Getting Started Getting Started manual by Anders Nordmark The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Propellerhead Software AB. The software described herein is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to any other media expect as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Propellerhead Software AB. ©2007 Propellerhead Software and its licensors. All specifications subject to change without notice. Reason is a trademark of Propellerhead Software. All other commercial symbols are protected trademarks and trade names of their respective holders. All rights reserved. D Table of Contents 1 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 10 10 Table of Contents Installation Welcome! About the manuals What is in the Reason package? Requirements About the Audio Hardware About MIDI Interfaces Upgrading vs. New Installations Installing the Software 13 14 14 15 16 18 22 Setting Up About this Chapter First run - Reason Setup Wizard About the Preferences Setting up the Audio Hardware Setting up MIDI Setting the default song 25 26 26 Guided Tour About this Chapter Guided Tour 41 42 42 Tutorial 1 - Playing a Song About this tutorial Playing a Song 45 46 46 49 50 Tutorial 2 - Playing devices and selecting sound About this tutorial Adding a mixer and an instrument device Selecting a patch Adding an effect 53 54 Tutorial 3 - Creating a drum pattern Creating a drum pattern 57 58 58 60 Tutorial 4 - Recording a bass line About this tutorial Browsing for a bass sound Recording notes in the sequencer 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 65 66 66 Tutorial 5 - Adding a REX loop About this tutorial Adding a REX loop 69 70 70 72 Tutorial 6 - Adding an arpeggio About this tutorial Adding an arpeggio Automating a parameter 73 Index TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 D Installation Welcome! Thank you for purchasing Reason! Version 4.0 is the fourth major Reason update, featuring new devices and a completely redesigned sequencer along with many other overall improvements. A strong driving force for us at "PropellerHeadQuarters" is the communication with all the people around the world that use our applications for expressing themselves. One meeting point for all of us is the song archives and message boards on our web pages. This is a unique forum where professionals and beginners meet on equal terms to exchange music and ideas. Even more importantly, it's a forum open to you! Share your experiences by communicating with us and others and by uploading your songs for others to hear. We think you will appreciate the feedback from other Reason users all over the world, just as much as we appreciate the feedback we get from you. So, see you on the Propellerhead web! Yours truly, The Propellerhead Software Team www.propellerheads.se About the manuals This is the Getting Started manual, a guided tour of the basic features and procedures in Reason. The manual also includes six short tutorials to help you get going with the program. Detailed features and operations in Reason are described in the Operation Manual, a file in Adobe Acrobat (".pdf") format. This and other pdf documents are installed with the program - you find them in the Documentation folder inside your Reason application folder. The Operation Manual also contains reference descriptions of all Reason devices and commands. ! To read the Operation Manual you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader application. Since this has become something of a household utility application, chances are you already have it installed on your computer. If not, run the Acrobat Reader installer included on the Reason program disc. About Mac and Windows Reason runs under Mac OS X and Windows (for operating system details, see below). All Reason packages contain program versions for both platforms. Everything said in the manuals applies to both platforms, unless explicitly stated. If you are running Mac OS X, please note that there's an additional menu called the Reason menu, which is not present under Windows. This contains the Preferences menu item (otherwise found on the Edit menu). 6 INSTALLATION What is in the Reason package? When you purchase Reason, the package contains the following items: D The Reason 4 DVD. This disc contains the main Reason program installer and the Reason Factory Sound Banks, two large files containing samples, patches and loops for use with Reason. These are copied to your hard disk the first time you launch Reason (see page 11 for more information). In addition, the DVD contains documentation in Adobe Acrobat format, and an installer for Adobe Acrobat Reader. D The printed documentation. D The product authorization card. This contains the license number required for the installation. Keep this card in a safe place, in case you need to re-install Reason! Requirements Below you will find the minimum requirements for running Reason: ! Note that these are the minimum requirements! You will benefit from a fast computer with a lot of RAM, since this will allow you to use more devices at the same time. Mac OS X · · · · · · · G4 (1 GHz or better) or Intel Mac. 512 MB RAM (1GB recommended). Monitor with 1024x768 resolution or larger. DVD drive. Mac OS X 10.4 or later. 2 GB free hard disk space. A MIDI interface and a MIDI keyboard recommended. Windows · · · · · · · · Intel Pentium 4/AMD Athlon or better. 512 MB RAM (1GB recommended). DVD drive. Windows XP SP2 or Vista. 2 GB free hard disk space. Monitor with 1024x768 resolution or larger. A 16 bit Windows compatible audio card, preferably with an ASIO or DirectX driver. A MIDI interface and a MIDI keyboard recommended. INSTALLATION 7 About the Audio Hardware The audio hardware is the computer equipment that converts the digital signals from Reason to analog audio signals (for connection to an amplifier, headphones, or similar). This equipment could be a standard stereo sound card, a USB audio interface, the built-in audio hardware on a Macintosh or some more advanced audio card with several inputs and outputs, digital connectors, etc. Regardless of which, you need to make sure the hardware and its drivers are properly installed: Mac OS X If you are using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh In this case you don't need to make any extra settings. Just connect the audio output to your listening equipment (speakers, mixer, headphones or similar) and make sure your Mac plays audio properly. If you are using other audio hardware You may want to use other audio hardware with Reason (e.g. an audio interface with multiple outputs, digital connections, etc.). For this to be possible, the audio hardware must be compatible with Mac OS X, i.e. there must be a Mac OS X driver available for the card. 1. Install the audio hardware and its drivers as described in its documentation. 2. Connect the stereo outputs of your audio hardware to your listening equipment (speakers, mixer, headphones or similar). For info about how to use multiple outputs (i.e. more than a stereo output), see the Operation Manual pdf. For now, we stick to standard stereo connections. 3. If possible, test that audio plays back OK with the audio hardware. With some audio hardware, a test application is supplied for this purpose. 8 INSTALLATION Windows D If possible, you should use ASIO compatible audio hardware (i.e. audio hardware for which there is an ASIO driver). ASIO drivers generally provide better performance and lower latency (see page 17). D If there is no ASIO driver available, you should make sure your audio card supports DirectX. DirectX is a Microsoft protocol for handling audio and other multimedia aspects. D As a last resort, you could use audio cards that don't support ASIO or DirectX, provided that they are Windows compatible. In this case, Reason will communicate with the audio hardware via MME (Windows Multi Media Extensions). However, most often this results in large latency values (see page 17), making real-time playback of instrument devices difficult or even impossible. Regardless of which type of audio hardware or drivers you are using, you should follow these basic steps: 1. Make sure you have the latest drivers for the audio hardware! Please check the manufacturer's web site for the latest versions. 2. Install the audio hardware and its drivers as described in its documentation. 3. Connect the stereo outputs of your audio hardware to your listening equipment (speakers, mixer, headphones or similar). For information about how to use multiple outputs (i.e. more than a stereo output), see the Operation Manual pdf. For now, we stick to standard stereo connections. 4. If possible, test that audio plays back properly with the audio hardware. In the case of audio hardware with ASIO drivers, you will need some test application for this (often included with the audio hardware). If you are using DirectX or MME drivers, you can use Windows' Media Player application for this. About MIDI Interfaces While it is possible to use Reason without an external MIDI controller (by playing patterns and loops only, or drawing notes and automation in the sequencer), this would not allow you to use the program to its full potential. From now on we assume that you are using a MIDI interface and some kind of external MIDI controller (typically a MIDI keyboard with a built-in USB interface). D When installing the MIDI interface and its drivers, follow the instructions in its documentation carefully. D While a MIDI interface with a single input is sufficient, you will benefit from having two or more individual inputs. This is especially true if you want to manipulate Reason parameters with additional MIDI control surface devices or use the program in conjunction with an external, stand-alone sequencer, groove machine or similar. · For some MIDI interfaces connected via USB, no driver installation is required. Just plug in the interface and you're ready to go! · For other, more advanced MIDI interfaces (or at least to take advantage of more advanced features, like multiple inputs) you will need to install a driver. Please consult the documentation that came with the interface for details. INSTALLATION 9 MIDI Connections D Simply connect the USB cable from your keyboard to your computer. Although many USB MIDI keyboards are "plug-and-play", some may require a driver to be installed. Consult the documentation that came with your MIDI keyboard or visit the manufacturer's website. Drivers are usually downloadable. Or D Connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI Out on your MIDI keyboard (or other MIDI controller) to a MIDI In on your MIDI interface. This is sufficient to be able to play and record notes and controllers in Reason from the MIDI keyboard. D If you are not using a USB keyboard, you may also connect the MIDI Out from the MIDI interface to the MIDI In on your MIDI keyboard. This is not strictly necessary to use Reason, but it will enable two-way communication when you run the Reason Setup Wizard which appears the first time Reason is launched (see page 14), or when using Auto-detect Surfaces in the Preferences. Whether auto-detection works or not depends on the keyboard model. ! If you have several MIDI control surfaces or similar that you want to use, we recommend that you connect them to separate MIDI ports (or directly to the computer using USB). Upgrading vs. New Installations If you are upgrading from a previous version, please note the following: D Our recommendation is that you uninstall the previous version before installing the new one. Under Windows, please use the Uninstall feature. Under Mac OS, just drag the program files to the Trash. Uninstalling will ensure that there is no confusion between versions and that shortcuts and aliases point to the right files etc. Installing the Software Running the Installer Now it's time to install the actual Reason software: D Insert the Reason 4 disc into your DVD drive. What to do next depends on whether you are installing on a Mac or a Windows computer. Windows: 1. On the DVD, locate the file called "Install Reason" and double click on it. Under Windows, the installer may automatically start when you insert the DVD, depending on your system settings. 2. Follow the instructions on screen. Before executing the installation of the software components, you will be asked to select a language, an install location, and whether you wish to create a program shortcut/alias on your desktop. When the installation is complete, you have the option of launching Reason directly. 10 INSTALLATION Mac OS: On the Mac, there is only a folder called "Reason" - simply drag this to the Applications folder on your hard disk. About the Sound Banks The first time you launch Reason, you will be asked to insert the Reason 4 disc t ...