The Kick Toolkit Refill: Available Now!

I've been dropping the occasional hint about a top secret project that I've been working on for months, but it's finally here! Introducing the Kick Toolkit Refill, the first commercial refill from the Reason Patch A Day blog.

The Kick Toolkit Refill is a mini-refill dedicated to bass kick drum sounds and low-frequency sound sculpting, perfect for nearly any genre or style of music.

The Kick Toolkit Refill contains:

• Kick Drum WAVs: Over 300 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.

So, how does it work and what does it sound like? I have a few demo files, taken from the refill, that I'd like to share with you to give you an idea of what you can find in the new refill. The first is a fairly standard kick drum sample:

• Kick Toolkit - Kick 17 ( WAV File )
• Kick Toolkit - Kick 17 ( NN19 Patch )
• Kick Toolkit - Kick 17 ( Combinator )

Here's another simple kick drum sample that could be used in a number of different projects. As you can see, all of the samples provided have an accompanying NN-19 and Combinator included in the refill, which allows you to quickly play back a clean version of each WAV file. Also included in the refill are a few additional Combinator patches, labeled as "extra," that provide a slightly modified sample playback:

• Kick Toolkit - Kick 96 ( WAV File )
• Kick Toolkit - Kick 96 ( NN19 Patch )
• Kick Toolkit - Kick 96 ( Combinator )
• Kick Toolkit - Kick 96 - Extra ( Combinator )

In addition to the deep, thumping kicks you'd expect, I also experimented with using the Mbase 11 Analog Bass Drum Module to create a handful of higher pitched percussion sounds that don't necessarily fit the typical "kick drum" sound. Here's an example of one of these less stereotypical kick drum samples:

• Kick Toolkit - Kick 27 ( WAV File )
• Kick Toolkit - Kick 27 ( NN19 Patch )
• Kick Toolkit - Kick 27 ( Combinator )
• Kick Toolkit - Kick 27 - Extra ( Combinator )

Beyond the 300+ kick drum samples provided in the Kick Toolkit Refill, I've provided a few effects and Combinators for use in tweaking your bass drum sounds. Here are two examples of what are essentially just filters, created using Reason's M-Class Equalizer:

• Kick Toolkit - High Frequency Rolloff ( Combinator )
• Kick Toolkit - Low Frequency Rolloff ( Combinator )

Given the narrow focus of the Kick Toolkit Refill, this mini-refill is available for only $5 and can be purchased via PayPal. Please use the link in the upper right of the sidebar to make your purchase or use the button below!

Please keep in mind that all refill orders will be filled manually and so it may take up to several hours to redeem, depending on the time of your order. Thank you for your patience and your interest!

Four Years?!?

It's absolutely shocking to me that, four years ago today, Reason Patch A Day was born. Since that first post I have shared well over 1,000 patches and samples, covering three major versions of Reason, and no doubt, hundreds of hours of work. Thanks for sticking with me and the blog over that incredible amount of time.

The success of the blog isn't just my achievement, of course, and a great deal of what has made Reason Patch A Day work over the years is the terrific readers I have here. Your donations, comments, and exceptional music have given me tremendous encouragement, so thank you for supporting me. The occasional reader patches I've received have been outstanding, as well. Thank you to all of you who have contributed in one way or another.

I was hoping to make a big announcement to celebrate this milestone, but unfortunately there have been a couple of bumps in the road that are keeping me from unveiling a project I've been working on, behind the scenes, for quite a while now. Expect something special from me soon.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, contribute, and breathe life into this weird experiment.

Ghostly's microKORG Analog Drum Kit Refill and new Reason Blog

Longtime readers might remember Ghostly, who submitted a Combinator to Reason Patch A Day based on the old Omnichord, back at the beginning of 2010.

Since then, Ghostly has tackled a similar challenge to what I've been doing here at PAD with an Alesis Micron patch a day blog, and has recently started another patch project for a different hardware synth, the microKORG - Patch A Week blog. With what looks to be an unending amount of energy, Ghostly has even started a combinators & refills blog.

Ghostly recently wrote to let me know that he's had a bit of a crossover with his latest ventures, having created a Reason Refill using samples from his efforts on his microKORG site. He wrote:

The microKORG ADK comprises eight drum sounds sampled direct from the microKORG and mapped in Redrum. I used a Combinator patch from the Discovering Reason website as a basis for my ADK which basically allows almost endless sequencing possibilities through the ReDrum itself and three Matrix Sequencers.

You can find the new refill here, as well as a number of other Reason treats at Ghostly's Combinators & Refills blog. Well done, Ghostly! And, thanks for letting us know about what you've been up to!

.1033 Commercial Sneak Peek: Rob Anselmi's Pureffects, Part 5

Here are the last few patches from Rob Anselmi's Pureffects ReFill, a collection of Alligator patches.

I think Alligator is my biggest blindspot in Reason's ever growing arsenal of devices, but Rob shows of its capabilities expertly with this handful of patches. As with everything that gets posted here on Reason Patch A Day, don't be afraid to experiment. His patch At The Maw, for example, yields some pretty interesting results with percussion loops, despite being labeled a "bass" patch.

• Pureffects - (Bass) Another Wobbler ( Alligator )
  
• Pureffects - (Bass) At The Maw ( Alligator )
  
• Pureffects - (General) Be Good Johnny 1980 ( Alligator )
  

In addition, our interview series also comes to an end with Rob some offering his advice to sound designers looking at creating their own refills and a peek at what Rob is working on for the future, now that he has the Pureffects ReFill finished.

Q. What process do you go through when creating a ReFill such as Pureffects? What advice can you offer any other sound designers?

A. There are two main things I would advise budding ReFill designers. First is make your ReFill for the musician, not for yourself. This means thinking about the musician and how they will use your ReFill. Have a good organization structure and folder structure with proper names that best explain your ReFill. Proper labels. Mixer at the top of any Combinators, proper organization under your Combinators, even levels across the ReFills. I go into this in depth in some of my “Creating Better Patches” series on my blog. But it all boils down to thinking of your users first and foremost.

Second, I would say try your best to learn all you can about how Reason, Audio, CV, Synthesis, and Sampling works. Sound design is part craft, part science, and part art. Suck up the knowledge like a sponge and read as much as you can on the subject. Then practice, practice, and practice some more. Find your own voice and your own sounds, and you’ll have the makings of a great ReFill.

Q.  What's next?  You just released two new CDs, a new refill, and you continue to write for your blog.  What's the next thing we can expect from you?

A. Well, I’m currently working on two new ReFill projects, which I’m hoping to get out before the end of the year. I don’t want to get too deep into the details, but I have a feeling they will be unlike any other ReFills out there. One project has to do with a micro-focus on a specific area of Reason, and another has to do with a micro focus on a specific kind of sound and genre. As always, I try to provide as many possibilities in my ReFills as I can. I want users to have as much flexibility and ideas inside my ReFills so that anyone doing any style of music can use the ReFills in some ways in their music. Or at the very least, as long as they have some new creative ideas to work with, they can take my ReFill as a springboard for their own sound design ideas.

Anyway, I know that’s rather vague, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. One thing I can say for sure is that it won’t be an effects ReFill. Though an update to “Pureffects: is on the ideas list for future projects.

As for other plans, I’d like to try to reach 101 tutorials before the end of the year. That deadline might be a little tight, but I would be very happy to hit that mark and start thinking of a new avenue for www.reason101.net – not to say I won’t still write the occasional tutorial. But I would like to see about taking on an alternate or additional creative direction once I’ve done 101 tutorials.

And then there’s the music. I enjoy releasing my own music and try to come up with a new EP or Full album of music at least once a year. And so I’m hoping I can get back into doing some more music before the year is out. And then there are the other 20 or so ideas I have for the future, but those will have to wait until next year. It’s always a process of whittling down all the ideas into a priority list. You pick the best ideas you have and work on those first, then move on to the next. All the while, the ideas change, more get added, some get removed, and some move up or down in the list of priorities. Maybe I’ll stop when all the ideas are completed. But something tells me that it’s a never-ending journey, and if so, I rather like it that way. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Thank you, Rob, for your generosity of time in answering my many questions and thank you for giving Reason Patch A Day readers a few, exclusive looks at what you have in store for them in your latest project.

Readers wanting to learn more about the Pureffects ReFill are encouraged to visit Rob's refill site for a demo refill, video, and links to purchase. Readers should also be sure to check out Rob's informative blog, Reason 101, for tutorials and in-depth looks at what Reason can do.

.1032 Commercial Sneak Peek: Rob Anselmi's Pureffects, Part 4

The exclusive patches from Rob Anselmi's new Pureffects ReFill keep coming with four new Scream distortion patches. These four patches make up just a fraction of the 108 total Scream patches included in the refill, but should give you an idea of what's on tap as you dig deeper into Pureffects and its hundreds of effects.

• Pureffects - (General) Hammer Head ( Scream )
  
• Pureffects - (General) Hi Fuzz ( Scream )
  
• Pureffects - (General) Overdrive Enhancer ( Scream )
  
• Pureffects - (Pads) Ultra Modulator ( Scream )
  

My virtual chat with Rob takes a short detour from his design philosophies as a refill designer as we take a moment to talk about Reason in general and which effects he thinks are being overlooked by Reason users.

Q.  Given your entire refill is based around effects, what Reason effect do you think is widely underutilized by the Reason community? What's the "secret weapon" that no one seems to be talking about?

A. I think that would depend mostly on when people picked up Reason. For those that started using Reason 1 and up, there probably is no secret weapon. However, if you started out using Reason 4, for example, you may not have paid much attention to the half-rack devices. And they shouldn't be overlooked. There's a lot of power in those little buggers. For example, you can stereo-ize any mono signal using the Unison device. This is useful if you want to process an audio signal through the M Class Stereo effect, for example. Or you can use it to beef up your Subtractor patches. A small unassuming device that seems very basic, but could be very powerful.

I also think that as Reason grows and more devices are added, there are more possibilities for some devices to go by the wayside. The device that I personally use the least amount is the half rack compressor (Comp-01). I think that since we have the M Class Compressor, Master Bus Compressor, Mixer Channel Strip Compressor, and Pulveriser, there's very little need to use the Comp-01. However, I'm sure others can find a usefulness for this device. I've just never missed it with all the other possibilities.

It also depends on what people have an affinity for. Lately, I've been heavily drawn to highly textured deep rich sounds, ambient pads, and the like. So I find my secret weapons of choice to be Thor along with the RV7000, Scream, Pulveriser, or DDL devices. I also like the Tape Echo and Ring Modulators in Kong. But honestly, I try not to discriminate. All the devices in Reason have their place and their purpose. And I love trying to push the software to its limits. It's a never-ending journey and to this day, even after 8 years, I still find new capabilities and ideas inside Reason, without having to venture outside into other DAWs or VSTs.

And now we will soon have Rack Extensions, which will add more possibilities, and that should prove very interesting indeed.

Don't forget you can learn more about the Pureffects ReFill, as well as download a demo, by visiting the Pureffects site.

.1031 Commercial Sneak Peek: Rob Anselmi's Pureffects, Part 3

This week's sneak peek at the Pureffects ReFill continues with a trio of new Echo patches from the 200 available. Delay effects are some of my favorites, so all three of these patches put a smile on my face. I highly recommend you check them out for a taste of what's available in the Pureffects ReFill.

• Pureffects - (General) Faux Feedback ( Echo )
  
• Pureffects - (General) Instant Reverberations A ( Echo )
  
• Pureffects - (Vox) Filling Out The Chorus ( Echo )
  

My conversation with Rob Anselmi, the mastermind behind the Pureffects ReFill, also continues. Today he addresses a question I had about finding inspiration when tackling Reason's newest devices and talks briefly about his addition to the Reason Factory Soundbank.

Read our continuing conversation below:

Q.  Were there any techniques or ideas that you found particular inspiring for this collection of effects?  Or, did you stumble across anything that clicked into place for you and helped shape the project?

A. I think the Kong Players were definitely a part of the process that "clicked" for me. Trying to figure out how to get as much control over as many parts of the effects as possible within the confines of 16 pads, and how to get as many different possible combinations of effects as possible within a 4-pad effect chain was something of a challenge. But in the end, I think it worked out quite well.

Another part of the process that hit home for me were the feedback possibilities of The Echo device. There were so many amazing possibilities available by routing other effect devices through the Feedback loop, that it was both inspiring and challenging to get cool new usable effects from them.

Finally, I think the Pulveriser was one of my favorite devices for so many things, from subtle warming or compressing effects to completely mangling your sound. The routing possibilities on the back allows for some really nice possibilities, especially Filter Frequency Modulation. And I use it on almost all my drum sounds in one way or another when I'm putting together tracks. Though, of course, as always happens after the project is completed, I thought of many other ideas that I wish I had put into Pureffects. But maybe one of these days I'll put all those ideas in an update.

Then there's the Alligator. I was particularly proud to see that the Propellerheads' chose one of my patch designs as the initial default effect when you load the device. That was completely unexpected. But I think it reaffirmed that I was on the right track with that device. I've been using it quite a bit to add some movement to a lot of the sounds in my songs these days, especially gating the Bass.

There is still plenty more to sample and learn about Pureffects, so come back tomorrow and get a tiny taste of the 108 Scream patches Rob included in his refill and hear which devices Rob thinks are being underutilized by Reason sound designers and users.

.1030 Commercial Sneak Peek: Rob Anselmi's Pureffects, Part 2

Rob was kind enough to send along a fairly large assortment of patches from his Pureffects ReFill, enough that even while posting several a day, we have many days worth to share. So, today, the focus falls on Reason 6's Pulveriser effect, with two designed specifically for percussion and two more meant for processing guitars. I'm especially fond of the hi-hat patch, but they're all great.

• Pureffects - (Guitar) Let The Distortion Drive You Mad ( Pulveriser )
  
• Pureffects - (Guitar) Simple Wah 1-16 ( Pulveriser )
  
• Pureffects - (Hi Hat) Hi Rez Lifter ( Pulveriser )
  
• Pureffects - (Kick) Amp Mod Kicker ( Pulveriser )
  

As promised yesterday, I also had the chance to have a virtual chat with Rob about his process in creating the Pureffects ReFill. The first part of our Q&A is provided below and talks about the origins of the refill and how it moved from idea to completed project.

Q.  How does a project like Pure Effects start for you?  Did you set out to design a new refill from the start or did you find yourself creating patches that eventually made sense to bundle as a refill?  And, once you got the idea to do a refill like this, how long did it take you to go from initial inspiration to completed product?

A. For me, the problem is not so much how to start a project. It's more about how to finish all the projects I want to get done or have inside my head. I keep a few notebooks that I use to jot down ideas and thoughts, and what makes me start a project is a combination of interest and originality. I don't want to work on projects that don't interest me. Otherwise, I'll get bored with it quickly, or else it becomes "drudge work." I much prefer doing something that keeps my interest. That way, I don't tire with it and it's actually "fun." I think every project should be "fun," whether it's venturing into a different musical style, or working on a sound design idea that I haven't tried before.
Second, it's a matter of looking at the marketplace and trying to come up with a unique angle or creative new product. It's the same with creating Combinators in Reason. I don't want to create the same thing over again. Or the same thing that others have created. I try as much as possible to create ideas that I haven't seen before, or putting a new twist on existing Combinators.

This whole idea of being unique where ReFills are concerned is rather difficult, because there's such a plethora of ReFills in the marketplace. But I had never seen a ReFill that focused purely on effects. So that was my starting point. It also helped that I was part of the team that developed new sounds and effects for Reason 6. When I saw that Reason 6 was focused on introducing The Echo, Pulveriser, and Alligator, three new effect devices, it became a natural progression and the idea for Pureffects was born.

As for how long it took to create Pureffects, that's a complicated answer. Some of the ideas for the Key and Kong-based effects processors were previously done a year or two ago. I just combined those ideas with the single-device patches to produce live effect processor devices. But when I seriously started on Pureffects, it probably took about 6 months to complete. However, the new effect device patches probably took about 3 months to complete.

I remember some days creating upward of 50 patches per day. Other days I worked on no more than 3 or 5 per day, mostly fine-tuning the Combinators or getting the levels right. I still probably have over 2,000 patches that never made the cut for Pureffects. It was a massive project for me, and took considerable time out of each and every day. I remember thinking at the end of it that the last thing I wanted to do was look at another effect device for a very long time. That's when I switched gears and focused on producing a whole mess of songs, which later became the double "Dark" & "Light" CD / Remix project.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for more of my discussion with Rob, as well as a few more Pureffects exclusives.