Reason 12

 When figuring out the feature set for Reason 12, we wanted the end result to feel like the Rack just leveled up. With hi-res in place and a new built-in sampler, the real heavyweight feature quickly became obvious — update the Combinator

Did you know that the Combinator is the most used device in Reason by a wide margin? Or that "more rotaries" is one of the top feature requests of all time? Or that I started using Reason back in Reason 3 because of the Combinator? It's such an unassuming device (just an empty shell, really) but the power of the Combinator has fueled great sounds and creativity for years, so it was about time we expanded on that.

We've added tons of new ways to customize and build your dream Combinator in Reason 12. Fill it up with your favorite devices, choose a panel size, change the background color, add a custom background (with transparency!), and lay out the perfect set of controls.

It's easier and more powerful to program these controls, too. Right-click a parameter on a device and you can immediately map it to a Combinator control. Create complex macro controls by using the source range and target range features. For example, one rotary can slightly change two parameters for the first quarter turn, another five for the next quarter turn, and then add a bunch of distortion for the last half. There are also new internal modulation sources, including Random, Key and Velocity, and four more CV inputs for even more possibilities.

Now you might not be the type of person who likes tinkering to get the perfect patch or creating your dream device. Don't worry though! That's the beauty of the Combinator, even if you don't do it yourself the results are there for you to use. The sound bank has 100 new and 1000 updated Combinator patches and every week there are new Reason+ Sound Packs that'll harness the power of the Combinator. I'm sure many of you will start sharing your creations, backdrops, and templates on forums and social media too. That's the best thing about the Combinator to me, it's both a platform for creators and a nearly unlimited supply of new sounds and nearly-devices. I'm really looking forward to seeing and hearing what you make with it!

Now that Reason 12 is properly released you might wonder what's next? We'll have more to say about that in the near future but for starters we'll simply keep working. The Combinator's been designed to be expanded with more features over time and there are still parts of Reason that need hi-res assets, so that's where we'll start. It's very helpful to hear your feedback on Reason 12 here, so give it a spin and let us know what you think!

At the end of the day, we set out to make a Reason update that leveled up the Rack and I really think we succeeded. There's always more to do so stick around, grab a coffee, make some music, and we'll keep going together.