Tag: Automation

30 – Automating Kong FX & More

In this tutorial, I’m going to present two ways in which you can automate the FX parameters in Kong that you probably thought could not be automated. I’ll also show you a method to create an automated Drum Roll and tie it to a Combinator button. So let’s automate what at first seems unautomatable (say that five times fast!).

In this tutorial, I’m going to present two ways in which you can automate the FX parameters in Kong that you probably thought could not be automated. I’ll also show you a method to create an automated Drum Roll and tie it to a Combinator button. So let’s automate what at first seems unautomatable (say that five times fast!).

You can download the project files here: Kong Automation Examples. There are 3 Kong examples in .rns format for you to look at. The first one goes over automating Kong FX parameters by cross-fading two Kongs. The second provides an alternate “Step Sequencer” example to automate an FX parameter from one state to another. And the third .rns file is a way in which you can create a note-repeater (not a true note repeater but a drum roll creation) using an RPG-8 Arpeggiator and Thor tied into a Kong Drum module. The Combinator in this file provides 2 buttons: 1 button acts as the drum roll (note repeater) and button 2 acts as a single-shot note player. Enjoy!

The “Cross-Fading 2 Kongs” Method

The first method is my favorite, and it comes from Kloeckno on the Propellerhead User Forum (PUF). He suggested that you could automate any parameter on the FX or Drum Modules by creating a secondary Kong device and cross-fading between the sound source Kong device and that secondary Kong device. So here’s my take on his suggestion. Let’s try it out and see how it stands up (here’s a spoiler: it works amazingly well!).

The “Kong Parameter Step-Sequencer” Method

Next, let’s take a look at an alternative approach, which uses a single Kong device as a step sequencer for a single drum hit. With each pad, you increase the parameter slightly, so that you can step between multiple instances of the same FX parameter. This can be a good idea for things such as a drum roll (so you get the added benefit of seeing how you can create a drum roll as well). Take a look and tell me what you think of this approach?

So there are two methods which you can use to automate those parameters that you thought you couldn’t directly from Kong. With a little ingenuity you can find workarounds for almost any kind of problem that you face in Reason. I’m firmly convinced of that. Though, admittedly, there are some problems that involve a lot of routing and hard work and thinking through the routings on paper to get it right. Reason always amazes me for its ability to be flexible and provide solutions for some of the toughest audio problems. In fact, it’s this flexibility and a strength of the software that you can find so many workarounds and alternate ways of thinking. Perhaps that’s why the props are at the forefront of audio software.

Automating a Drum Roll

The easiest way to re-create a drum roll and automate it is to use an RPG-8 Arpeggiator to “Hold” the note that is being played. In a Combinator, place a Kong, RPG-8 and THor. With a little routing, you can use the Thor step sequencer to play the note via the Combinator Gate in (the Arp), and then let the RPG-8 hold that note, which in turn is triggering the Kong Drum 1 module. To see an example of this, refer to the Project files. The example is included in there. When I have some time, I’ll try to put together a video for this idea as well, if time permits.

What are your thoughts? Any cool workarounds in Kong or the other new devices that you’d like to share?

26 – Automating your Groove

As most of us know, you can’t automate the Re-Groove in any way within Reason and Record. . . or can you? As with all things Reason-esque, there’s usually a workaround or two available for you. And Automating your Re-Groove, though time consuming, can indeed be accomplished. Here’s how.

As most of us know, you can’t automate the Re-Groove in any way within Reason and Record. . . or can you? As with all things Reason-esque, there’s usually a workaround or two available for you. And Automating your Re-Groove, though time consuming, can indeed be accomplished. Here’s how:

ReGroove Mixer Automation Workaround

Let’s assume you have a drum track tied to a Redrum (or as most of you will be going nuts for Kong, let’s say you have a Kong track). The easy way to set this up is the following:

  1. First, decide on a groove. Open up the ReGroove Mixer and then place that groove inside channels 1-8, or however many channels will require your groove movement. For now let’s set up 8 slots with the same groove.
  2. Next, you will need to create the same amount of note lanes for the device which you will be “Grooving.” So create 8 note lanes.
  3. In the case of Redrum, create the drum pattern using the pattern sequencer, and place this pattern on the first note lane for the Redrum (right-click on the Redrum step sequencer and select “Copy Pattern to Track” which places it on the current note lane).
  4. Go to the sequencer and copy the Redrum pattern 8 times. Move each copy to a separate lane in sequence. So, for example, note lane 1 will have the pattern from bar 0-2; note lane 2 will have the pattern from bar 3-4; and so on, right up to the 8th note lane.
  5. Associate a different groove with each note lane from A1 on the first note lane, right up to A8 for the eighth note lane.
  6. Now comes the fun part. On the ReGroove mixer, set up each channel as though it were steps in the step sequencer of the Matrix, except this time you are creating different “grooves” for each step between Channel 1 to Channel 8. If you want to get a better feel for setting this up, loop through each note lane’s note clip and adjust the parameters for the groove as you listen. Let your ear be your guide in this instance.

I hope you see where I’m going with this now. When you play your track forward, the drum beats play in sequence as if they are on a single lane, however, since you set up each lane with a different groove, you are essentially applying different grooves to each note clip and therefore changing the groove as the song progresses and as the note lanes switch from one to the other. Since you can create 32 different groove patterns, you have a 32-step groove sequencer using this method. The only downside is that your sequencer can get pretty cluttered quickly; especially if you split your different drums on different lanes (for example, if you have all your kicks on one lane, and your hi hats on another, and want to provide different grooves for each, you’ll have to create different sets of note lanes for each drum — up to 32 of course).

Still, if you are willing to invest a little time into your track, this ReGroove automation trick might come in very handy to create some further dynamics in your tracks. And you are not limited to applying this to drums only. You can apply this to any set of note lanes for any note-generating devices.

Just a Quick Tip. . . don’t forget your Solos and Mutes!

I just wanted to post this quick video to point out the idea of automating your solos and mutes on your mixer. Often times it’s easy to forget to use your mixer as a creative tool when producing the track. Having some play with the solos, mutes, and other aspects of the mixer can open you up to a lot of creative potential. It’s a great way to add more dynamism to your tracks.

Here’s a file based on Emile’s comment below this post. Emile’s tip is about tying the Noise Oscillator in slot 1 to an Analog Oscillator in slot 2. I kind of ran with it to provide a bit of a strange patch here. But it might spark some ideas. It has to do with modulating the kbd and pitch of the Noise Oscillator to affect the sound of the Analog Oscillator. The file is a zip format file which contains an .rns with the setup. Have a look here: kbd-pitch-idea

Well, that’s it for now. Let me know how these tricks work for you? And if you have any others, please start up a discussion and let us all benefit. Until next time, happy reasoning!