Reason Forum Song Challenges – Challenge 5: Synth Nation

So, here we are again! It’s April 1st, the start of a new month, spring has sprung and we’re ready to go with another Song Challenge. Did you work out the clues on the countdown? I hope you enjoyed it and I apologise if anyone felt they were led up completely the wrong path, but I couldn’t resist taking advantage of the positive vibes surrounding the Rack Extension & Figure announcements, so I hope none of you are too disappointed? 😉

The clues were there from the start.

Mad to Cry

We are all part of a universal nation

No egg shell can contain it much longer

Some might say it’s fiendishly simple, but then I would say that

My friend, Richard, asked me what all this fuss was about. I said, “Rick, sir, you’re just gonna have to work it out like everyone else…”

this is more Than It, Sonny….

I used to have a friend, Anthony, who played the piano in a church. He once asked to borrow my Jupiter and I was a bit reluctant. I said, “Just make sure you’re gentle with her. Play some nice stuff with it. Not A Drastic Hymn, Tony.”

I was talking to Andy Murray, the tennis player, yesterday, just before his match in Miami. He told me how he couldn’t seem to impress the girls, even though he was in the worlds top four. Knowing how women can be impressed by displays of masculine awesomeness, I said, “An ace lightens nylon thongs…” Andy smiled knowingly, and started smashing his balls all over the place…

My missus asked me last night what underwear “did it for me”. I surveyed her gold stockinged legs and said, “A thong enhances gilt nylons“.

First, you need to take My Cat Rod, add some Deaf Limpness and then be Nonchalantly Seen Ghosting.

Lots of anagrams. I’ll let you figure them all out.

Of course, the synth models all contained numbers from 10 down to 1, simply to facilitate a countdown.

The models used were:

Korg MS-10

Roland SH-09

Oberheim OB8

Yamaha DX7

Korg Polysix

Yamaha CS5

Roland Jupiter 4

EMS Synthi VCS3

Fairlight CMI Series IIx

Yamaha GX-1

Anyway, suffice to say, I am proud to announce the fifth Reason Forum Song Challenge! (Yes, I’ve reverted to numbering them from the very first one we did last year) So, let me first of all introduce our ReFill developer, whose demo library shall be your palette.

THE REFILL

This time we are using the Synth Nation ReFill from SampleFiends, courtesy of Reason forum regular Sir Sedric!

SampleFiends Synth Nation

The full version of Synth Nation, which will be awarded to the winner of this challenge, contains:

Over 100 new Reason 6 effects device patches and Effects Combinators

New Performance-Controlled Effects, Sequencer-Based Effects and more!

Over 70 Combinator patches, with fully-assigned controls.

1100+ Total Patches, including over 550 Total Combinators!

Single Device Patches

188 Thor Patches w/assigned controls

180 Malstrom Patches •132 Subtractor Patches

Combinator Patches (organized by type)

257 Leads & Big Mids •123 Power Synths

156 Pads, Keys & Textures

66 Thumps & Basses •66 Rhythmic & FX

100+ Brand-New, Reason 6-powered Effects Combinators and Effect Device patches

Reason 4 Users can use all of the Thor, Malstrom and Subtractor synth device patches and 90% of the Combis. (R5 can use more like 95%).

Reason 6 users can use all 1100+ patches and effects, and explore millions of possible sounds and endless experimentation.

You will all be required to use the demo version which can be downloaded by clicking HERE

We’ve decided to be a little less restrictive this time too, but before we give you those details, I want to introduce our judge for this challenge.

THE JUDGE

Ladies & Gents, please be upstanding for Mr Marc Doty!!

Marc Doty

Here’s Marc in a more familiar setting, testing out the Animoog app at his place of employment, Moog Music!

At the age of 9, Marc became obsessed with synthesizers and started writing music on the family piano. He was given his first synthesizer in 1985, and he became an obsessive synthesist. After getting degrees in both composition and music education, he tried his hand at being a recording artist as the techno-industrial artist “Terpsichore.” After a brief stint working for Prince at Paisley Park, Marc worked for years as a composer for theatre, sketch comedy, and improv. In 2005, Marc’s life-long obsession with synthesizers led him to begin demonstrating vintage analog synthesizers on YouTube under the guise of Automatic Gainsay. Last year, Marc landed his dream job as the Archive and Education Specialist at the incredible Bob Moog Foundation.

Nuff said, really!

THE RULES

To participate in the challenge, you will first need to download the free ReFill which contains plenty of material to create your masterpiece. As mentioned earlier, we’re loosening up the shackles on this one, but there are some restrictions which you must observe. Your composition must contain EIGHT UNIQUE INSTRUMENTS ONLY, OF WHICH A MINIMUM OF THREE MUST BE FROM THE SYNTH NATION REFILL. They can be any instruments available to you in the Reason Rack, using any sound you like. You can use them as often and wherever you like, but you must have no more than EIGHT unique instruments throughout the entire piece and at least THREE of those must be from the Synth Nation Demo ReFill. You can use more from there if you wish, but no more than eight in total. You will also be allowed to use FOUR AUDIO TRACKS however you see fit. As before, should we need to verify that your entry meets the criteria, we reserve the right to request the song file for verification otherwise we will be reluctantly forced to disqualify your track.

All entries, once completed, must be uploaded to SoundCloud and submitted to the Challenge group…

http://soundcloud.com/groups/samplefiends-group

There will be no submissions thread on the forum or here so please ensure you upload to SoundCloud and then add your tracks to the group page, ensuring you use your Reason forum name so that we can easily identify you.

Entries will be judged by Marc Doty and there will be one winner who will receive a copy of the full Synth Nation ReFill worth $29. Other prizes may be added at a later date but are not guaranteed. So there you have it! Away you go! Sedric, Marc & I wish you the very best of luck!