When you select this, a new song appears. The exact contents of this song is determined by your Preferences settings (see “Default Song”).
On the sub-menu you can create a new song based on the selected Template Song. The selected Template Song appears in a new document window.
You can then save your song with a new name. See “Creating a new Song from a template” for more details.
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You can have several songs open at the same time if you like. This allows you to copy and paste audio, note and automation clips, tracks, devices, mixer channels and patches between songs. However, all open songs consume some memory and performance, so you may want to close songs you don’t need.
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See “Opening a Reason Essentials Song” for more details.
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See “Opening a Reason Essentials Demo Song” for more information.
If the window is a song document window and has unsaved changes, you will be asked whether you want to save those changes.
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If the song document hasn’t yet been saved, the “Save As” dialog appears, requesting you to enter a file name and specify a location for the file on disk (see “Save As...”).
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This saves the active song document to disc. A standard Save As dialog appears requesting you to enter a file name and specify a location for the file on disk. The “Save As” command will also automatically optimize the song file size when applicable (see “Save and Optimize”).
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You can also set things up so that any samples used in the song are included in the song file itself by specifying self-contained settings (see “About Self-Contained Songs”).
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When you record audio in the sequencer, the recordings are stored in your song document. If you remove recordings in your song, there might be “empty” areas left in the document, similar to a fragmented hard disk. To “defragment” the song document, and thus reduce the file size, you can use the “Save and Optimize” command.
See “Saving and optimizing a Song” for more details.
See “Including Song Information” for information.
If you want to open your song on another computer, or send it to another Reason Essentials user, you would also have to bring all samples and REX files used by the devices in the Song. To make this easier, Reason Essentials allows you to create “self-contained” songs. A self-contained song contains not only the references to the used samples and REX files, but also the files themselves. By selecting the “Song Self-Contain Settings”, you can choose what files to include in your song.
See “About Self-Contained Songs” for more information.
Selecting “Import Audio File...” opens the Browser (if hidden), which displays compatible audio files. Select audio files to import to audio tracks in Reason Essentials.
See “Importing audio to the sequencer” for more information.
Reason Essentials can import standard MIDI files (SMF). This allows you to import MIDI data to Reason Essentials from other applications. Selecting “Import MIDI Files...” opens the Browser (if hidden), which displays compatible MIDI files. Select MIDI files to import to ID8 tracks in Reason Essentials.
See “Importing Standard MIDI Files” for more information.
Reason Essentials can export standard MIDI files (SMF). Selecting “Export MIDI Files...” brings up the Export MIDI File dialog from which you can export all instrument tracks and automation tracks from the Reason Essentials sequencer as a Standard MIDI File (SMF).
See “Exporting Standard MIDI Files” for more information.
This item is available for a selected Audio Track device, Mix Channel device or their corresponding channel strips in the Main Mixer. Selecting “Export Insert FX Patch” brings up the Save Insert FX Patch dialog from which you can save the Insert FX patch used in the selected Audio Track/Mix Channel device as a Combinator (*.cmb) Patch File.
This item is available for a selected device that can save patches. The menu item name reflects the type of device selected (for example “Save Combinator Patch As...”).
Even though the device settings are stored in the song, you may want to save any settings you have made for a device as a separate patch file. This allows you to use the patch in other songs, and lets you try out other patches in your song without risking to lose your original sound.
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If you have selected a patch, modified it and want to save it with the modifications, you could either save a separate, modified version of the patch (with a new name) or simply overwrite the old patch file on disk.
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You can save a patch under the same name and location (without having the save dialog appear) by holding down [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) and clicking the floppy disk button on the device panel. Note that this overwrites the original patch!
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When you have created a complete song, you will want to mix it down to a WAV or AIFF audio file to make it playable for other people (who don’t use Reason Essentials). You can either export the whole song, or only the loop (the region between the left and right locator in the sequencer).
See “Exporting Songs or parts of Songs” for more information.
Bouncing Mixer Channels basically means “recording” the audio outputs from individual Audio Track Channels and/or Mix Channels to audio files. The audio files can then be saved to disk or placed on new Audio Tracks in your song.
See “Bouncing Mixer Channels” for information on how to bounce mixer channels.
The Drop to Propellerhead function lets you export a song, or part of a song (loop), in a proprietary Propellerhead format and automatically upload it to your Propellerhead account. The dropped (uploaded) audio can then be imported into other applications, such as the Propellerhead Take iOS app, and you can also share your exported files with others if you like.
See “Drop to Propellerhead” for more information.
This item is only available if a Dr. Octo Rex device is selected in the rack. If you have loaded a REX file into a Dr. Octo Rex device and wish to play back the loop via MIDI (typically from another sequencer), proceed as follows:
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Set up the other application to play back the MIDI File on the correct MIDI Output and MIDI Channel (the output and channel on which the Dr. Octo Rex device receives data).
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Here is a list of the eight most recently opened Reason Essentials Songs. Select any of these songs to open them in new, separate document windows.
This allows you to quit and exit the program. If there are any song documents open with unsaved changes you will be asked whether you want to save those changes before quitting.