Propellerhead Software

History

Propellerhead Software was founded in 1994 by Ernst Nathorst-Böös, Marcus Zetterquist and Peter Jubel, who still hold prominent positions within the company. Their first release was ReCycle, a sample loop editor that could change the tempo of a loop without affecting the pitch. The export medium was Propellerhead's own REX format. ReCycle was launched in conjunction with Steinberg, who marketed it as a companion to Cubase, as it brought a simple way of gaining control over tempo and timing of audio loops.

In 1997, Propellerhead released ReBirth RB-338, a step based, programmable sequencer which emulated classic Roland instruments commonly associated with techno: TB-303 Bass Line Synthesizer and the TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. It was hailed as an affordable alternative to buying old, unreliable hardware devices. Roland Corporation requested that an acknowledgment be added to the ReBirth packaging and splash screen; the unofficial endorsement became a marketing boost for Propellerhead, and they have retained a close relationship with Roland ever since.

ReWire was developed jointly between Propellerhead and Steinberg for use with their Cubase sequencer. Released in 1998, it provided a virtual audio and synchronization connection between Cubase and ReBirth. In January 1999 the protocol was opened for general use by third parties without any license fee, to allow communication between different sequencers.

Propellerhead soon focused their attention on their new product, the award winning Reason, released in 2000. Reason was an entire studio emulation complete with virtual cables and representations of a subtractive synthesizer, sampler and drum machine, alongside a REX file loop player, a pattern step sequencer and a multitude of effects units. Making Reason's appeal even greater was the ability to create as many of each device as a computer could handle and a simple sequencer for notes and device automation. Additionally, Reason could run on average spec computers and was extremely competitively priced.

In May 2009, Propellerhead announced a new product, Record. Designed for recording, arrangement and mixing, Record is made along the lines of Reason and continues the tradition of emulating hardware and the rack.

Record emulates a recording studio, with a mixing desk, a rack of virtual instruments and effects, and an audio sequencer (similar to traditional MIDI sequencing.) It is also made to work alongside Reason; if Record is installed on a computer with Reason on it, the modules from Reason will be usable inside of Record.

Released 9 September 2009, Record has been praised for its stability, seamless integration with Reason, and sound quality, and has received a number of awards, including Future Music's Platinum Award, Computer Music Editor's Choice and Performance awards, and the MusicTech Excellence award.

In April 2010, Propellerhead released their first app for mobile platforms; a remake of their ReBirth RB-338 software for the Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Developed together with Retronyms, it's a 100% port of the original with added functionality for sharing song files with other iPhone users, zooming and panning.

In July 2011, Propellerhead announced plans for Reason version 6 which includes all the features of Record 1.5. This allowed Propellerhead to discontinue Record and create two different versions of Reason.

In March 2012, Propellerhead announced Rack Extensions and the Rack Extension store, a software architecture that will allow 3rd party developers to use their own instruments and effect devices inside of Reason. This technology was announced to appear alongside Reason 6.5 as a free update. Rack Extensions will be sold in an app store similar in a fashion in which Apple Inc. sells applications for the popular iOS platform. Hosted by Propellerhead Software, developers are free to use their own DSP and existing code to develop instruments and effects for use in Reason. When purchased, the Rack Extensions appear in Reason as a native Reason instrument or effect module and are privy to all of the features that Reason offers in its native instruments and effect devices.

Name

The name propellerhead comes from the pejorative term used to deprecate science fiction fans and other technophiles, who are stereotypically drawn wearing propeller beanies. The company is not related to the British big beat musical ensemble Propellerheads.

Use of the Internet

From early on, Propellerhead used the Internet as both a marketing tool and as a method of ensuring they could communicate with their user base. An alpha version of ReBirth was made available for free download on the Propellerhead website in December 1996, and the company even searched the internet for active users of the TB-303 and sent them invitation emails to try the new software.

The user forum has always been at the forefront of the Propellerhead community, with many employees checking them every day. Allowing users to make requests and suggestions directly to the developers led to the first downloadable ReBirth update in 1997, and still today registered users of Propellerhead software can download updates and much additional content online. In November 2013, the forums were shut down indefinitely due to security concerns with the forum software. On 17 December they were resurrected with 4 new forum categories: Beginner, Advanced User, Rack Extensions and Post Your Music.

On 16 January 2014 Propellerhead Software announced that they will close down the 15-year-old Reason community forums, shifting online customer interaction to their social media accounts instead. The unofficial new forum, run by Reason users rather than by Propellerhead, is Reason Talk. Though this is an independent forum, some Propellerhead employees have posted there and the forum recently hosted the official Reason beta test forum for Reason Version 9.

Current products

Rack Extensions

Technologies

Reason ReFills

ReFills compress sounds, settings and instrument configurations into single files, and are the only way of mass importing additional sounds into Reason.