.288 Reason Combinator: Auto-Pan

Here's a patch I initially designed on a scrap of paper, jotting down ideas while sitting at a coffee shop, which I just now got around to actually building. It's an extremely simple design, but like some of the other patches I build and rebuild within the projects I'm working on (see the Visual EQ and SubWide Combiantors), Auto-Pan is worth making into a Combinator if only to save myself a little time.

So, what does Auto-Pan do? As I mentioned in the post for Navi Retlav's 32-band/3D Compressor, I often use either Reason's Matrix Pattern Sequencer or panning automation to provide very subtle shifts in left and right panning to provide a little movement and interest to a pad or other instrument. This slight bit of movement works to keep a pad from seeming too static, and while the shifts aren't always immediately noticeable, keep the instrument from sounding overly repetitive. The Auto-Pan Combinator provides 32 patterns that can be quickly used to provide that kind of "automated" panning. With very minimal automation in the Combinator, you can also quickly switch between patterns, running an instrument through several panning patterns in a single song.

Banks A through C provide a few different patterns, in varying degrees of pan severity, that work especially well with pads and synths to move your instruments around the soundfield. The last bank, D, provides 8 patterns of randomized patterns (created using Command/Control + R) that are useful for FX samples and some percussion instruments, throwing them all over your soundfield. I use this kind of setup with hi-hats and rimshots quite a bit to give them a little more energy in a track.

The RNS file provided is very basic, but uses automation of the Combinator's Rotary 1 knob to switch patterns while the sample bars are played.

• Auto-Pan ( Combinator | RNS File )
  

Reason's Matrix has shockingly few controls that can be accessed through Combinator's Programmer, so you might find yourself "opening" up this Combinator quite a bit to interact with the Matrix directly, either by modifying its included patterns or changing its "speed" through manipulation of its Resolution knob. This is, of course, encouraged, so don't be afraid of changing the default values included within Auto-Pan to make it your own.

You might even want to consider using Auto-Pan as a starting place to build several specific variations, perhaps coming up with "Auto-Pan: Rhythms" and "Auto-Pan: Dance Synths" or whatever best suits your workflow and style, giving you fast access to panning patterns that best suit your projects and sound.

Also, remember that you can use multiple Auto-Pans, especially if you're layering synths or working with split channels. While over-doing it might lead to a muddy blur of sound, creative use of a handful of Auto-Pan Combinators might be just what you need to get a distinctive effect or sound. For example, try splitting a pad's left and right channels, running each channel through its own Auto-Pan using an identical pattern, but offset 4 or 8 steps, using the Matrix's "Shift Pattern Left" or "Shift Pattern Right" commands (found in the Edit menu, while you have your Matrix highlighted).