With the release of Reason 6.5, Propellerhead has come to terms with the fact that they can’t do everything alone. For the first time since the first version in 2000, developers are now able to create their own instruments and effects for the popular software.

The latest update introduces a new technology called Rack Extension which opens up their flagship music production workstation (Reason) to third-party developers.
The technology promises a completely new experience to music producers who have waited many years for this functionality. The question, however, is: does the technology justify the long wait the industry has endured? Well, it’s difficult to tell as yet but what we know for sure is that music producers are spoilt for choice.

One of the most interesting instruments introduced courtesy of the technology is Polar, an old-school harmonising and pitch-shifter effect with a host of modern tricks up its sleeve. The effect is ideal for classic harmonising, stereo-widening and real time pitch-shifting, or experimenting with buffer looping and audio freezing to create effects.

Up next is the Radical Piano, an innovative instrument with three sampled pianos (home grand, deluxe grand and upright) paired with the technology to make an infinite number of different sounds. Thanks to its blend between sampling technology and physical modelling, Radical Piano provides sounds for many situations. The character settings also allow producers to change the mood at the flick of a button. In addition, it comes with a built-in EQ, reverb and compressor, as well as tons of preset sounds.

There is also Pulsar LGM-1, a dual channel modulation powerhouse that can be turned into a powerful synth. For tweakers Pulsar is said to make every single thing in the rack a little bit better. It comes with patches containing a large library of sounds from lush evolving pads to the grittiest of wobble basses. It’s also ideal for modulation and seamless frequency manipulation. All these plug-ins inherit the classical Reason rack design to offer the same functionality, including automation, unlimited undo and cables on the back, as well as integration with Reason’s patch browser.

Another noteworthy addition is Bitspeeka, a pitch-excited linear prediction codec effect, which takes audio input, breaks it down into synthesizer parameters and reproduces the sound using an oscillator, noise and a formant filter. The Buffre Beat Repeater is another great invention for audio manipulation. iZotope have also joined the Reason bandwagon with Ozone Maximizer, an audio mastering tool with great functionality.

There are currently 13 companies that have signed on to support the new format, most of whom have devices currently for sale in the newly-launched Propellerhead shop. Heavyweights such as Korg, Rob Papen, Sonic Charge, Audio Damage and iZotope are supporting the format, and there are more than 20 new plug-ins on sale at the moment.

Reason 6.5 was released together with its scaled down version, Essentials 1.5. Both are available as free upgrades for all owners of Reason 6 or Reason Essentials version 1.

By Eddie Hatitye

ProSystems magazine – 3rd Quarter 2012