Recording Reason's Click

Posted by Will in click tricks

Today we begin a new Blog series entitled “Click Tricks”.  In this series we will be looking at a few tips and tricks to help with using a click.  This is one of the first steps everyone goes through when they start using loops.  One of the hardest starting steps is to find a click sound that you and your band enjoy and can stand to listen to (Check out our previous article on Using a click with your band for a few helpful tips on transitioning to using a click).  In this article we will talk about how to capture the sound of Reason’s click in Ableton Live.  The click in Reason is a well balanced click. It isn’t too harsh of a sound but it cuts through well in the mix and makes it easier for the band to keep up with.  So lets look at how to capture that sound to use in Ableton live.

1) Rewiring Reason to Ableton Live

The first step is to virtually connect Reason’s outputs to Live’s inputs. We can do that through what is called “Rewiring”.  Rewiring is:

“..a system for transferring audio data between two computer applications, in real time. Basically, you could view ReWire as an “invisible cable” that streams audio from one computer program into another.” (from Propellarhead’s website here)

To do this open up Ableton Live first.  Live will function as the “Master” application, which means it must be opened first.  We will then “slave” reason to Live which means we will open up Reason second.  Create an audio track in Live and select Reason as the “audio from” source.  By default we will be monitoring the Mix L/R output of Reason which works perfect for us.  In order to monitor the audio from Reason we need to select “In” on our monitoring options.  This way we can monitor the incoming signal.  Now we are setup to begin recording Reason’s click.

2) Record Reason’s Click into Live

Turn on the Click in Reason.  You select this at the bottom of the program. You can also adjust the volume of the Click from within the program.  You can set it fairly high and then adjust within Live later.  Since Reason is “slaved” to Live whatever tempo you adjust Live to Reason will follow. (Set Live to something like 120 bpm).  Arm the track in Live and then click the circle in any of the scenes to start recording a clip.  You can let it run for a few measures and capture a few measures of the click.

* In order to reduce latency and make sure the clip gets recorded perfectly in time set your buffer size low.  This will make sure the click gets recorded perfectly in time (Adjust this within Live’s Preferences)*

3) Trim the Clip so you can use it later

Move the rightmost brackets within the clip to “2″ in order to make the clip only 1 measure long.  As long as the “loop” function is turned on this 1 measure clip will loop over and over until you stop it.  You can now crop the clip so it’s only a measure long. Now you can save this clip for future use. You can use this Clip for any song you do from here on out. As you adjust the tempo within Live the Tempo of the clip will automatically follow.  Save it in a location that you can get to quickly, so that you always have access to it.

4) Editing it for different Time Signatures

The downside to using a click like this is that when you switch time signatures you have to edit the click and add a few extra measures, because of the Accent.  No fear though, it is super simple to do!  Copy the clip from Session view to Arrangement view so you can edit it. (To switch views press TAB)  Select one of the single clicks (any one without an accent).  You can now copy that section of the clip and then paste however many times you need to equal the length of the measure you need. (We will use 6/4 as an example).  Change the master time signature to 6/4.  Now select the entire clip and Consolidate the clip.  Now you can save that Clip as a 6/4 click that you can use for any 6/4 or 6/8 songs.  (To adjust for 6/8 songs click “Halve original tempo” and the clip can now be used in 6/8.)

So if using Reason’s Click is the way you want to go you can use a few simple steps to create a few click clips that you can use in any song.  Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we will be tackling a few more issues in relation to using a click.  As always feel free to share your opinion and your experiences as well.  Stay tuned!

Rewire setup

Reason's Click

Recorded Clip

Live's Buffer Size

Trimming the Clip

Selecting an unaccented click

Adding Extra Measures

Consolidating the Samples

6/4 click

Halve Original Tempo

Looking for a good Click sound for Garageband or Live? Check out Foundations for Garageband and Foundations for Live . Dual-Sound, Click Solutions that you can Subdivide

Will Doggett is a certified Ableton Live Instructor, musician, worship leader and educator based out of FL. He currently works in the Worship Ministry at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale and teaches Ableton Live and Ensemble courses at Ocean's Edge School of Worship . You can reach him by Email and find him on Twitter @willdoggett. He's currently available for consultation and training for churches and musicians interesting in learning to integrate Live into their setups. Want more info? Shoot him an Email!

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