Layering, Tension, and Compression

One of the most important aspects of creating a solid mix is to layer your instruments. Each layer is meant to further mix the instrument into the track and to refine the idea. 

As an example, to build a proper snare, you will probably find yourself layering multiple sound samples to build a thick and full instrument. You want a woody base in the low frequency ranges of 500-1500hz, a nice crunch at the mid-range of 2000-5000hz, and then a third high-frequency crisp to even it off at the 5000+. Each of these frequency ranges will generally require an individual sample properly mixed into the track. All the snare samples are then compressed together with a slow attack and fast release to keep the transients snappy. Most people will also make a duplication of this instrument to apply processing, such as reverb on the mid crunch.

The concept of layering is not only applied to individual instruments but in the way all the instruments of the track interact with each other. You should intentionally place every note in the midi sequence either on top of the kick or snare, to lead up to a kick or snare (as to create tension), or intentionally off-beat from the rest as to create swing. In dance music, where the kick and clap is 4x4, you may notice that an instrument always starts on the first beat of the measure to layer with the kick. Perhaps it layers with the snare also, or intentionally does not. This is called music theory, and unfortunately it is extremely complex - but hopefully you have been able to understand my simplifications of it.

Ordering of patches

I'm going to take a break today and move onto a more advanced Reason topic.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, you can press the 'tab' key to flip your rack around. As you'll notice, there are many wires in which you can unplug and replug into tens of outlets on each patch. In a sense, you are layering from birth (oscillator) to the final product (mixer), and each patch inbetween these two points in an individual layer. Layering is a key concept in almost every program, and even in programming itself (especially object-oriented programming)!

The above picture is an example of HTML table layering. You start with the original square, and through individual layered cuts you have the final cell product. Patch layering in Reason is quite similar in a metaphorical sense.

I was talking with PotatoFinger the other day, who is part of the famous dubstep duo PotatoFinger & Fabian. I asked him how he orders the patches to his reese. His response was: "Instrument-eq-comp-scream-eq-unison-comp-stereoimager-scream-eq-vocoder (for the eq)-comp-maximizer." Now to a newbie to Reason this may seem like jibberish, but if you know what you're looking at this is a pretty golden setup. Notice how an EQ is always placed BEFORE the compressor and not after. EQing is always placed after a distortion patch (hence why it's always available within the Scream unit, handy eh? The frequencies on which it operates are hard set within the program... so unless it sounds good to your ends, don't use it.). At the end of the chain, he compresses and THEN maximizes it.

The word of advice is to pay attention to the order of patches in your chains. You'll notice that certain combinations work beautifully together, while if you reorder them they will work against eachother. The best way to figure this out, however, is to understand what each individual module does. So keep reading!

Filters explained

Within the Reason package you will have access to four generic filter types:

1. Low Pass Ladder
2. State Variable
3. Comb
4. Formant

These filters are handy tools that help you further shape the frequencies being produced by the oscillators by cutting out or boosting the ranges you want. It is key to look at these filters as only one step of a whole process, isolating the frequencies you want to be modified by other tools in your toolbox. 

The Low Pass Ladder and State Variable filters function using similar algorithms. I have made the following diagram for you to summarize their effects - let the X axis represent the frequency and the Y axis represent the signal's amplitude:

To go into further detail, the Low Pass Ladder is strictly a low-pass filter with various parameters. In Propellerhead's software (and other VSTs), you will notice that there is a 6, 8, 12, 16, and 24 option next to the frequency knob. With these you can set the rate of subtraction in decibels per octave in correspondence to the filter cutoff point. Now that you are thinking in those terms, you can see that it is -6db/octave, -8db/octave, and so on.

Lastly, the Comb filter simply adds a delayed version of the signal to itself. This will in effect add or cancel out certain frequencies along the spectrum being run through the filter. The Comb filter is most effective for creating that wide, ensemble-type sound. It is also staple to be put over a Dubstep wobble-bass.

The limits of filters don't end here. While their function is simple enough, it is in the application of them where they really shine. Try combining a low-pass with a high-pass filter to manually produce a band-pass filter, and in between the two filters you can apply as many effects as you want to produce a truly unique sound. Another tip I would like to mention is to utilize the ADSR envelopes in conjunction with the filters.

Oscillators explained

Propellerhead Reason's VSTi is a very general machine. The concepts behind all their designs are general purpose in the sense that these algorithms are a compilation of almost all that are used in other programs, hardware units, and synthesizers you can get on the market. Understanding the concepts behind them is important to being able to use them effectively on ANY machine, and this should not be taken as a specification manual geared directly toward Propellerhead's software.


Press the down arrow on one of the OSC slots. You will get a drop-down list of all the available oscillator generators within Reason. The differences between them are the way in which the waveform is generated. However, there will be 4 options common to all the oscillators - KBD, Octave, Semi, and Tune. KDB is the only one we haven't talked about yet, so let's define that.

KDB - Turning this knob all the way up will snap the frequency generated to it's corresponding note being played on the sequencer. If it is turned all the way down, you will always hear the note defined by the Octave/Semi/Tune knobs.

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oscillator types

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ANALOG:

The Analog generator is the most basic oscillator. It will produce one of 4 wave-types:
1 - Sawtooth
2 - Square
3 - Triangle
4 - Sine

NOTE: With the square, you are given the option to change the PW(pulse width). It does exactly as visually described on the knob. Using this will only help further fine-tune your instrument. I can only wonder why this option is not included for the rest of the analog waves... someone wasn't paid enough!
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 WAVETABLE:

Wavetable synthesis began with PPG Wave Computers in their PPG 2.x series and beyond, dating the methodology to 1981. It is interesting to note that almost all advancements in music production in recent times came about with the birth of the electronic age. There has been little innovation before OR after, due to constraints of technology. Rather, the biggest moves in the music industry have been in manipulating these age-old tools in new ways - something that would have sounded terrible in disco music in the 80s may now sound brilliant and a perfect fit in EDM music today.

Within the wavetable oscillator you have access to different wavetables. A wavetable is multiple sound samples digitally coded into a single file which are subsequently mapped out onto a mathematical table. Using the Position knob, you can browse through the different samples within the table. Pressing the "X-fade" switch on will have the program mathematically fade  between the different sample types instead of a sudden shift when changing from, say, a sine wave to a triangle.


Wavetables are designed so that you can map the ADSR envelopes(attack, decay, sustain, and release) to the position knob. For example: what this will do is that when you are attempting to replicate something like a trumpet, the initial attack of the note will be bright(timbre of a trumpet sound located at the top of the table), and will decay into the sustained body of the note which is naturally dull(bottom of the wavetable).

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PHASE MODULATION:

Phase modulation synthesis was developed by Casio in 1980. In computer terms, it is the manipulation of the processor's clock speed to produce new waveforms from simple analog ones. This can be best described as the sample is processed very fast, up until the highest point in the wavetable. At this point, the processor will then clock very slowly before returning to it's normal speed.

Take a look at the diagram on the right and you can see how a sine(green) can be morphed into a square(black) by slowing the clock speed at the highest point in the sine wave(red vertical lines).

In Reason, the clock-rate is modified by the PM(pulse modulation) knob. Like the Wavetable oscillator, you want to apply the ADSR envelopes or even an LFO onto the PM knob to get the most out of your synth.