MusicRadar

Reason's RPG-8: for all your arpeggiation requirements.

View in gallery

Reason's RPG-8 is one of the most stunningly useable, powerful and friendly arpeggiators we've ever seen, and it can be applied to any sound source in the Reason rack.

If you've read the manual, you'll know all this already, but if you're looking for some creative ideas on how to use it, read on.

1. Arpeggio Notes To Track

The Gate Length control on RPG-8 is great, but sometimes you want to vary each note independently so that, for example, the higher notes are shorter than the lower notes. Or maybe you want to just control the length of each note in a loop separately. In this case, you're best off using the Arpeggio Notes To Track function to create a clip.

2. Thicker arpeggios

Want to create thicker and more interesting arpeggios? Try copying an entire track (eg, synth, arpeggiator and MIDI clips, ideally locked together in a Combinator), then transposing one of the RPG-8s either up or down. You can add even more excitement by altering the range of the arpeggio on one of the channels

3. Delay

To add an interesting delay effect, use the layering technique from the last tip, setting the Gate Length very short on both, then use the Slide control on the ReGroove Mixer to delay one of the channels. Try panning the two channels left and right slightly for a cool stereo effect.

4. Octave variation

A great way to accent different parts of a track is to alter the arpeggio octave range in real time. So, for example, you could use the one-octave mode for your intro and drops, the two-octave mode for verses, the three-octave mode for your bridge and the four-octave mode for the choruses.

Around the web: