Hot Reason How-Tos
How To: Produce a drum and bass track using Reason 4
Drum and bass started off as a subgenre of Jungle and has since become one of the biggest types of electronic dance music on Earth. If you have Reason 4 and want to start producing drum and bass tracks, you've found the perfect place to start. This video will teach you how to make a DnB song from scratch over seven days using Reason 4.
How To: Use drum processing to make beats sound better in Reason 4
The canned digital drum sounds that emerge from a digital synth are not usually very satisfying. If you want to make them thump and form a decent beat for your tracks, you're going to have to use drum processing. Watch this video to learn how drum processing works in Reason 4 and how it can improve your beats.
How To: Create a trance-style acid lead synthesizer instrument in Reason
In this video tutorial from Boy in a Band, you'll learn how to create a psytrance-style acid lead synthesize instrument in Reason. For all of the details, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started creating and using trance-style acid lead synths in your own Reason projects, take a look.
How To: Create a Benny Benassi synth effect in Reason 4
Benny Benassi is one of the biggest names in mainstream house music, and his distinctive synth sounds can be heard at clubs the world over. In this video you'll learn how to emulate one of his signature effects using Reason 4.
How To: Produce a liquid DnB song from scratch using Reason 4
Liquid DnB is a subgenre of drum and bass faithful to the mission of the original: making smooth, bass-heavy tracks to groove to. In this video you'll learn how to use Reason 4 to produce a liquid DnB track from start to finish, including the beat, melody, and mastering.
How To: Produce a darkstep / DnB / techstep song using Reason 4
Drum and bass was originally a lighter style of jungle, but now has become dark again with the advent of dark DnB, otherwise known as darkstep, neurofunk, techstep, or darkcore. It sounds pretty evil, but you can still dance to it, and in this video you'll learn how to produce a darkstep track from start to finish using Reason 4.
How To: Produce a 4x4 garage / bassline track using Reason 4
Bassline (otherwise known as 4x4 garage) is a popular bass laden variety of electronic music that has found it's way into mainstream pop production as well. If you want to start producing it, watch this video to learn, step-by-step, how to produce a 4x4 garage song from scratch in Reason 4.
How To: Produce a hip-hop track from scratch using Reason 4
Making rap beats is one of the most lucrative branches of electronic music that aspiring producers can get in to at this point. If you love hip-hop, have Reason 4, and want to start making some beats, watch this video to learn everything you need to know to get started.
How To: Record distorted guitar using mics, amps, settings, and digital effects
Recording the tortured sounds of a guitar running through three pedals and a dirty amps worth of distortion has been the heart of rock n' roll since Jimi Hendrix at least. In this video you'll learn everything you need to know to record distorted guitar sounds yourself. It discusses mics, amps, settings, and positioning, then moves on to computer-side stuff like amp sims, EQ, double tracking, and compression. If you play rock guitar, want to record it, or both, this is a must-watch.
How To: Make a trance electronic music song from scratch using Reason 4
Making trance music has been the point of departure for most of the world's great DJ's, and your career need be no different. If you want to start making your own trance tracks, watch this video. It will teach you how to do it in great detail using Reason 4.
How To: Produce an electro pop song in Reason 4
Electro pop has been big business since The Postal Service made their era-defining record in 2005, and few artists since have captured that magic as well as Owl City. If you fancy producing some electro pop yourself and have Reason 4, watch this video to learn how producing a good electro-pop song works using Owl City's "Cave In" as an example.
How To: Make an electro house song in seven days using Reason 4
Electro house has become some of the biggest music in the world since Justice brought it to the mainstream. If you consider yourself a producer and want in on that action, watch this video to learn how to make a complete electro house song from scratch in a week using Reason 4.
How To: Make a chiptunes-style lead synth track in Reason 4
This video will teach you how to make a chiptune-style lead synth track using Reason 4. Chiptunes are basically electronic music songs made out of 8-bit sounds, mostly from video games. The synth lead you will be making in this video is not, as such, a true chiptune, it's better because it doesn't cling dogmatically to outdated technology.
How To: Use ReDrum to load a .wav sample into Reason 4
So, you've got a copy of Reason 4 now huh? Congratulations, you own one of the most powerful music-making tools on Earth. It is infinitely complicated though, and getting started can be tough. Watch this video to learn how to load a .wav sample into Reason 4 using ReDrum, something you're going to be doing a lot of as you produce your tracks.
How To: Make a harsh lead synth track with dissonance for hard techno in Reason 4
Nowadays digital and analog synthesizers can produce a nearly infinite number of sounds, and many of them sound terrible to most people. If you find yourself more in the Trent Reznor music camp though and love making dystopian, harsh sounds in your music, watch this video. It will teach you how to make a really harsh, dissonance filled lead synth track in Reason 4. Great for glitch, industrial, and other abrasive electronic styles.
How To: Use advanced techniques with the Thor synth in Reason 4
Thor is the synth of choice for many Reason 4 users, including Dave from Boyinaband.com, the maker of this video. Herein he will teach you how to use some advanced features of Thor to create new and unconventional sounds. These features include the phase mod, wavetable, and FM Pair oscillators; comb filters; and the modulation bus routing section.
How To: Make a speaker-shaking sub bass synth track in Reason 4
Most good rap songs, or at least those modeled on the 1990's model, feature a thumping sub bass track designed to max out whatever size subs you've got. If you want to produce classic hip-hop beats yourself, watch this video to learn how to create epic sub bass synth tracks in Reason 4.
How To: Produce a funky electro lead synth using Reason 4
How funky a given song is is almost directly correlated to how awesome it is, the funkier the better. Nowhere is this more true than in house music, and in this video you'll learn how to produce a funky electro lead synth track using Reason 4, much like those employed by Justice and other electro-house producers.
How To: Make a dubstep song from scrap in 7 days using Reason 4
Dubstep is the electronic music genre of the moment, and has expanded from England to everywhere with dance clubs in the world. If you produce using Reason 4 and want to get into dubstep, watch this video to learn how to make an entire dubstep song from scratch over seven days.
How To: Make a dirty electro bass synth line for an electro house song in Reason 4
Justice might not have produced any new material in a while, but their place in electronic music history is already secured due to their filthy electro-house beats that have become ubiquitous in the years since they first broke out. Watch this video to learn how to make a dirty electro bass synth line like theirs in Reason 4.
How To: Make stuttering vocals in Reason 4 for glitch and hip-hop tracks
Glitch is enjoying a renaissance of popularity right now along with it's cousin dubstep, and stuttering hip-hop vocals are hallmarks of both. Watch this video for detailed instructions on producing stuttering vocals in Reason 4 for your glitch and hip-hop tracks.
How To: Produce an epic trance gated synth lead in Reason 4
Trance is a genre to which the word "epic" is too often attached, but with good reason. A properly epic trance song can take you to places you've never been before. Watch this video to learn how to make a gated trance synth lead in Reason 4.
How To: Make the classic Alice Deejay trance anthem "Better Off Alone" in Reason 4
"Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay is one of the all-time-great trance anthems, and untold millions have danced the night away to it's classic beat. Watch this video to learn how to produce the beat and the lead parts to the song using Reason 4. Do YOU think you're better off alone?
How To: Make a dirty south / crunk rap beat in Reason 4
Dirty south hip-hop has become the most commercially viable genre of rap over the last decade, and it is great stuff to party to. Watch this video to learn how to capture some crunk magic by producing a dirty-south-style bass beat using Reason 4.
How To: Make a dirty south / crunk style pitched snare roll drum beat in Reason 4
If you've listened to a lot of dirty south / crunk-style hip-hop you've probably very familiar with the pitched snare roll drum beat, it's in nearly every crunk song, and it is a really tight style of drum beat. Watch this video to learn how to produce this type of beat in Reason 4.
How To: Produce the beat to the Lonely Island song "We Like Sportz" with Reason 4
"We Like Sportz" is one of the more divisive tunes by The Lonely Island, probably because it mocks a huge chunk of the group's fan base. Watch this video to learn how to produce the song's odd hip-hop beat using Reason 4.
How To: Make an arpeggiated trance bass synth track in Reason 4
Trance music has dominated the electronic dance music scene for decades, and that's because it's just really fun to party to. In this video you'll learn how to create a professional-sounding arpeggiated bass synth track for trance, hard trance, or electro using Reason 4.
How To: Make the beat to the Lady GaGa song "Poker Face" in Reason 4
Lady GaGa has taken over the pop universe largely on the power of her the awesome electronic production of her songs. If you want to capture some of that magic in your own tracks, watch this video to learn how to make the beat to her hit song "Poker Face" in Reason 4.
How To: Use osc sync to make an electronic synth dance lead in Reason 4
Dance lead synth tracks with oscillator sync (osc sync) effects have powered some of the biggest pop hits of recent years, notably "Sandstorm" by Darude and "Poker Face" by Lady GaGa. In this video you'll learn how to use osc sync and other effects create a dance pop synth lead in Reason 4.
How To: Make the beat to the Lonely Island song "I'm on a Boat" in Reason 4
Lonely Island might be the funniest bunch of white dudes to ever produce a rap album, and "I'm on a Boat" perfectly captures the glory and the hypocrisy of modern hip-hop. This video will teach you how to produce the song's awesome beat in Reason 4.
How To: Make a Dr. Dre like heavy hip-hop bass beat in Reason 4
Dr. Dre has produced many of the best gangsta-rap beats of all time, and his deep luscious bass beats are perfect for dancing and relaxing at the same time. Watch this video to learn how to create a very Dr. Dre-style beat yourself using Reason 4.
How To: Make an electro pop dance beat in Reason 4
Electro pop is everywhere in these 1980's-obsessed 2000's, and if you can churn out a solid dancable electro pop beat on your PC you're well on your way to some musical success. Watch this video to learn how to make a cool dance electro pop beat in Reason 4 based on the song "Midnight Movie" by The Secret Handshake.
How To: Make the beat to the Usher ft. Lil' Jon and Ludacris song "Yeah" in Reason
When you first heard that Usher, Lil' Jon, and Ludacris had collaborated on a song, did you think there was any chance it would fail? You were wrong, and "Yeah" will be a club hit until long after we're dead. Watch this video for detailed instructions on how to replicate the beat from the song yourself using Reason 4.
How To: Make a hardstyle bass patch in Reason
Hardstyle is one of the most popular genres of electronic music in Europe, but has as yet failed to catch on in the US. If you want to make fat hardstyle beats on your computer in Reason, check out this video to learn how to make a perfect pumping hardstyle bass beat.
How To: Make a Dr. Dre style hip-hip synth lead effect in Reason
The iconic rap songs that Dr. Dre produced in the early 1990's were the best party rap songs of all time, and many were lead by a high-pitched synth melody that became the hallmark of Dre tunes. Watch this video to learn how to make a similar synth lead effect in Reason.
How To: Make your synths pulse & pump in Reason
In this video, we learn how to make your synths pulse & pump in Reason. If you want to achieve the pulsing sound when you are playing your song. Then, go into the beat and add in different drum, snare, beat sounds, etc. Once you add these into your beat, you will be able to play around with them. Change the effects by twisting the knobs and changing up the reverb, chorus, and more. Move the effects around until you end up with a beat that you like. Once you are finished, save this and use it ...
How To: Create a progressive house synth in Reason 4.0
In this tutorial, we learn how to create a progressive house synth in Reason 4.0. Start with the mixer and add use the combinator. Right click, then create a polysonic synthesizer. Bring it down to four and then click the "show programmer" button. Select one, two, and three and then make sure your octave is four. Bring up the octave on the second so it's five. For the third oscilator, make it analog and make it a sign wave. This octave will go down one so you get some bass. Go to the mixer an...
How To: Find soulful loops in Reason Soul School
In this video, we learn how to find soulful loops in Reason Soul School. First, select to create an instrument. Then, browse through the Reason SoulSchool Refill. There will be several categories of instruments with soul styles. Select either Cincinnati, Detroit, or Memphis. In each of them, there will be instrument loops, drums, and grooves. Each are tailored to match each other. By loading these, you can start a tight groove easily. Find the different loops and then select the one that you ...
How To: Make beats like Anti Pop Consortium in Reason
In this tutorial, we learn how to make beats like Anti Pop Consortium in Reason. First, access the synth mode and play it so you can hear what it sounds like. You can see the delay playing as well as the items that are making this sound different. Open up the different filters and knobs as you are playing with the different sounds inside the program. Take it to a different level to test out what you want your music to sound like and what you want to hear. Play with this and the different filt...
How To: Make a basic dirty south loop arrangement in Reason
In this video, we learn how to make a basic dirty south loop arrangement in Reason. First, load up a synth loop from the Dirty South loops. Find one that you like, then find a drum loop for this. After you have loaded this, then load up a sampler to add to this. Play this and then start to edit the sound. You can higher and lower the volume and change the tempo as well. Take small sections at a time and then you will have a sound that you like! Save this when finished and come back to edit wh...