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THE
EFFECTS
Many producers take too much time in
finding the perfect sounds for their tunes
in the instruments. They're looking for that
particular sound of a guitar or piano. For a
DUB producer, this isn't the main issue, of
course. After all, the Art of DUB is mainly
to transform every original instrument into
something completely different by using....
Effects!
Reason has much more different effect
devices than instruments. Every thinkable
kind is there. Echo's, Reverbs, Filters,
Flanger, Phaser. There are even a number
completely programmable quality devices.
That's not all. There's a vocoder, too. And
a couple of "hybrids" between
effects and instruments.
 Let's
take a look at the basic effects. They're
all half-sized, that means that you can put
two devices next to another in the rack,
where the more luxurious effects and all
other devices take up the whole width of the
rack. Here's a list of the "small
effects":
* RV-7 DIGITAL REVERB - Hall, plate and
other kinds of reverb are present in a small
but powerful device. You'll need to
experiment with the settings but it's quite
possible to get a decent reverb out of it.
* DDL-1 DIGITAL DELAY LINE - A basic
delay, with enough controls to get any echo
you want. There's a choice to display and
control the echoes with milliseconds, or to
have an echo in perfect sync with the
rhythm.
* D-11 FOLDBACK DISTORTION - This
particular device isn't checked for this
review. Usually, distortion is either to get
a screaming effect or to add some
"dirt" to a mix. But in DUB, this
can easily be achieved in other ways.
* ECF-42 ENVELOPE CONTROLLED FILTER -
Highly popular in Techno and other
synthesizer based music, the ECF-42 will
enable you to make a phaser-like effect.
This is a very powerful effect, especially
in combination with reverb or echo.
* CF-101 CHORUS/FLANGER - From a subtle
enrichment of the guitar sound to the
creation of a computerized, metallic effect,
this little toy will do the job just nicely,
* PH-90 PHASER - Many contemporary
producers will tell you how they are
influenced by Lee Perry's Black Ark Studio.
And if there is one effect that predominated
this sound, it was the phaser. When you find
the right setting, all you got to do is let
it run along the instruments for an
"instant" vibe. *
UN-16 UNISON - The UN-16 is a "voice
doubler". It works a bit like a chorus.
The effect adds delayed and subtly detuned
voices to the signal.
* COMP-01 COMPRESSOR/LIMITER -
Compression will make a sound fatter. So for
the bassline, it's a must to have a little
compression. The COMP-01 is a reasonable
compressor for such jobs.
* PEQ-2 TWO BAND PARAMETRIC EQ - Last,
but definitely not the least effect. It's
possible to use this EQ for fine-tuning of
instruments, but the other application is
more interesting. Because of the clever
controls, it's possible to create special
effects with the EQ by changing control
buttons during the mix.
All in all, a nice list of effects. And
because it's possible to create any
thinkable combination or layering of these
effects, the possibilities are virtually
endless. For example, you can have a filter,
going through an echo, with a little bit of
reverb on top of that. Three effects,
layered over each other. And that's just one
possibility.
Let's try some of these effects, just to
listen to the vibe. For this experience, we
create a little drum and bassline, with a
piano to play the chords. Nothing special.
Every sound file has five different
segments, separated by silence. We've used
the standard setting on most of the effects,
by the way.
SOUND EXAMPLE 1: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Segment 1: dry
Segment 2: Reverb on Drum and Piano
Segment 3: Reverb on Drum, Phaser on
Piano, and Echo on Piano
Segment 4: Reverb on Drum, Phaser on
Piano, followed by Reverb on the Phaser
Segment 5: Reverb on Drum, Piano through
Filter, followed by Reverb on the Filter
SOUND EXAMPLE 2: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Segment 1: dry, with Echo on Piano,
followed by Reverb and Unison on Echo
Segment 2: Reverb-EQ chain on drum
Segment 3: Reverb-EQ chain on Drum,
Unison on Piano
Segment 4: Reverb-EQ chain and Echo on
Drum, Unison on Piano
Segment 5: Reverb-EQ chain on Drum,
Unison on Piano, echo on Unison
SOUND EXAMPLE 3: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Segment 1: Chorus on Drums,
Segment 2: Chorus on Drums, Echo on
Chorus
Segment 3: Chorus on Drums, Echo on
Chorus, Reverb on Echo
Segment 4: Chorus on Drums, Reverb on
Chorus
Segment 5: Chorus on Drums, Echo and
Reverb on Chorus, Reverb on Echo
As we see, there's an incredible amount
of possible combinations, and layers of
effects will even gives us a very personal
sound. Experimenting with the effects can be
time-consuming, though. Before you know it,
you're in the midst of the most spectacular
DUB effects!
And that's not all. We've only mentioned
the standard effects. They're all "half
sized" and do what they do. Of course,
you can program them to an extend that is
beyond satisfaction. And they will bring you
killer DUBS when you have the talents.
But Reason goes further. Much further!
In addition to the standard effects,
Propellerhead developed a set of Advanced
Effect devices. And that is where every DUB
producer will start to have an advanced
interest fe true! Fully programmable, High-Q
effects that definitely match hardware
equivalents such as the Alesis Midiverb.
There are three advanced effects: a
Distortion, a Vocoder and the RV-7000
Advanced Reverb. Let's check out this last
device, as it is definitely the most
interesting for the DUB producer.
 Basically,
the RV-7000 can be used as a delay, or a
reverb. Or a combination, of course. It has
a lot of parameters, all fully programmable.
But the pre-sets are pretty impressive, too.
And versatile! There's even a "Spring
Reverb" simulation that is pretty
decent, as well as presets that claim to be
"Reggaeish Dub Effect". We're
definitely have to check out these effects
too.
How else can we check them but by
listening? We'll use the same riddim of
drum, bass and piano. Two RV-7000's will
definitely give us a good impression of what
can be achieved at a later stage, when we'll
program the Reverb for ourselves. We will
apply one RV-7000 over the drums, and
another over the piano. Let's have a listen:
SOUND EXAMPLE 4: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Drums: Dub Slappy Spring Reverb
Piano: Reverse Repeat
SOUND EXAMPLE 5: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Drums: 201 Spring Reverb
Piano: Space Echo 1
SOUND EXAMPLE 6: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Drums: RV-1 SpringVerb + occasional
Sky-Fi Hit
Piano: Sky Fi Hit
SOUND EXAMPLE 7: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Drums: Reso Robot Verb + Rolling Fit
Multi Tap Hits from the Reso Robot Verb
Piano: Rolling Fit Multi Tap
SOUND EXAMPLE 8: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Drums: 80's Gated Verb + Bright Long Hall
Hits
Piano: Bright Long Hall
SOUND EXAMPLE 9: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Drums: Choir Plate
Piano: Film Score
Let's put the Maximizer between the
master output and the soundcard, and make a
very quick DUB mix. Just for fun. Here's a
short Dub, with some fast and slow echo
added to the two RV-7000 devices. The bass
and drumline have been slightly changed, and
some basic mixing already creates a nice DUB
vibe. The following track was created in
about 15 minutes.
SOUND EXAMPLE 10: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
 Two
RV-7000's can transform a piano and a drum,
from their pre-sets alone. We've just
established that they do that pretty fair.
However, it's clear that the program
functions will be necessary in order to
create some deeper effects that will suit
the need for a serious DUB producer.
For the following Sound example, we'll
use a Subtractor, going through an EQ and
subsequently through a compressor for the
bassline. For the chords, we use the NN-XT.
A Redrum Drum Machine provides the rhythm.
For the effects, we've programmed two RV
7000's with a Spring and a Digital Reverb
from scratch. Two echo machines complete the
setup. A basic Dub set up. The following
sound example shows some use of these
effects.
SOUND EXAMPLE 11: CLICK
HERE TO DOWNLOAD
 Just
like Rebirth looked back at what is now
regarded to be some "Golden Age",
Reason does the same. With the Spring Reverb
function, Propellerhead looks at one of the
most wanted analogue effects. There's enough
dirt in the Spring Reverb simulation to have
that challenging sound, which can easily be
improved by changing a few parameters.
There's enough niceness in the Digital
Reverb too. The echoes aren't that
spectacular, though. But then, hardly any
serious DUB producer would use the internal
feedback of a delay but instead loop it
through the mixing table for more control.
We didn't even go through all the
effects. There's a great Vocoder, fully
programmable although it's not easy to see
how it works. But that's a tenet of the
Vocoder, too. It's kind of a hybrid between
a musical instrument and an effect. And will
most definitely provide an extra dimension
to your music.
All in all, when you're into producing
DUB music, this quick look at the Effects
that come with Reason will surely have
convinced you that you really want this
program. The effects are high to top
quality, there's enough room for programming
your own pre-sets as well.
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