Robotic spills the Beans

The team at ReasonTalk recently had the pleasure of chatting with Rack Extension developer, Robotic Bean. We discussed everything from the origin of the name, experience with developing Rack Extensions, collaborating with Anders Ljung (aka skatebird, Test Lead of Propellerhead), and future plans which are hinted in the cover image of this article 😉  A few more beans are spilled in terms of what that might be! Enjoy!

About Robotic Bean

ReasonTalk(tiker01): Hi Buddard! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Buddard: I’m from Stockholm, Sweden, and I’ve been interested in music for as long as I can remember. I taught myself to play keyboards, guitar and bass by playing along to records (and in some really lousy bands) when I was young. Nowadays I alternate between playing guitarron in Sweden’s only real mariachi band and creating weird noises on the modular and in Reason.

RT(wongothesane): What’s the origin of the name Robotic Bean?

Buddard: We were brainstorming names and drawing doodles, and my brother-in-law drew a jumping bean and turned it into a robot.

RT(tiker01): When did you start using Reason?

Buddard: I first heard about Reason around the time it was first announced on the Propellerhead website, and I was always keeping an eye on it. But I didn’t start actually using it until Reason 5 / Record 1.5 came out. Since then it’s the only DAW I use.

RT(tiker01): Had you been using ReBirth?

Buddard: Yeah, a little bit, I downloaded the demo and played around with it. Some of my friends were really into it. At the time I had a real 303 and a 606, so I mostly played with them. But I was really impressed with what they [PH] managed to cram into ReBirth, I think it was in that moment I realized that software synths actually were going to be a thing!

Experience with Rack Extension development

RT(tiker01): How did you get into being a RE developer?

Buddard: I’ve been a software developer in the telecom industry for many years, and I wanted to try something new on the side, for fun. I was already a Reason user, so when RE’s arrived I started toying with the idea making one. But it wasn’t until about 2 years later when I found the time to actually do it.

RT(tiker01): Why have you chosen to start with CV devices?

Buddard: I think CV devices are by far the easiest way to get into RE development. They’re pretty fast to write, and you don’t have to worry too much about performance either. So I could focus more on getting to know the SDK.

RT(tiker01): How long did it take to create your first RE, Euclid?

Buddard: I started coding Euclid in April 2014, and I think it was released in August, so it took me about four months. But I was coding pretty sporadically during that time.

RT(tiker01): Did it make the process faster when you were working on Step?

Buddard: Definitely! Euclid was the very first RE I wrote, so a lot of that project was about learning find my way around the SDK. Although I didn’t reuse much code from Euclid for Step, I could bring all the lessons I had learned while making it.

RT(wongothesane): What’s the biggest hurdle you had to overcome during RE development?

Buddard: I think they were more like a series of small hurdles. The biggest was probably getting used to the process of creating the 3D GUIs.

RT(tiker01) Do you always do your own graphics?

Buddard: No, I’ve had some help. My brother-in-law helped out with the front panel graphics on Euclid and Step, but I had to put them together. My first versions of Euclid and Step looked absolutely horrible! With the clappers, cowbell etc. Anders Ljung, aka skatebird did all the graphics.

RT(joeyluck): Since the SDK had begun allowing 2D GUI support, do your current projects still use 3D, or did you take the opportunity to begin designing with 2D?

Buddard: All of my released stuff were made in 3D, and most of the stuff I’m working on now are in 2D.

RT(joeyluck): Has it been a little easier working in 2D?

Buddard: They have their pros and cons. I was pretty bummed at first about leaving the 3D stuff behind after investing so much time into learning it, but I think it was more of a Stockholm syndrome thing. I’m pretty happy with the 2D process now.

Teaming up with skatebird

RT(tiker01): Where did the simple yet essential Clappers and the Cowbell come from?

Buddard: The ideas for the hand clappers came from skatebird.

RT(tiker01): Hi Anders! I am glad you can join us. First things first, how did you meet?

skatebird: I met Buddard when he won a remix contest we had for a Reason release (I think). When I checked out his profile to add the prize, I noticed he only lived a few hundred meters from me (I didn’t even know he was Swedish).

Buddard: Yes, it was the remix contest part of the Reason 7 beta and the song was Little Jinder`s Everything. 

skatebird: We started talking, found out we both liked synth music, he did another great remix of one of my band’s tracks, As You Say. Somewhere along the line we went for a beer and started talking about REs and I mentioned the idea I had for AC-1. Later on he did another remix, Such a Fragile Thing for another band of mine.

RT(tiker01): What was the motivation behind the clappers and MT-1 metronome?

skatebird: AC-1, EC-1 and MT-1 are all “one trick ponies”, they do one dedicated thing. We want them to be simple yet powerful, and solve a problem or create a shortcut for the user. I think the idea of a clapper came from when I wanted to add handclaps to a song, and found creating a Redrum, finding samples etc was quite tiresome. Practically the AC-1 video.

At first, we were going to do just one clapper, but Buddard quickly identified that maybe the target groups for acoustic and electronic were separate, and it would be better to create two separate devices. Therefore, we, but mostly Buddard, spent a lot of time researching the 808 to nail the sound. For AC-1, I recorded the handclaps. 8 voices x 5 velocity layers x 3 round robins made my hands hurt  We collaborated in a similar way on MT-1 MetroTone.

RT(tiker01): Your latest RE, the MT-1 MetroTone Metronome addresses an issue Reason users have had to live with for a very long time in a very elegant way. Not anymore! Could you explain a few words how is this device superior to simply loading samples into a Redrum and using that as a metronome?

Buddard: I think one of the biggest things for me is that it can mute itself automatically when you bounce the song. (This also applies when you use it to trigger other devices such as Kong and Redrum.) Another feature I really like is the Double time button, I think it’s really handy when you’re working at lower tempos. And of course, it’s pretty handy that it adapts itself to the time signature of the song automatically.

Future Plans

RT(tiker01): Can we expect to see more RE’s from you as a team?

skatebird: We have some more ideas in this direction, but we’ve been busy on other stuff lately.

RT(tiker01): Buddard, as a developer, what do you think about the updates of the SDK (1->2->2.5) and their impact on Rack Extensions?

Buddard: I started with REs just when SDK 2 was coming out, soI’ve basically had no experience at all with SDK 1. I’ve relied heavily on custom displays in many of my REs, so obviously I think it was an important addition.
I think SDK 2.5 is a really solid update, maybe the most significant yet. I think that it brought us most of the stuff we’ve been asking for over the last years. I’m especially stoked about seeing how the sample loading function will be used (and abused?) going forward, by myself and others.

RT(tiker01): What would be the top features you would like to see in the next SDK update?

Buddard: There are a couple of Player devices that I would like to make some day, so I hope that will be possible in the future. I would like to see better integration between RE’s, Reason’s sequencer and the built-in pattern devices. Some other things that I probably can’t mention without getting too detailed.

RT(tiker01): Do you plan to update any of your existing Rack Extensions with features SDK 2.5 made possible such as grouping in menus or sample loading e.g. in the MT-1?

Buddard: I’m definitely considering some updates, but there are no concrete plans at the moment. Right now I’m mostly focusing on new stuff!

RT(tiker01): Are you working on any new Rack Extensions you can speak about?

Buddard: I’m working on several devices at the moment, both big and small. Some are prototypes that might never see the light of day, and others might be waiting just around the corner. 😉

RT(tiker01): What type of device will the one which is “waiting just around the corner” be? CV, audio?

Buddard: It’s an instrument! And so far unique in Reason. We’ll see if that still holds when it gets released!

RT(scuzzyeye): You said you have a lot of things planned, but do you have time/interest to take on development work for hire? There are people out there who have ideas, but not the skills to pursue them.

Buddard: Yeah, I could very well imagine doing for-hire work eventually if I find a project to be interesting.

RT(tiker01): Do you consider to port your RE’s to other platforms such as VST or iOS apps?

Buddard: Yeah, I’m definitely looking into that. Many of the devices I’ve made so far are very Reason-specific, but others might be a good fit for other formats.

RT: While we are eagerly waiting for the upcoming Instrument where can one follow the Robotic Bean journey in Reason land?

Buddard: There is a website, a Facebook page and the YouTube channel.

RT(tiker01): From the website I can’t recommend enough the Sending notes to track in Reason 9 post for those who struggle to print MIDI notes from CV Re-s to the sequencer.

RT: Finally, Buddard and skatebird thanks for joining us for this interview, it was a pleasure to chat with you. Moreover, Buddard we wish you all the best for the release of your upcoming instrument.

Buddard&skatebird: Thanks for having us!

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