Nucleus Soundlab's release, ReCombination, takes Reason's Combinator to a new height in a big way. Sound designers Adam Fielding, Ronald Hajewski, Shaun Wallace, Bill Chrapcynski, Nick Hutton, Ed Bauman, and Jeremy Janzen, each craft masterpiece after masterpiece in every patch they designed with extreme professional detail.
The release is available for purchase in 2 downloadable formats - ReFill, and Multi-Format (suitable for loading in a variety of non-Reason software and hardware samplers.), you can also purchase this release in a Multi-Format DVD as third option.
From the technical aspect of this release, ReCombination comes loaded with 200 Combinator patches, 183 NN-XT patches, 25 Malstrom patches, and 8 Subtractor patches. In addition each Combinator patch uses all 8 virtual controls giving you outstanding control over each patch, great for live and studio settings.
The Combinator breaks down into 11 folders: Atmo Sequences, Melodic Sequences, Percussive Sequences, Modulation Sequences, Bass, FX Atmo, Guitar and Plucked, Keyboard Splits, Keyboards and Polys, Leads, and Pads.
The NN-XT breaks down into an jaw dropping 17 folders.
The Malstrom and Subtractor each come with 1 folder a piece respectively.
This release is so massive in the sheer number of patches alone that I found myself picking and choosing my personal favorites from each device of the entire product down to the very folder. It's a bit of a cliche to hear sometimes, but there really were so many great patches that it was hard to pick just one! Since there were so many great patches I've decided to list my top 2 favorite patches from each folder in the Combinator as this is the powerhouse of this release.
The Combinator:
Atmo Sequences - Dripping Atmosphere, and Monstrous Proportions. Dripping Atmosphere came across to me as a beautiful alien wintery landscape, while Monstrous Proportions sounded a bit like a sci-fi horror sound.
Melodic Sequences - Crash, and M-Nodal. Crash reminded me alot along the lines of BT's style in his track Flaming June with the lush piano and pad sequences, while M-Nodal really sat quite nicely as a dreamy downtempo/R&B groove.
Percussive Sequences - Alien Beatbox, and Dirty Drumz. Alien Beatbox had a cool voco-distorted groove, while Dirty Drumz was something along the lines of a lo-fi break.
Modulation Sequences - Spektral Z RePass Synthesizer, and Xpand. If it's one thing I like in my sounds is that they are dark and twisted, both patches pulled it off in this section for me.
Bass - Filter Reece, and Lift Off. Filter Reece hit my soft spot for Drum & Bass sounds and this was something I was glad to see in this product. Lift Off was also dark and nasty, having an acidic quality which I also love.
FX Atmo - Am Madness, and Ambient Guts. Am Madness had that classic swirling laser fx sound I really enjoy, while Ambient Guts had a sort of horror sound you'd find in cult classics such as Friday the 13th and Halloween.
Guitar and Plucked - Asian Sensation, and Skygazing Guitar. Asian Sensation really showed off how to use the Koto in ways that are quite frankly unnatural for such an instrument while keeping it interesting at the same time. Skygazing Guitar really reminded me alot of the 1980's pop rock era in terms of it's sound and how it was processed.
Keyboard Splits - Big Split, and Old Mcleoud Ganj. Big Split patch really gave a nice blend of flute and strings on the upper octaves, while coming together nicely on the lower octaves with strings and synths. Old Mcleoud Ganj was wacky and fun, I really couldn't describe it any other way other than it's something you have to try for yourself.
Keyboards and Polys - Empty Street Keys, and Spektral Bells. Empty Street Keys was really soft and smooth across the keys and really sat with me nicely, while Spektral Bells was haunting and quite enjoyable to mess with.
Leads - Grimey Reece, and Journey Lead. Grimey Reece patch really struck my soft spot again providing an even more stellar Drum & Bass patch, while Journey Lead was quite a cool and lo-fi motion type lead.
Pads - Heaven and Hell, and Swimming In Space. Both patches had something that just sat nicely with me.
Overall you really have a little bit of everything in terms of sound, and there really is no shortage on quality which is a high priority factor for me when it comes to choosing a product. The best way to describe this product is to say it's nothing short of sci-fi futuristic apocolyptic mayhem. You really get an incredible range from Chaos to Heavenly. It really is that crazy, and while I choose a top 2 for each section within the Combinator folders I really must stress it was not easy choosing them and it all came down to my own personal taste. There literally is so much sonic quality in the Combinator's Atmo Sequences folder alone that I wouldn't be surprised if producers spent most of their time there just understanding how each patch works. With all the patches you get with the NN-XT, and then add in the Malstrom and Subtractor, you really can take advantage of this product and create even more mind blowing sounds. It's not often you come along a product that not only has professional sounding patches setup for you to just dive in and use, but they also give you essentially the same tools they used and let you create your own sounds from what they have to offer. While this product doesn't heavily weigh in on Breaks and Drum & Bass genres too much, I would highly recommend this for any club/dance producer. Especially those specialising in Trance and Electro. Filmscorers, and some rockers may find this useful as well. Out of everything available to you in this release the only thing lacking here in my opinion is in the standard effects and sequenced beats sections. Apart from that this really is a heavyweight product.
