Reason Complex-1 is their most ambitious and complex synth to date

Reason Complex-1 is their most ambitious and complex synth to date

Reason Complex-1 Propellerhead’s latest rack extension addition, inspired by the legendary modular synth designs of Don Buchla and Bob Moog.

Propellerhead Reason has always prided itself on its semi-modular architecture, the platform is truly unique in that way and is probably the “reason” a lot of us know about what CV and Gate actually is! The system was limited in terms of the internal routing of the synths, giving you only a handful of modulatable parameters via inputs at the back. The newest addition to Reason’s rack extensions is Complex-1, inspired by open-format modular synthesis, it allows you to piece apart the entire inner workings of a synth and freely route any connections you want.

Reason have made sure to recreate the same workflow that you would experience using a real-world modular synthesizer, so patches and techniques can be applied to both, and if you’re familiar with modular synths – diving into Complex-1 for the first time will be a breeze.

Some of the modules within Reason Complex-1 even bare striking resemblance to some real-world modules. The new extension comes packed with over 150 patches, including some patches from the modular wizkid, DivKid.

What modules are in the rack?

Complex-1 features a Complex Oscillator, a third Oscillator, Noise Generator, Waveshaper, Comb Delay, Filter, LFO, 2 Low Pass Gates, an ADSR, Mix, Lag and Attenuator modules and finally an output module. There are also various function modules along the bottom, various utilities and quantizers. As far as modular synths go, the Complex-1 is pretty fully-featured, although it would have been nice to see the ability to freely arrange modules and maybe add/remove some. That being said, that could just be a future update.

Reason Complex-1 is available as a Rack Extension from the Propellerhead store, it’s retailing for USD $99 (Around R1500). For more information check out their website.