Tag Archives: reaktor

Reaktor User Library Beta

Here’s something that people have been asking for about as long as I’ve been using Reaktor – so about ten years, then! – an update to the user library.

Some cursory testing on my part confirms that it’s able to sort user uploads by category, rating, etc. better than ever – a new algorithm scores the uploads based solely on user voting, rather than figuring in the number of downloads. More about that here.

I’m pretty excited about this – it’s time to go mining, because those hidden gems will be easier to find than ever. 

Quick tip: Controlling Reaktor in Maschine

Here’s a quick tip based on an issue I just helped someone with – when using Reaktor in Maschine, sometimes controls won’t be addressable by the knobs. What’s up with that? Usually, the knobs are mapped in pages to whatever controls are in your ensemble.

You might see something like this:

If that happens, in Reaktor, go to the properties for the instrument you want to map, go to the connect tab, and down at the bottom you’ll see something like this:

Right away we can see a big problem – Max ID is set WAAAAY lower than max ID in use. Here’s how to fix that. In the ID menu, choose “sort and compress IDs”. Then, change Max ID so it’s at least as high as Max ID in use.

You should end up with an arrangement like this:

If the Base ID of the instrument is not zero, which can happen if you have multiple instruments in an ensemble, use the “instrument down” command. Now when you look at the Maschine knob pages, you should see the names of the controls properly mapped, like so:

Note: this is not the same as MIDI mapping! Host automation, as we’re seeing in this example, doesn’t use MIDI CC numbers and MIDI channels. Instead, it uses a separate range of ID numbers.

By the way, I’ve noticed that a significant chunk of people are still using Reaktor 5.8 – thanks for answering the poll question – I will stick to that version for ensembles I’m currently authoring. Eventually we all have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the present, but for now – what do we say to the god of upgrading? Not today.

Christmas Two-fer from Boscomac: Two Free Reaktor Ensembles

The Christmas elves at Boscomac have been busy wiring together modules and macros, wrapping up everything in nice skins, and we have two nice new instruments just in time for stocking stuffing.

First up, an update to Tranzistorg, the transistor organ emulator. Boscomac says:

TRANZISTORG MKII is a transistor-based combo organ typical of the 60s. It delivers a clear and thin sound that quickly becomes warm and round as soon as it passes through the distortion of an amp!

Here you have 4 drawbars to generate the sound, distortion with two modes to bring energy, 5 cabinet models and 1 direct output with Leslie option to all floors, a slap or spring reverb used in mono or stereo , vibrato and a volume for key click. And I think we are full!

Next up, from the Folklore category, a brand new instrument: Barrousel.

BARROUSEL is based on a barrel organ and a Carrousel. You can adjust the color Tone of the instrument, change the wind noise in the pipes, choose the instrument condition and act on its accuracy and its responsiveness. And finally, you can place the instrument in a kind of magical reverb…

Remember to thank Santa with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk – or more realistically, click on Boscomac’s paypal link to show some appreciation for his consistently fabulous Reaktor creations.

Lemur iOS Touch Control App 50% Off Right Now!

Right now you can get Lemur on the app store for 50% off.

What can you do with Lemur? Just about anything – it’s an iOS control surface that sends bot MIDI and OSC, and includes an embedded scripting language for those of you who have serious itches to scratch. I designed a Lemur template for my Chroma sequencer and synth, which features bi-directional control (changes on the computer are reflected on the iPad and vice versa) – makes it a lot of fun to play:

Get Lemur here.

More info on Chroma here.