Top tips for building synths and effects in Reaktor

If you are looking for Reaktor tips and tricks, you have come to the right place. The powerhouse DSP environment by Native Instruments features tonnes of instruments and effects, with the ability for you to build and tweak your own.

OK, I’m going to say it. Reaktor is a daunting environment to work and build in. The sheer amount of options you have is limited only by your knowledge of how synths and effects work.

But that’s OK because I have some ideas for you to consider that will make things a little bit easier to get going.

• SEE ALSO: Reaktor Primary – 1. Building a Synth: Absolute Basics
• SEE ALSO: Reaktor Primary – 2. Building a Synth: Adding More Elements
• SEE ALSO: Building a Snare Drum Synth in Reaktor

Arrange your macros and modules logically

The first thing to get the hang of is perhaps the most obvious. Everything you do should be arranged logically.

The default visual flow of the signal goes from left to right, so the next process in line should be further right than its predecessor.

To add to this, where possible, the “cables” should be sensible. I like to keep them parallel or at roughly 45-degree angles to the modules. This allows for a clear “subway map” type of layout which makes building and troubleshooting quicker.

Name and save everything

Reaktor can be a bit of a hassle. When you are wiring something up, consider placing it in a macro so if you need it again, you can just load it in and not have to worry about starting that part from scratch.

An example of this is an ADSR envelope. Sure, you could build it from scratch, but you may have custom maths and modulations that make it ever-more complex. In this case have it named and saved to save time later.

The other important reason to do this is clarity. A good naming scheme means you can go back to your ensemble in six months time to fix a glitch, and still know exactly what is going on.

Brush up on some maths problem solving

One of the key skills for Reaktor is a bit of maths intuition. There is generally very little in terms of complex maths theory, but the problem-solving aspect can be several levels deep.

Here are a few topics to get your head around:

• Logarithms and Exponentials (and how they relate to volume)
• Logarithms and Exponentials (and how they relate to MIDI note/pitch)
• Modulo and its many functions in programming
• Basic circuit logic, for example AND and OR gates

You can go a long way with basic maths (think the operators in BODMAS or PEMDAS). A lot of the more complicated maths modules will actually explain what they are normally used for if you hover over them.

I’m not very proficient at Reaktor Core programming, but I find it extremely useful for the maths above. It is a great way to create small re-usable modules which do a basic function.

The image above shows a filter envelope control. Much of it could be condensed into a single Core module (below) and saved for re-use (which is likely given how frequently filters are used).

Use comment boxes

You aren’t going to see any improvements to sound with this tip, but you will be able to understand each component better later if you document what you are doing.

Comment boxes are great for this as you can label sections and add a little extra info.

I normally use comment boxes for some of the more unclear maths, to explain why it is being used. That way, I don’t have to figure it out in the future.

Comments are also great for other people who are using your builds. If you aren’t already, I recommend sharing your finished instruments for other people.

By adding comments to your synth, you are helping other people as they learn to use Reaktor and reverse-engineer your builds.

The more people that do this, the more likely you are to find ensembles with comments in so you can learn more.

Macros are your heroes

This has sort of been referenced in the other points, but I want to really drive home how useful macros are.

Macros allow you to group different modules into a single “module” to tidy things up.

The best way to use macros is to sort each feature into its own macro. For example, when you add a filter to your synth, you won’t just be adding the filter. In addition to the filter macro, you’ll have various controls and maybe even maths and logic.

All of this can be grouped into a macro. The best thing about it is that if you want to add a second filter down the line, you just need to duplicate or load that same macro (rename it “filter 2”).

Having a dedicated macro for each part means that the whole back end of the synth is tidy and clean and you can find issues way easier.

If you know everything in the filter and oscillator macros is working fine, you know the issue must be elsewhere. Without macros, you just have a tangle of modules and cables that can’t be ruled out when troubleshooting.

Enable Debugger

If there is one button to turn on, it is the debugger. This simple control allows you to hover over cables to see the values being sent, and it will turn them red if there is an issue.

99% of the time you have an issue you need to troubleshoot, you will find the problem with this enabled.

If you have no sound or a control isn’t working, you can usually look out for the red cable, which signals an issue with that connection.

It is especially good for finding issues with voices. On a single-voice synth, this isn’t an issue, but for synths with poly and unison, it becomes an issue as the cables can send multiple values for each note.