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All attempts to get some juicy, tidbits out of Vector Illustrator and Designer Simona Pfreundner failed miserably, but that’s okay. Her response of "Yes, but I’m not telling" is enough to whet our appetite to learn more about this uber-talented artist.

Continue reading “Profile: Simona Pfreundner”

Reason is a software synth, a great source of samples, and a mature MIDI sequencer—but it cannot (yet) record audio. Because of its versatility—and despite its huge disability—it remains an incredibly useful and popular program.

This article was previously published on the AudioJungle blog, which has moved on to a new format in 2010. We’ll be bringing you an article from the AudioJungle archives each week.

Reason is used in two different ways: It is used as a sound source for playing live, using in sequencers, or recording by another DAW. And it is used as a complete DAW solution—by those who don’t need to capture sound from outside of their computers.

This makes Reason different: it is commonly used by those who have chosen different software as their preferred DAW. That may all change later this year when Propellerhead launch their new product: Record.

Reason is currently at version 4, and costs around $380—or around $570 for the Premium edition, which includes all four hypersampled ReFills: Reason Drum Kits, Reason Pianos, Abbey Road Keyboards and Reason Electric Bass.

This is our sixth article in the series “Exploring Digital Audio Workstations”. If you’ve missed the earlier articles, you can find them here:

• Exploring Digital Audio Workstations
• Discover Pro Tools LE
• 11 Essential Pro Tools Tutorials
• Discover Logic Pro
• 11 of the Best Tutorials for Logic Pro

Now let’s have a look at Reason.

History and Background

Reason is produced by the Swedish software development company, Propellerhead Software, who also produce ReCycle, Rebirth and ReWire. ReCycle is the first program they developed—a music loop editor—which was released in 1994.ReBirth emulated the early Roland drum machines commonly used in techno music.

The first version of Reason released in 2000, and was originally named Realizer. It was later renamed after a computer program in Douglas Adams’s novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Propellerhead gave Reason their focus, and did very well. The program could run on average computers, was priced competitively, and won the Musikmesse International Press Award in 2002.

Reason Features

Propellerhead’s Reason webpage describes the programs main four features. Rather than listing features in text, demonstration videos have been produced, which you can see below.

1. Thor Polysonic Synthesizer

Propellerhead’s sound sources are probably the most popular feature of the software. The Thor synthesizer features four different filter types, six forms of synthesis, and extensive modulation capabilities. This video from Propellerhead takes you through the features:

2. RPG-8 Monophonic Arpeggiator

This is a new feature in version 4. It is an advanced arpeggiator with a single-note repeat and manual mode. This video from Propellerhead takes you through the features:

3. Reason Sequencer

The sequencer is the business end of Reason. It has many features, including vector and tempo automation, count-in, multiple lane tracks. To see them in action, have a look at this video tour from Propellerhead.

4. ReGroove Mixer

ReGroove is like quantizing, only different. Instead of aligning sounds to straight time, this module aligns it to the groove. This makes your music sound more natural and less mechanical. This video from Propellerhead demonstrates:

ReWire Reason to Connect with Other DAWs

If you’d like to use Reason as a sound source for another DAW (like Logic or Pro Tools), you need ReWire. ReWire was created by Propellerhead (in cooperation with Steinberg) as a means of connecting different audio applications in Windows and Mac OS so that MIDI and audio data can flow between them.

Propellerhead explain in broad terms: “ReWire is a system for transferring audio data between two computer applications, in real time. Basically, you could view ReWire as an ‘invisible cable’ that streams audio from one computer program into another.”

Its basic function is to connector a client “synth” application (for example, Reason, ReBirth, Renoise and VSampler – as well as DAW outputs) with a host “mixer” or “editor” application (for example, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio or Pro Tools). The Propellerhead ReWire page has a complete list of ReWire enabled applications.

User Comments

What do Reason users think of the product? Here are some comments by users and reviewers that I found around the Net. I’d love to hear from you in the comments too.

• “I was very impressed with how easy Reason 4 was to work with. I was able to make some real progress really quick, the transport features are similar to standard recording software (Logic/ProTools), the mixer and components are all easy to work with. The patches it comes with are plentiful and give you plenty of avenues of creativity. So I was off and running there. I started looking at Abelton but it felt very Windowsy to me. Being a completely saved man (mac man) I can’t be havin that. So it’s just Reason for now.” (Kyle)
• “I really want to recreate the fat 80s synth sounds made by some of my favorite old-school synthpop artists, like Gary Numan, Devo, Blancmange, Fad Gadget, etc. I’d love to be able to recreate the sounds of Korgs, Juno and Jupiter 8s, and other analog synths, but have found that the monosynth and polysynth packs in Reason don’t come close — they just aren’t very rich or deep (I’ve had better luck with the synth pads in this department). Any good Refills for this? Or, better, any tricks to wring these kind of sounds from Reason by tweaking the settings?” (Allen)
• “Regarding Reason, the more I look into the various complex host upgrades going around, the more strongly I consider going down the ‘Reason Only’ route for MIDI/Sequencing. As such, and having tested this upgrade very thoroughly at beta, I really couldn’t be more impressed.” (Headquest)
• “What can’t you do with this thing? Score a movie check lay down the next pop, hip hop, RnB hit check, write a commercial jingle check, design some sounds, check. Okay here is the point; I layed down a hip hop track for a client using Reason logic and the Duende mini plugins, my competition used a fantom (nothing against roland) and guess who sold their track yeah that was me. Now of course the bass line was killer and I used Ampeg for it, but the point is music now a days is done inside the box (where I live) and Reason 4 is my fantom and my Akai drum machine rolled into one. Plus this thing is unlimitedly expandable through refills (i think a new one comes out daily). Forget what others are talking about if you do hip hop or RnB Reason 4 is the BEAST you need, but do me a favor and stop using the stock sounds. For real people spend some money on a refill or 2 or 3 or 4 or like me 32 and counting, or at the very least learn to tweak the sounds.” (William McKnight aka Fatboy)
• “The new sequencer is worse than the old one, which was already bad. If you are using a keyboard and you record all your MIDI notes and automation, it works reasonably well. If you try to do anything manually there are a bunch of extra steps. The automation is a little easier to control. But, now you have to draw a clip before you can draw automation. You also have to draw a clip anytime you want to input any notes manually. If you are in the clip view and you get your note drawing tool out then go to note view, you are out of luck if there are already notes there, you have to go back to the pointer and select the clip, then draw the notes in. You can now have multiple sequencer tracks for one instrument. This is helpful and a hindrance. Zooming on the sequencer is unbearable. It zooms from the middle instead of the start. Lets say you recorded something and you want to fix the first notes. you have to make sure the beginning of your loop is in the middle of your window to zoom in properly. In older versions of reason you could play one instrument while looking at another sequencer’s notes. Now, the sequence you are looking at defaults your keyboard to that instrument.” (Richard Dean Anderson)
• “For those of us who appreciate the ability to work within the virtual environment, using familiar ‘real world’ tools, Reason is indispensable. For instance: the Reason rack can be flipped around, revealing all the various connections on each device, while routing is accomplished by connecting the devices with animated patch cables. It is a truly surreal experience, which begs the question ‘Why isn’t everybody doing this?’”New in Reason 4, the Thor Polyphonic Synthesizer blew me away with its intense sounds and extreme flexibility. The presets alone were jaw dropping, let alone the sheer amount of editable parameters for manipulating them. I was also very impressed with the newly revamped sequencer. I am always impressed with Propellerhead’s ability to integrate new features without creating a massive learning curve for their users. Other new features like the RPG-8 Monophonic Arpeggiator and ReGroove Mixer inspire creative new ways for building tracks, while classic devices like Subtractor and Malstrom continue to hold their own as some of the best sounding recreations of analog gear to date.”For better or worse. Till death do us part. They’ll be prying this piece of software from my cold dead hands. I don’t need “a” reason to live… I need Reason 4 by Propellerhead to live.” (Joel Hart)

How do you use Reason? What do you think about? Let us know in the comments below.

This article was written shortly before the release of Propellerhead Record. If you have any experience with Record, feel free to leave comments about it as well.

One thing that makes Psdtuts unique is the diverse group of authors that provide the content for us all to enjoy. We have authors living on just about every content; each of which brings their own unique experiences and style to the table. Today, we have decided to profile artist, designer, musician, and Psdtuts tutorial writer Wojciech Pijecki who has some fantastic digital art and insights to share. Find out more about Wojciech after the jump.

Wojciech Pijecki creates. Whether it’s digital art through ZeroBound or rock music with his band Anathomia, Wojciech surrounds himself in creativity.

Living in a small down in Poland hasn’t stopped him from perfecting his design skills through client work and as a regular tutorial-writer with Psdtuts+. Interesting enough, it was just a couple of years ago that Wojciech visited that site to learn how to use Photoshop. In his words he had, “no idea about graphic design.” It’s apparent that much has changed in two short years. He describes his work as “vivid!” and whatever he’s illustrating always tends to take on a life of its own. It’s no wonder that one of his favorite pieces of advice for budding digital artists is, “Every idea is worth bringing to life, but it’s the execution that makes it worth seeing.”

“Every idea is worth bringing to life, but it’s the execution that makes it worth seeing.”

Being an artistic child doesn’t necessarily mean that the path to pursuing that type of career is clear. Such is the case with Wojciech. After finishing Upper/Senior Secondary School, he went on to study programming, but only lasted a year. As he puts it, “I have no idea why, maybe because I was just forced to do something.” He eventually entered a vocational school to study in an advertising-type curriculum. It was around this time that Wojciech really started to dive into the digital arts in an attempt to absorb every bit of knowledge concerning the subject. To this day he scours the internet constantly; looking for the best images and any tutorial he can find to improve his already impressive portfolio.

Right now his design business is called ZeroBound, and while that seems like a fitting name for someone who never wants to stop learning, he says there is no meaning behind the words and that it “it just sounds cool to [him].” In fact, he thinks he’s going to change the name soon. It goes without saying that changing the name of a business after achieving a measure of success isn’t typical, but when it comes to Wojciech, there is little that falls into the realm of typical.

For one he says one of the biggest frustrations he runs into as a designer is running Photoshop on his computer, a Quad Core CPU with a 24" DELL monitor. Not needy clients or unpaid invoices. Granted, the program is a furious computing-power eater, but it’s not every day that this complaint is at the top of an artist’s list. In fact, the question seemed to get a bit of a rise out of Wojciech,

"Photoshop and CPU… %^$#@! The program and my computer sometime piss me off so much that I yell out loud. Imagine when you’re working on [an] important project, or you need to go somewhere and the CPU is loading, loading, loading and finally it goes [and] shuts down and you lose all [unsaved] data. Or when you’re working in Photoshop a big project (let’s say a PSD file around 2-3GB). Everything goes so slimy, so slow that you can eat your dinner while waiting to change brush. That’s very annoying."

What seems to be typical amongst creatives, though, is the disdain for PCs. Equipment frustrations aside, Wojciech considers himself very lucky to be able to do something he loves.

One trait that he’s known for is perfectionism. His attention to detail and his desire to choose the perfect color for every project can seem “crazy” at times for those around him: “Once I said to my friend "this needs to be moved 1 pixel to the side." Now he is considering me [to be] sick, as he didn’t see any difference in that project, but I had to move something one pixel.” It’s no doubt that that small change made all the difference to Wojciech. And it’s no doubt that such care for every step of the artistic process is what made him working on behalf of Brainnovative company all the while designing for clients such as Bookmaniak, Best Sport, Day Spa Zen, Miracle Lounge and others.

While one could easily assume that with a guy like Wojciech, his desire to constantly perfect his craft would take up all of his free time. Not so. In fact, he only works on the weekends if “no one is around.” Yet another trait that many designers do not share. He is found spending time with his girlfriend, taking in a concert or at home watching movies and some TV, the cartoons Futurama and The Simpsons being his favorites. Another of his favorite activities is playing the guitar, which he does in a rock band called Anathomia which was started a year and a half ago. While they haven’t acquired “any big achievements” yet, Wojciech is happy with people merely liking their music. In his typical fashion, Wojciech plans to constantly take it to the next level, “We will still move on, trying to reach the top, but [that’s] long way before us.”

One thing is for certain, though. If Wojciech continues on this current path in his design career, his band won’t be the only thing reaching the top.