Favorite REs released in 2020?

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Tiny Montgomery
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Joined: 22 Apr 2020

16 Dec 2020

Beatmap. Absolute game changer for me. It's often the first thing I fire up in Ableton too. There's always 2 or 3 small midi note adjustments I need to do to make it map to Ableton's drum rack, would never do anything sensible like save it as a patch lol. Might actually do that later.

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arnigretar
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16 Dec 2020

Evolution
https://futuregrapher.bandcamp.com/

Reason 12, Ableton Live 10 Suite, Roland Cloud, Arturia V9, Korg Legacy 3, Soundtoys 5, Waves Mercury, Sonic Charge Bundle, N.I.: Massive, Reaktor 6, FM8. + a lot of Hardware. Windows 7/10.

EdGrip
Posts: 2343
Joined: 03 Jun 2016

16 Dec 2020

Tiny Montgomery wrote:
16 Dec 2020
Beatmap. Absolute game changer for me. It's often the first thing I fire up in Ableton too. There's always 2 or 3 small midi note adjustments I need to do to make it map to Ableton's drum rack, would never do anything sensible like save it as a patch lol. Might actually do that later.
Can't believe I haven't tried this!

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Faastwalker
Posts: 2281
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Location: NSW, Australia

16 Dec 2020

arnigretar wrote:
16 Dec 2020
Evolution
Ah yes, I got that as well. Very interesting Player. Having fun using it to control my Eurorack gear.

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PinkSlime
Posts: 43
Joined: 24 Feb 2015

17 Dec 2020

I was really happy to see innovative ideas grow into players this year. I think i got all of them. Then Friktion, Speo's new synth for sure. Also the blamsoft, red rock and forgotten klank devices work really well for mixing. Ekssperimental synths and FX. We did not have quantities like previous years but I must say the quality was very high. Well thought out devices that do their tasks well, good sounds, few or no bugs and pushing the limits of the current SDK to achieve the best possible workflow.

Even if we did not have VSTs, with the above the rack is full. Only niche corners to cover. However I believe that having VSTs may also have worked for the RE genre as developers took a new spin on things that existed in VST land like dynamic EQs, EQs with embedded saturation, different compression algorithms. We have tons of gentle saturation/distortion options now.

Tiny Montgomery
Posts: 439
Joined: 22 Apr 2020

17 Dec 2020

EdGrip wrote:
16 Dec 2020
Tiny Montgomery wrote:
16 Dec 2020
Beatmap. Absolute game changer for me. It's often the first thing I fire up in Ableton too. There's always 2 or 3 small midi note adjustments I need to do to make it map to Ableton's drum rack, would never do anything sensible like save it as a patch lol. Might actually do that later.
Can't believe I haven't tried this!
Yeah I loved going through the preset Ableton drum racks when i first got it, tend to just open an empty rack now and choose sounds one by one. Just using it on any drum kit you have is like hearing them for the first time. Ableton session view is ideal for capturing variations quickly too. Sometimes I'll do a few passes of Beatmap creating midi clips in the drum channel and then run those clips with follow actions so Ableton juggles them for me creating new variations

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Ottostrom
Posts: 845
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17 Dec 2020

PinkSlime wrote:
17 Dec 2020
I was really happy to see innovative ideas grow into players this year. I think i got all of them. Then Friktion, Speo's new synth for sure. Also the blamsoft, red rock and forgotten klank devices work really well for mixing. Ekssperimental synths and FX. We did not have quantities like previous years but I must say the quality was very high. Well thought out devices that do their tasks well, good sounds, few or no bugs and pushing the limits of the current SDK to achieve the best possible workflow.

Even if we did not have VSTs, with the above the rack is full. Only niche corners to cover. However I believe that having VSTs may also have worked for the RE genre as developers took a new spin on things that existed in VST land like dynamic EQs, EQs with embedded saturation, different compression algorithms. We have tons of gentle saturation/distortion options now.
Well said!
We might not get that many new REs per year but as long as they are quality devices like the ones this year then I'm not complaining :)

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challism
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17 Dec 2020

I had to come back in here to post about Bcase's new RE Double Tracking Effect. It just barely got released in the shop today, right before the end of 2020. Anyway... it's definitely one of my top REs of 2020. Not only is the double tracking a nice effect o have, this thing has some great sounding saturation when the drive knobs are cranked up. Have a look.
https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... ng-effect/
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dvdrtldg
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17 Dec 2020

Evolution!

A lot of my work this year has involved producing music for radio & podcasts - sometimes fully-realised compositions, sometimes just cool little fragments that you fade up, hear for 30 seconds and fade down again. I need to work fast, and often when I'm not feeling particularly inspired. Evolution is perfect for this sort of thing, either for knocking out a quick bass or drum part to get things started, or fleshing out melody lines (especially when paired with ChordLine, which gives me access to modes that I wouldn't normally be familiar with). It's also great for sitting on top of an Octo Rex loop and giving it a bit of intelligent variation

With a bit of automation/CV tweaking I can even get it to create very decent instrumental solos. Print a few bars, get in there and move the MIDI notes around a bit, done. Amazing stuff. It's the only player of its kind that I've been able to get results from that don't sound stiff or obviously computer-generated

Lectric Panda is the #1 developer in Reason and it's not even close

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miscend
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22 Dec 2020

I can't remember buying any RE in 2020. I just upgraded to Suite and that had most REs I'd need.

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antic604
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23 Dec 2020

Tiny Montgomery wrote:
16 Dec 2020
Beatmap. Absolute game changer for me. It's often the first thing I fire up in Ableton too. There's always 2 or 3 small midi note adjustments I need to do to make it map to Ableton's drum rack, would never do anything sensible like save it as a patch lol. Might actually do that later.
It's actually awesome for basslines, too. You might want to transpose the output to the key of your project (with Note Echo) and then squeeze it into a scale (with Scales & Chords), but the fact that it's rhytmic and constrained to only couple of notes makes it perfect :)
Music tech enthusiast.
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adfielding
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23 Dec 2020

Beatmap and Evolution win the prize for me, though I must admit I haven't really picked up many new REs this year - rather, I've been re-acquainting myself with REs I hadn't used in a while. In that regard, VK-2 wins the prize for me as a wonderful re-discovery.

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MrFigg
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25 Dec 2020

Yep! Now I know what I'm doing (roughly)...there's no doubt about it. Evolution.
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WarStar
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25 Dec 2020

Beatmap is really a cool player.. I initially put it on a drum kit then thought why not use it for soley hihats.. then just snare and hihats.. for trap hip-hop stuff it works like a charm, a cheat code for really cool hat variations kind of endless really.. fun to do with just toms and snare too... It's great for Tom rolls and snare stuff too... My first player I've messed around with lol

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gullum
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25 Dec 2020

I managed to buy one after all this year and it's my favorite Kuassa Amplifikation Clarent

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MrFigg
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26 Dec 2020

gullum wrote:
25 Dec 2020
I managed to buy one after all this year and it's my favorite Kuassa Amplifikation Clarent
Would’ve probably said the same myself except that I’ve got the VST.
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gullum
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26 Dec 2020

MrFigg wrote:
26 Dec 2020
gullum wrote:
25 Dec 2020
I managed to buy one after all this year and it's my favorite Kuassa Amplifikation Clarent
Would’ve probably said the same myself except that I’ve got the VST.
But it's a RE so it got that Reason sound to it. you know you need that smell of a new RE :D

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MrFigg
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26 Dec 2020

gullum wrote:
26 Dec 2020
MrFigg wrote:
26 Dec 2020


Would’ve probably said the same myself except that I’ve got the VST.
But it's a RE so it got that Reason sound to it. you know you need that smell of a new RE :D
Hahaha. Stop It.
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16161d
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27 Dec 2020

You all got me very curious about Evolution. I’ve been telling myself I don’t need another player that generates notes and I didn’t want to have too much that is purely generative, but I decided to buy it and it’s definitely very musical to play with, I love it how it sequences drums. Anyone got any cool things to share about it that make it your favourite this year?

Honestly I think Lectric Panda’s RE’s have always been my favourite RE’s of any year. Also a big fan of Dual CV Source this year too, definitely been some really interesting innovations in the rack, it’s so cool to see all these new amazing devices coming out still.

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challism
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28 Dec 2020

16161d wrote:
27 Dec 2020
You all got me very curious about Evolution. I’ve been telling myself I don’t need another player that generates notes and I didn’t want to have too much that is purely generative, but I decided to buy it and it’s definitely very musical to play with, I love it how it sequences drums. Anyone got any cool things to share about it that make it your favourite this year?
That's great you decided to buy it. It's a very special generative player, in a league of its own. It's so deep and full of wonderful surprises.

I think Evolution really shines when combined with other players. Do you have MIDI-CV Converter, by any chance? That's really a must have device, if you are using players. So I will often times use Evolution as a way to spice up a bass line or a phrase. If you put Evolution above Chords & Scales, it can be used to generate the root note (C&S will create a chord from that root note), then you can put an arpeggiator below C&S. I like to use Kompulsion for this task. It also works well with Euclidean and AutoLatch. I tend to run really complex CV spiderwebbed devices across the back of the rack with Evolution used to drive them all.
16161d wrote:
27 Dec 2020
Honestly I think Lectric Panda’s RE’s have always been my favourite RE’s of any year. Also a big fan of Dual CV Source this year too, definitely been some really interesting innovations in the rack, it’s so cool to see all these new amazing devices coming out still.
Agree, Lectric Panda is consistently releasing some of the most exciting and innovative products in the shop. I'm really excited to see the newest player Rob's been working on. See quote from the Pandaman below
rcbuse wrote:
22 Oct 2020
Working on my next opus.
Follow along with progress here https://twitter.com/CarpetSoup
EDIT... by the way, I just noticed Evolution is on sale for $29. That is such a good deal. Anybody who doesn't have it (and enjoys using players) should pick it up for that price. It's so good. The more I use it, the more I love it. It's kind of addictive.
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Capture.JPG (22.23 KiB) Viewed 1955 times
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bidaar
Posts: 123
Joined: 30 Nov 2019

20 May 2021

challism wrote:
28 Dec 2020
16161d wrote:
27 Dec 2020
You all got me very curious about Evolution. I’ve been telling myself I don’t need another player that generates notes and I didn’t want to have too much that is purely generative, but I decided to buy it and it’s definitely very musical to play with, I love it how it sequences drums. Anyone got any cool things to share about it that make it your favourite this year?
Do you have MIDI-CV Converter, by any chance? That's really a must have device, if you are using players.
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I hve MIDI-CV as you know but it looks like its really limited and basic in some ways , thinking about Dual CV Source because it looks like you have way more control over the CV Signal that coming through it in terms of musical information etc ... or maybe am I wrong ?
Reason 11 Suite l FL Studio l Leaning Ableton n Bitwig l Windows 10 64bit
Trying and Learning to be a : Hip-Hop / Trap , Electronic & Experimental Producer l Mixing Engineer

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challism
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20 May 2021

bidaar wrote:
20 May 2021
challism wrote:
28 Dec 2020

Do you have MIDI-CV Converter, by any chance? That's really a must have device, if you are using players.
Capture.JPG
I hve MIDI-CV as you know but it looks like its really limited and basic in some ways , thinking about Dual CV Source because it looks like you have way more control over the CV Signal that coming through it in terms of musical information etc ... or maybe am I wrong ?
Dual CV Source does look like it has a lot more going on under the hood. I don't have it and haven't tried it because MIDI-CV Converter does all I need it to do, which are really simple tasks: 1) sending signals to and from different players and instruments, and 2) merging signals. I don't need it to do anything more, so I haven't even looked closely at Dual CV Source. The only thing I would like to change about MIDI-CV Conv is giving it the same front panel on/off buttons for MIDI input as it has for MIDI outputs.
Players are to MIDI what synthesizers are to waveforms.

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bidaar
Posts: 123
Joined: 30 Nov 2019

20 May 2021

challism wrote:
20 May 2021
bidaar wrote:
20 May 2021


I hve MIDI-CV as you know but it looks like its really limited and basic in some ways , thinking about Dual CV Source because it looks like you have way more control over the CV Signal that coming through it in terms of musical information etc ... or maybe am I wrong ?
Dual CV Source does look like it has a lot more going on under the hood. I don't have it and haven't tried it because MIDI-CV Converter does all I need it to do, which are really simple tasks: 1) sending signals to and from different players and instruments, and 2) merging signals. I don't need it to do anything more, so I haven't even looked closely at Dual CV Source. The only thing I would like to change about MIDI-CV Conv is giving it the same front panel on/off buttons for MIDI input as it has for MIDI outputs.
ah right thats a different set of things to do with it , what I was thinking is , for example I send a cv signal to the gate of a Synth , like from kron or Pulsar to the synth , then we would need MIDI-CV in the way to make that random CV signal Tuned into a scale . then I watched the video of the Dual CV and foundout that it does that with more control .
I really do need help in other dillemas too :) its like I went to a restaurant and been trying to decide what Im gonna eat for HOURS . this actually happens to me in Restaurants , and when theres a Sale in the shop . I browse REs for days then it gets harder and harder to decide loool
idk if I should spend that money on R+ to get early R12 , or buy Resonans or Algoritm , or buy a few from these players / Utilities that I dont have ( Evolution , Inspiral , Pattern Mutator , Inrange , Note Limiter , Negate , Korde , Propulsion ( I have Kompulsion ) and CV Dual Source .
Im thinking Im going to the third option probably because I have enough RE synths and VST Synths but those two are amazing .
btw I think we can make a club for reason lovers in Clubhouse and we can make some rooms some times and gather up speak or stream our tracks or disscuss stuff could be nice . sorry for my hyperactiveness in the forums and repeatedly quotung you and asking you stuff .
Reason 11 Suite l FL Studio l Leaning Ableton n Bitwig l Windows 10 64bit
Trying and Learning to be a : Hip-Hop / Trap , Electronic & Experimental Producer l Mixing Engineer

eiresurfer
Posts: 65
Joined: 22 May 2015

20 May 2021

Lots of recommendations for Sequences, but I never got it as I assumed it was more or less the same as Prop's Polystep Sequencer.

I've been thinking about buying it for a long time, but what does it give you that Polystep Sequencer doesn't? (I trialed it a long time ago, but never really gave it a proper spin)

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challism
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20 May 2021

bidaar wrote:
20 May 2021
ah right thats a different set of things to do with it , what I was thinking is , for example I send a cv signal to the gate of a Synth , like from kron or Pulsar to the synth , then we would need MIDI-CV in the way to make that random CV signal Tuned into a scale . then I watched the video of the Dual CV and foundout that it does that with more control .
I've never even thought of using MIDI-CV Conv to send anything other than note/gate info from one player or instrument to another. Since it's a player, I've never considered using it as a utility tool. I have plenty of other CV utilities that would be much better for that job, I think. I don't like trying to use a wrench to hammer a nail if I already have a hammer. Dual CV Source might just be the hammer you are looking for. I'm actually looking at that a little more closely now, too. Watched the video and it seems like a pretty useful device. But I think I'm all set for this sale; not going to buy any more stuff. As I said before, there's always the next sale. I'm pretty happy with the purchases I've made, and the rest of the stuff that was already in my rack.
bidaar wrote:
20 May 2021

I really do need help in other dillemas too :) its like I went to a restaurant and been trying to decide what Im gonna eat for HOURS . this actually happens to me in Restaurants , and when theres a Sale in the shop . I browse REs for days then it gets harder and harder to decide loool
idk if I should spend that money on R+ to get early R12 , or buy Resonans or Algoritm , or buy a few from these players / Utilities that I dont have ( Evolution , Inspiral , Pattern Mutator , Inrange , Note Limiter , Negate , Korde , Propulsion ( I have Kompulsion ) and CV Dual Source .
Im thinking Im going to the third option probably because I have enough RE synths and VST Synths but those two are amazing .
btw I think we can make a club for reason lovers in Clubhouse and we can make some rooms some times and gather up speak or stream our tracks or disscuss stuff could be nice . sorry for my hyperactiveness in the forums and repeatedly quotung you and asking you stuff .
Of course it's a personal decision for you to make. I might tell you to get the hamburger not knowing you are a vegetarian. That being said, get the hamburger.

Of all the choices you mentioned, I would highly recommend Evolution. I've got everything you mentioned (except Note Limiter and Dual CV) and I use Evolution the most, without question. And it's not even the "new" device in my rack; I've had Evolution since it came out. PatMut and Algo are the new, shiny toys in my rack, but I find myself still reaching for Evolution all the time.

I've got just about every player in the shop, except Note Limiter, Note Monitor, MIDI Compressor, and ReTouch Control players (waiting for a bundle that may never come). Delta, Sequences, Kompulsion, Evolution, MIDI-CV Converter and AutoLatch are my most used players (Scales & Chords gets a lot of use, too - it's great for doing inversions).

As for Inrange and Note Limiter, I think Inrange does the same job as Note Limiter, but it's more flexible (hence the lower price of Note Limiter). So I don't think you need both of them. You could always stack instances of Inrange, if A and B aren't enough to do the job.
eiresurfer wrote:
20 May 2021
Lots of recommendations for Sequences, but I never got it as I assumed it was more or less the same as Prop's Polystep Sequencer.

I've been thinking about buying it for a long time, but what does it give you that Polystep Sequencer doesn't? (I trialed it a long time ago, but never really gave it a proper spin)
This last update to Sequences pretty much blows Polystep out of the water. Sequences now has the Conditions feature, which is amazing. I am not a big fan of Polystep, especially when being compared to Sequences and its Conditions. There is still room for more features on Sequences' menu bar... it wouldn't surprise me to see Robotic Bean come out with another update, adding more cool features to this already amazing player. Sequences also gives you 32 steps to work with. Polystep gives you 16. I find note editing to be easier in Sequences, but the note sizes could be bigger, clickable targets are quite small.

Some good things about Polystep, the notes are big and easy to see (too small on Sequences, IMO). Polystep has the variations, which are cool, but rather limiting on the way they are played back - the variation triggers cannot be automated, which is a flaw in my eyes. Polystep has a pretty cool way of drawing chords. Arp and strum modes are cool, Sequences doesn't have these (too bad Sequecnes can't be run as an Arp, it would make a great one, if they would add that mode).

Plenty more has been written about Sequences. Go search for threads about Sequences and you can read what other RT users have had to say. Here's the latest one about v1.4 with Conditions. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7519380&hilit=sequences
Players are to MIDI what synthesizers are to waveforms.

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