Monday, September 1, 2014

More With Ivoks Electromusical Synthesizer

I'm really falling in love with the Ivoks Electromusical Synthesizer by Red Rock Sound. It really seems to hit that sweet spot between ease-of-use and complexity. Or, put another way, its design is simple enough that using it isn't a chore, but deep enough that you're rewarded for spending some time with it. If you like to twist knobs just to see what will happen, real or virtual, Ivoks should put a smile on your face.

Like the patches I shared yesterday today's patches fall into the realm of stereotypical 70s and 80s computer noises, so they tend towards a more raw, piercing sound. Layer some complex delay patterns over them and drown them in reverb to get something a little more suitable for more traditional synth roles.

If you're late in finding these, you can download all of them by clicking here rather than grabbing each individual patch.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

A Look At Ivoks Electromusical Synthesizer

Have you picked up Red Rock Sound's brilliant Ivoks Electromusical Synthesizer yet? I've really tried to resist the urge to pick up random REs because I'd rather know how to use a few tools really well, than have access to a bunch of tools I don't understand, but something about Ivoks intrigued me and so I bought it a shortly after it arrived.

It really is a fun little synth. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around how its Modulator works, so I'm far from really knowing this synth, but I got on a roll yesterday creating a series of synth patches that I thought I'd share. Named after fictional, sometimes megalomaniacal computers from books and movies, I present the CPU series:

The patches sound like their namesakes and are filled with 70's bleeps and bloops. If you're looking for something subtle and smooth, these probably aren't the patches for you, but if you're looking for a sound that's decidedly cro-magnon school, these might scratch that itch. Try them with some heavy, split stereo delay and some dub style reverb.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Reason Patch A Day Is Back... Well, For Today Anyway!

Since effectively shutting down Reason Patch A Day almost a year and a half ago, I've kept busy making a few new patches here and there, but for the most part it hasn't been the kind of daily effort I put in for over four years. I've been building a few sounds and effects for my own use, but today I got inspired and thought I would share the results of that inspiration with the few of you that still drop in to visit.

Started as an attempt to make an artificial sounding series of percussion hits, the Cricket series grew pretty quickly from "strange noises" into an entire kit of sounds, all created using Reason 4's Thor synth. We're spoiled for options in Reason these days, with a number of capable and powerful built-in tools for drums, as well as a number of new and different Rack Essentials. It's easy to forget how much fun "old" tools can be and I had a blast putting these together today.

I spent a lot of time working with the Mod Wheel on each of these patches, something I rarely do when I put together percussion patches. I am pretty happy with the added effort, however, so if the default sound of a patch doesn't fit your project, move the Mod Wheel up or down to fine-tune it a bit.

While experimenting with the Percussion 6 patch, I started getting sounds that made more sense as bass tones, than percussion elements so I went ahead and created a couple of bass patches that should fit well with the rest of the series.

The next logical step, given that I stepped away from straight percussion patches in this series, was to put together a couple of synth patches. Like the bass patches these were created from the Percussion 6 patch and really benefit from use of the Mod Wheel.

With over thirty patches there is a lot to work with here, but I do feel like the series is still missing a few vital pieces. For example, although there are six closed hi-hat sounds, I haven't provided any useful open hi-hat patches, to say nothing of the complete lack of any toms.. Also, there are the typical missing sounds like shakers, rim shots, and claps, which are a little tricky to build using Thor, but not impossible. I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for an expansion of these sounds, but it's not that far-fetched either. If I come up with something else, you can be sure I will post it here.

Enjoy! And, if you use these to create something awesome, please be sure to let me know. I'd love to hear it!

Edit: I stupidly forgot to put any velocity programming into the Cricket series, so if you've already downloaded these, you might want to take the time to grab them all again and get the option for a little expression to your drums. Sorry about that! I'm a little out of practice!

Friday, December 27, 2013

The Refills Are Still Available

While posting a new track over on Soundcloud this morning, it occurred to me that I should let everyone know that I'm still filling orders for the Patch A Day Four Year Archive and the Kick Toolkit refills, should you still be interested in them.

Please see below for details and remember that each refill is "filled" manually. Depending on the time of your order, it may take me an hour or two to get you your download link, but rest assured, you'll get it!




Reason Patch A Day Archive, Four Year Refill



I merged all of the patches from Reason Patch A Day into one, giant refill that covers all four years of the blog. There are refills that contain more sounds, of course, but the size of this thing still surprises me with well over 1,405 patches and sounds.




  • 184 Bass Patches
  • 64 Combinators: Effects
  • 33 Combinators: Instruments
  • 66 Effect Patches
  • 3 Kong Kits
  • 322 Pad Patches
  • 355 Percussion Patches
  • 67 REX Loops
  • 142 Synth Patches
  • 12 Sampler Patches
  • 157 Samples
  • 5 Yamaha Drum Machine Kits


The Four Year Archive is available to anyone who donates $3 or more to the blog. That's the same price as if you had donated $1 per refill in the past and I'm willing to go back and look through previous purchases to make sure you get caught up, if that makes sense. It wouldn't hurt to remind me if you had purchased previous refills, if you only plan on sending me a dollar or two, but as you already know, I really do appreciate any support I get. Thanks so much!


Kick Toolkit Refill, v1.1



And, if you haven't already purchased it, the Kick Toolkit Refill has been updated recently to include even more analog kick drum samples.




The Kick Toolkit Refill contains:
  • Kick Drum WAVs: 400 unique kick drum samples created using the Jomox Mbase 11 Analog Bass Drum Module, a single voice analog synthesizer fine-tuned for producing a variety of bass drum sounds. Each kick was created specifically for this refill and was sampled at 24-bit resolution, with no outside processing, for the cleanest possible signal and sound.
  • Effects: The Kick Toolkit Refill contains 38 effect patches, using Reason's Scream, RV7000, Pulverizer, and other effect units.
  • Mini-Combis: One or two device Combinators designed specifically for the purpose of manipulating and sculpting kick drum patches and samples. Each Mini-Combi has been programmed with front panel control ranges designed for its limited task to make final tweaks fast and easy. A number of Mini-Combis have also been included to provide presets for devices that do not normally allow for loading and saving patches (ex. BV512 Vocoder). 11 mini-Combis are included, along with 43 additional presets, providing help with compression, equalization, and other general purposes.


The Kick Toolkit Refill costs just $5 and can be purchased using the sidebar link at the top of the page.


Bernard Childcare Trust Refill



And lastly, don't forget that you can still purchase the Bernard Childcare Trust, a collaborative refill from some great sound designers and terrific people. If you didn't already know, proceeds from the refill go to James Bernard's children, so in addition to getting some new sounds for your collection, you're purchase does some good for a valued member of our community.

Friday, August 16, 2013

There's A Little "Thunder" On The Horizon

I don't put up many posts these days, but I did want to let you all know that Rob from the ever excellent Reason 101 blog just released a new refill along with Odarmonix. These are top-notch sound designers and if you've gone back through the old posts here on PAD, you'll remember I've really enjoyed Rob's previous releases, specifically the mind-bending Generations and Swiss Army Pureffects. Thunder, which provides hundreds of new drum sounds and tools for Reason 6.0 and above, looks terrific! Check it out -- Thunder Refill

Sunday, July 7, 2013

26 New Thor Patches From Reason Patch A Day

Reason Patch A Day isn't back from the dead, but with the release of the new iPad Thor app, I've been "mighty" inspired. I thought I'd share a few of my new patches for those few people who still drop by here from time to time.

Enjoy!

Bass Patches



Pad Patches



Synth Patches


Monday, March 25, 2013

The Refills Are Still Available!

I spent a big chunk of the morning going back through four years of posts here on Reason Patch A Day and taking down patches and links. It was a bittersweet process and brought back a bunch of great memories. If you were here for any of the last four years, thanks again for being a part of such a great and strange experiment.

Please note, I did try to leave up posts for Bragware songs, equipment and refill reviews, and other bits that I thought might still be useful. It makes the blog a little disjointed, but I didn't want to erase everything.

The posts and patches are gone, but the refills are still available if you want them. Please see below for details and remember that each refill is "filled" manually. Depending on the time of your order, it may take me an hour or two to get you your download link, but rest assured, you'll get it!




Reason Patch A Day Archive, Four Year Refill



I merged all of the patches from Reason Patch A Day into one, giant refill that covers all four years of the blog. There are refills that contain more sounds, of course, but the size of this thing still surprises me with well over 1,405 patches and sounds.




  • 184 Bass Patches
  • 64 Combinators: Effects
  • 33 Combinators: Instruments
  • 66 Effect Patches
  • 3 Kong Kits
  • 322 Pad Patches
  • 355 Percussion Patches
  • 67 REX Loops
  • 142 Synth Patches
  • 12 Sampler Patches
  • 157 Samples
  • 5 Yamaha Drum Machine Kits


The Four Year Archive is available to anyone who donates $3 or more to the blog. That's the same price as if you had donated $1 per refill in the past and I'm willing to go back and look through previous purchases to make sure you get caught up, if that makes sense. It wouldn't hurt to remind me if you had purchased previous refills, if you only plan on sending me a dollar or two, but as you already know, I really do appreciate any support I get. Thanks so much!


Kick Toolkit Refill, v1.1



And, if you haven't already purchased it, the Kick Toolkit Refill has been updated recently to include even more analog kick drum samples.




The Kick Toolkit Refill contains:
  • Kick Drum WAVs: 400 unique kick drum samples created using the Jomox Mbase 11 Analog Bass Drum Module, a single voice analog synthesizer fine-tuned for producing a variety of bass drum sounds. Each kick was created specifically for this refill and was sampled at 24-bit resolution, with no outside processing, for the cleanest possible signal and sound.
  • Effects: The Kick Toolkit Refill contains 38 effect patches, using Reason's Scream, RV7000, Pulverizer, and other effect units.
  • Mini-Combis: One or two device Combinators designed specifically for the purpose of manipulating and sculpting kick drum patches and samples. Each Mini-Combi has been programmed with front panel control ranges designed for its limited task to make final tweaks fast and easy. A number of Mini-Combis have also been included to provide presets for devices that do not normally allow for loading and saving patches (ex. BV512 Vocoder). 11 mini-Combis are included, along with 43 additional presets, providing help with compression, equalization, and other general purposes.


The Kick Toolkit Refill costs just $5 and can be purchased using the sidebar link at the top of the page.


Bernard Childcare Trust Refill



And lastly, don't forget that you can still purchase the Bernard Childcare Trust, a collaborative refill from some great sound designers and terrific people. If you didn't already know, proceeds from the refill go to James Bernard's children, so in addition to getting some new sounds for your collection, you're purchase does some good for a valued member of our community.