A new software synthesiser looks set to change the face of desktop music-making. Providing analogue synth sounds, a sampler, drum machine and special effects all in one program, Reason provides a 'virtual rack', which provides an easy and visual way to route 'virtual' cables from different outputs to other synths and modules. When recording events from Reason into a sequencer all events, such as mixer adjustments and synth parameter changes, will be saved too for later playback. Sounds and tracks can be exported as .Wav files for use on less powerful computers. Reason uses a combination of ASIO drivers and ReWire technology to integrate with sequencers like Cubase. Using ReWire avoids the problems many have with making software synths work with audio-based sequencers, while support for ASIO (which is optional for those using non-ASIO soundcards like Creative Labs' SB Live!) improves performance and reduces latency. Reason's developer, Propellerheads, claims that a PC system featuring a Pentium III processor and an ASIO-compatible sound card will behave so well that it would be as if the software synthesiser was a piece of hardware. We'll see... Author: Simon PG Edwards 8 February 2000
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