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• Reason’s Pulverizer Spotlight: Tremor
• by G.W. Childs IV
• G. W. Childs knows how to uncover sonic gems in almost any awesome synth. Reason's Pulveriser is one such instrument. Explore how to use Pulveriser's Tremor to unlock its potential.

• Smashing Your Beats With Reason 6's Scream 4
• by Mo Volans
• So, you've got the hang of designing sounds for and programming your beats? Next up is processing and mixing them. Mo Volans takes a step-by-step approach for destroying them with Reason's Scream 4.

• Evil Leads Creation in Propellerhead Reason 6
• by G.W. Childs IV
• If you're feeling like a goody-two shoes today then skip this article. Seriously, don't click to read more… unless, that is, you're ready for GW Childs to seduce you with evil leads in Reason 6.

• Vocoding for Better Pads in Reason
• by G.W. Childs IV
• Vocoders. You've got to love them! They seemingly never go out of fashion, and they have so much to offer across a wide range of genres. G.W. Childs creates better pads in Reason using the BV512.

• Using Guitar Effects on Synth Bass in Reason
• by Hollin Jones
• Guitar effects aren't only for guitarists! Hollin Jones takes some of the best guitar effects that Reason has to offer and applies them to a synth bass. Read and listen to the results...

• Reason 6 107
• Beat Design Basics
• Making solid beats is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration. In this 33-video collection you’ll work up a good sweat as you develop a strong foundation in the art and science of building beats in Reason 6...

• Reason 6 403
• Designing Dubstep: Beat by Beat
• In this latest Reason 6 tutorial, Dubstep producer Hollin Jones takes you on a journey from the first note to the final master. Learn how to produce a Dubstep track in Reason!

• Reason 6 204
• Pulverizer
• Squash it. Smash it! Make it dirty and shake it up! That sounds like Pulverisor –the new FX plugin from the mad scientists at Propellerhead. Let GW Childs show you how to totally PULVERIZE your Reason 6 tracks...

• Reason 6 106
• FX, EQ, Automation and Mixing
• The instruments are smoking. The rack is exploding. Now it’s time to pull it all together and make musical sense of all this Reason 6 mayhem! In this tutorial, Hollin Jones get’s you into the mixer and exploring the FX, EQ and automation...

• Reason 6 105
• Working With Audio
• Reason now records, processes and samples audio! This tutorial by Reason 6 expert Hollin Jones shows you just how seamless working with audio is in Reason 6...

• Reason 6 402
• Reason's Mastering Toolbox
• Learn to master your Reason projects right in Reason 6! This tutorial by audio expert Mo Volans shows you how to use Reason’s powerful, built-in mastering tools...

• Reason 6 205
• Alligator
• New in Reason 6 is Alligator. Join G.W. Childs as he wrestles the sound out of this beast and shows you what this fearsome effects device can do...

• Reason 6 208
• The Combinator
• 3 hours of hot video tips that will show you how to use Reason's Combinator in exciting new ways for bigger synths, better beats, and masterful remixes!

• Reason 6 209
• Thor: Master Of All Synths
• Lightning strikes and thunder rolls as G.W. Childs explores the vast depths of Reason’s awesome Master of All Synths: Thor!

• Reason 6 206
• KONG: King of Drums
• In 2.5 hours you will be making killer beats with Reason's incredible Kong drum machine...

• Reason 6 207
• Dr. OctoRex: Sonic Surgery
• Imagine 8 Rex files simultaneously slicing and dicing, mixing and mashing to make the most amazing rhythmic masterpieces. Combine Dr. Octo Rex and the expertise of Reason Master, Mo Volans, and the unimaginable has become reality...

• Reason 6 102
• Reason Fundamentals
• Before you can dive into any DAW you’ve got to know the basic workings and layout of the program. In this Reason 6 Fundamentals tutorial, expert Hollin Jones cranks up the tempo to about 1000 bpm and gets you up and producing tracks in no time flat...

• Reason 6 401
• Reason's Mixing Toolbox
• Learn how operate the amazing new console and mixing tools included in Reason 6. Watch as Mo Volans remixes a track right before your eyes and ears...

• Reason 6 203
• The Echo
• New to Reason’s Rack is The Echo, The Echo, The Echo... Watch G.W. Childs show you how he manipulates this “echological” new plugin to create all kinds of “out there” audio effects...

• Reason 6 104
• The Instruments
• Reason 6 comes jammed-packed with tons of synths and virtual instruments. Take the sonic tour with Reason expert Hollin Jones...

Preview these Reason Tutorial-Videos

Reason’s inclusion of audio inputs in its later versions has opened up possibilities that were not available easily before. If you’re an old school Reason user, I’m sure you’re more than familiar with having to record audio in another program, import said audio in to a Reason sampler (NN-XT or NN-19), and then trigger the audio via MIDI recording. 

Thankfully, this tedious and tiresome method for using external audio is gone. That being said, this should remind us that there are many things all of us are forgetting we can do now. It’s like Stockholm Syndrome (funny, Reason is made in Stockholm!): we’re so used to being a slave to one way of working, that we forget that we have a lot of the options we always wished we had before. 

Join me in my run out into the streets of possibility!

One of the things that I was most excited about was being able to really make use of the vocoder with external audio signals now! Yes, you can actually do realtime vocoding! But, what’s even more striking is that you don’t necessarily have to use a Reason device as the carrier wave (the synth that’s being modulated by a voice, etc), you can also use an external carrier, like a hardware synth!

Let’s give this a shot!

Step 1 - Set Up Your Carrier!

Let’s start off by creating an audio track. To do this, simply hold down Command and then press T. An audio track device will appear in your rack, in the Mixer, and in the sequencer. 

Extend the device by pressing the small arrow on the left of the device, so you can see it fully opened. Then, on the audio track device, select the input that your hardware synth is connected to. 

At this point, play your hardware synth (I’m using an old Roland XP-50 for this) to make sure that you have signal. After all, no sound will end this trip real quick, right?

Step 2 - Set up your Modulator

Now, I need to set up an audio track for my voice, otherwise known as the modulator. I’ll do a Command-T again, and this time, choose the input that my mic is going in to. 

I’ll go ahead and label these now to keep things simple and understandable.

Now that my tracks are setup, it’s time to bring in the vocoder. I’ll insert the BV512 vocoder as an insert on my Carrier Audio Track. 

Step 3 - Patching your Vocoder

Normally, Reason’s auto patching works perfectly, and makes sense. This is not the case with the auto patching that happens for the vocoder. Remove any cables from the back before you begin this part of the exercise. 

Now, drag the direct out from your carrier in to the Carrier input on the vocoder.

Then drag cables from the Carrier Output to the From Device Insert inputs.

Finally, drag the Left output from the ‘To Device Ouputs’ to your Modulator Input.

By choosing only the left inputs and outputs, you’ll keep the vocoder in Mono mode. You can always use Right channels as well; just know that the modulator input can only ever be Mono. Because... Vocals are, by default, vocal.

Step 4 - Realtime Vocoding

Now for the fun part. Enable Monitoring for both audio tracks in the sequencer. These are the green buttons in the picture below. 

While playing your hardware synth in realtime, sing into your microphone: Vocoding in realtime.

If you decide you want to record this, remember: You’ll need to record both tracks at once, or separately. In the end, you’ll need both tracks playing audio, or in real-time at once for this to work. 

You can also use Reason as a vocoder, and send your computer's output to another DAW, or even through Soundflower. You can even use this setup live!

Preview these Reason Tutorial-Videos

G.W. Childs IV

Sound Designer, Musician, Author... G.W. Childs has worn many hats. Beginning in the U.S. Army back in 1991, at the age of 18, G.W. began learning electronics, communications and then ultimately audio and video editing from the Department of Defense. Upon leaving the military G.W. went on to work for many exciting companies like LucasArts, Lucasfilm, Propellerheads, Cakewalk, Midway, MTV. With all of these exciting companies he's either worked as an editor, or sound designer, even sometimes as an actor. G.W. is currently working as an author for Cengage Publishing. He has written the titles 'Creating Music and Sound for Video Games', 'Rewire: Skill Pack', and 'Using Reason on Stage: Skill Pack'. As a musician G.W. has played for years in the band Soil & Eclipse on COP International Records. Additionally, he's worked as a remix artist for acts like Gene Loves Jezebel, Ray Charles, James Brown, Chiazm, Razed in Black, and more.

Vocoder reason, Reason synth, Reason record audio, Reason 6 audio, Reason real time vocoder, MIDI Synth

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