Reaktor workflow after HW gear

Hello

This is what i think stops me from diving deep to synthesis with Reaktor. I used to mangle with its ensembles and especially Blocks, love it very much. but once i've got Make Noise 0-coast and then Novation mono station.
dimension shift.
with its total hands-on control it turned to be much more playable, dynamic, wide-range, though i realize Reaktor's possibilities are infinite times wider. i just can't seem to get there.
hence I wonder how do you guys set up your workflow with Reatkor. especially how do you jam with it. unfortunately i do not own DC-coupled interface so speaking of combining these two worlds is MIDI to 0-coast and audio processing in Reaktor FX.

is it like you patiently mapping all needed (and somehow beforehand known) controls to some super midi controller and then wiggling, or you just don't mind clicking and dragging around Reaktor's building area in split screen mode constantly scrolling to the blocks out of visible area?

so this is another 'tips'n'tricks' post but more with hardware context. i'm all ears about your approaches since i know many of you are experienced Reaktor users and you do fantastic things with it.
thanks

 

always worth getting those midi controllers with just knobs & buttons for triggering various fx, parameters, etc.

 

Build custom osc controllers with Arduino / Stm?


Reaktor is mighty

 

I mainly use Maschine Jam for mapping some Ensembles. And yes, it takes time, but also YOU choose the parameters YOU want to move
I would say it's another kind of pleasure

 

you mean those 8 touch strips? once i tried to map out some basic Blocks patch and DWG osc alone took more than 8 knobs to map) it's overwhelming to me. sounds like i have no idea what i'm doing and partially it is so, but it's still very limiting to me. what am i doing wrong?))

 

You have 8 pages of 8 Strips, 128 pads and other btns... See in Controller Editor...

 

oh i see, missed that, thanks. i don't own jam but i own maschine mk2. is there a way to map the ensemble's controls over pages (banks) with own labels the same way as factory ensembles appear?

 

probably thru Macros

 

I am just getting into Eurorack modules. One of my modules is an Easy Sleeper ES3 which will transmit MIDI data as CV as well as Audio via an ADAT system.. which works with both DC-Coupled and Non-DC-Coupled Audio systems. It works great. My only frustration is that for some Reaktor Blocks .. some of the Parameters will not work with outside controllers. If you want to check it out.. check this out: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/reaktor-community/reaktor-user-library/entry/show/9093/ Nice collection of Blocks designed for interacting with Eurorack systems.

 

Totally!

Recently I've started building a small Eurorack modular. It's my first foray into hardware synthesis. Started with a Moog Mother 32, and have added a case and a few modules. It's just a whole different thing - it just feels more real.
Midi Controllers just don't compare - the controller quantization of MIDI means it's a completely different thing.
I've actually made more music with Reaktor since getting the hardware because it is inspiring, and Reaktor lets me try things I can't do on my tiny modular. Then there's the fact that on PC, I always end up searching for ways to make the sound more organic, and get sidetracked by programming, while the hardware is naturally organic all day long.

What I've found is that if I can come up with an interesting idea for a patch on the hardware, it will just work (assuming the idea is valid). In Reaktor or any other virtual system, it will often only work if the developer thought of that idea and was able to support it. e.g. using a voltage controlled switch to flip between two oscillator waveforms at audio rate driven by the square output of the oscillator - great sound, simple idea, 20 seconds to try out on hardware assuming you have the modules. In Reaktor, it would be an aliasing frenzy followed by a significant amount of work building a custom oscillator to support the feature with clever code to minimise the aliasing... which kinda kills the moment

Real modular hardware seems to reward lateral thinking and crazy ideas in a much more immediate way. Plus you get to play with actual stuff... it's a tactile, visceral experience.

Imagine playing with Lego, but instead of actual real Lego, you just have a virtual set of bricks that you have to put together with a game controller looking at a screen... oh wait - that's Minecraft... so we're really talking Lego vs Minecraft... I'm definitely on the lego side.

...Anyway... To answer your initial question, I suppose one approach would be to play with your hardware and get some cool ideas and energy, then move over to Reaktor when you start hitting the limitations of the hardware - limited number of modules, no patch saving, no DAW integration, more work to create your own components...

On another note, I wish that Expert Sleepers ES-8 wasn't so expensive. It would be great to connect up the two systems and get the best of both worlds, but £375 for an otherwise limited soundcard is a lot for me.

 

Any specific examples? what about the factory blocks?

 

i think a hot top might be to get yourself a volca keys and then do the midi out mod. then you not only have a fine little analogue synth that is cheap and versatile, but you also have a tight formation of 12 midi cc knobs to use as a controller for whatever outrageous thing you happen to be reaktor making

 

The Factory blocks work fine. All of the parameters are MIDI controllable.. which is great! because I love being able to adjust knobs (I use Push2) to change parameters instead of the mouse. But for reason's that are so far a mystery to me.. I have found that a lot of User designed blocks only have a few parameters available for MIDI manipulation. At least that's my experience with PUSH2 and Ableton live.

 

There are various possible reasons for the problem, so if you don't give actual examples, then no one is likely to help.

Only suggestion to make just now is to try using one or more of the options in Properties->ID Actions. Check the manual first. Make an ensemble with just the instrument in question and hit instrument up, then sort and compress. If that doesn't fix it, you need to make some sort of mod...

 

I have to agree with all the points made above,I started to get eurorack hardware a couple of years ago and found that it reinvigorated my love of just exploring synths.I went down the ES3 route and then added expanders as money allowed, and i love it,I can send 8 cv,16 gate and 7 audio rate cv/audio.It also opened up my older synths to new possibilities and the joy of hearing a moog sequenced over 5/6 octaves in tune and tight is glorious, my ms20 sounds great too.
At the moment i use reaktor to feed control and the odd sample loop into the hardware. I have various midi controllers and use them as much as possible but its just not the same
I keep searching for the best way to integrate both, i always feel its just round the corner...

 

bitwig 2 maybe?