Here’s why Reason’s Player MIDI Effects are the perfect creative partners

You might have the prolificacy of Prince or consider yourself to be a modern-day Mozart, but unfortunately, there are going to be times when the well of musical inspiration runs dry. A production session is nothing without ideas, and if you can’t come up with any, it can quickly descend into frustration.

If you’re a Reason user, though, Player Devices can help you get past these creative roadblocks. Think of these as creative partners - tools you can turn to when your regular rack of synth and drum machines just isn’t enough.

Rather than creating sounds, Player Devices work in tandem with your instruments, generating new beats, basslines, chords or melodies using MIDI. They can also be applied to existing parts - useful if you’ve got the germ of an idea but no clue where to take it next.

Reason ships with several Players - sequencers, note generators, a virtual drummer and a dedicated device for exploring scale and chord options. They offer a whole new way of composing, and come with both presets and multiple parameters to tweak. They’re not just for beginners, either - anyone can use them when they need to take a different approach to production.

Reason Player Devices

(Image credit: Reason Studios)

You can also buy additional Players via the Reason Studios store, such as the new Pattern Mutator. This can not only help you to create patterns, but you also have the option to generate endless variations, even when working with polyphonic parts such as chord progressions. Throw in the ability to transpose patterns live from a MIDI keyboard and the possibilities are endless.

The great news, of course, is that Player Devices can be used in any DAW, thanks to the option to use Reason as a plugin. This applies whichever version of Reason you have: Intro, Standard or Suite.

With a free 30-day trial version available you can try Reason right away, and now is also a great time to buy. Between 21 and 31 December, the software is available at a 30% discount, and will get you set up for a great year of music-making in 2021.

Find out more on the Reason Studios website.