APPENDIX B Dr.Rex. Figure B.1 With Dr.Rex, it is quick and easy to do some great-sounding things with your Rex loops.

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1 B Dr.Rex No device in Reason can help you put together a song more quickly and effortlessly than Dr.Rex. Load a few instances of Dr.Rex into your Reason song, and before you know it you will have some very full sounding, grooving rhythmic and bass content in your track, with pretty slick and easily implemented filtering to boot (see Figure B.1). Dr.Rex is designed for the sole purpose of playing and manipulating Rex loops. Dozens of these Rex loops are included in your Reason Factory Sound Bank. Rex loops are audio files that have been sliced up by using another Propellerhead program called ReCycle. In a Rex file, the audio file is typically sliced on the attacks, or transients, of the audio waveform. So if a drumbeat is made into a Rex file, usually a slice will be made of each beat of the rhythm (although you will find instances where more than one beat is included in a single slice). Slicing up the audio this way allows the tempo at which the Rex file is played back to be changed without altering pitch or significantly changing the audio quality of the loop. It also allows you to change the pitch of the entire loop or of individual slices without changing the tempo. In these respects, a Rex loop is similar to an Acidized Wave file (as would be used in Sony Acid software), an Apple loop, or a Wave file imported into Ableton Live software. The additional trick that makes Rex loops so useful is that they also contain MIDI information. Each slice in a Rex file is assigned a MIDI note value. This means that the individual slices can be triggered by playing a MIDI keyboard or by drawing in notes in the Reason Sequencer. Like anything recorded into the Reason Sequencer, you have the opportunity to quantize the MIDI notes, which means you can force their start points to snap to the nearest 1/8 note or 1/4 note (or whatever value you specify). This allows you to make a less-than-rhythmically perfect drum performance sound right on the money. Having the slices controlled by MIDI also allows you to easily cut out slices you don t want or rearrange them any way you like within your MIDI sequence. 1

2 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.1 With Dr.Rex, it is quick and easy to do some great-sounding things with your Rex loops. Getting into Dr.Rex Before we get very deep into explanations and advanced functionality, I d like to give you a taste of how Dr.Rex can help you throw down some music for a TV commercial in five minutes or less. Although this exercise has several steps, it is not at all difficult and should quickly give you an idea of how easy to use and powerful Dr.Rex is. 1. Start with an empty rack. Create an instance of the remix mixer by selecting Mixer 14:2 from the Create menu (see Figure B.2). Figure B.2 Create an instance of remix, which is listed as Mixer 14:2 in the Create menu. 2. Create three instances of Dr.Rex, one after the other (see Figure B.3). 3. Open the Rex File Browser of the top Dr.Rex by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Instrument Loops > Various Hip Hop Loops. Select the first Rex file, which is Hhp_Basstarr_093_Chronic.rx2 (see Figure B.4), then click OK in the lowerright corner of the Rex File Browser. 2

3 Getting into Dr.Rex Figure B.3 Create three instances of Dr.Rex. 3

4 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.4 Select the Rex file named Hhp_Furious_093_Chronic.rx2 from the Rex File Browser Open the Rex File Browser of the middle Dr.Rex by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Drum Loops > Hip Hop. Select the Rex file named Hhp18_Furios_093_Chronic.rx2, then click OK in the lower-right corner of the Rex File Browser. 5. Open the Rex File Browser of the bottom Dr.Rex by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Instrument Loops > Scratch Loops. Select the Rex file named Scratch_Sine1_085_MajicM.rx2, then click OK in the lower-right corner of the Rex File Browser. (I am noticing some rather suggestive file names in these Rex file folders!) 6. Select the Dr.REX 1 track in Reason Sequencer by clicking on it once. Set your Left marker at bar 1 and your Right marker at bar 13 (see Figure B.5).

5 Getting into Dr.Rex Figure B.5 Set your Left marker at bar 1 and your Right marker at bar On the top Dr.Rex, click on the To Track button. The MIDI notes controlling each slice of the loop will be pasted on the Sequencer track, spanning the bars between the Left and Right markers (see Figure B.6). Figure B.6 The MIDI notes controlling each slice of the Rex loop have been copied to the Sequencer track. 8. Select the Dr.REX 2 track in the Reason Sequencer by clicking on it once. Set your Left marker at bar 5 and leave the Right marker at bar On the middle Dr.Rex, click on the To Track button. Again, the MIDI notes corresponding to each slice in the loop will be pasted on the Sequencer track, spanning the distance between the Left and Right markers. 10. Select the Dr.REX 3 track in the Reason Sequencer by clicking on it once. Set the Left marker at bar 9 and leave the Right marker at bar On the bottom (third) Dr.Rex, turn the Amp Envelope Level slider down to 70 and then click on the To Track button. 12. On the Reason Sequencer, turn the tempo down to 105 and set the Left marker to bar 5. Press the Play button on the Reason Transport and listen to what you ve got (see Figure B.7). 5

6 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.7 This Dr.Rex exercise will be delivered in five minutes or less, or your pizza is free! I have saved this as a Reason song file called 5 Minutes in the Dr.Rex In Action folder on your CD-ROM. Now do I have your attention? Dr.Rex can really make music production a modular process, plugging in a guitar part here and a bass part there, quickly culminating in a complete song. 6

7 Getting into Dr.Rex Your Reason Factory Sound Bank includes plenty of acoustic, electric, and wah-wah guitar Rex loops, as well as keyboard parts and tons of drumbeats. Look at the little song you just made in the previous exercise. Notice that at the top of each Dr.Rex waveform display, the original loop tempo of the Rex file is listed in beats per minute (bpm). The first two loops have original loop tempos of 93 bpm, while the third has an original loop tempo of 85 bpm. Yet they are all playing back in perfect sync with each other at your specified song tempo of 105 bpm! See how easy this is? You can grab musical puzzle pieces out of the Rex loops box, and Dr.Rex makes them fit! And if you find that the rhythmic content fits perfectly but some of the loops are in the wrong key, you can easily fix that by adjusting the pitch of the overall loop or of an individual slice that may be causing a harmonic clash. Now that you ve got a feel of what Dr.Rex can do, I will start breaking down its individual functions, stopping along the way to try things out when necessary. I M A DOCTOR, NOT A MAGICIAN! The ease with which Dr.Rex adapts loop tempo and pitch to the tempo and pitch of the Reason song is certainly one of the great advantages of working with Dr.Rex and with Rex loops in general. These changes usually can be made in a way that sounds quite natural and with relatively few noticeable audio artifacts. However, you will find there are limits to what the good Doctor can do. Wild tempo adjustments, such as taking a 180 bpm loop and dropping it down to 60 bpm, are likely to sound pretty bad, and you will hear the spaces between the slices. Extreme tempo and pitch adjustments may sound especially unnatural in instrument loops and, of course, will be most obviously strange when applied to vocal loops. Depending on what style of music you are working on, some of these weird sounds may be to your liking; but if a natural sound is what you are looking for, extreme variations from the original Rex loop tempo and pitch are to be avoided. Waveform Display Once a Rex loop has been loaded into Dr.Rex, its individual slices are shown on the waveform display (see Figure B.8). In addition to showing the sliced-up waveform of the Rex loop, the waveform display shows the Rex loop s original tempo, as well as which slice is currently selected for editing. It also shows the pitch, pan, volume level, and decay settings for the currently selected slice. Finally, the keyboard display in the lower-left corner of the waveform display shows the current global Transpose setting for the entire Rex loop. 7

8 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.8 Dr.Rex s waveform display. Auditioning Loops with Preview To hear the Rex loop that is currently loaded into Dr.Rex, click the Preview button located above the waveform display (see Figure B.9). The loop will continue to play until you click the Preview button again. You can also preview the currently loaded Rex loop by playing the D0 key on your MIDI keyboard. When you preview in this manner, the loop will only play once. With either method, the loop will play back at the song tempo set in the Reason Transport Panel rather than the loop s original tempo. Figure B.9 Click the Preview button to audition the currently loaded Rex loop. You can also audition loops before you load them into Dr.Rex. This is done with the Rex File Browser, which is opened by clicking on the Browse Loop button (the one with the familiar folder icon) in the upper left of Dr.Rex (see Figure B.10). Note that when the Preview button is engaged, if you open the Rex File Browser and audition a loop within the Browser, Autoplay will be automatically (irrevocably) engaged, the currently loaded loop will stop playing, and the loop you select in the Rex File Browser will begin playing in sync with your track at the Reason song tempo rather than at its original tempo. However, if the Preview button is not engaged, loops will audition at their original tempo within the Rex File Browser, rather than the song tempo. Auditioning loops in the Rex File Browser using the synchronized Preview function while your track plays is extremely useful. You can quickly and easily hear which loops fit best in your song. Let s give it a spin. I have a feeling once you have tried this out, you will be using the feature quite a bit in your music production. 1. Start with an empty rack. Create an instance of the remix mixer by selecting Mixer 14:2 from the Create menu, and then create two instances of Dr.Rex below it (see Figure B.11). 2. Open the Rex File Browser by clicking on the Browse Loop button of the top Dr.Rex. 8

9 Getting into Dr.Rex Figure B.10 Click the Browse Loop button to open the Rex File Browser. Figure B.11 A remix and two instances of Dr.Rex have been added to the Reason rack. 9

10 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex 3. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Instrument Loops > Various Hip Hop Loops and click only once on the file named Hhp_GtrMinor_092_Chronic.rx2. If there is a check mark next to Autoplay, you will hear the loop play once (see Figure B.12). The 092 in the file name refers, of course, to the original tempo. Even though your song tempo is 120, you hear the loop audition at its original slower tempo of 92. Click OK to load the loop into Dr.Rex. Figure B.12 With Autoplay selected (which it is, by default), you need only click once on a Rex file to hear it auditioned. 4. Set your song tempo to 92 in the Reason Transport Panel (see Figure B.13). Figure B.13 Set the song tempo to 92 in the Reason Transport Panel. 5. Make sure the top Reason Sequencer track is selected and click the To Track button on the top Dr.Rex. The loop should appear between the Left and Right markers on the top Reason Sequencer track (see Figure B.14). Press Play on the Reason Transport Panel. Figure B.14 When you click the To Track button, the MIDI information that will trigger the Rex loop is copied to the corresponding Reason Sequencer track. 6. This is a pretty noisy loop, so on the top Dr.Rex, turn the Filter Frequency slider down to 97 and turn the Amp Envelope Level slider down to Click the Preview button on the bottom Dr. Rex so that it lights up, then click the Browse Loop button on the bottom Dr. Rex to open the Rex File Browser. The guitar loop on the top Dr. Rex should still be playing. 8. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Drum Loops > Abstract HipHop. 10

11 Getting into Dr.Rex 9. Notice that Autoplay is selected and grayed-out (see Figure B.15). Now, one at a time, start clicking once on each file in the Abstract HipHop folder. Notice that all the loops play back in perfect sync with your 92 bpm guitar loop, regardless of their original tempo. Some of them fit better than others, but now do you see how easy it is to find the right one? When you find the one you like, just click OK to select it. Figure B.15 When Dr.Rex s Preview button is engaged, Autoplay is automatically activated in the Rex File Browser, and loops in the Browser will play in sync with the Reason song. To Track: Copying Rex Loops to the Sequencer The only way to actually hear your loop play automatically in your song when you press Play on the Reason Transport Panel is to copy the Rex loop to the corresponding Reason Sequencer track. The easiest way to do this is to click the To Track button located above the waveform display (see Figure B.16). Then the MIDI notes corresponding to each slice in the loop will be pasted on the Sequencer track assigned to Dr.Rex. If you wish, instead of using the To Track button, you could instead select Copy REX Loop to Track from the Edit menu or from the pop-up menu that appears when you right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on Dr.Rex. Whichever method you choose, if you have accidentally selected the wrong Sequencer track (one that is not routed to the instance of Dr.Rex you are using), you will receive a warning message alerting you of this (see Figure B.17). It is important to note that once you have copied your loop to a Sequencer track, if you subsequently load a different loop into the same Dr.Rex, it will not play back properly with your sequence because the information copied to your Sequencer track only applied to the loop loaded at the time you clicked To Track, and it will not match perfectly with the newly loaded loop. You may come up with some novel rhythms this way, however. Figure B.16 Clicking the To Track button copies the MIDI information required for playing your Rex loop to a track on the Reason Sequencer. 11

12 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.17 If you try to send your Rex loop to the wrong Sequencer track, Reason will tell you about it! Global Pitch Controls The following controls are global, meaning that they affect the entire Rex loop (as opposed to only affecting an individually selected slice from the loop). Transpose Dr.Rex allows you to transpose a Rex loop by up to 12 semitones up or down. This can be done either with the Transpose knob or by clicking directly on the keyboard display (see Figure B.18). Either way, the root key will be highlighted on the keyboard display. Note that just because a loop s root key is C does not necessarily mean that its pitch is actually C. Figure B.18 To transpose your Rex loop by semitones, use the Transpose knob or click directly on the keyboard display. Oscillator Pitch Controls Aside from its LFO (low-frequency oscillator), Dr.Rex does not really have an oscillator in the traditional sense, but the sound generator (which is the loop player) is being considered as the oscillator. The following three Oscillator Pitch controls affect the entire Rex loop (see Figure B.19). Figure B.19 Dr.Rex s global Oscillator Pitch controls. 12 Octave Adjusts the overall pitch of the Rex loop in octave increments, by up to four octaves up or down. Fine Used to fine-tune the pitch of the entire Rex loop by up to 50 cents up or down.

13 Getting into Dr.Rex Envelope Amount This bipolar control determines to what extent the pitch of the Rex loop will be affected by the Filter Envelope. Positive settings (knob turned right of center) will result in the Filter Envelope raising the pitch of the Rex loop, while negative settings will cause the pitch of the Rex loop to be lowered by the Filter Envelope. Selecting and Editing Slices Slices can be selected for editing in three ways. The first way is to use the Slice knob located under the waveform display (see Figure B.20). Using your mouse to drag this knob to the left or right will scroll back and forth through the individual slices in the Rex loop. Alternatively, you may click directly on a specific slice in the waveform display to select it. Finally, you can activate the Select Slice via MIDI button located above the waveform display, and the slice will be selected when you play its corresponding key on your MIDI keyboard (see Figure B.21). This is very useful when editing slices, since you will hear the selected slice each time you play that key on your MIDI keyboard, and you can keep playing it as you make your changes (to pitch, pan, level, or decay). Figure B.20 Use the Slice knob to select a specific slice, or click directly on the desired slice in the waveform display. Figure B.21 When Select Slice via MIDI is activated, a slice will be selected when you play its corresponding key on your MIDI keyboard. Besides using Select Slice via MIDI and playing the slices on your MIDI keyboard, there is another way to hear and identify each slice in the loop. You can hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) and click directly on any individual slice on the waveform display. The cursor will turn into a little speaker, and you will be able to hear each individual slice (see Figure B.22). Figure B.22 To hear an individual slice, hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) and click directly on the slice in the waveform display. 13

14 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex The following four controls (located under the waveform display) only affect the currently selected slice, not the entire loop (see Figure B.23). Figure B.23 These four controls are used to edit parameters for the selected slice, but not for the whole Rex loop. 14 Pitch Used to tune the pitch of the currently selected slice by up to 50 semitones up or down. That is a range of over eight octaves. Pan Controls the position of the selected slice in the stereo image. The default value of zero sets the pan in the center. Negative values move the pan toward the left channel, and positive values set the pan to the right. Level Sets the volume level of the selected slice. Decay Used to shorten the decay (duration) of an individual slice. The default setting of 127 means the selected slice will play in its entirety. Let s play with some of these parameters. 1. Start with an empty rack, and then create an instance of Dr.Rex. You can add remix or the Line mixer before adding Dr.Rex, if you like (in case you want to add more instruments later). Otherwise, it s fine just to connect Dr.Rex directly to the Reason hardware interface. 2. Open the Rex File Browser by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Instrument Loops > Guitar Loops > Telecaster Rhythm 085 bpm. Select the Rex file named ElGt_DiscoUp_D7_085.rx2 (see Figure B.24). Then click OK in the lower right corner of the Rex File Browser. 3. Hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) and drag your mouse across the waveform display while also holding down your left mouse button. The cursor should turn into a little speaker, and you should be able to hear each individual slice. Rather than dragging the mouse, you can also click on each individual slice while holding down the Alt key (Option key, Mac). 4. Click the Preview button located above the waveform display. You will hear the Rex loop playing. 5. Practice with the global Oscillator Pitch controls. Above the waveform display, try turning the Octave knob one tick right of center, and then one tick left of center. You will hear the whole loop change pitch, though it will not sound very natural. Also try the Fine knob and the Envelope Amount knob. The Envelope Amount knob will produce a wacky effect because the Filter Envelope will be affecting the pitch of the loop. When you are done, return these three knobs to their center positions.

15 Getting into Dr.Rex Figure B.24 Select the Rex file named ElGt_DiscoUp_D7_085.rx2 from the Rex File Browser. 6. In the waveform display, click on the last slice, which will be displayed as Slice 11 (see Figure B.25). You may also want to practice scrolling with the Slice knob to select Slice 11. Figure B.25 Click on Slice 11, which is the last slice on the right of the waveform display. 7. With Slice 11 selected and the loop playing, turn the Pitch knob to the left so it is set at a value of 2. This should sound quite natural, as though you asked the guitarist on the session to play a different chord! 15

16 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex 8. Select Slice 1 by clicking on it. It is the first large slice on the left. Set the Pan knob to a value of Use the Slice knob to select Slice 5. Set the Pan knob to a value of 25. Then select Slice 6 and also set its Pan to a value of Select Slice 7 and set the Pan knob to a value of Select Slice 11 (the last slice) and set the Pan knob to a value of 25. This setup is saved as Stereo Funk Gtr in the Dr.Rex In Action folder on your CD-ROM. I clicked the To Track button before saving the Reason song file so that you could hit Play on the Reason Sequencer instead of the Preview button to hear the loop in the example. Before moving on, you may want to experiment (while the loop is playing) with the Transpose function, which is global (it affects the whole loop). You can either use the Transpose knob or click directly on the keyboard in the lower left of the waveform display. Of course, the loop sounds best close to its original key. For fun, you can turn off Preview so that the loop stops playing, and then play the slices on your MIDI keyboard. They are mapped chromatically in ascending order starting on C1. Once you get the rhythm, you can fire your guitarist. (Just kidding.) CANNOT SAVE PATCH OR INITIALIZE DEVICE If you are looking in the area of Dr.Rex s Browse Loop button and its accompanying display window, you may be thinking, Hey, Dr.Rex is not anatomically correct, and seems to be missing an important part! It is indeed missing the Save Patch button that is present on all the other Reason instruments. Any Dr.Rex information, including which loop is loaded, filter settings, pitch, and the whole shebang will be saved in your Reason song file. You can use Copy Device from the Edit menu to copy an instance of Dr.Rex from one song, and then use Paste Device to paste it into another song, as we will find out in the Mixing and Matching Dr.Rex section near the end of this chapter. You could also choose to combine an instance of Dr.Rex and then save it as a Combinator patch. On a related note, there is also no Initialize Patch function available for Dr.Rex. If you want to start fresh, it s easier just to load another instance of Dr.Rex into your song. You can still Ctrl-click on most of the Dr.Rex controls, and they will snap back to their default positions. I understand why the Save Patch function was left out of the device, but I must admit it would be a little more convenient if Propellerheads would include an Initialize Patch function for Dr.Rex. Filter Section Dr.Rex has a single filter, which includes five filter modes (see Figure B.26). This is very similar to the filters found in other Reason instruments with which you are already acquainted. Dr.Rex s Filter section has the following controls. 16

17 Getting into Dr.Rex Figure B.26 The Filter ection of Dr.Rex. Freq The Filter Frequency slider (also known as the cutoff filter) specifies where in the audio frequency spectrum the filter s effect will be focused. It determines the cutoff frequency. The cutoff frequency (in the case of a High Pass or Low Pass filter) is the frequency at which the filter begins to take effect. In a High Pass filter, the cutoff frequency will be the frequency at which the filter begins cutting off (or filtering out) low frequencies, while allowing high frequencies to pass through. In the case of a Notch or Band Pass filter, the value of the Filter Frequency slider sets the frequency at which the filter has the greatest effect, even though the filter will still be affecting a range of frequencies immediately above and below the cutoff frequency. Res The Resonance slider is used to emphasize the frequencies specified by the Filter Frequency slider when using High Pass and Low Pass filters. In the case of the Band Pass and Notch filters, the Resonance slider determines the bandwidth. High Resonance settings will result in a narrower bandwidth (fewer frequencies above and below the cutoff frequency are affected), and low Resonance settings will result in a wider bandwidth (more frequencies above and below the cutoff frequency are affected). Mode The Filter Mode button selects from among the following five filters: Notch The Notch filter rejects mid-frequencies (determined by the Freq slider) and allows frequencies above and below that notch to pass through. The specific frequency at which the Notch filter s affect is concentrated is determined by the Filter Frequency slider, and the size (or bandwidth) of the Notch is determined by the value of the Resonance slider. HP 12 The 12-Decibel High Pass filter allows high frequencies to pass through, but attenuates (by 12 decibels per octave) frequencies below the frequency determined by the Filter Frequency (or cutoff filter) slider. BP 12 The Band Pass filter is the opposite of the Notch filter. While the Notch filter selects a band (or group of frequencies) to filter out while allowing all other frequencies to pass through, the Band Pass filter selects a band (or group of frequencies) to pass through, while filtering out (attenuating by 12 decibels per octave) frequencies above and below that band. As with the Notch filter, the specific frequency at which the Band Pass filter s affect is concentrated is determined by the value of the Filter Frequency slider, while the size of the frequency band (or bandwidth) is determined by the value of the Resonance slider. 17

18 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex LP 12 The 12-Decibel Low Pass filter allows low frequencies to pass through, but filters high frequencies with a roll-off curve of 12 decibels per octave. LP 24 The 24-Decibel Low Pass filter allows low frequencies to pass through, but filters high frequencies with a more extreme roll-off curve of 24 decibels per octave. Dr.Rex Envelopes Dr.Rex has one Filter Envelope and one Amp Envelope, both of which are described below (see Figure B.27). Figure B.27 The Envelope section of Dr.Rex. Filter Envelope The Filter Envelope features standard ADSR sliders (Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release), as well as a Filter Envelope Amount knob. Amp Envelope Dr.Rex s Amp Envelope also features standard ADSR sliders, as well as a Master Level slider that controls the overall volume level for Dr.Rex. For more information on ADSR envelopes, please refer to Chapter 1, The Subtractor. Let s have some fun with the Filter Envelope. 1. Start with an empty rack and then create an instance of Dr.Rex. You can add remix or a Line mixer before adding Dr.Rex if you like. 2. Open the Rex File Browser by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Instrument Loops > Guitar Loops > Telecaster Rhythm 085 bpm. Select the Rex file named ElGt_Up_D7_085.rx2, then click OK in the lower-right corner of the Rex File Browser. 18

19 Getting into Dr.Rex 3. Below the Reason Sequencer (in the Transport Panel), set the tempo to 85 (see Figure B.28). Then click the Preview button above Dr.Rex s waveform display to hear the loop. The funk continues. 4. Set the Filter Frequency slider to 14 and the Resonance slider to 87. Set the Filter Mode to BP 12 (12-dB Band Pass filter). 5. Set the Filter Envelope Amount slider to 79. Set the Filter Envelope so that Attack = 24, Decay = 70, Sustain = zero, and Release = 64 (see Figure B.29). Now it should sound like the guitar is being played through a classic Envelope Filter pedal (also known as Auto-wah). Figure B.28 Set your Reason song tempo to 85. Figure B.29 Set the Filter and the Filter Envelope to create an Auto-wah effect. I have saved this exercise in the Dr.Rex In Action folder under the name Funk Filter Gtr. LFO Dr.Rex has one LFO (low-frequency oscillator), which can be used to modulate the overall pitch of the Rex loop, the Filter cutoff frequency, or the pan (stereo position) of the Rex loop (see Figure B.30). The LFO has the following controls: Sync When this is activated, the rate of the LFO is automatically synchronized to your Reason song. Rate When Sync is not active, this sets the speed of the LFO at any value between zero and 127. When Sync is active, the Rate knob values are note/time divisions, ranging from 1/64 to 1/32. Amount The LFO Amount knob sets the amount (or depth) of LFO that will be applied. Destination (Dest) The LFO Dest button selects what will be modulated by the LFO. The destination choices are as follows: Osc (oscillator pitch is modulated), Filter (Filter cutoff frequency is modulated), and Pan. 19

20 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Waveform Selector Selects between the following six waveforms: Figure B.30 Dr.Rex has one LFO, which is capable of producing six waveforms. Triangle With each cycle, the amplitude of the Triangle wave rises gradually as it approaches its maximum (the peak of the triangle), and then falls gradually at the same rate and to the same degree, making it ideal for vibrato and smooth tremolo effects. Inverse Sawtooth The Inverse Sawtooth ramps up, just like the picture. Sawtooth The Sawtooth wave starts at the maximum amplitude and then ramps down. Square Unlike the smooth undulation of the Triangle wave, the Square wave alternates sharply between two values. Random Produces a series of random steps. Soft Random Same as Random, but with smooth transitions between the steps. The following exercises demonstrate how useful (and fun) Dr.Rex s LFO can be. 1. Start with an empty rack, and then create a Dr.Rex instance. You can add remix or a Line mixer before adding Dr.Rex if you like. 2. Open the Rex File Browser by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Drum Loops > Chemical Beats and select the Rex file named Chm19_Funkiest_130_eLAB.rx2. Then click OK in the lower-right corner of the Rex File Browser. 3. Click the Preview button to hear the loop. 4. Set the Filter Frequency slider to 74 and the Resonance slider to 99, then set the Filter Mode to BP 12 (12-dB Bandpass filter). 5. Click the LFO Sync button so it lights up red. Select the Random waveform (second from the bottom). 6. Set the LFO Destination to Filter (see Figure B.31). Then set the LFO Rate to 1/8, and the LFO Amount to 37 (see Figure B.32). 20

21 Getting into Dr.Rex Figure B.31 Set the LFO Destination to Filter. Figure B.32 Set the LFO Rate to 1/8, and the LFO Amount to 37, and now a synced Random Step filter is applied to your drum loop. This exercise is saved as Step Filter LFO Drums in the Dr.Rex In Action folder. Now, start from where you left off in the previous exercise and follow these steps: 1. Turn the LFO Rate knob all the way to the left and turn the LFO Amount knob up to 65 (about 12 o clock). 2. Set the LFO waveform to Triangle (the topmost waveform). 3. Change the Filter Mode to HP 12 (12-dB High Pass filter). 4. Set the Filter Frequency slider at 58 and set the Resonance slider at 77 (see Figure B.33). Figure B.33 A nice, slow High Pass filter sweep has been applied to the drum loop. I have saved this as Filter Sweep LFO Drums in the Dr.Rex In Action folder. 21

22 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Before moving out of the Envelope section, let s take a quick look at the Amp Envelope. 1. Start with a fresh Dr.Rex instance. Open the Rex File Browser by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Drum Loops > Acoustic > Hip Hop. Open the Rex file named Ahp07_Live_089_Chronic.rx2. 2. Click the Preview button so you can hear the loop. 3. While the loop is playing, turn the Amp Envelope Decay slider down to about 36. Hear those drums tighten up! (See Figure B.34.) Figure B.34 Turn the Amp Envelope Decay slider down to 36 to hear the drums tighten up. Polyphony The Polyphony setting determines how many voices can be played simultaneously (see Figure B.35). Although it may not be obvious, a bit of polyphony is often required for Rex loops to play back smoothly. Often this is because at least one slice is still finishing its decay cycle even after the next slice has been triggered. Keep in mind that you can set the polyphony as high as you want, and it will not use any extra CPU or RAM while it s just sitting there. Only when you actually use those voices by playing several keys at the same time will this setting affect your system s performance in any way. With Dr.Rex, I always leave this at the default setting (6 voices). Figure B.35 Dr.Rex s Polyphony control. Sound Quality The sound quality, or sonic fidelity, of your Rex loops will be affected by the following two Dr.Rex settings (see Figure B.36). Figure B.36 For maximum sound quality, turn High Quality Interpolation on and leave Low Bandwidth off. 22

23 Getting into Dr.Rex High Quality Interpolation When High Quality Interpolation is activated, a more advanced interpolation algorithm is used to calculate the loop playback. This uses a few more CPU cycles (it puts a little extra load on your computer), but improves audio quality, especially when using samples containing a lot of high-frequency content. This difference may become more apparent when changing the pitch of the Rex loop. I always engage this feature on my own tracks, although in some cases, it is hard to hear the difference. Low BW The Low Bandwidth button is designed to save you a few CPU cycles at the noticeable expense of a little sound quality. Although I generally steer clear of this button, it can add a lo-fi element to a drum loop that you may like in certain cases, though usually it just makes things sound plain worse! Velocity There are three Dr.Rex parameters that can be affected by velocity. These parameters are bipolar, so each control knob setting determines the extent to which the parameter is positively or negatively affected by velocity (see Figure B.37). Figure B.37 The Velocity section of Dr.Rex. Filter Envelope Amount Turning this knob to the right results in higher Filter Envelope Amount values the harder you play. Turning it to the left results in lower Filter Envelope Amount values the harder you play. Filter Envelope Decay Turning this knob to the right means that the harder you play, the longer the Filter Envelope Decay will be. Turning it to the left means that the harder you play, the shorter the Filter Envelope Decay will be. Amp Level This allows velocity to control the output volume of Dr.Rex. When turned off (knob at 12 o clock), every note (slice) plays at the same volume, no matter how hard you strike the keyboard. Turning the knob to the right of center means the harder you play, the louder it sounds. Turning it to the left of center will result in the opposite, with high velocities producing quieter sounds. Pitch Bend Wheel and Modulation Wheel The Pitch Bend wheel (see Figure B.38) corresponds to the pitch bend on your MIDI keyboard, or it can be controlled with your mouse or with automation in the Reason Sequencer. Above the Pitch Bend wheel is the Pitch Bend Range control, with which you can select a bend range of up to +/ 24 steps (two octaves). 23

24 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.38 Dr.Rex s Pitch Bend wheel and Pitch Bend Range control. The Modulation wheel (see Figure B.39) can be routed to control the following three Dr.Rex parameters: Filter Frequency Modulates the cutoff frequency of Dr.Rex s Filter. Filter Resonance Modulates the Resonance value of the Dr.Rex s Filter. Filter Decay Modulates the Decay portion of the Filter Envelope. Figure B.39 Dr. Rex s Modulation wheel and associated routing controls. The following exercise makes use of both Velocity routing and Modulation wheel routing. 1. Start with a fresh Dr.Rex instance. Open the Rex File Browser by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Drum Loops > Drum N Bass. Open the Rex file named Drb11_GeeRider_160_eLAB.rx2. 2. Set the Song Tempo in the Reason Transport Panel to 165 bpm. 3. Move the right locater in the Reason Sequencer to bar 5 and click the To Track button on Dr.Rex. Now press Play on the Reason Transport Panel to hear the loop. 4. Set the Filter mode to BP 12 (12-dB Band Pass). Set the Filter Frequency slider to 26 and the Resonance slider to 83. Then raise the Filter Envelope Decay slider all the way up to the top (see Figure B.40). 5. In the Velocity section of Dr.Rex, turn the Filter Envelope knob all the way to the right (see Figure B.41). 6. Click the Switch to Edit Mode button in the upper-left corner of the Reason Sequencer (see Figure B.42). This will open up the Rex Lane Editor and Velocity Lane Editor underneath it. 24

25 Getting into Dr.Rex Figure B.40 Set Filter mode to BP 12, Filter Freq to 26, Resonance to 83, and turn Filter Envelope Decay all the way up. Figure B.41 Turn the Filter Envelope Velocity Amount knob all the way up. Figure B.42 Click on the Switch to Edit Mode button to open up the Rex Lane Editor and Velocity Lane Editor. 7. In the lower-left, click on the left magnifying glass icon to increase the horizontal zoom in the Reason Sequencer so that you can see each individual Velocity value. They will all be set at the same default value of 64 (see Figure B.43). Figure B.43 Click on the left magnifying glass icon to increase the horizontal zoom in the Reason Sequencer so that you can see each individual Velocity value. 8. Use the Pencil tool to randomly change the individual Velocity values (see Figure B.44). You will immediately hear the effect as the different Velocity values modulate the Filter Envelope Amount. 25

26 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.44 Use the Pencil tool to change the individual Velocity values. 9. In the Modulation wheel routing section of Dr. Rex, set the Filter Frequency knob to 12 o clock and the Decay knob to a value of 48 (almost all the way to the left). 10. Using your mouse or the Mod wheel on your MIDI keyboard, slowly move the Mod wheel to hear the effect of the Filter Envelope closing more quickly as the Filter Envelope Decay is decreased in response to the Modulation wheel (see Figure B.45). Figure B.45 Dr.Rex should look like this when you are done with your Velocity Filter exercise. 26

27 Dr.Rex in Surgery: Removal of Unwanted Slices I have saved this exercise with the name Velocity Filter in the Dr.Rex In Action folder on your CD-ROM. Rear Panel Dr.Rex s rear panel has the following features, from right to left (see Figure B.46). Figure B.46 The rear panel of Dr.Rex. Audio Outputs The main audio outputs of Dr.Rex. Gate Inputs These inputs allow you to trigger the Amp Envelope and Filter Envelope with CV signals. Connecting these inputs will override the normal triggering of the envelopes (from playing your keyboard or MIDI sequence). Modulation Outputs These outputs allow you to modulate parameters of another device (or certain parameters of Dr.Rex) with control voltage signals from Dr.Rex s Filter Envelope or from its LFO. Modulation Inputs These inputs allow you to control the following five Dr.Rex parameters with control voltage signals: Osc (sample) Pitch, Filter Cutoff, Filter Resonance, Amp Level, and Mod Wheel. Each of these five control voltage inputs has a voltage trim knob to boost or attenuate the incoming CV signal. Slice Gate Output Outputs a gate signal for each triggered slices in the Rex loop. This output could be used to trigger the Amp Envelope or Filter Envelope of another Reason device. Sample Memory Display This display tells you how many megabytes of RAM (Random Access Memory) the current Rex loop is taking up. Dr.Rex in Surgery: Removal of Unwanted Slices As you use Dr.Rex in your Reason projects, no doubt you will find many creative ways of resequencing the Rex loops. One of the easiest and most useful ways to add variety and life to your Rex loops (especially drum loops) is by removing specific slices from the loop using the Reason Sequencer. 27

28 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex 1. Start with an empty rack. Create an instance of the remix mixer by selecting Mixer 14:2 from the Create menu, and then create an instance of Dr.Rex below that. 2. Click the Browse Loop button on Dr.Rex. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr.Rex Drum Loops > Acoustic > Hip Hop and load Ahp02_Live_078_Chronic.rx2. 3. This loop has a bit more sizzle than I am in the mood for at the moment, so please turn the Filter Frequency slider down to a value of 99. Then, in the Reason Transport Panel, turn the Tempo down to Click on the left magnifying glass icon to increase the horizontal zoom in the Reason Sequencer so that you can see the 1/4 note markers on each bar (see Figure B.47). Figure B.47 Click on the left magnifying glass icon to increase the horizontal zoom. 5. Move the right locator to bar 3, and then click the To Track button on Dr.Rex. 6. The loop is automatically grouped (it s a solid color instead of just a bunch of little free-floating MIDI note marks). Use the Pencil tool to split it into two groups at bar 2 (see Figure B.48). Switch back to the Selection tool (looks like a cursor arrow); click on the group on the right and drag it to the right two bars so that it starts on bar 4 (see Figure B.49). Figure B.48 Use the Pencil tool to split one group into two. Figure B.49 Drag the group to the right two bars so that it starts on bar Double-click on the group at bar 4. This will open up the blue Rex Lane Editor and the reddish Velocity Lane Editor below that (see Figure B.50).

29 Dr.Rex in Surgery: Removal of Unwanted Slices Figure B.50 The Rex Lane Editor above and the Velocity Lane Editor below. 7. Drag the top of the Sequencer window up and use the scroll bar as necessary so you can see all the active slices. Then click the left magnifying glass until you have increased the horizontal zoom to the point that the active slices fill up the whole window (see Figure B.51). Figure B.51 Click on the left magnifying glass icon until you have increased the horizontal zoom to the point that the active slices fill up the whole Rex Lane Editor window. 8. Use the Erase tool to delete alternating slices so that the pattern looks exactly like Figure B.52. Slices 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, and 28 should be erased. 29

30 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.52 Use the Erase tool to delete alternating slices so that the pattern looks exactly like the one in the figure. Slices 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, and 27 should be erased. 9. Click the Switch to Edit Mode button, then drag the first group over to the right so that it starts on bar 3 (see Figure B.53). Figure B.53 Drag the first group over to the right so that it starts on bar Click the To Track button on Dr.Rex, then move the right locator to bar 5 (see Figure B.54). Press Play on the Reason Transport Panel to hear what you ve got. This example is saved under the name Surgical Slice in the Dr.Rex In Action folder on your CD-ROM. 30

31 Alter Notes Figure B.54 Move the right locator to bar 5, and press Play to hear what you ve got. Alter Notes A really cool and easy trick you can do with Rex loops is to use the Alter Notes feature of the Reason Sequencer to mix up your loop. The Change Events dialog box has a feature called Alter Notes that allows you to randomize (to a specified percentage) the pitch, length, and velocity of a selected group of MIDI notes. It will only work with values that already exist within the selection, so it will not add any new notes or new velocities. It merely shuffles the existing values. In the case of most Rex loops, the velocities are all the same by default, so no shuffling of velocity will occur. Note length, and more noticeably, note pitch will be shuffled. This is easy to do, so let s just do it! 1. Start with a fresh Dr.Rex instance. Open the Rex File Browser by clicking the folder icon. Browse to Reason Factory Sound Bank > Dr Rex Drum Loops > Drum N Bass. Open the Rex file named Drb06_FullCycle_165_eLAB.rx2. 2. Set the Song Tempo in the Reason Transport Panel to 165 bpm. 3. Move the right locater to bar 5 and click the To Track button on Dr.Rex. Now press Play on the Reason Transport Panel to hear the loop. 4. Right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on the grouped MIDI information and select Change Events from the pop-up menu (see Figure B.55). 5. The Alter Notes section at the bottom of the Change Events window has a default randomization percentage of 40%. This is fine. Click the Alter Notes Apply button and listen to how the loop changes. Keep pressing the Apply button every so often to hear the change. Experiment with turning up the randomization percentage if you like (see Figure B.56). As you can see, Alter Notes can be very useful for adding variety to Rex files and for creating fills and transitions to your beats. 31

32 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.55 Right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on the grouped MIDI information and select Change Events from the pop-up menu. Figure B.56 Use Alter Notes to add variety to your Rex loops. Mixing and Matching Dr.Rex As I noted previously in this chapter, Dr.Rex does not have an internal mechanism with which to save patches. Perhaps this is because the designers thought the Dr.Rex settings would be so specific to the song in which they were used; and because there are already scads of Rex files included with Reason, separate Dr.Rex patches would be superfluous. However, as you produce songs in Reason, you will probably come up with some pretty sweet Dr.Rex setups. These setups will be 32

33 Mixing and Matching Dr.Rex saved with the Reason song files. If you are working on a song and realize that one of your other songs has a great Dr.Rex setup that you think would fit perfectly in the new song, it is quite easy to copy the Dr.Rex from the old song and paste it into the new song. 1. Start with an empty rack. Create an instance of the remix mixer by selecting Mixer 14:2 from the Create menu. 2. From the Dr.Rex In Action folder on your CD-ROM, open Filter Sweep LFO Drums.rns and Stereo Funk Gtr.rns. The fact that Reason allows several songs to be open at once is quite convenient for what we are doing here. 3. In the Filter Sweep LFO Drums song, right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on Dr.Rex and select Copy Device (see Figure B.57). Figure B.57 Right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on Dr.Rex and select Copy Device. 4. In the new Reason song, click once on remix to highlight it, and then from the Edit menu, select Paste Device. There should now be a Dr.Rex under remix in the new Reason song. 5. In the Stereo Funk Gtr Reason song, right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on Dr.Rex and select Copy Device. 6. In the new Reason song, right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on Dr.Rex, and then select Paste Device from the pop-up menu. There should now be a second Dr.Rex in the new Reason song placed below the first Dr.Rex (see Figure B.58). Figure B.58 There should now be a second Dr.Rex in the new Reason song placed below the first Dr.Rex. 33

34 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex 7. Close Filter Sweep LFO Drums.rns and Stereo Funk Gtr.rns to get those songs out of your way. 8. Since these Dr.Rexes were pasted into your song instead of being created, they are not auto-routed. Use the Tab key on your computer keyboard to flip your Reason rack around. Click on the top Dr.Rex s Left Audio Output, keep holding your mouse button down, and drag a cable to the top input on Channel 1 of remix. Then connect the audio outputs of the bottom Dr.Rex to Channel 2 of remix in the same way (see Figure B.59). Use your Tab key to flip the Reason rack back around facing front. Figure B.59 Connect the Audio outputs of each Dr.Rex to remix. 34

35 Mixing and Matching Dr.Rex 9. Right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on the top Dr. Rex, mouse over Create in the pop-up menu, and then select Sequencer Track for Filter Sweep LFO from the second pop-up menu (see Figure B.60). The new track will appear in the Reason Sequencer, MIDI-routed to the top Dr.Rex. Figure B.60 Right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on the top Dr. Rex, mouse over Create in the pop-up menu, and then select Sequencer Track for Filter Sweep LFO from the second pop-up menu. 10. Select Copy Rex Loop to Track from the Edit menu. This does the same thing as clicking the To Track button on Dr.Rex. MIDI data will appear on the Sequencer track between the left and right locators. 11. Right-click (Ctrl-click, Mac) on the bottom Dr. Rex, mouse over Create in the pop-up menu, and then select Sequencer Track for Stereo Funk Gtr from the second pop-up menu. The new track will appear in the Reason Sequencer, MIDI-routed to the bottom Dr.Rex. 12. Click the To Track button on the bottom Dr.Rex. MIDI data will appear on the bottom Sequencer track between the left and right locators (see Figure B.61). Click the Play button on the Reason Transport Panel to hear what you ve got. This example is saved under the name Mix and Match in the Dr.Rex In Action folder on your CD-ROM. 35

36 APPENDIX B Dr.Rex Figure B.61 Click the To Track button on the bottom Dr.Rex, and MIDI data will appear on the bottom Sequencer track between the left and right locators. You should be pretty much ready to rock with Dr.Rex by this point. Be sure to check out Reason s other rhythmic wonder: Redrum! 36