Granular synthesis is the creation of sound by taking tiny slices of audio from another source and playing them back really quickly. Here’s a handy trick for chopping up samples into pieces without ever leaving Reason. First, create a Redrum drum computer. Next, notice that the function of the bottom left knob in the Redrum varies depending on the channel number. In the third, fourth, and fifth channels, the function is “START”. What this does is alter the starting point in the sound file that you have loaded. So, load up any sound file of your choice (vocal sounds are good) into channel 3, 4 or 5. Then turn Channel 3’s length knob to the left. You want the sound to be just a short burst. Next, while holding Shift, right click (or command click for mac users) on an empty space in the rack. Select “Matrix Pattern Sequencer”. Now, flip the rack around with the Tab key, and then drag a cable from “Gate CV” on the Matrix to “Gate In” on the Redrum. Flip back around again, and then press the Run button on the Matrix. You shuld now hear a stuttering sound. Now play with the Start knob and you will hear the effect we were looking for. Now you can record the automation of the start knob (make sure the Record button next to “Redrum 1″ on the sequencer is lit up red, hit record and then press play). Go wild with the pitch and the start time, and you should get some cool sounds. Even cooler: play with the Resolution knob in the matrix to adjust the speed of gate triggering.

Download the Reason .RNS

This is a trick that you can use with any quantizer that provides the ability to apply a range of strengths of quantization. In Reason, there is a dropdown bar next to the quantize button that gives you a list of percentages ranging from 5% to 100%. What we are going to do is create a length of triplet notes on a hi-hat or any instrument, actually. In this case, let’s use 4 bars. For each bar, you should have 12 notes (the grid on the sequencer is labeled 1/8 T). And it helps to accent (apply a higher velocity to) to the first of every three notes. This creates a more natural, less robotic sound. For the first bar, leave the notes as triplets. On the first half of the second bar, apply a 1/16th quantization at 5%. On the second half, quantize the notes at 10%. Then at each additional half-bar, you will apply 25, 50, 75, 90, and 100 percent quantization. At 100%, you will have groups of three notes that are aligned to the 16th note grid, which is 16 notes per bar. It sounds kind of like a shuffle. You can also just leave out the 100% quantized triplets, and just fill in more bars with 16 notes per bar, with the first of every four notes accented. Listen to the included demo sound to hear this effect.

You’ve all heard it… a low-pass filter on the master out.

Here’s how to do it in Reason: Create an ECF-42 filter unit, and wire your mixer through the filter into the audio interface. Right click (Ctrl + click for mac) on the device and choose Create Sequencer Track for name of device. When your track is playing, hit record and turn up the FREQ knob to make it sound like you’re going back into the club. Try experimenting with the modes on the filter. BP 12 means band-pass filter. It allows only frequencies a bit lower and a bit higher than the frequency specified by the cutoff point (FREQ knob). The “angle” at which frequency amplitudes drop off is 12dB per octave. The LP filter has two modes: 12 and 24 dB per octave. The 24 cuts off frequencies above the cutoff point much more dramatically then the 12. The 12 leaks more high frequencies than the 24.

In Reason, put a delay device on any drum beat or instrument. Create an automation track for it. Then, make sure that the track’s record toggle button is on. Hit record, and go wild with changing the delay time (the box with numbers in it), feedback, delay unit (ms or steps), etc. If done right, you get a crazy effect because a non-fixed delay time has to compensate for the change by fluctuating the pitch, it’s really weird sounding. Try it!

A really mind-bending technique in reason is to automate the various knobs on a master auxiliary effect. To do this, set up an auxiliary effect (such as the ping pong delay mentioned on this site) by right-clicking on the main mixer and then creating an RV7000 reverb unit. This will automatically create the auxiliary send for you. Now, you turn up the auxiliary send knobs for each track you want to have an effect on. Then, create a new sequencer track and assign it to that RV7000 unit. Next, arm the track for recording and then press record. Now fiddle with the any of the knobs on the RV7000 and it will all be recorded. For an example of this technique in action, check out this excerpt from a track by Takyon called Hypergate:

Download Hypergate reason file (1.7 Mb)

This involves drawing many sequential ON and OFFs in your volume automation. For an example of this technique, listen to this example from “outer shpongolia” by shpongle. In Reason, there is really simple way to achieve this effect with the matrix pattern sequencer.

Here’s an example that you can use in Reason 2.5 or above: Download the example .rns file

Route the gate cv out of a matrix into the amp level in of any device. As you can see on the front side of the matrix, there is a note sequencer and a gate sequencer directly underneath it. Notice in the screenshot I have drawn in a pattern into the gate sequencer. This will automatically control the volume of the Subtractor synth. To create stuttery sounds, play a sequence through the synth while the matrix is on. Start drawing gating notes and see how it sounds. To create tie notes (the wide red columns that take up a whole grid box to themselves), hold down shift while drawing notes. Notice that you can also change the time resolution on the very right knob. This will make your pattern be interpreted at different speeds. For super-stutter, make it really fast =D Now you can program many different patterns by playing with the buttons on the left of the device. You can then automate the changes of the patterns for creating a unique, easy to manage microedited sound! For all other programs, you can automate the volume with a tempo grid turned on. Just draw volume automation into on and off patterns at different grid divisions.

Sometimes it’s good to have your music do things a human normally could not. The technique I call microediting has gained much popularity in the past decade, and it is featured in music such as Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Mum, etc. To get that stuttery, robotic, glitchy sound, you have to zoom in really close on your notes. 1/64 is a good resolution to view at.

Here’s a small clip of a good example of microediting:

That second microediting part can be seen in the screenshot. Try setting your snap resolution to 1/64 and drawing sequential 64th on/off bars in your master or lead part volume automation. You can create really interesting, rhythmic stutter patterns this way.

One of the most popular reverse hits is a reverse cymbal. You hear it all the time in pop or techno songs. The reverse cymbal crash leads to the next bar. It works well as a buildup and transition. To make your own reverse hit, try taking a nice loud percussive sound that hits and then gets quieter from there on out. Then in any sound editor such as Audacity, reverse the sound. Save it and import it into your sequencer with a sampler. Then experiment with the amount of time you have to play the sound so that it reaches its peak right at the point where the next bar begins. Check out this reversed sound of a metal barrel being hit (I use this one all the time as a precursor to a huge transition).Example 2: a cool free reverse hit on freesound

This is a widely used technique for giving an instrument more life, and for creating buildups. In most software sequencers, you can automate knob settings over time. One of these is the cutoff frequency of a filter. Try using a low-pass filter or high-pass filter on a sound and automate the cutoff frequency.

Check out this example from “echonomix” by infected mushroom. They are using a high-pass filter and automating the cutoff frequency here.

The best buildups I can think of are by Infected Mushroom. They use many of the techniques described in Edits & Efffects to create tension before a beat busts in and you just HAVE to dance. Buildups will combine many of the following tricks all in one go for full effect.

Listen to this example from infected mushroom’s sailing in the sea of mushroom. Notice all the different components used in this segment to create tension. They used a very long reverse hit, they introduced new, different layers each bar or so. They also automated the cutoff filter of the lead gated synth. Then when the buildup reached its peak, everything was silenced as a drumloop kicked in and another shorter reverse cymbal played. Then it reintroduces the full ensemble of layers for that full intensity effect.

Start off by creating an RV7000. Now personally I think you should bus it to your main mixer on one of the aux tracks. To do this, right click on the mixer and create the device, it should automatically attach the device as an auxiliary effect. This will allow you to send the audio signal to the effect with the aux send knobs on each mixer track. This will give you control over the dry/wet sound, and you can apply the effect to any track on the mixer. I would not recommend attaching a space/delay type of effect directly on your device; this reduces the versatility of the effect. Okay, now that that is taken care of, expand your RV7000 view by hitting the carrot on the left [it’s the triangle pointing at the remote programmer, right under the patch loading box]. With this open you can now adjust the parameters of the device. The algorithm is set to hall, but we want multi tap, so adjust the top knob on the left side till the algorithm reads “multi tap”. Alright, now notice the knob second from the top on the left side. It should be set to tempo sync. By default, it it should be set to OFF, but we want it ON. With this on, the delay will sync to the tempo that you have your track set to. Set the diffusion to about 15 (second knob from the bottom on the left side) and the LF damp about 385Hz (bottom knob on the left side).
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