Panel reference

The Sample section

Here is where you load/sample the audio for the currently selected Slot. The Waveform display differs somewhat, depending on which Slot Mode you have selected (see “Slot Mode”).

A sample loaded in a Slot with Slice Mode selected.

Loading/sampling

Load a sample using drag & and drop, or by clicking the Browse sample button, or by using the Up/Down buttons to scroll and load a sample from the currently selected folder.

Drag a sample from the browser and drop on a Slot Select button, to load the sample in the desired Slot.

Alternatively, sample straight into Mimic by clicking the Start sampling button (Reason stand-alone only):

See the “Sampling” chapter for more information about setting up and using Reason for sampling.

It’s possible to load/sample stereo signals. However, the waveform will always be displayed as a mono signal, regardless if it’s mono or stereo.

Root Key

A sample is automatically analyzed for its original pitch at the Sample Start position. The analyzed pitch is displayed in the Root Key section. If you move the Sample Start marker, the sample is automatically re-analyzed.

Click the “SET” button to use the analyzed Root Key.

This will automatically place the analyzed Root Key on the correct note on the keyboard, as indicated by an orange key in the Note/range indicator below the Waveform display.

Alternatively, set the Root Key manually by dragging up/down in the “Root” and “Tune” (cent) boxes:

Note that the Root Key function only works in Pitch Mode and Multi Pitch Mode.

Setting the sample range

First you could decide how much of the original sample you want to use - and where in the sample you want to work:

Zoom and/or scroll in the Sample Overview to define the Sample range you want to work in.

To scroll, click and drag sideways between the dark yellow sample range markers. To zoom, click and drag any of the sample range markers sideways. The set Sample range is automatically updated and displayed in the waveform display.

To work in the entire Sample range, drag the left Sample range marker all the way to the left, and the right Sample range marker all the way to the right, in the Sample Overview.

Zooming in the Waveform Display

Click and hold the mouse button anywhere in the waveform display, then drag down to zoom in, and up to zoom out in the waveform.

Dragging sideways in the Waveform Display will scroll left/right.

Setting the sample start and end

Drag the Start and End marker handles to where you want the sample to begin and stop playing back.

Note that the Start and End markers cannot be set in reversed order. If you want to play the sample backwards, from the End marker to the Start marker, click the Reverse button (see “Reverse”).

•	If you drag and move the Start/End marker up into the Slice Marker area above the waveform, the Start/End marker will snap to the closest slices. This works in all modes, not just in Slice Mode:

Alternatively, double click in the Waveform Display to position the Start marker. Hold down [Shift] and double click to position the End marker.

Previewing samples

Preview the sample by holding down [Option]/[Alt] and clicking at the desired position in the Waveform Display.

The sample will play back for as long as the mouse button is depressed.

It’s possible to automate the sample start and end settings, see “Automating the sample Start and End markers”.

Loop and Loop Length

It’s also possible to loop (Forward Loop) samples - or slices in Slice Mode. The loop always happens at the end of the sample/slice. In all modes except for Slice Mode the Loop Length is visually indicated with a transparent red region in the Waveform Display, so you can see exactly where the loop is.

Enable Loop by clicking the Loop LED.

Adjust the Loop Length by turning the Length knob, or by holding down [Command]/[Ctrl] and clicking/dragging sideways in the waveform display:

If you are playing back the sample reversed (see “Reverse”) the looped region originates from the Start Marker instead and is displayed in transparent blue.

In Slice Mode the looped region is not indicated visually in the Waveform Display.

Start Position

The Start Position section contains controls for determining where the sample/slice playback should begin, and in which direction the sample/slices should be played back.

Global Position

Click the Global Position LED to start the playback of new/additional voices from the global position, i.e. from where the red Position marker is currently positioned in the Waveform Display:

This function is great for polyphonic rhythmic sounds, where you want to have all the voices synced in time.

If not active, new/additional voices will always start playing back from the blue Sample Start marker.

Reverse

Click the Reverse LED to have the sample/slices play back backwards, from the end to the start.

Start Position Mod

Turn the Mod knob to set a modulation amount for the sample/slice playback start position.

Note that the Mod amount is bipolar (-/+) so that you can modulate the start position either earlier or later than the default start position.

Select a Modulation source from the drop-down selector, to modulate the sample/slice start position.

The Start Position Modulation behavior also depends on the “Snap to Slices” setting described below.

Snap to Slices

Click the Snap to Slices LED to always start the playback from a Slice Marker (and not from somewhere in between Slice Markers).

Note that this function is only useful in when modulating the Start Position (see above) in Pitch Mode, Multi Slot Mode and Multi Pitch Mode, since the Start Position always snaps to slices in Slice Mode (see “Slice Mode”).

Speed and Speed Mod

The Speed control determines how fast the play position (“playhead”) moves in the waveform.

Speed

Set the sample playback speed with the Speed knob.

Depending on which Stretch type (see “Stretch”) is currently selected, the sonic result will vary. If you have selected the Tape Stretch type (see “Tape”), the Speed knob also affects the pitch. Note that the Speed can be set all the way down to 0%, i.e. “stop”. Great for Tape Stop effects in Tape mode and for static playback in other Stretch types, for example.

Speed Mod

Modulate the Speed with the Mod knob.

Assign a modulation source from the drop-down selector next to the Mod knob.

For example, selecting an Envelope as a modulation source could cause the playback speed to start fast and gradually slow down when you hold a note - or vice versa.

Stretch

Mimic features five different Stretch types, which can be selected from the drop-down selector. Depending on the selected Stretch type, there are also some additional controls to modify the sample characteristics.

Tape

This is the good old “tape recorder” type, where speed and pitch are coupled. This means that to achieve a higher pitch you simply increase the playback speed of the sample/slices - and vice versa.

With the Tape stretch type selected, there is a Loop X-Fade knob present. This controls the crossfade amount when the Loop function is active for the sample/slices (see “Loop and Loop Length”).

If Loop is off, the Loop X-Fade knob has no effect.

Advanced

This is a high-quality stretch algorithm suitable for most type of polyphonic and complex audio material.

With the Advanced stretch type selected, there is a Preserve Transients button present. Transients are regions in the sample where the level quickly goes from quiet to loud, for example in percussive hits and other types of “attacks”.

Click the Preserve Transients button to preserve any transients in the sample/slices.

When off, any transients will be “smeared out” and less prominent, which might be desired in some situations.

Melody

This is the Melody stretch type used for audio in the Reason sequencer, i.e. a high-quality stretch algorithm suitable for monophonic audio material.

With the Melody stretch type selected, there is a Preserve Transients button present.

Click the Preserve Transients button to preserve any transients in the sample/slices.

When off, any transients will be “smeared out” and less prominent, which might be desired in some situations.

The Melody stretch type is well suited if you are using the Loop function (see “Loop and Loop Length”), since it usually reduces clicks/pops at the loop point.

Vocal

This is the Vocal stretch type used for audio in the Reason sequencer, i.e. a high-quality stretch algorithm suitable for monophonic vocal audio material.

With the Vocal stretch type selected, there are two additional controls present:

Turn the Formant knob to change the formant of the sample/slices.

Turning this up will be like creating a smaller “body” for the sound, and turning it down will be like creating a larger body. If you are using a vocal sample, changing the Formant would be like changing the character from “adult” to “child” like.

Click the Fixed Pitch button to “auto-tune” the sample/slices to the currently played (note) pitch.

This is really cool for creating processed vocals that you could pitch from the keyboard.

Granular

This is a “vintage” type of digital pitch shift/stretch method, where grains of the sample are being looped and crossfaded.

The Granular stretch type utilizes playback of a series of snippets of audio data - grains - “extracted” from the sample. The grains could be of a selectable length and overlap. The grains could then be played back in a number different ways - with or without crossfades between the grains.

The picture below shows the basic principle of the Granular Stretch type:

An example of a signal generated from 5 grains of a sample.

Here is what happens in the example above:

•	The original sample at the top is used as base for the granular stretch.

•	5 grains (of the same lengths and the same distances between them) are “extracted” from the original sample.

The distance between the grains is determined by the current sample playback speed. The grains could contain common audio data in some parts (like in the beginnings and ends in the example above).

•	The 5 grains are then placed after one another, partly overlapping each other.

The distance between the grains is determined by the playback rate.

•	When the grains are played back, big parts of the grains are played back together (since they are overlapping).

In the example above, there are also crossfades between the grains to make the overlaps smoother.

With the Granular stretch type selected, there are four additional controls present:

Control the grain lengths with the Length knob.

This sets the lengths of the grains. At 0% you get the shortest grains and the sound could be a little gritty at this setting. At 100% you get the longest grains.

Control how much the grains should overlap each other with the Overlap knob.

This sets how much the grains should overlap each other and also the crossfade amount. At 0% you get no overlap and almost no crossfade at all. At 100% you get the longest overlaps and also smooth crossfades between the grains.

Set the playback position deviation with the Jitter knob.

The Jitter function modulates the sample playback position minutely and randomly. The Jitter function can be great for generating “chorus”-like effects and to make a sound more “alive”, depending on the other settings in the sound. At 0%, the timing and playback position is completely accurate and at 100% it is completely random.

Set how much you want the grains to be panned in the stereo panorama with the Spread knob.

0% means the signal will be unaffected and 100% means every other grain will be panned hard left and hard right. Great for nice and wide stereo effects!

Slices

This section is mainly useful when you are working in Slice Mode (see “Slice Mode”).

Even though slices are the core of Slice mode, they are available in the other modes too. They can be used for snapping the Start position (see “Setting the sample start and end”) - either when you drag it manually or when you modulate or automate it.

Sensitivity

Slices are added automatically at transients according to the Sensitivity knob setting.

Turn the Sensitivity knob to increase or decrease the number of automatically detected slices.

Automatically generated slice markers are indicated in yellow.

•	In Slice Mode the number of available keys changes according to the number of slices in the loop. For example, if there are 10 slices in the loop, the first 10 notes (counted upwards from C1) are used. If the loop contains 15 slices, the first 15 notes are used, and so on:

Note that the maximum number of slices that can be detected and used is 92 (from C1 to G8). If you are using a very long sample and a high Sensitivity setting, the detected slices might not cover the entire sample - only the first part. If you want to access slices further into the sample you might therefore have to move the Sample Start marker (or reduce the Sensitivity setting).

Moving, adding and removing Slice markers

Drag the Slice markers sideways to move them:

Add slices manually by double clicking in the Slice Marker lane directly above the waveform:

Any manually moved/added slice markers are automatically indicated in a different color, which also means they are no longer affected by the Sensitivity knob.

You can also click on a slice marker handle (without moving it) to deactivate it from the Sensitivity knob.

Delete slice markers by double clicking the slice marker handles in the Slice Marker lane.

Reset

Click the Reset button to restore the slices to the ones auto-generated by transient detection/Sensitivity.

Any manually added slice markers will be removed.

Play Thru

Click the Play Thru LED to force the playback to continue beyond the following slice markers, for as long as the notes sustain.

When Off, the playback will automatically stop at the next slice marker, even if you have sustaining notes.

Pitch

Semi

Set the pitch in semitone steps.

Range: +/-24 semitones (+/-2 octaves).

Note that if you are using the Tape Stretch type (see “Tape”), the pitch settings also affect the playback speed.

Tune

Changes the pitch in steps of 1 cent.

Range: +/- 50 cents (down or up half a semitone).

LFO

Sets how much the pitch should be affected by the LFO (see “The LFO section”).

Range: +/- 100%.

By using the LFO Scale function (see “LFO Scale”), you can gradually introduce the LFO modulation amount by using the Mod Wheel.

Pitch Mod

Sets how much the pitch should be modulated by the source assigned in the drop-down selector to the right.

Range: +/- 100%.

The Filter section

The Filter section features eight different filter types.

Filter Type selector

Click the Filter type drop-down selector to choose any of the following filter types:

•

LP 24

This is a standard 24dB/octave lowpass filter. Set the cutoff frequency with the Freq knob and the
resonance amount with the Reso knob.

•

HP 24

This is a standard 24dB/octave highpass filter. Set the cutoff frequency with the Freq knob and the
resonance amount with the Reso knob.

•

LP 12

This is a standard 12dB/octave lowpass filter. Set the cutoff frequency with the Freq knob and the
resonance amount with the Reso knob.

•

BP 12

This is a standard 12dB/octave bandpass filter. Set the center frequency with the Freq knob and the
resonance amount with the Reso knob. Note that raising the resonance also makes the passband narrower.

•

HP 12

This is a standard 12dB/octave highpass filter. Set the cutoff frequency with the Freq knob and the
resonance amount with the Reso knob.

•

Notch

A notch filter (or band reject filter) could be described as the opposite of a bandpass filter. It cuts off frequencies in a narrow midrange band, letting the frequencies below and above through. Set the center frequency with the Freq knob and the notch width with the Reso knob. The higher the Resonance, the narrower the notch.

•

Comb -

This is a comb filter with a positive feedback loop - but without feed forward - ideal for flanger and phaser types of effects. Set the cutoff frequency with the Freq knob and the resonance amount with the Reso knob. The difference between “Comb +” (see below) and “Comb –” is in the position of the peaks in the spectrum. The main audible difference is that the “Comb –” version causes a bass cut.

•

Comb +

This is a multi notch filter, great for phaser types of effects. Set the cutoff frequency with the Freq knob and the attenuation amount - and consequently the bandwidth - of the notches with the Reso knob. The difference between “Comb +” and “Comb –” (see above) is in the position of the peaks in the spectrum. The main audible difference is that the “Comb +” version lets through more bass frequencies.

Freq

Set the cutoff frequency (for the HP and LP filter types) or the center frequency (for the BP and Notch filter type).

Range: 37.0 Hz to 16.00 kHz.

Reso

Set the resonance amount.

Drive

Set the amount of overdrive distortion in the filter.

Kbd

Set how much you want the filter cutoff/center frequency to track the keyboard.

At 0%, the filter frequency is static regardless where on the keyboard you play. At 100% the filter tracks the keyboard 1:1, i.e. one semitone per note.

Vel

If you want the Filter Envelope amount to be controlled from keyboard velocity, turn up the Vel knob.

Env

Set the cutoff/center frequency modulation amount from the Filter Envelope (see “The Filter Envelope and Amp Envelope sections”).

Range: +/- 100%.

Freq Mod

Select a modulation source, for modulating the filter cutoff/center frequency, from the drop-down selector.

Set the desired modulation amount with the Mod knob.

Range: +/- 100%.

The Filter Envelope and Amp Envelope sections

The Filter Envelope and Amp Envelope feature standard ADSR envelopes that control the modulation amounts of the respective destinations (the Filter Freq and the Amp Gain). The picture below shows the various stages of the ADSR envelope:

The ADSR envelope stages.

A(ttack)

When you play a note on your keyboard, the envelope is triggered. This means it starts rising from zero to the maximum frequency value (Filter Envelope) or Gain level (Amp Envelope). How long this should take, depends on the Attack setting. If the Attack is set to “0”, the maximum Freq/Gain value is reached instantly. If the Attack value is raised, it will take longer time before the maximum Freq/Gain value is reached.

D(ecay)

After the maximum Freq/Gain value has been reached, the level starts to drop. How long this should take is governed by the Decay parameter.

If you want to emulate the volume envelope of a note played on a piano for example, the Attack should be set to “0”, the Decay parameter should be set to a medium value and the Sustain level should be set to “0”, so that the volume gradually decreases down to silence, even if you keep holding the key down. Should you want the decay to drop to some other value than zero, you raise the Sustain parameter.

S(ustain)

The Sustain parameter determines the level the envelope should rest at, after the Decay stage. If you set Sustain to full level, the Decay setting is of no importance since the frequency/volume of the sound is never lowered.

If you want to emulate the volume envelope of an organ, you theoretically only really need to use the Sustain parameter set to full level, as a basic organ volume envelope instantly goes to the maximum level (Attack “0”) and stays there (Decay “0”), until the key is released and the sound instantly stops (Release “0”).

But often a combination of Decay and Sustain is used to generate envelopes that rise up to the maximum Freq/Gain value, then gradually decreases to finally land to rest on a level somewhere in-between zero and the maximum Frequency/Gain value. Note that Sustain represents a level, whereas the other envelope parameters represent times.

R(elease)

The Release parameter works just like the Decay parameter, except it determines the time it takes for the Freq/Gain to drop back to zero (or to the set Freq value) after you release the key.

The LFO section

An LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) is used for generating cyclic modulation. A typical example is to have an LFO modulate the pitch of a signal to produce vibrato, but there are countless other applications for LFOs.

The LFO section features one general purpose LFO, which can be assigned to control selectable parameter(s) in other sections on the front panel.

By using the LFO Scale function (see “LFO Scale”), you can gradually introduce the LFO modulation amount by using the Mod Wheel.

Wave

Select an LFO waveform by clicking the spin controls to the right of the waveform display, or by click-holding in the display and dragging up or down.

Besides the standard waveforms (sine, triangle, pulse, etc.) there are random, slope and stepped waveforms. The shape of the waveforms are shown in the display.

Rate

Set the LFO frequency with the Rate knob.

Key Sync

Click the Key Sync button to restart the LFO at every new Note On.

Beat Sync

Click the Beat Sync button to sync the LFO to the main sequencer Tempo.

The Rate parameter now controls the time divisions.

Delay

Turn the Delay knob to introduce a delay before the LFO modulation kicks in after a note is played.

Turn clockwise for longer delay times.

The Amp section

Gain

Set the desired maximum level for the Amplifier with the Gain knob.

This is the maximum level the envelope will reach after the Attack stage is completed (see “A(ttack)”.).

Vel

If you want the Gain level to be controlled from keyboard velocity, turn up the Vel knob.

Gain Mod

Assign a modulation source in the drop-down selector to the right. Then, control the modulation amount with the Mod knob.

If you want to create a tremolo effect, select the LFO as Source in the drop-down selector.

Pan

Set the panning of the output signal from the Amplifier in the stereo panorama.

Pan Mod

Assign a modulation source in the drop-down selector to the right. Then, control the modulation amount with the Mod knob.

Since Pan works individually per voice, you can assign e.g. Keyboard Velocity, an Envelope or “Random” as source to create cool panning effects.

The Compressor

This is a Compressor, which can be used for compressing the signal and evening out the signal levels.

Turn the Squeeze knob to set the compression amount.

The red LED above the knob indicates the signal compression.

The Effect section

The Effect section features seven types of distortion/modulation effects, to spice up your sound.

Select the desired Effect algorithm from the drop-down selector.

“Noise” adds noise to the signal (when a signal is present).

“Reso Noise” adds resonant noise to the signal (when a signal is present).

“Ring Mod” is a ring modulator effect.

“Bitrate” gives the effect of sample rate reduction.

“Lowres” combines sample rate reduction with bit depth reduction.

“Sine Fold” is a sinewave shaping distortion.

“Scream” produces a less bright type of distortion.

Effect Mod

Set the character of the selected effect algorithm.

Mix

Set the mix between the dry signal and the effect signal.

The EQ section

This is a Lo Cut and Hi Cut filter, which lets you cut out bass (lo cut) and treble (hi cut) frequencies from the sound.

Lo Cut

Turn up the Lo Cut knob to cut out bass frequencies from the signal.

Range: 20.0 Hz to 4 kHz.

Hi Cut

Turn down the Hi Cut knob to cut out treble frequencies from the signal.

Range: 200 Hz to 20 kHz.

The Send section

The Send knobs can be used for tapping the output signal of the Slot to the corresponding FX Send Out jacks on the rear panel (see “FX Send Out”). You could then route the signals to external effect devices and then further to a separate mixer/audio channel.

Control the Send output levels with the corresponding Send knobs.