Modular re creation?

[Marc64]

You guys who makes RE'S do you know if it will be possible to create re's that is like complex with routings on the front?

[Billy+]

Complex-1 is built using the same rack extension SDK that all developers have access to so I would assume that it is possible.

[joeyluck]

You could also create a modular synth using the connections on the back and mirror all of the knobs from the front onto the back (like ABL3 with its hipass and gate trim knobs). You can also have custom knobs on the back (to look like the knobs you mirror from the front). Boom—full modular/semi-modular synth from the back panel. Then your "show/hide cables" mode is just pressing tab. I'm surprised nobody has done this yet! I've been suggesting it for years!!! Lol

[Billy+]

And let's not forget BlamSofts Polymodular System - still available for purchase

https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/bund ... -system-i/

Perfectly suited for building modular monsters

[jam-s]

Complex-1 is pretty much a hack as it implements that front panel routing using a custom display widget. The RE SDK by itself offers no easy way to do it. In comparison having your connections on the back (like it should be!) is easy-peasy and directly supported by the SDK.

[visheshl]

You could also create a modular synth using the connections on the back and mirror all of the knobs from the front onto the back (like ABL3 with its hipass and gate trim knobs). You can also have custom knobs on the back (to look like the knobs you mirror from the front). Boom—full modular/semi-modular synth from the back panel. Then your "show/hide cables" mode is just pressing tab. I'm surprised nobody has done this yet! I've been suggesting it for years!!! Lol

What's so wrong with a modular Synth with cables at the back anyway ?
Hardware is a different story. With a modular hardware, you need easy access to patch the cables, and while playing it's not possible to go at the back of the hardware to patch the cables.
With reason it's just a single keystroke...that takes you to the cabling and back to the front panel....in fact this is far more organised i think.
Front panel has all the UI elements. Back panel can have a neatly layed out patchbay. All it takes is pressing tab key, you don't have to physically go at the back of the rack to plug in a cable.

[visheshl]

that brings me to another great idea, a CV (audio patchbay is also a good idea) patchbay where you patch different cv io at the back and at the front you can connect any ins to any outs with cables and proper labels.
Just like a studio patchbay.
So if reason does go modular, we will need an audio and cv patch bay device.
Other modules can simply have cabling at the back. You connect all the modules to the back of the patch bay.
Then while playing you can patch cables on the front panel of the patchbay device

[crimsonwarlock]

that brings me to another great idea, a CV (audio patchbay is also a good idea) patchbay where you patch different cv io at the back and at the front you can connect any ins to any outs with cables and proper labels.
Just like a studio patchbay.

You mean like this: https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... cv-router/

or maybe like this: https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... ay-merger/

or all the meshers: https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/browse/?q=mesher

And all this stuff is FREE

[huggermugger]

that brings me to another great idea, a CV (audio patchbay is also a good idea) patchbay where you patch different cv io at the back and at the front you can connect any ins to any outs with cables and proper labels.
Just like a studio patchbay.

There's FRONT-8.

https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... cv-router/

[visheshl]

that brings me to another great idea, a CV (audio patchbay is also a good idea) patchbay where you patch different cv io at the back and at the front you can connect any ins to any outs with cables and proper labels.
Just like a studio patchbay.

There's FRONT-8.

https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... cv-router/

Well something like it, however the gui could be more like the complex 1 cabling system. Rather than straight line connections...it's actually pretty good, but a nicely labelled and nice gui would be awesome.
Dangling cables look nicer than the straight line connections don't they, that's why we love the back of the reason Rack

[joeyluck]

You could also create a modular synth using the connections on the back and mirror all of the knobs from the front onto the back (like ABL3 with its hipass and gate trim knobs). You can also have custom knobs on the back (to look like the knobs you mirror from the front). Boom—full modular/semi-modular synth from the back panel. Then your "show/hide cables" mode is just pressing tab. I'm surprised nobody has done this yet! I've been suggesting it for years!!! Lol

What's so wrong with a modular Synth with cables at the back anyway ?
Hardware is a different story. With a modular hardware, you need easy access to patch the cables, and while playing it's not possible to go at the back of the hardware to patch the cables.
With reason it's just a single keystroke...that takes you to the cabling and back to the front panel....in fact this is far more organised i think.
Front panel has all the UI elements. Back panel can have a neatly layed out patchbay. All it takes is pressing tab key, you don't have to physically go at the back of the rack to plug in a cable.

Many people still desire having the controls and CV connectivity visible together. I'm only pointing out that it is possible to build a RE like that on the back panel.

Only downside is cabling on the back within a device itself doesn't save with device patches. You have to save the project or save it inside a Combinator.

[visheshl]

What's so wrong with a modular Synth with cables at the back anyway ?
Hardware is a different story. With a modular hardware, you need easy access to patch the cables, and while playing it's not possible to go at the back of the hardware to patch the cables.
With reason it's just a single keystroke...that takes you to the cabling and back to the front panel....in fact this is far more organised i think.
Front panel has all the UI elements. Back panel can have a neatly layed out patchbay. All it takes is pressing tab key, you don't have to physically go at the back of the rack to plug in a cable.

Many people still desire having the controls and CV connectivity visible together. I'm only pointing out that it is possible to build a RE like that on the back panel.

Only downside is cabling on the back within a device itself doesn't save with device patches. You have to save the project or save it inside a Combinator.

How bou we make a combinator and save the combi patch instead, will it save the cabling too ?
I'm quite curious to know...

[joeyluck]

Many people still desire having the controls and CV connectivity visible together. I'm only pointing out that it is possible to build a RE like that on the back panel.

Only downside is cabling on the back within a device itself doesn't save with device patches. You have to save the project or save it inside a Combinator.

How bou we make a combinator and save the combi patch instead, will it save the cabling too ?
I'm quite curious to know...

Yes that's what I just said lol

[visheshl]

How bou we make a combinator and save the combi patch instead, will it save the cabling too ?
I'm quite curious to know...

Yes that's what I just said lol.

Oops missed that
it would be a wise move to build a modular patch inside a combinator anyway...or combine the whole thing later and save a patch.

[visheshl]

Complex-1 is pretty much a hack as it implements that front panel routing using a custom display widget. The RE SDK by itself offers no easy way to do it. In comparison having your connections on the back (like it should be!) is easy-peasy and directly supported by the SDK.

Oh wow, i thought that would be a standardized thing in the SDK, i think they should incorporate front panel cabling into the SDK now, just like the back cables...any dev who wants cables in the front should be able to do it.
Hacky stuff is not ok in a production software.
With more and more modular stuff coming in, it would be a wise thing to do.

[visheshl]

Ok another thing, the front 8 device does allow to connect any ins and outs within the device.

However a good patchbay would allow connections to other devices too.
Just like how we connect various different devices with the cable system at the back of the rack. The front cabling system should work that way too.

So if i have two or three patchbay devices, i could interconnect them in whatever way i wish.
Eg i could take input one of the first patchbay and connect it to output 3 of the third patchbay device

[crimsonwarlock]

Viking 2 synthesizer is fully modular, and you can patch across several if you want, building large modular setups. Besides the modular rig from Blamsoft there's also the free modular stuff from Murf.

If you start patching on the front panels, it becomes a cable mess very fast. Take a look at any serious VCV patch. I like the Reason solution of having patch cables on the backside. And with all the available modular stuff, I'm not missing anything in that regard.

[visheshl]

Viking 2 synthesizer is fully modular, and you can patch across several if you want, building large modular setups. Besides the modular rig from Blamsoft there's also the free modular stuff from Murf.

If you start patching on the front panels, it becomes a cable mess very fast. Take a look at any serious VCV patch. I like the Reason solution of having patch cables on the backside. And with all the available modular stuff, I'm not missing anything in that regard.

I agree, however, making a mess of cables is upto the user isn't it, it's subjective, some people like neatly organised studios, others like cables everywhere.
My point is reason studios should implement a CV audio cabling system at the front too.
With more and more developers emulating different modules, this will become a much needed thing in the future.
There could be patching devices which allow cables in the front to connect to cables at the back etc.
But my point is having the system ready for future requirements.

[visheshl]

See right now, the back panel cabling system is a standardized thing in reason SDK, but the front panel cabling is not. Different developers are building their own solutions to front panel cabling. If there was a standardized system for front panel cable system, it would be system wide and would work much nicer for everything.

[joeyluck]

Viking 2 synthesizer is fully modular, and you can patch across several if you want, building large modular setups. Besides the modular rig from Blamsoft there's also the free modular stuff from Murf.

If you start patching on the front panels, it becomes a cable mess very fast. Take a look at any serious VCV patch. I like the Reason solution of having patch cables on the backside. And with all the available modular stuff, I'm not missing anything in that regard.

If a similar device were to mirror the controls on the back, then you get the controls and cables on the back and just the controls on the front, cable free.

[visheshl]

Viking 2 synthesizer is fully modular, and you can patch across several if you want, building large modular setups. Besides the modular rig from Blamsoft there's also the free modular stuff from Murf.

If you start patching on the front panels, it becomes a cable mess very fast. Take a look at any serious VCV patch. I like the Reason solution of having patch cables on the backside. And with all the available modular stuff, I'm not missing anything in that regard.

If a similar device were to mirror the controls on the back, then you get the controls and cables on the back and just the controls on the front, cable free.

This idea does have some weight. Depends if the developers implement it.
It could be a better solution than to implement a front panel cable system and have the clutter of cables on the front of the rack

[joeyluck]

See right now, the back panel cabling system is a standardized thing in reason SDK, but the front panel cabling is not. Different developers are building their own solutions to front panel cabling. If there was a standardized system for front panel cable system, it would be system wide and would work much nicer for everything.

If you want controls and cables together, I think the easier solution is adding mirrored controls to the back (rather than cables to the front). Then you aren't having to find a fix for front vs back cabling.

[crimsonwarlock]

My point is reason studios should implement a CV audio cabling system at the front too.

Why should they? Most users don't even do much cabling at the back, let alone use a lot of 'modular' stuff.

With more and more developers emulating different modules, this will become a much needed thing in the future.

Again, why would it become 'much needed'? Current Rack Extensions can implement loads of patch points and still, many don't. The Reason Rack emulates a studio rack environment, NOT a modular synthesizer like a EuroRack.

But my point is having the system ready for future requirements.

Which 'future requirements'? I don't see why a studio environment somehow needs to become a modular synth in 'the future'. Most users simply don't care for that, and most users will probably hate it if they would (myself included). I do like a modular synth rack, and I already have that with VCV rack (and there are many other options). What I wouldn't like is some hybrid Frankenstein behemoth which is neither a studio environment nor a modular synthesizer. "A jack of all trades is a master of none" goes for DAW software as well.

[joeyluck]

If a similar device were to mirror the controls on the back, then you get the controls and cables on the back and just the controls on the front, cable free.

This idea does have some weight. Depends if the developers implement it.
It could be a better solution than to implement a front panel cable system and have the clutter of cables on the front of the rack

This is possible already. Look at ABL3, its hipass and trim gate knobs are mirrored on the back. Other REs also have shown custom knobs on the back, so that too is possible. Seems like a dev just needs to make the choice to make a modular synth with mirrored knobs on the back...

[Majestik Monkey]

And let's not forget BlamSofts Polymodular System - still available for purchase

https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/bund ... -system-i/

Perfectly suited for building modular monsters

Yeah but ' Only if you Have a Computer that is Built like ' you're Local GRID