Reason Studios has announced that version 12.5 of its Reason DAW is now available for download. This offers support for VST3 plugins when you’re using Reason as a standalone application.
The Reason Rack Plugin has offered VST3 support for a while, but only now is its ‘parent’ app getting the same level of compatibility.
“We firmly believe there’s no right way to make music,” says Reason Studios’ Music Making Product Manager Mattias Häggström Gerdt. “Musicians and producers mix and match to create their own unique setup.
“With VST3 support, music makers can now use the latest versions of their favourite VST plugins in Reason – just like how music makers in other DAWs can use Reason Rack Plugin as a VST3, AU or AAX.”
In addition to the VST3 support, Reason 12.5, also increases the number of available audio inputs, outputs, and automatable parameters for any VST hosted in Reason. There are a few other minor updates and bug fixes, as well.
Arturia Pigments already rank high in the soft synth pecking order, but the free update to version 4 might help it to rise even higher. Pigments 4 promises “an infinite spectrum of sound” and to enable you to “explore every shade of synthesis”.
If you are an existing user, you will instantly notice some graphical changes. The interface has been made easier to navigate, the Play mode gives you an overview of your entire sound (it offers stripped-back modules and tweak-friendly macros) and you can brighten things up with a new Light mode.
Beyond this, there are more tangible workflow improvements. Modulation editing has been speeded up (you can now click and drag any modulation source to its destination and adjust its depth by hovering over it) and left-right buttons enable you to flick between options in the multimode modules.
Other features, the LFOs now have six waveform presets, and if you want to focus on the synth engine alone, the FX and Seq sections can now be bypassed in both the Synth and Play Mode views.
New sync modes, enable you to experiment with different rhythmic ideas, and there’s fresh compatibility with the MTS-ESP microtuning software.
Other enhancement include Pigments’ voice engines, starting with a new Ring Mod feature for the wavetable engine and a Pulse Width mode for said engine’s Phase Transformation section. The Harmonic engine gets Phase Modulation, there are more unison options and, for those who want to dive deep, the Modulator Oscillator now has ratio options and an extended hertz range.
On the effects front, Pigments now has an MS-20-style filter, while the new Shimmer reverb promises “cathedral-in-outer-space ambience and cinematic detail”. Super Unison can be used to add extreme levels of width to a single voice, and improvements have been made to the Bitcrusher, Jup-8 filter, Multi Filter and Distortion.
Finally, the sound library has been expanded with new factory presets, wavetables, samples and noise types. There are also four new sound banks on the Arturia Sound Store (these are free for new users).
It runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX and standalone formats.
Pigments 4 is a free update for existing users. Newcomers can currently purchase it for the introductory price of $99 (regular price $199), and you can also download a demo.
Native Instruments is getting into the spirit of the season by offering you a free plugin. Download it now and it could grow on you.
This year, it is a free ‘acoustic-electric’ hybrid instrument known as Hydra that you can download. Running inside the free Kontakt 7 Player, this comes with 156 “inspired by nature” presets and plenty of sound-sculpting options, including eight effects, randomisation features and a mod wheel-powered performance mode that enables you to generate a chord progression from a single keypress, and Multiple tuning systems are supported.
As a further bonus, both new and existing Native Instruments customers can get a £22/€25 discount e-voucher that can be spent on instruments, effects and expansions at the NI online shop.
Additionally, you can also save 50% on a selection of iZotope products via the iZotope website. Among the plugins on offer are Nectar 3 Plus, VocalSynth 2 and the full range of Elements products, including the Elements Suite.
Finally, you also have the chance to win a prize bundle from NI and its Soundwide siblings iZotope and Plugin Alliance. If you want to get involved, all you have to do is you need to download Hypha, use it to create a new track and then upload it to the competition page at Metapop. NI will select three winning tracks, and if yours is one of them, you’ll take home a prize.
Find out more and download Hypha for PC and Mac on the Native Instruments website. Hypha is free until 16 January.
