Reason 4, what synths are good for what?

-dubson- · Post by **-dubson-** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:26 pm

Ez,
been producing for a few months and using Reason 4, having no experience with synths before it hasnt been easy for me to get the sounds i want. So what synth (if any) do you use the most? Are any of them better for different things? Do they have certain characteristics to look out for?

Sorry thats a lot of questions

any answers?

legend4ry · Post by **legend4ry** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:29 pm

Personally, I love Malstrom & Thor.

I like subtractor but it does produce some really nasty stuff (not in a good way) its fun to play with though.

Malstrom is the one for making bass & Thor is the one for making everything else for me.

-dubson- · Post by **-dubson-** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:47 pm

Legendary wrote:Personally, I love Malstrom & Thor.

I like subtractor but it does produce some really nasty stuff (not in a good way) its fun to play with though.

Malstrom is the one for making bass & Thor is the one for making everything else for me.

thanks man

i did see in that Mala uses subtrackor for his basslines, but never made anything good in there myself. For me Thor is just TOO BIG!!

AFL · Post by **AFL** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:12 am

THOR. Ever since I got 4 I can't stop using the Thor. Basses, leads, it's all in that one.

Booya!

juxta · Post by **juxta** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:49 am

Subtractor... its amazing, but very hard to create unique sounds with, i also like to use the malstrom. IT has some of the sweetest pads ever.

abZ · Post by **abZ** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 3:40 am

I started on Reason 1.0 back in the day. Subtraktor was the only one it had. That was like my instrument for years. Even when Maelstrom came out, I never liked it for some reason. Thor came out and I ended up dumping Reason. Thor looks like a beast tho.

tak · Post by **tak** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:22 am

"How to make a noise: sound design and synthesiser programming"

The book is now available (for free) at www.noisesculpture.com

darkmatteruk · Post by **darkmatteruk** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:28 am

tak wrote:"How to make a noise: sound design and synthesiser programming"

The book is now available (for free) at www.noisesculpture.com

sweet

Jak The lad · Post by **Jak The lad** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:33 am

Malstrum and Subtractor. Iv not got my head around Thor yet. Use a few patches but need to explore deeper.

DZA · Post by **DZA** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:14 am

theres a thor video on here that i found very usefull and learnt alot from might help you might not but worth a look anywayhttp://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/i ... son_videos

serox · Post by **serox** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:15 am

Legendary wrote:
Malstrom is the one for making bass & Thor is the one for making everything else for me.

Why?

Subtraktor is good for making Sub and Mid bass I find.

-dubson- · Post by **-dubson-** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 11:47 am

tak wrote:"How to make a noise: sound design and synthesiser programming"

The book is now available (for free) at www.noisesculpture.com

tempting....

ninjadog · Post by **ninjadog** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:31 pm

Learn the subtractor first, it is the most simple. From there the Mal will make more sence, then you can tame Thor. Dont rule out the nn-19 and nnxt either.
Start by tweaking factory sounds,. Once you understand some basics try to recreate sounds from songs you like.
There is no shortage of online guides or youtube vids to help you.

darkmatteruk · Post by **darkmatteruk** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:42 pm

im not entirely sure you need to use subtractor and malstrom so much anymore, a few may disagree with that. they are great synths, but kinda old hat now

combine a thor with a mixer, mess about with different osc and filter combo's from init patch to see what happens, find something you like, save it, then stick phaser/flange or scream 4 in mixers aux. then you could layer up a couple more copied thors underneath with very slightly adjusted settings, detune etc. thor is so versatile, lush pads, digital puke bass lines, the lot

Demos · Post by **Demos** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:06 pm

when i used to use reason i found that subtractor was my favorite synth, the first synth i properly learnt to use. i find its very good for bass

dubc · Post by **dubc** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:28 am

Using the Subtractor only creates a mono sound. I find the Malstrom much more manipulative cause you can reflect 2 basslines off eachother, try creating 2 Malstroms, both with different Synths in them. Try one of them with 2 Sines and the other with Square. Then, add combinators to them both and start adding effects. You'll find it a lot easier to create basslines/synths with more than one bassline/synth going on. What I found when creating basslines was that I'd try to make a certain sound make a sound that it couldn't manage, which is where the other bassline comes in. You'll be suprised how much use a second bassline or synth is if you give it a try. This also saves you from messing up a perfectly good bassline by over eQing it. =] Easy bro.

abZ · Post by **abZ** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:37 am

DubC wrote:Using the Subtractor only creates a mono sound. I find the Malstrom much more manipulative cause you can reflect 2 basslines off eachother, try creating 2 Malstroms, both with different Synths in them. Try one of them with 2 Sines and the other with Square. Then, add combinators to them both and start adding effects. You'll find it a lot easier to create basslines/synths with more than one bassline/synth going on. What I found when creating basslines was that I'd try to make a certain sound make a sound that it couldn't manage, which is where the other bassline comes in. You'll be suprised how much use a second bassline or synth is if you give it a try. This also saves you from messing up a perfectly good bassline by over eQing it. =] Easy bro.

I always have more than one bass sound going at once but I'd rather do it with separate units. If you want the Subtraktor in stereo just use 2 instances and pan each left and right. A little imagination can go a long way. That said I don't think the Sub is good for someone that is proficient with synthesis to begin with but for a beginner it's great. If you try to start out on the Thor you will be overwhelmed. Just mess with the Subtraktor until you get it sounding good and you can make just about anything sound good. If you are really lost you might want to start with a 1 osc synth such as Rebirth then go from there.

rhynofive · Post by **rhynofive** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:39 am

Call me old fashioned, but I get my best saw waves from the Maelstrom. I guess that's actually quite new fashioned.

legend4ry · Post by **legend4ry** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:56 am

Serox wrote:
Legendary wrote:
Malstrom is the one for making bass & Thor is the one for making everything else for me.
Why?

Subtraktor is good for making Sub and Mid bass I find.

Woah, forgot about this thread.

As said above really, I just like how indepth you can get with a Combinator with a few malstroms or even thors or a combination of both. Its realllllllly fun to just mess about with stuff on Reason, I really like just making sounds on it I rarely make tracks on Reason these days.

I usually just make a sound & bounce it to wav (I hate rewiring it gets messy) much like in that Benga video where he makes drums in FL and bounces it to Logic (I think?) I do that with Reason with sounds into Cubase.
Although I am a total FM8 nerd, Reason is absolutely amazing for experimenting & coming up with something new without TO much work once you get a basic understanding of what does what on the synths. Not saying I am a expert or anything but personally I have never found Subtractor at ALL interesting, it sounds bland 'nd old fashioned (and not in a moog old fashioned way) but its just personal preference, innit!

futures_untold · Post by **futures_untold** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:18 am

Subtractor

The Subtractor is about as bog standard as virtual analogue (VA) synths come. It has all the basic controls any synth should have, and will give you all the same sounds that any VA synth will give you. The only aspect that separates the Subtractor from many other VA synths, is the set of phase modulation controls available.

Subtractor is good for sounds such as: simple basses, pads, strings, brass & wind instrument emulations and basic sound effects. One should definately explore using the subtractive and additive phase modulation controls if planning to use the Subtractor.

Malstrom

The Malstrom offers far more than the Subtractor in many ways. It has better lfo options within the mod sections, the filters are superb and the oscillators are based on a more interesting style of synthesis. The oscillators in themselves can create more varied sounds than VA synths like Subtractor.

Malstrom can achieve fatter basses, more interesting pads, weirder effects and better lfo driven sfx than Subtractor. Of course, the interface is slightly more confusing with all the extra options and power.

Thor

Thor is the daddy synth of Reason. It has more synthesis and filter types than either the Subtractor or Malstrom, and it has far more modulation routing options too.

What is Thor good for? Any sound you can think of basically.

Once you get your head around the interface, the sound generation methods and the filter types, the world of music is your oyster!

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Which synth would I recommend for what?

I would recommend using the Subtractor if you are new to synthesis, Malstrom if you are more comfortable with sound design, and Thor if you are well versed in audio production. While there is nothing stopping you from using any or all of the synths, if one doesn't fully understand the synth being used, then it can lead to a more frustrating user experience as you try to make a song.

If I use Reason at all, I personally tend to use Malstrom, simply because it offers a perfect balance of power vs easy interface. I also tend to use stacks of synths within a Combinator with a submixer and effects as described above.

A final consideration may also boil down to CPU. If you have a slow computer, using multiple instances of Thor may not be viable! (Definately time to upgrade imo)

Check this link for a comparison of Subtractor vs Malstrom. ---> http://dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?t ... sc&start=0
Check this link for more opinion on Thor. ---> http://dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?t ... highlight=
Check this thread for more opinion on Reason as a program. ---> http://dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?t ... sc&start=0

Reason 4, what synths are good for what?

Reason 4, what synths are good for what?

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