Reason Tips & Tricks - Sampling Input Switch

I just came up with this simple but yet useful(?) patch in my default rack, and it allows you to quickly switch sampling input between your sound card's inputs and Reason's Output. This can be useful when sampling a Reason made sound into another sample based Reason instrument for further tweaking.
My sound card (Focusrite USB6) only has 2 audio input, so you can probably make some alteration to this patch if your sound card has more than 2 inputs.

This patch uses the A/B Audio and CV Switch rack extension which can be downloaded for free from the Propellerhead Shop.




The Sampling Input Switcher Patch:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3 & 4

Step 5 & 6

1. Below the Master Section, create an A/B Audio & CV Switch and a Spider Audio Merger & Splitter, and give them some useful names.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Switch to the back and disconnect the default Master Output and Sampling input wiring.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Connect Audio I/O port 1-2 to A/B Switch Input A L&R.
4. Connect Audio I/O Sampling Input L&R to A/B Switch Output L&R.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Connect Master Section Master Out L&R to Spider Splitter inputs L&R.
6. Connect any of the Spider's outputs to A/B Switch input B L&R, and also to Audio I/O Audio Output port 1-2.

Now you can switch between sampling inputs, quick and easy without having to make any manual patching. Save this patch preferably to your Default.reason file.

I hope you found this useful! :)

Repeat

Once in a while I make a new song. This one was just finished! This one is not fighting the loudness war, but if you have a capable sound system you can play this one very loud! :D (tried and tested @ Studio Blue, Stockholm/Sweden)

Enjoy! :)

Keep your Reason project organized

I've been a Propellerhead Reason user for many years and I really enjoy making music with it, but it can get a bit messy and it's easy to get lost in the rack. Therefore I would like to share my way of keeping the mixer, rack and sequencer clean and organized! :)



Standard Template:
I made a custom template for all new projects. It consists of my standard setup of master send effects and also pre-made columns per instrument type:

Standard Send Effects

Send Effects:
1. The Echo
2. RV7000 1
3. RV7000 2
4. RV-7 1
5. RV-7 2

Standard Rack Columns

Rack Columns (L to R):
Drums
Bass
Synth
Acoustic
Vocals

I use the free Rack Extension plugin "Remark" for naming the columns, and for naming and marking other stuff inside the rack. I never put any instruments below the send effects in the "Master Section column" as it's "reserved" for effects only.


Channel & Sequencer Order:
I place the SSL mixer channels and Sequencer tracks in the same basic order as the Rack Columns. Drums and percussions goes to the far left,  followed by bass, synths, acoustic instruments and vocals.


Color Coding:
I use my own standardized way to color code instruments and automations as this makes it easier for me to quickly find the instrument I'm looking for, especially in the sequencer. I also use the same colors when I use other DAW's such as Reaper.

My choice of colors are (by the names given in Reason):

Red - for drums and percussions.
Steel Blue - for bass sounds.
Moss Green - for synths
Kelly Green - for acoustic instruments like piano, strings etc.
Orange - for electric guitars.
Lilac - for vocals or choirs.
Wheat - for all automations

By coloring all automations in the same color makes them stand out from the midi and audio clips so they can easily be spotted or ignored depending on what you are searching for in the sequencer.
In Reason 8 be also sure to check "Auto-color Tracks and Channels" under Options menu to keep channel strip and sequencer track colors the same!

BUS naming

Naming:
Keep the names of the channels short and informational. If I make a bus in the SSL I will always give it a name in UPPERCASE.

Naming Automation Clips

I also name all automation clips, so I quickly can see what parameter it's changing.

Sometimes I also name midi and audio clips but not all the time.













Blocks:

Blocks as markers

Blocks can be useful sometimes, but when making complex automations or transitions between blocks it's often better to not put the clips into blocks. Another way of using blocks is to use them as markers for different pars of your song.





Combinators:

Combinators for everything

Every instrument, I put inside a combinator. It's rather seldom I do not hook an instrument up to another unit, such as a mixer or arpeggiator, and keeping everything inside a combinator makes everything a
bit cleaner in the rack, and also gives the possibility to save the instrument as a combinator patch.
I also use the Combinators rotaries and buttons for automation, and have the combinator as a sequencer track. Though, I hope Propellerhead will release a bigger combinator with several more knobs and buttons as just four of each is not enough when making a bit more advanced patches.








Dual screens:
If you are not using dual screens yet, think again. ;) I always put the SSL and Rack on the left screen, and have the sequencer window on the right.




This is the basic standard of how I set up things when using Reason, but of course it depends a bit on the project itself.  I hope this will be helpful in your future projects! :)

New release - Anology

Analogy is now released to the public on my Soundcloud page! Enjoy! :)

Vad är det som låter? Del 2. (What's that sound, part 2)

If you know Swedish, then you should listen to this program about Loudness War! If you're not familiar with the term "loudness war", it's the process of getting music to be as loud as possible to draw attention and to stand out from the rest. The downside of this is that the music then gets less dynamics and also lots of added distortion, which in turn prevent you from playing the material really loud (the ears won't like it) and it also triggers listener fatigue quicker.

People are becoming more and more aware about this, and this is one reason that vinyl is getting more and more popular. The audio on CDs can be pushed harder technically than vinyl and therefore they often sound worse than it's counterpart. The problem is not the CD, it's the processing done to the music!

Listen to the program here:

http://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/613255?programid=4112

Urbanears Medis

Recently I bought a new headset to my phone, as my old pair of A-Jays One+ broke, making one earpiece play at a lower level than the other one. I finally choose the Urbanears Medis, as they weren't the usual ear plug, that always falls out of my left ear. I have been using them for a while now, and in the beginning I wasn't sure that they were any good but after a while I discovered that they were advantageous compared to the One+.

The sound...  Maybe not that great, as they are not the usual in-ear plugs the speakers sit at some (tiny) distance from the ear canal making the bass thinner, but as my main goal was portability I'm pretty much happy if I just can hear the music at all, but overall they don't sound bad. :)

The earpieces use the "EarClick" solution which makes them lock into my ears, and doesn't fall out while moving, which is really great.

Another thing I noticed is that they are not suffering from the horrible cable-noise that all my previous head phones have had, leading up noise through the cable when its moving and touching my body! Now I can have the cable wherever I want (phone in a pocket somewhere) and walk around with just the music in my ears, and not hear the noise every time the cable slams against my clothes.

As they are not plugged into the ear canal, they also let in the sound from the surrounding which I think is good due to security. You should always be aware of your surroundings!


Pros

• Pretty cheap (399SEK)
• Very portable
• No cable noise
• EarClick solution works
• Surrounding awareness 

Cons

• Sound is a bit thin, but works for me

To sum up, for me these headphones are really great! :)

UMK 2016

Last weekend I went to Finland to write and record a new song together with Rasmus and Jeanette. The goal was to enter UMK 2016, the starting point into the Eurovision Song Contest!

Rasmus is my good friend from Studio Blue, and Jeanette was the one who contacted Rasmus and started the song writing project. Rasmus then wanted me to be a part of the project, and I was of course delighted!

We worked really hard and we spent about 50 hours of writing, composing and recording during the 4 days I was there. The deadline was 2015-09-08 at 12:00, but we managed to get the song demo package ready the day before that and got it delivered in time before I went to the airport and back to Sweden!

The song we wrote is called Never Alone, and if we don't make it as far as to the ESC we will continue working on it and probably release it later. Unfortunately we cannot share any sounds yet due to the competition rules.

Were the magic happened

Two tired guys

The Dream Team - Rasmus, Jeanette and I

The point of no return - Demo package delivered!

The Wedding

One of my closest friends got married last Saturday, and I got the honor to be responsible for the audio for speeches and the live acts. There were a total of five different bands playing during the night, and even I got to be on stage playing electric guitar! The last time I was on the same stage was in 1990 when I graduated from 9th grade! :)

It was a beautiful wedding and a great party, and the audio was of course awesome! ;)

I Wish I Was A Fish - "Emma"

Just released; the music video for I Wish I Was A Fish's "Emma"! Most parts of it was recorded at Studio Blue, and I got to be the assisting sound technician to Carin Hallin, who was the producer.
I can be spotted in this video at the beginning, and also when recording the hand claps!

Press play on tape below! :)

oh, almost forgot... Today is my 40th birthday! :)

My music in Studio Blue's commercial clip!

Check out Studio Blue's new commercial, as it's featuring my song "Satisfied"! :D
It's all in Swedish though.

Ljudtekniker/Producentlinjen på Studio Blue. Kursstart 7 september. Ansök nu!
Posted by Studio Blue on den 21 juli 2015

The full version of Satisfied:

Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering and Recording a.k.a REAPER

At school (Studio Blue) we used Protools 10 & 11 for all our productions and tasks, but after two years of using it I still didn't like it that much and I didn't feel that it was worth buying for hundreds of dollars. It wasn't very stable and crashed several times(yep, on a Mac), as compared to Reason, my main DAW, which I don't think has crashed at all... ever (PC/Mac). Almost every time I used Protools there was always something that I was annoyed with that caused a bit of frustration.

As Reason has very limited features for audio editing, vertical zoom limitation being the most annoying thing (still not fixed in Reason 8), I started using Reaper as a complement.  Reaper is fully functional even in demo mode so you can try it for as long as you like, although you should register after 60 days or so. The pricing is very attractive, just $60 for discounted license (non-commercial/Small Business) and $225 for full commercial license.

As I'm using Reaper more and more, the more I like it which was not the case with Protools. Reaper is very customizable, and basically it's like; if you want to change something, you can! Besides from native plugins found in Protools, as for today I do not know about anything I could do in Protools that I cannot do in Reaper... and Reaper actually make a lot of things better and easier than PT!

There are however a couple of things that I like to change to the default setup of Reaper, and I will share those settings here!


Preferences (Options->Preferences)

1. Audio -> Rendering => Tail length when rendering project or stems, or freezing tracks

This option is set to 2000 ms as default I think, and caused me a bit of a headache before I found it. I did some drums samples editing and when I rendered multiple hits to disk, some of the clips had more than I hit in them, but all my clip-edits were just containing one hit! This option added a tail to the clip which in certain cases also kept the next hit in the series. To keep your clips as long as you specify when making clips, set this option to 0 ms.


2. General -> Paths => Store all peak caches (.reapeaks) in alternate path

Repeaks are files that contain the actual waveform image you see on the screen, and by default these cache files are stored in your default project folder. There will be many .repeaks files, that are of no use outside of Reaper, so I keep them in a separate folder so I don't have to see them.

3. General => Create undo points for item/track selection

I unchecked this as I want the undo function to undo actual changes, instead of just selections.




Project Settings (File -> Project Settings)

Media tab => Path to save media files (can be relative, leave blank for same path as project file)

By default all recorded files are saved in the same folder as your project file. In Protools all audio files are saved in a folder called "Audio Files" which is a better and cleaner option. Just type in a folder name, i use Audio Files, and your project folder will be more organized.




Options menu => Trim content behind media items when editing

One thing I got used to in Protools was when pasting a clip over another clip, the 'background clip' was automatically trimmed, and there was only one layer of clips. By default in Reaper, when you paste a clip onto another there are two layers, and the background clip remains intact. To change this, just select the option "Trim content behind media items when editing" from the Options menu. To make this selection permanent in all new projects, go to File -> Project Settings and click "Save as default project settings".



Besides from the above settings I also made my own shortcuts, which now is a combination of Reason and Protools shortcuts. You can change any shortcut to your liking, and even import / export them.

I'm also using the RADO V4 theme which I think looks great!

Don't forget to install the SWS Extension which adds more great features to Reaper, like a loudness analyzer...

...and the great Snapshot function where you can compare different mixer settings.

I hope you found this helpful! :)

"Satisfied" is now available on Soundcloud!

During the second year at Studio Blue we all had a music production project to manage from start to finish. My project was to record and produce my song "Satisfied", that I made for a Propellerhead competition at the end of the summer 2014.

This is the final result can be heard here, enjoy! :)

School's Out!

My time as a student at Studio Blue is over! Last Friday was the final day, and just like last year we went on a boat trip with all current students, teachers and some of all lecturers, out to Stockholms' archipelago.

It has been a really great time and two very educational years with complete strangers that now are my good friends! :)  I even managed to get 100% attendance during these two years, no late arrivals and no days being sick or away! Hardcore! \m/ :D

The place where the audio theory was inserted into our brains

My school project 'Satisfied' will be released soon...(waaaaaait for it!)  but in the meantime you can listen to some of my classmate's productions:

Daniel Christensen's "Something Lost"
Billy the Fox's "Du är så vacker när du hatar"




So, what's next?

Well, I just teamed up with artist Mia Österdal a.k.a  "MiA Y Mio" who was looking for a producer, and we started working on her Swedish song "Upp i drömmarna", which is developing quickly into a both catchy and powerful song!

MiA Y Mio

Checkout her Soundcloud-page and her Twitter-page!

Music Production Project @Studio Blue

My education at Studio Blue is soon coming to an end, and last Monday it was time to turn in the final mix for the music production project,  a project that I've been working on the whole second year! (although not full time!)

The purpose of the project was to manage a complete music production from start to end, with the following deadlines:

• Turn in a demo of the song you will produce
• Make a chord sheet for the whole song
• Write music scores for melody and bass, both handwritten and computer made
• Make a plan for all musicians rehearsing
• Make a plan for how long the recordings, rehearsing, mixing etc. should take
• Make a plan on how you will record the different instruments / vocals
• Make a plan for how you will do the mixing
• and finally turn in a final mix of the produced song

Handwritten bass score (That was a lot of eights... )

In my case I wrote a song called "Satisfied" for a competition hosted by Propellerhead in August 2014, just before the school started, and that song was a good choice for this project as it contained several acoustic recordings (electric guitars, bass, vocals, drums and an acoustic guitar). This was also the first time I wrote a song in the metal genre, so it was fun to try something new!

It can seem that one school year is a very long time to produce just one song, but we were only allowed to do recordings for our projects during the 'recording classes', and editing was done during the 'mixing classes', along with other tasks and exercises. We also had to use ProTools 11, which I do not have access to at home so I could only work during school hours. All students in my group also shared the studio time for all their recordings, so the schedule was pretty tight.

The project went along just fine, with no major hassles, though I had to re-record the bass, and also change vocalist during the progress, but as I had added some extra time to the time-plan it was no problem!

The song will be released soon, but if I haven't released it in a week, just wait longer! ;)

The Master mix on Audio CD, and ProTools project folder on DVD.

Mixing @Studio Blue

It's all coming together...  Music project deadline in a week and exam in four weeks! Time's running. Fast! :O  Got to do some mixing in the big studio this morning, and the mix is evolving nicely. It's funny how +/-0.1dBSPL really can make a difference to the mix. Expect the release pretty soon! :)

Getting satisfaction with Satisfied

Re-amping @Studio Blue

Stayed a bit extra at school today to help my classmate Paul with re-amping of some metal guitars in his exam project! \m/

AB-stereo with Line Audio OM1, as (almost) usual. :)

Paul in command

Peavay 5150 amp

One position of the cabinet

Vocal recording @Studio Blue

Assisted my classmate Selma today during the recording of Madeleine Jangklev, singing to Selmas version of "Ain't no sunshine"! The setup was AB-miking with Line Audio OM1.

It was nice seeing Madeleine again, hadn't seen her since last year when she sang on my own song "You". As always she did a great job and was really professional and easy to work with! :)

Selma - Producer in charge

Madeleine Jangklev

Forging metal - "No Change"

Spent almost the entire day in front of my computer, putting together a new metal-ish song called "No Change", which will be my second song in the metal genre! The guitars were recorded in Reaper using a couple of free VST amp plugins and then exported to Reason, in which I make the whole project.

The song is still in the idea stage, so see this post as a cliffhanger until the release! ;)

Where the metal happens

Vocals recording @Studio Blue

Recorded the new vocals today for the Satisfied project, which also were the last things to record so I will soon be entering the 'mix state'! The vocals were recorded with AB-stereo using two Line Audio OM1 mikes, and I'm really happy with the result and can't wait until tomorrow when I get to select the best takes!

I also did record myself for the "pre-chorus" vocals, hopefully it will be good enough to use. ;)

Thanks to Mr Christofer Kohn for the vocals, and Mr "Roberto" (a.k.a Rasmus Klåskas ;) ) for driving Protools, and Carin Hallin for taking the picture! :)

Where the magic happens...

 

Bass recording @Studio Blue

Did some bass recording for the Satisfied project with Billy the Fox from Fox & Paradise Productions today, since I wasn't satisfied with the previous recording made in January.

Big thanks to Billy and his modified (bypassed EQ, bypassed volume knobs and a female stereo output jack) J & D bass for a great performance! :) \m/

Drum recording @Studio Blue

Assisting Carin when recording Frida Svensson on drums. Three toms, a kick and one cymbal was set up and miked. AKG 480 as AB mikes, and Line Audio CM3 for the close mikes. Afterwards we recorded some hand claps as well, and even I got to be in front of the mikes! :)

Carin adjusting the mikes

Listening if the current mike positions sounds good

Frida drumming

Interview @Propellerhead HQ

This morning I went to Propellerhead HQ in Stockholm for a user-interview. I was asked about how I use Reason,  and got to prioritize new features. I also got to give them my long list of wanted improvements and features,  and the interviewer said I had the longest list so far he he... :)

I took a picture of the Propellerhead logo at street level, but my phone was kind enough to not save it.


Update 18/4: Passed by yesterday and now acually got the picture! :)

Propellerhead HQ

Vocal tryout @Studio Blue

Vocalist nr2 tryout session in the B-studio today, for the Satisfied project. We both were satisfied (pun intended! :) ) with the result and the final recording will be done in Thursday next week. Until then I will also write a fitting second vocal part.

Thanks to Christofer Kohn for making the air pressure variations. Visit his Soundcloud-page here!

Recording of Mr Kohn.

Vad är det som låter? (What's that sound?)

How are you listening to music these days? Maybe as many people, streamed music from Spotify or Youtube via the mobile phone using headphones? Did you ever think about the quality of the headphones, the quality of the phone's DA-converter or the bit rate of the streamed material? Did you know that streamed music is very likely degraded in quality, compared to CD or to other lossless formats?

If you know Swedish, listen to Anders Olséns documentary "Vad är det som låter" about degraded music, from Sveriges Radio P2!

Make sure to download and listen to the program via any of these lossless formats:
Wav: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=4112&artikel=6130756
FLAC: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=4112&artikel=6130753

Information about the program (in Swedish) can be found here: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/529585?programid=4112

The mp3-file that can be downloaded from the link above is encoded with 128kbps only, and should therefore NOT be used to listen to the program!

Monica Dominique Hammond Party @Jano

Tonight's performance at Jano were Monica Dominique on hammond and vocals. Carl-Axel Dominique on piano, flute and vocals. Rigmor Bådal on bass. Justina Lakin on drums, and Amanda Sedgwick as guest artist on saxophone and vocals.

This was the season finale and also our last night at Jano, at least as sound technicians. It has been a fun and educational time there and we have received many appreciations from the Jano staff as well as the members in the audience, which is really great! Our followers will have to work hard. Really hard. ;)

Thank you Jano for letting us have this great opportunity!

The Stage

Rigmor Bådal & Monica Dominique

Amanda Sedgwick

Carl-Axel Dominique

Me, Daniel and our mentor Mats Blomberg

Daniel and I got flowers and a season pass to Jano as a gift