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, ReCycle + Reason - Quick Start Guide
2.1
Change the tempo of a groove without altering its pitch – and vice versa! , Change the feel of your grooves, or quantize them! , Create endless variations and fills out of a single loop! , Total Loop Control
D Table of Contents
 3 Introduction
4 About this manual
4 Before you start...

5 Tutorial 1: ReCycle basics

6 About this tutorial
6 Tutorial 1: ReCycle basics

11 Tutorial 2:Using REX files in Dr. Rex

12 About this tutorial
12 Reason basics
13 Tutorial 2: Introducing Dr. Rex

19 Tutorial 3: Using the REX editor

20 About this tutorial
20 Tutorial 3: Using the REX editor

25 Tutorial 4: Using REX files in the NN-XT

sampler
26 About this tutorial
26 Tutorial 4: Using REX files in the NN-XT sampler

35 Tutorial 5: Automating parameters

36 Tutorial 5: Automating parameters in Reason

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 D Introduction
About this manual Before you start...
This Quick Start manual is intended to serve as an introduction to ReCycle 2.1 D First install both programs on your computer.
and the included software Reason Adapted for ReCycle. See the ReCycle Operation Manual for ReCycle installation nstructions, and
The manual is based on a series of hands-on tutorials using example files. for Reason Adapted for ReCycle, simply launch the installer and follow the
on-screen instructions.
You will be guided step by step through various typical operations and proce-
dures, in order to familiarize you with the basic features of both ReCycle and D Then configure both programs so that they can play back audio on
Reason Adapted for ReCycle, and how they work together. your system.
See the ReCycle Operation Manual and the Reason Adapted for ReCycle
The tutorials require no previous experience of either program, but both pro-
Getting Started document for information regarding audio configuration.
grams have to have been installed and configured to play back audio.
Even if you are familiar with one or even both of the programs, this Quick Start
manual may still provide useful information as some more advanced features are
described as well.
Have fun!

✪ It might be convenient to print out the manual, to save you from

having to switch back and forth between applications when follow-
ing the tutorials.

Mac OS vs. Windows

The documentation is both for the Mac OS and Windows versions of ReCycle/
Reason Adapted for ReCycle. Pictures show the Macintosh version but things
are identically titled and positioned in both versions.
Sometimes, a key command is different in the two versions. This is indicated like
this: Hold down [Option] (Mac) / [Alt] (Win) and...
Everything said in the manual applies to both platforms, unless explicitly stated
otherwise.

INTRODUCTION 4
2 D Tutorial 1: ReCycle basics
 About this tutorial Tutorial 1: ReCycle basics
The aim of this tutorial is to introduce you to the basic operation of ReCycle. Re-
Cycle is a loop utility program that can be used in various different ways, but the
Loading and auditioning audio files
most common use is to create “sliced” loops that can be played back perfectly 1. Double-click the program icon for ReCycle to launch the program or
at any given tempo in other music applications. if the program is running, select Open from the File menu.
The tutorial will take you through the following basic steps: The Open Sound File dialog appears.

D Loading and playing back an audio file in ReCycle. 2. Navigate to the “ReCycle + Reason - Quick Start Guide” folder on
your program CD and open it.
D Slicing the file using ReCycle.
3. Open the “Audio Files” sub-folder and select the file “Drum Loop
D Saving the sliced file as a REX2 file. 1.WAV” and click Open.
Ready? Let’s ReCycle! You will be asked whether you want the Left Locator to be moved to the first
Slice point. Click Yes. Another window appears stating that the Effects can-
not be heard yet. We shall fix this shortly, so click OK to continue.
The ReCycle window consists here of the following basic elements:
The Envelope Effect Toolbar Thumbnail Overview Vertical
Magnification

Horizontal Magnification Status Bar Waveform Display

Left Locator Right Locator

6 TUTORIAL 1: RECYCLE BASICS

4. Now, click the Play button. Slicing the loop
Stop Play
The next step is to create some slices.
When you load or receive a loop, ReCycle analyzes it to determine where slice
markers should appear (where the individual sounds in the loop are).
The Sensitivity slider is then used by you, to set the overall amount of slices. The
A drum loop is played back repeatedly until you click the Stop button. As the higher the sensitivity, the more slices you will get.
file is exactly two bars long it loops seamlessly.
7. Drag the Sensitivity slider to the right, until its value is between 60
and 70 and a number of vertical lines appear.
✪ If a file with an irregular length is loaded, you can use the Left and/ We call these lines and their triangle symbols “slices” since they indicate
or Right Locators to set a correct loop length. But note that setting that the sound has now been cut up into slices. To be exact, a slice is the
the Locators should be done after adding slices (see below) - not at area between two slice markers (the lines).
this stage!

Activating Preview mode

Next step is to enter Preview mode. To enter Preview Mode you must first enter
the correct number of bars so that ReCycle can calculate the original tempo. In
this case the loop is 2 bars.
In Preview mode you can make various settings and add effects to the loop, and
hear the results in real-time. We shall take a look at some of the things you can
do in Preview later in this tutorial.
5. Click in the “Bars” field, type “2”, and hit [Return].
The calculated tempo (104,614 BPM) is now shown as the “Original
Tempo” on the Toolbar.

The Bars/Beats settings, the (calculated) Original Tempo and the Preview Tempo field.

6. Click on the Preview Toggle button. The Sensitivity Slider and some slices. The strip above the Waveform display contains
the slice marker handles (the triangles).
Preview mode is now activated.

TUTORIAL 1: RECYCLE BASICS 7

 Checking the slices for “double hits” Now we face a fairly common situation when working with loops in ReCycle. The
problem is that a lot of other slice markers have been added apart from the slice
When slicing a loop so that it will play back correctly at any tempo it is very im- marker we wanted. These extra slices are not wanted as they basically “break
portant that no single slice plays two sounds in succession, e.g. a snare fol- up” what really should be one slice into several slices which will lead to glitches
lowed by a kick drum. You basically want one slice for each individual sound or during playback.
hit - no more and no less. This is where the trickery begins.
One simple solution is to use the Lock tool.

✪ Note that an “individual sound” can mean several instrument 16. Select the Lock tool by clicking the icon on the Toolbar.
sounds that start at the same time.

8. With playback turned off, move the pointer over the waveform view.
The pointer changes to a speaker symbol.
9. Click with the Speaker pointer on the slices in the waveform view.
You will hear each individual sound in the loop. The slice you clicked last is indi- 17. Position the mouse pointer in the area containing the slice marker
cated by a dotted vertical line to the left - this slice is called the current slice. You handles (the triangles).
can also drag the pointer over the slices with the mouse button pressed to audi- The pointer changes to a key symbol.
tion the sounds in the loop.
18. Click on the marker handle for the new slice (the one after the dot-
10. Now check each slice for “double hits” by clicking on them. ted slice marker).
If you listen carefully, you’ll hear that slices #11 and #16 (counting the slices The handle changes to a lock symbol.
from left to right) contain what we don’t want - “double hits”. These two
slices both play a kick drum followed by a hi hat within the same slice. All the
remaining slices play back fine.
11. Click on slice #11 so that it becomes the current slice.
This isn’t necessary but the dotted slice marker helps you focus on the
“problem” slice
12. Raise the Sensitivity slider until a new slice marker appears in the
middle of slice #11.
One will appear when the sensitivity amount is set at exactly 75. Leave the
Sensitivity amount set to 75 for now.
13. If you now click on slice #11 and #12 you can hear that the kick
drum and hi hat have been separated.
So in this particular instance the slice #11 problem was solved by simply raising
the Sensitivity amount. No other slices were added apart from the one we
wanted. But what about the other slice with a double hit? What was previously
slice #16 is now slice #17 - as we just added a slice.
19. Set the Sensitivity amount back to 75 again.
14. Click on slice #17 to make it the current slice.
All the unwanted slices disappear but the slice we locked is still there.
Let’s try raising the Sensitivity amount further to see if this will solve this
Locked slices are always visible, even if the Sensitivity is set to zero.
problem as it did for slice #11.
Similarly, by using the Mute tool (the “X” icon on the toolbar) and clicking on
15. Raise the Sensitivity slider until a new slice marker appears in the marker handles, you can also mute unwanted slices. By using a combination of
middle of slice #17. the Sensitivity setting, the Lock and Mute tools, you can nearly always find the
One will appear at a Sensitivity setting between 80 and 85. slices you need!

8 TUTORIAL 1: RECYCLE BASICS

For now we have everything we need; a seamless 2 bar loop, a calculated origi- 24. Now deactivate the Envelope effect by clicking on the On/Off but-
nal tempo, and a good set of slices. It is time to save the file as a REX2 file, Re- ton.
Cycle’s native file format:
20. Pull down the Process menu and make sure that the items “Export
as one sample” and “Silence selected” are off (unticked).
21. Select Save from the File menu.
A standard file dialog opens allowing you to chose a new name and a loca-
tion for the saved file. Select a location of your choice but keep the name
“Drum Loop 1”. It will be saved under this name with the extension “.rx2”. Now you can hear audible “gaps” between the slices. This is because the
22. Click Save. original slice lengths are simply too short for this lower tempo. If you activate
the Envelope effect again you can hear how Stretch “fills out” these gaps as
In this tutorial we will not make any further changes to the loop using Preview if by magic!
mode, but in the next section we’ll take a look at some the other Preview mode
features.
✪ The default Stretch setting of 40% normally works well, and needn’t
be raised unless you are planning to play back a loop at extremely
About Stretch low tempo values relative to the original tempo.
When you enter Preview mode, the knobs and buttons that were previously
grayed out will become active. By default, the Envelope effect is activated. 25. Set the Preview tempo back to around 105.
Note that the Preview tempo setting doesn’t matter when saving a sliced
✪ There are two more effects available on the View menu; Transient loop - it will play back correctly at any tempo in other applications.
Shaper and Equalizer, but we won’t use these in this tutorial. To
find out more about these effects and other Preview mode process- Other Preview mode features
ing features please refer to the “Processing Audio” chapter in the
ReCycle Operation Manual. Let us continue to look at some of the things you can do in Preview mode (to re-
set any parameter to its default value, hold down [Command] (Mac) / [Alt] (Win)
and click the parameter).
The parameters that have become active on the Toolbar and for the Envelope ef-
fect are all zeroed (except for the Envelope Stretch parameter), i.e. no change is D Try raising the Envelope Attack parameter.
applied to the original loop as yet. Stretch, however, adds a short “tail” to the This gradually removes the attack portion of the slices until only the room
end of each slice, something which only becomes audible when lowering the ambiance is heard. Reset the Attack to zero.
tempo.
D Try lowering the Envelope Decay parameter.
To hear the effect of Stretch, try the following: This gradually removes the end portion of the slices (in this particular case
23. Start playback and lower the tempo to about 85 bpm. this is the room ambiance present in the drum loop). This can be used to
“tighten up” loops.
D Try changing the Pitch up or down
You can change the pitch up/down 2 octaves (24 semitones).
26. After trying out the features, select Close from the File menu and
then select Don’t Save in the dialog that appears (remember it was
saved previously).
In the next tutorial we shall take a look at what you can do with the saved file in
Reason Adapted for ReCycle!

TUTORIAL 1: RECYCLE BASICS 9

10 TUTORIAL 1: RECYCLE BASICS
3 D Tutorial 2:Using REX files in Dr. Rex
 About this tutorial At the top of the rack is the Hardware interface which handles Reason
Adapted’s communication with your audio hardware. At the bottom of the rack is
the track list with a track for each device in the rack, the sequencer window and
The aim of this tutorial is to show you how REX files can be used in the Dr. Rex the transport panel. To access all the devices you have to scroll the rack view.
Loop Player included with Reason Adapted for ReCycle.
The tutorial will take you through the following basic steps:
D Loading the REX file into the Reason Adapted Dr. Rex device.
D Auditioning the file in Dr. Rex Loop Player.
D Processing the file with various Synth parameters in Dr. Rex Loop Rack
Player. scrollbar
D Editing individual slices.
D How to create MIDI track data to play back the file from the se-
quencer in Reason Adapted.
D Altering a melodic loop by changing the pitch of individual slices. The Rack
with various
devices

Reason basics
When Reason Adapted opens you will find the following devices in the rack;
• A Mixer
• 3 Dr. Rex Loop Players
• 1 NN-XT sampler
• 1 RV7000 reverb unit
Every new Song document will contain exactly these devices - it is not possible
to create new (or to delete) devices in Reason Adapted for ReCycle.

Track List Transport panel Sequencer window

12 TUTORIAL 2:USING REX FILES IN DR. REX

Tutorial 2: Introducing Dr. 3. Click on the “Browse Loop” button to open the browser.

Rex
Loading and auditioning a loop in Dr. Rex
1. Double-click the program icon for Reason Adapted to launch the
program.
The Dr. Rex and NN-XT devices are both capable of playing back REX loops. In
this tutorial we will use Dr. Rex - a dedicated REX player - to play back the loop
you just saved.
2. Locate the “Dr. Rex 1” device in the rack.

4. Use the browser to locate the loop you just saved in ReCycle and
click Open to load it into Dr. Rex.
You can listen to the loop before loading by using the Preview function in the
browser.

! If you skipped the first tutorial you can load the same file - named
“Drum Loop 1. rx2” in the “Audio Files” folder of the ReCycle + Rea-
son - Quick Start Guide.

! Loading a new REX file will replace any currently loaded file.
The device names are shown as vertical “tape strips” on the far left side of the main
panels.

TUTORIAL 2:USING REX FILES IN DR. REX 13

 D Once loaded, you can check out the loop by using the Preview but- Applying various Dr. Rex synth parameters to the
ton.
loop
For now let’s stick to using Preview mode to audition. Let’s tweak the sound of
the loop using some of the Synth parameters in Dr. Rex. Proceed as follows:

! Note that none of the operations described in this tutorial (or any
other editing applied to a REX file using Dr. Rex) will alter the orig-
inal loop in any way. Changes made to a loop in Dr. Rex are instead
saved with the current Reason Adapted Song.

1. Start loop playback by clicking the Preview button.

2. Try adjusting the “Transpose” knob below the waveform display.

It will play back repeatedly in the tempo set on the transport panel until you
click the Preview button again. If you change the tempo, the loop tempo fol-
lows. One of the key features of REX loops is that they play back perfectly at
any tempo.
5. Set the tempo to around 105 bpm, the original tempo of the loop.

As you can hear, this adjusts the pitch of the entire loop in semitone steps.
Turning the knob clockwise raises the pitch and vice versa. You can also ad-
just this parameter directly by clicking the keyboard in the waveform display.
Changing the tempo on the Transport panel. 3. Try lowering the Decay (“D”) slider in the Amp Envelope section.

Lowering the Decay will gradually shorten the end (decay) portion of each
slice. This can be used to “tighten up” a loop by removing room ambience.
This parameter is essentially the same as Envelope Decay in ReCycle.

14 TUTORIAL 2:USING REX FILES IN DR. REX

4. Try adjusting the Freq and Res sliders. Editing individual slices
All of the previously described synth parameters are global, i.e. they affect all the
slices in the loop equally. But you can also edit individual slices of the loop in Dr.
Rex. Let’s take a look at how this is done:
D By using the “Slice” knob located below the waveform display you
can select an individual slice. A selected slice is indicated by being
highlighted in the waveform display.
This can also be done by clicking directly in the waveform display.

The entire loop is passed through the filter section. The filter parameters al-
ter the frequency content in the loop, thus changing the overall timbre.
Below the Filter section you can find the LFO section. A LFO (Low Frequency
Oscillator) can be used to add cyclic modulation to a parameter. Let’s modulate
the Filter frequency with the LFO:
5. In the LFO section, click on the “Dest” button so that the Filter indi-
cator lights up. Selecting a slice.

D If you hold down [Alt] (Win)/[Option] (Mac) and click on a slice in

the waveform display, the slice will play back.
D You can use the 4 parameter knobs “Pitch”, “Pan”, “Level” and “De-
cay” below the waveform display to alter how a selected slice plays
back.

6. Set the LFO “Amount” knob to a value around 65 (12 o’clock posi-
tion).
You should now hear the filter frequency parameter being modulated by the The Pitch parameter allows you to change the pitch of the slice, Pan allows you
LFO. If the effect isn’t very noticeable, adjust the Filter Freq and/or raise the to position the slice in the stereo field, Level adjusts the volume of the slice and
Res parameter slightly. Decay allows you to shorten the slice.
D You can set the LFO modulation rate with the Rate parameter.
! If you adjust any of the parameters listed above, these will be lost if
D If you activate the “Sync” button in the LFO section the LFO rate you load a new REX file. All Dr.Rex panel settings are stored in the
will be synchronized to the song tempo, in one of 16 possible time Song. You cannot directly apply panel settings to another REX file!
divisions.
In sync mode the Rate parameter is used to set the time division.
7. Stop playback by clicking the Preview button again.

TUTORIAL 2:USING REX FILES IN DR. REX 15

 The “To Track” function 4. Activate playback in the sequencer by clicking the Play button on
the Transport panel.
Up until now we have used the Preview function to audition the loop. This is not Reason will now play back the notes on the sequencer track. These in turn
the “real” way of playing back REX loops. If you want to use the loop in a context will play back the slices in the Dr.Rex device, in the correct order and with
with other devices you first have to create MIDI notes in the sequencer that will the original timing maintained.
play back the slices correctly. This is done using the “To Track” function:
1. Select the sequencer track connected to the Dr.Rex 1 device. ! Note that if you have created sequencer notes from a REX file, you
When you select a track, the device connected to the track is automatically cannot load a new REX file into Dr.Rex and play it from the existing
brought into view in the rack. track. Well, you can, but it will not play back properly. If you have
created notes in this way, and want to change the REX file, first de-
lete the notes, then use the “To Track” command again after having
loaded the new REX file.

5. Close the current Song by selecting Close from the File menu.
You can save the Song or discard it - it doesn’t matter.

2. Set the Left and Right Locators to encompass 4 bars.

For example, set the Left Locator at 3.1.1 and the Right Locator at 7.1.1.

3. Click the To Track button on the Dr.Rex 1 panel.

Now, the program will create a note for each slice, positioned according to the
timing of the slices. The notes will be pitched in semitone steps, with the first
note on C1, the second on C#1 and so on, with one pitch for each slice. If the
area between the locators is longer than the loop length, the loop notes will be
repeated to fill out the loop. In step 2 the locators were set to encompass 4
bars. As the loop is exactly 1 bar long this means that the loop will be repeated
4 times.

16 TUTORIAL 2:USING REX FILES IN DR. REX

Altering a melodic loop 7. Using the same general methods, select Slice 5 and transpose this
down 7 semitones (-7).
Let’s try altering the pitch of a few individual slices in a melodic loop:
1. Select “Open...” from the file menu.
The Song Browser appears.
2. Navigate to the “Song Files” folder (inside the ReCycle + Reason -
QuickStart Guide folder) and select the “Example 1” Song.
A 2 bar bass loop is loaded in the Dr. Rex 1 player. Track data has already
been created.
3. Click Play to audition the loop.
4. Stop playback.
5. Use the Slice knob to select Slice 3.
8. Finally, select Slice 7 and transpose this down 4 semitones (-4).
9. Play back the loop to hear the result of the pitch change!
The first bar contains the altered pitches whereas the second bar is un-
changed, for comparison. This is just one method of many that you can use
to alter how a loop is played.
10. Select Close from the File menu and select Don’t Save in the dialog
that appears.
If you for some reason wish to save the Song, it might be a good idea to save
it under a new name so that the tutorial file may be used again. This applies
to all the following Song files used in the Quick Start tutorials.
In the next tutorial we will take a look at how you can edit notes using the Rex ed-
6. Use the Pitch knob to transpose the Slice 3 pitch up 3 semitones. itor in the Reason sequencer.
You can always audition a slice by holding down [Alt] (Win)/[Option] (Mac)
and clicking on it in the waveform display.

TUTORIAL 2:USING REX FILES IN DR. REX 17

18 TUTORIAL 2:USING REX FILES IN DR. REX
4 D Tutorial 3: Using the REX editor
 About this tutorial Tutorial 3: Using the REX
In this chapter we shall take a look at the REX editor in Reason Adapted’s se-
quencer. Here you can perform all sorts of editing on the notes playing the REX
editor
slices; from creating subtle variations to completely scrambling the loop.
In this tutorial we will make some alterations to a loop in the REX editor to illus-
This tutorial is meant to give you a basic understanding of how the MIDI notes trate a few of the possibilities.
created with the “To Track” function can be edited in the sequencer. It should
not be seen as an general introduction to editing notes in the sequencer. Transposing notes
One of the most obvious things you can do in the REX editor is to reorder the
playback of the slices. This can easily be done by transposing notes.
1. Select Open from the File menu to open the Song Browser.
2. Locate the “Example 2.rsb” Song file in the “Song Files” folder and
click Open.
The Song opens. It has sequencer data on two tracks, with one of the tracks
muted. This is indicated by the red “X” in the Track list.

3. Start playback by clicking the Play button on the Transport panel.

You will hear a 1 bar drum loop (repeated twice in the sequencer) played by
the Dr. Rex 2 device. As the Loop function is activated on the Transport
panel the area between the Left and Right Locators will repeat until playback
is stopped.
4. Stop playback by clicking the Stop button on the Transport panel.

✪ You can also use the Spacebar to start/stop playback.

In the following steps of this tutorial we shall use the REX editor to alter the loop
in various ways.

20 TUTORIAL 3: USING THE REX EDITOR

5. Make sure that the track connected to the Dr. Rex 2 device playing 6. Click the “Switch to Edit Mode” button above the track list.
the loop is selected. This switches the view from Arrange mode to Edit mode.
You select tracks by clicking on them. The selected track is indicated by a
dark border.

Edit mode is now selected. The REX lane should now be visible in the main
sequencer window. The loop is repeated twice and contains 15 slices. If you
can’t see all the slices you can resize the sequencer window by dragging the
divider between the sequencer and the rack.

Drag the divider to resize the sequencer window.

TUTORIAL 3: USING THE REX EDITOR 21

 The REX lane shows the notes playing the individual slices as boxes. In the area 8. Now right-click (Win) / [Ctrl]-click (Mac) the selected note and se-
to the left the slice numbers are shown in a list with the first slice at the bottom lect “Change Events...” from the menu that appears.
and the last slice at the top. If you point and click on a slice number in the list the
corresponding slice plays back. The notes are arranged to play the slices lin-
early, from slice #1 to slice #15 and then start over.
Now let’s try a few simple tricks!
Click with your mouse on Slice #7 in the Slice list to the left to audition it. Do the
same thing on Slice #12. As you can hear Slice #7 is a kick drum, and Slice
#12 is a snare. For sake of example, let’s make the note playing Slice #7 play
Slice #12 instead. Proceed as follows:
7. Click on the note playing Slice #7 in the first bar, to select it.
Selected notes are indicated by a darker color and a “handle” which can be
used to alter the length of notes.

The Change Events dialog.

In the first field “Transpose” you can transpose the selected note up or down.
Transposing notes usually means to change the pitch of a note. But in the REX
editor, transposing will instead move a note up or down so that it will play a dif-
ferent slice.
9. Enter the desired semitone transposition value (in this case 5) into
the “Semi” field.
In this example we wanted the note playing Slice #7 to play Slice #12 in-
stead, which means that we need to transpose the note up five semitones.
10. Click “Apply” to the right of the Transpose value field and close the
dialog.

22 TUTORIAL 3: USING THE REX EDITOR

11. Play the loop and you can hear and see that the note that before 3. Mute the track playing the Dr. Rex 2 device by clicking in the “M”
played Slice #7 has “moved up” so that it now plays Slice #12. column so that the “X” symbol appears.

4. Switch back to Arrange mode by clicking the “Switch to Arrange

Mode” button above the Track list.

5. Select the second group of notes between the Left and Right loca-
tors by clicking on it.
By using the same general method - selecting notes and transposing them using This will select all the notes in this Group. When you create notes using the
the Change Events dialog - you can reorder the playback order of the slices but “To Track” function, they will be grouped. A sepearate group is created for
still retain the inherent timing of the loop. each repeat of the loop.

Using the Alter Notes function

Let’s look at another way of reordering the playback of the slices. Here we will
use the Alter Notes function to randomly reorder the notes.
This is great way to create instant variations, again without losing the timing and
rhythmic feel of the loop!
1. Click on the track connected to the Dr. Rex 1 device in the Track list
to select it. 6. Switch back to Edit mode (see step 6).
The view changes in the sequencer window to display the notes playing the
7. Right-click (Win)/ [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on one of the selected notes
slices loaded in the “Dr. Rex 2” device.
and select “Change Events...” from the menu that appears.
2. In the Track list, click on the red “X” so that it disappears.
8. In the Alter Notes section of the Change Events dialog, click the
The track is now unmuted.
“Apply” button next to the Amount field.
9. If you now play back the loop you can hear that the loop has been
altered, but the basic timing and rhythmic feel of the loop is re-
tained!
The amount of “randomness” was in this case set to the default value 40%.
We also selected all the notes in the loop - but you could of course also use
Alter Notes on just a few selected notes.

TUTORIAL 3: USING THE REX EDITOR 23

 An example file D When you enter a note with the Pencil tool, the Snap to Grid value
determines the time value of the notes.
The previous examples illustrate some basic methods you can use to edit notes If Snap to Grid is activated this also affects the positioning of the entered
in the REX editor. Naturally, you can also manually draw new notes, move, quan- note, e.g. if a Grid resolution of 1/8 is selected from the pop-up menu, the
tize or delete existing notes etc., giving you full control over the notes playing the entered note will be positioned at the nearest 1/8 note position.
slices in the loop.
In the last part of this tutorial we will show you an example of notes playing a
loop that have been altered in the Rex editor. The first three bars play the original
loop, but the fourth has been edited to create a fill:
1. Select “Open” from the File menu.
Snap to Grid activated. The Grid resolution is set to 1/16th notes.
2. Navigate to the “Song Files” folder, select the file “Example 3.rsb” ,
and click Open. D Using the Arrow tool, you can move notes.
The track connected to the “Dr. Rex 1” device contains sequencer data. Snap to Grid, if activated, applies when you move notes as well.

3. Start playback by clicking the Play button on the Transport panel.

You will hear a one bar loop repeated four times, with the fourth containing a
drum fill.
4. Switch to Edit mode by clicking the button in the top left corner of
the sequencer toolbar. D Notes can be deleted by selecting them and pressing [Backspace].
D Selected notes can be quantized.
Quantize will automatically move selected notes to (or closer to) exact note
value positions.

You can see that a few notes have been added/changed in the last group of Here, the two selected notes will be quantized to the nearest 1/32 note position.
notes playing the Rex file. This basic methods that were used to achieve this lit- There are a myriad other features and functions in the sequencer that falls out-
tle drum fill are as follows: side the scope of this Quick Start tutorial, but hopefully we have given you an
D You can add notes using the Pencil tool. idea of some of the editing features available in the Rex editor.
In the next and last tutorial chapter we will take a look at the mighty NN-XT sam-
pler!

24 TUTORIAL 3: USING THE REX EDITOR

5 D Tutorial 4: Using REX files in the NN-XT sampler
 About this tutorial Tutorial 4: Using REX files
The NN-XT device included with Reason Adapted is an advanced sampler with
many unique features. Amongst many other things it can play back REX loops
in the NN-XT sampler
and it is this particular feature we will focus on in this tutorial chapter.
The tutorial will take you through the following basic steps: Loading a REX loop as a NN-XT patch
D Loading the REX file into the NN-XT. 1. Select “New” from the File menu.
A new Song document opens. If had another Song open, close it without
D Auditioning slices. saving it or save it under new name.
D How to create MIDI track data to play back the file from the se- 2. Locate the NN-XT in the rack.
quencer in Reason Adapted.
3. Click on the “Browse Patch” button to open the Patch browser.
D Selecting slices and edit focus.
D Applying Synth parameters.
D Applying Sample parameters.
D Using Groups.

4. Use the browser to locate the REX2 file “Clavinet.rx2” in the Audio
Files folder.

! Loading a new REX file as a Patch will replace any currently loaded
samples.

26 TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER

5. Click the small arrow button to open the Remote editor. Auditioning slices
When you open a new Song only the main panel of the NN-XT is shown.
There are two basic methods you can use to audition the slices in NN-XT:
D By pressing [Alt] (Win)/[Option] (Mac) and clicking the slices in the
sample list to the left.
D By pressing [Alt] (Win)/[Option] (Mac) and clicking the in the key-
board area at the top of the display.
Alternatively, if you have a MIDI keyboard connected and MIDI is directed to
the NN-XT (see the Reason Getting Started” manual for details) you can
play the slices from your keyboard. The first slice is always mapped to the
C1 key.
Click here...
If the first method is used, the slices are played back “raw”, without any applied
panel settings.
If you later apply Synth parameters to the slices these will only be heard when
auditioning using the second method (or via MIDI).

About Zones
NN-XT uses a concept of Zones. A Zone is basically a container for samples. In
the case of REX files each slice plays a sample - a short audio file. When you
load a Rex loop as a NN-XT Patch, each slice/sample gets it’s own Zone, and
each Zone can be processed independently using Synth or Sample parameters.
In this tutorial we will refer to slices, not zones, just to keep it simple.

Creating MIDI track data to play back the REX

loop
When using REX files in the DR. Rex loop player, it is possible to make a track
play the slices in order to recreate the original loop using the “To Track” func-
tion. To do the same in the NN-XT requires a few extra steps:
1. Load the “Clavinet.rx2” Rex file into the “Dr. Rex 1” device.
...to open the Remote editor.
2. Select the track connected to the NN-XT by clicking on it in the
The Remote editor contains a large Key Map display and a large array of knobs Track list.
and buttons. This will automatically bring the NN-XT into view in the rack. Scroll the rack
As you can see the slices are mapped in a similar fashion to notes in the REX ed- view so that the “Dr. Rex 1” device is visible.
itor, with one slice per semitone step. 3. Use the “To Track” function on the Dr. Rex 1 device to create play-
back data on the track assigned to the NN-XT.
A warning will appear stating that you are about to create Track data on a
track not connected to the same device. As this is exactly what we want to
do in this case, click OK. The track data will appear between the Left and
Right locators.
4. Now if you activate playback, the loop will be played back correctly.
This time we are using a funky 4 bar clavinet loop.

TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER 27

 Selecting slices and edit focus Applying NN-XT Synth parameters
D You select slices by clicking on them, either in the sample list to the
left or in the Key Map display itself.
Selected slices are dark blue. Hold down [Shift] and click to select several
slices.

The pointer is on the slice with edit focus.

In the NN-XT, one, several selected or all slices can be affected by the Synth pa-
When selecting slices this way the last slice you click on always has a thicker,
rameters. This is a powerful feature if you’re into tweaking the sound of your
light blue border. This is the slice that currently has edit focus.
loops.
D When you select one or more slices, the Synth parameter settings Try filtering a few slices:
for the slice with edit focus is shown on the NN-XT panel.
1. Select the first two slices in the loop.
When you load a Rex file, all slices are automatically assigned to the same The first slice is always mapped to the C1 key.
Group (more on Groups later).
D To select all the slices in the current Group, click in the “G” column
to the left of the list of slices.

As we mentioned before, the panel settings now shown applies to the slice with
edit focus, but any parameter change applied will affect both selected slices.

Click here to select all slices in the Group.

28 TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER

2. Set the Filter Frequency to around 4 kHz and the Filter Resonance Applying Sample parameters
to about 50%.

Single Sample Multiple Sample

parameters parameters

The row of Sample parameters located below the window display are divided
into two groups: single and multiple, indicated by the color scheme on the panel.
D Single Sample parameters are only applicable to one selected slice
(the slice with edit focus).
D Multiple Sample parameters will affect all selected slices.

Single Sample parameters

3. Click Play to hear how the filter affects the first two slices.
The single Sample parameters are as follows:
NN-XT’s ability to apply Synth parameters to either individually selected or to all
slices means that you could quite easily select several slices that have indepen- D Root sets the basic pitch of the slice in semitone steps.
dent or conflicting Synth parameters while editing. If you happen to do this, the
parameter(s) with conflicting settings in the current selection of slices will dis- D Tune lets you fine tune the slice pitch.
play a small “M” (for multiple) symbol, next to the parameter(s). D The Start and End parameters allows you adjust the start and end
4. Select all the slices in the Group by clicking the “G” column to the points of the slice.
left of the list of slices. For example, adjusting the Start parameter will cause the slice to start “fur-
ther into” the slice.
D The Loop parameters allows you to loop samples so that when you
hold down a key on a keyboard the sample will loop continuously.
Loop parameters are not readily applicable to REX slices, although they can
be, see “Using Looping functions” below.
D Play mode lets you chose one of several modes of sample/slice
playback.
You can amongst other things reverse the playback of individual slices,
which is a cool and useful feature. See “Reversing the playback of a slice”.

As you can see, the Filter parameters we just adjusted are different to the D The Lo and Hi Key parameters lets you adjust the Key Range for the
rest of the slices, indicated by the “M” symbol. If you adjust the same Filter Zone containing the selected slice.
parameters again, all slices will get the same Filter setting and the symbol Rex slices are meant to play back using one slice per semitone step so
will disappear. changing the Key Range is not really applicable to Rex loops. If you should
extend the Key Range for a slice, the slice will be triggered several times (by
D This general method of selecting slices and applying Synth param- the following notes) and also be chromatically transposed.
eters thus allows each individual slice to have it’s own set of Synth
parameter settings.
The main NN-XT Synth parameters (Filter/Envelopes/LFO’s) are basically
the same as those in Dr. Rex, so we will not describe these further.

TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER 29

 Multiple Sample parameters 5. Adjust the Play mode Sample parameter so that “BW” is shown in
the display directly above the parameter knob.
We will only describe one of the multiple Sample parameters; the “Out” param-
eter. The other Multiple parameters deal with velocity and crossfading which we
won’t go into in this Quick Start manual.
D The “Out” parameter lets you route one or several selected slices to
other outputs.
For example, this enables you to add different effect processing to certain
sounds in the loop, see “Routing slices to different outputs”.
Ok, let’s try a few practical examples of using Sample parameters:

Reversing the playback of a slice

Reversing slices can produce interesting effects. In this example we will reverse 6. Repeat steps 4-5 for slice 20.
two slices in a loop to add some variation (Select Close from the File menu to You may have to scroll down the view to select slice 20.
close the current Song document and select “Don’t Save” in the followinging di-
alog unless you wish to Save it):
1. Select Open from the File menu.
2. Browse to the “Song Files” folder and select the “Example 4.rsb”
file.
The NN-XT is loaded with a 2 bar drum loop, and note data to play the loop
has already been created on the Track.
3. Click Play to listen to the loop, and then stop playback.
4. Select Slice 4 in the Sample list.
The slice numbers are shown after the slice name in the list.

Click here to scroll the view.

7. Now play the loop again and you can hear how the reversed slices
add variation to the original loop.
Stop playback, but leave things as they are and continue.

30 TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER

Routing slices to different outputs 7. Scroll the rack view so that you can see the back of the NN-XT main
panel and the back of the Mixer.
We’ll use the same Reason Song for this example, so we can just move along. In
this example we will route the “Ahh” sounds in the loop to separate outputs and
add a reverb effect to them:
1. Hold down [Alt] (Win)/[Option] (Mac) and click slice 10 in the sam-
ple list to the left.
As you can hear this slice is the “Ahh” sound. Click on it again without press-
ing [Alt]/[Option] to select the slice.
2. With slice 10 still selected, scroll down the sample/slice list until
you can see slice 22.
3. Press [Shift] and select slice 22.
Now, both “Ahh” sounds are selected.
4. Adjust the “Out” parameter so that it reads “3-4” above the param-
eter.

8. Click and hold on NN-XT’s Audio Out 3 connector and quickly move
the pointer away from the connector.
You are now holding a virtual cable!

5. If you play the loop you will hear that the “Ahh” sounds are missing,
leaving two gaps in the loop.
Stop playback.
Up until now we have not dealt with the “other half” of the Reason rack - that is
the back.
6. Press the [Tab] key or select Toggle Rack Front/Rear from the Op-
tions menu.
The rack is flipped around to reveal the back of all devices in the rack, with
cables connecting devices to the Mixer.

TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER 31

 9. Continue to keep the mouse button down and move the cable up to 10. When the Mixer Input 3 is red, release the mouse button.
the channel 3 Left input on the Mixer (sse picture below). The NN-XT Outputs 3-4 are now connected to the Mixer channel 3!
11. Press the [Tab] key to view the rack front again.
12. Adjust the Aux 1 Send knob for Mixer Channel 3 to about 12 o’clock.

Click, hold and drag here...

The Send is connected to the RV7000 Reverb effect, which in this example has
a “ping-pong” delay program loaded. The Send 1 can be used for each channel
in the Mixer to apply reverb. The higher the Send level, the more noticable the
effect.
13. Start playback.
As you now can hear, the “Ahh” slices are affected by the RV7000, but the
other slices are not.

...and move the cable to the Mixer channel 3 left input.

32 TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER

Using Looping functions D We have set the Amp Envelope (which controls how the volume of a
slice/sample changes over time) so that the looped section doesn’t
The ability to loop samples is an essential function of any sampler. Samples that sustain at an equal level but gradually fades out.
should have infinite sustain like an organ for example (where the sound is heard This is achieved by lowering the Sustain (“S” knob) to a minimal level and
for as long as you hold down a key), have to be looped. adjusting the Decay (“D” knob) to control the fading out of the looped sec-
REX files, however, are normally played back by short notes that trigger the tion.
slices, so applying looping may seem odd.
Let’s take a look at an example file playing the same Clavinet file we used earlier.
1. Select Open from the File menu.
2. Browse to the “Song files” folder and select the “Example 5.rsb”
Song file.
3. Play the Song.
As you can hear the first slice is looped!
With slice 1 selected in NN-XT, we have done the following to accomplish this:
D The Play Mode parameter has been set to “FW-BW” which plays the
looped section of the slice forward and then backward.
Normally this wouldn’t be heard as the note playing the slice is too short. D Finally, we adjusted the Loop End Sample parameter so that the
looped cycle roughly corresponds to the tempo of the loop.
D The note playing the slices has been resized so that the looped sec- Note that if you changed the sequencer tempo the rhythmic cycle produced
tion will be heard. by the Looping would still be the same, in other words it will not follow
To resize a note, select it and point the mouse at the handle (the black tempo changes.
square at the end of the note), then click and drag to resize.
Grouping slices
When you load REX loop into the NN-XT, all slices are placed in their own Zone,
and all the Zones belong to a single Group. By creating a new Group for certain
slices in a loop, you can instantly select these slices by selecting the Group.
In the next example we will isolate all the snare slices in a loop and create a new
Group for them:
1. Select Open from the File menu.
2. Browse to the “Song files” folder and select the “Example 6.rsb”
Song file.
The Song opens, with Track data for the NN-XT. If you start playback, you
will be able to hear the same loop we used in the first two Tutorials, short-
ened to 1 bar.
3. [Ctrl]-click (Win) / [Alt]-click (Mac) each slice in the sample list to
determine which of the slices are snare samples and note the slice
numbers.
Or if you want to fib, go to the next step!

TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER 33

 4. Hold down [Shift] and select slices 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12. Using this method, selecting slices that “belong together” becomes much eas-
ier. You can still select individual slices in the new Group just as before, but to
select all of them is now a simple matter of clicking once in the “G” column!

5. Pull down the Edit menu and select “Group selected Zones”.

6. The selected slices (or Zones) have been moved to the new Group,
and have been placed under the other slices in the original Group.

34 TUTORIAL 4: USING REX FILES IN THE NN-XT SAMPLER

6 D Tutorial 5: Automating parameters
 Tutorial 5: Automating The NN-XT is playing a Clavinet loop, Dr. Rex 1 a bass loop and Dr. Rex 2 a
drum loop.
In this example we will automate the Amp Envelope Decay parameter for Dr.
parameters in Reason Rex 2 device. The basic method we will use is to physically move the param-
eter while recording, so make sure that the Dr. Rex 2 panel is visible in the
In this final tutorial we will show you how you can easily automate any parameter rack, and that you know where the Amp Envelope Decay parameter is lo-
in Reason Adapted for ReCycle. Proceed as follows: cated on the Dr. Rex 2 panel.
1. Select “Open...” from the File menu.
2. Locate the file “Example 7.rsb” in the “Song Files” folder and open
it.
Two tracks are muted in the Track list - leave them as they are for now. If you
are eagle-eyed you may also have noticed that certain parameters have a
green rectangle around them. - the same applies here, don’t change any-
thing.
3. Click Play to audition the Song.
Here we have three of the loops we have used in previous tutorials playing
together over 21 bars. You don’t have to listen to the whole “Song”, the
loops are just repeated.

This is the parameter we will automate - make sure you automate the parameter for Dr.
Rex 2 and not one of the other Dr. Rex devices!

4. Select the track connected to Dr. Rex 2.

To automate parameters for a device, MIDI In has to be activated for the Track
connected to it, regardless whether you have a MIDI interface connected or not.

36 TUTORIAL 5: AUTOMATING PARAMETERS

5. Click in the “In” column for the Dr. Rex 2 track so that a MIDI symbol 10. Now play back and keep an eye on the parameter we just auto-
appears. mated.
Now you are ready to record automation for the Dr. Rex 2 device. As the Song plays back, the slider will move, following the exact movements
you just recorded! The parameter is surrounded by a green border to indi-
cate that it is automated.

You can use the same basic method to automate any parameter in Reason. Next
we will look at an example where several parameters are automated:
11. Click on the two red “X” symbols in the Track list to unmute these
6. Click the [1] key on your numerical keypad so that the position is Tracks (the X symbol should not be shown).
set to the Left Locator.
12. Using the same method, mute the track playing Dr. Rex 2.
7. Click the Record button on the Transport so that it lights up.
8. Click Play to start recording.
Move the Amp Envelope Decay parameter slider down gradually, until the
drums sound like “biscuit tins”, and move the slider gradually up again.
9. Press Stop to stop recording.
Click the [1] key again on your numerical keypad to reset the position.

TUTORIAL 5: AUTOMATING PARAMETERS 37

 13. Then scroll up to the Mixer and click once on the Mute button for
channel 1 so that the green border disappears and the button turns
red.

14. Click the Stop button and then start playback and listen the whole
way through.
The Song starts with 4 bars of just the bass loop, then the clavinet comes in, and
finally the drum loop is gradually filtered in to the mix! This was all done using au-
tomation in the way we have described it.
D To automate Mixer parameters you select the track appropriately
named Mixer Automation and record your actions.
The mute on/off status for the mixer channels connected to the NN-XT (clavi-
net) and the Dr. Rex 2 (drum loop) have in this case been automated.
This concludes the ReCycle + Reason Quick Start Guide. Hopefully, you will
have gained some insight into the possibilities of both applications, as well as
some practical user experience!
As you continue to delve deeper into ReCycle and Reason Adapted, dont forget
to consult the respective documentation that came with the package.
We hope you will enjoy working with your new software!

38 TUTORIAL 5: AUTOMATING PARAMETERS