Reason question

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 5:44 pm

I've been using Reason 4 for quite a while and I feel pretty comfortable with it, designing new sounds, or synthesizing the preloaded ones to make new ones that resemble the sounds I need to perform some songs from Genesis and Rush with my kids.
I own a PA50 and would like to create PCG program bank files with these sounds to load on the keyboard, and not having to have the laptop tethered to the keyboard while performing.

Is there a way, a pluggin or something that will allow me to do this?

Many thanks for your help

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:04 pm

I think the short answer is probably no.
I made a post that is kind of related a while back that may explain the reason (Excuse the pun) for it here:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=42009

Not sure if the PA50 can do sampling, but the main point is that reason has a variety of different 'synthesizers', whereas the PA50 is merely a sample player. a patch in reason is merely the settings for all the synthesizers and how they're connected up (be that a sample player, or a 'real' synth like thor). PA50 patches on the other hand are just the information that it needs to play back the samples. so you can imagine the two are entirely different. you would need a keyboard with reason in it - so basically a computer...

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:29 pm

Thanks for your reply X-Trade. While I concur that they are indeed different, the PA50 do have a synthesizer inside, since I can edit the programs and tweak oscillators's settings, LFO's, filters, etc.

The PA50 is based on the Triton engine and uses HI Synthesis with 4 oscillators. It has AMS as well.

That means I could in theory reproduce those settings in an external editor (using a more comfortable screen and mouse) and pass those settings to the PA50's banks.

In fact, I uploaded the other day some banks from this very site (Download section) that where "converted" from Triton patches to PA50/PA80 format. What I want to know is which software were used to do this conversion, and if I can edit those patches on the computer.

Forget Reason. I'm willing to use any software to create the patches.

I don't know if I'm making any sense here, but I hope you can understand what I mean.

Cheers

Martin

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 8:58 pm

you can make new patches. but you are delving into the relm of sound design here. nothing wrong with that - and its never the wrong time to start to learn it!

my point is though for example that the synthesis in PA50, whilst being a synthesizer, will have different parameters and settings and functions and ranges to any other synthesizer that doesn't have the same settings. (for example on radias, the filter cutoff still goes from 0 to 127, but on radias the 127 relates to a high cutoff frequency than on for example the triton or microkorg)

so triton programs are easy to copy across, but microkorg or reason Thor programs would not be (also they are a different kind of synthesizer, generating raw waveforms rather than using samples).

anyway it is possible, but the best solution is to sit in front of the keyboard (not sure if there is any software), and make the patches yourself from scratch, obviously you can use the originals that you already have as a starting point ("so i see this is using a sawtooth, with a low pass filter, with the cutoff quite low" etc) but the most important part is to listen and do it by ear.

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:56 am

Crystal clear X-trade. Thanks for your reply. This is exactly what I'm doing right now, sitting in front of the keyboard and tweaking the settings.

Regarding sound design, any place you can think of about this topic will be greatly appreciated, since so far is all been trial and error for me. There are many if not all concepts like the ones you mentioned that I've been unable to grasp but using common sense solely, so a good read is in order.

Tons of thanks again for your invaluable help and advise.

Cheers

Martin

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:52 pm

The manual is a good place to start.
I know, being one of those people, that its always tempting not to read the manual, but i think for any synthesizer with more than two pages of editing, it is a must. you'll learn a lot and be flying along in no time.

Regarding general synthesis techniques, there is one good resource I always recommend:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:12 pm

Jajaja, that is very true. Many of us must be blamed for the same sin. RTFM is what I use to say to my users, ergo, I do the same

Thanks for the link, X-Trade. I'll check it throughly.

BTW, I tried to read the manual, but again, the terms are really intimidating.

Cheers