Propellerheads feature Bon Harris
A really good feature story, enjoy
Bon Harris is mostly known as a founding member of legendary UK electronic act Nitzer Ebb, but he has also worked with artists such as Billy Corgan, Marilyn Manson, his own band Maven, and many more.
Bon is back in the studio working on the new Nitzer Ebb album and we met with him to talk about how he is using Reason in his work. Check the full story for a detailed explanation of how to fatten a bass sound using Reason’s BV-512 vocoder (with a Harris-crafted example patch to download) and even a little sneak listen to a new Nitzer Ebb track.
And of course a bonus Nitzer ebb video, one of my favorites:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w3A72L3rj4]
Using vocoder in Reason 4
Found a good tutorial today on how to get the most out of the Vocoder in Reason, make sure to try it out.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anAC4Xd31q8]
Short on Reason’s vocoder below:
BV-512
Besides being a 4 to 512-band vocoder capable of modulating sound in both old-school analog style and digital FFT fashion, this unit also doubles as a fully automated equalizer with a twist. The BV-512 can be used for everything from classic robot vocals to weird harmonic effects.
To Vocode
A vocoder takes two input signals, the carrier, which provides the pitch, and the modulator, supplying the characteristics.
Traditional vocoders require you to sing into a microphone while playing a keyboard. Not this one – with the BV-512 you can combine any two sound sources. Try vocoding your percussion track with the bass line or the string pad with the rhythm guitar.
The Bands
A vocoder splits the incoming audio into a number of frequency bands. More bands gives you more control and more detail. Where most vocoders max out at eight to sixteen bands, the BV-512 gives you up to, you guessed it, 512 bands. In 4-band mode, the BV- 512 provides a gritty, analog, lo-fi sound. The 512- band setting is another beast altogether. In this mode, a digital 1024-point FFT-based algorithm provides the clearest, most detailed and most audible vocoding you ever heard from a computer.
The EQ
Hitting the EQ switch on the front panel calls up a handy parametric and low shelving equalizer for additional tweaking of your reverberated signal. Combine this section with the HF Damp and HF Smooth knobs on the front panel, and be the master of your wet signal’s every frequency.
The Gate
A flick of a switch turns the BV-512 into a 4 to 512 band stereo equalizer. Use the higher settings for detailed control of the spectrum.
Or try the four and eight band modes for a decidedly more lo-fi sound that adds an unmistakable vocoder “color” to your input signal.
Automation
Like all other Reason devices, the BV-512 Vocoder can be fully automated, band level settings included. Record your front panel actions, or use the pen tool to draw in layers upon layers of wild frequency changes. The Shift knob is just one example of a control that’s dying to be automated. One session with BV-512 and you’re hooked for life.
MK Digital Keys – Retro Keyboard Sampleset Released
Hi all Nucleus has a released a new Refill that is definately worth checking out and as a bonus there is also a free demo Refill below….
MK Digital Keys is a new retro keyboard sample library by Nucleus SoundLab.
Bring the 80s keyboard sound to your productions with this faithful sampling of Roland’s MKS-20 keyboard synthesizer. MK Digital Keys is available in three format packages: Reason Refill, WusikEngine, and Kontakt/EXS/SFZ.
Back in 1986, there weren’t many good ways to take a good keyboard sounds with you while touring. Sampled pianos were in their infancy, with extremely low samplerates and small ROM sizes. One answer to this problem was SAS synthesis. This unique form of synthesis uses no samples whatsover, and produces a very realistic sound. Still, its not a ‘real piano’, so these days the sound is more useful for its retro character. It still sounds great!
MK Digital Keys brings this retro sound to your modern sampler, while removing original limitations like low polyphony and noisy outputs. This is an extremely comprehensive sampling, with 6 samples per octave, 7 octaves, and 6 velocity layers per note. All 8 tones of the MKS are represented (3 pianos, 2 EPs, Clav, Harp and Vibes). All of this comprises a total of nearly 2100 mono 24-bit 44khz samples!
MK Digital Keys is also built to be scalable. At times, you won’t have need for the full extent of the sampling described above, due to CPU/RAM constraints. For those times, 3 alternate smaller versions of each tone are contained inside – L, M and S sizes. The S versions weigh in at under 50mb and can fit into even the most RAM-starved projects. Details:
* 3.6+ GB of 24-bit 44khz samples
* 8 different classic keyboard tones
* 20 Combinators and 32 NN-XT patches inside the Refill
* 78 WusikEngine presets, including 46 custom presets by Daniel Stawczyk
* Kontakt/EXS/SFZ format pack contains raw .wav files plus patches for all 3 formats.
Listen to what MK Digital Keys offers by downloading the MP3 demos below.
In addition, a Demo Refill is available for free download.
http://www.nucleus-soundlab.com/mp3s/mkdigital/burnweaver.mp3
http://www.nucleus-soundlab.com/mp3s/mkdigital/Asian%20Toys.mp3
http://www.nucleus-soundlab.com/mp3s/mkdigital/Fading%20City%20Lights.mp3
http://www.nucleus-soundlab.com/demos/MK%20Digital%20Keys%20Refill%20Demo.zip
Obama has won :-)
…and of course this needs to be celebrated.
Barack Obama wallpaper, LOL
By a strike of good fortune I came across this Combinator skin for Reason 4, which I believe is most appealing.
It can be downloaded from here >>
New stuff to download from the Refill master
eXode is definately one of my favorite Refill guys I am equally thrilled every time something new pops out from this guy, and you wont be disapointed this time around either. I have had these two refills for a couple of weeks now and they have really come to use.
Make sure to download them for free at CombinatorHQ >>
Marketing pitch from HQs below:
We are so lucky to have not one… but two offerings at once from one of the more prominent programmers of the Reason Community… eXode! These two refills are both full of Thor patches ready to be added to your latest creation. We know you’ll get a lot out of these producitons.
Voltage Controlled Vol.3. is the latest free offering from eXode! A pack of 60 high quality patches programmed for Thor exclusively. This pack contains everything from hard solid basses to epic leads and soaring pads and the sounds range from old-school analogue style to new modern digital sonic wizardry!
The eXode Moog Tribute ReFill is a FREE ReFill that was made using only Thor. A total of 50 patches that were made to stay as true as possible in design to the original Model D minimoog! This ReFill was made as a tribute to Dr Bob Moog, the minimoog synth and the impact they had on the music world.
Don´t miss the Propellerhead battle
Got funk? Got bass? For a chance to win astonishing prizes, enter the Propellerhead 2008 Bassline Battle. Fire up Reason and put together the funkiest, illest, baddest bassline and drum beat combination possible.
The Bassline Battle is just about that – creating the grooviest, dirtiest and downright funkiest 8 bars of bass and drums possible. If your creation makes it through the public and grand jury rating, you may be the lucky winner of an outstanding Grand Prize from Focusrite, KRK and Novation.
The Grand Prize consists of:
- Focusrite Saffire Pro 40
Brand new FireWire audio interface featuring 8 of Focusrite’s legendary mic pre-amps. - Novation Remote 25SL Compact
Advanced MIDI controller featuring a 25 key keyboard, a huge LCD display as well as loads of knobs, faders, buttons and pads that will effortlessly hook up to your Reason rack using Novation’s automap feature. - KRK Rokit 5 G2 (x2) and KRK S10
The Rokit series of monitors have long been a favorite in project studios all over the world, and with the self-powered G2 version offered here, you’ll get instant great sounding monitoring for your Reason rack. Add to that the KRK S10 sub-woofer and you have a fantastic full-range system that will let your hear your productions in great detail.
The Bassline Battle opens today, October 15th, and you have until November 24th to submit your bassline masterpieces. Learn all the details about the contest, the Grand Prize and follow-up prizes by going to the Bassline Battle page.
Propellehead announces new high quality refills
New ReFill downloads in the PropShop
Welcome to visit the new Third Party ReFill page! This new PropShop section contains downloadable ReFills, hand picked for their sound and quality, taking advantage of all the sonic possibilities of Reason.
The Refills introduced this month are:
• EMU Proteus 1 2 3 – All the great sounds from EMUs classic range of rack modules.
• Old World – Color your music with strings, winds, melodic and percussion instruments from around the globe.
• Vintage Pro – 30 classic keyboards; Arp 2600, OB-Xa, and a Hammond B3 to name a few. Includes 384 Combinators!
• The Wizard II – Mind-twisting ambient and electronic sounds. Buzzes, beeps, textures and drones are offered in this other-worldly ReFill.
• Electrified! – Features the sounds of $30,000 worth of vintage and modern guitars and amps. Exceptionally responsive!
• Pure Acoustic Special Edition – Vibrant and natural acoustic guitars, from soft mellow fingerstyle to buzzy and edgy picked guitar.
• Flatpack 3 – The third episode in the award-winning Flatpack series, for electronic music producers and sound designers. Now available as download.
We will keep adding more exciting titles every month so don’t forget to check back!
Live drum sounds for Reason – tutorial
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=875-d0wHPDk]
This drum kit produced by the Propellerhead team offer something above and beyond simple one-shot samples of drum sounds with features such as:
- Multi-samples of expensive drum kits so that notes played at different velocities reflect the nuance of the real thing.
- Drum hits recorded with different sticks, brushes, mics and mic placements with the ability to mix between mics allowing you to tweak mic and room dynamics for each channel.
Below is a video showing Josh Mobley aka Neoverse drumming away with Reason Drum Kits 2.0. Shot while taking a break during production of MPR4
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J9in1JgigU]
ARCADE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM – Reason Refill :-)
New ReFill- AES 001 No, this is not the emulation of Nintendo's nextgen gameconsole. This is AES, our ARCADE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM ! Start the engine and your music will receive this extra portion of 8 bit flavour. 1200 samples taken straight from the Nintendo NES-001, the most popular game console produced in the 80`s. This essential sample collection is usefull for every producer who likes to give his sound that 80`s arcade character, suitable from old school NES music to modern electro or pop productions. Sound Demo: http://youproduce.net/soundshop_demos/demosong_aes_1_hq.mp3 ReFill Demo: http://youproduce.net/soundshop/demorefills/ASS008_YOUPRODUCE.NET_AES_Demo.zip Product Page: http://youproduce.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1880&Itemid=106
Taiko Japanese Drums Refill
Nine Volt Audio releases: Action Drums: Taiko Edition in several formats
+ Don´t miss to get the free demo refill from their homepage >>
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Nine Volt Audio say that Action Drums: Taiko Edition brings the power, thunder and excitement of Japanese taiko drums to the REX, Stylus RMX, ACID wav and Apple Loop formats.
Here’s the details in their own words…
Recorded in a concert hall with microphones from stage to balcony, Action Drums: Taiko Edition captures the energy resonating from every strike, boom and cinematic blow. With suite names like Alley Sprinter, War Elephants and Lost Temple, Action Drums matches big sounds with grand imagery.
Action Drums focuses on a tempo range of 120-200 BPM. But as with all of Nine Volt Audio’s BPM Flex Series libraries, every REX-based loop can be used at virtually any tempo without artificial stretching or unwanted audio artifacts!
Whether setting the mood for an epic clash, scoring an adrenalin-charged chase scene or creating a conqueror’s anthem, Action Drums: Taiko Edition provides the sonic impact necessary for a wide range of compositional needs.
DATAMASKIN
