Since most of the patches you come across are set with velocity to control the various parameters, we will focus on making what is essentially a ‘struck’ sound into a ‘sustaining’ sound where we can control the parameter musically over time.
Here is what the Reason Manual says about the Velocity parameters:
- Amp - This let’s you velocity control the overall volume of the sound. If a positive value is set, the volume will increase the harder you strike a key. A negative value inverts this relationship, so that the volume decreases if you play harder, and increases if you play softer. If set to zero, the sound will play at a constant volume, regardless of how hard or soft you play.
- FM -This sets velocity control for the FM Amount parameter. A positive value will increase the FM amount the harder you play. Negative values invert this relationship.
- M. Env- This sets velocity control for the Mod Envelope Amount parameter. A positive value will increase the envelope amount the harder you play. Negative values invert this relationship.
- Phase -This sets velocity control for the Phase Offset parameter. This applies to both Osc 1 & 2, but the relative offset values are retained. A positive value will increase the phase offset the harder you play. Negative values invert this relationship.
- Freq 2 -This sets velocity control for the Filter 2 Frequency parameter. A positive value will increase the filter frequency the harder you play. Negative values invert this relationship.
- F. Env -This sets velocity control for the Filter Envelope Amount parameter. A positive value will increase the envelope amount the harder you play. Negative values invert this relationship.
- F. Dec- This sets velocity control for the Filter Envelope Decay parameter. A positive value will increase the Decay time the harder you play. Negative values invert this relationship.
- Osc Mix - This sets velocity control for the Osc Mix parameter. A positive value will increase the Osc 2 Mix amount the harder you play. Negative values invert this relationship.
- A. Attack -This sets velocity control for the Amp Envelope Attack parameter. A positive value will increase the Attack time the harder you play. Negative values invert this relationship.
- Amp – pretty self explanatory and a 1 to 1 mapping over to the Amp in the performance control section. I like my breath to control this so set to 0 in velocity and set the value to around 3 o’clock in the Amp performance section.
- FM – Same as Amp – a 1 to 1 mapping over to the performance area. Take a note of this value and set the performance area value to the same one. Set the value in the Velocity section to 0.
- M Env – This does not have a 1 to 1 mapping so it’s a judgment call. If the mod envelope is short (meaning a fast to medium decay and little or no sustain), I say it’s something that is present at the attack of the note, so it should stay velocity controlled. If not, it's up to you if you want it to stay. Your other option includes getting rid of the Mod Envelope modulation by velocity completely. Just experiment here to see what sounds good.
- Phase- no mapping over to the performance area – Keep it or not, just see what works for you. To remove the velocity control of Phase, just set the knob to 12 o'clock so the little red light goes out.
- Freq 2 - again no mapping – keep it or not, see what it sounds like.
- F. Env – Filter Envelope amount - this is also a judgment call-same as M Env. If it is part of the attack leave it, otherwise, you might want to forgo the F Env altogether and use your breath to control the filter frequency by setting the F Freq knob in the performance area.
- F Dec – Filter Decay amount - this goes along with F Env. I say control F Freq with breath if the F Env is a sustaining envelope (High D or S values in the Filter Envelope), otherwise leave it as velocity controlled.
- Mix – no mapping – just listen to what it sounds like since you can’t control this from the performance area using breath.
- Atk – leave it as is, or even increase it slightly. This is definitely something you want velocity controlled.
High Speed BC Conversion

F Freq Ext Mod = 49
LFO1 Ext Mod = 0
Amp Ext Mod = 24
FM Ext Mod = 0

Filter 1 Freqency = 33

Attack = 48
Decay = 100
Sustain = 64-127
Release = 10

A. Atk (Amp Envelope Attack) = -24
A lot of the parameters don’t have a 1 to 1 mapping, but in a future tutorial we will cover how to control just about any parameter using breath and CV.