Reason+ Rack Extensions Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin | Reason+ Rack Extensions
Layers WAVE Edition
The Layers WAVE Edition Rack Extension is a special edition of the Layers Quadrasonic Sample Player designed for creating great impressive sounds in a very straight-forward and uncomplicated way.
If you already own Layers Quadrasonic Sample Player, you will be familiar with most of the features and operation, but you will notice a completely different sonic palette and a few additional or slightly changed features. We'll look at them in “What’s special about the Layers WAVE Edition?” below.
If the Layers concept is new to you, here is some brief additional information:
Each of the four sound engines in Layers WAVE Edition can hold one multi-sampled instrument each. The instruments can be filtered, processed and sculpted individually. Each sound engine also features individual distortion and flanger effects. You can then layer the Sound Engines to create really massive and evolving sounds.
Layers WAVE Edition also has global stereo delay, reverb and compression effects to spice up the sound even more. In addition to this there is a built-in trig sequencer which lets you create really nice rhythmic and animated patterns in your sounds.
The multi-samples in Layers WAVE Edition originate from the legendary Waldorf Wave, a monster hybrid digital-analog wavetable synthesizer that was built only a few hundred times in the mid 90s and used by the crème de la crème of synthesizer artists. More on this below.
#What’s special about the Layers WAVE Edition?
The Layers WAVE Edition is a technically almost identical version of the Layers Quadrasonic Sample Player. However, the source material (multi-samples) has been completely replaced and a few features have been modified or added.
The original multi-samples of the Layers WAVE Edition were created by industry-acclaimed sound designer Peter Gorges in 1995 using the legendary Waldorf Wave synthesizer, and remastered and rounded up by a few functional bonus sounds in 2018 for this Rack Extension. The Waldorf Wave features the very unique Wavetable synthesis, made famous by the PPG Wave, offering an often metallic, digital, harsh and cut-through sound character that was instrumental in shaping the sound of the 80s.
The multi-samples you will find in Layers WAVE Edition take the sonic capabilities of the Waldorf Wave to a level unachievable even with the original, because every sample is created using 8 voices of the Wave stacked in Unison mode. In this mode, a real Waldorf Wave is only duophonic, whereas Layers WAVE Edition gives you full polyphony even when stacking four layers on top of each other. Many of those sounds are not available on the original Waldorf Wave because they were custom analyzed and edited particularly for this soundset.
Layers WAVE Edition builds on the original Layers Quadrasonic Sample Player. Here is a list of changes and additions compared to the original Rack Extension:
•
Entirely different exclusive multi-sample content
59 multi-samples recorded from the Waldorf Wave plus 12 analog layering add-ons.
•
Multi-band compressor presets per Layer
To tame the often brute spectral force of the Wave, we have added multi-band compressor presets for every Layer that let you subtly compress dynamics and shape the low or high end.
•
Key Zones per Layer
You can now create split sounds by setting key zones for every layer.
•
Dynamic Sample Start
The Sample Start parameter has been modified under the hood to allow for velocity control of the sample start.
•
Poly/Mono Mode per Layer
The Global mode parameter has been replaced by a Voice Mode parameter per Layer, particularly useful in Split presets, but also for creating e.g. pad/lead combinations.
#Trademark disclaimer
External trademarks referred to within the Layers Operation Manual are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademarks holders are affiliated with Reason Studios or our products. The referrals to these trademarks do not in any way constitute trademark use. Nor does the use of these trademarks intend to explore the goodwill associated with these trademarks.
#Loading and saving patches
Loading and saving patches is done in the same way as with any other internal Reason/Reason Essentials device. See the “Sounds and Patches” chapter in the Reason/Reason Essentials Operation Manual pdf for details.
#Performance and “play” controls
#Pitch
The Pitch bend wheel can be used for bending note pitches up and down. Layers WAVE Edition also responds to Pitch Bend MIDI data from a connected MIDI master keyboard. You set the desired Pitch bend Range with the “P. Range” control to the right of the Mod wheel.
#Mod
The Mod wheel can be used for controlling a number of predefined parameters in Layers WAVE Edition. These parameters have a corresponding control named “Wheel”.
#P. Range
*
Set the desired Pitch Bend range for the “Pitch” wheel with the up/down buttons, or by click-holding on the display and dragging up/down.
Range: +/-12 semitones (+/-1 octave) in steps of +/-1 semitone.
Layers WAVE Edition features four identical Sound Engines (Layer A-D), which can be layered together. Each Sound Engine can hold a multi-sampled instrument, which can be modulated and controlled from the Sound Engine panel, as well as from the Programmer panel below Sound Engine D, see “Programmer”.
The four Sound Engines feature identical parameters and controls:
#Instrument selector
*
Click on the display to bring up a list of the included instruments, and then select the desired instrument from the list.
Alternatively, click the Up/Down buttons to step up/down in the list and load and instrument.
#Edit
*
Click the Edit button to select the corresponding Sound Engine for editing from the Programmer, see “Programmer”.
One Sound Engine at a time can be edited from the Programmer panel.
#Mute
*
Click the Mute button to mute, and thereby exclude, the corresponding Sound Engine from the mix.
#Oct
*
Set the octave for the corresponding Sound Engine.
Range: 7 (+/-3) octaves.
#The Filter section
#Filter display and selector
*
Click on and drag up/down on the Filter display to select one of the available filter types - or step through the filter types by clicking the Up/Down arrow buttons.
The available filter types are:
•
LP24
A lowpass filter with 24db/octave slope.
•
LP18
A lowpass filter with 18db/octave slope.
•
LP12
A lowpass filter with 12db/octave slope.
•
LP6
A lowpass filter with 6db/octave slope.
•
BP
A bandpass filter with 12db/octave slopes.
•
HP
A highpass filter with 12db/octave slope.
#Res
*
Set the resonance amount with the RES knob.
The resonance parameter amplifies the frequencies at, and around the cutoff/center frequency.
#Cutoff
*
Set the cutoff/center frequency with the CUTOFF knob.
The cutoff parameter sets where in the frequency range you want the resonance and attenuation to appear.
#Env
*
With the ENV knob you set how much you want the Filter Envelope in the Programmer section to affect the CUTOFF frequency.
See “Filter” for information on how to use the Filter Envelope in the Programmer section.
#The Effects control section
In this section you set what effects you want to use and/or how much of the effects you want to mix with the corresponding Sound Engine signal.
#Dist
*
Click the DIST button to switch on/off the Dist effect in the Programmer section.
#Amt
*
Set the Dist effect amount with the AMT knob.
See “Dist” for information on how to set up the distortion parameters in the Programmer section.
#Flanger
*
Click the FLANGER button to switch on/off the Flanger effect in the Programmer section.
See “Flanger” for information on how to set up the Flanger parameters in the Programmer section.
#Delay
*
Turn the DELAY knob to set the signal level to the global Delay send effect.
See “Delay” for information on how to set up the Delay effect.
#Rev
*
Turn the REV knob to set the signal level to the global Reverb send effect.
See “Reverb” for information on how to set up the Reverb effect.
#The Amp Envelope section
*
Set the panning of the output of the corresponding Sound Engine in the stereo panorama with the PAN knob.
The Amp Envelope is a standard ADSR envelope which controls the amplitude of the corresponding Sound Engine over time. The picture below shows the various stages of the ADSR envelope:
The ADSR envelope stages.
#A(ttack)
When you play a note on your keyboard, the envelope is triggered. This means it starts rising from zero to the value set with the Volume slider (see “Vol”). How long this should take, depends on the Attack setting. If the Attack is set to “0”, the Volume value is reached instantly. If the Attack value is raised, it will take longer time before the Volume value is reached.
#D(ecay)
After the Volume value has been reached, the level starts to drop. How long this should take is governed by the Decay parameter.
If you want to emulate the volume envelope of a note played on a piano for example, the Attack should be set to “0”, the Decay parameter should be set to a medium value and the Sustain level should be set to “0”, so that the volume gradually decreases down to silence, even if you keep holding the key down. Should you want the decay to drop to some other value than zero, you raise the Sustain parameter.
#S(ustain)
The Sustain parameter determines the level the envelope should rest at, after the Decay stage. If you set Sustain to full level, the Decay setting is of no importance since the volume of the sound is never lowered.
If you want to emulate the volume envelope of an organ, you theoretically only really need to use the Sustain parameter set to full level, as a basic organ volume envelope instantly goes to the maximum level (Attack “0”) and stays there (Decay “0”), until the key is released and the sound instantly stops (Release “0”).
But often a combination of Decay and Sustain is used to generate envelopes that rise up to the Volume value, then gradually decreases to finally land to rest on a level somewhere in-between zero and the Volume value. Note that Sustain represents a level, whereas the other envelope parameters represent times.
#R(elease)
The Release parameter works just like the Decay parameter, except it determines the time it takes for the volume to drop back to zero after you release the key.
#Vol
Here you set the maximum output volume of the corresponding Sound Engine.
The Programmer is where you set up the parameters for the Layer Sound Engine that currently has edit focus.
*
Set edit focus to the desired Sound Engine, either by clicking the Edit button in the Sound Engine section, or by clicking the desired Edit Focus button in the Programmer section:
The Edit button in the Layer A Sound Engine.
The Edit Focus buttons in the Programmer.
#Layer Range
You can define a MIDI note range for each Layer by setting the corresponding MIDI note number (Middle C = 60). Use this to create two- to four-fold splits or to limit certain layers to support the bass or lead range.
#Layer Mode
Here you choose how Layers WAVE Edition should respond to MIDI Note data:
#Poly
Select this if you want to play Layers WAVE Edition polyphonically (chords).
#Mono
Select this if you want to play Layers WAVE Edition in a monophonic fashion and always retrigger the envelopes as soon as you play a new note. The Mono Mode is "Last", i.e. it will always play the last note received. Note that the four Sound Engines are monophonic individually. This means that if you use the Trig Sequencer (see “Trig Sequencer”), there might be up to four separate monophonic sounds sounding at different pitches at the same time - one for each Sound Engine - depending on the Amp Envelope settings.
#Pitch controls
#Semi
*
Turn the SEMI knob to change the Sound Engine pitch in semitone steps.
Range: +/-12 semitones (two octaves).
#Fine
*
Turn the FINE knob to change the Sound Engine pitch in steps of 1 cent.
Range: +/- 50 cents (down or up half a semitone).
#LFO1
*
Turn the LFO1 knob to set how much the Sound Engine’s pitch should be modulated by LFO1.
See “LFO 1” for information about the LFO1 parameters.
#LFO2
*
Turn the LFO2 knob to set how much the Sound Engine’s pitch should be modulated by the global LFO2.
See “LFO 2 Global” for information about the LFO2 parameters.
#S.Start (Dynamic Sample Start)
*
Turn the S.Start knob to set where in the sample the playback should start when you play at minimum velocity.
Higher velocity values will move the sample start towards the actual start of the sample. This way, when using multi-samples with a built-in sweep or attack - which is the case particularly with the Layers WAVE Edition, this feature offers dynamic control way beyond filter or volume - much like in a wavetable synthesizer. Note that the effect could be different depending on the selected instrument.
#Trig Delay
With the Trig Delay function you can force the sound of a Sound Engine to start a certain time after Note On. This could give really nice rhythmic character or sequential/gradual introduction of the sounds from the different Sound Engines.
*
Click the Trig Delay button to activate the Trig Delay function.
*
Set the Trig Delay time with the TD TIME knob.
Selectable values: 1/64, 1/32, 1/16T, 1/16, 1/8T, 3/32, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 3/8 and 2/4.
*
Since the Trig Delay is an audio delay, the Note Off is also delayed by the set TD Time.
#Filter
The Filter section in the Programmer
In the Filter section in the Programmer you can set how you want to modulate the selected filter type of the corresponding Sound Engine:
The Filter parameters on the Sound Engine panel.
#ADSR Filter Envelope
The standard ADSR type envelope controls the filter cutoff frequency modulation over time. The ADSR envelope characteristics are described in detail in “The Amp Envelope section”.
#Low Cut
This is a highpass filter which lets you cut out low frequencies in the sound.
#Kbd
*
Turn the KBD (Keyboard Track) knob to set how much the cutoff/center frequency should track incoming MIDI Notes.
Range: -100% (-1 semitone per key) via 0% (no tracking (constant frequency)) to 100% (1 semitone per key).
#Vel
*
Turn the VEL knob to set how much the cutoff/center frequency should be modulated by Keyboard Velocity.
Range: -100% via 0% to 100%. A negative value means that the filter cutoff frequency is lowered with increasing velocity.
#LFO1
*
Turn the LFO1 knob to set how much the cutoff/center frequency should be modulated by LFO1.
See “LFO 1” for information about the LFO1 parameters.
#LFO2
*
Turn the LFO2 knob to set how much the cutoff/center frequency should be modulated by the global LFO2.
See “LFO 2 Global” for information about the LFO2 parameters.
#Wheel
*
Turn the WHEEL knob to set how much the cutoff/center frequency should be modulated by the Mod Wheel.
A negative value means that the filter cutoff frequency is lowered when the Mod Wheel is turned up.
#Dist
The Dist parameter in the Programmer.
In the Dist section in the Programmer you can select the distortion type for the corresponding Sound Engine:
The Dist parameters on the Sound Engine panel.
*
In the Programmer, drag up/down in the Dist display - or click the Up/Down selector buttons - to select the desired distortion type.
The distortion types are:
•
Drive
This produces an analog-type overdrive effect.
•
Scream
Scream is similar to Fuzz (see below), but with a bandpass filter with high resonance and gain settings placed before the distortion stage.
•
Fuzz
Fuzz produces a bright and distorted sound.
*
Activate the distortion effect and set the distortion amount on the Sound Engine panel.
#Flanger
The Flanger parameters in the Programmer.
In the Flanger section in the Programmer you can set the Flanger effect parameters for the corresponding Sound Engine:
The Flanger On/Off switch on the Sound Engine panel.
#Rate
*
Set the rate of the flanger sweep.
#Man
*
Set the center frequency of the flanger sweep.
#FB
*
Set the feedback amount of the flanger effect.
#Int
*
Set the sweep range of the flanger effect.
#Pan
The Pan parameters in the Programmer.
In the Pan section in the Programmer you can select how to modulate the Pan parameter in the corresponding Sound Engine:
The Pan parameter on the Sound Engine panel.
#Vel
*
Set if/how much you want keyboard velocity to modulate the Pan parameter on the Sound Engine panel.
Note that the VEL control is bipolar, which means that you can modulate the Pan parameter in either direction.
#LFO1
*
Turn the LFO1 knob to set how much the Pan parameter should be modulated by LFO 1.
See “LFO 1” for information about the LFO 1 parameters.
#LFO2
*
Turn the LFO2 knob to set how much the Pan parameter should be modulated by the global LFO 2.
See “LFO 2 Global” for information about the LFO 2 parameters.
#Amp
The Amp parameters in the Programmer.
In the Amp section in the Programmer you can set and adjust a multi-band compressor preset, and control how to modulate the Amp Envelope in the corresponding Sound Engine.
#Multi-band Compression
Multi-band compressors normally require a bit of effort to set up for a particular signal. Conveniently, we have done that for you, optimized for the Wave's spectral character, so all you need to do is choose a Preset and dial it in with the Amount control.
•
Multi Comp Presets
*
Select a Preset for the desired sound shaping effect. From 1 to 5, the presets go from warmer/softer to colder/harsher:
| Preset
| Name
| Description
| Use...
1
Deep
Low End gets boosted, mid to high frequencies strongly attenuated. No dynamic treatment.
… whenever you want to use a Layer to beef up the low end without interfering with the mids and highs.
2
Warm
Compresses and boosts the low end, slightly attenuates mid and high range.
 
3
Punch
Compresses the low, mid and high range (optimized to suite the Wave's spectral character) for punch - a classic multi-band compression.
… to control the dynamics of a layer and to add some subtle punch to it.
4
Silk
Attenuates the high mids typical of the Waldorf Wave's wavetable sounds for a smoother, silkier high-mid range.
… when a Layer bites too much or is too prominent in the high mids, masking other Layers.
5
Ice
Attenuates the low and mid range almost like a highpass filter and adds compressed high range.
… when you want a Layer to add bite and glitz without interfering with the low and mid range.
•
AMT
This adjusts the effect of the Multi-band compressor. Under the hood, the amount control is a macro control adjusting various parameters such as gain and threshold for every band, as well as wet/dry mix.
#Amp Envelope Modulation
The Amp Envelope Modulation parameters in the Programmer.
The Amp Envelope on the Sound Engine panel.
•
VEL
*
Set if/how much you want keyboard velocity to modulate the Amp Envelope on the Sound Engine panel.
Note that the VEL control is bipolar, which means that you can modulate the Amp Envelope in either direction.
•
VEL CURVE
*
In the Programmer, drag up/down in the Vel Curve display - or click the Up/Down selector buttons - to select the desired velocity curve type.
The velocity curve types are: Logarithmic, Linear and Exponential.
•
LFO1
*
Turn the LFO1 knob to set how much the volume should be modulated by LFO 1.
Use this for creating Tremolo effects, for example. See “LFO 1” for information about the LFO 1 parameters.
•
LFO2
*
Turn the LFO2 knob to set how much the volume should be modulated by the global LFO 2.
Use this for creating Tremolo effects, for example. See “LFO 2 Global” for information about the LFO 2 parameters.
•
WHEEL
*
Turn the WHEEL knob to set how much the volume should be modulated by the Mod Wheel.
A negative value means that the volume is lowered when the Mod Wheel is turned up.
#LFO 1
An LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) is used for generating cyclic modulation. A typical example is to have an LFO modulate the pitch of a signal to produce vibrato, but there are countless other applications for LFOs. LFO 1 applies modulation polyphonically (one LFO per voice), i.e. if LFO 1 is assigned to modulate a parameter, an individual LFO will be started for each note you play.
#LFO display and selector
*
Select an LFO waveform by clicking the spin controls to the right of the waveform display, or by click-holding in the display and moving the mouse up or down.
Besides the standard waveforms (sine, triangle, pulse, etc.) there are random, slope and stepped waveforms. The shape of the selected waveform is shown in the display.
#Delay
*
Turn the DELAY knob to introduce a delay before the LFO modulation kicks in after a note is played.
Turn clockwise for longer delay times.
#Rate
*
Set the LFO frequency with the RATE knob.
#Tempo Sync
*
Click the TEMPO SYNC button to sync LFO 1 to the main sequencer Tempo in Reason/Reason Essentials.
The Rate parameter now controls the time divisions.
#Key Sync
*
Click the KEY SYNC button to restart the LFO 1 each time you press a new note.
#Wheel
*
Click the WHEEL button to control the LFO 1 modulation amount from the Mod Wheel.
The three global effects - Delay, Reverb and Compressor - work as “send effects” for the respective Sound Engines/Layers. You set the desired modulation amount in the respective Sound Engine sections:
The Delay and Reverb amount knobs on the Sound Engine panels.
#Delay
This is a stereo delay which affects all voices globally.
#On/Off
*
Click the red On/Off LED button to switch the Delay effect on/off.
#Sync
*
Click the Sync button to sync the delay time to the main sequencer Tempo.
#Time
*
Set the time between the delay repeats.
If Sync is active (see above), the Time parameter now controls the time divisions.
#FB
*
Set the number of delay repeats.
#Ping Pong
*
Activate this to get the delay repeats alternating from the left and right channels.
Note that this also doubles the delay tempo.
#Reverb
This is a stereo reverb which affects all voices globally.
#On/Off
*
Click the red On/Off LED button to switch the Reverb effect on/off.
#Pre
*
Set the pre-delay time of the reverb.
#Time
*
Set the length of the reverb effect.
Middle position is the default decay time.
#Low Cut
•
This is a highpass filter that cuts the low frequencies of the reverb signal, to make the reverb effect less “muddy”.
#Damp
*
Raise the Damp value to cut off the high frequencies of the reverb, thereby creating a smoother, warmer effect.
#Compressor
This is a stereo compressor which affects all voices globally.
#On/Off
*
Click the red On/Off LED button to switch the Compressor effect on/off.
#Amount
*
Set the compression amount.
A high setting makes the sound less dynamic and more “even” in level.
The Trig Sequencer can be used for creating really catchy rhythmic animations with the sounds from the four Sound Engines/Layers. The Trig Sequencer can either be run continuously, synced to the main sequencer Tempo in Reason/Reason Essentials, or run in Step mode, where each new Note On will advance the sequencer one step at a time.
It’s also possible to set different step lengths for each of the Sound Engines to create poly-rhythmic patterns.
The Trig Sequencer is polyphonic, which means you can play and trig entire chords!
#Trig Sequencer parameters
#Trig Seq On/Off
*
Click the red On/Off LED button to switch the Trig Sequencer on/off.
#Pattern Enable
*
Click a letter button to enable the Trig Sequencer for the corresponding Sound Engine.
Any disabled Sound Engine will play back its sound in the regular fashion (without the trig sequencer pattern).
*
To deactivate a Sound Engine altogether, use the Mute button on the Sound Engine panel, see “Mute”.
#Steps
*
Click and hold the step number and drag up/down to change the number of steps in the corresponding pattern.
*
Alternatively, click and drag the step indicator bar up/down.
Range: 1-16 steps.
#Step Enable/Disable
*
Click the steps you want to activate in the pattern.
Click on an active step to disable it.
#Mode
*
Select RUN to start the Trig Sequencer pattern at every new Note On.
This is the mode of choice if you want to play back the pattern continuously.
*
Note that every new Note On will start on step one in the pattern. Any previously held notes will not restart but continue from where they currently are. This opens up really complex and animated pattern combinations.
*
To get the notes to play back together exactly on time when playing chords, make sure you quantize your recorded notes in the main sequencer after/during recording.
*
Select STEP to make the pattern advance one step at a time for every new Note On.
This mode is great for creating melody lines where the sound is altered for every new note.
#Note Length
*
Select the desired Note Length by clicking the spin controls to the right of the display, or by clicking in the display and selecting from the list.
The selectable values are: 20, 40, 60 or 99.
#Rate
*
Select the desired Trig Sequencer Rate (in relation to the main sequencer Tempo in Reason/Reason Essentials) by clicking the spin controls to the right of the display, or by clicking in the display and selecting from the list.
The selectable rates are: 1/4, 1/8 or 1/16.
*
Remember that CV connections are NOT stored in the Layers WAVE Edition patches! If you want to store CV connections between devices, put them in a Combinator device and save the Combi patch.
#Sequencer Control inputs
The Sequencer Control CV and Gate inputs allow you to play Layers WAVE Edition from another CV/Gate device (typically a Matrix or an RPG-8). The signal to the CV input controls the note pitch, while the signal to the Gate input delivers note on/off along with velocity.
#Layer Trig Outputs
These control voltage (CV) outputs can be used for sending trig signals from the “Trig Sequencer” patterns to the desired destinations - a Redrum, for example.
#Audio Outputs
These are the main audio outputs. When you create a new Layers WAVE Edition device, these outputs are auto-routed to the first available Mix Channel in the Reason main mixer. If there is no Mix Channel available, a new one will be automatically created.