THIS MONTH IN SOFTWARE

Reaktor 6.3 introduces patching from the front panel with ‘Reaktor Racks’

Native Instruments’ Reaktor is a patchable ‘buildyour-own’ environment and a platform for music creation in its own right. For Reaktor version 6, NI introduced Blocks — ready-made components that had an easy-access, pre-built front panel, blurring the lines between building on the circuit-level and the modular-level.

Now with its latest version 6.3 update, Reaktor is making those lines fuzzier than ever before, introducing the ability to patch and re-route those Blocks from the front panel. The system does things visually, using virtual patch cables to drag, disconnect and reconnect.

To facilitate this, there’s a new ‘Rack’ file format that allows you to “save patches with your DAW session.” A new ‘Port & Wires’ view is available at the top of the interface.

Currently, the system only works using NI’s own Blocks and