Review of
Reaktor Session
A thousand soft synths for the price
of one.
By Tweak
You've
probably heard the buzz about
Reaktor. Wha? You haven't? Dude, it's a "build your own" softsynth application that
lets you go into the uncharted lands of synthesis and sampling.
Reaktor was introduced several years ago and is now in it's 4th incarnation.
Back when it first came out, I heralded it as "the holy grail of synthesis",
replacing hardware synthesis as a platform of choice for sound designers,
tweakers, and those who care about sonic possibility. Nothing has changed
to take away this status. It still is the holy grail. And
here is why.
Reaktor not only has the concept of building
your own synth, but has a public user library. That is, those that
build Reaktor synths can upload them to the native instruments' site for every
other registered user to download. It's like tapping into the universal
mind of synthesis. In the old days, one might find some patches online for
their hardware synth and load them in with sysex. Nowadays, with Reaktor,
you download whole synths, beat boxes, FX, sequencers. Awesome concept.
It's like having access to a giant brain-trust of tweakmeisters.
So, what's the difference between Reaktor4 and
Reaktor Session? You just don't get the Construction tools to make
your own, and a few other minor niceties. Naturally, you can't upload new modules (as Session
does not let you create them) but you do have access to the whole user
library of Reaktor synths made by others. As of this writing there are
1,261 Reaktor ensembles for you to download. Whew!
Go look.
There's synths, sequencers, effects, samplers and more. See? By creating
an outlet for user's creativity, Native Instrument's has amassed a collection no
other manufacturer can replicate. The kicker is its about sharing.
Manufacturers, take note. The more you give, the more you get. I've
said it before, there are visionary thinkers at NI.
Positives
Why get Session? Well, many of us are not going
to find the time to construct our own synths. With so many ensembles
available, why not just use the ones others have made? Can you do better
than theirs? Well maybe, if you invest an incredible amount of time to it.
For those of us that who merely want to exploit the sonic wealth, Reaktor
Session was made just for you.
Reaktor Session come bundled with the same
softsynths as Reaktor 4. There's Samplers and Transformers, such as
the Beat Slicer, GrainstatesSPs, Memory Drum, a vocoder like ensemble called
Travelizer. In the Sequenced Synth department is an awesome
BlueMatrix See the pic below: And this is just one of the library
that comes in the box with Reaktor session. There is also the DSQ 32, kind
of a cross between a FruityLoops like editor and a Re-drum-like interface, the
ultra-chic ensemble called Vierring, which DJ's will love and the Wave Weaver
for all you hard core trancemasters. Reaktor Session has plenty of
non-sequenced Synths too, like Carbon, the Green Matrix, Junatik and
more. Some of these take me back down the years to the very first Reaktor,
but they have all had a facelift and improvements under the hood.
And there's more. Like the Live
Machines. Want to make some truly original sounding loops? This
is the ticket. There's also plenty of Effects you can use. If
your sequencer supports it, and it should, you can run these effects as inserts
on your audio channels. Some of these effects are huge sounding and
definitely different, like the Banaan Electrique, Space Master 5.1 Surround
reverb, Fusion Reflections (my favorite) and the unusual Grainstates FX.
There's more too.
What does Reaktor sound like?
Well, the ensembles all point you to the extreme edges of sound creation, where
sound morphs and tranforms, folds back and feeds back, filters, re-synthesizes,
granualizes, texturizes and rythmatizes. Yes, that is a mouthful, and an
earful. You might wonder why I am so positive about Reaktor Session.
As a sound designer, I know that being able to get "out there" is absolutely
critical for developing great new samples. Reaktor session is like the
express bus to the 4th dimension where you can explore the uncharted audio
universe. Reason, comparatively, which is more of a song construction interface,
cannot take you this far. Nor can your hardware synths. Reaktor,
rather than being a song construction interface, is a sound and beat
construction maker. You can use it stand-alone when exploring, or
as VSTi plugin synth. It also works in DXi mode for Sonar.
Extra instruments
available for Reaktor and Reaktor Session
Drawbacks
The drawbacks of Reaktor modules are
they are CPU intensive. A single ensemble may take 10-30% of your
available CPU resources. When working in a sequencer, this requires you to
work with one or two modules at a time, converting to audio when you get a
result you like. That way you can build massive songs with Reaktor.
Other things that might be considered a drawback is that the results are often
wild and unpredictable. Some of the sounds will feedback, delays will
runaway into self-oscillation and sometimes the ensembles will crash.
There are no rules or law and order keeping you in safe sonic territory. I
advise not tweaking with the cans on your head (headphones) as you ears might
not appreciate some of the alleys Reaktor takes you down.
Sum
By the way, if you had been a registered user
of Dynamo, which was to Reaktor I what Reaktor session is to Reaktor4, then note
there is an
inexpensive upgrade waiting for you at the NI Site. If not, don't
fret. Reaktor Session is about half the price of Reaktor4. It is
worth every penny, and if you are a sound developer, you know it is worth even
more.
Enjoy this one, OK?
Rich the TweakMeister
Tweak's Articles on Software
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What is a Soft Synth?
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My Favorite Vintage Soft Synhts
Stylus RMX
Battery by Native Instruments
MOTU BPM
Albino 3
Intakt
Guru Review
StormDrum Review
Reaktor
Korg Legacy MS20
Garritan Personal Orchestra
Altered States
Massive
FM7 and FM8
NI's Komplete Bundle
MiniMoogV
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Are Hardware Samplers Obsolete?
MOTU MX4
Absynth
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Waves Gold and Platinum
Software Plugins Price List
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