Disclaimer The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this docu- ment is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native Instruments. “Native Instruments”, “NI” and associated logos are (registered) trademarks of Native Instru- ments GmbH. Mac, Mac OS, GarageBand, Logic, iTunes and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows, Windows Vista and DirectSound are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trade marks are the property of their respective owners and use of them does not im- ply any affiliation with or endorsement by them. Document authored by: Adam Hanley, Jan Ola Korte Software version: 6.3 (04/2019) Contact NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH NATIVE INSTRUMENTS North America, Inc. Schlesische Str. 29-30 6725 Sunset Boulevard D-10997 Berlin 5th Floor Germany Los Angeles, CA 90028 www.native-instruments.de USA www.native-instruments.com NATIVE INSTRUMENTS K.K. NATIVE INSTRUMENTS UK Limited YO Building 3F 18 Phipp Street Jingumae 6-7-15, Shibuya-ku, London EC2A 4NU Tokyo 150-0001 UK Japan www.native-instruments.co.uk www.native-instruments.co.jp NATIVE INSTRUMENTS FRANCE SARL SHENZHEN NATIVE INSTRUMENTS COMPANY Limited 113 Rue Saint-Maur 5F, Shenzhen Zimao Center 75011 Paris 111 Taizi Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong France China www.native-instruments.com www.native-instruments.com © NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH, 2019. All rights reserved. Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Welcome to REAKTOR ................................................................................................6 1.1 System Requirements ................................................................................................................. 7 1.2 REAKTOR Modes: Full, Player and Demo ..................................................................................... 7 1.3 The REAKTOR 6 Documentation .................................................................................................. 8 1.4 REAKTOR Content Documentation .............................................................................................. 9 1.5 Manual Conventions ................................................................................................................... 12 2 Getting to Know REAKTOR ..........................................................................................13 2.1 The Interface at a Glance ........................................................................................................... 13 2.2 The Toolbar ................................................................................................................................. 14 2.2.1 Transport ................................................................................................................... 16 2.2.2 Info Hints ................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.3 Audio Input & Output Level Meters ............................................................................ 18 2.2.4 System Info ................................................................................................................ 19 2.2.4.1 Changing the Sample Rate ........................................................................19 2.3 Play Mode vs Edit Mode .............................................................................................................. 20 2.4 File Types and Hierarchy ............................................................................................................. 21 2.5 Third-Party and Protected Content ............................................................................................. 26 3 Setting Up REAKTOR ..................................................................................................28 3.1 Audio Settings ............................................................................................................................ 28 3.2 MIDI Settings .............................................................................................................................. 33 4 REAKTOR as a Plug-in ................................................................................................37 4.1 Editing Ensembles and Automatic Saving .................................................................................. 38 4.2 Resolving a Broken Ensemble Link ............................................................................................. 42 REAKTOR 6 - Getting Started - 4 Table of Contents 5 Browsing and Loading Ensembles ...............................................................................46 6 Using Ensembles and Instruments ..............................................................................51 6.1 Instrument Header ...................................................................................................................... 51 6.2 A/B View ..................................................................................................................................... 52 6.3 Snapshots and Presets ............................................................................................................... 53 6.4 Recalling Snapshots ................................................................................................................... 54 6.5 Storing Snapshots ...................................................................................................................... 55 6.6 Presets ....................................................................................................................................... 57 7 Using Racks ..............................................................................................................61 7.1 Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 61 7.2 Loading Racks ............................................................................................................................ 63 7.3 Saving Racks .............................................................................................................................. 65 7.4 Creating a New Rack .................................................................................................................. 66 7.5 Additional Settings ..................................................................................................................... 66 8 Snapshots and Presets ..............................................................................................67 9 Controlling REAKTOR .................................................................................................68 9.1 MIDI Learn .................................................................................................................................. 68 9.2 Connection Manager ................................................................................................................... 69 9.3 MIDI Clock .................................................................................................................................. 76 9.4 Synchronization using Ableton Link ............................................................................................ 77 9.4.1 Connecting to a Network ............................................................................................ 78 9.4.2 Joining and Leaving a Link Session ........................................................................... 78 10 Getting Deeper into REAKTOR .....................................................................................80 Index ........................................................................................................................82 REAKTOR 6 - Getting Started - 5 Welcome to REAKTOR 1 Welcome to REAKTOR REAKTOR is a visual programming environment based on modules and wires, allowing you to create any musical tool imaginable. Its many uses include music creation, digital art, instru- ment and effects building, as well as scientific applications. REAKTOR 6 builds on a long his- tory of legendary software including NI’s first product, GENERATOR. Welcome to REAKTOR 6 Known for its unrivalled sound quality, REAKTOR is the complete toolkit for creating instru- ments and effects with high-quality DSP components. The included content allows you to look behind the curtain and explore the state-of-the-art technology at the core of many of our prod- ucts. REAKTOR Racks facilitate analog-style modular patching with Blocks—the perfect intro- duction to using modules and wires to create your own instruments. REAKTOR 6 - Getting Started - 6 Welcome to REAKTOR System Requirements From playing and combining pre-built instruments and effects to building your own tools with its extensive Library or creating custom DSP algorithms, REAKTOR suits musicians, builders, and programmers alike. Based on a hierarchical structure with a coherent interface, REAKTOR is optimized to facilitate all of these use cases. This means that you can approach REAKTOR level by level, making yourself familiar