Creating MIDI out channels in FL Studio is how you actually connect your Reason sound modules to an FL Studio channel. You can then use the FL Studio Piano roll to trigger your Reason sound like any other channel you have used in FL Studio. Using a MIDI controller is also fair game.
To begin adding MIDI channels in FL Studio and connecting them with Reason virtual instruments / modules / synthesizers, we need to have completed the first recipe of this chapter. We also want to have Reason modules loaded within the Reason project.
Let's examine the steps needed to create an instance of Reason's sounds inside the FL Studio step sequencer:
- From the FL Studio main window, go to CHANNELS | Add one | MIDI Out. This will create a MIDI out channel in the FL Studio step sequencer.
- Load up a sound module in your Reason rack. In this example, we have loaded the NN-XT Advanced Sampler.
- Take a look at your MIDI OPTIONS button (within the PLUGIN tab on your ReWired main channel from the first recipe of this chapter), which will bring up the MIDI Settings window as shown in the following screenshot:
Fig 11.4
- In the Channels list shown in the preceding screenshot, we can see that NN-XT 1 is the second channel. Also note that the port number is 0. We will correspond this exact information to the MIDI out channel.
- Open up the MIDI out channel, hover your mouse over the Channels area, and click-and-drag it until you reach the CHANNEL 2, as shown in the Fig 11.5.
This will now control the NN-XT 1 channel because our FL Studio MIDI out channel is engaged on CHANNEL 2, and our Reason MIDI Settings menu (from the MIDI OPTIONS button) shows that the NN-XT 1 is the second channel. They are congruent, as shown in the following screenshot:
Fig 11.5
Once you have followed the steps outlined in this recipe, you can use the NN-XT sound module in the FL Studio MIDI out channel! You can use the step sequencer steps to enter data or send your sound to the Piano roll like any other virtual instrument in FL Studio. It may be wise to rename your MIDI out channel to the name of your sound patch in any given Reason synthesizer/virtual instrument. To do this, right-click on your MIDI out channel and rename it.
You can even set an icon as a visual reminder. In Reason, you can even rename your sound module by clicking directly on the module name and typing in a new name. This will then show up in the MIDI OPTIONS/MIDI Settings list on your main ReWired channel, instead of just naming the Reason module.
If you want to add more Reason sounds, simply add them to your Reason rack. You can verify the exact Reason channel number in the MIDI OPTIONS/MIDI Settings list. Then you may simply add another FL Studio MIDI out channel and select the corresponding channel number. In order to avoid doing this over and over, you may set up a template in FL Studio and a template in Reason!
The ports must always be coordinated on the same channel. It defaults to port 0 in the Reason MIDI Settings and PORT 0 on an FL Studio MIDI out channel, so you should be good to go. If you need to change this port, make sure you change it in both areas.