Reaktor

Reactor is the name of a music production software company Native Instruments Berlin.

A central component of the reactor is an extensive collection of DSP modules for generation and processing of audio and event data streams. Using these modules, and a graphical interface, on which the components can be connected with virtual " cables ", virtual instruments, effects, sequencers and the like can create so-called " ensemble". The user interface of these ensembles can be designed freely in large scale, which in addition to graphical features and the implementation of different interface concepts possible.

The principle is reminiscent of modular synthesizer from the 1960s and 1970s; In comparison, the reactor is both more flexible and cheaper, on the other hand, more complex, and "only" a simulation without the liveliness of the old analog instruments (this " aliveness " itself can be but also in the program digitally mimic or manipulate )

To help beginners to get started, reactor is supplied with a variety of ready- programmed synthesizers, samplers, effects processors, sequencers, and specially designed for live performance ensembles. In addition, Native Instruments maintains on its website a database in which users upload their ensembles and can make as accessible to others. There you will find over 3000 ensembles of simple subtractive synthesizer after-sensations to complex generative ensembles that automatically generate ever- changing sounds based on different algorithms.

Reactor can be used as plug-in in all professional sequencer programs integrate, but also runs a "stand alone ". For users who are not interested to create their own ensembles, but only want to use existing, it was with " reactor Session" a stripped-down version of the program. With the release of version 5 of the reactor was "Reactor Session" but taken from Native Instruments from the program; created with reactor 5 Ensembles I can not use "session reactor" with. As an equivalent appeared in 2010, the free " reactor player ," played with the ensemble of the version 5.5, but can not be changed.

In addition, Native Instruments has gone to publish individual ensembles as separate programs that you can use without owning reactor. For the users of the reactor there is no way to create such self- executable ensembles.

The main competitors of the reactor, the software Max / MSP and the like, open source Pure Data belongs.