Real-Time Granular Destruction In Propellerhead's Reason

Granule-8, a real-time granular processor for Reason 3.0 and above (although the idea will work for reason 2.0 too). Yes I know it's a silly name but the original title "granular fever" was much more silly, and Granule-8 fits more into the naming scheme of reason. So basically, what this combinator patch does is provide real time granulation of of any sound source.

I have been using this technique for granular effects for over a year. I've planned this post for most of that time. I had hoped to do a really special write up and include a more impressive video demonstration. Time keeps moving though so I'm just going to publish what I have so far. Those who are interested will hopefully appreciate what's going on...

Where I got the idea

Regular readers will most likely know that I am a fan of Tim Exile and music of his ilk. I really like what he managed to get out of his NI Reaktor setup. I watched videos on youtube of people creating granular effects on a single sample in Reason, and while they sounded good, I found them a bit limited for my use. I figured because Reason didn't have a real-time sampler, you could never create anything similar. Then I read about how the reverse reverb algorithm in Reasons RV7000 reverb unit actually pre-buffers the sound source being fed into it and then calculates the reverse reverb effect based on that, as opposed to just adding some pseudo reverb. Thats when I started wondering if you could use this buffer for time stretching.

How it works:

If you read the above paragraph or watched the video, you probably have it all figured out by now. Basically, you pipe whatever sound you want granulated through a RV7000, set to output a completely wet signal. You switch the algorithm type to "Reverse". Dial the "Rev. Wet/Dry" to 0. Make sure the "Tempo Sync" is set to off. Now, as you playback the sound source you can "scrub" the "length" dial to the right and hear the effect. You need to time it right to get the desired effect. Do it too fast and the sound will start playing in reverse. You can hear me manually scrubbing the delay time in this piece of music (which uses an early version of the combinator patch, and has the entire mix fed into it).
Reason Time Test by Gamma Goblin

In the Granule-8 combinator, I have automated the pace of scrubbing by using the lfo from a Malstrom synth unit which is fed into the CV input for rotary 2 of the Granule-8 Combinator itself. Using Rotary 2 on the combinator will introduce skewed effects.

The beat-grid effect is based on the same overall idea but the "Tempo-sync" is turned on, on the RV7000 unit. CV changes come from patterns drawn in the Matrix pattern sequencer. These can be drawn and altered on the fly.

How to use the Granule-8 combinator patch

The knobs and buttons are all fairly easy to figure out, but developing a desirable result with them is a bit more difficult. There are a certain amount of recognisable DJ/vinyl techniques that I've managed to approximate with the unit already (such as spin-down etc.) and a wide selection of sounds that are a bit crap... it's still a work in progress! :)

The rotaries from left to right: Time Shift This controls the amount/speed of the granulated signal. Granule Mod This rotary is tied to the lfo from the Malstrom controlling the pace, so altering this will introduce "pleasant" distortions to the effect. Mangler Patterns This simply selects the patterns within the Matrix unit.  Mangle Mod like the granule mod rotary, altering this will alter the beat grid effect as the Curve CV from the Matrix Unit is fed directly into it.

The buttons from left to right: Granulate!  Just switches on the granular effect. Due to the way this is set up, it does not retain memory of that last position of the Time Shift knob (something I wish it did!) Pitch Shift Simply adds a pitch shift effect to to the granulation, giving the impression of slowing down. Manglate! Invokes the beat pattern effect Routing A - B Selects whether the granulation comes before or after the manglation!

Problems & Improvements

There are problems with this, hence why I added in the notion of it being a "beta" release. Ideally one interested in this effect would probably build up their own combinator patch based on their own preferences, ideas and improvements.

The one I'm providing has three RV7000 reverb units, which do add to the CPU overhead of any song. Three are needed to allow for the "beat grid" effect to be applied either before or after the granulation. I also have a version which only uses two reverb units, with a convoluted crossover setup but I could never get rid of some odd stereo phasing whenever I flipped between circuits. Perhaps it was just a misplaced cable that I kept missing.

The sound of the effect isn't always that smooth, as there is sometimes nasty clipping present as you change settings in the RV7000 units. Adding some deliberate distortion usually fixes this.

Download and try it out for yourself. If you manage to do anything decent with it or improve the setup I want to hear from you! :) Try out the combinator with the excellent Reason Combinator patches by Kurt Kurasaki (Peff) for even better results!

Download ---> Granule-8.cmb

Bonus Song! A short remix of Röyksopp's "Vision One" tune which was the first thing I put through an early version of this Combinator patch. You can hear some of the phasing I mentioned earlier because this one only uses two RV7000 units. I added a simple drum loop over the top to keep everything in time just in case things got crazy. I've done a few other takes of this with improved timing but this first version is short and sweet and hopefully won't incur copyright problems :) Things get "interesting" from about 43 seconds in.

Granule-8 demo by user9356733

Oh one last thing, in case you hadn't realised, using the RV700's Reverse Reverb algorithm in this manner allows you to utilise its EQ and Gate (albeit with a 10ms delay). The EQ is kinda redundant with the other modules available in Reason but the audio Gate can be very useful.

[Update]

And this tune of mine makes a lot of use from the Granule-8 patch...
Signal Strength by GammagOblin