Arpeggio – Reason101

And now for the third and final installment of my series which explores the RPG-8 in depth. In this tutorial, I’m going to go a little deeper and explore the CV and Pattern possibilities, using the Arpeggiator for some versatile sound control techniques. So let’s get started.

You can download the project files here: advanced-arp-setups. There is one .RNS file which contains the 3 setups discussed below. In addition, the 3 separate Combinators are included. The whole thing is in a zip file. Open them up to follow along with the ideas below.

The RPG-8 CV Inputs

The 5 CV inputs on the back of the RPG-8 Monophonic Arpeggiator — The 5 CV inputs on the back of the Arpeggiator

Before jumping into the setups, it’s important to know some of the more advanced CV options that are available on the back of the RPG-8 device. These include the following 5 CV inputs:

Gate Length CV In
Velocity CV In
Rate / Resolution CV In
Octave Shift CV In
Start of Arpeggio Trig In

Note that if you use any of these CV connections, the changes that they affect on your Arpeggio will not be reflected if you “Copy Arpeggio Notes to Track.” In other words, if you see the blinking light at the bottom of the CV connections on the back, AND you copy your arpeggio notes to track, the notes will not sound as intended (or with any CV input changes). But as I said in the first part of this series, there’s really very little need for you to copy the notes to track in the first place. Instead, keep any RPG-8 devices included in the .RNS file. This way, you’ll never come up against this problem.

Note: When using the CV inputs, the incoming CV is merged together with the setting on the front panel. For example, if your Gate Length is set to 40, and a CV value of +10 is sent to the Gate Length CV Input, then the resulting Gate Length will be 50. Same goes for the first 4 CV inputs. “Start of Arpeggio Trig In” is either in an “on” or “off” state, and therefore, this rule doesn’t apply.

If you look at how this graphs to the front of the RPG-8, you can make the following connections, which should help you to visualize what part of the RPG-8 is being controlled via CV:

The front of the RPG-8 highlighting which parameters can be modulated via CV input (on the back).

If you think about this for a moment, it takes a little to wrap your head around the concept. You are using CV to control a device, which in turn controls another device. That’s the gist of it. So armed with this knowledge, here are a few Arpeggiator setups to showcase some advanced Arpeggiator setups. Bear in mind there are probably a million and one ways to set things up. This is simply just a little taste of what can be done.

Note: For the following setups, you should add a simple chord that runs the length of 4-8 bars in a clip on the Combinator’s sequencer track. Then set the Left / Right locators at the start/end of the clip. In the transport bar, click the “Loop” button so that the clip loops over and over (see the project download .RNS file for reference). This ensures you can hear the effect of the Arpeggiator (s) as you play around with the settings.

Using 2 Arpeggiators to Control a Single Sound Source

This is a great way to get familiar with using both the CV input connections, as well as the Pattern section. First, let’s look at the video, and then I’ll briefly outline the setup.

In this setup, you create a Combinator with a 6:2 line mixer. Then create a Malstrom. Set up a basic sound, as shown below. Then add an RPG-8 device underneath the Malstrom. It will automatically be routed to the Malstrom’s Note / Gate CV inputs.

The front of the Malstrom Panel, with the sound I've chosen to showcase this Arp setup

Now create another RPG-8 underneath the first. Flip it around and route the Note CV output into the “Shift” CV input on the Malstrom. Send the Gate CV output of the second RPG-8 into the “Start of Arpeggio Trig In” on the first RPG-8. The note is now controlling the “Shift” parameter of the Malstrom’s sound. And the Gate is now controlling when the first Arpeggiator is going to start triggering (or rather, retriggering).

On the second RPG-8, press the “Pattern” button. Enter in a new pattern by skipping over a few steps (clicking the pattern step lights just above the Pattern window).

Now test it out by playing it. Notice that the notes played in the second RPG-8 determine how high or low the “Shift” parameter goes, and the “Gate” of the second RPG-8 determines the Starting of the first RPG-8 (retriggering). Since you entered a pattern on the second RPG-8, this pattern will determine when and which notes will be sent from the second RPG-8 to the first (as well as to the Malstrom).

The main CV routings on the back of the rack. Note the Subtractor's LFO1 is going into the Spider A Splitter.

The real fun comes when you start applying various modulations to the Combinator Rotaries and buttons. For example, try setting the “Pattern” of the second RPG-8 as the source for Rotary 1. Now you have a real-time pattern switcher. That’s just one example.

Controlling and Controlled by a Single Sound Source

In this setup, we’ll use Thor to both Control the Arpeggiator, which in turn is used to control the note/gate of the Thor sound source. It’s kind of cannibalistic because you’re using parameters on Thor to control a device which in turn is controlling itself. But you can get some really nice results this way. Here’s how it operates:

The first thing to do is create a Combinator with a 6:2 line mixer. Then create a Thor and RPG-8 device in that sequence. Everything will be auto-routed. Add in your favorite Thor patch. After this is done, create 4 CV parameters in Thor’s Modulation Bus Routing Section (MBRS) as follows:

LFO 1 : 100 > CV Out1

Mod Env : 100 > CV Out2

LFO 2 : 100 > CV Out3

Global Env : 100 > CV Out4

The front of the rack showing the Thor settings and MBRS routings.

In this way, Thor has four modulations that can be applied to all four CV inputs on the back of the Arpeggiator. Next, flip the rack around and lead each CV Modulation Output to the four CV inputs in the RPG-8, respectively. From there, it’s just a matter of tweaking the settings for the front panel Thor modulations, as well as the front of the RPG-8 parameters and the trim trim pots on the back of the RPG-8 (Remember that the RPG-8 CV Inputs merge the incoming signal with the front panel parameter settings, so you have to strike the right balance between the CV input trim knobs and the front panel equivalents). All three of these things (Thor modulations, RPG-8 CV input trim knobs, and RPG-8 front panel settings) determine the final sound of the Arpeggio coming out of Thor.

The back of the rack showing the Thor modulating the RPG-8, which in turn is creating Arpeggios for Thor

Bringing Multiple CV Sources together with the RPG-8

In this type of setup, I’ll use the Waveforms in a Malstrom to affect parameters in an RPG-8, and in turn use 2 RPG-8 Arpeggiators to affect a Thor sound source.

In this setup, create a Combinator with a 6:2 Line Mixer. Then create a Thor device, and RPG-8 device under that. This RPG-8 will auto-route to the Thor device. Then create another RPG-8 underneath that, and finally, holding the shift key down, create a Malstrom device under the bottom RPG-8. Make the following additional CV connections at the back of the rack:

Thor LFO 2 Output > RPG-8 1 Rate/Resolution CV Input (Trim Knob = 12)

RPG-8 2 Note CV Output > Thor’s CV 1 Modulation Input (Thor’s front MBRS panel should be “CV In1 : 100 > Osc2 Pos”)

Malstrom Mod A Output > RPG-8 2 Octave Shift CV Input (Trim Knob = 64)

Malstrom Mod B Output > RPG-8 1 Gate Length CV Input (Trim Knob = 127)

The front of the Thor device has an Analog Oscillator in the first slot and a Wavetable in the second slot, both going through a low pass ladder filter in Filter Slot 1. See below for the settings:

Once this is done, set up the Malstrom to use both curves. The Curves should be set as follows:

Mod A: Curve #3 (square wave) set to sync with a rate of 5/4

Mod B: Curve #2 (double saw wave) set to sync with a rate of 1/4

The following shows the settings:

The Malstrom Mod A and Mod B curves used to Modulate the Arpeggio

Now take a listen to what you’ve created. As in the previous examples, let the sound loop as you make any final settings to the Curve/Rates in the Malstrom, CV trim knobs on the back of the RPG-8 devices, and Arpeggiator settings on the front of the Arp devices. Remember, what I’m providing here are just a few examples of what can be done. There’s so much more you can explore on your own. So take it as a template and come up with your own designs.

Where do you go from here?

Anywhere quite frankly. Another thought I had, which I haven’t tried yet, is to try using the Arpeggiator to control the parameters of the Thor Step Sequencer. I haven’t tried it yet or worked on anything in that respect, but I think you could definitely find innovative uses like this.

I think, when it comes to the RPG-8, there are several interesting possibilities. Just always keep in mind the notes on the sequencer need to be on the Arpeggiator track. This one tip is the one that most pops up when people are trying to figure out how to use the device. So place clips either on the Arpeggiator track, or if the Arpeggiator is inside a Combinator, place the clips on the Combinator and ensure the RPG-8 is “receiving” notes in the Combinator’s Modulation section (it does by default).

So there you have it. A few different approaches to using the RPG-8 Monophonic Arpeggiator in Reason 4 or 5. As you can see, there’s a lot of flexibility to the device. Even those who claim to be purists; drawing in their notes by hand in the sequencer or playing them out on a keyboard controller should be encouraged to take a look at this versatile device. It’s not just for arpeggiating notes you know. Like Thor, there’s a lot under the hood of this device that may go unnoticed, even by professionals. I just hope this encourages them to take another look at one of my favorite Reason devices. Until next, time, thanks for reading and watching, and please leave a comment if you like what you see or you have any questions.

In Part 2 of my exploration of the RPG-8 Monophonic Arpeggiator, I’m going to dig a little deeper under the hood and see what kind of fun we can have with it. The arpeggiator is usually used to enhance the synth devices. But with a little tweaking, we can apply it to other areas as well, like Kong and Redrum, as well as using it to create multiple arp lines from the same synth. So let’s get busy.

To start, the project files for both Part 1 & Part 2 can be downloaded here: arpeggiator-fun. The files are fairly self-evident. You have one .rns file which shows you the basic RPG-8 setup, and a few combinators to showcase some of the tricks I’ll show you. The file is available in zip file format.

Creating a Left/Right Double Arp Setup

Creating an RPG-8 to control a device is all well and good. But how about kicking it up a notch. Let’s create two Arps that are controlling the left and right audio signals and affecting them with different Arpeggios (actually, in this tutorial the Arpeggios are similar, but travel in two different directions and have different “Insert” parameters to play slightly different arpeggios left and right). In this case, create a Subtractor, adjust the parameters to get a synth line that you like (melodies work well). Then create an RPG-8 underneath and the Arp device auto-routes to the Subtractor. Once this is done, select both the Subtractor and RPG-8, right-click and Duplicate the Devices and Tracks. The following shows the routing setup at the back of the rack. Note that I also split the device signals and sent one audio pair through a Unison device to fatten it up a bit.

The Subtractor and RPG-8 routing at the back of the rack to set up your melodic synth lines.

The Subtractor becomes the perfect experimental sound source, because this synth is monophonic to begin with. The video below shows in more detail how this setup is put together.

Using the RPG-8 to Control Kong

This is just a quick little look at a different way you can play Kong. Everyone is always looking at new ways to use the Kong device, so here’s a new one. This procedure explains how you can pair the Kong device with the RPG-8 Arpeggiator. This opens the possibilities to use the RPG-8 to act as a sequencer for your drums, and if you turn up the rate you can get some wonderful glitch sounds out of Thor.

In this setup, you create the Combinator with a 6:2 Mixer (the mixer is optional though), and then the Kong device. Create the RPG-8 under the Kong device and it automatically routes up with Kong via the 4 outgoing CV cables.

Note: In the following three setups (with Kong, Redrum, and the Dr.OctoRex), the methods only use the Gate trigger, meaning that the Arpeggiator is only controlling the Gate of the drums. Kong doesn’t have internal CV pitch controls, so you can’t directly control the pitch of Kong. However, it should be noted that if you use the Arpeggiator to control Redrums, you could send the Note / Gate CV cables of an RPG-8 into the Gate / Pitch CV input on an individual drum. This type of setup allows you to create 1 RPG-8 device to control 1 drum in Redrum. So you can imagine a setup that uses 10 RPG-8 devices to control all the drums in a Redrum Kit. Try that out if you want pitch control (and who said Redrum was obsolete?).

The routing on the back of the Combinator: The Kong and RPG-8 Arpeggiator

From here it’s a walk in the park to use the Arpeggiator to trigger Kong. You just need to create some notes on the sequencer in the usable range of Kong (either C1 to D#2 or C3 to B6). To do this, add the notes in the Combinator track in the sequencer, and with the note clip selected, open the Tools Window (F8). Then use the “Transpose Notes” function, select “Random” and enter the minimum/maximum note value and press the “Apply” button. Done.

Here’s the video to show you the setup details:

Using the RPG-8 to Control a Redrum

Now let’s see if it’s possible to have an Arpeggiator trigger the Redrum, so that Reason 4 drummers aren’t left out in the cold. The downside to using an Arp to trigger the Redrum is that there are no single set of CV connections to trigger the device as a whole. You could trigger the gates of each drum separately. However, you can’t trigger all drums at once. What’s needed is a workaround. And this workaround comes in the form of putting the entire setup inside a Combinator and having the Arpeggiator trigger the Combinator via its CV connections.

Create the Combinator as you did previously with the Kong setup. Then add your Redrum with your favorite kit. Now, instead of creating the RPG-8 under the Redrum, go outside the Combinator and create it underneath the Combinator itself. This will automatically connect the CV cables to control the Combinator. Once this is done, move the RPG-8 inside the Combinator (so you can save the entire Combinator patch later).

The alternate Redrum routing where the Arpeggiator triggers the Combinator and any devices inside.

Now, as we’ve done before, we can create some notes on the Combinator lane and adjust them from C1 to A1, which is the usable range of the Redrum device.

See below for the video which details this setup.

Using the RPG-8 to Control a Loop — That’s right, a Loop!

Ok so this one is a little out there. You’re going to get some very glitchy results, but in the same way we can Arpeggiate the Redrum, we can also arpeggiate the Dr. OctoRex loop player. Keep in mind this is really going to get glitchy. So be prepared. Because you’ll need to really really experiment with this one to get something you like out of it. And it’s ultimately completely unpredictable. But here’s the idea in the following video:

Now let’s look at the issue of Pitch. Since the above videos show you how you can use the Gate of the Arpeggiator to trigger the gate of the drum devices, we need to do a little adjustment to set up the Pitch correctly. With the Redrum, for example, you can set up the Arpeggiator to trigger the Gate / Pitch CV inputs on each individual drum. On the Dr. OctoRex, you can leave the Gate CV out from the Arpeggiator where it is in the Combinator, but move the Note CV out cable to the Osc. Pitch input on the back of the Dr.OctoRex. Here’s a video which outlines how these methods are achieved:

So those are just a few ways you can play with the RPG-8 to create interesting melodies and experimentation. Do you have any other ideas you would like to share when it comes to creative Arpeggios? Anything you would like further explained? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Tag: Arpeggio

45 – RPG-8 Arpeggio Fun (Pt.3)