Ant Neely is a composer whose music has appeared on such television shows as Six Feet Under, Boston Legal and Samantha Who?. He has also worked on tons of movies and just released his latest CD, Not Fit for Human Consumption. As mentioned in his earlier article on the Millenia TD-1 Preamp, the CD is released under a creative commons license -- i.e. you can tweak, remix, or otherwise (non-commercially) fool with the work without payment so long as you publish your work under the same license. You can download the entire collection of songs at the Ant Neely website -- for a donation of whatever you think appropriate.

When it comes to recording software Neely relies on Reason.

“I am still actually on 2.5. I will upgrade but I tend to do a clean sweep and upgrade pretty much all my software at once. I am using Pro Tools to 'host' Reason (via Rewire) and have a second machine (PC running GigaStudio) linked up via MIDI / lightpipe, so I expect a couple of issues when I upgrade,” he says. “Basically I need a couple of weeks between jobs so I can upgrade everything (starting with the OS) -- it is just too risky for me to do in the middle of a project. If I felt like there were things I couldn't do in 2.5 that I needed, I would push the upgrades through faster, but the bottom line is I am happy and still feel like there are a million things I haven't tried with it.”

Neely says that many people fall into the trap of thinking they have to have the latest to be able to write. While that may be a momentary lift the software is just a tool. And anyway, Neely is big on Reason, regardless of the version.

“I have pretty much used Reason since its inception -- I was blown away as soon as I saw it. The original reverb was a bit rubbish, but things like that don't worry me as I do all my mixing, reverbs, etc in Pro Tools,” says Neely. “I do use the RV7000 occasionally though -- much better then the original. I know that version 4.0 has changed up the edit window, so [I] am looking forward to checking that out. I hear the new Thor synth is fantastic as well.”

When it comes to the new Reason 4.0, Neely says he has heard some complaints about the new sequencer.

“It seems to be dividing opinion, but I suspect it is one of those things that as you get used to it, things will make sense.” he says.

But why does Neely specifically turn to Reason?

“The thing about Reason is you can float along on a basic level and put together great little tracks, or you can really delve in and get detailed. If I need to sketch an idea out I can do so quickly and then go back later to work it up properly,” he says. “The level of control available is amazing and it is very stable (I don't ever remember Reason crashing). Being able to have numerous sound sources (synths, samplers, drum machines, etc.) run at once, with a fairly small drain on CPU power is great. In my early days, I used to have to render soft synths to audio (and bounce down to free up space) and take hours to get my old Akai sampler loaded up.”

How does Neely use Reason in his recordings? It varies not only from track to track but can depend on what the track will be used for as well.

“If it is a cue for TV / film the it is usually all about timing so I tend to put down a rhythm track (or just a click) so I can match up sync points to the picture. I might call up a beat in Dr Rex, knowing that I am going to program something later (or often have no beat at all), but [I can get] that right sort of feel so I can get a grip on the tempo of the scene. For album tracks it really depends on what sort of style I am looking for. If I want a beat orientated track, I will invariably start with bass lines and grooves,” he says “I often program Redrum beats and intertwine them with Rex drum loops. I like to try to not use loops straight from a library without tweaking them. If I am looking for a more melodic track, I tend to sketch out harmony and melody first. I will use whatever is as hand to get the ideas down, knowing that I will change the sounds to suit later.”

Neely says that one of the most unusual work flows recently (on the title track of the new CD) was when he took a piece of Morse code and laid that out first.

“Once I had that, I sketched out the rest of the track arrangement-wise. For example, I knew I wanted a sort of orchestral collision come out of left field halfway through the track,” says Neely. “I don't usually map the track out like that in advance, I tend to start at the start and end at the end.”

As mentioned earlier he doesn’t think changing things around when working is a good way to explore new ideas. But you can use Reason to throw a monkey wrench in the creative works and come up with new angles.

“Reason is great for that-you can call up a monophonic synth and use that to get things started, or you can load up Redrum with your own samples (I like to do that) and get the ball rolling that way,” he says. “If you are used to composing with a polyphonic sound (say piano) then this is sure to take you in a different direction (and vice versa). The thing I like about Reason is it is a toy box - full of things to play with.”

We also wanted to know how Reason dictated to him in the creative process.

“I pretty much do all reverbs / EQs / volume changes etc in Pro Tools. I just like to have all that stuff in one place with my audio. I will use Reason for things like delay effects (just so easy to set up and use), filter sweeps, etc. Being able to tweak sounds and record those tweaks is great. I invariably have two tracks assigned to each instrument; one for the notes and one for tweaks (I find it easier to keep a grip on things if I use two tracks). Automation rules!” he says. ”I love the Scream 4 Distortion unit. I use that all the time, ranging from very subtle to pretty extreme. It is a great way to add grit and body to sounds.”

Neely says that if Reason was banned and he could only keep one element it would be the Scream 4.

“To have access to so many sounds and so many devices is brilliant. Not so long ago you would of needed rooms full of gear to explore the same territory,” he says. “Yes, it would be great fun to have those rooms full of vintage synths, but for most of us that isn't really an option.”