MusicRadar

The sequencer in Reason 4 is much more powerful than the one in previous versions.

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8. Arpeggios needn’t just be used for synth lines. Try using RPG-8 for some more outrageous arpeggiation action, such as triggering a drum patch in the NN-XT sampler, or in conjunction with the BV512 vocoder for some crazy dual modulation. Also, try recording an extended section with RPG-8 in Random mode and see what comes out…

9. It seems like an obvious tip, but it’s amazing how many people don’t choose the Detach Sequencer Window option from the Window menu. Reason’s new features make the sequencer section a much friendlier place to hang out, even if only to get a few ideas down, so why not detach it and enlarge it to fit your whole screen?

10. Track lanes are a great way to house alternative takes and unused note clips, but before you even start arranging they’re ideal for placing the different parts for your intro, chorus, verse and bridge in order to easily audition arrangement ideas over an eight- or 16-bar loop, simply by muting and un-muting the lanes as your loop plays.

11. Build up a library of custom Groove Patches for use in the ReGroove mixer. With a little help from an audio editor and a copy of ReCycle!, these can be extracted from your favourite songs and applied to your own.

12. If you’re having trouble getting parts with different types of groove applied to sit well together because one or two hits are clashing, try applying the grooves permanently to the clips. You’ll be able to manually match up only the offending hits, while leaving all other note events intact.

13. When you record automation tweaks, Reason remembers the original ‘static value’ (the setting before you applied automation). So for any big build-ups and drops, you need only drag the automation clip’s ending exactly to the conclusion of the build and Reason will instantly snap to the static value when it gets to the end of it.

14. Creating Automation lanes for multiple parameters at once in the sequencer window is a snap in Reason 4. Simply select the channel, go to Edit»Parameter Automation, tick all the ones you want to create clips for and click OK.

15. At the earliest opportunity, make a note of all the keyboard shortcuts on offer. For example, you no doubt know that the magnifying glass tool enables you to zoom in on the sequencer by clicking or ‘boxing’, but are you aware that holding down Ctrl on PC or Alt on Mac and clicking with it zooms the view back out?

16. Try using RPG-8 arpeggios in another sequencer to trigger your plug-in synths and samplers. Highlight the RPG-8 module, right-click and select Arpeggio Note To Track. Export the project as a MIDI file using the Export MIDI File option from the File menu, and then import it into your sequencer of choice.

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