than there are controls on the control surface, there are standard mapping variations available for most devices. When selecting a standard mapping variation, a new set of parameters will be mapped to the controls on your control surface for a selected Reason device.
For example, if you have a control surface with 8 rotary knobs routed to a Subtractor, the knobs may control filter parameters by default. Selecting variation 2 may make the knobs control the oscillator settings, variation 3 may control LFOs and so on.
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For devices that support keyboard shortcuts, you switch between mapping variations by holding down [Ctrl]+ [Alt](Win) or [Cmd]+[Option](Mac) and press the numerical keys [1] to [10] (not the numerical keypad), where [1] selects the default standard mapping.
How many mapping variations are available depends on the control surface and the Reason device selected. The variation selected will stay active until you switch MIDI input to another device (or select another variation). If you switch back to the same device it will have its default standard mapping (variation [1]).
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For control surfaces that have dedicated controls for selecting mapping variations these are used instead of keyboard shortcuts.
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Locked devices (see “Locking a surface to a device”) can also be locked to a specific mapping variation.
You can lock a control surface or an additional MIDI keyboard/controller to a specific device so that it is always “tweakable” and record enabled, regardless of which track has Master Keyboard input in the sequencer. This enables you to play and record notes for several devices simultaneously from multiple control surfaces/keyboards.
For example, you could lock a control surface to control the Main Mixer, so you can always control overall levels while playing/tweaking other devices. See “Remote controlling the Main Mixer” for an example.
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The master keyboard device cannot be locked!
If you select the master keyboard in the Preferences, you can click the “Use No Master Keyboard” button. You can then lock this control surface to a device and use its controllers to tweak parameters, but you will not be able to play the device.
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You can lock several control surfaces to the same device.
However, each control surface can only be locked to one device at a time.
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Info about which devices are locked (and to which control surfaces) is saved with the song.
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Control surfaces/keyboards that use the Easy MIDI Inputs function (see “Automatic set-up using the Easy MIDI Inputs function”) cannot be locked to devices.
#Locking a surface
There are basically two methods you can use to lock a Surface:
#Using the Surface Locking dialog
1.
Select “Surface Locking...” from the Options menu.
The Surface Locking dialog opens.
In this picture, the dialog has the master keyboard as the selected control surface - this cannot be locked.
2.
Pull down the Surface pop-up from at the top of the dialog and select the control surface 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).
4.
Select the device you wish to lock to the selected control surface from the list.
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If the selected control surface supports keyboard shortcuts for selecting mapping variations (see “About mapping variations”) an additional “Always use Mapping” pop-up appears.
On this pop-up you can set whether you wish to lock a specific standard mapping variation or whether the device should switch mapping variations according to keyboard shortcuts. If the former is the case, select the mapping variation from the list. If the latter is the case, select “Follow Keyboard Shortcut”.
5.
Close the dialog when you are done.
The device is now locked to the selected control surface. In Remote Override Edit mode (see “Activating Remote Override Edit mode”) a locked device is shown with a lock symbol in the upper left corner of the device panel.
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It’s also possible to lock a control surface to the ReGroove Mixer (see “The ReGroove Mixer”) to control its parameters via Remote!
#Using the context menu
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A quick way to lock devices is by right-clicking (Win) or [Ctrl]-clicking (Mac) on a device panel to bring up the context menu.
On the context menu, all installed control surfaces (apart from the master keyboard) are listed with the text “Lock to” plus the name of the control surface. Selecting one will lock the device to the control surface. On the context menu the control surface that is currently locked to this device will be ticked.
#Unlocking a surface
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To unlock a locked device, bring up the context menu for the locked device, and untick the “Lock to” item.’
This unlocks the device and the control surface will now follow master keyboard input.
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Another way to unlock a surface is to open the Surface Locking dialog and selecting “Follow Master Keyboard” on the Lock to device pop-up.
Remote Override allows you to map parameters and functions to controls on your control surface device, overriding the standard mapping. It also allows you to control device parameters from Easy MIDI Inputs (that has no standard mapping).
#Activating Remote Override Edit mode
1.
Select “Remote Override Edit Mode” from the Options menu.
All unselected devices in the rack are grayed out, indicating Edit mode. Each selected device (including the Transport panel) will show a blue arrow symbol on every parameter that can be mapped to a control on a control surface.
Remote Override Edit mode enabled with the mixer device selected.
To be able to see which parameters are currently mapped for a device, you have to direct Master Keyboard input to the sequencer track it is connected to:
2.
Select a device in the rack and enable Master Keyboard input for its sequencer track.
Standard-mapped parameters are tagged with yellow knob symbols.
A Subtractor with standard-mapped parameters.
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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.
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If you point on a standard mapped parameter, a tooltip appears showing which control on the control surface device the parameter is mapped to.
#Remote Override mapping
If Remote Override Edit Mode is enabled you can use the following methods to map a parameter to a control:
#Method 1:
1.
Select the parameter you wish to map.
The arrow (or knob) changes to orange, indicating it is selected.
2.
Select “Edit Remote Override Mapping...” from the Edit menu.
You can also right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on the parameter to select the same item from the context menu.
The “Edit Remote Override Mapping” dialog opens. From here you have two ways to proceed:
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Either manually select the control surface and the control you wish to map the parameter to from the two corresponding pop-ups.
The Control Surface pop-up lists all installed control surface devices, and the Controls pop-up lists all the mappable controls for the selected control surface.
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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.
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If the control surface has a keyboard, you can also select keys as controls.
Keys work just like on/off buttons. If “Keyboard” is selected from the Controls pop-up, a Note Number field appears in the dialog.
3.
Click OK to exit the dialog.
The mapped parameter now shows a lightning bolt icon, indicating it uses Remote Override mapping. Any overrides are always shown in Remote Override Edit mode. The device does not have to be selected or have Master Keyboard Input in the sequencer.
4.
To exit Remote Override Edit Mode, deselect it from the Options menu.
You can also leave this mode by pressing [Esc].
#Method 2:
1.
Double-click the parameter you wish to map.
A rotating lightning bolt appears for the parameter - this indicates that “Learn From Control Surface” mode is active. You can leave this mode by pressing [Esc].
2.
Now move (or press) the control you want to map the parameter to.
The parameter is now mapped to the control.
You do not always have to edit override mapping when Remote Override Edit mode is activated - see below.
#Override mapping with Remote Override Edit mode deactivated
If Remote Override Edit Mode is enabled on the Options menu, mapped parameters are “tagged”, and the arrow indicators show the assignable parameters. In this mode, however, you cannot operate Reason normally. Remote Override Edit mode is primarily for overview of available parameters and the current assignments.
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Another way to map parameters is to have “Remote Override Edit Mode” deactivated on the Options menu, and to simply right-click (PC) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on the parameter you wish to remote control.
This opens a pop-up menu, where one of the options will be “Edit Remote Override Mapping”. Selecting this will open the Edit Remote Override Mapping dialog. Thus, you do not have to select Edit mode from the Options menu if you already know that a parameter is free and assignable.
#Removing Remote Overrides
This can be done for a selected parameter in the following way:
1.
In Remote Override Edit Mode, select the parameter you wish to remove Remote Override for.
The lightning bolt changes to orange, indicating it is selected.
2.
Select “Clear Remote Override Mapping...” from the Edit menu.
You can also right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on the parameter to select the same item from the context menu. This is always available, regardless whether Remote Override Edit mode is selected or not.
Or you can remove all Remote Overrides for a device in one go:
1.
Select the device you wish to remove Remote Override for.
2.
Select “Clear All Remote Override Mappings for Device” from the Edit menu.
You can also right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on the device panel to select the same item from the context menu.
#Copying/Pasting Remote Overrides
You can copy Remote Override mappings for a device and paste them into a device of the same type. This works as follows:
1.
With Remote Override Edit mode activated, select the device you want copy Remote Override mappings from, and the select “Copy Remote Override Mappings” from the Edit menu.
You can also right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on the device panel to select the same item from the context menu.
2.
Select the device you wish to paste the copied mappings to.
It has to be the same type of device you copied from. In case you copied Remote Override mappings from the Transport panel you can thus only paste the mappings into another song document.
3.
Select “Paste Remote Override Mappings” from the Edit menu.
Now the following happens:
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If you are pasting in the mappings into a device in the same song document, a dialog appears informing that the overrides are already used.
You then have the choice of canceling the operation, or to move the existing overrides to the new device.
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If you are pasting into a device in another song, the copied Remote Override mappings are simply pasted.
In this case, the original Remote Override mappings are not affected.
On the Options menu there is an item named “Additional Remote Overrides...”. Selecting this opens a dialog with remote functions that cannot be assigned using Remote Override Edit mode, such as switching target tracks, Undo/Redo etc. Although most of the items in this dialog are self-explanatory, some need to be described. These are as follows:
#Target Track Delta and Target Previous/Next Track
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Target track is the track with Master Keyboard Input.
Assigning Target Previous/Next Track to two Button controls on a control surface allows you to move the Master Keyboard Input symbol up or down in the Track list.
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Target Track Delta is meant to be used with Delta wheel controllers (a special control with no min/max range) to switch target track.
A Mackie Jog wheel is an example of this type of controller.
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Select Previous/Next Track can be assigned to standard button controls.
#Select Patch for Target Device and Select Previous/Next Patch for Target Device
The target device is the device connected to the target track.
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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.
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Select Patch for Target Device is also meant to be assigned to a Delta-type control (see above).
This allows you to select patches for a device connected to the target track by spinning the wheel clockwise or anti-clockwise.
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Select Previous/Next Patch can be assigned to standard button controls.
#Select Keyboard Shortcut Variation (Delta)/Select Previous/Next Keyboard Shortcut Variation
By mapping controls to these, you can use your control surface to change which keyboard shortcut variation is selected in Reason.
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The "Select Previous/Next” functions are typically mapped to buttons, allowing you to step between keyboard shortcut variations.
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The Delta function must be mapped to a delta-type control to work.
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The keyboard shortcut variation selection is a global setting in Reason. It affects all added control surfaces (if they make use of keyboard shortcut variations and aren't locked to a specific device and variation in the Surface Locking dialog).
#Undo/Redo
You can assign Undo/Redo to controls. This works just like the corresponding items on the Edit menu.
#Document Name
This allows you show the name of the song in the display of the control surface. This only works for control surfaces that support this feature.
#Assigning Additional Overrides
Assigning overrides in this dialog is similar to assigning standard Remote Overrides:
1.
Select a function/parameter in the list that you wish to assign to a control and click “Edit”.
This opens the Edit Remote Override Mapping dialog, where you can assign a control to the selected function/parameter. You can also simply double click the item in the list to open this dialog.
2.
Click OK to close the dialog.
#Clearing Additional Overrides
1.
Select “Additional Remote Overrides” from the Options menu.
In the Mapping column you can see which parameters/functions use overrides.
2.
Select the item currently assigned override mapping, and click “Clear”.
Assigning computer 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:
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Keyboard Control commands can only be used to toggle on/off or min/max values for an assigned parameter.
Hence, if you assign a computer keyboard remote command for a knob, slider or spin control, it will only switch between the minimum and maximum values for that parameter. The only exception to this are the multi-selector buttons used for various parameters such as envelope destination, for example. These will cycle through the available options when using keyboard control.
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Note that Keyboard Control cannot be used for the ReGroove Mixer parameters.
#Enabling Keyboard Control
To enable Keyboard Control, select “Enable Keyboard Control” from the Options menu.
#Editing Keyboard Control
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To get an overview of which parameters are remote controllable select “Keyboard Control Edit Mode” from the Options menu.
When done, each device you select in the rack will show a yellow arrow symbol beside every parameter that can be assigned a keyboard control.
A section of a Redrum drum machine with Keyboard Control Edit Mode enabled.
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The Main Mixer channel strip parameters can also be controlled using the Keyboard Control function, but there is no Edit Mode for this. Instead, you have to right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on individual channel strip parameters and select “Edit Keyboard Control Mapping” from the context menu.
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If you click on an assignable parameter to select it, you can then select “Edit Keyboard Control Mapping” from the Edit menu.
This opens a dialog allowing you to select a key command for that parameter.
You may use any key except the [Space bar], [Tab], [Enter], the Numeric keypad keys (which is reserved for Transport functions) and the function keys (except [F2] and [F3]) - or a combination of [Shift] + any key (with the same aforementioned exceptions).
The Keyboard Control dialog.
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Simply press the key (or Shift-key combination) you wish to use to remote control the parameter.
The “Key Received” field momentarily indicates that it is “learning” the keystroke(s), and then the dialog displays the name of the key you have pressed. If [Shift] was used, the box beside the word Shift in the dialog is ticked.
You can also double-click on the arrow for an assignable parameter to set up keyboard control:
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A rotating yellow rectangle appears, indicating Learn mode. Press the key (or key combination) you wish to use to control the parameter.
The rotating stops and the rectangle will now display the key or key combination you used.
#About the two Edit Keyboard Control Modes
If Keyboard Control Edit Mode is enabled (ticked) on the Options menu, assigned parameters in the rack are “tagged”, showing the remote key for that parameter. In this mode, however, you cannot operate Reason normally. This mode is primarily for overview of available parameters and the current assignments.
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Another way to assign keyboard remote commands is to have “Keyboard Control Edit Mode” deselected on the Options menu, and to simply right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) the parameter you wish to remote control.
This opens a pop-up menu, where one of the options will be “Edit Keyboard Control Mapping”. Selecting this opens the Keyboard Control dialog. Thus, you do not have to enable/disable Edit mode from the Options menu if you know that a parameter is assignable.
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This is the only way Main Mixer channel strip parameters can be assigned to Keyboard Control.
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:
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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.
This song document could then be used as a starting point for any new song, by simply loading it, and immediately using “Save As” to save it under a new name.
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A good idea could be to save these types of “Remote Template” songs in the Template Songs folder. See “Making a Song appear as a Template Song” for info on how to do this.