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43 RPG-8 Arpeggio Fun (Pt.1)Jan142011

In this tutorial, Im going to show you a few interesting ways you can use the RPG-8 Arpeggiator in Reason 4 and above. Well first cover the basics and then move into more interesting territory in Part 2. For this tutorial, Ill run through setting up an RPG-8 device, and then explore all the device parameters.

To start, the project files for both Part 1 & Part 2 can be downloaded here: arpeggiator-fun. The files are fairly self-evident. You have one .rns file which shows you the basic RPG-8 setup, and a few combinators to showcase some of the tricks Ill show you. The file is available in zip file format.

Arpeggios for DummiesThe RPG-8 is a device that allows you to play arpeggios. Whats an arpeggio? In simple terms, its a broken chord whereby the notes of a chord are played successively rather than simultaneously. To think of this in simple piano terms, if you were to play three notes in a triad (first, third, and fifth, for example), you would place all three fingers on the three different notes and press the keys at the same time. This produces a chord. Instead, an arpeggio plays the chord in succession: your first finger goes down on the first note, second finger then goes down on the third note, and third finger then goes down on the fifth note. The notes are played one after the other.

Setting up the RPG-8Before jumping into an explanation of setting everything up and exploring all the parameters, I thought I would put together this video and show you visually and audibly how it all works. Then you can read the full explanation below.

Setting up the RPG-8 is fairly easy. Create your sound device (Subtractor, Malstrom, Thor, NN-XT, for example), then create the RPG-8. Everything is automatically routed up for you. From then on, all you need to do is enter some notes on the RPG-8 track (NOT THE SOUND DEVICE), and youll hear the Arpeggios playing from those notes. Of course, if you set up the RPG-8 inside a Combinator, you might want to create a special track for the RPG-8 in the sequencer though placing notes on the Combinator track will trigger the RPG-8 to play (because the RPG-8 is set to Receive notes in the Combinator). Just make sure that any notes you want to play arpeggiated should reside on the RPG-8 track or in the Combinator that houses the RPG-8 and youll be safe.

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Default routing for the RPG-8 Monophonic Arpeggiator

It should also be noted that the RPG-8 is a monophonic device. In other words, its one note at a time. You can create polyphonic setups by duplicating the device (both the sound source and the RPG-8) and then sending the audio output from both devices to different channels on a mixer or merging them together using a Spider Audio Merger/Splitter. This is a common setup or workaround to making your arpeggios polyphonic. Yeah, its a bit of a pain. But its not a major hassle either IMHO.

RPG-8 ParametersSo now that you understand how an arpeggio operates, we can easily make a few connections on the RPG-8 device. Open one up and youll see the following controls:

The RPG-8 Front Panel, with all the Parameters shown

Note: The RPG-8 is divided into 3 main areas. On the left, you have the Midi-CV Converter area. Translated into english, these are your Keyboard controls. This includes the Velocity knob, Hold button and Octave Shift settings. Generally, these controls relate to how notes are input from the keyboard controller (or other midi controller device). In the middle, you have the Arpeggiator controls, which affect the way the arpeggios operate. Finally, on the right side, you have the Pattern section, which can add a separate internal rhythm to the arpeggios.

Velocity: As with any other device, the Velocity value is determined by how hard you play your keys on the keyboard. The harder you play, the louder the notes will sound (depending, of course, on the velocity levels you set up in the device being controlled). When this knob is set fully right, you are in manual mode, which means the velocity is determined by how hard or soft you play the keyboard (this is the default). If, however, you set the knob anywhere else on the dial (left of the manual position), the velocity level is fixed, based on the dial. For example, if you set the knob to 64, then no matter how hard or soft you play the keyboard, your velocity level will remain on 64 (ie: 50% or half-level velocity).

Hold: This is one of the best features of the Arpeggiator device in my humble opinion. Using this simple button can free you up to do other things on your keyboard while the arpeggio continues. The way it works is you turn it on, then play a chord. Then lift your hand off the keyboard (Release). Notice that the Arpeggio continues to play? Now play a new chord. The new chord will overwrite the old chord and continue to play. Turn the Hold button off, and the arpeggio stops playing. In this way, you can continue to maintain an arpeggio playing while jumping off to play other devices. Or you can create a series of Arpeggiators and play different rhythms on each device to have them all running their own rhythms and chords simultaneously, without ever entering more than one chord on each device. One of the most useful features of the RPG-8 to be sure!

Note: If you have the Arpeggiator On/Off button (see below) turned off, adding a new note will not overwrite previous notes. Instead, the Hold will leave the gate open, meaning the notes will be additional to the previously held notes. This may be what you want or

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intend. But usually, you want the notes replaced when they are held. Still, its nice to have options.

Octave Shift: This allows you to transpose the notes up or down 3 octaves each way. You can use this to shift notes up or down an octave in a live setting, or if you find youve input notes on the sequencer that are too high or too low, you can adjust them here. Nothing too exciting, and I think the idea behind this feature is pretty self-evident.

The Arpeggiators On button: 99% of the time youll want to leave this button on. It simply turns on/off the Arpeggiator section of the device. See the above note for a situation where you may want this button turned Off.

Mode knob: This can be thought of as the direction of your arpeggio. If you think in terms of the previous triad I was explaining, up would play the root, third and fifth in succession, while down would play the fifth, third, and root. Up/Down would play the root, third, fifth, third, root. Random would play the notes in a random order. Finally, manual creates arepeggios that move in the same direction that the notes are played when they are input. Input a C1 and then a C2 and then a C0, the notes will arpeggiate up from C1 to C2 and then down from C2 to C0. It basically follows the direction you play manually.

Octave: This determines the range of your arpeggio. Using our example, If you set this to 1 octave, the arpeggio will not stray from the octave that is played. The triad will be played in succession and within the octave that is initially input. If you enter 2 Octaves as your parameter, the triad will play within the range of the current octave plus an additional octave above. Its important to note that the octave range increases. It does not decrease. If you wish to extend the range one octave below the current octave, an easy solution is to set the Octave Shift parameter to -1 and then select the 2 Oct button. This essentially places the arpeggio within the two octave range; one octave below the current octave AND the current octave being played. Sounds confusing, but becomes obvious once you start applying the parameters to an arpeggio which is currently playing.

Insert: Probably the most complicated aspect of the Arpeggiator section, the best way to think of the insert function is to understand that it injects a rhythm to the Arpeggio by altering the sequence of notes being played. This is another one of those great to have features because it can add a lot of interest to the sound, without having the arpeggio sound static or dull. Hi Insert will start by inserting the highest note, then play the next note in the arpeggio sequence; inserting the highest note after each subsequent arpeggio note (after every second note). Low Insert will start by inserting the lowest note, then play the next note in the arpeggio sequence; inserting the lowest note after each subsequent arpeggio note (after every second note). 3-1 and 4-2 are more rhythmic in nature and dont actually add any new notes into the sequence. 3-1 Insert plays 3 notes forward, and then goes back 1 note, then starts playing 3 more notes from there. 4-2 Insert plays four notes forward, and then steps 2 notes backward, and plays the following 4 notes. Hi and Low Insert can be thought of as introducing new notes, while 3-1 and 4-1 Insert simply reshuffles and restarts the arpeggio sequence at a different point in time (either 1 note back after 3 notes are played, or 2 notes back after 4 notes are played).

Here are some examples using real-world arpeggios for a C Major chord (C, E, and G) with the Inserted notes listed in rounded brackets and restarted notes listed with square brackets (with the Arpeggio Mode set to Up and the Octave setting set to 1 Oct):

No Insert: C E G repeat

Low Insert: (C) E (C) G repeat

Hi Insert: (G) C (G) E repeat

3-1 Insert: C E G [E] G C E [C] E G C [G] repeat

4-2 Insert: C E G C [E] G C E G [C] E G C E [G] repeat

Notice that the 4-2 insert is identical in sequence to the No Insert setting. This is because the way the algorithm works on a triad is indiscernible to not having any insert set. If you were to create a 4-note chord, however, the 4-2 Insert will have a noticeable difference. The moral of this story: Insert values sometimes dont have any effect on the arpeggios you are playing.

Rate knob: This determines how fast the notes are played. Very simple. You can have it free-form, meaning that the rate is not tied to the songs tempo, or you can have it synced, meaning the speed is tied to the songs tempo.

Note: if you want to tie the rate parameter to a Rotary within a Combinator, you can

Posted by Reason101 at 1:44 am Tagged with: Arpeggiator, Drum Sequencing, Kong, RPG-8

8 Responses to 43 RPG-8 Arpeggio Fun (Pt.1)

1. RupertG says: August 18, 2011 at 12:43 am

Great post found it really helpful in encouraging me to break out of the box when using the RPG-8.

Just one thing, at the end you hypothesise that the name might come from the 8 octaves. I always thought it was a leet way of saying arpeggiate?

2. PhiSequence says: August 18, 2011 at 12:24 pm

@Rupert, You know what, I think you hit the nail right on the head. And now I feel completely stupid for never making that connection. HA! Nice one. R-PeGgiEIGHT. Got it! Thanks for the clarification. Those Props are sneaky little devils. Though Im still calling it the Re-Drum, and not the Red-Rum (a la Stephen Kings the Shinning). I dont care what the Props say. That movie gave me the willies!

expand the capability by assigning both the Free Rate and Sync Rate to the same Rotary and then tie the sync parameter to a button. With this setup, you can use one Rotary to change both the free and sync rate, and switch between the two via the sync button on the Combinator. Easy as pie!

Gate Length knob: This determines when the gate is triggered. If it is fully left, the gate is tied, meaning that the gate is always on. In other words, the notes are meshed together and seamlessly play from one to the next, with no breather or break between the notes. If the gate length is further to the right, the gate breaks up the notes more and give a sort of staccato feel. Fully right and the gate makes the note extremely short, if not inaudible.

Single Note Repeat button: This is one of those parameters I think should be under the Keyboard section, but anyway. It basically determines how the Arpeggiator works when single notes are played. If left on (default), playing a single note triggers the gate over and over. So the note repeats based on the Gate Length setting. If turned off, any single notes that are played will not repeat, but playing multiple notes at once (polyphony) results in the Arpeggiator being triggered. This can work very well if you want to play a monophonic synth line, and break into an arpeggio when more than one note is played simultaneously. Very dynamic when used correctly.

Pattern button: This turns on the Pattern section of the device. The pattern section can best be described as a mini-matrix or mini sequencer inside the RPG-8. You can use the +/- Steps buttons to reduce or add steps into the pattern. By default, when you turn on the pattern, all steps in the pattern are enabled. This means the arpeggio plays through from the beginning of the pattern until the end. If you click on the pattern step buttons above the pattern window, you end up removing notes inside the pattern. This means the pattern will skip over those steps and move on to the next step which is enabled. Its very similar to the way the Thor step sequencer works. Use the shuffle button to add a sense of shuffle or swing to the pattern (similar to the shuffle button on other devices like the matrix and Redrum).

Note: One really neat thing is that you can program the pattern to be changed on the fly by controlling it via one of the rotaries on the Combinator. This gives you access to 127 different patterns. However, if you automate it directly in the sequencer, you have access from -32768 to +32767 pattern variations. Thats a total of 65535 pattern variations. Yup. You got that right. So automate this sucker in the sequencer if youre in the studio, and map it to a combinator if you need to play it live.

Note: The pattern window helps to show you which notes are playing within the arpeggio. It can play the full range of notes from C-2 to G8, but the pattern window will only display notes from A-2 to D#7. Thats why the notes appear so flat. It has to show 8.5 Octaves worth of notes (103 notes in total). But it does! Perhaps thats where the 8 comes from in the name of the device?

So thats the RPG-8 in a nutshell. Stick with me and Ill show you some further tips on how to use this device in my next tutorial. Drop me a line and let me know what you think so far, or if youre looking to do something specific with the device. Id be happy to try and help you out. All my best!

http://www.reason101.net/author/tojo1771/http://www.reason101.net/tag/arpeggiator/http://www.reason101.net/tag/drum-sequencing/http://www.reason101.net/tag/kong/http://www.reason101.net/tag/rpg-8/http://rupertgo.es/shoppinghttp://www.reason101.net/101-creative-reason-projects/43-rpg-8-arpeggio-fun-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-826http://www.reason101.net/101-creative-reason-projects/43-rpg-8-arpeggio-fun-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-826http://reason101.net/http://www.reason101.net/101-creative-reason-projects/43-rpg-8-arpeggio-fun-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-827http://www.reason101.net/101-creative-reason-projects/43-rpg-8-arpeggio-fun-pt-1/comment-page-1/#comment-827

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3. BPGeez says: September 11, 2012 at 5:08 pm

Your videos are second to none!! You do a great job!!

4. PhiSequence says: September 13, 2012 at 12:55 pm

@BP, Thanks so much for saying so. I try.

5. Kevin Robinson says: September 24, 2012 at 11:28 pm

Hey man! Ive been watching some of your videos, and theyre great! Im curious to know if you can help my with a sort of descending arp that no one has been able to help me figure out yetIts this like almost 8-bit sounding hollow leadan example is at about 1:30 in the first chorus of this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX2MLlrowf4 ANY help would be outstanding. Thanks! Keep up the vids.

6. PhiSequence says: September 25, 2012 at 3:45 pm

Kevin, Theyre just playing arpeggiated notes at a very fast rate. It sounds like a high pitched analog sound. Id start with Thor, then get as close to the sound as you can. Try a square wave sent through a Bandpass filter. If youre playing in the C3-C4 area, set the Oscillators Octave setting to 7 Thats a quick way to get some 8-bit sounds. Theres also some reverb on that sound. For a pseudo-reverb, you can use Thors Delay set to a very short delay time and short feedback time. But play with both the chorus and delay settings until youre happy with the sound. You might also want to add a second filter set to low pass in the third Filter slot. That should get you somewhere in the viscinity of the sound.

Now to arpeggiate in Thor, the easy way is to enable the Sequencer button on the top of Thors global panel. Then enter the arpeggiated notes into the step sequencer. Have the notes descending downward. It sounds like an 8-note sequence. Set the Tempo of the song to around 140 BPM. Leave the Rate on Thor at around 1/16. And set the run mode on Thor to Repeat. In the Modulation Matrix at the bottom of Thor in the green area, enter the following 2 lines:

Midi Key Gate : 100 > Step Sequencer Trig Midi Key Note : 100 > Step Sequencer Transpose

Now when you play the Thor, youll hear the sequence you entered into the Thor step sequencer. Just add the correct descending note sequence and you should be pretty much there.

Hope that helps.

7. Kevin says: September 25, 2012 at 5:46 pm

This is a clip of what Ive been working on since yesterdayand I did make a 8-bit arp similar to what I was aiming for before you got back to me, but when I get home Ill definitely look at what you posted to me. Thanks, man. http://soundcloud.com/kevin-robinson-26

8. PhiSequence says: September 30, 2012 at 6:39 pm

@Kevin, No problem! Nice to see you got something going yourself on your own.

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