Reason Rack Plugin 13.4 Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin | Reason+ Rack Extensions
Sounds, Patches and the Browser
A patch contains settings for a specific device. Patches can be either separate files on your hard disk or files embedded in a ReFill (see “About ReFills” for info about ReFills). A Rack Extension often comes with patches embedded within the Rack Extension itself.
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A patch most often includes all parameter settings on the front panel, but not cables and trim pot settings on the back side.
However, a few Rack Extensions have additional parameters on the back panel which are included in the patches.
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A Combinator patch is special in that it contains both settings for the device itself (the Combinator settings) and all settings for all contained devices.
This includes all routing within the combi, and all settings on the back panels as well.
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Patches for devices that use samples (samplers, loop players, drum machines) contain references to sample files on disk.
The samples themselves are not part of the patches.
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Some devices don't have patch support at all.
Should you need to save the state of such a device, put it inside a Combinator device and save a combi patch!
#About the “Load Default Sound in New Devices” setting
If this is activated in the Settings dialog, a default patch is loaded when a device is created. This way, the device is ready for playing right away.
If you turn this setting off, new devices will be initialized - parameters are reset to their default values and no samples are loaded in sample-based devices.
#About the “Browsing starts in default sound folder (for new devices)” setting
In the Settings dialog there is an option which lets you decide where the Browser should start showing patches when you have created a new device. If the “Browsing starts in default sound folder (for new devices)” option is ticked, the browsing starts in the device's home folder, showing the patches and folders included with the device. Otherwise it starts in "All Locations", showing all patches for that device (including any you have created).
To select and load a patch for a device, use one of the following methods:
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Click the “Browse Patch” button in the Patch section on the device panel.
The Patch section has the same basic layout for all patch devices; a Patch Name display, two “Select Patch” buttons (up/down) for stepping through patches sequentially, a “Browse Patch” button to open the Browser, and a “Save Patch” button to save patches.
The Patch section of the Subtractor device.
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On the panels of devices that can load samples/REX files, there are also Browse Sample/REX Loop buttons, used for loading samples or REX files. Make sure you click on the button in the Patch section (next to the patch name display) to load patches!
When you click the Browse Patches button on a device, the device automatically gets “Browse Focus” and the Browser opens. A button at the top of the Browser indicates that only patches for the highlighted device in the rack are shown:
Browse focus for a device is indicated by orange side bars in the rack - and that the patch section on the device is colored in orange:
The orange Browse Focus indicators in the rack.
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Alternatively, select a device in the rack and then click the Browse icon on the Global Panel:
This opens the Browser with Browse Focus on Patches for the selected device, as described above.
If several devices are selected in the rack, the Browser opens with Patch Browse Focus for the last selected device.
If no device is selected in the rack, the Browser opens without Browse Focus.
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Another way of loading patches is to select “Browse Patches...” from the context menu of a selected device.
Alternatively, hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and click [B].
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Once you have loaded a patch, you can step between all the patches in the same folder by using the “Select Patch” buttons on the device panel:
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If you click on the Patch Name display on the device panel, a pop-up menu - the browse list - will appear, listing all patches in the currently selected folder.
This allows you to quickly load another patch, without having to step through the patches one by one. You can also choose to set browse focus to the device by selecting “Browse...” from the patch display pop-up menu.
When you load a patch in any of the ways described above, the device’s parameters will be set according to the values stored in the patch, and the name of the patch is shown in the Patch Name display.
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Any parameter adjustments you make on the device panel after loading a patch will not affect the actual patch file on the computer. For this to happen, you need to save the patch - see “Saving patches”.
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For all the patch loading methods described above, you can automatically revert back to the original patch, by clicking the Cancel button in the Browser.
For more details about browsing patches and searching for sounds, please refer to “Browsing patches for a device” and “Filtering in the Browser”.
#If referenced samples are missing
Patches for the Mimic, Grain, Europa (User Wave sample), Redrum, NN19, NN-XT and Dr. Octo Rex devices contain references to samples or REX files. Just like patches, samples can be independent files on the hard disk or elements within a ReFill. However, if sample files have been moved or renamed after a patch was saved, the sample file references in the patch will not be accurate.
If this is the case when you select a patch, the program will tell you so. You can then choose to either manually locate the missing files, to have the program search for them, or to proceed without the missing sounds. For details, see “Handling Missing Sounds”.
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Proceeding without locating or replacing the missing samples will result in silent patches, drum channels, key zones or loop slots (for the Redrum, NN19/NN-XT, Kong, Grain and Dr. Octo Rex).
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All settings for all devices in your Reason Rack Plugin instances are automatically included when you save the song or project in your DAW host - you don't have to save the patches separately!
Saving patches is useful if you have an instrument or effect setup that you want to use later, in other projects.
Saving is always done by clicking the Save Patch button on the device panel and specifying a name and location for the file in the dialog that appears:
The Save Patch button on a device.
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If you have modified an existing patch and want to save it with the same name (overwriting the old version), press [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) and click the Save Patch button.
This only works if the patch was loaded from a file on disk. If the patch was in a ReFill or a Rack Extension, you cannot overwrite it and must save it elsewhere.
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The default folder for saving your patches is the User Library, see “User Library”.
You can of course save to other locations as well, if you like.
#Copying and pasting patches between devices
A quick way to copy device parameter settings between devices of the same type is to use the “Copy Patch” and “Paste Patch” functions. The result is exactly the same as if you had saved a patch from one device and opened it on another device of the same type - this is just a quicker method.
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Copying and Pasting settings is possible with all device types that can use patches.
Proceed as follows:
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Select a patch, and/or make the desired settings on the source device.
Make sure the device remains selected.
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Select “Copy Patch” from the device context menu.
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Select the destination device of the same type.
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Select “Paste Patch” from the device context menu.
The settings of the source device (including Mimic, Europa, Grain, Redrum, NN19, NN-XT, and Kong sample references and Dr. Octo Rex REX loop references) are automatically applied to the destination device.
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Note that this operation simply copies the settings from one device to another. Adjusting the settings on one of the devices will not affect the other; neither will the edits affect any patch file on disk.
#Initializing patches and resetting device parameters
Sometimes it is useful to start with a “clean slate” when creating a synth sound, a drum kit or a sampler patch. This is achieved by selecting “Reset Device” from the device context menu. This resets all parameters to “default” values. Initializing Mimic, NN19, NN-XT, Dr. Octo Rex, Kong, Grain, Europa (if it uses a User Wave sample) or Redrum devices will also remove all sample/REX file references, allowing you to start from scratch.
#Browser overview
Example of the Browser when using the Browse Patch button/function on a Subtractor device.
The Browser is used when you load patches, samples and REX files from regular file folders or from ReFills.
Besides being shown as a separate window, the Browser can also be placed as a side panel to the left in the song window.
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Click the “Show Browser in Side Panel” symbol to the right on the Browser header to show the Browser in the side panel.
The Browser is now placed in a side panel to the left in the plugin window:
The Browser functionality is identical to the separate Browser window - it’s only the placement that differs. You can resize the Browser side panel horizontally by dragging the right edge sideways. The plugin window will follow along.
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Click the “Show Browser in Separate Window” symbol to the right on the Browser side panel header to show the Browser as a separate window again.
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If you always want the Browser to open in the side panel in your new plugin windows you can select this on the in the Settings dialog:
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Select “Browser” in the dropdown menu.
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Open and close the Browser by clicking the Browse icon on the global panel.
If no device is selected in the rack, the Browser will open without Browse Focus. Otherwise it will open with patch Browse Focus for that device.
Browser open without Browse Focus, as indicated by the gray Browser header.
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If the Browser is located in the side panel - and you have the Device Palette open - opening the Browser will automatically close the Device Palette (to make room for the Browser).
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Right click a device panel in the rack and select “Browse Patches...” from the context menu.
This opens the Browser with Browse Focus, allowing you to browse for and load patches for the selected device.
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With a sample based device, right click the device panel (the sample section) in the rack and select “Browse Samples” from the context menu (or click the “Browse Samples” button on the device panel).
This opens the Browser, where you can browse for, preview and load samples in the supported audio formats.
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With a Dr. Octo Rex Loop Player selected, right click the Programmer panel background and select “Browse Loops” from the context menu (or click the “Browse Loops” button on the device panel).
This opens the Browser, allowing you to browse for, preview and load REX loops into the Dr. Octo Rex device.
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With a Kong Drum Designer device selected, select “Browse Drum Patches” from the context menu (or click the “Browse Drum Patch” button on the Drum Control Panel on the device).
This opens the Browser, allowing you to browse for Kong Drum Patches and supported audio files to load into a slot in the Kong Drum Designer device.
Besides standard file and folder browsing, the Browser offers several useful functions:
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Search for files by name, type, category, and tags - see “Filtering in the Browser”.
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Use “cross-browsing” to search for patches belonging to any type of device.
For example, set browse focus from a Subtractor device by clicking its Browse Patch button. Instead of limiting the Browser to show only Subtractor patches, you can choose to browse for any type of instrument patch. If you select a patch with a different format than the device you are browsing from, the original device will be replaced by the new device. See “Browsing patches for a device”.
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Audition audio samples and REX loops on the fly. See “Previewing samples and REX loops”.
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Save shortcuts to various locations on your local drive(s).
See “Shortcuts”.
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Create Favorite Lists containing shortcuts to your favorite files for instant access.
See “Favorite Lists”.
#A note about Browser indexing
To keep track of all your files at all times, the Browser needs to continuously index your files. The first time you open the Browser after having installed Reason, the indexing could take a while, especially if you have a lot of files (samples etc.) on your computer. The following symbols are used to show how the indexing is progressing:
When the indexing is completed, the symbols will disappear.
#Important notes about where to store your files so that Reason can find them
To avoid that the Browser should “choke” from scanning a huge amount of irrelevant files, some folders are blacklisted by Reason, i.e. the Reason Browser won't look in those folders.
#Blacklisted folders on Mac
The following folders are disregarded by Reason on Mac, so make sure you don't store any Reason related content/files in these:
Macintosh HD/System
Macintosh HD/Applications
Macintosh HD/Library
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Note! Even though "Macintosh HD/Library" is blacklisted, "Macintosh HD/Library/Audio" is explicitly whitelisted, so you can create shortcuts from there.
~/Music/Propellerhead Content/ (in your personal Music folder, where the old Optional Rack Extensions and ReFills in Reason 12 were located)
#Blacklisted folders on Windows
The following folders are disregarded by Reason on Windows, so make sure you don't store any Reason related content/files in these:
C:\Windows
C:\Users\<youruser>\Music\Propellerhead Content (in your personal Music folder, where the old Optional Rack Extensions and ReFills in Reason 12 were located)
#Creating a device by browsing patches
If you want a certain sound or effect, the best way is often to add it directly by browsing (instead of first choosing a device and then finding a patch for it).
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To add an instrument device, right-click anywhere in the rack and select "Add Instrument".
This opens the browser in Add Instrument mode, showing only instrument patches:
You can use the category and tag buttons to filter which patches are shown (or type directly into the filter text field to filter by name, category, kind or tag). See “Filtering in the Browser”.
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Click a patch in the list to create a new device in the background.
You can audition it by playing your MIDI keyboard.
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Select another patch with the mouse or the computer up/down arrow keys to load it instead.
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Audition sounds this way until you find one you like.
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Press [Return] or click OK to close the Browser, keeping the last loaded patch.
Double clicking a patch in the Item List is the same as selecting it and clicking OK, in one move.
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Alternatively, you can press [Esc] or click Cancel to close the browser and remove the created instrument.
#Creating an Effect device by browsing patches
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To add an effect device, select the instrument device in the rack and click the + sign at the bottom of the blue frame.
Select “Add Effect...” to open the browser in Add Effect mode.
See “Creating devices” for more information.
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Alternatively, right-click anywhere in the rack select "Add Effect".
The insertion point of the new effect device is determined by where you right-click; often you want to right-click an existing instrument or effect to add a new effect directly after that device.
This opens the browser in Add Effect mode, showing only effect patches.
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Select a patch to create its device in the background, then load other patches by clicking or using the computer up/down arrow keys until you find the one you want.
You can audition the effect by playing the instrument it's connected to.
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When you're done, close the browser by pressing [Return] or clicking OK.
Alternatively, press [Esc] or click Cancel to close the browser and remove the created effect.
#Creating a Player device by browsing patches
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To add a Player to an instrument, select the instrument device and click the + sign at the top of the blue frame.
Select “Add Player...” to open the browser in Add Player mode.
See “Creating devices” for more information.
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Alternatively, right-click the instrument in the rack and select "Add Player".
This opens the browser in Add Player mode, which works the same way as the other Add modes (see above).
#Browsing patches for a device
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To open the Browser for a specific device, click the “Browse patch” button on the device panel.
The Patch section of the Subtractor device.
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Alternatively, select the device in the rack and click the Browse icon on the Global Panel, or right-click the device panel and select "Browse Patches.,.".
This opens the browser in Patch Browse mode. The orange heading shows which device you're browsing for.
What is shown in the Browser depends on the device you started from:
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If the device had a patch loaded from the Browser (for example with the Add Instrument function), the browser will show the same settings as when the patch was loaded.
This includes Location, Categories, Tags and other filtering settings.
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If the device had no patch loaded (or the default patch), the Browser will show all patches of that kind (e.g. SubTractor Patches).
You can use the Patch Type buttons at the top to switch between showing patches for this device type only or for all Instrument Patches - what we call cross-browsing.
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If you have selected the “Browsing starts in default sound folder (for new devices)” option in the Settings dialog, the Browser will show patches in the device’s home folder instead of in All Locations.
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In Patch Browse mode you can click patches (or use the computer up/down arrow keys) to load them in the background.
When you're happy with what you hear, click OK or press [Return} to close the Browser. Double clicking a patch is the same as selecting it and clicking OK, in one move.
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If you want to browse patches for another device in the rack, click the Browse Patch button on that device. The Browser will then automatically switch to show patches for that device instead. This way you don’t have to close the Browser and open it up again.
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To go back to the original patch instead, click Cancel or press [Esc].
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Tip: When you are browsing patches for a device, its "Home Folder" will be shown in the Locations list to the left. This is a quick way to get to the patches that come with the device, shown in their original folder structure.
#Browsing samples for a device
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To load a sample, for example in a sample slot on a drum machine device, click its Browse Sample button.
This opens the browser in Sample Browse mode. In this mode, the browser will only show samples.
It's often most useful to select a sample category (e.g. Drum Samples) here, since you might not want to go through all instrument multisamples and similar:
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Click the Drum Samples button in the Category section to refine the list in the Item List to drum samples:
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Click samples in the Item List (or use the computer up/down arrow keys) to load the samples in the background.
When you're happy with what you hear, click OK or press [Return] to close the Browser. Double clicking a sample is the same as selecting it and clicking OK, in one move.
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To go back to the original sample instead, click Cancel or press [Esc].
#Previewing samples and REX loops
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The Audition controls below the Item List lets you preview the selected sample.
If Auto is on, selecting a sample will automatically play it back:
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Adjust the preview volume with the slider.
#Selecting multiple files
It is possible to select multiple files in the Browser, by using standard [Shift] or [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) selection techniques. This, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that the selected files can be loaded. There are a number of instances where selecting several files in the Browser file list is relevant:
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It is possible to load several drum patches (on consecutive pads) simultaneously into the Kong device.
See the “Kong Drum Designer” chapter for details.
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It is possible to load several samples simultaneously into the NN-XT, NN19 and Kong NN-Nano sampler devices.
See “NN-19 Sampler”, “NN-XT Sampler” and “NN-Nano Sampler” for details.
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It is possible to load several REX files simultaneously into the Dr. Octo Rex device.
See the “Dr. Octo Rex Loop Player” chapter for details.
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You can select several files to add them to a Favorites List in one go - see “Favorite Lists”. Note that this is only possible if a device does not have Browse Focus, see “Using the browser without Browse Focus”.
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In situations where several selected files (e.g. patches) cannot be loaded, the Create/Load button in the Browser is grayed out.
#About patch formats and sampler devices
As both the NN-XT and NN19 sampler devices can load patches in the NN19 (.smp) and REX (.rx2/.rcy/.rex) formats, there must be certain rules regarding cross-browsing.
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The basic rule is that the Browser will load such patches into the original device type (the device you opened the Browser from), whenever possible.
Thus, when the patch format is NN19 (.smp) or REX (.rx2/.rcy/.rex) and the NN19 device has browse focus, the patch will be loaded into this device.
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If you are browsing from any other type of device, these patch types will be loaded into an NN-XT device.
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If you are using the “Add Instrument” function, an NN19 (.smp) patch will create a NN19 device and a REX patch will create a Dr. Octo Rex device.
#About browse lists
When you click the Browse Patch button to open a file from the Browser, the file and folder list shown at that time is memorized for that device. This is called a “browse list”.
For patches (and to a certain extent samples) this list provides a specific functionality:
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The browse list is what applies when changing patches using the Next/Previous Patch buttons on the front panel of a device (or from patch selectors on a control surface).
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The browse list is shown as the patch list when you click in the patch name field for a device.
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For samples, the browse list applies when changing samples using the Next/Previous Sample buttons on the front panel of a sampler device.
#Other Browse Focus modes
Browse Focus means the Browser has a specific target (indicated by the orange heading background). The most common examples are already described above, but there are some others:
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Browsing loops for a Dr Octo Rex or for a Nurse Rex module in Kong will open the Browser in Browse REX Loops mode, showing only REX loops (.rx2 files).
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Browsing for a pad on Kong will open the Browser in a special Browse Drums mode, showing both samples and Kong drum patches (.drum files).
#Using the browser without Browse Focus
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With no device selected in the rack, click the Browse icon on the global panel at the top to open the Browser without a specific Browse Focus (as shown by the gray heading):
Here you can see any type of item (as set with the Type buttons at the top). In this mode, patches and samples are not automatically loaded in the background when you select them. Instead you have to explicitly load them.
Here are some examples:
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Select a patch and click the Create button (or double click the patch, or press [Return]) to create a new device and close the Browser. Alternatively, drag and drop a patch to load/create the corresponding device.
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For samples, you can preview them as usual in the Browser. However to load samples you will have to drag and drop the sample to an appropriate sampler device.
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Alternatively, you can use drag and drop to drag an item from the Item List to the rack.
When you drag an item out of the Browser, it will automatically fold up to let you see background. This lets you drop to devices or sample slots that were obscured by the Browser. When you drop the item, the browser reappears.
If you change your mind before dropping, you can drag the item back to the browser heading to unfold it again.
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You can use drag and drop from the Browse Focus modes too. For example, if you are browsing piano patches for a device and stumble upon a nice bass sound, you can just drag the bass patch into the rack to create a new device. The Browser will remain in Patch Browse mode for your original piano instrument.
#The Locations list
The Locations list to the left in the Browser provides different ways to get to files and folders.
#All Locations
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All Locations shows all files that Reason knows about, in a flat list.
This means all patches, samples and loops in all folders listed in the left column (except the folders under the "Computer" heading). All Locations is often the best starting point for browsing, since you can find all content there, regardless of where the files actually are.
#User Library
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User Library is a subfolder in the Music/Reason Studios folder on your computer.
When you save a patch in Reason, this is the default save folder. You can also move existing patches and sounds there, to make sure they are indexed and included in "All Locations".
#Reason Library
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Reason Library shows the built-in sound banks, a subfolder listing all installed Rack Extensions and a ReFills folder:
ReFills is a subfolder in the Music/Reason Studios folder on your computer. Reason Companion will install the optional Drum Supply and Loop Supply ReFills in this folder, and you are also encouraged to move any ReFills you have downloaded or purchased there. This will ensure that they are indexed and included in "All Locations".
#Sound Packs
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If you are a Reason+ subscriber, you will continuously get new content in the form of Sound Packs.
You will find these in the Sound Packs location.
#Shortcuts
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Shortcuts are aliases to folders and items that you need quick access to.
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To add an item as a Shortcut, drag it from the Item List and drop it under the Shortcuts heading.
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To delete a Shortcut, right click the folder icon and select “Delete Location” from the context menu.
#Favorite Lists
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Favorite Lists are custom collections of patches, samples or loops.
There are two ways to add items to Favorite Lists:
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Drag files from the Item List and drop them on a Favorite List to the left.
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Right-click a file in the Item List and select a Favorite List from the context menu:
Adding a patch to the user created “Bells” Favorite List.
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The check mark next to a Favorite List means the item is already part of that Favorite List. Selecting it will remove it from the list.
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To rename or delete a Favorite List, right click the folder icon and select “Rename Favorite List” or “Delete Favorite List” from the context menu.
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We strongly recommend not to put ReFills in Favorite Lists. Instead, use the User Library or Shortcuts Location for ReFills, see “User Library” and “Shortcuts”.
#Computer
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The Computer heading holds links to the User and Desktop folders on your computer.
These are not included in "All Locations" and therefore filtering cannot be used here (see below). Use these for navigating to folders that you want to add as Shortcuts (see “Shortcuts”).
#Filtering in the Browser
The key to finding what you want in the Browser is using the filtering section above the item list. This is especially powerful when “All Locations” is selected to the left:
The filtering section.
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You can set up the Browser to show only the Filter text field or the Categories and/or Tags buttons too, using the fold buttons on each section:
The Filter text field, Categories and Tags sections unfolded.
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Note that Categories section is not shown if you have selected the “All Types” Type button at the top. However, you can type in the Filter text field and get suggestions of Categories that you could select - it’s just that they won’t show up as buttons in the Browser.
#The Type buttons
The Type buttons at the top of the Browser.
The Type buttons at the top specify which general type of files are listed. These can be set or limited automatically if the browser is in a Browse Focus mode. For example, if you're browsing patches for an instrument device, you will only be able to switch between Instrument Patches and patches for the current device type (e.g. Europa patches).
#The Text (search) field
The Filter text field can be the quickest way to filter the result:
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Typing something in the Filter text field shows a menu with filter property suggestions.
You can use the arrow keys to go down to a suggestion and press Return to select it. This adds that filter property, shown to the right in the filter Filter text field:
The category “Keys: Organ” selected.
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If you just press Return in the text field (without going down the menu), the browser will show items that match any of the filter properties on the menu.
This is indicated by the filter property "Any":
You can continue writing and adding other properties.
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To remove a filter property, click its X button (or use the left/right arrow keys to select it and press [Backspace]).
The properties available on the menu are as follows:
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Name
The name of the item.
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Category
For example, whether an instrument is a piano or a synth pad, or whether a sample is a Snare Drum or a Sound FX - different Types have different categories.
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Tag
A more subjective description of a sound. All patches and sounds in the Reason Factory Sound library have been manually tagged, to make them easier to search for and filter out.
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Author
This lets you view all items by a certain sound designer.
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In Sound Pack
This lets you view all patches and samples in a certain Sound Pack.
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In Rack Extension
This lets you view all patches built into a certain Rack Extension.
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In ReFill
This lets you view all items within a certain ReFill.
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In Folder
This lets you view all items in a certain folder. If there are multiple folders of the same name, selecting this will show the contents of all these folders.
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Kind
For patches, this is the device type (e.g. “Europa Patch”, “Polytone Patch” etc.).
For samples, Kind represents the file format: WAV, AIFF, mp3 etc.
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Adding multiple Names, Categories or Kinds will widen the result.
For example, if you filter on “Category: Keys” and “Category: Strings”, you will see both Keys and Strings patches.
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Adding multiple Tags will narrow down the result.
For example, if you filter on “Tag: Fat” and “Tag: Analog“ you will only see sounds that are tagged both as "Fat" and "Analog".
#The Categories buttons
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The Category buttons will be different depending on which Type button you have clicked.
If "All Types" is selected, no Category buttons are shown (but you can still filter on categories using the Filter text field).
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In most cases, turning on a Category button will show its sub-categories:
Sub-categories for the “Bass” Category.
Sub-categories for the “Mallets” Category.
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You can choose whether to filter on the main category only ("Bass", "Mallets", etc) or to specify one or more subcategories.
Multiple categories can be activated at the same time.
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Note: The "Uncategorized" Category shows all items that have no category (yet). That will initially include all your own existing patches and samples as well as patches in 3rd party Rack Extensions and VSTs.
#The Tags buttons
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The Tags buttons are the same for all Types.
They describe the character of a patch or sample and in some cases technical aspects ("Sampled", "Portamento", etc). The "Staff Pick" tag lists sounds that we at Reason Studios think are extra nice!
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Multiple tags can be activated to narrow down the filtering result.
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It’s also possible to edit and add your own custom tags, see “Adding User Tags”.
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Note: Clicking the "Untagged" button will show all items that have no tag(s) (yet). That will initially include all your own existing patches and samples as well as patches in 3rd party Rack Extensions.
#Categories and Tags in the Filter text field
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Any activated Category or Tag buttons will be shown in the Filter text field.
You can clear them by clicking their individual X buttons (or clear all by clicking X for the whole text field):
#Editing Categories, Tags and Author
You can change the categorization and tagging of items, or add categories and tags to your own sounds:
#Editing Categories and Tags
It’s possible to edit (assign and deassign) Categories and Tags for single or multiple files in the Item List.
Here is an example of a single sample assigned to “Sound FX” in the “Misc Samples” Category:
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Right click a file in the Item List and select “Categories >” and the desired submenu, then click the Category name to assign (or to deassign if already selected):
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Assigning/deassigning Tags works the same way, except you select the “Tags >” submenu instead.
Here is an example of a selection of samples assigned to different and some common Categories:
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Right click one of the selected files in the Item List and select “Categories >”:
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If you have selected multiple files, any Category and/or Tag you select will be applied to all selected files.
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If any of the selected files are already assigned to one or several Categories and/or Tags, this is indicated by a “-” sign to the left of the Category/Tag name.
Selecting such a Category or Tag will assign all selected files to that Category/Tag and the sign will switch to a check mark instead.
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To de-assign a file (or multiple files) from a Category/Tag, right click the file(s), select “Categories >” or “Tags >” and click the check mark for the Category or Tag you want to de-assign.
#Editing Categories, Tags and Author in Edit Info mode
If you want to edit Categories, Tags and Author for one or several selected items in one go, you can do that in Edit Info Mode:
1.
Set up the view to show the items you want to categorize and/or tag.
For example, if you want to categorize and tag all patches in a certain folder, navigate there. The items must be part of the indexed locations; if you have custom patches in a folder on your hard drive you need to add that folder as a Shortcut first, see “Shortcuts”.
2.
Right click an item (or one of several selected items) in the Item List and select "Edit Info..."
The Browser switches to Edit Info mode:
Currently set Categories and Tags for the “DS8 Mk IV.thor” patch.
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Click in the Author field at the top if you wish to change the name of the Author.
The Category and Tags buttons show the current categorization and tagging of the selected item.
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Click the Categories and Tags buttons (to turn on/off) to add or remove categories and tags.
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Select other items in the view to see and change their respective Categories and Tags.
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You can press [Shift] or [Cmd](Mac)/[Ctrl](Win) and click to select multiple items, and tag them all in one go.
If they have conflicting settings, those buttons will be shown with white text.
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To keep your changes and leave the edit mode, click Save at the bottom at the bottom right in the Browser.
This takes you back to the regular browser view.
#Adding User Tags
It’s also possible to create and add your own custom Tags - User Tags:
1.
Unfold the Filter text field and the User Tags sections:
2.
Click the “+ Add...” button, type in a new Tag name and then hit [Enter]:
3.
To add your custom Tag to sounds/patches, right click the sound/patch in the Item List, select “User Tags >” and then select one of your User Tags:
Assigning a sample to the “EBM” User Tag.
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You can also create a new User Tag and assign a sound to it in one go, by right clicking the sound and selecting “User Tags > + Assign New Tag...”:
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To deassign or User Tags, right click the sound in the Item List, select “User Tags >” and click a check mark to deassign - or click the empty area to the left of the User Tag to assign:
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If you have selected multiple files in the Item List, these files may have both common and individual Tags assigned to them.
In such cases you can edit and reassign according to the description in “Editing Categories and Tags” above.
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To delete or rename a User Tag, right click the User Tag button and select “Delete Tag” or “Rename Tag...”:
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Note that regular Tags cannot be deleted - only User Tags.
#Other Browser functions
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Above the Item List, you will find back/forward buttons and a path menu for navigating up in the folder tree.
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To the right is a selector for selecting view mode: Flat list or Tree (showing folders).
Different locations have different default view modes when you go there. In some cases you cannot change the view mode (“All Locations” is always a Flat list for example, while the folders under "Computer" will always be in Tree mode).
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Right click a file in the Item List (Flat view) and select “Show in Folder” to show the file in its original folder (in Tree view).
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You can sort by columns by clicking the column headings.
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You can resize the columns by dragging the heading dividers sideways.
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The entire Browser window can be resized and moved within the boundaries of the Reason Rack Plugin window.
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Note: Even though the Browser is shown, you can still edit settings in the rack.
#Back/Forward buttons
These arrow buttons allow you to move back and forth between the Browser locations you have opened during the browsing session, similar to when browsing pages in a web browser.
#Path popup menu
This field displays the name of the currently selected root folder.
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Click in the name field to bring up a popup menu where you can move up in the folder hierarchy.
When you're in a top-level location such as All Locations or a Favorite list, the path popup menu cannot be used.
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Click on the Up button to the right of the root folder list to move up in the hierarchy one level at a time:
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When you're in a top-level location such as All Locations or a Favorite list, the path popup menu cannot be used.
#The Info area
The Info area at the bottom to the left in the Browser shows information about the currently selected file in the Item List, including Name, File Type, File Location, Author, Categories (if categorized) and Tags (if tagged).
If the file is a sample or REX loop, there can also be information about Sample/Loop Length and Tempo (if embedded in the file). Length and/or Tempo will then also be displayed in the corresponding Item List columns.
If you load a patch for a sample-based instrument, and not all samples can be found, the Global Panel will show a Missing Sounds warning:
This may be because the samples have been moved or their folder renamed, etc.
1.
Click “Show” to open the Missing Sounds dialog:
This lists all samples and loops that couldn't be found.
| Column
| Description
Device
Shows the name of the device in which the missing sound is used, along with a device type icon.
Sound
Shows the name of the missing file, along with a file type icon.
Part of ReFill/R.E.
If the missing file is part of a ReFill (or a SoundFont within a ReFill) or a Rack Extension device, this column shows the name of the ReFill/SoundFont/Rack Extension.
Below the main display are four buttons (besides the Help button):
#Search All Locations
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If you have the missing samples somewhere on your computer, put them in a Browser Location (so the Browser can find them), then click the “Search All Locations” button.
Reason will automatically search for and find the missing files in any of the Locations present in the Browser.
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If you have a lot of ReFills and folders in your Browser Locations, the search could take a while.
#Browse to Folder
1.
If you know in which folder your missing sound(s) are, click the “Browse to Folder” button.
The Browser opens.
2.
Navigate to the folder in the Browser, select the folder, and click the OK button in the Browser.
#Replace
1.
If you want to replace a missing sound without searching for it, select the missing sound in the list and click the “Replace” button.
The Browser opens.
2.
Select the desired sound in the Browser and click OK.
If you like, you could replace missing sounds with new sounds - it doesn’t have to be the original ones. When you save the Patch or Song later on, the new sounds will permanently replace the previous (missing) sounds.
#Download ReFill/RE
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Select a file in the list and click the “Download ReFill/RE” button to open the Reason Companion app and see if the ReFill can be found on your account.
If it can’t be found, click the “Search for the ReFill in the Shop” button in the Companion app, to direct your web Browser to the Reason Studios Shop, where you can download (and purchase, if necessary) the ReFill/Rack Extension.
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Alternatively, close the Missing Sounds window.
The song or patch will still work, but with sounds missing. This means that sampler patches, drum machine patches and/or loop players will not play back correctly.
On the panels of the concerned devices, missing samples are indicated with an asterisk (*) before the file names:
A ReFill is a kind of component package for Reason and Reason Rack Plugin, which can contain sounds and effects patches, samples, REX files and SoundFonts. On your computer, ReFills appear as (often large) files with the extension “.rfl”.
All sounds included in Reason Rack Plugin are embedded in two ReFills named “Reason Factory Sound Bank” and “Orkester Sound Bank”, which were copied to the hard disk during installation.
Additional Reason Studios ReFills are available for purchase. You can also purchase ReFills from other sample manufacturers, etc.
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Samples (Wave and AIFF files) are compressed to about half their original file size when stored in ReFills, without loss of quality.
In Reason Rack Plugin you can use the browser to list and access the embedded sounds and other components within the ReFills, just as if the ReFills were folders on your hard disk.
Furthermore, if a song makes use of components from ReFills, Reason Rack Plugin will tell you which ReFills are required.