Reason 13.1 Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin
The following signal types are used in Reason:
#Audio signals
Besides the Spider CV, Matrix Pattern Sequencer and the RPG-8 Arpeggiator, all Reason devices have audio connectors on the back. The audio connectors carry audio signals to or from devices via virtual cables.
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Audio connectors are shown as large quarter inch jacks.
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Audio Effects devices, which are used to process audio, have both audio inputs and outputs.
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Instrument devices, which generate audio, have either mono or stereo left/right audio output connectors.
You do not have to use both outputs for devices with stereo outputs. Use the left output to use a mono signal from a stereo device.
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To monitor audio outputs from devices, the signals can be routed, either via the Main Mixer or directly, to the physical outputs of your audio interface via the Reason Hardware Interface (see “Manual audio routing”).
Typically, if you are using an audio interface with stereo outputs, you will most likely use the Main Mixer to mix the audio signals to the master outputs.
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To route audio input signals from your audio interface to audio tracks in the sequencer, you just have to select the appropriate input(s) from the Audio Input drop-down list on the corresponding audio track (see “Selecting audio input(s) and defining mono or stereo”).
This means that you never have to manually patch input signals from the Audio In jacks of the Reason Hardware Interface.
For more information about signal paths in Reason, see “System signal paths”.
#CV/Gate signals
In the early days of synthesizers, before the MIDI protocol was invented, analog synthesizers could be interconnected using Control Voltage (CV) cables. For example, one cable would be used for controlling pitch while another would send a Gate voltage, basically telling a synth when to play a note and when to stop. The CV signal cables in Reason emulate this analog control system. CV signals are typically used to modulate parameter values, and do not carry audio.
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CV/Gate connectors are shown as smaller mini jacks.
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CV is typically used for modulation purposes.
For example, you could modulate a parameter with a CV signal generated by an LFO or an envelope generator on another device.
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Gate outputs/inputs are typically used to trigger events, such as note on/off values, envelopes etc.
Gate signals produce on/off values, plus a “value” which could be likened to (and used as) velocity.
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You can only route CV/Gate signals from an output to an input (or vice versa).
You cannot route an input to another input or an output to another output.
#P-LAN signals
P-LAN is the internal system used for routing audio signals from Mix Channel and Audio Track devices to the Main Mixer Master Section device - and from Mix Channel/Audio Track devices to other Mix Channel devices that are used as Output Busses (sub-mixers).
P-LAN connections are not indicated by cables or similar in the rack - only by an Audio Output display on the front and rear of Mix Channel and Audio Track devices:
P-Lan signal destinations on Mix Channel and Audio Track devices (front and rear).
If you use the Direct Out jacks on an Audio Track device or Mix Channel device, the internal P-LAN connection is broken. In this case, the audio from the Mix Channel/Audio Track device is not sent to the Master Section.
#About MIDI routing
Normally, MIDI (e.g. note and performance data) are sent to devices from their respective sequencer track. No cables are used in the rack to indicate MIDI connections.
For other ways to route MIDI to devices, see the chapters “Remote - Playing and Controlling Devices”, “Synchronization and Advanced MIDI” and “MIDI Out Device”.
#Cable appearance
If there are many connections in Reason, the cables can sometimes obscure the view, making it difficult to read the text printed on the back panels of the devices. Cables can be displayed in “normal” mode and in “Reduced Cable Clutter” mode.
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Toggle cable display mode by pressing [K] or by selecting “Reduce Cable Clutter” on the Options menu:
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In “normal” mode, i.e. with the option “Reduce Cable Clutter” deselected, all cables for all devices are displayed at the back of the rack.
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With “Reduce Cable Clutter” selected, the cable appearance depends on the settings in the “Appearance” section on the “General” page in Preferences:
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Select “Show for selected devices only” to only display the cables for selected devices.
All other (non-selected) devices will have “transparent” cables to make it easier to distinguish the cables of selected devices.
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Select “Hide auto-routed cables” to only display manually routed cables.
All devices with auto-routed cables will have “transparent” cables to make it easier to distinguish the manually routed cables.
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Select “Hide all cables” to hide all auto-routed and manually routed cables.
All cable connections on devices will be indicated with colored dots in the jacks, and no cables will be displayed.
“Reduce Cable Clutter” selected with the “Hide All Cables” appearance.
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In “Reduced Cable Clutter” mode, it’s still possible to connect and disconnect cables in the same way as when they are shown.
See “Manual routing” for a description of routing methods.
#Checking and following cable connections
You can always check to which device a jack is connected. This is especially useful if the patch cables are hidden, but it is also practical if you have a lot of cables in your rack, or if the two connected devices are far from each other in the rack:
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Hover with the pointer over a connector and wait a moment.
A tool tip appears, showing both the device name and connector that the cable is connected to.
#About the “Scroll to Connected Device” function
It’s possible to scroll directly to a connected device as follows:
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Click and hold (or right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac)) on a connector.
A pop-up menu appears.
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Select “Scroll to Connected Device” from the pop-up menu.
The device in the other end of the cable will be scrolled into view in the rack.
#Cable color
To allow for a better overview of the connections in the rack, the cables have different colors:
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Audio connections between instrument and mixer devices are different shades of red.
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Connections to and from effect devices are different shades of green.
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CV connections are different shades of yellow.
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Combinator connections are blue.
Auto-routing enables the automatic routing of cables between devices according to certain rules. Auto-routing is performed under the following circumstances:
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When you create a new (Empty) Song, the Master Out L & R on the Master Section device are by default connected to Outputs 1 & 2 of the Reason Hardware Interface.
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When a new device is created.
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When moving, duplicating or pasting devices with [Shift] pressed.
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When selecting “Auto-route Device” from the Edit or context menu, with one or several devices selected in the rack.
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Audio input signals from the Reason Hardware Interface to the audio tracks in the sequencer are automatically routed “in the background”.
When applicable, auto-routing is performed in stereo.
#Auto-routing of audio input signals
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Available audio inputs on your installed audio interface are auto-routed from the Hardware Interface to audio tracks in the sequencer “in the background”.
This means that no patch cables are necessary for routing audio to audio tracks in the sequencer.
#Auto-routing of Instrument devices
#Routing to the Main Mixer
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When you create an instrument device, it is automatically connected to a new Mix Channel device in most situations.
However, if the instrument device is created directly below an unused (no inputs connected) Mix Channel device in the rack, it will be connected to this instead.
#Routing to the Mixer 14:2 or Line Mixer
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If a Mixer 14:2 or Line Mixer 6:2 is selected when you create an Instrument device, or if you create an Instrument just below the mixer device in the rack, the instrument will be auto-routed to the first available inputs on the mixer device.
#Auto-routing of Effect devices
#Routing as a Main Mixer insert effect
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When you have a Mix Channel or Audio Track device selected and create an effect device, it will be automatically connected as an insert effect in the Mix Channel/Audio Track device. See “Adding Insert effects”.
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The above does not apply to the Master Section device - see below!
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It’s also possible to select Effect Combi patches as insert effects - see “Using Effect Combi patches as insert effects”.
#Routing as a Main Mixer Master Section insert effect
Routing an effect device as an insert effect in the Maser Section device can be done in the following ways:
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Click the “Show Insert FX” button on the Master Section device and then click inside the Insert FX container.
A blue insertion line with a + sign is shown:
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Create an effect device from the Create menu, or by selecting it from the device context menu, or by double-clicking on the device in the Device Palette.
The device will be automatically connected as an insert effect in the Master Section device.
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By dragging and dropping an effect device from the Device Palette to the open Insert FX container in the Master Section device, it will be automatically connected as an insert effect.
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It’s also possible to select Effect Combi patches as insert effects in the Master Section - see “Using Effect Combi patches as insert effects”.
#Routing as a Main Mixer Master Section send effect
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When you have the Master Section device selected and create an effect device, it will be automatically connected as a send effect to the first available Send FX connectors on the Master Section device. See “Creating Send effects”.
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It’s also possible to use the “Add Send FX” function to add effect devices or Effect Combi patches as send effects in the Master Section - see “Creating Send effects”.
#Routing directly to another device
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When you have an instrument device selected and create an effect, that effect will be connected as an “insert” effect between the instrument device and the Mix Channel/mixer device.
Examples of effects that work well as insert effects are distortion, compression and modulation effects.
#Routing as a send effect to a mixer device
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When you have a mixer device (the Mixer 14:2 or Line Mixer 6:2) selected in the rack and create an effect device, it will be automatically connected as a send effect (to the first free Aux Send/Return jacks).
#Auto-routing of CV/Gate signals
#The Matrix Pattern Sequencer
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When you have an instrument device (e.g. a Subtractor/Thor/Malström/NN-19/NN-XT/Combinator) selected and create a Matrix Pattern Sequencer, the Note and Gate CV signals will be auto-routed to the instrument device.
The Matrix Note and Gate CV outputs are automatically connected to the Sequencer Control CV and Gate inputs on the instrument device, respectively.
#The RPG-8 Arpeggiator
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When you have an instrument device (e.g. a Subtractor/Thor/Malström/NN-19/NN-XT/Combinator) selected and create an RPG-8 Arpeggiator, the Note CV, Gate CV, Mod Wheel and Pitch Bend signals will be auto-routed to the instrument device.
The RPG-8 Note CV and Gate CV outputs are automatically connected to the Sequencer Control CV and Gate inputs on the instrument device, respectively. The RPG-8 Mod Wheel and Pitch Bend outputs are automatically connected to the Modulation Inputs Mod Wheel and Pitch Bend inputs on the instrument device, respectively.
#Auto-routing devices after they have been created
Some additional rules regarding auto-routing devices that are already in the rack:
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To reroute a device already in the rack, you can select it and choose “Disconnect Device” and “Auto-route Device” from the Edit menu or context menu.
When you use “Auto-route Device” it will be connected in a logical way according to its current location in the rack.
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If you hold [Shift] and drag a device to a new position in the rack, it will be re-routed (as if you deleted it and created it in its new position).
This allows you to e.g. change the order of effect devices in a signal chain by Shift-dragging them.
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If you delete a device connected between two devices, the connection between the two remaining devices is preserved.
A typical example might be if you have an effect device connected between an instrument device and a Mix Channel device. If you delete the effect device, the instrument device will be re-routed directly to the Mix Channel device.
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When you move a device in the rack, the connections are not affected.
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When you duplicate devices by dragging and dropping, or using copy and paste, the devices are not auto-routed.
If you would like them to be auto-routed, hold down [Shift] while performing the operation.
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If you are duplicating a complete Device Group (see “Duplicating devices”), this will often include a Mix Channel. In this case, the Mix Channel will also be duplicated, with no need for further auto-routing.
#Bypassing Auto-Routing
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If you wish to create a new device without any auto-routing taking place, press [Shift] when creating the device.
#About re-routing devices in songs created in Reason Version 5 or earlier
If you open a Reason song, created in Reason Version 5 or earlier, the song will open with the outputs of the Mixer 14:2 connected to the inputs of a single Mix Channel device in Reason Version 13 To make better use of the Main Mixer in Reason Version 13 you will have to re-route all instrument devices in the older Reason song to separate (new) Mix Channels in Reason Version 13. To make this re-routing a little easier, proceed as follows:
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Open the older (Version 5 or earlier) Reason song in Reason Version 13.
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Delete the Mixer 14:2. *
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Select "Select All" from the Edit menu to select all devices.
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Select "Auto-route Device" from the Edit menu.
This will create a Mix Channel device for each instrument in the old Reason song, keeping any connected effect devices in the signal chain.
* If you have send effects connected to the Mixer 14:2, you will need to re-route them manually to the Main Mixer Master Section device. You might also want to make a note of fader and pan settings on the Mixer 14:2 before deleting it.
To connect devices manually, you need to flip the rack around to see the back. This is done by pressing [Tab], or by selecting “Toggle Rack Front/Rear” from the Options menu, or by clicking the Flip Rack button at the top of the song window.
Note that routing cables can be done regardless of the “Reduce Cable Clutter” setting on the Options menu. This means that you can connect cables even though they are hidden (see “Cable appearance”).
On the back of each device you will find connectors of two different types: audio and CV (Control Voltage, used for controlling parameters - see “Using CV and Gate”). Audio inputs and outputs are shown as large quarter inch jacks, while CV input and output jacks are smaller. For now, we’ll stick to the audio connections.
Audio and CV connectors.
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When the back of the rack is shown, you can still navigate in the rack by scrolling or by using the computer keyboard.
There are two ways to route signals from one device to another:
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By connecting virtual patch cables between inputs and outputs.
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By selecting connections from a pop-up menu.
#Connecting cables
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Click on the desired input or output jack on one of the devices, and drag the pointer away from the jack (with the mouse button pressed).
A loose cable appears.
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Drag the cable to the jack on the other device.
When you move the cable end over a jack of the correct type (audio/CV, input/output) it will be highlighted to show that a connection is possible.
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Release the mouse button.
The cable is connected. If both input and output are in stereo and you connect the left channels, a cable for the right channel is automatically added.
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Dragging a cable to make a connection can be aborted by pressing [Esc] while keeping the mouse button pressed.
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You can change an existing connection in the same way, by clicking on one end of the cable and dragging it to another connector.
#Connecting cables using pop-up menus
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Right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on a connector.
A pop-up menu appears, listing all devices currently in the rack.
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If the connector is an audio output, the first alternative in the pop-up is to route to a new Mix Channel. This is useful if you want to route separate audio outputs (e.g. in Kong or Redrum) to separate Mix Channels.
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Move the pointer to the device you want to create a connection to.
A sub-menu appears, listing all suitable input/output connections. For example, if you clicked on an audio output on a device, the hierarchical sub-menus will list all audio inputs in all other devices.
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If a device is grayed out on the pop-up menu, there are no suitable connections on the device.
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An asterisk (*) next to the connector name on the sub-menu indicates that the connection is already occupied.
It’s possible, however, to select an occupied connection. Doing so will disconnect the existing connection and replace it.
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Select the desired connector from the submenu.
The connection is created.
#Disconnecting cables
There are two ways of manually disconnecting cables:
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Click on one end of the cable, drag it away from the jack and drop it anywhere away from a jack.
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Click and hold (or right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac)) on a connector and select “Disconnect” from the pop-up menu that appears.
#Disconnecting devices
It’s also possible to disconnect all cables from selected devices in one go:
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Select the device(s) and then choose “Disconnect Device” from the Edit menu or device context menu.
All cables on the selected device(s) are now disconnected simultaneously.
CV/Gate is used for modulating and triggering device parameters. Each separate Device chapter lists the available CV/Gate connections and the parameters that can be modulated or used for modulation outputs for that device.
#Routing CV and Gate signals
There are not really any hard and fast “rules” applicable to CV/Gate routing. A few points should be mentioned, though:
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The specific “Sequencer Control” inputs present on e.g. the Subtractor, Thor, Malström, NN-19 and NN-XT sampler devices are primarily intended for controlling these devices as (monophonic) instruments from the Matrix Pattern Sequencer or the RPG-8 Arpeggiator.
If your intention is to use the Matrix or the RPG-8 CV/Gate outputs to create melodic patterns using these Instrument devices, you should use the Sequencer Control inputs.
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The Matrix Pattern Sequencer can be used in many other ways, besides creating melodic patterns. For example you could use it to modulate any CV controllable parameter, with the added advantage of the modulation being synchronized to the tempo.
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Conversely, if you would like to apply Gate or CV modulation to more than one voice, you should not use the Sequencer Control inputs, as these only function monophonically.
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Feel free to experiment: Use Gate signals to control parameter values and CV signals to trigger notes and envelopes, if you like.
See the chapter “Matrix Pattern Sequencer” for more tips about using CV.
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By routing CV to the rotary controls on a Combinator, you can CV control virtually any parameter on any device - see “CV Connections” in the Combinator chapter.
#About CV Trim knobs
All CV inputs have an associated Trim knob. This is used to set the CV “sensitivity” for the associated parameter. The further clockwise a CV trim knob is set, the more pronounced the modulation effect.
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Turned fully clockwise, the modulation range will be 100% of the parameter range (0-127 for most parameters).
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Turned fully anti-clockwise, no CV modulation will be applied.