How to Build Reaktor Instruments

In the first installment of this two-part series, Evan shared the basics of Reaktor navigation and features. This time he’s back to explain how to build Reaktor instruments from scratch, which is the most powerful ability of Reaktor! It can be a daunting task at first, to say the least. But this incredibly helpful lesson in instrument creation in Reaktor’s structure mode will have you designing your own inventions in no time at all.

We begin by learning about the three main levels of the structure view and how a new instrument or ensemble begins. And before you start connecting anything here you should probably turn off the audio by clicking the power button at the top of the window. This is to protect your ears and speakers from sharp and loud noises that can easily occur. You may want to get into the habit of switching this on and off to sample changes you make along the way, just to be safe. You never know what can happen until you set some boundaries when you start to build Reaktor instruments.

A simple right-click in the structure window presents you with a menu from which you will select your the elements used to build Reaktor instruments. In this example he begins with adding a basic sawtooth oscillator to the instrument module. The next step is to set up amplitude and pitch controls. Of course, with this task also comes the need for setting up some parameters and limits. You will also need to jump back into panel view and go into configure mode to move the knobs you just created into their desired position. Once you accomplish all of this, you have something you can actually hear!

The video goes on to show how you can introduce an envelope to the equation to control how sounds develop and explains how a gate figures into how Reaktor instruments work. Using built-in modules such as a Note Pitch input can instantly add the ability to use a MIDI keyboard to control the pitch of an instrument. Adding a built-in module Mixer can provide an extra layer of control over how your basic sawtooth synth is delivered. If you have followed along with this step-by-step, you now have a functional synth! Yep, you just learned how to build Reaktor instruments.

If you have tutorial requests for us, or would like to share one of your own creations with the rest of the world, please shoot us a message today before you take off. Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,
OhmLab