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Make your Reason rack sound right.

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Although Propellerhead Software has had its hands full creating and promoting its new Record app recently, let's not forget that Reason, the company's self-contained software studio, remains a superb software tool for anyone who creates music that doesn't rely on the recording of 'real' sounds.

To get the best results out of the program, though, you need to know how to mix in it – check out our 26 tips and tricks and you'll be armed with the knowledge you need to make your music sound that little bit (or more than a little bit) better.

1. Low overheads

Make sure you take full advantage of Reason's very low CPU usage. Send effects have their specific uses, of course, but with Reason, you can go pretty crazy with inserts. So if you have the power, don't be afraid to add some gentle compression, EQ, spreading or any other effects you like to every channel.

2. Back to basics

It's easy to overlook Reason's Mixer EQ, as it is very basic, but even if you end up using an MClass EQ later on, it's still worth applying a bit of quick top-end boost to help something pop out of the mix. The only thing to keep in mind is that the Bass EQ doesn't handle boost very well, so this should only really be used for cutting excessive bottom end.

3. In the red

Reason's mixer handles overdriven signals quite well – better than many other DAWs, in fact. So don't shy away from pushing something into the red if you think it genuinely sounds good. Of course, we're not suggesting that you push everything over the top, but you can drive some things far harder than others.

"Don't shy away from pushing something into the red if you genuinely think it sounds good."

4. Everything in its place

Always be aware of the order in which you place effects, as it can make a huge difference to the sound. For example, compressors tend to work best after delays and reverbs as they raise the perceived level. But you don't let the signals from your effects swamp things too much – if you can trim off some of the bass on your reverb, do it.

5. Daisy chains

One of the best ways to take control of a delay is to create a customised Combinator effect chain. At the front is a Spider Splitter, at the end a six-channel mixer. The Spider sends a dry signal to the mixer and another to a delay, set fully wet. After that, add an EQ and perhaps a compressor, then put the wet signal into a second channel on the mixer.

6. Reloaded

If you plan to automate an EQ with sweeps at a certain point in a track, but have delicate EQ settings for the rest of it, simply use another instance of the device. The same goes for any effect, really. It's far easier to have two devices doing separate things than try to keep track of automation of lots of parameters on the same effect.

7. Double take

Some DAWs have a button or menu entry for automatically duplicating a channel. No such luxury exists in Reason, unfortunately. Instead, you have two options if you want to double up a signal. The simplest is to use a Spider Splitter, which is ideal for sidechain ducking sources. But if you're doubling a track and pitch-shifting it down an octave to fatten it, turn the channel into a Combinator patch and copy the MIDI clip.

8. Spread your wings

The Stereo Imager is a great effect, but be very careful with it, as it can take the punch out of individual sounds. The bottom end is a big part of this, but even top-heavy sounds can fade into the background with too much widening, so only apply large amounts of spread to sounds that are either punchy to begin with or don't need to be.

NEXT PAGE: Delay, bass, compression and more!

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