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Round-up: Reason Rack Extensions

By Ben Rogerson
published 20 September 2012

Your complete guide to what's available

33 instruments and effects

33 instruments and effects

Reason Rack Extensions are software instruments and effects that can be used in Reason 6.5 and Reason Essentials 1.5. They can all be purchased (or in some cases downloaded for free) from the Propellerhead Shop.

What follows is our guide to what’s currently available. Where applicable, we’ve included links to MusicRadar reviews of plug-in versions of the Rack Extensions. Bear in mind, though, that these will offer slightly different feature sets to the Reason editions.

The Rack Extensions are listed in alphabetical order by developer name.

NEXT: Audio Damage Rough Rider

Page 1 of 34
Page 1 of 34
Audio Damage Rough Rider
€25

Audio Damage Rough Rider

Audio Damage keeps it simple with a compressor that “just sounds good”.

Page 2 of 34
Page 2 of 34
AudioRealism ABL2
€49

AudioRealism ABL2

A bassline synth that promises to accurately emulate every aspect of Roland’s classic TB-303.

Page 3 of 34
Page 3 of 34
NEW! Blamsoft Resampler
€19

NEW! Blamsoft Resampler

Blending aliasing distortion and quantisation, Resampler can produce a range of bitcrushing effects. Use it for ‘talking’ basses, chiptune-style sounds and more.

Page 4 of 34
Page 4 of 34
FXpansion Etch Red
€39

FXpansion Etch Red

A filtering effect based on FXpansion’s DCAM circuit-modelling technology.

Read FXpansion Etch Red review

Page 5 of 34
Page 5 of 34
GForce Software Re-Tron
€59

GForce Software Re-Tron

With the M-Tron, GForce brought the Mellotron back to life as a plug-in. Thanks to Re-Tron, Reason users can now get their hands on this tape replay keyboard.

Page 6 of 34
Page 6 of 34
iZotope Ozone Maximizer
€65

iZotope Ozone Maximizer

Ozone certainly knows a thing or two about mastering tools - here’s an adapted version of the Mazimizer from its Ozone package.

Read iZotope Ozone 5 plug-in review

Page 7 of 34
Page 7 of 34
Korg Polysix
€39

Korg Polysix

A Rack Extension version of Korg's '80s polysynth. The Reason version adds 32-voice polyphony, 16-voice unison (with detune/spread function), flexible external modulation settings, MIDI clock synchronization, and a spread function to the original's features list.

Read Korg Polysix review

Page 8 of 34
Page 8 of 34
NEW! Numerical Sound ReStereo
€55

NEW! Numerical Sound ReStereo

Make your mono tracks sound like stereo ones while preserving bass and clarity. You can choose from 25 stereo fields.

Page 9 of 34
Page 9 of 34
Peff Buffre Beat Repeater
€39

Peff Buffre Beat Repeater

Reason legend Peff brings an audio looping device that repeats and scrubs audio in sync with your song’s tempo.

Page 10 of 34
Page 10 of 34
Propellerhead Software Polar
€55

Propellerhead Software Polar

Propellerhead’s old-school harmonizer and pitch shifter.

Read Propellerhead Software Polar review

Page 11 of 34
Page 11 of 34
Propellerhead Software Pulsar
Free for a limited time

Propellerhead Software Pulsar

Pulsar LGM-1 is a dual-channel modulation effect that can add variation to your sounds and be used to create completely new ones.

Read Propellerhead Software Pulsar review

Page 12 of 34
Page 12 of 34
Propellerhead Radical Piano
€79

Propellerhead Radical Piano

Three sampled pianos and enough tweakability to create an infinite number of your own.

Propellerhead Software Radical Piano review

Page 13 of 34
Page 13 of 34
NEW! Rob Papen Predator RE
€99

NEW! Rob Papen Predator RE

Designed to be a ‘go to’ synth for contemporary music, Predator comes with close to 4,000 presets and puts all its controls right in front of you.

Read Rob Papen Predator review (plug-in version)

Page 14 of 34
Page 14 of 34
NEW! Shelob Audio Bypass Splitter
€7.50

NEW! Shelob Audio Bypass Splitter

Reason might have its Spider devices, but this “super arachnid” takes things a step further by serving as a 4-in/20-out splitter.

Page 15 of 34
Page 15 of 34
Softube FET Compressor
€99

Softube FET Compressor

Modelled on a famous solid-state compressor but with added features of its own, the FET promises maximum versatility.

Page 16 of 34
Page 16 of 34
Softube Saturation Knob
Free for a limited time

Softube Saturation Knob

A one-knob distortion unit that can be used to fatten-up basslines, add shimmer to vocals or squash drum loops.

Page 17 of 34
Page 17 of 34
Softube Trident A-Range
€99

Softube Trident A-Range

Modelled on the Trident A-Range consoles, this channel strip offers four-band EQ and high-/low-pass filters.

Read Softube Trident A-Range EQ plug-in review

Page 18 of 34
Page 18 of 34
Softube TSAR-1 Reverb
€119

Softube TSAR-1 Reverb

A contemporary algorithmic reverb that promises all the power, detail and sophistication that you need.

Read Softube TSAR-1 plug-in review

Page 19 of 34
Page 19 of 34
Softube TSAR-1R Reverb
€39

Softube TSAR-1R Reverb

The little brother to the TSAR-1, this reverb comes with an interface that won’t leave you scratching your head.

Page 20 of 34
Page 20 of 34
Sonic Charge Bitspeek
€39

Sonic Charge Bitspeek

A “pitch-excited linear prediction codec effect”. Or to put it another way, a device that can emulate everything from speaking toys to a vocoder and talkbox effects.

Read Sonic Charge Bitspeek plug-in review

Page 21 of 34
Page 21 of 34
NEW! Sonic Charge Echobode
€19

NEW! Sonic Charge Echobode

A frequency shifter combined with a delay, this device is also capable of producing phaser, flanger and chorus effects.

Page 22 of 34
Page 22 of 34
Sugar Bytes Filter Pattern
€25

Sugar Bytes Filter Pattern

An “animated” filter effect that has lots of possibilities but a simple control set.

Page 23 of 34
Page 23 of 34
Sugar Bytes Pitch Delay
€25

Sugar Bytes Pitch Delay

An effect that combines delay, pitchshifting and filtering.

Page 24 of 34
Page 24 of 34
Sugar Bytes Slice Arranger
€25

Sugar Bytes Slice Arranger

Slice up and re-order your audio. You can re-arrange drum beats, instrumental parts or anything else.

Page 25 of 34
Page 25 of 34
Sugar Bytes Spectralizer
€25

Sugar Bytes Spectralizer

A filter bank with 32 delays, each of which has its own delay time and filter frequency. "Instant fun" with your audio is promised.

Page 26 of 34
Page 26 of 34
Sugar Bytes Vocodizer
€25

Sugar Bytes Vocodizer

Vocodizer enables you to recreate the classic vocoder sound while also giving you further options. Use it like an instrument to create independent melodies, rhythms and sounds.

Page 27 of 34
Page 27 of 34
Sugar Bytes Vinylizer
€25

Sugar Bytes Vinylizer

If you want the stop/start effect that’s typical of vinyl scratching, take this RE for a spin. Use it to create breaks and glitches.

Page 28 of 34
Page 28 of 34
Synapse Audio AF-4 Analog Filter
€39

Synapse Audio AF-4 Analog Filter

Based on the transistor ladder design, this is a virtual analogue low-pass filter.

Page 29 of 34
Page 29 of 34
NEW! Synapse Audio DR-1
€32

NEW! Synapse Audio DR-1

This reverb is inspired by a high-end hardware unit from the ‘80s and promises a deep, lush sound.

Page 30 of 34
Page 30 of 34
Synapse Audio DC-2 Dual Chorus
€32

Synapse Audio DC-2 Dual Chorus

A two-stage chorus effect that promises a warm, sweeping stereo effect.

Page 31 of 34
Page 31 of 34
Synapse Audio RM-1 Ring Modulator
€65

Synapse Audio RM-1 Ring Modulator

A virtual analogue ring modulator with what’s billed as a “unique soft-saturation characteristic”.

Page 32 of 34
Page 32 of 34
Synapse Audio VE-3 Vintage Equalizer
€25

Synapse Audio VE-3 Vintage Equalizer

A model of a 3-band analogue tone stack from a ‘50s guitar amp. Its coupled passive circuits promise to give it a unique sound.

Page 33 of 34
Page 33 of 34
NEW! u-he Uhbik-A
€15

NEW! u-he Uhbik-A

This ambience/reverb extension keeps things subtle and simple. The combination of early reflections with different plate algorithms can be dialled in with a single knob.

Page 34 of 34
Page 34 of 34
Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
Social Links Navigation

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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