Reason 13.1 Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin
The rack is where you create and configure your devices, and make parameter settings. This section describes all the procedures for managing the rack, that is, procedures and techniques common to all devices.
#Navigating in the rack
The rack, here with three rack columns visible.
The rack houses all the devices you use in your song. To make it easier to overview the devices, the rack can contain several rack columns next to each other. To navigate in the rack, use one of the following methods:
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Click and drag the blue frame in the Rack Navigator to scroll continuously in the rack, both vertically and horizontally.
Just clicking in the Rack Navigator will directly scroll to the corresponding position in the rack.
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If you’re using a mouse equipped with a scroll wheel, you can use it to scroll up or down in the rack.
Hold down [Shift] and use the scroll wheel to scroll horizontally in the rack.
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Press the [Page Up] and [Page Down] buttons on the computer keyboard to move the view one “full screen” up or down in the rack column currently in view.
Note that the rack area must have Edit Focus, i.e. there must be a frame surrounding the rack area. Set Edit Focus by clicking anywhere in the rack area.
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Press the [Home] and [End] buttons on the computer keyboard to scroll the top or bottom of the rack column currently in view.
Note that the rack area must have Edit Focus.
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When you select a track in the sequencer, or click the “Rack” button below a channel strip in the Main Mixer, the rack will automatically scroll to bring the associated device into view.
#Resizing and detaching the rack
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Resize the rack area by clicking and dragging either of the gray horizontal dividers above or below the rack area.
This will shrink the Main Mixer and/or sequencer areas and make more of the rack visible.
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You can also resize the Rack area by clicking and dragging the vertical divider to the left of the Rack Navigator.
Dragging the divider to the left will expand the Rack Navigator area and enlarge the devices, making it easier to get a good overview of all devices in your rack.
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To make the rack fill the entire song document window, press [F6] or double click the gray Rack divider:
The Rack divider.
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To toggle between showing and hiding the rack, click the Rack button at the top of the song window - or press [F6]:
The Show/Hide at the top of the song window.
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You can detach the rack area from the other areas altogether by holding [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and pressing [F6], or by holding [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and clicking the Rack button at the top of the song window.
This will place the rack in a separate window. (See “The Rack” for more info.)
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See also “Creating new rack columns” for information on how to create several rack columns.
#The Device Palette
The Show/Hide Device Palette button at the top of the Reason song window.
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Click the Devices button, or press [F3] to bring up the Device Palette (or to hide it).
The devices are sorted on four different palettes in the Device Palette: Instruments, Effects, Utilities and Players. The Utilities palette contains device types such as mixers, modulation devices, etc. On each device type palette the devices are listed in the following sections: Reason Devices, and then by Rack Extension and/or VST manufacturer in alphabetical order. The Players palette is a little special; it contains a number of MIDI “generators” that can be used when recording Instrument tracks in the sequencer, see “Working with Players”.
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To show all devices and device types in one single list, turn off all group buttons.
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You can also hold [Cmd](Mac) or [Ctrl](Win) and click the device type buttons to show the devices of multiple palettes at the same time.
#About using the Device Palette in the detached rack
When the rack is detached, it can also feature a second instance of the Device Palette. The Device Palette is available to the left in the detached rack.
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Click the Devices button, or press [F3] to bring up the Device Palette (or to hide it):
The Show/Hide Device Palette button at the top of the detached rack.
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The Device Palette in the detached rack can be used independently from the Device Palette in the Song window.
This means you can be in two completely different palettes in the two Device Palettes.
#Choosing what device types to show in the Device Palette
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Click the “menu” button to select/deselect what device types you want to display.
“Reason Devices” includes both native Reason devices and Rack Extension devices.
If both VST2 and VST3 are ticked, you can also choose to hide any VST2 “duplicates” of the same device by clicking “Hide VST2 Duplicates”.
Reason devices, VST2 plugins, and VST3 plugins selected for display.
#Filtering the view in the Device Palette
It’s possible to filter (search for) devices, manufacturers and device descriptions in the Device Palette.
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Press [F3] to show the Palette (if hidden) and set the focus to the text field at the top of the Device Palette.
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Type in (part of) the device name, or the device description, or the manufacturer you are searching for.
The text you type will also be matched against Device Categories and Tags, see “Filtering on Categories on the Device Palette” and “Assigning Tags to devices”.
In this example we type in “kon” in the Search box and get the following results:
Typing in “kon” results in Kong, Konarie Chirp Synthesizer and Kontakt 7.
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To clear the text in the text field, click the x button to the right (or press [Delete] or [Backspace]).
#Filtering on Categories on the Device Palette
You can apply Category filters to specify what type of devices you want to display on the Device Palette:
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Click the unfold button to the left of the Search field.
Then, click the Categories unfold button and select device types/characteristics by selecting one or several of the Categories:
Clicking the “Bass” Category displays devices suitable for bass sounds.
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To select multiple Categories, hold down [Cmd](Mac) or [Ctrl](Win) and select.
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You can also use the Search and Categories in combination, if you like.
The functions work exactly the same regardless of what device types (Instruments/Effects/Utilities/Players) you have selected.
#Assigning Categories to devices on the Device Palette
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You can also assign or re-assign Categories to devices, by selecting the desired devices, right clicking one of the devices and choosing the desired Category from the context menu:
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If you have selected multiple devices any Category you select will be applied to all selected devices.
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If any of the selected devices are already assigned to one or several Categories, this is indicated by a
“-” sign to the left of the Category name.
Selecting such a Category will assign all selected devices to that Category and the sign will switch to a check mark instead.
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To de-assign a Category from a device, right click the device(s), select “Categories >” and click the check mark for the Category you want to de-assign.
#Using Tags on devices
It’s also possible to assign Tags to devices, so they will be easy to find when you filter for devices. You could, for example, tag devices with the Tag “Granular” or “Psytrance”. Then, when clicking the “Granular” or “Psytrance” Tags, these devices will show up on the Device Palette.
If you turn on multiple Tag buttons (by [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac)-clicking their buttons) - the palette will then only show devices that match all these tags.
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Click the unfold button to the left of the Text field, and then click the Tags unfold button:
By default there are two fixed Tags: “Favorite” and “Hidden”, but you can also create your own tags.
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Click the “+ Add...” text, type in the name you want to use for your new Tag and hit [Enter].
The new Tag now appears as a new button in the Tags section.
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Alternatively, right click a device in the Device Palette and select “Tags > + Assign New Tag...” from the context menu.
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You can delete or rename Tags you have created, by right clicking the desired Tag button and selecting “Delete Tag” or “Rename Tag...” from the context menu.
#Assigning Tags to devices
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Select one or several devices in the Device Palette.
To select multiple devices, hold [Cmd](Mac) or [Ctrl](Win) and click the devices.
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Right click one of the selected devices and choose, for example, the “Favorite” Tag from the context menu:
Now, the selected devices have been assigned the Favorite tag. If you click the Favorite Tag button in the Device Palette, only the added devices are shown.
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To assign Tags that you have created yourself, select the desired Tag from the “Tags >” context menu.
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You can use Tags in conjunction with Categories and the Filter (Search) function, so that you can e.g. filter on all Reverb devices with the Favorite tag.
Typing into the text field will then match against device name, manufacturer name, category and tag.
#Hiding devices from the Device Palette
To make the Device Palette look “cleaner” it’s also possible to hide devices that you don’t want to see/use:
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Select the desired device(s) in the Device Palette, right click one of the devices and select “Hide” from the context menu.
Now, these devices will be hidden in the Device Palette. Hidden devices are still available on the Create menus, though.
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If you want to make hidden devices appear again, click the “Hidden” Tag button, select the desired devices and then right click one of the selected devices and uncheck the Hide item on the context menu:
The Hidden Tag will be removed from the device(s) and the devices will re-appear in the regular Device Palette.
#Creating devices
Devices can be created in a number of different ways. These first methods apply to any device types:
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Use drag and drop, or double-click a device in any of the Device Palette groups.
A device can be dropped in the rack or in the Track List in the Sequencer. As you drag a device to the rack or Sequencer Track List, a +-sign is shown together with an orange divider to indicate where the device will be placed:
Adding a Polytone Dual-Layer Synthesizer device by dragging it from the Instruments palette and dropping in the rack.
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Use drag and drop from the Device Palette, Windows Explorer (Win), Finder (Mac), or double click (or drag) a patch in the Browser.
When you drop a patch in the rack or in the Sequencer Track List, the corresponding device is automatically created in the rack.
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Select a device in the rack and click the + sign at the top or bottom of the blue frame, to add a new device above or below the selected device in the rack.
The menus give you the options to either create a device by selecting it from the submenus, or to create a device by browsing patches in the Browser. Selecting the top item in the menus (“Add Player...”/”Add Instrument...”/”Add Effect...”) will open the Browser, see “Creating a device by browsing patches”.
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Clicking the top + sign on an Instrument device gives you the option of adding a Player device above the instrument:
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Clicking the bottom + sign on an Instrument device gives you the option of adding an Effect device, and auto-route the effect to the instrument. You can also choose to create a new Instrument device as a new separate instance in the rack.
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The “Add Device” menus differs depending on what device type you select in the rack.
For example, clicking the + signs on a Player device will give you the option of adding more Players only. Clicking the + signs on an Effect device will give you the option of adding more Effect devices, or adding a new separate Instrument device instance below.
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Click the Add Device icon in the rack background and select the desired device from the menu:
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The upper section of the menu can be used for opening the Browser and selecting patches, that will automatically create the corresponding device in the rack.
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Select desired device from the “Create” menu.
Any device type can be created. The “Create” menu is available both on the main menu and on the rack and device context menus and is divided into the four groups: Instruments, Effects, Utilities and Players. At the top of each group (Instruments/Effects/Utilities/Players) are the devices you create most often. Below are all available devices, on sub-menus per manufacturer.
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When you add a new device, Reason attempts to automatically route it in a logical way.
For more information about the auto-routing features, see “Automatic routing”.
Depending on what type of device you’ve created, and also the “Auto-Group Devices and Tracks” setting, the results will differ:
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If “Auto-Group Devices and Tracks” on the Options menu is not selected, the new device is added directly below the currently selected device in the rack.
If no device is selected, the new device is added at the bottom of the rack.
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If “Auto-Group Devices and Tracks” on the Options menu is selected, devices will not be created in the middle of existing Device Groups (except if they are effect devices - see “Effect devices specifics”).
This means a device might not end up below the selected device in the rack, but below that device's Device Group.
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See below for information specific to certain device types.
#Instrument device specifics
The following additional methods can be used for creating Instrument devices:
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Select “Add Instrument...” from the Create menu.
This will open Reason’s Browser. Here you can choose patches that will automatically create the corresponding device in the rack - see “About patch formats and sampler devices”.
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If you have created an Instrument device, a new sequencer track will be automatically created. Also, a new (or unused) Mix Channel device will be connected to the Instrument device. The Mix Channel device’s channel strip will appear in the Main Mixer.
The track, the Mix Channel device and its channel strip will be given the same name as the created Instrument device. Master Keyboard Input will also automatically be set to the new track, allowing you to immediately play the created Instrument device via MIDI (see “Master Keyboard Input”). By default, the Instrument device and Mix Channel device will be treated as a “Device Group” from here on (see “Creating devices”).
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By default, the automatic creation of a sequencer track and Mix Channel device only applies to instrument devices, not to mixers or effect devices.
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If you hold down [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) when you create an Instrument device, by dragging and dropping from the Device Palette, a sequencer track will not be created.
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If you hold down [Shift] when you create an Instrument device, there will be no automatic routing or connections made.
#Audio Track device specifics
The following additional methods can be used for creating Audio Track devices:
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Select “Add Audio Track” from the Create menu.
This will create an Audio Track device (with its corresponding channel strip in the Main Mixer) and a sequencer track.
#Mix Channel device specifics
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If you hold down [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) when you create a Mix Channel device, by dragging and dropping from the Device Palette, a sequencer track will be created for the Mix Channel device.
#Effect devices specifics
The following additional method can be used for creating Effects devices:
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Select “Add Effect...” from the Create menu.
This will open the Browser. Here you can choose patches that will automatically create the corresponding Effect device in the rack - see “About patch formats and sampler devices”.
The results when creating Effect devices depend on the following criteria:
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If an Audio Track (device or channel strip), or a Mix Channel (device or channel strip), was selected in the rack when you created an effect, the effect device will be added and connected as an Insert Effect, inside the Insert FX container for that Audio Track or Mix Channel device.
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If an Instrument device was selected in the rack when you created an effect device, the effect device will be added and connected as an “insert effect”, between the Instrument device and the Mix Channel device.
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If a Mixer 14:2 or Line Mixer 6:2 was selected in the rack when you created an effect, the effect device will be added and connected as a Send Effect, on the first available Send FX connectors of the mixer device.
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If you hold down [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) when you create an effect device, a sequencer track will be created for the device.
Note, though, that some effect devices (e.g. BV-X Vocoder) automatically get a sequencer track by default.
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If you hold down [Shift] when you create an effect device, the effect device will not be connected.
#Mixer device specifics
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If you hold down [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) when you create a mixer device, a sequencer track will be created for the mixer device.
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If you hold down [Shift] when you create a mixer device, it will not be connected to a Mix Channel device.
#About Device Groups
A Device Group is a series of interconnected devices that “belong together”. A Device Group could be, for example, an instrument device connected to an effect device and then to a Mix Channel device.
A Device Group consists of the following:
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One (and only one) Source device (e.g. an instrument).
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The devices to which the Source device feeds its audio signals (e.g. and effect device).
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Any CV-only devices (a Matrix Sequencer, for example) that are CV-connected to devices in this group only.
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All sequencer tracks and Main Mixer channel strips for the devices in the group.
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A Device Group is only defined by the connections between the devices - it has nothing to do with the physical location of the devices in the rack.
By default, when you create an Instrument device, a new (or currently unused) Mix Channel device will be automatically connected to the Instrument device, as described in “Creating devices”. In this situation, the Instrument device and the connected Mix Channel device will now be considered a Device Group - with the Instrument device as the Source device.
If you want to keep all devices in a Device Group physically together in the rack (e.g. if you want to move all devices in the group), there is an option “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” on the Options menu.
The “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” option.
The advantage of using the “Auto -group Devices and Tracks” option is that it’s much easier to get a good visual overview over what devices are connected to each other and associated with specific sequencer tracks and with a specific channel strip in the Main Mixer. It’s also easier to rearrange devices in the rack since all devices in the Device Group will move together if one device in the Device Group is moved.
The example below shows two ID8 devices connected to one Mix Channel device each. Let’s say you want to move the ID8 1 device to another position in the rack. This is what will happen:
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Make sure “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” is selected on the Options menu - if not, select it from the menu or hold down [Ctrl]+[Shift](Win) or [Cmd]+[Shift](Mac) and press [G].
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Click on the ID8 1 device panel (but not on a parameter or display) and drag and drop below the ID8 2 device in the rack.
As you can see, both the ID8 1 device and its connected Mix Channel device are moved together, as a group, to the new destination.
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If you want to view what devices belong to a specific Device Group, select a device and then select “Select All in Device Group” from the Edit menu or context menu.
All devices in the Device Group now get blue selection borders in the rack.
#Selecting devices
Some operations, such as cutting, copying, moving and deleting devices (see “Cut, Copy and Paste devices” and “Deleting devices”), require that you select one or several devices in the rack. This is done according to the following:
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To select a single device, click on it in the rack.
The selected device is displayed with a blue border.
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To select several devices, hold down [Shift] and click on the desired devices.
In other words, [Shift]-clicking a device selects it without de-selecting any other selected devices.
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To de-select all devices, click in the empty area at the bottom of, or next to, the rack.
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To de-select a device in a multiple selection, hold down [Shift] and click on it.
All other selected devices remain selected.
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You can also use the arrow keys on the computer keyboard to select the device directly above, below or next to the currently selected one.
When you use this method, Reason will automatically scroll the rack so that the selected device is fully visible. This is a quick way of “stepping through” the rack. Narrow devices (e.g. half-width devices such as some effects) are ordered left-to-right, i.e. pressing the down arrow key will step through the devices from left to right before moving on the next device row.
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If you hold down [Shift] when using the up or down arrow keys, the currently selected device will remain selected.
This allows you to select a range of devices.
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Adjusting a parameter in a device will automatically select the device.
In other words, you don’t have to select a device as a separate operation before editing its parameters.
#Playing devices from the rack
When you create an instrument device it automatically gets a corresponding sequencer track, and Master Keyboard Input is set to that track so you can play the instrument device from your MIDI keyboard. You can change Master Keyboard Input by selecting another sequencer track, but you can also change Master Keyboard Input from the rack. This is useful if you, for example, have the rack detached and maximized, so you can’t see the sequencer area.
When you select a device in the rack it is surrounded by a colored border. At the top left of the border is a Master Keyboard Input tab:
The Master Keyboard Input tab on a selected ID8 device in the rack.
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Click the Master Keyboard Input tab to automatically set Master Keyboard Input to the device.
Master Keyboard input is automatically switched in the sequencer as well and you can now play the device from your MIDI keyboard:
Master Keyboard Input set from the ID8 1 device in the rack.
When you play the device, incoming MIDI is indicated by the Master Keyboard Input symbols on the device in the rack as well as on the sequencer track.
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If a selected device doesn't have a sequencer track (e.g. effect devices), one will be automatically created if you click the Master Keyboard Input tab.
#About selecting all devices in a Device Group
To select all devices in a Device Group, do as follows:
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Select any device in the desired Device Group.
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Select “Select All in Device Group” from the Edit menu or the device context menu.
All devices in the Device Group will be selected as indicated by the colored borders around the devices.
#Deleting devices
To delete one or several devices, select them in the rack and use one of the following methods:
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Press [Backspace] or [Delete].
An alert appears asking you to confirm the deletion. Any cable connections to the device will also be deleted (or re-routed).
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If you have selected a Source device or a Mix Channel device and the “Auto-Group Devices and Tracks” on the Options menu is selected, an alert appears asking if you want to delete the device or the whole Device Group, including sequencer tracks and channel strips. (See “Creating devices”).
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To delete devices or Device Groups without alerts, hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and press [Backspace] or [Delete].
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Select “Delete Devices and Tracks” from the Edit menu or the device context menu.
An alert appears asking you to confirm the deletion. This will delete the devices together with the associated sequencer track(s) also if the “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” option isn’t selected. (It’s possible to have devices without associated tracks but it is not possible to have a sequencer track without an associated device.)
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To delete devices and tracks without alerts, hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) before selecting “Delete Devices and Tracks” from the Edit menu or the device context menu.
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If you delete a device connected between two other devices, the connection between the two other devices is automatically preserved.
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The Reason Hardware Interface and the Master Section device at the top of the rack cannot be deleted.
#Re-ordering devices
If you want to move an instrument device to another position in the rack, you probably also want its Mix Channel device and connected effects to move along with it. If the “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” on the “Options” menu is selected, all devices in the Device Group will follow along when you drag and drop a device included in a Device Group. However, it’s still possible to re-order devices within each Device Group. See “Creating devices” for more details. See also “About the “Sort Selected Device Groups” function” for information about automatic sorting of several Device Groups.
If the “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” on the “Options” menu is not selected, you can re-order and move devices individually in the rack - even outside the Device Groups:
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If you want to move more than one device at the same time, [Shift]-click the devices to select them.
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Click on the panel of one of the devices (but not on a control or display).
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With the mouse button pressed, drag the device(s) to the new destination in the rack.
An orange line indicates where the device(s) will be positioned. Note that when re-ordering devices with smaller width, the line can be to the left of a device (indicating that the moved device will be placed before the other device) or to the right of a device (indicating that the moved device will be placed after the other device).
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It’s also possible to move devices to a new rack column to the left or right of the original rack (see “Creating new rack columns”).
In this example an RV-7 reverb device is moved to two different destinations:
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Release the mouse button.
The device(s) are moved to the new position and the other devices in the rack are adjusted to fill up the gap(s).
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Note that if you start to move a device but change your mind, you can abort the operation by pressing [Esc] while keeping the mouse button depressed.
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Moving devices in the rack does not affect the order of the sequencer tracks or channel strips and vice versa. If you want the sequencer tracks and channel strips to be re-ordered as well, see “About the “Sort Selected Device Groups” function”.
#Re-routing devices
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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.
See “Automatic routing” for more info on auto-routing.
#Creating new rack columns
It’s possible to move devices, or Device Groups, to new rack columns. This is very useful if your rack starts to get crowded, or if you want to arrange your devices in separate rack columns to get a better overview.
By default, when you create a new empty Song document, the rack consists of a single rack column featuring the Reason Hardware Device and the Master Section device. When you create new devices from the “Create” menu, these will automatically be placed in that rack column.
By dragging and dropping devices to either side (left or right) of the original rack, you can move the devices and at the same time create a new rack column. You can create as many rack columns as you like - the only condition is that at least one device must be present in a neighboring rack column. In other words, you can’t create empty rack columns.
In the example below, we drag and drop an RV7000 reverb device to the right of the original rack:
A large white arrow symbol appears on the right wooden rack side of the original rack column to indicate that the device is about to be moved to a new rack column.
#About the “Sort Selected Device Groups” function
When you are working with Device Groups (see “Creating devices”), there is a very nice feature which allows you to visually organize and re-order the Device Groups, Main Mixer channel strips and sequencer tracks. With the “Sort Selected Device Groups” function on the Edit menu, it’s possible to sort Device Groups and Main Mixer channel strips according to the current sequencer track order - or vice versa, depending on what’s currently selected. To sort the Device Groups in the rack, and the channel strips in the Main Mixer, according to the current sequencer track order, proceed as follows:
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Select a track in the sequencer Track List rack and choose “Select All” from the Edit menu or track context menu.
Tracks are marked with darker colors to indicate they’ve been selected.
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Select “Sort Selected Device Groups” from the Edit menu or track context menu.
Now all Device Groups and channel strips in the Main Mixer will be automatically re-ordered according to the current track configuration in the sequencer. The topmost sequencer track will have its associated Device Group moved to the top in the rack. The remaining Device Groups will be re-ordered according to the remaining track order in the Track List. The Main Mixer channel strips will also be re-ordered according to the sequencer track order.
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If you have devices in several rack columns, the sorting will begin in the leftmost rack column and continue to the right through the rest of the rack columns. The number of devices in each rack column will not be changed.
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If you select several Device Groups in the rack and choose “Sort Selected Device Groups” from the Edit menu or device context menu, the tracks in the sequencer and the Main Mixer channel strips will be re-ordered according to the current Device Group order in the rack.
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If you select several channel strips in the Main Mixer and choose “Sort Selected Device Groups” from the Edit menu or channel strip context menu, the Device Groups in the rack and the tracks in the sequencer will be re-ordered according to the current channel strip order in the Main Mixer.
#Replacing devices
If you want to replace an Instrument, Effect or Player device in the rack with another device of the same category, proceed as follows:
1.
Bring up the Device Palette in the Browser for the desired device type (Instruments, Effects or Players).
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Utility devices cannot be replaced using these methods!
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Drag the desired device from the Device Palette to the rack and place on top of the device you want to replace.
The device to be replaced is dimmed in orange and gets a “replace” symbol in the center:
Replacing a Subtractor with a PX7 FM Synthesizer device.
3.
Release the mouse button to replace the device in the rack.
The new device is automatically routed like the previous device. The Mix Channel now also gets the name of the current patch in the new device. The new device also gets “browse focus” in the Browser, see “Loading patches”.
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You can also drag and drop devices on existing device icons in the Sequencer Track List. The result is exactly the same as dropping devices on existing devices in the rack.
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You can also drag other device patches from the Browser, Windows Explorer or Finder (Mac) and drop on a device in the rack or Sequencer Track List to replace existing devices, see “Loading patches”.
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Note that Instrument devices can only be replaced by other Instrument devices. The same goes for Effect devices.
#Duplicating devices
Duplicating devices will have different results depending on the “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” setting on the Options menu (see “Creating devices”):
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To duplicate a device or a Device Group in the rack, hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Option](Mac) and drag the device to a new position.
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If “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” is not selected, a copy of the selected device will be created without any connections.
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If “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” is selected, a copy of the entire Device Group will be created with all connections preserved. A new track will also be created in the sequencer.
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Select the device(s) and select “Duplicate Devices and Tracks” from the Edit menu or context menu.
A duplicate (copy) of the device(s) or Device Group(s) will be created. New tracks for the device(s) or Device Groups will also be created in the sequencer.
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If you hold down [Shift] when you duplicate devices, Reason will attempt to automatically route them, just as when you move devices.
See “Automatic routing”.
#Cut, Copy and Paste devices
Selected devices or Device Groups can be moved or duplicated using the Cut, Copy and Paste Device functions on the Edit menu or device context menu. This allows you to copy one or several devices (such as an instrument device and all its “insert” effects) from one Reason Song document to another. Cutting/Copying and Pasting will have different results depending on the “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” setting on the Options menu (see “Creating devices”):
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Cut and Copy affects all selected devices or Device Groups, and works according to the standard procedures.
That is, Cut moves the devices/Device Groups to the clipboard (removing them from the rack) while Copy creates copies of the devices/Device Groups and puts these in the clipboard memory, without affecting the rack.
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To Cut, Copy and Paste a Device Group, make sure the “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” is selected on the Options menu. Then, select a device in the Device Group and proceed with the Cut/Copy and Paste procedure.
All devices in the Device Group will be cut/copied and pasted with preserved connections (in the same Song or in another Song document).
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When you Paste devices or Device Groups, these are inserted into the rack below the currently selected device.
If no device is selected, the pasted devices/Device Groups will appear at the bottom of the rack column.
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As when creating devices, you cannot paste a Source device into an existing Device Group if “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” is on. It will be inserted below the Device Group.
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If you Copy and Paste several devices, any connections between these are preserved.
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If you hold down [Shift] when you Paste a device, Reason will attempt to automatically route it.
The rules are the same as when moving or duplicating devices by dragging and dropping. See “Routing Audio and CV” for more information about automatic and manual routing.
#Naming devices
Each device has a “tape strip” which shows the name of the device. When you create a new device it is automatically named according to the current patch in the device. Devices that don’t use patches are automatically named according to the device type, with an index number (so that the first ID8 device r you create is called “ID8 1”, the next “ID8 2” and so on). If you like, you can rename a device by clicking on its tape strip and typing a new name (up to 16 characters).
For instrument devices connected to Mix Channel devices, the device names are automatically copied to the tape strips for the corresponding Mix Channel devices and their channel strips in the Main Mixer, as well as on their corresponding sequencer tracks. Similarly, the names of the FX Returns in the Main Mixer show the names of the effect devices connected to the corresponding FX Return inputs.
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When you create a device for which an associated sequencer track is created, the track in the sequencer will be assigned the same name as the device. Renaming the device will also rename the corresponding sequencer track, and vice versa.
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Note that the mixer channel tape strips always show the patch name (or device name) of the source device connected to the Mix Channel device! This means that if you have an instrument device routed through one or several effect devices, the Mix Channel tape strip will show the name of the instrument device (as this is the Source device).
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You can rename Mix Channels manually, for example, if you use multiple outputs from a sampler device going to separate Mix Channels. If you later delete the custom name, the Mix Channel will default to showing the Source device's name. For audio tracks, the Audio Track device is always the Source device and will never change name unless you manually rename it.
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If you delete your custom device name, the name reverts back to the default name, i.e. the patch name or device name (for non patch devices).
#Folding and unfolding devices
If you don’t need to edit the parameters for a device, you can fold the device to make the rack more manageable and to avoid having to scroll a lot.
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Click the “Fold/Unfold” button to the left on the device panel to fold the device.
The “Fold/Unfold” button on an RV7000 device.
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To unfold the device, click the “Fold/Unfold” button again.
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In rack rows containing devices of smaller width, the “Fold/Unfold” button is placed to the left of the leftmost device and affects all devices in the row:
The “Fold/Unfold” buttons for devices of smaller width.
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Hold down [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) and click the “Fold/Unfold” button of an unfolded device to fold all devices in the current rack column.
Conversely, hold down [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) and click the “Fold/Unfold” button of a folded device to unfold all devices in the current rack column.
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For folded devices, no parameters are shown and you cannot reroute any cables on the rear of the rack as long as the devices are folded.
However, if you want to make a connection to a folded device, you can drag a cable to it and hold it there for a moment. This will cause the folded device to automatically unfold and let you make the connection.
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Folded devices can be renamed, moved, duplicated and deleted just like unfolded devices.
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For devices that use patches, you can select patches in folded mode as well.
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Playback is not affected by folding.
#Flipping the rack
To be able to connect, delete or reroute cables between devices in the rack, you need to flip the rack.
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To flip the rack to show the rear panels of the devices, either press [Tab], or click the Flip Rack button at the top of the song window, or select “Toggle Rack Front/Rear” from the Options menu.
The Flip Rack button at the top of the song window.
The rear panels of the devices are now shown in the rack area:
The rear panels of the devices in the rack.
See “Manual routing” for information about routing cables between devices in the rack.