Shares 75 The team at ReasonTalk recently had the pleasure of chatting with Rack Extension developer,. We discussed everything from the origin of the name, experience with developing Rack Extensions, collaborating with Anders Ljung (aka skatebird, Test Lead of Propellerhead), and future plans which are hinted in the cover image of this article 😉 A few more beans are spilled in terms of what that might be! About Robotic Bean ReasonTalk(tiker01): Hi Buddard! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Buddard: I’m from Stockholm, Sweden, and I’ve been interested in music for as long as I can remember. I taught myself to play keyboards, guitar and bass by playing along to records (and in some really lousy bands) when I was young. Nowadays I alternate between playing guitarron in Sweden’s only real mariachi band and creating weird noises on the modular and in Reason.

RT(wongothesane): What’s the origin of the name Robotic Bean? “my brother-in-law drew a jumping bean and turned it into a robot.” Buddard: We were brainstorming names and drawing doodles, and my brother-in-law drew a jumping bean and turned it into a robot. RT(tiker01): When did you start using Reason? Buddard: I first heard about Reason around the time it was first announced on the Propellerhead website, and I was always keeping an eye on it. But I didn’t start actually using it until Reason 5 / Record 1.5 came out. Since then it’s the only DAW I use.

RT(tiker01): Had you been using ReBirth? Buddard: Yeah, a little bit, I downloaded the demo and played around with it. Some of my friends were really into it. At the time I had a real 303 and a 606, so I mostly played with them. But I was really impressed with what they [PH] managed to cram into ReBirth, I think it was in that moment I realized that software synths actually were going to be a thing!

Experience with Rack Extension development RT(tiker01): How did you get into being a RE developer? Buddard: I’ve been a software developer in the telecom industry for many years, and I wanted to try something new on the side, for fun. I was already a Reason user, so when RE’s arrived I started toying with the idea making one. But it wasn’t until about 2 years later when I found the time to actually do it. RT(tiker01): Why have you chosen to start with CV devices? Buddard: I think CV devices are by far the easiest way to get into RE development. They’re pretty fast to write, and you don’t have to worry too much about performance either.

So I could focus more on getting to know the SDK. Early screenshot of Robotic Bean’s first RE, Euclid RT(tiker01): How long did it take to create your first RE,? Buddard:I started coding Euclid in April 2014, and I think it was released in August, so it took me about four months. But I was coding pretty sporadically during that time. RT(tiker01): Did it make the process faster when you were working on? Euclid was the very first RE I wrote, so a lot of that project was about learning find my way around the SDK.

This is the beta for Minihost Modular 32 and 64 Bit for Windows and OS X. The installer includes the 32 and 64 Bit VST/AU plugins and 32/64 Bit Standalone versions.

Although I didn’t reuse much code from Euclid for Step, I could bring all the lessons I had learned while making it. Development screenshot of Step Note Recorder, the gray version RT(wongothesane): What’s the biggest hurdle you had to overcome during RE development? Buddard: I think they were more like a series of small hurdles. The biggest was probably getting used to the process of creating the 3D GUIs. RT(tiker01) Do you always do your own graphics?

Buddard: No, I’ve had some help. My brother-in-law helped out with the front panel graphics on Euclid and Step, but I had to put them together. My first versions of Euclid and Step looked absolutely horrible! With the clappers, cowbell etc. Anders Ljung, aka skatebird did all the graphics.

RT(joeyluck): Since the SDK had begun allowing 2D GUI support, do your current projects still use 3D, or did you take the opportunity to begin designing with 2D? Buddard: All of my released stuff were made in 3D, and most of the stuff I’m working on now are in 2D. RT(joeyluck): Has it been a little easier working in 2D? Buddard: They have their pros and cons. I was pretty bummed at first about leaving the 3D stuff behind after investing so much time into learning it, but I think it was more of a Stockholm syndrome thing. I’m pretty happy with the 2D process now.

Teaming up with skatebird RT(tiker01): Where did the simple yet essential and the Cowbell come from? Buddard: The ideas for the hand clappers came from skatebird. RT(tiker01): Hi Anders!

I am glad you can join us. First things first, h ow did you meet? Skatebird: I met Buddard when he won a remix contest we had for a Reason release (I think).

When I checked out his profile to add the prize, I noticed he only lived a few hundred meters from me (I didn’t even know he was Swedish). Buddard: Yes, it was the remix contest part of the Reason 7 beta and the song was Little Jinder`s Everything. Skatebird:We started talking, found out we both liked synth music, he did another great remix of one of my band’s tracks, As You Say.

Somewhere along the line we went for a beer and started talking about REs and I mentioned the idea I had for AC-1. Later on he did another remix, Such a Fragile Thing for another band of mine. RT(tiker01): What was the motivation behind the clappers and? Skatebird: AC-1, EC-1 and MT-1 are all “one trick ponies”, they do one dedicated thing. We want them to be simple yet powerful, and solve a problem or create a shortcut for the user. I think the idea of a clapper came from when I wanted to add handclaps to a song, and found creating a Redrum, finding samples etc was quite tiresome.

Practically the AC-1 video. At first, we were going to do just one clapper, but Buddard quickly identified that maybe the target groups for acoustic and electronic were separate, and it would be better to create two separate devices. Therefore, we, but mostly Buddard, spent a lot of time researching the 808 to nail the sound. For AC-1, I recorded the handclaps.

8 voices x 5 velocity layers x 3 round robins made my hands hurt We collaborated in a similar way on MT-1 MetroTone. RT(tiker01): Your latest RE, the MT-1 MetroTone Metronome addresses an issue Reason users have had to live with for a very long time in a very elegant way.

Could you explain a few words how is this device superior to simply loading samples into a Redrum and using that as a metronome? Buddard: I think one of the biggest things for me is that it can mute itself automatically when you bounce the song. (This also applies when you use it to trigger other devices such as Kong and Redrum.) Another feature I really like is the Double time button, I think it’s really handy when you’re working at lower tempos. And of course, it’s pretty handy that it adapts itself to the time signature of the song automatically.

Future Plans RT(tiker01): Can we expect to see more RE’s from you as a team? Skatebird: We have some more ideas in this direction, but we’ve been busy on other stuff lately. RT(tiker01): Buddard, as a developer, what do you think about the updates of the SDK (1->2->2.5) and their impact on Rack Extensions? I’m especially stoked about seeing how the sample loading function will be used (and abused?) going forward, by myself and others. Buddard: I started with REs just when SDK 2 was coming out, soI’ve basically had no experience at all with SDK 1. I’ve relied heavily on custom displays in many of my REs, so obviously I think it was an important addition. I think SDK 2.5 is a really solid update, maybe the most significant yet.

I think that it brought us most of the stuff we’ve been asking for over the last years. I’m especially stoked about seeing how the sample loading function will be used (and abused?) going forward, by myself and others. RT(tiker01): What would be the top features you would like to see in the next SDK update? Buddard: There are a couple of Player devices that I would like to make some day, so I hope that will be possible in the future. I would like to see better integration between RE’s, Reason’s sequencer and the built-in pattern devices.

Some other things that I probably can’t mention without getting too detailed. RT(tiker01): Do you plan to update any of your existing Rack Extensions with features SDK 2.5 made possible such as grouping in menus or sample loading e.g. Buddard: I’m definitely considering some updates, but there are no concrete plans at the moment. Right now I’m mostly focusing on new stuff! RT(tiker01): Are you working on any new Rack Extensions you can speak about? Buddard: I’m working on several devices at the moment, both big and small.

Some are prototypes that might never see the light of day, and others might be waiting just around the corner. 😉 RT(tiker01): What type of device will the one which is “waiting just around the corner” be?

Buddard: It’s an instrument! And so far unique in Reason. We’ll see if that still holds when it gets! RT(scuzzyeye): You said you have a lot of things planned, but do you have time/interest to take on development work for hire? There are people out there who have ideas, but not the skills to pursue them. Buddard: Yeah, I could very well imagine doing for-hire work eventually if I find a project to be interesting. RT(tiker01): Do you consider to port your RE’s to other platforms such as VST or iOS apps?

Buddard: Yeah, I’m definitely looking into that. Many of the devices I’ve made so far are very Reason-specific, but others might be a good fit for other formats. RT: While we are eagerly waiting for the upcoming Instrument where can one follow the Robotic Bean journey in Reason land? Buddard: There is a, a page and the channel. RT(tiker01): From the website I can’t recommend enough the post for those who struggle to print MIDI notes from CV Re-s to the sequencer.

RT: Finally, Buddard and skatebird thanks for joining us for this interview, it was a pleasure to chat with you. Moreover, Buddard we wish you all the best for the release of your upcoming instrument. Buddard&skatebird: Thanks for having us!

Video can’t be loaded: Image-Line Minihost Modular (Beta) (This beta includes improvements and fixes based on user feedback so far. We thank the beta-testers for their enthusiastic response to Minihost Modular. Minihost Modular is a modular environment for hosting/interconnecting VST/AU plugins based on a custom modular engine especially developed for this purpose.

As a standalone, Minihost Modular can be used as an advanced VST or AU host with modular routing with some sequencing recording/playback capabilities. As a VST or AU plugin, Minihost Modular can be used to extend the capabilities of your existing DAW software with its powerful modular, recallable, environment. Minihost Modular bares some similarities to FL Studio’s Patcher but has an extended capability as a self contained host. The new beta installers for Windows & OS X are available to download for registered Image-Line users (registration is free). More information: /.

Unfortunately the only cure to running into problems in software is picking and sticking for a decent amount of time (in years). Jumping around early on is good for finding what appeals, but once you're in you need to stick to it for quite a bit to learn the bugs and work-arounds. I've jumped DAWs a few times, ended up with ableton and hated it for 2 years but am glad I stuck to it, as I run into minimal issues. Same applies to any software, I have been using the same 3D production software (XSI) for 6 years and am basicly the floor generalist because I have seen every bug down to ways to click on it wrong causing crashes. I can model, texture, UV, light, render, composite, and simulate.not much of an animator though.

All of this took time to REALLY learn. Now Autodesk is killing it off, so I have to learn their pet project Maya (which is the 3D industry over-popular, Skrillix wannabe Ableton equivalent) in order to stay up to date with the industry and keep my job/get one in the future. Im back to not knowing the bugs, running into issues, and then learning how to solve them. Each day in is another day faster as long as I keep at it. I know ableton isn't the greatest and I am not defending it but it is what I have and so will be sticking to it so there is no wasted time relearning the simple stuff.

Otherwise I am just continually chasing the same problem over and over again in hopes that some new software will solve the problems for me. Left live because of timing issues and am currently using lpx but keep going back to my copy of live 9 just because it's less cluttered. But what I really want is an easy place for recording my synths and beats from the OT - daws are great but just suck the fun out of it all by this not working and that not working - sick of it. So I saw this and it looks really cool.

Very simple - everything gets it's own piano roll and automation. Surprisingly capable for a hardware multitracker. Has editing at the waveform, measure, and marker level. Feeling that way about DAWs is perfectly normal. I felt like that about FL Studio for many years. Then, one day, you end up understanding a lot of things all of the sudden. The problem is that there are a huge amount of buttons, functions, effects.

There is so much of them that you end up being lost and bored. There are many things that you'll have to do in order to enjoy your DAW. First, you have to choose one that you'll invest into. Second, start a session in which you'll import every sounds that sound good to you, and rename them all, and place them in an alphabetical order. Example: snare 1-2-3-4, kick 1-2-3-4, closed hat 1-2-3, open hat 1-2-3, crash 1-2-3, pad, violin, bass, piano, stick, rim, tom, and so on!

And you save that session file, and you keep importing sounds until you've gone through all the sounds you have. This will take many hours, all depending on the number of sounds that you have to go through. Once it is done, it will be MUCH easier. When you start a new session, you start it from loading this session that will be the start of every project that you do. Then, check out every effects to see which one gets you interested, but remember that those are the most important: compressor, reverb.

In FL Studio, there is an effect called 'Sound Goodizer' which is good too. And remember that you can decide that an effect is anything between 0% and 100% effective. If you don't have a good set of headphones, this might be the good time for buying one. It's getting fun when you hear the sound as it really is! Besides of that, remember that even if you buy an 'all-in-one' system, you will still have to go through a learning phase, and you'll have to spend much more money than a computer-based system. For years, I considered FL Studio as **** to finally realize that I was just not ready to use it the right way.

Keep going, it worths it! Left live because of timing issues and am currently using lpx but keep going back to my copy of live 9 just because it's less cluttered. But what I really want is an easy place for recording my synths and beats from the OT - daws are great but just suck the fun out of it all by this not working and that not working - sick of it. So I saw this and it looks really cool.

Very simple - everything gets it's own piano roll and automation. I strongly suggest trying Reason 7 for what you're trying to accomplish. It does it all nowadays and you don't need to reach outside of it until you're ready to master.

I've been sooo much more productive since i started using it for both the audio tracking and mixing and ditched the DAWs. Looks interesting. As a VST plugin, does anyone know if it provides automatic delay compensation for all wired in plugins to the host?That's exactly what I wanna know. We are having an electrical storm here at the moment so everything is off. But this has given me time to consider that I don't have my self set up to make it easy on myself.

I have to create templates. And it may seem like a total noob but I feel I'm growing to a new place in my creating and I'm looking for the best environment in which to sink all my time and money. I think that now I've sold live I will end up with bitwig on e they sort their **** out as the features look really inspiring. I've got reason 7 - I bought it in a deal ages ago.

I bought it as a sound source but the piano roll is just aweful. I'm all for less bloat but that is too sparse. For instance if I want to draw in some kong drums I can't get a reasonable resolution to the point where it doesn't allow me to draw in a 8/16/32 bar easily. Every other daw it's as simple as pie.I'm not really grasping the limitation here, since you can zoom in and out and expand the length of notes, move them around to different positions, draw in and erase notes.

I found it easy as pie to work in and i had practically no experience with piano rolls since all the way back to Music Write 2000 (I think that was the name). If it's a space issue, have you tried detaching the sequencer and maximizing it so it fills the whole screen? I have to say, having multiple monitors has gone a long way in making Reason 7 more usable for me. Rusuli Serialebi 2016.