New Driver Rack Extension Synth Offers Up To 9 Oscillators Per Note

driver-for-reason

Ochen K has introduced Driver – a new Rack Extension synthesizer for Propellerhead Reason.

Here’s what they have to say about it:

Driver is a 12-note polyphonic synth, with up to 9 oscillators per note. It’s perfect for electronic music production, specializing in rich basses and leads, and evolving sounds like swells, rises, and drops. With its intuitive direct editing of envelopes for every parameter, making complex sounds in Driver is surprisingly easy.

Here’s the official video intro:

Features:

  • Sound Engine – Driver features three oscillator banks: a traditional waveform oscillator (sine, triangle, saw, and pulse width waves available); a seven-oscillator supersaw with adjustable depth and width (each with their own envelopes); and a noise generator with variable color (with it’s own envelope). All three banks also feature variable volume, pan, and pitch settings, each with their own envelopes. The oscillator and supersaw generators also have an octave selector with a five-octave range.
  • Filters – Driver also features two multimode filters with high-pass, low-pass, band-pass, and band-reject modes. Each filter includes variable cutoff frequency and resonance parameters, each with their own envelopes. Each sound generator can be routed to either filter, both filters, or neither filter.
  • Envelope Timing – The duration of each stage of the envelopes is variable. When free-running, each stage can last between zero and 20 seconds. When tempo-synced, each stages can last between 16 full measures and a single 128th note. Driver also features four latch modes, so that you can determine how each stage of the envelope responds to key presses and midi notes.
  • Modulation – Driver features an onboard LFO and step sequencer. The LFO contains six waveforms (sine, triangle, square, random, reverse ramp, and ramp), can be free-running or tempo-synced, and has variable rate and depth parameters, each of which have their own independent envelopes. The step sequencer can have between one and 16 steps, can run at resolutions from 8th notes to 32nd notes, and have variable attack and release parameters for the steps. Both the LFO and the step sequencer can be routed to any parameter’s envelope, and each routing can be individually trimmed.
  • Effects – Driver contains on-board reverb and saturation effects. The reverb’s depth, and the saturation level both have their own independent envelopes.
  • Additional Envelopes – Driver contains two more independent envelopes, each of which have their own CV outs on the back of the device. These can be routed to other devices in Reason, or can be routed back into Driver to modulate other envelopes.
  • CV Input – Standard CV In gate and note connections are provided. Additionally, Driver contains four generic CV In connections that can be routed to any of the 22 independent envelopes.

Driver is available for US $39 from the Propellerhead Rack Extension shop.

30 thoughts on “New Driver Rack Extension Synth Offers Up To 9 Oscillators Per Note

  1. The OP-1 style interface is truly unfortunate. Especially since this soft synth has nothing to do with the op1. Being a designer myself, and given the potential to design something original and really make it unique, copy-cat designs like this just irk me. It’s lazy, unimaginative, and dismisses the value of good design.

    Besides all of that, a soft synth that mimics hardware, which has to bury functions within the physical limitations of the form factor, is like taking two steps backwards in terms of ease-of-use. As if the op1 looks so amazing or is the best interface layout for using ON A COMPUTER MONITOR.

    If it sounds like I’m being overly critical, I’m not. Product creators need real feedback. Especially in a market that is so super competitive – every detail matters.

    1. adolphe, there are much pro and cons about what you say. but at first you did not understand ‘reason’, i think. exactly that is, what reason does: it simulate hardware on a computer monitor. and shure, the interface and the workflow are really important for the resulting music. this is not the ‘natural’ way, to work on a pc. but what is a pc without layout design AND sound?

    1. I remember when Apple first switched to flat interfaces every whined and complained about how ugly iOS7 is and how they would never upgrade till they brought back faux leather trim on the calender etc, and now here we are two years later and ppl can’t take a little decoration on a softsynth…

        1. I guess you haven’t been around long enough to remember when one of Reason’s main selling points was the “skeuomorphic” interface, then Apple went flat and now skeuomorphic is out. That’s what I’m talking about, but maybe you had to be paying attention to design trends for more than 15 minutes to notice…

          1. saying that a particular visual design approach is a selling point of a software is again ignorant and simplisitic way of looking at things.

            but let me put your logic to rest:
            this is not a debate between skeuomorphic or minimalist approaches.
            the argument is about wasting space which in any design language is a mistake.
            with skeuomorphic visuals this is more often the case.

            but i do not mind it at all. i mind the straight up jacking the TE visuals language. it is a part of their identity.

            i was just saying that you completely missed the point is all.
            gimmicky faux speaker holes have no place in such a dense layout.

            good design is about taking things out.

  2. Adolph, I think you’re beign a little harsh but I have to agree on the functionality issue.

    One of the two reasons for me to consider a computer to make music (not my cup of tea really) is that the interface can be super functional, Take that away and the only thing you have is sound (which is the other reason) and I don’t know if in this case it is worth it.

    1. “adolph, i think you are being a little harsh…”

      well now – that is surely the first time this phrase had been uttered.

    1. man no hate but i see your attempts at jokes and they fall flat on their face all the time.
      you are like a grandpa trying to get a hang of these memes and hashtags.
      puns and wordplays clearly dont work like you think they do.
      not saying that you should stop, just saying.

  3. the samplr creator changed the colour scheme on his gui, i imagine something similar hapenning here.
    i mean its alright to be a fan of the op-1, i love mine, but by using the near identical design language is deceptive.
    bad decision by the developer. quite a shame really.

  4. Interesting how all the comments are about the unfortunate design of the GUI. That was my gut reaction too. Not to mention odd symbols and letters that turn upside down. Even this A/B thing: you could have fitted both in the same window…

    So, sonically, does it bring anything interesting to the table?

  5. I tried to watch the video and all I can remember is a guy’s voice droning about envelopes, envelopes, envelopes. I have no idea what the synth sounds like.

  6. As soon as I saw this post had 19 comments I thought it would be a bunch of butthurt about the design.. Suprise suprise that’s all it was.

    It’s not a op1, it’s not trying to emulate an op-1. Yes the design is a straight rip of the op-1 but who gives a flying f***. It’s a synth. Are we really at a point where people hate a synth purely because of it’s appearance? I thought we were in the business of sound, but evidently sound plays second fiddle to look these days.. Sad.

    1. No offense, but I get tired of these design doesn’t matter comments.

      If the synth were just an original and unique ugly blob of puke green strange design and still sounded great, then you might have a good solid point. But you’re only about 50% there. It’s not that it’s an ugly interface, it’s that it’s a ripoff of someone else’s hard work, the designers of the OP-1.

      Respect each other. Respect the crafts. Respect the work involved. It wouldn’t have cost this dude that much to hire a decent designer. I’m sure there are many who would have loved to work on this project and could have steered the synth maker away from bad choices such as blatantly copying another team’s visual design. Bad decisions like this… well, some might not care, some might not notice, but plenty do, believe me. It taints perceptions of this guy’s brand now. It will stick in people’s minds – “Oh, he’s that guy who ripped off the OP-1 design. If he does something that crude and amateur, how good could his other work really be?”

      Visual design matters. To shrug it off and say “who cares?” is ignoring a gigantic world of advertising, instructional and educational design, visual design, art, etc. Of course it matters. No one is saying it’s less important than the sound, but it does matter.

      1. A nice homage, TE most be feeling very flattered by their hardware design having such a strong influence on this software design. Next thing you know people will be making software Moog-esque synths looking like Moog synths – oh, dear.

    2. who gives a fuck? apparently you do

      didnt you notice that?

      you see.. some people care about things that you dont. and then there are things that you care about, that other people dont care about. its pretty fancy like that – yeh the world is a magical mysterious place

  7. Sure visual design matters. But everyone interprets it differently and some people really don’t care at all. I want to be able to look at something and know what it’s going to do. That’s all. If it’s skeuomorphic or flat I don’t really care as long as I can connect the visual to the process. I don’t want to have to try to figure out what the heck the designer is saying. Designers can get too clever and ultimately it means more to the designer than to anyone else.

    PS – I’d love to see this on my iPad!

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