{Routing Assignment 2}

Last time, we started worked on routing the different instruments and FX in Reason. One of the main things that I had a student demonstrate was the way all the individual channels of the Redrum could be routed to the mixer. This is an important concept because it helps you to gain a greater understanding of the way sound moves around through the program, and in a studio situation.

The basic concept is that every device in Reason has an output. This output is the point where sound is coming out of the device.

Certain devices, such as FX and mixers, also have inputs, where you can run a signal from somewhere else into the device. When you're connecting two devices together, you are connecting the output of one device to the input of the other through a cable (in Reason, we are using "virtual" cables).

The most basic example of this is when you have an instrument, say a Malstrom, hooked up to the Mixer: you are taking the output of the Malstrom and connecting it to the input of a channel on the Mixer. What is happening when you want to put an effect (say, a Scream) on that instrument?

Keep in mind that while certain instruments have only a mono output (Subtractor), most of the instruments have a stereo output, which allows you to hear differences between the left and right sides of your headphones. What you have to keep in mind, is that to hear a stereo sound, you will have to connect 2 cables from the device to the input of the Mixer channel.


Your assignment is as follows:
1. Find the Reason file called "Routing Exercise" and copy it into your
folder on your hard drive.
(Media Share>Class Materials>Reason Files>Routing Exercise)
2. Open it and save it as "Routing Exercise_your name".
3. Connect the Master Outputs of Mixer 1 (the top one) to the Combi Inputs of the Mastering Suite Combinator.
4. Connect the Combi Outputs of the Mastering Suite Combinator to Outputs 1 & 2 of the Hardware Device. Why is this a weird thing to do?
5. Now connect the output of each individual Redrum channel (1-10) to the input of the first 10 channels of Mixer 1.
6. Make a beat and Insert an FX device on at least one of the drum sounds.
7. Now add at least five more instruments to your song. You will need to connect a second mixer to do this...
8. Connect the Master Outputs of Mixer 2 to the Chaining Master Inputs of Mixer 1.
9. Connect your additional instruments to Mixer 2.
10. Include at least on FX device as an Insert, and one as an Aux Send.
11. Save your song and put a copy on the Media Share folder.
(Media Share>Student Work>Reason Beats>5-7-08>Routing Exercise_your name).

{FX Routing Assignment}

Working as a class we're all going to take some turns putting FX and processors on my beat.

Here's what I want:

• All the drums routed to their own tracks.
  
• A Scream on the Kick Drum (Reason Factory Soundbank>Scream Patches>Warpkicks)
  
• The same Delay on the snare and Shaker (using the Aux Sends)
• A Unison on the Subtractor.
• Put an Envelope Filter (Bandpass) on the Piano.
• A Phaser on the Malstrom.
  
• A Chorus/Flanger on the Piano (after the Filter).
• A little RV7000 on everything! (using the Aux Sends)
• An MClass Mastering Suite Combinator on the whole mix (aka after the Mixer).
  

Effects - part 1

At this point we've explored every instrument in Reason. But the instruments themselves are just starting places in terms of creating and shaping sounds in your music. To help you take your sounds to the next level, Reason has a whole bunch of Effects (aka "FX") that are like virtual versions of equipment you would find in a real recording studio. And, just like the real thing you have the flexibility of setting up your FX in a number of different ways, depending on what you're trying to do. But first let's talk about the kinds of FX that exist.

So far, I've been using the term "FX" in a really general way, but let's make a quick distinction. There are two basic categories of equipment used in audio production. They are:

1. Audio Processors (compressors, EQ, filters, distortion, phasers)
   
2. Time-based FX (reverbs, delays, choruses, flangers)

"What's the difference and why should I care?" you politely inquire. Let me address the first part of your question first.

The simple answer is: the way they are traditionally used.

Processors are generally used to process the entire signal. If your signal is going through a filter, the whole thing is getting filtered. You are taking the whole sound and doing something to change it.

Time-based FX, on the other hand, usually blend a combination of the Dry (unprocessed signal) with the Wet (processed) signal. In this case you're using the effect to add something to the signal you've already got.

OK, so let me give a quick demonstration, using the Scream distortion processor and the RV7000 reverb...

You should be aware that in a traditional studio setup, these different types of processors are generally setup in different ways.

Audio Processors are generally placed directly into the signal path of the track. This is called an Insert, because you are Inserting the processor directly into the signal path.

Time-based FX, on the other hand, are generally available through what are called Auxillary Sends (aka Aux Sends). This allows any track running through the mixer to be split off and sent to the FX unit and then be blended back into the overall mix.

So, here's the quick reference for using FX:

• Before creating an FX processor, be sure to click on whatever you want to be putting the processor on (instrument, mixer, etc.)
• Clicking on an instrument will Insert the processor directly into the signal path.
• Clicking on the mixer will make the processor available through an Aux Send on the mixer.
  

Samplers - part 3 (Dr. REX)

Aright. So we've gotten pretty well into using samplers in Reason, specifically the NN19 and NNXT. We've used them to:

• Play back multisample patches of instruments in Reason.
  
• Load our own samples and map them to their own keyzones.
• Loop a drum sample.
• Chop up a sample and play the individual drum hits with a keyboard.
  

So we've covered most of the common features that are used in creating sample-based music, except for one big one:

TIMESTRETCHING

What is "timestretching"?

Wikipedia:
"Timestretching is the process of changing the speed or duration of an audio signal without affecting its pitch."

This is most useful when you find the perfect sounding sample loop that isn't quite at the right tempo.

Here's an example:

Say you make a song that is at 89 BPMs. Perfect tempo, you can't stop nodding your head when you listen to the song. Then you find this great drum loop that you would be perfect for fitting into the song, but its tempo is 97 BPMs.

Now, you know that by decreasing the pitch, you can make the tempo slower, so you drop the pitch and the drums are now playing exactly in time with the song. BUT, when you listen to it, the drums are all kind of screwed up and psychedelic, and they don't sound anything like the clean drum sample you started with. The kick drum is not thumping, the snare isn't cracking, the hi hats aren't crisp, so there's really no point in using it anymore.

But what if you were able to make the loop fit the song, without changing the pitch? That would change everything, right? Welcome to the wonderful world of timestretching, my friends.

In terms of hip hop history, timestretching first started getting used a lot with the release of the Akai MPC2000XL. That was the first beat machine that incorporated the technology, and it became a pretty standard tool after that. Changed the production game.

Problem: Reason does not do timestretching!

So, why am I even bothering to tell you about it then?

For one thing, most DAWs (Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, etc.) have a timestretching function, so you should be aware of it for when we get into using Pro Tools. But also, although it doesn't do timestretching per se, Reason does use a similar technology to accomplish a similar thing. In addition to the NN19 and NNXT, Reason has a sample-playback instrument called the Dr. REX.

Big difference between the Dr. REX and the other samplers is that while the NN19/NNXT can play back standard audio files (WAV, AIF), the Dr. REX can only playback special files created using another software program called Recycle.

Recycle (which is made by Propellerhead, the same company that makes Reason) basically allows you to chop an audio file up into slices. The program automatically creates slices at points called attack transients, which are basically the main points where drums or other sounds are hitting. Once you've got the file chopped up into slices, you can load it into the Dr. REX player and it will automatically adjust the sample to whatever tempo the song is set to.


One thing that you should be aware of is that neither timestretching, nor beat slicing is a perfect science. The farther you take a sample away from its original tempo, the less realistic it's going to sound.

That said, let's work check this out:

1. Go into Media Share>Class Materials>Samples and find the file called Funky Drummer_break.rx2. Copy it into your folder on your hard drive. Be sure that you are copying the REX 2 file, not the regular wav file!
2. Create a new song in Reason and create a Dr. REX sample player.
3. Load the Funky Drummer_break sample into the Dr. REX.
4. Play some keys on your keyboard. What do you hear? Does this remind you of anything?
5. Set the tempo to 106 BPMs.
6. Set your loop markers for four bars (L on Bar 1, R on Bar 5)
7. Click on the button that says "To Track". What happens? What does this remind you of?
8. Now drop the tempo down to about 90 BPMs. What's it sounding like now?
9. Find the Transpose knob on the front of the sampler and change the key up to F#.
10. Transpose it back down to C.
11. Set it to a tempo that you like and incorporate it into a song. 24 bars. Use the filters and/or LFO controls.

Samplers- part 2 (loops)

Today we're going to get into using samplers to work with loops. Specifically, we're going to start working with breakbeats.

As we learned earlier, breakbeats were the parts of old school funk and soul records where all the instruments would drop out except for the drums. This is the part of the song where people would really freak out and go off dancing.

Kool Herc figured out that by having two copies of a record, he could extend the breakbeat for as long as he wanted, playing one record, then the other, then rewinding the break on the first record, etc. Some people would say that this was the real start of hip hop as a new, distinct style of music, using the breakbeat as the backbone of the whole genre.

A few years later, when samplers became affordable and had long enough sampling times (see "Samplers - part 1"), people were able to just record the breaks into the samplers and have them loop automatically for however long they wanted.

Today we're going to get into working with a particularly famous break from a song called "The Funky Drummer", by James Brown.

Let's listen to the original for a second...

Funky Drummer

So now we're going to work on getting the break into our own songs so that we can use it.

But first...

Disclaimer: Sampling other peoples' work without their permission is a violation of copyright laws. If you are merely sampling for your own educational purposes (like we are doing in this class), then you should be fine. BUT if you intend to create and SELL music that incorporates samples of other artists' work, you are legally required to get all necessary permissions from the owners for the use of those samples. Think about it...how would you feel about someone taking your music without your permission and then making money off it?

That said, check it out...

1. First, let's grab the sample you're going to be working with and copy it to your hard drive. Go to Media Share>Class Materials>Samples and find the file called "Funky Drummer_break.wav". Copy that into your folder on your hard drive.
2. Now create a new Reason song called "Breakbeat lesson 1_your name".
3. Create an NN19 sampler in your rack and make sure it is connected to a Mixer 14:2. 4. Click on the Browse Sample button at the top of the NN19.
5. Load the Funky Drummer_break file into the sampler.
6. Play some notes on your Oxygen 8 keyboard and find the key that plays the loop in its original pitch.
7. So what we've got here is a 1-bar drum break. In order to make it line up with everything else in your song, we've got to make the tempo of the song fit with the tempo of the break, so...first, set your L and R markers so that they are marking off a single measure (put the L on bar 1 and R on bar 2).
8. Now hit Shift-Tab on your keyboard to go into the Edit View of your NN19 sequencer track (the part that shows the keyboard and notes).
9. Click on the Pencil Tool.
10. Find key C3 and draw a note that is exactly one bar long.
11. Make sure the Loop On/Off button is lit up, then hit play and listen to the loop. What is happening?
12. Now let's adjust the tempo so that the sample loops perfectly...Lower the tempo until you get down to 101 BPMs. Sounds good, right?
13. OK, so now we've got something that we can work with.
14. Switch over to the Arrange View (hit Shift-Tab).
15. Now we're going to mark this sample loop into a group. Using the Pencil Tool, mark off 1-bar. You should now have a region that you can copy and paste as many times as you want in the song.

From here, you can go ahead and create a Redrum drum machine and start making a beat that can either go over the loop, or switch off parts with it. You might also want to try playing with the Filters on the NN19 and seeing how you can switch up the sound of the loop.

Your assignment:

Create a 24-Bar song that incorporates both the drum break and the your own original Redrum drum pattern. Here's the catch: the loop has to be played back at a pitch other than its original pitch, meaning a key other than C3. So you will probably have to adjust the tempo to make this work.

Hint: When you're trying to match the tempo, if you hear the loop getting cut off too soon, then the tempo is too fast. If you hear a gap at the end of the loop before it starts playing again, then the tempo is too slow.

{Multisample Lesson}

Now we are going to do a lesson where we load samples of our own voices into the NN19.

1. Record two vocal samples into Pro Tools (the instructor will help you with this).
2. Load your samples into the Media Share folder and copy files into your folder on your computer
3. Open Reason and create a new song.
4. Create a NN19 Sampler
5. In the screen of the NN19 right click and select 'Split Key Zone'.
6. Click on the Key Zone on the left side and click the browse sample button
7. Load one of you two samples
8. Now click on the Key Zone on the right side of your NN19 screen and click the Browse Sample button.
9. Play some of the keys on your keyboard and notice where the pitch changes are happening.
10. Now lets change the key where the sample on the right plays its original pitch.
11. Find the knob called Root Key (under the NN19 screen).
12. Turn the knob until the root key is C4.
13. Your two samples should now play in their original pitches on Keys C3 and C4.
14. Make a beat that incorporates your samples.

Samplers - part 1

So, we've covered synthesizers and worked with each of the different synths in Reason. Now besides synths, there is a second category of instrument that you have probably already experimented with: the sampler.

"What's a sampler," you ask?

Better question: what's a sample?

There are actually two different definitions, depending on who you're talking to. You need to know both:

1. (common definition) A piece of a sound recording that is taken and incorporated into a new musical composition.

2. (technical definition) The smallest unit of a digital audio recording.

Let me just deal with the second one, briefly, because this is at the heart of understanding digital audio. We'll get deeper into this when we start working with Pro Tools and recording stuff.

OK, so we know that sound is really the vibration of air molecules, and that it moves in waves, right? So, when you've got sound going into a device like a microphone (aka a transducer), what's happening is that that sound wave is being converted into an electrical signal that has all the same properties (frequency and amplitude!) as the wave that was traveling in the air. This is called analog audio, because the electric wave is analogous to the sound wave in the air. Stay with me for a minute...

So, when you're talking about an analog audio recording, you're really talking about an actual physical representation of a sound wave that exists in one form or another. With digital audio on the other hand, what's happening is a computer is taking tons of tiny snapshots of the sound wave, and storing that information as a zeros and ones. The waveform doesn't physically exist anywhere, there's just a bunch of computer datat that describes what the wave is supposed to look and sound like. Don't stress about this, we'll get into this later, right now, just understand this:

The smallest snapshot that a computer takes of a sound wave is called a sample.

So, when you're listening to any kind of digital audio (MP3, CD, etc.), what you're actually listening to is one big, long series of these samples. "How many samples, you ask?" Well, I'm glad you asked! It depends on what format you're talking about, but...

CD quality audio samples at a rate of 44.1 kHz

Or,

44,100 samples per second.

Basically, the higher the sample rate, the better the quality of your audio. Most professional recording is done at 48 kHz or 96 kHz.

So we know what a sample is. Getting back to the original question then, what is a sampler? Wikipedia says:

A sampler is an electronic music instrument closely related to a synthesizer. Instead of generating sounds from scratch, however, a sampler starts with multiple recordings (or “samples”) of different sounds, and then plays each back based on how the instrument is configured.

So, a sampler is basically an instrument that can play back digital audio recordings (aka "samples").

Here's a quick and dirty history of hardware samplers:

Synclavier

• Came out in 1975
• Cost $200-300k

Fairlight CMI

• Came out in 1983
• Cost about $25,000
• Supposedly Took 2 hours to boot up
• Featured basic MIDI capability
• Used by Herbie Hancock ("Rockit") and Kurtis Blow ("If I Ruled the World")

E-mu Emulator II

• Came out in 1984
• Cost $8,000 - 10,000
• Had an option to add a hard drive

E-mu SP12

• Came out in 1985
• Had 24 onboard drum sounds
• Featured 1.2 seconds of sample time
• Had MIDI sequencing, which allowed you to create whole songs
  
• One of the original hip hop production tools - classic gritty sound
  
• Replaced by the SP-1200 (10 sec. sample time)
  

Akai MPC60

• Came out in 1988
• 13.1 sec of sample time (upgradable to 26.2)
  
• 16 velocity sensitive pads
• 40 kHz sample rate
• Gave birth to the whole MPC family (2000/3000/2000XL), which became the standard hip hop production tools throughout the 90s.
• Used by DJ Shadow on Endtroducing - the first album created only with samples.
  

Ensoniq ASR-10

• Came out in 1992
• Up to 44.1 kHz sample rate (CD quality!)
• featured lots of onboard FX and sound processing
• Not as popular as Akai MPCs, but it's still widely used by producers for its unique sound (Timbaland, Neptunes, Kanye).

So, from a hip hop/electronic music perspective, the sampler was a huge breakthrough because it allowed you to capture a drum break (or other sound) and then loop it, creating an infinite beat. (We'll get into this more in the next lesson).

But loops weren't the only thing samplers were good for.

Think about it, you have a machine that can take a recording of ANY sound and then play it back. That's cool, but what's really amazing is that you could actually hook up a tool like a keyboard to a sampler and then play the sample back, at all the different pitches of the keyboard. So, you could take a sample of a real instrument (say, a saxophone), or even a completely random sound, and then play it like a piano.

Only, it's never quite that simple...

See, the problem is, most samplers do know how to adjust the pitch of a sample so that it plays the correct pitches on all the keys of the keyboard, BUT the farther a sample gets away from its original pitch, the less it sounds like a real instrument.

Let's see for ourselves, using Reason's NN19 sampler:

• Open Reason, create a new song, save it as "Multisample demo"
• Make sure there is a Mixer 14:2 in your rack
• Create an NN19 sampler
• Right click on the Browse Patch button and click on Initialize Patch.
  
• Now click on the Browse Sample button
• Go to Reason Factory Sound Bank>NN19 Patches>Piano>Bright Piano>PianoBC3.wav and click OK to load that audio file.
• Play C3 (the first white key on the left side of the keyboard) and listen to how it sounds.
• Now play C4 (one octave up from C3). How does that sound?
• Now hit the Octave Down button on your keyboard and play the low C key again. How does it sound?

Now create a second NN19 in your rack.

• For this one, click on the Browse Patch button.
• Go to Reason Factory Sound Bank>NN19 Patches>Piano>BRIGHTPIANO.smp and click OK.
• Now play the same notes that you did a minute ago. How do they sound different?
  

So, most modern samplers use what are called multisamples for recreating real instruments. Multisamples are just a bunch of separate, individual audio files of an instrument being played at different pitches. These audio files are then mapped to certain sections of the keyboard that are close to the original pitch of the sample. The collections of these audio files and the information about where to map them on the keyboard are conveniently put into what are called patches. Patches make it easy for you to quickly load up a good sounding instrument into your sampler and start playing, without having to deal with mapping all the sounds yourself.

Really good quality multisamples are especially important when you're trying to realistically recreate things like orchestral instruments, which have highly detailed sounds and are easy to tell when they are off.

So...your assignment right now is to find some good orchestral patches and use them in a song.

Please make me a song that meets ALL of the following requirements:

• The song must be at least 24 bars long.
  
• You may only use 1 Redrum and as many NN19s as you want. NO OTHER INSTRUMENTS!
• 1 of the NN19s must be some kind of Strings
• 1 of the NN19s must be some kind of Brass
  
• 1 of the NN19s must be some kind of Woodwinds

Other than the above requirements, it's up to you. Please put your beat in today's folder in the Media Share folder.