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A major component in his audio arsenal Reason improves his overall efficiency and workflow
Stockholm, Sweden, March 19, 2007 Richard Devine is an innovator who wears a lot of musical hats. He’s a programmer, sound designer, composer and a self-described “sound mangler.” To sum his professional credits in a few lines is nearly impossible. Most recently, he’s remixed top Warp recording artists like Aphex Twin and Mike Patton (Faith No More). As a solo artist, he’s released 4 full-length albums on Schematic, Warp, Asphodel and Sublight and has performed his own “ear-tearing music mayhem” worldwide. Based in Atlanta, GA, Devine’s done film score work for Touchstone Pictures, collaborated with BT (Brian Transeau) on the movie “Surveillance”, programming for Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and handled sound design for mega corporations including Nike, Audi, Ford, Scion, Coke, Lexus, Dodge, HBO, Nestle, McDonald's and Sprite. He’s contributed to many of the hot gaming products including Sony Playstation 3 and the new Xbox 360. In addition to TV and film, Richard’s work has been featured on new software and hardware titles from many innovative companies such as Apple, Korg, Akai, Roland, Yamaha, M-Audio, Ableton, Native Instruments, Digidesign and Propellerhead Software. As a longtime user of Reason, he finds the software has improved his overall efficiency and workflow. Considering the extensive projects that he’s involved in, this is essential.
“Propellerhead Software was the first company to make me realize that computer synthesis was going to be the wave of the future,” he recalls. “It all started with ReBirth. I have made electronic music tracks for many years now, and in the beginning, started making ‘acid’ tracks. This form of music used the basic early Roland drum machines like the TR-808, 909 and 606 which where the backbone of the rhythms and beats. The tone and bass sounds all came from the Roland TB-303. I used to play live shows back in 1991-94 using all of these drum machines and 3 TB-303’s. It was quite a big mess to bring them out to all the gigs. I remember there was a big interest during that time to find a way to emulate the sound of the 303. Many audio companies making analog hardware were trying and although they were nice, none of them could get it right. A friend of mine called me up one day and said that Propellerhead had emulated the sound of the 303 perfectly. I was astounded when I heard the results. It was from that point that I started to really look heavily into computer synthesis and composing inside the box.”
These days Devine finds he’s using Reason as a sketchpad for new ideas. “I love that you can arrange compose and manipulate everything all into one convenient environment,” he says. “This allows you to come up with really fast compositions and sound beds. I do mostly sound design work so I love using the Combinator function where you can layer endless amounts of synthesizers, samplers and effects all in one window. Reason is brilliant for customizing layers upon layers of sounds.”
One of his favorite features of Reason is that it provides all the essential tools of making music in one-stop shopping. “You have a mixer section with auxiliary sends and returns. You have a plethora of different effects boxes (reverbs/delays/flangers/phasers), you get some really great synthesizers, samplers, drum machines and sequencers and mastering tools and amazing compressors. It’s the infinite expandable virtual music workstation with endless amounts of possibilities. It’s also a great way to learn about the basic fundamentals of music production. I don’t know any other application right now that gives you this much and makes it this easy.”
So what’s in his Reason rack? A Malström synthesizer. “I always use the Malström synth for creating granular modulated textures and pads. There might be times when I have Combinator patches running 10 layers of the Malström synth. Crazy chaos here I come!”
Another must-have for Devine in Reason is Redrum. “I love the way that you can record all your pattern changes in the Redrum drum machine. I love to program banks of different patterns then hit the record button and create the beat arrangements this way. It feels more natural and similar to when I was working with the early drum machines. I love how you can automate everything. I tend to use tons and tons of automation.”
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About Propellerhead Software
Propellerhead Software is a privately owned company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Formed in 1994, Propellerhead has created some of the most innovative new music software (ReBirth, ReCycle and Reason) and technology standards, including ReWire and the REX file format, which are used extensively in all kinds of music production. Propellerhead ReBirth program was the first virtual emulation of vintage analog gear - a trend that now dominates music software. propeller heads
