Propellearhead
Propellerhead

Propellerhead Software is one of the world's leading makers of software musical instruments. It pioneered the concept of computer based software synthesis, invented the concept of "recycling” sampled sound material and continues to raise the bar for quality, usability and new technology in software based music making. The company's two key software products are Reason and ReCycle. Both of these titles have won prestigious international awards, including two instances of the coveted MIPA award.

In addition to the boxed products, Propellerhead software has developed several key technologies adopted by all the major players in the music software industry: ReWire, REX2 and Remote.

Reason 

Making music should be as easy as powering up a computer, loading up a powerful piece of music software, and getting down to business. And it is. Reason version 4 is a virtual studio rack with all the tools and instruments you need to turn your ideas into music. And it's more than just a set of excellent synths and effects. It's a complete music system. Step into the age of Reason.

The RackAll-in-one wonder
Synthesizers, samplers, drum machine, REX file loop player, professional mastering tools, mixer, vocoder, world class effects, pattern sequencer and more. As many of each as your computer can handle. Reason is an infinitely expandable all-in-one music production environment, complete with its own realtime sequencer.

Although easy to learn and a breeze to use, Reason is an extremely flexible music system - a system that can be just as complex and advanced as you make it. With sophisticated tools such as the MClass mastering suite, the mighty Combinator device, or the all-powerful Thor synth, Reason will not just impress, but inspire you.

Need more gear
No problem. Choose a synth, a drum machine, a loop player or any device from the Create menu, and it will instantly appear in your rack, logically patched into the signal chain. And because Reason is designed to go easy on your computer, you can repeat the process until you're more than happy. If you ever wished you had eleven samplers and ten compressors, Reason is definitely for you. And if you have created more machines than you have mixer channels, just create another mixer. The studio of your dreams is just a few mouse clicks away.

Control your controls
Each unit in Reason's virtual rack is edited from its own on-screen front panel. All the sliders, knobs, buttons and functions are right in front of you, ready to be tweaked, turned and twisted in absolute real-time. And all your front panel actions - filter adjustments, pitch bending, gain riding or panning - can be recorded and automated in the Reason sequencer.
Radical routing

A single keypress will turn Reason's rack around, and there you are, in patch cord heaven. Most audio connections are made automatically. When a new device is created, it appears immediately below the currently selected device, and Reason patches it into the system in the most logical way. Repatch by dragging the patch cord plug to the desired connector, or just make a pop-up menu choice. Most devices have one or more parameters controlled by Gate and/or CV. And all instrument devices have several Gate or CV output options. Combine this with easy, transparent patching, and you have connection power approaching that of a fully modular synth.

Close up Reason

ReCycle!

Imagine that you have a sample of a drum loop that you want to use in a track you are working on. The loop is 108 bpm and your track is 90 bpm. What do you do? You can of course pitch down the loop, but that will make the loop sound very different, and what if there are harmonies in the loop that you want to match to your song. You can also time stretch it. That will keep the pitch, but will make the loop sound different. Usually it means that you loose some 'punch' in the loop.

Enter ReCycle and the smart way to make loops tempo independent. Instead of stretching the sample, ReCycle REX files are sliced into little pieces so that each drum hit (or whatever sound you are working with) gets its own slice. When you then change the tempo of the loop, the time between the slices is stretched, instead of the slices themselves.

When you load a sound into ReCycle, the program will "look" at the file, analyze it, and break it up into its rhythmic components. The process itself is fully automated, but the slices are yours to move, audition or delete, using the programs on-screen tools and controls. Other tools allow you to set the length, attack and decay of the slices, and to change your groove's overall tempo or pitch, without one affecting the other. It's not magic, but it's probably as close as you can get.

Slicing a loop also gives you individual control over both the sound of the slices and the timing. You can rearrange the loop, change the feel of it, replace parts of the loop with other samples, pitch it, and much more.

ReCycle turns concrete-rigid loops into musical modeling clay, allowing you, the loopist, to do pretty much what you desire.

Go Beyond the Loop

When you have processed a loop with ReCycle, the audio loop and the way its components are played back are completely independent of each other. The resulting REX file can be rearranged, pitched or have it's tempo freely adjusted. You have full control over the individual slices and can alter the timing or even quantize the groove – or keep the feel of the loop, but replace the sounds with your own.

Use ReCycle as a problem solver for loops: Load a drum loop into ReCycle, set a new tempo or pitch, and save the results as a new file. Or load up any groove, and use ReCycle's on-screen signal processors: Compressor, EQ and Transient Designer, to give it some punch and distinction. Anything you choose to do in ReCycle can be applied to your loop non-destructively, and saved as a new file.

And there's more...

ReCycle goes way beyond simply solving groove problems and cleaning up your loop act.

  • Don't like the snare sound? Replace individual slices with your own samples!
  • Don't like the mix? You can silence and move individual hits, and change volume and panning of slices.
  • When you have created the groove you want, create new variations and fills out of the single phrase.
  • Use ReCycle's Envelope, Transient Shaper and EQ to energize your loop.
  • Automatically isolate and extract individual sounds from long samples.
  • Use the feel of the groove to quantize other MIDI recordings.