Reason Studio 4255 Bassline Generator Player Instruction Manual
- June 14, 2024
- Reason Studio
Table of Contents
- 4255 Bassline Generator Player
- Specifications
- Overview
- Playing and using Bassline Generator
- Loading and saving patches
- Playing back patterns
- Setting the Root Note
- Basic preparations for pattern generation
- FAQ
- What is a Bassline Generator Player?
- How do I load and save patches?
- How do I select a pattern to play back or work with?
- How can I control the pitch and velocity of the pattern notes
- How do I set the root note in the pattern?
- How do I octave shift all the notes in Bassline Generator?
- What are the basic preparations for pattern generation?
- Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
- Download This Manual (PDF format)
4255 Bassline Generator Player
Specifications
- Product Name: Bassline Generator Player
- Version: 1.1
- Functionality: Generates monophonic note lines based on input
MIDI Notes
Overview
The Bassline Generator Player is a special type of device that
automatically processes, filters, and generates MIDI Notes to an
Instrument device in the rack. It can also play back MIDI on its
own without any MIDI input.
Playing and using Bassline Generator
Loading and saving patches
Loading and saving patches is done in the same way as with any
other internal Reason device. Refer to the Sounds and Patches
chapter in the Reason Operation Manual/Help for detailed
instructions. A Bassline Generator patch contains all the settings
for all eight Pattern slots.
Playing back patterns
Selecting Pattern
To select the pattern you want to play back or work with:
- Click the desired Pattern button.
Selecting Playback mode
This switch determines how the Run button is activated.
Enabling Pitch and Velocity Scaling
You can control the pitch (transposition) and scale the velocity
of your pattern notes by MIDI notes during playback.
-
Click the Pitch button to enable transposition of the pattern
notes from a MIDI keyboard/On-Screen Piano Keys. The figure in the
Root Note display shows the current base note. If the figure is
orange, it means it has been transposed via MIDI. -
Click the Velocity button to scale the velocities of the
pattern notes based on the keyboard velocity played from your MIDI
keyboard/On-Screen Piano Keys. The velocity of each individual note
will be scaled up/down according to how hard you play your MIDI
keyboard.
Setting the Root Note
To set the desired root note in the Pattern:
- Click and drag up/down in the Root Note display.
Octave shifting the notes
To octave shift all the notes in Bassline Generator:
- Use the Octave selector.
Basic preparations for pattern generation
First, there are a couple of basic parameters that should be set
up:
- Click and drag up/down in the Steps display to set the number
of steps in the pattern (Range: 16-64 steps).
FAQ
What is a Bassline Generator Player?
A Bassline Generator Player is a special type of device that
automatically processes, filters, and generates MIDI Notes to an
Instrument device in the rack. It can also play back MIDI on its
own without any MIDI input. It is designed to generate monophonic
note lines.
How do I load and save patches?
Loading and saving patches is done in the same way as with any
other internal Reason device. Refer to the Sounds and Patches
chapter in the Reason Operation Manual/Help for detailed
instructions.
How do I select a pattern to play back or work with?
To select a pattern, simply click the desired Pattern
button.
How can I control the pitch and velocity of the pattern notes
during playback?
You can control the pitch by enabling transposition from a MIDI
keyboard/On-Screen Piano Keys using the Pitch button. The velocity
of the pattern notes can be scaled based on the keyboard velocity
played from your MIDI keyboard/On-Screen Piano Keys using the
Velocity button.
How do I set the root note in the pattern?
To set the desired root note in the pattern, click and drag
up/down in the Root Note display.
How do I octave shift all the notes in Bassline Generator?
To octave shift all the notes, use the Octave selector.
What are the basic preparations for pattern generation?
Before generating patterns, make sure to set the number of steps
in the pattern by clicking and dragging up/down in the Steps
display (Range: 16-64 steps).
Bassline Generator Player
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Reason Studios AB. The software described herein is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to any other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Reason Studios AB. ©2022 Reason Studios and its licensors. All specifications subject to change without notice. Reason, Reason Intro, Reason Lite and Rack Extension are trademarks of Reason Studios AB. All other commercial symbols are protected trademarks and trade names of their respective holders. All rights reserved.
Bassline Generator Player
Introduction to Players
A Player is a special type of device that automatically processes, filters and
generates MIDI Notes, based on input MIDI Notes, to an Instrument device in
the rack. Players can also play back MIDI on their own, without any MIDI
input. The Bassline Generator Player device, described in this manual, can
generate monophonic note lines.
The Player devices can be found in the Players palette below Utilities in the
Reason Browser:
The Players palette in the Browser.
The basic idea behind Players is that you first create an Instrument device
(or instrument track), then hook up one or more Player devices to the
Instrument device. If the Player device is a pattern sequencer, like the one
described in this manual, you can have it play back patterns automatically by
just clicking Run – or by playing single notes on your MIDI Control Keyboard.
For more general information about Player devices, see the “Working with
Players” chapter in the Reason Operation Manual/Help, which can be accessed
from the Help menu in Reason.
What’s new in Bassline Generator Player 1.1?
For those of you who are already familiar with Bassline Generator, here’s
what’s new in version 1.1:
· More bass! We’ve added an additional Bank B of source bass lines. You can
select bank A or B independently for Onbeat and Offbeat.
· 12 more Variator shapes These let you add variations to bass lines in new
ways. The shapes include 4x versions of the square, pulse and ramp shapes,
plus “inverted” versions av all shapes (to vary the source bassline selection
in the beginning of the cycle instead of at the end).
· Shift setting This shifts the bass line to the left or right, up to ±32
steps. Shift can be CV-modulated for wild, weird results.
· Workflow improvements Press Shift to get higher precision when selecting
source basslines in the diamond display.
When you change pitches in the sequencer display, a horizontal pitch line is
shown (like in Matrix).
You can press Shift when drawing in the sequencer display to force a straight
line (restrict to the same pitch).
You can transpose a “long note” (tied notes with same pitch) by clicking it
and dragging up or down. Previously you had to transpose each tied step
separately.
· Transpose CV Input Transpose the bass line from a CV device, e.g. using the
Root Note CV Out jack on the Chord Sequencer.
· 80+ new patches
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Overview
The Bassline Generator Player device is a monophonic note line generator,
ideal for controlling any type of instrument device. You could use it for
monophonic bass lines, or for generating and playing back nice monophonic
melody lines. You can then transform and edit your note lines – to create
anything from subtle variations to totally new and unexpected lines. You could
also store your note lines in any of the eight Pattern slots. The Bassline
Generator Player has the following basic features: · Create monophonic
basslines by mixing, matching, and modulating built-in patterns
· Edit and tweak the results in the note display
· Randomize function for fresh, unexpected results
· Trigger and transpose basslines from your MIDI keyboard
· Eight Patterns, which can be automated in the main sequencer using Pattern
Automation
· CV inputs and outputs connect to other devices in the Reason rack
· 200+ patches included
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Playing and using Bassline Generator
Loading and saving patches
Loading and saving patches is done in the same way as with any other internal
Reason device. See the “Sounds and Patches” chapter in the Reason Operation
Manual/Help for details. A Bassline Generator patch contains all the settings
for all eight Pattern slots.
Playing back patterns
Selecting Pattern
D Click the desired Pattern button to select which pattern you want to play
back or work with:
Selecting Playback mode
This switch determines how the Run button is activated.
· SEQ Activating Play in the main sequencer turns on the Run button.
· SEQ+KEY Activating Play in the main sequencer turns on the Run button, but
no notes are sent out until you play MIDI notes too.
· KEY Playing a MIDI note triggers the Run button (starting the pattern from
the beginning).
· In addition, you can always click Run manually to audition the pattern,
regardless of mode.
Enabling Pitch and Velocity Scaling
You can control the pitch (transposition) as well as scale the velocity of
your pattern notes by MIDI notes during playback.
D Click the Pitch button to enable transposition of the pattern notes from a
MIDI keyboard/On-Screen Piano Keys. The figure in the Root Note display (see
below) shows the current base note. If the figure is orange it means it has
been transposed via MIDI.
D Click the Velocity button to scale the velocities of the pattern notes based
on the keyboard velocity played from your MIDI keyboard/On-Screen Piano Keys.
The velocity of each individual note will be scaled up/down according to how
hard you play your MIDI keyboard.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
· If neither option is activated, and the Playback mode switch is in SEQ mode,
any MIDI notes you play are passed on to the instrument device. This way you
can play along with a pattern.
Setting the Root Note
D Click and drag up/down in the Root Note display to set the desired root note
in the Pattern. The root note can be temporarily changed using the Pitch
function described above.
· By connecting the Root Note CV In on the rear panel you can control the Root
Note from an external device, e.g. from the Root Note CV Out jack on the Chord
Sequencer Player (see “Transposing basslines using the Root Note CV In”).
q The eight Patterns can have their own individual Root Note values.
Octave shifting the notes
D Octave shift all the notes in Bassline Generator with the Octave selector:
! The Octave Shift is global and affects all Patterns.
Basic preparations for pattern generation
First there are a couple of basic parameters that should be set up:
Setting the number of Steps
D Click and drag up/down in the Steps display to set the number of steps in
the pattern. Range: 16-64 steps.
The Note Display automatically adjusts horizontally to fit in the set number
of steps. q The eight Patterns can have their own individual Steps values.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Setting the Rate
D Click and drag up/down in the Rate display to select the desired rate.
Values: 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 3/16, 1/4T, 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16, 1/16T, 1/32, 1/64
q The eight Patterns can have their own individual Rate values.
Shuffle
A Shuffle value can be set to introduce a “swing” in the playback. D Click and
drag up/down in the Shuffle display to set the desired Shuffle amount.
Values: Off, 50-75%, Global. “Global” locks to the Global Shuffle value in the
ReGroove Mixer, see the “Global Shuffle” function in the ReGroove chapter in
the Operation Manual/Help. q The eight Patterns can have their own individual
Shuffle values.
Generating patterns
The center part of the panel – the Generator section – contains the controls for generating the bassline. This is done by combining built-in Onbeat and Offbeat note patterns. In this case, “Onbeat” means “straight” lines with notes on step 1, 3, 5, 7 and so on. “Offbeat” means lines with notes on the steps in-between, or syncopes.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
With the Rate set to the default 1/16, Onbeat notes (green) are on exact 1/8 note positions. Offbeat notes (blue) are on the 1/16 note positions in- between, as illustrated in the picture below:
Illustration of OnBeat notes (green) and OffBeat notes (blue).
Selecting Onbeat and Offbeat patterns
The Bassline Generator Player features two Banks of 64 OnBeat and 64 OffBeat
source patterns each, for a total of 128 OnBeat and 128 OffBeat patterns.
1. Click the Bank buttons to select the desired Pattern Bank – A or B – for
the OnBeat and OffBeat patterns respectively.
2. Select OnBeat patterns by clicking/dragging the green slider and OffBeat
patterns by clicking/dragging the blue slider. You can also click/drag in the
“diamond” display to select combinations of OnBeat and OffBeat patterns.
q Hold down [Shift] while dragging the sliders/display to increase the
precision. The currently selected OnBeat and OffBeat patterns are indicated by
numbers in the “diamond” display. Low values will create sparse patterns with
few notes. Higher values will create more busy and complex lines.
The Note Display below shows the currently selected OnBeat and OffBeat notes
in the note line:
Green dots represent OnBeat notes and blue dots indicate OffBeat notes. It’s also possible to edit notes and modify the note line in the note display, see “Editing Patterns manually”.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Shifting the pattern left/right
A very nice feature is that you can shift the entire pattern left/right in the
Note Display. D Click and drag up/down (or left/right) in the Shift display to
shift the bassline pattern left/right in the time line.
Range: +/- 32 steps. · The Shift value can also be modulated from the “Shift
Sequence < >” CV input on the rear panel (see “Shift Se-
quence < >”). The Note Display automatically adjusts horizontally to show the
current pattern “offset”. q The eight Patterns can have their own individual
Shift values.
Velocity
D Turn the respective Velocity knobs to set the overall velocity of the OnBeat
and OffBeat notes lines. Turning Velocity all the way down for Onbeat or
Offbeat will turn off the respective note generation.
q Turn the OffBeat Velocity to “Off” to only hear the OnBeat notes, to make
the pattern less “busy”.
Note Length
D Turn the respective Note Length knobs to set the overall length of the
OnBeat and OffBeat notes. The Bassline Generator is monophonic, i.e. it
outputs one note at a time. Overlapping Onbeat and Offbeat notes (or high Note
Length settings) can result in tied notes (no space between the notes).
q To create classic bass synth slides when notes are tied, choose a monophonic
sound set to Legato and Auto Portamento.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Variators
The Variators introduce repeating variations in the note line pattern. Basically they make the OnBeat and OffBeat patterns change at certain positions in the bassline sequence, briefly selecting other Generator source patterns. The waveform control sets both the “shape” and the rate of change. The Variators include 4x versions of the square, pulse and ramp shapes, plus “inverted” versions av all shapes (to vary the source bassline selection in the beginning of the cycle instead of at the end):
Square: Toggle at half cycle, one cycle over the whole pattern
Pulse: Toggle at last quarter of cycle, one cycle over the whole pattern
Ramp: Gradual ramp from half cycle, one cycle over the whole pattern
Square x2: Toggle at half cycle, two cycles over the whole pattern
Pulse x2: Toggle at last quarter of cycle, two cycles over the whole pattern
Ramp x2: Gradual ramp from half cycle, two cycles over the whole pattern
Square x4: Toggle at half cycle, four cycles over the whole pattern
Pulse x4: Toggle at last quarter of cycle, four cycles over the whole pattern
Ramp x4: Gradual ramp from half cycle, four cycles over the whole pattern
Inverted Square Inverted Pulse Inverted Ramp Inverted Square x2 Inverted Pulse x2 Inverted Ramp x2 Inverted Square x4 Inverted Pulse x4 Inverted Ramp x4
This also means the Variator rate will be relative to the current pattern
length (the Steps parameter – see “Setting the number of Steps”). It will run
once or twice over the whole pattern.
The Variator Amount knobs determine how much the OnBeat and OffBeat patterns
will move from the current patterns, and in which direction. Positive Amount
values will make the pattern more complex and negative Amount values will make
the pattern less complex. The Amount settings are indicated by darker areas on
the Generator Pattern sliders:
Positive OnBeat Variator Amount and negative OffBeat Variator Amount
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
In the picture above the OnBeat pattern will change towards a more complex
pattern and the OffBeat pattern will change towards a less complex pattern
during the Variator cycles.
You can also see the pattern variations directly in the Note Display, as
described in the example below.
In this example we have selected the “Pulse x2” Variator Shape for the OnBeat
notes in a “root note” pattern (all notes have the same pitch). In the first
picture the Amount is set to “0%” (Off) and in the second picture the Amount
is set to “100%”. The green dashed lines indicate the “Pulse x2” shape
throughout the pattern length:
“Pulse x2” at 0% Amount = no pattern variations.
“Pulse x2” at 100% Amount = more complex pattern during the Variation cycles.
When the Amount knob is adjusted above, the OnBeat note pattern variation is
toggled twice in the pattern cycle. The principle is the same for the other
Variator Shapes.
If you have a bassline pattern with Variators affecting the result, and want
to double the pattern length, you need to select a Variator shape with the
double amount of changes to keep the pattern similar. For example, if you have
a 32 step pattern with the “Square x2” Variator active, and raise the number
of steps to 64, you need to select the “Square x4” Variator to have the
pattern sound the same in the first half. Similarly, when halving the length
(going from 32 to 16) you would select the single “Square” Variator in this
example.
There is also a Variator for the OffBeat notes, which works in the same way
but for the offbeat notes.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Note Range and Minorness
The whole bassline can be transposed by changing the Root Note or by using MIDI transpose (see “Enabling Pitch and Velocity Scaling”), but the individual note pitches come from the Onbeat/Offbeat pattern selection. Some lines stay close to the root note, while others have more varying pitches. You can adjust this with the Note Range and Minorness controls.
· Raising the Note Range setting will “stretch” the pitch intervals so that
notes play further away from the root
note. What was originally an octave becomes an octave+a third, or an
octave+fifth when the Note Range knob is raised. Similarly, lowering the Note
Range setting will shrink the pitch span.
! The root note will not be affected, so if the bassline plays root notes
only, the Note Range setting won’t do anything.
As described above, changing the Note Range will affect the intervals.
However, if that should make the bassline sound too “happy”, you can turn up
the Minorness control. It forces some intervals to their minor versions
(relative to the root note):
Minorness value 1 2 3 4
Result Major sevenths forced to minor sevenths. Also, major thirds forced to minor thirds. Also, major sixths forced to minor sixths. Also, major seconds forced to minor seconds.
The display between the controls illustrates what the Minorness parameter does (sort of). Mainly it just looks cool:
Randomizing Patterns
A very nice feature is the Randomize function, which randomizes all parameters
in the Generator section. Perfect for unexpected results!
D Click the Randomize button to randomize all the Generator parameters:
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Editing Patterns manually
The Note Display
The Note Display at the bottom of the panel shows the current bassline and
allows you to do manual adjustments if desired. The Note Display has three
sections:
Pitch curve
Tie row
Note row
· Pitch curve The pitch curve reflects the pitch for each step, relative to
the Root Note (see “Setting the Root Note”). Green dots represent OnBeat notes
and blue represent OffBeat notes.
· Note row The note row shows for each step if there is a note there
(indicated by a green OnBeat or blue OffBeat circle).
· Tie row The tie row indicates which steps are tied. If two notes of the same
pitch are tied together, the result is one longer note. If the tied notes have
different pitches, they will be played legato so that one note slides into the
next (if the instrument is set to Legato mode or Auto Portamento).
Editing note pitches
D Click and drag up or down to change the pitch for a step. The resulting note
pitch – and interval from the Root Note – are shown in text together with a
horizontal pitch line while you drag.
D Hold [Shift] while dragging up/down for a higher precision. This makes it
easier to set a note to a specific pitch.
D Hold [Shift] while dragging left/right to set multiple notes to the same
pitch. This will lock the movement to horizontal only when you start dragging
and will make it easier to set multiple notes to the same pitch.
D Hold Command or Ctrl and click to reset the pitch to the root
note. You could also drag sideways in the display to reset the pitches of
multiple adjacent notes to the root note.
· If several notes of the same pitch are tied (see “Tying notes”) changing the
pitch of one of the tied notes will automatically change the pitches of all
tied notes.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Editing note steps and velocity
D Click on the Note row to turn the note on or off for the step. D Click a
note circle and drag up or down to change the velocity of the note.
The velocity value is indicated by the size of the dark dot inside the circle
– the bigger the dark dot, the higher the velocity value.
Tying notes
Tied notes of different pitches (left) and tied notes of the same pitch
(right) D Click the small button between two notes on the Tie row to turn the
tie on or off.
If two notes of the same pitch are tied together, the result is one longer
note. If the tied notes have different pitches, they will be played legato so
that one note slides into the next (if the instrument attached to the Bassline
Generator Player is set to Legato mode or Auto Portamento). D Click and drag
sideways on the Tie row to tie several notes in one go. You can also click and
drag sideways to un-tie several tied notes in one go.
About the Manual Rhythm and Manual Pitch buttons
When you make a manual change to the pitch (curve) or the rhythm (note and tie
rows), the corresponding MANUAL button will light up. This means that Rhythm
and/or Pitch is now manually controlled from the note display – changes you
make to the Generator settings will not affect the bassline. Please note the
following, though:
· If only one of Rhythm or Pitch is in Manual mode, the other property (pitch
curve or note+tie rows, respectively) will continue to be generated by the
Generator settings.
· You can click the buttons to turn Manual mode on or off at any time.
! Turning off Manual mode means all manual edits you’ve made in the Note
Display will be removed.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
A note about Variators, Steps and Manual Rhythm/Pitch mode
The Variator rate is based on the current pattern length (changing once or
twice over the whole pattern). Thus, if you change the Steps setting, you will
change which steps are affected by the Variators. However, this is not the
case if both Manual Rhythm and Pitch are on. Then the Generator settings
(including the Variators) won’t affect the bassline so the Variator change
will stay frozen at its original step positions. ! Changing the number of
Steps may cause different results depending on if you’re in Manual mode or
not.
Deleting (clearing) patterns
The Clear Pattern function resets all parameters to their default values. 1.
Click the desired Pattern button to select which pattern to clear:
2. Click the arrow button and select “Clear Pattern n” to delete all the
notes in the selected pattern:
Copying patterns
1. Click the desired Pattern button to select which pattern to copy:
2. Click the arrow button and select “Copy Pattern n >” and then select the
desired destination Pattern slot from the sub-menu:
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Rear panel connections
! Remember that CV connections are NOT stored in the Bassline Generator
patches! If you want to store CV connections between devices, put them in a
Combinator device and save the Combi patch.
CV Input
Root Note CV In
Transpose the bass line from a CV device, e.g. using the Matrix Pattern
Sequencer or the Root Note CV Out jack on the Chord Sequencer (see
“Transposing basslines using the Root Note CV In”). ! The result of this
modifier isn’t shown in the note display.
Global Velocity Adjust
The Global Velocity Adjust CV input accepts a bipolar CV signal, which affects
the velocity of all notes. ! The result of this modifier isn’t shown in the
note display.
Global Note Length Adjust
The Global Note Length Adjust input accepts a bipolar CV signal, which affects
the lengths of all notes. ! The result of this modifier isn’t shown in the
note display.
Shift Sequence < >
The Shift Sequence < > input accepts a bipolar CV signal, which affects the
offset of the bassline sequence.
CV Output
Gate and Note CV
The Gate and Note CV outputs let you use Bassline Generator as a CV sequencer,
for controlling an additional instrument device. The Gate Out will send out
gate signals (including velocity) for all steps that have notes. The Note CV
will send out CV values that correspond to the current note in the pattern.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Tied Gate Output
Tied Gate Out will send out a high gate for all steps that are tied. This is
useful for triggering an additional envelope or raising the filter cutoff for
tied notes, creating an extra squelchy slide.
Accent Gate Out (Vel > 110)
Accent Gate Out will send out a high gate for all notes that have a velocity
higher than 110.
Tips regarding Tied and Accented Gate Outputs
q The Tied and Accented Gate Outputs can be used to trigger additional synth
envelopes, change the sound or add effects to certain notes in the pattern.
For example, you could make Tied Gate Out control the resonance of a filter
for more pronounced squeals on legato/portamento notes, or make Accented Gate
Out trigger a noise source for more pronounced accents!
Random CV Outs
The Random CV Out Bipolar and Unipolar outputs provide an additional, random
CV sequence of the same length as the current pattern. You can generate a new
random sequence by clicking the “New Seed” button on the front panel:
· New Random CV values are sent out for every new Note in the pattern. Where
there are no notes, the previous CV value is maintained.
· The Random CV sequence is stored per Pattern.
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Tips & Tricks
Randomizing Velocity and/or Note Length
D Connect a Random CV Out output to the Global Velocity Adjust or Global Note
Length input to modulate the Velocity/Note Length from the Bassline Generator
Player itself. See “Random CV Outs” above for more info.
Transposing basslines using the Root Note CV In
An easy and straight-forward way of controlling the transposition of the
Bassline Generator root note is using the Root Note CV input. In this example
we control the Bassline Generator root note transposition from the Root Note
CV Out of a Chord Sequencer Player:
A Chord Sequencer Player controlling the Root Note of a Bassline Generator Player
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Transposing and scaling basslines
An interesting, busy bassline can be excellent for repetitive, groove-based
genres like tech house, techno or various types of hip-hop. Other genres
require that you transpose the bassline, following the chords. This can be
easily done with the Pitch function (see “Enabling Pitch and Velocity
Scaling”). However, if a bassline contains notes other than the root note and
octaves, these may sound weird when you transpose it. For example, if your
song is in the key of A minor, and the bassline contains a minor 3rd, this
sounds perfect when the root note is A. But if you transpose it to C, the
minor 3rd will become an Eb (or D#) which isn’t part of the A minor scale.
This may not sound the way you want. There are two easy solutions:
Transposing basslines using the Scales & Chords Player
1. Add a Scales & Chords Player directly after the Bassline Generator. 2. Set
it to the desired scale (A minor in our example) but turn off the Chords
function.
Now all notes will fit in the scale:
Transposing a bassline using the Scales & Chords Player
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Using the “Root Note Only” patch
There are several patches in the Bassline Generator factory sound library that
only use the root note. If you load one of them, you can transpose it freely
without having any notes going outside the scale (unless you choose to play
such a note!). In fact, we’ve added a patch called Root Note Only, just for
this. In this patch, the pitch curve is set to root notes only, but you can
still use the Generator “diamond” display, the Variators and other parameters
to change the rhythm of the bassline. The pitch will not be affected since
Manual Pitch is on. This can be an easy way to go for many types of house
music, where the bass follows the changes closely but doesn’t stray from the
root notes of these chords:
The “Root Note Only” Bassline Generator patch
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Generating chord progressions
In the example below we have added a Scales & Chords Player after Bassline
Generator. We have generated a baseline pattern in Bassline Generator, and
send this via the Scales & Chords Player to a Processed Piano, to generate a
polyphonic chord progression in a desired scale:
Generating a chord progression out of a monophonic bassline 1. Generate a monophonic note line in Bassline Generator. 2. Select the desired Key and Scale in the Scales & Chords Player. 3. Start playback in Bassline Generator or in the main sequencer in Reason.
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Spicing up the bassline with a Note Echo Player
A fun way of spicing up your basslines is to add a Note Echo Player after the
Bassline Generator, to add temposynced octave repeats, for example:
Spicing up a bassline with a Note Echo Player 1. Generate a sparse bassline in Bassline Generator. 2. Add a Note Echo Player after Bassline Generator. 3. In Note Echo set the Step Length to 3/16, Tempo Sync to On, 1 Repeat and Pitch to +12. 4. Start playback in Bassline Generator or in the main sequencer in Reason.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
Creating basslines that are shorter than 16 steps
There might be situations where you want to create basslines that are shorter
than 16 steps, for example when creating poly-rhythmic basslines or basslines
in other time signatures. In Reason standalone you can do this by using
Pattern Automation in Bassline Generator:
Using Pattern Automation of Bassline Generator to create shorter basslines
than 16 steps
1. Generate/create a 16-step bassline in Bassline Generator.
2. Right click a Pattern button in Bassline Generator and select “Edit
Automation”. A Pattern Select Lane is created on the Bassline Generator track
in the Reason sequencer.
3. Draw a Pattern Clip to the desired length, depending on which step you
want the bassline to end on. In the example above the Pattern Clip ends on
step 14 in Bassline Generator.
4. Copy and paste the Pattern Clip depending on your song arrangement. When a
Pattern Clip begins, Bassline Generator will automatically start over from
step 1 in the bassline.
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BASSLINE GENERATOR PLAYER
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