In this tutorial, I’m going to show you some new ideas for Glitch Boxes in Reason 4 and Reason 5. Because, hey, we can never have enough glitch boxes or IDM-style sounds. Just like you can never have enough creativity. Consider this a “Glitch Box (Part 2)” for those that missed my first installment. And if you’re interested, go here for more: Glitch Boxes (Part 1).
Download the project files here: more-glitch-boxes This is a single zip file with one RNS file containing both Combinators. Since those with Reason 4 won’t be able to open the file, I’ve included the Combinators separately. Note that one of the Combinators is for Reason 4 and up, while the other one is for Reason 5. Sorry to those who can’t open the R5 file, but you at least get to use the R4 Glitch Box Combinator right?
Glitching up Keith LeBlanc via the Dr. OctoRex (for Reason 5)
I’ll start with the Reason 5 approach, which uses a Dr. OctoRex to apply some interesting variations to a single loop, then copies that loop multiple times into various different slots. Once that’s done, you change all the slice parameters in all the different loops. Then send the 8 audio outputs of the OctoRex to different FX devices (even the Kong FX) and back into the Mixer channels. Using this setup, you could even apply different mastering FX to the different outputs.
Incidentally, I’m using a rex file that’s located in the Factory Soundbank that was created by drummer Keith LeBlanc. I was supremely excited to see some of his material included in the FSB (among other very talented individuals). If you haven’t heard of him; he, along with Adrian Sherwood, Doug Wimbish, Skip McDonald, and even Mark Stewart, formed a group back in the 80’s called “Tackhead” which were revolutionary at the time. I would highly suggest you visit these links and explore them further on your own. While not the first band to ever use samples, they were one of the first bands to heavily rely on them for their music. And they ushered in the industrial hip hop genre which was an amazingly ecclectic mix of genres. Their music may sound a little dated now, but still gets me going. Definitely worth your time to explore. Luckily I have the original “Tackhead Tape Time” LP (yes, an actual original issue LP). But enough about that. Let’s get busy Glitching up Keith LeBlanc!
Once the basic setup is in place, you can go crazy editing all the slice parameters, but pay special attention to the “Out” or “Output” parameter. This is what will send the various slices to the various FX devices. So that’s going to have the most impact on how the slice is played.
Lastly (and this is discussed in Part 3 below), you can set up a few CV sources via Thor devices, and send them to the different FX device CV sources. In this way, you can take the Glitch Box to a whole new level of crazy. Don’t miss it.
Glitch Box (Redux – for Reason 4)
In this second approach, I wanted to give Reason 4 users another way to create some Glitch in their rack. This is an idea I got from delving into the Glitch Box Combinator that comes with the Factory Soundbank. It was an old patch that has been around since R3, and so it uses a few NN19s hooked up to a 14:2 Mixer, and the mixer levels are triggered by the Redrum CV Gate outs. In this one, I update the idea by using a few Thor devices. You can really have a lot of fun using a few different Wavetable oscillators, and changing around the LFO2 Wave types and rates between all the Thor devices (this is something I neglected to do in the video below, but I would think it would produce some interesting variations). Anyway, this method can be used in R4 and above and is for all those who haven’t yet purchased Reason 5. But seriously, what are you waiting for?
So does anyone else out there have some good glitch ideas or know ways in which these combinators can be improved? Possibly adding some mastering or Reverb before they hit the mixer is one thought I had. Any other ideas?