If your music relies on fresh, ear-grabbing sounds, you'll love Reaktor. Native Instruments' flagship softsynth isn't just packed with cool presets: it's a set of more than 20 different instruments, all of them packed with cool presets. Reaktor's waveshaping, granular, and analog-style subtractive synthesis styles give sound designers an endless variety of sonic resources — and if for some reason you can't find what you need, you can pop the hood and create your own synth using Reaktor's basic components.
Reaktor's resources are so extensive that I had trouble figuring out what to focus on in this article. What you're about to read isn't "the basics of Reaktor," nor is it "how to make a synthesizer from scratch using Reaktor modules" (a fascinating topic, but most of us would rather make music). Instead, I'll steer you to several of Reaktor's factory Ensembles and point out ways to use some specific features that you may not have noticed. If you don't yet have the program, download the free demo here.
At first glance, Reaktor's Carbon 2 instrument (Figure 1) seems to be a fairly standard three-oscillator, analog-subtractive synth. But the variety and color of the factory presets suggest that it has some hidden depths.
You can apply saturation (mild distortion) both pre-filter and post-filter, for instance, using the small controls at the top of the filter section. This is a great way to fatten up a sound. Try selecting three sine waves in the oscillator section, detuning them slightly, and adding lots of saturation both before and after a resonant lowpass filter. This patch creates a thick, unstable warbling tone.
Figure 1. Reaktor's Carbon 2 synth has three oscillators (left) and a versatile multimode filter (center). The saturation parameters are circled. The envelopes and effects share panel space on the right thanks to Reaktor 5's much-needed panel tab system. (Click to enlarge.)The Carbon documentation has a few glitches. On the oscillator sync page, the tooltip asserts that high values of the Sft-Hrd parameter cause soft synchronization, but this is backwards. A setting of 40 or 50 will increase the "grit factor" when the slave oscillator's pitch is swept by an envelope in a classic sync patch. Here's an example of oscillator sync:
Both the tooltip and the printed Instrument Guide fail to mention that the width of the pulse wave can be modulated from the oscillator wave page (see Figure 2). And speaking of modulation, it's not correct to say that the dual inputs for Src A and Src B in the oscillator and filter pages "mix" or "sum" the two input signals. If the first input is left blank, the second input can be used for external modulation (from a mod wheel, for instance). But when both inputs are active, the two signals are multiplied, not added: the second input scales the amount of the first input. That allows you to control the depth of LFO modulation from the mod wheel, which is an essential feature.
Figure 2. The manual doesn't mention it, but here's where you change the pulse width of a waveform. Automating this parameter creates a rich, animated sound.
Carbon's effects are standard fare, except for the pitch shifter. I like this with settings of 7 and 12 half-steps, the reverse button lit, and the grain knobs most of the way to the left (producing large grains; see Figure 3). Playing one note at a time produces an animated open-fifths texture, as you can hear in this example:
Figure 3. Nastifying the Pitch Shifter effect
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Vectory (Figure 4) is an amazingly versatile instrument for performing live computerized percussion. Reading the Instrument Guide will explain most of what you need to know, including the fact that the realtime MIDI control inputs are accessed by typing Ctrl-2 (Command-2 on the Mac). This "hidden" page also contains the sample data. To switch back, type Ctrl-1 (Command-1). Vectory will play dozens of different sounds, but they're all contained in a single long sample.
Figure 4. Vectory is optimized for step-sequencing percussion. Sequences (left) contain reverse, amplitude, hold, stretch, slur, and pitch control for each step as well as sample select (the large grid at the top). You can choose from among 128 sequences using the Seq Select and Bank controls on the upper right.You can load your own sample into the hidden panel by right-clicking (Mac: Control-clicking) on the gray bar above the waveform display (see Figure 5). The factory waveform is at 175 bpm, and is 36 measures long. Using these parameters as a guideline, I had no trouble creating my own bank of percussion sounds to use. Using the Sample BPM parameter just below the waveform, though, it's possible to import a 36-measure sample at any tempo and have it line up with Vectory's grid. (The three parameters just to the right of this number seem to be decimal places for fine-tuning the tempo.) Compressing and normalizing the file before you import it is probably a good idea.
Figure 5. Instead of the usual MIDI Learn feature, Vectory uses a separate panel for MIDI input control. The XY 2 control will respond to MIDI notes if you click the Note button.
While using Vectory as a plug-in, you won't be able to use Ctrl-2 (Command-2) to open the hidden panel page, so you'll need to select a waveform, set up the MIDI control assignments, store a snapshot, and save the Ensemble while running Reaktor in standalone mode. Be sure to switch back to the main panel page using Ctrl-1 (Command-1) before saving the Ensemble; if you neglect this step, the Ensemble will load into the host showing only the second page. After saving the Ensemble, load it into your host and you'll be ready to go.
The grain randomness parameter, which is mentioned in the Instrument Guide but not named on the panel, can be controlled using the standard MIDI Learn method. (Right- or Control-click an object, select MIDI Learn from the pop-up menu, and then wiggle a hardware MIDI knob or slider.) This parameter is useful for adding a little variable color to a repeating beat, in the unlikely event that you happen to leave a Vectory beat repeating for a few bars before changing it (see Figure 6).
Figure 6. Right-clicking the unlabeled Grain Randomness control lets you assign a MIDI controller to it, adding some sonic variation to a loop.
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Below we'll have a few tips on using one of Reaktor's more visionary Ensembles in Ableton Live. If you want to play Reaktor live as a stand-alone instrument, here are some ideas:
Reaktor can respond to MIDI program changes. To enable this feature, right-click (Mac: Control-click) on a blank part of the background window and select Ensemble Properties from the pop-up menu. (This menu item may be labeled Instrument Properties.) Click on the Function tab — the one that looks like gears — and check Recall by MIDI.
Figure 8. The morph slider is useful both for real-time control and for coming up with new ideas for presets.
The morph slider in the Snapshots window provides a great way to make complex changes in the sound onstage with a single gesture. Select a preset you want to morph, move the knobs you want to morph, use the Append button in the Snapshots window to save it, and then select the original and your new version in the two morph slots. MIDI Learn can't be used to assign a MIDI Control Change message to the morph slider, but the assignment can be made manually. Open the Properties box for the instrument, go to the fourth tab page, and choose a number under Morph Ctrl in the right column.
Morphing only applies to knobs, not switches. If a knob isn't responding to your morph moves, right-click (Mac: Control-click) on it, open the Properties box, and uncheck Mrph/Rnd Isolate.
To make sure I wasn't missing details on morphing, I logged onto the Native Instruments user forum and did a quick search. This forum is a terrific resource for any Reaktor user—the company's tech support team tracks the messages actively and responds to queries.
Figure 9: Skrewell is a tone generator that plays happily by itself for hours, producing eerie mutant tones.
There are no secrets to reveal about Skrewell — it's all right there on the surface (see Figure 9). Skrewell generates bizarre quasi-random bursts and sheets of tone by itself, and while you have extensive control over the sounds thanks to 64 parameters and three modes, it's just about impossible to predict the result of tweaking.
But let's say you're playing some ambient gigs with Reaktor and Ableton Live. Maybe you'd like to take a break and leave Skrewell playing by itself in order to amuse or perplex your audiences. Here's an easy way to keep them on the edges of their seats.
The four knobs at the bottom of the Skrewell panel (Osc, Filter, Delay, and Flow) can respond to external MIDI control. After inserting Reaktor on one MIDI track in Live and loading Skrewell, create four more MIDI tracks and name them osc, filter, delay, and flow. Set the MIDI output of each track to the Reaktor track, and set the Reaktor track to IN mode.
In each of the subsidiary MIDI tracks, create a clip. Extend all of them so that they're a number of measures long — and make each of them a different length. This is important, as it will cause Skrewell to not repeat itself anytime soon. In the osc track, switch off Snap to Grid and draw a MIDI CC1 curve. The exact shape doesn't matter, but you may want a mostly smooth contour with perhaps one or two brief interruptions of different values to provide contrast.
Go back to Skrewell, right-click on the Osc knob, and select MIDI Learn. Then start the clip in the Live osc track. That will assign Skrewell's Osc knob to CC1. Stop that clip, then go to the filter track and create a CC2 contour. Arm MIDI Learn for Skrewell's Filter knob and start the CC2 clip. Continue until each knob is assigned to its own CC.
After slowing Live's tempo down to 60 bpm or less (so the controller changes will be more gradual) and possibly adding a delay line to Skrewell's output, choose a Skrewell preset, trigger all four clips, and head over to the bar for your favorite beverage. Here's an example:
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The Ensembles in the Classics folder aren't documented in the Instrument Guide, which is a shame, because there are some great musical instruments among the Classics. One of my favorites is the granular synthesis step sequencer called GrainStates SP (see Figure 10). This instrument baffled me when I first fired it up. The way to learn it, I found, was to simplify the patch and work with one control at a time.
Figure 10. GrainStates SP deconstructs a sample into short grains. The eight modules each provide separate settings for grain playback. You can step-sequence the modules or trigger them live using a MIDI keyboard. (Click to enlarge.)
GrainStates uses a single waveform as source material; this is selected using the Sel knob in the lower left corner. You can also load your own wave. Spoken word phrases can be great fun, as you can hear in this before-and-after demonstration:
The eight identical modules in the center area are the sequencer steps. Each step has a set of controls for the playback of audio grains. But the labels on the controls are cryptic, and the information in the tooltips is incomplete. Here's how to start learning the instrument:
Begin your experiments by dragging the crosshairs around in the square control area. The X coordinate controls the position of the grain (you'll see a vertical line move in the waveform display), and the Y coordinate controls the length of the grain. Extremely short grains will produce a sustained tone.
Turning up the Smear knob will cause grains of varying lengths to overlap. Moving the PJ slider to the right will give each grain a different random pitch. The Glp and Glv knobs don't do anything, because they control the transition from the previous sequencer step to this one. In order to hear the transitions, you'll need to start the sequencer.
For the sequencer to run, the Reaktor start button in the panel toolbar has to be pressed. In addition, you have to make sure that the mSel (MIDI select) button in the MIDI section is not lighted, as this button overrides the sequencer. The button allows steps to be triggered manually from a MIDI keyboard.
In the sequencer control section, set NrSt (number of steps) to two. That will cause only the first two steps to be active. Set the controls for these steps to different values and listen to the changes in sound color. The Glp (pitch glide) knob will work only if the two steps have different transpose values; the Glv knob interpolates between the other settings during the transition to the new step.
GrainStates has a number of other features, but this quick guided tour should give you a better idea what you can do with it.
Even if you're not ready to dive into designing your own synthesizer in Reaktor, there are some simple things you can do to expand your sound palette. Adding an effect processor to an instrument is a good place to start. Many of the factory Ensembles contain only one instrument. You can view this by right-clicking on an empty part of the panel window and selecting Ensemble Structure from the pop-up menu (see Figure 11).
Figure 11. The top-level structure of most Reaktor Ensembles is quite simple: a single instrument sends its signal to the Audio Out object.
Right-click on a blank spot in the Ensemble Structure window and select Insert Instrument > Effects. The Banaan Electrique multi-effect might be a good choice. (Yes, that's Dutch for "electric banana," a reference to an ancient song by Donovan.) After inserting the effect, delete the wires connecting the synth to the Audio Out module, reconnect them to the effect's inputs, and connect its outputs to the Audio Out (see Figure 12).
Figure 12. Here, I've added an effect to the Ensemble, patching it between the instrument and the output.
With much of Reaktor's factory library, switching from the A panel to the B panel does nothing: the two panels are identical. After trying this a few times, you may give up and assume that what you see is what you get. That would be a mistake.
The Kaleidon synth, found in the Classics folder, arrives from the factory with the B panel active. Unlike many Reaktor synths, Kaleidon doesn't have identical A and B panel views. Click on the A panel and drag the corner of the window down until you can view the whole thing (see Figure 13). This is where most of the parameters of this massive synth are hiding.
Figure 13. More knobs and switches than any three synthesists could ever need are available in the A panel for Kaleidon, one of the Ensembles in the Classics folder. (Click to enlarge.)
A nuclear reactor is a hot place that produces new, unstable isotopes. That's a pretty good description of Reaktor, too. In this article I've had room to explore only a tiny subset of the program's capabilities. Now it's your turn, so don that protective gear, grab the fuel rods, and watch your computer start to glow.
Jim Aikin writes about music technology for a variety of publications and websites. His most recent books are Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming and Chords & Harmony.
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