.959 The Echo: Conga Line

Sometimes the toughest thing about creating a new patch every day is trying to figure out what name to give it; balancing that fine line between descriptive and entertaining. I mean, I could name this patch anything at all. I could call it "Ernie," but weeks from now, months from now, when the furthest thing in your mind is checking this blog for a decent description of the patches you've downloaded, you're going to want to be able to just look at its filename and know it'll work in a project you're banging out.

My first thought was to call it was it is. Today's delay, built using Reason 6's new "The Echo" effect, is built specifically for those upper frequency percussion hits like hi-hats, congas, and rimshots. So, my initial impulse was to call it "Hi-hats Only," but not being able to get images of Ricky Ricardo performing down at the Tropicana Club out of my head, I decided to go with the much more colorful Conga Line.

I say this quite a bit, but I actually like today's patch quite a bit. It sounds terrible when used with deeper frequency sounds. A nice, deep kick somehow becomes a clap when you try to push it through Conga Line (which might be useful), but on a shaker or hi-hat or a conga pattern, its perfect for a wide, spacious soundstage.

I can tell I need to spend more time with The Echo. It was the device I was most excited about when the sneak peek videos came out, but strangely I've been ignoring it since getting Reason 6 on my hard drive. That's a mistake. This new device looks (and sounds) like a lot of fun.

• Conga Line ( Echo Patch )