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James Bernard .plan

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And the hits keep coming... 52 Reason and Record Tips week 4 is live! 2010-03-12 14:46

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52 Reason and Record Tips Week 3 is live! 2010-03-04 17:05

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52 Reason and Record Tips Week 2! 2010-02-25 22:01

The 1st of a two part series on creating Dubstep wobble bass sounds.

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It's here.. 52 Reason and Record Tips Week 1! 2010-02-18 21:00

Here is the first episode of 52 Reason and Record Tips!

I have also created a Facebook Fan Page for all of my Propellerhead Related content ...so.. become a fan!

And a Vimeo Page as well!

http://www.vimeo.com/user3205543

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JB .plan file ReSurrect! 2010-02-12 17:06

Hi all! Been a VERY long time since I posted something to the .plan file... without going into the messy details let's just say that I am very happy to have 2009 over with.

Now for the fun... no ReSurrect is not a new product.. got your attention though, eh?

I am in the beginning stages of putting together something new, exciting and fun for my .plan file.. drumroll please.....

COMING SOON... James Bernard's 52 Reason and Record Tips!

Each week there will be a new video tutorial with a quick Reason and Record tip from the archives of my brain (at least the areas of it that are for mass consumption... I'll keep the voices to myself). There will also be a Facebook Fan page and I will gladly accept suggestions of tips/tutorials from you all!

I also plan on sharing any content (refills/.rx2 files) that goes along with the tutorials when it calls for it (Dubstep Wobble bass sounds with tweakable Wobble speed anyone?).

So watch this space next week as we begin the exciting journey of 52 Reason and Record Tips!

Comments (7)

Organized Refills 2009-03-31 21:50

I was speaking with an artist the other day who was having some issues when loading song files that could not locate a sound from a specific refill and it occurred to me that something I do as a rule might be of some use.

If you have a lot of refills on both an internal and external hard drives and ever find yourself in a situation where you need to locate a sound from a refill that you just can't remember the location of... try this refill organization setup that I use:

Main categories:

Instruments

Music Genres

Propellerhead

Other

Most every refill will fall into these main categories and you can then create sub categories for each... for example:

Instruments Folder

subfolders:

Drums

Guitar and Bass

Synths

Voice

World

Thor

So lets say I load a song and it comes up with a dialog saying please located the refill "Drum Machines"... I know that if I look in the Instruments / Drums folder on either my internal or external harddrive I will find it there. Or say it asks for "Aquasky Electro House and Breaks".... I go to my Music Genres / Breaks folder and boom... there it is.

Using the method of categories may take a bit of time to switch over to at first (took me about 3 hours time initially).. but once you do, it makes the process of finding sounds when inspiration strikes or loading an old song file much faster.

Comments (3)

Video using TouchOSC to control Reason... 2009-02-12 19:27

Ok.. finally uploading this!

Any questions please email me.

And here is the OSCulator template.

http://www.propellerheads.se/substance/product-specialist/img/b log/TouchOSC Template.oscd

Comments (4)

Been a long time... 2009-02-02 18:22

Sorry for the lack of posting on my part! Between the holdays/NAMM and other things (being a father of three girsl ain't easy ya know!).. the blog suffered a bit.

I promised some videos of the Touch OSC and iPod Touch being used to control Reason over WiFi and I will post those soon... I promise!

In the meantime.... here is something else to chew on.

I have been playing around with a new way of using ReCycle to creat music similar in sound to artists like Surkin, Justice and the whole Banger records/Paris Nu Rave style.

Basically, you open up any section of a recorded piece of music (for example... Stevie Wonder "Do I Do"). Then tun the sensitivity slider all the way up (see pic 1) and let Recycle pick lots of slices, making sure to keep them under 99 slices max or you cannot open it in a Dr.RexPlayer.

Now load into a Dr. Rex player and instead of using the "To Track" button, play the keys of a controller keyboard until you find some slices that work together. Now play a new pattern using those slices. Keep experimenting until you get something you like.

See the attached mp3 file  for an example of how it would sound.

http://www.propellerheads.se/substance/product-specialist/img/bl og/chops.mp3

When used like this, you will not ever be able to tell what the original sample was and it creates a very "choppy" feel.

Try lots of different music sources.. go as far away from the style of music you are trying to create as possible and you will get some unique sounds.

Comments (5)

Wireless Midi... the future is now! 2008-11-21 20:32

In my ongoing quest for new ways to use and control Reason, I have always been drawn to different and unusual controller surfaces. For the last 2 years I have been using a Wiimote to control Reason over bluetooth with success (especially in live performance)... and wondered aloud why no hardware control surface manufacturers were exploring that area.

About 2 months ago during our Producers Conference in Atlanta, Kurt Kurasaki (aka Peff) was showing me an application on his iPhone that used WiFi and OSC (Open Sound Control) along with OSCulator, and he was controlling Reason with it! I was dumbfounded.. but could not bring myself to getting an iPhone just for this purpose (cool as it was).. and honestly I still do not see how anyone can justify the monthly costs of an iPhone... but that's just me...

Then I remembered.... the iPod Touch shares a lot of what the iPhone has minus the hefty monthly charges... WiFi, AppStore, Email and yes.. even VoIP when you use a headset with microphone (trust me.. I have already done this on my last overseas trip... nothing like calling home from Frankfurt Airport for 5 cents a minute).

So, I purchased my new 16GB iPod touch (2nd Gen), got online on my home WiFi network.. went to the app store and purchased TouchOSC. I downloaded the templates for OSCulator that support TouchOSC and got to work setting up the iPod touch to communicate with my macbook over WiFi (I suggest you set up a new network - computer to computer).

Once I established connection between TouchOSC running on the iPod and OSCulator running on the macbook... I opened up Reason and created a new control surface (Midi Keyboard with Controls), selected OSCulator out as the MIDI input.. and BAMMO.... I was controlling Reason from my iPod!!!!!!

Not only was it working flawlessly... but the range is INCREDIBLE... I was walking all around my house playing the Keyboard mode of TouchOSC and triggering Reason with VERY low latency (equal to that of any USB connected controller I have used). To say I am excited about the possibilites of this is an understatement... FINALLY the future is here!!

Now all that's left to do is get to work on making a Remote script for use with TouchOSC (I am tinkering with that now).

For the $3.99 that TouchOSC costs, the $19 minimum donation to register OSCulator and the $300 for the 16GB iPod touch it's easily the best $325 I have ever spent.

Next week I will post a quick video showing how this all works together... in the meantime here are some links for you to check it out. Note that this all works for both iPhone and iPod Touch (1st and 2nd Gen).

TouchOSC
http://hexler.net/touchosc

OSCulator
http://www.osculator.net/wiki/

Comments (10)

Using Reason for Live Performance 2008-10-30 20:49

A lot of people have asked me how I set up Reason when I perform live. Here is a diagram showing the connections.

The idea is to treat Reason like you are spinning/mixing vinyl records, since you can open and play multiple Reason songs at the same time.

By using an audio interface with 4 outputs, you can assign 1 Reason song to outs 1&2 and the second song to outs 3&4 (using the audio outputs on the hardware device at the top of the rack). On the DJ mixer you have the ability to cue the second song while the first song is playing without the crowd hearing the secong song (using the crossfader).

Syncing the two songs together is a rather easy process as well. You have the ability to change the tempo on either song since Reason does not automatically lock the two songs together. I usually start with a set tempo and when I load the next song I set it to the same tempo as the song that is playing, then start it on the downbeat and nudge the tempo +/- using the + and - keys of a usb numberpad until the second song is locked into the same tempo. Now mix into the second song using the crossfader.. once the second song has taken over.. close the first song and repeat the process.

Make sure you remember to route the audio of each song to the correct set of outputs before you press play.. I have had a few gigs where after a drink or two..I loaded up the next song which was supposed to be on outs 3&4 and pressed play before checking the output assignments... of course the song began playing on the same outputs as the song that was playing previously... oops...

Some cool things that happen when using Reason this way...

Any USB controllers you have connected will control the first song you open and then as you open and close new songs it will jump to the next song you had opened after the first.

You can start and stop each song independently of each other just by selecting the song and pressing the spacebar.

You could have a song that has a full arrangement and play another song which is just an improv style loop or samples to trigger on top of it.

Everybody that comes up to see what you are using will probably say... "I can't believe you are using Reason live"

If I have missed anything or you need some clarification.. please comment!

Comments (8)

ReGroove Booster

This refill contains 66 new patches for one of the exciting new features of Reason version 4, the ReGroove Mixer. The ReGroove Mixer is a great tool for making the feel of your songs less rigid and cold, which can often be the case when using quantization on any sequencer. Many of these ReGroove patches contain not just timing/shuffle feel, but also Note Velocity and Note Length variations. These patches can be applied to any track in your sequences, try them on bass or keyboard parts... or even the whole song... you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

A few things to know when using the ReGroove Mixer:

• To load any patches into the ReGroove Mixer, press the ReGroove Mixer icon (lower right hand side of the transport) and the press the folder icon of the desired Channel location (ex. A1).
• Make sure the Channel you are using is enabled (ON is illuminated at the top of the channel). If you would like to adjust the Timing, Velocity or Note Length Impact, make sure the EDIT button is on in the Channel you wish edit. Press F8 to bring up the Tool window, and then select Groove at the top of the Tool Window.
• ReGroove can only be used with notes that are recorded into clips on a sequencer track, not pattern devices (ReDrum, Matrix, RPG-8). If you would like to try out any ReGroove patches on parts that exist in a pattern device, you must use the copy pattern to track function to get the pattern converted to notes.
• In order to hear any Note Velocity changes when using ReGroove with a Dr. Rex loop player, you must first enable velocity to modify the Amp by turning the AMP knob clockwise (look under the VELOCITY section on the left of the module... near the Mod Wheel).
• Remember that you can create your own ReGroove patches as well from any sequenced material in a song (I suggest limiting it to 4 bars at the most). This includes any MIDI data that is created when you load a .rx2 file into a Dr. Rex Loop Player and press the TO TRACK button.

The R eGroove Tutorial .rns file is a song which has some tracks for you to test out the groove patches that are included in this refill. Try different ReGroove patches on the tracks and you will get an idea of how power ReGroove mixer really is!

In all my travel and presentations I have found that the ReGroove Mixer seems to be one of the most under-used features in Reason version 4, and I hope that after trying out some of these new patches you are inspired to use it more in your productions.

JB Vol.4 - ReGroove Booster
(Available as a free download to all registered Reason version 4 users.)

Comments (1)

Multiband Toolbox

The third installment of the James Bernard Free ReFill series focuses on an interesting concept: Multi-Band processing using the Combinator.

The Multi-Band Toolbox ReFill uses the Combinator as an effects device and does not contain any "sound" patches at all. It is meant to be used to process either the entire mix of a song by loading one of the patches into the Combinator Mastering Device at the top of the Reason Rack, or as an insert effect after a device that you would like to process.

The Multi-Band Toolbox gives you the capability to do Multi-Band compression and limiting (4 and 8 band versions) but also includes ways of using it for other things like effects and sound design. The real power and beauty of this Refill is revealed when you open up the patch (by pressing the Show Devices button) and tweak the parameters for each band's device individually.

J B Vol.3 - Multi-Band Toolbox

Update from James Bernard:

"After creating the initial Multiband Toolbox refill some users has commented that using some of the mastering patches "changed" the timbre or sound of the mix. After doing some testing on my own and discussing it with the head DSP guru at Propellerhead Software I came to a conclusion. I did it incorrectly.

Apparently the BV-512 does not use Phase Linear filters, and because I used it to do all the band splits it could change the timbre of the audio even if no effects or additional proccesing is applied. So.. I was told that using the M-Class Stereo Imager (which DOES use Phase Linear filters!) I could do the band splits and not have any change in timbre.

It's not as easy to do the band splitting using Stereo Imagers, but the hard work was worth it. I decided that the only patches that really needed this special attention were the Mastering patches, let's be honest....you don't need Phase Linear filters on a mutilband bit crusher, you are already intending to alter the timbre if you use that patch. This update contains new Mastering Patches using the Stereo Imagers to do the splits, as well as a 4 band and 8 band template for you to experiment with as well."

JB Vol.3 - Multi-Band Toolbox (Mastering tools update)

The update comes with updated combinator patches from the mastering tools section of the Multiband Toolbox.

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Modular Madness

The second installment of the James Bernard Free ReFill series is here. This ReFill is called Modular Madness, and rightly so. The ReFill consists of a collection of heavily processed synth and drum loops that have escaped the Propellerhead labs. The loops were created using Reason in a modular approach, which you can hear from the results.

The ReFill also contains two drum kits for Redrum in the same style.

If you are looking for something to spice up the holiday season, download Modular Madness today and help yourself to a tweaked out Christmas. Your family will love it!

J B Vol.2 - Modular Madness

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Weird and Wonderful

The first installation of the James Bernard Free Refill Series has arrived: Song Starters Volume 1 - Weird and Wonderful. The concept behind this Refill is to make it possible to compose/perform an entire song based on just one Combinator Patch, and show the power of Reason 3.0. Factory Soundbank is the only source for samples/patches, and in many cases new patches were created from scratch.

The name says it all - download Weird and Wonderful yourself and get playing (free to all registered users of Reason 3.0)!

Song Starters Volume 1 - Weird and Wonderful

Weird and Wonderful patch list

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