Reaticulate | a free articulation management system for REAPER

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While this page tries to be relatively accessible and provides several examples, it's also a detailed technical specification for how to create articulation maps (banks) for Reaticulate, which might be daunting for new users. Seventh Sam has provided an excellent blog post, which may serve as a friendlier introduction to this topic. Erik Wikstrom has also done a video tutorial for The REAPER Blog that will help you get started.

Your best bet would be to start there, and then reference this page for the complete details.

Reaticulate notations for Reabank files

Unfortunately there isn't yet a GUI for creating custom banks. This will come in the next major release of Reaticulate, but for now, you'll need to understand the nitty gritty on this page and use a text editor to create banks.

You can also download user-contributed banks for various libraries.

Reaticulate directly manages REAPER's assigned global Reabank file, which it dynamically assembles from both the distributed factory banks and your own custom banks. Relative to REAPER's resource directory (which you can find by invoking the REAPER action "Show REAPER Resource path"), these files are:

1. Factory banks: Scripts/Reaticulate/Reaticulate-factory.reabank
   • A selection of banks are bundled with Reaticulate for you to use, but you can't edit these
2. User banks: Data/Reaticulate.reabank
   • This file is where you store all your personal or imported banks

(Reaticulate combines these files into a file it manages called Data/Reaticulate-tmp*.reabank. You'll never edit this file directly, but it's what Reaticulate feeds back to REAPER to use as the default reabank file.)

You can take a look at the factory banks for inspiration, but if you want to start slinging your own custom articulation banks, the easiest way is to click the pencil button at the top of the UI and open the file in your editor. Clicking this will create the file if necessary before opening the editor. Open in Default App will launch whatever application you've associated with .reabank files.

Once you save changes to the file, click the reload button (next to the pencil) to force Reaticulate to pick up the changes.

Anatomy of a standard Reabank file

Let's start by taking a look at the normal REAPER reabank file, which is defined by REAPER and works out-of-the-box even without Reaticulate. The standard format is:

Bank <MSB> <LSB> <Bank name>
<program #> <articulation name>

For example:

Bank 65 1 Spitfire Symphonic Brass - Horn Solo
20 legato
1 long
52 marcato
50 tenuto
40 staccato
100 rip
101 fall
70 trill m2
71 trill M2

The two numbers on the Bank line (65 and 1 in the above example) indicate the MSB and LSB of the MIDI bank. This stands for Most Significant Byte and Least Significant Byte respectively, and are defined as part of the MIDI specification. These values are between 0 and 127 and are somewhat arbitrary, as long as the pair is unique to the REAPER instance.

👉 REAPER itself needs the MSB and LSB values, but you don't need to worry about that. Reaticulate (as of version 0.5.0) automatically takes care of assigning these values. As you'll see below, all you need to put for these numbers is an asterisk (*).

Following the MSB/LSB is an arbitrary name for the bank.

Each subsequent line (until the next Bank line) specifies the programs for the bank. The number is the MIDI Program Change event number (which, apart from the requirement that articuluations in the same bank have unique program numbers, is technically arbitrary but see the Program Numbers section below for some advice), and the description is, in our case for Reaticulate, the name of the articulation.

Reaticulate notations

Reaticulate extends Reabank files by adding special notations on lines starting with //!

Let's revisit the above example bank, now fully notated for Reaticulate, and how this bank looks in the GUI:

//! g="Spitfire/Symphonic Brass" n="Horn Solo"
//! m="Set patch to UACC"
//! id=cbbdac4f-34a1-4a1d-86ea-3e9e00365d1f
Bank * * SSB - Horn Solo
//! c=legato i=legato o=cc:32,20
20 legato
//! c=long i=note-whole o=cc:32,1
1 long
//! c=short i=marcato-quarter o=cc:32,52
52 marcato
//! c=short i=tenuto-eighth o=cc:32,50
50 tenuto
//! c=short i=staccato o=cc:32,40
40 staccato
//! c=short-dark i=rip o=cc:32,100
100 rip
//! c=short-dark i=rip-downward o=cc:32,101
101 fall
//! c=long i=trill-min2 o=cc:32,70
70 trill m2
//! c=long i=trill-maj2 o=cc:32,71
71 trill M2

Notated attributes take the form name=value (or name="value" if the value contains spaces) and are separated by whitespace. The line(s) prefixed with //! immediately preceding the uncommented line will annotate it with the supplied attributes.

Notice also that in the Reaticulate version of the bank, the MSB/LSB numbers in the "Bank" line have been replaced with asterisks (*). This is because Reaticulate automatically picks appropriate values when you first load the bank on some track in a project.

When an articulation is triggered, Reaticulate will emit the MIDI output events defined by the o attribute (see below). In the above example, each articulation sends a single MIDI event: CC 32 with a value defined by the second argument. The expectation for this factory bank is that the Spitfire Horns Solo patch be set to UACC (a feature of the patch itself).

Attributes for Bank lines

These are the supported attributes for Bank lines. Attributes are optional unless specifically marked as required.

Name	Description
id generated	A globally unique id (GUID, though technically speaking it's a UUID4) for this bank. Don't define this yourself -- let Reaticulate generate this for you -- but if you share your bank with other users, be sure to include the id attribute that Reaticulate generates so that projects using this bank can be properly loaded between users. When you create a new bank in Reaticulate.reabank and click the Reload toolbar button in the GUI, Reaticulate notices that the bank is missing the id attribute and new random one is automatically generated. The bank file is then rewritten to include this new value. Just be aware that if you're editing Reaticulate.reabank in a text editor at the same time as Reaticulate generates the GUID and overwrites the file, you'll need to reload it in the editor otherwise you risk reverting the GUID. Best to use an editor that detects on-disk changes and reloads for you, such as Visual Studio Code or Notepad++.
g required	Group name separated by slashes. Used to build a menu hierarchy for the bank. Generally should be Vendor/Product.
n	The name of the patch the bank describes. If not specified, the Reabank name is used.
clone	Clones the articulations from the referenced bank, specified as a fully qualified bank name (i.e. the groupname/bankname format), to the current bank which contains the clone attribute. The cloned articulations will appear after any articulations explicitly defined in the current bank.
off	For articulations with note-hold outputs, this defines the "default program" when no note-hold articulation is active. The GUI will show this program as active when a manually triggered note-hold keyswitch is released. When this articulation is explicitly activated via Reaticulate, it will cause any active note-hold articulation to be released.
f	Default articulation flags. Most can be overridden per articulation. Is a comma-delimited list of one or more of the options below. Any option can be prefixed with ! to negate it. chase: Chase CCs when target MIDI channel changes. (Default) antihang: Prevent note hanging when a note is released on a different channel than it's pressed. (Default) antihangcc: Similar to antihang, but prevents the note from hanging due to sustain pedal or breath control (CC 2 and 64). In other words, it ensures sustain release or breath off is sent to the channel where the ringing note was struck, regardless of the current routing. (Default) nobank: Blocks the bank select messages generated by Reaticulate from hitting the downstream FX. (Default. Bank level only.) toggle: Triggering the articulation when it's active will deactivate it. It will still emit the output events but the UI will indicate the articulation as off if it was previously on. hidden: Articulation will not be visible in the UI. When defined at the bank level instead of a specific articulation, the bank will not be available to add to tracks, however any existing references to the bank (e.g. in existing projects) will continue to work.
chase	Comma-delimited list of CCs (or CC ranges) that should be "chased" when CC chasing is enabled for an articulation (as is default). For example: 1,2,5,11-21,92-120. (Default: 1,2,11,64-69) CC chasing occurs when switching articulations between patches across different MIDI channels. For example, suppose you have long normale on channel 1 and long con sordino on channel 2 with long normale currently active. Say you've set CC1 to value 92 and played a note, and then activated the long con sordino articulation. If CC1 is included here in the list of CCs to be chased, when long con sordino is activated, CC1 value 92 will be "chased" into the patch on channel 2, ensuring that your next note with that articulation has the same dynamics level. Another use case is with the sustain pedal. Supposing you're on long normale and you hold the sustain pedal, press a note, and then activate long con sordino and press another note, if CC64 (sustain) is in the chase list, Reaticulate will chase the CC64 "pedal down" value into the next channel so that the second note with that articulation also sustains. Provided the antihangcc flag (mentioned above) is not disabled, when the sustain pedal is released, Reaticulate will send the CC64 value 0 (sustain pedal up) event into both channel 1 (long normale with the first note rining) and channel 2 (long con sordino with the second note ringing), which prevents the first note on the previous (but not currently active) MIDI channel from "hanging."
m	A custom message displayed in the track configuration page and optionally the main articulation list screen. This usually provides some special instructions about how to configure the virtual instrument to be compatible with the bank, or other performance details.

Attributes for Program lines

Programs can be decorated with these attributes:

Name	Description
i	Articulation icon name. See Articulation Icons section below for possible names. If not specified, the note-eighth icon will be used.
n	Overrides the articulation name for display in the articulation list in the Reaticulate UI. Program events as seen in the MIDI editor will use the program name specified on the uncommented line.
c	Color for the articulation button. Either the name of a color (see the Articulation Colors section below) or an HTML hex-style color in the form #rrggbb. If not specified, the default color is used.
f	Articulation flags as defined above. (Overrides the defaults set at the bank level.)
g	A group number between 1 and 4 (defaults to 1 if not specified). Only one articulation within a group may be active at a time. For consistency, it is recommended that you use group 1 for the main set of articulations. Note that currently there is a limitation with groups: Groups are a Reaticulate construct that Reaper itself doesn't know about. Upon playback, Reaper will only chase the last program change on the channel. The desired behavior would be for Reaper to chase all articulations on all groups per channel, but this isn't possible without some not-yet-implemented heroics.
o required	One or more output events that describe the action taken when the articulation is triggered. This is where things get fun. See the Output Events section below for the gory details.
spacer	Inserts some padding above the articulation when displayed in Reaticulate's main articulation list screen. The value is a number that controls the amount of padding but generally a value of 1 will provide a sufficient visual separation.
transpose	A value between -127 and 127 which defines how many pitches incoming notes should be transposed after the articulation is activated.
velocity	A multiplier between 0.00 and 10.00 (up to 2 decimals of precision) that will be applied to incoming note velocities. The note-off velocity (if it exists -- it's quite rare) will also be multiplied by this value.
pitchrange	A value in the form min-max defining the lower and upper limits that incoming note pitch numbers will be clamped to. For example a value of 40-70 will force all notes with pitch values below 40 to be 40, and values above 70 to be 70.
velrange	A value in the form min-max defining the lower and upper limits that incoming note velocities will be clamped to. For example a value of 32-64 will force all notes with velocities below 32 to be 32, and velocities above 64 to be 64.
m	A custom message displayed when the user hovers the mouse over the articulation button.

Program Numbers

Within a given bank, each articulation must have its own unique program number. The specific program number is, strictly speaking, arbitary, however some form of standardization is recommended because this allows using the Reaticulate_Activate articulation by CC actions to trigger a given articulation (or at least its closest approximation) from a control surface, tablet, etc., no matter the underlying instrument.

The primary use case for program number standardization is having a set of common articulations configured on your MIDI controller for sketching purposes, which, thanks to common program numbers, can work regardless of the virtual instrument. An idea can be expressed with basic articulations, and then you can go back over the MIDI item and finesse the articulations using Reaticulate's GUI.

Another reason for program number consistency is that articulations can be inserted on multiple selected tracks at the same time. Suppose you have 1st Violins from one library vendor and 2nd Violins from another, and want them both to play staccato at same spot. If both banks use the same program number for staccato, you can select both tracks and insert staccato in one shot.

To that end, in consideration of the sketching use case, we recommend using the following program numbers for these articulations, or the closest approximation of these articulations available in the patch:

Program #	Articulation
20	legato normale
1	long normale / sustain (chords)
7	long muted (e.g. con sordino)
17	long soft (e.g. sul tasto or flautando)
9	long hard (e.g. marcato)
10	long harmonics
11	tremolo or flutter
40	short normale (e.g. staccato)
42	shorter normale (e.g. spiccato)
52	short hard (e.g. marcato short or staccato dig)
56	pizzicato / plucked
70	trill minor 2
71	trill major 2

For articulations not included above or if there are multiple candidates, pick any program number not in the above table. If at all possible, try to find a match against Spitfire's UACC specification (which is where the numbering scheme above is derived).

It's not crucial to find an exact match, but it's encouraged. Use your better judgment.

Output Events Specification

This section is a bit nerdy. It's quite necessary to understand to build your own banks, but don't worry, there are some more approachable examples later.

Programs can trigger up to 16 output events, specified by the o attribute, which ultimately describe the articulation's behavior.

Output events can be used to send a MIDI event to the virtual instrument to cause the underlying patch to change articulations, or even just to set up routing to some destination MIDI channel. Or both: you can have a program send a MIDI event to a specific channel, and subsequently performed MIDI will be routed to that channel.

Multiple output events are separated by a / (forward slash) where each individual output event roughly takes the form type@channel:arg1,arg2 (no whitespace allowed).

A more formal specification for a single output event would look like this:

[-][type][@channel[.bus]][:arg1[,arg2]][%filter_program]

Where elements enclosed in square brackets are optional, and where:

• Output events prefixed with - don't affect the routing of future MIDI events. Otherwise, if channels are not prefixed this way then any future user-generated MIDI event will be routed to this channel when the articulation is activated (which in most cases is what you want).

• type defines the type of output event (see below), e.g. note, cc, etc.

• @channel specifies the destination MIDI channel of the output event and, unless type is prefixed with -, it implies subsequent MIDI events will also be routed to that destination channel.

  When channel is not specified, the destination channel will be dictated by the destination channel the defined by the user when the bank was configured on the track. (See the usage page for more information on source and destination channels.)

  Alternatively, a special channel value of - will direct the output event to the destination(s) setup by the previously activated articulation.

• .bus specifies the destination bus of the output event and subsequent incoming events when the articulation is activated. bus is a value between 1 and 16.

  As with the channel, if not specified the default bus will be dictated by the destination bus for the bank's track configuration. If the bus is defined but not the channel (e.g. @.4) then then the default channel will be used but the bus will be overridden.

  If you use Reaticulate's MIDI controller feedback feature, you won't be able to assign bus 16 as this bus is used by the feedback feature internally.

• arg1 and arg2 depend on the type

• %filter_program if defined will only emit the output event if the specified program number filter_program is currently active on the same channel in another group. This allows the state of other groups to modify the output events emitted by the articulation.

  For example, you might have an articulation group that specifies normal attack vs hard attack with different programs. A single sustain articulation could then emit different keyswitches depending on whether the normal or hard attack is selected in the group.

Possible output event types are:

Type	Definition
program	Program change message. arg1 indicates the program number between 0-127 (inclusive) and arg2 can be omitted.
cc	A CC event, with arg1 indicating the CC number and arg2 defining the CC value, both between 0-127 inclusive
note	A sequence of note-on and note-off events, where arg1 defines the note number and arg2 indicates note-on velocity, both between 0-127 inclusive. arg2 is optional and if not specified the default velocity is 127. (It's not possible to specify the note-off velocity, however. This is a seldom used feature of MIDI.)
note-hold	A note-on event, where arg1 and arg2 are according to the note type. The corresponding note-off event is deferred until the next articulation is activated. This is useful with patches that use non-latching keyswitches.
pitch	A pitch bend event, where arg1 is the 14-bit pitch bend value between -8192 and 8192 inclusive, and arg2 is not used.
art	Activate another articulation in the same bank, with arg1 being the articulation program number and arg2 is omitted. This can be used to create composite articulations. For example if you have articulation groups for con sordino/senza sordino and legato/non-legato, you could have another composite articulation for non-legato sustain con sordino that references the articulations in the other groups.

Be aware that if multiple note output events are specified for a given articulation, all note-on events will be sent before any note-off event. This means as far as the target patch is concerned the notes will be simultaneously pressed. This is also true for note-hold events, except that of course in that case all the necessary note-off events will be deferred until the next articulation.

The type can also be empty, specifying just @channel, in which case the action of the articulation will just be to set up routing to the destination channel specified, with no MIDI event emitted.

Alternatively, if the type is prefixed with a - sign (e.g. -note) then the output event is emitted but routing of subsequent user MIDI events to the output event's destination channel will not be done. This can be useful for example to send control events to listeners on other channels. If all the output events for the articulation are prefixed this way, then the destination channel routing setup by the previous articulation won't be altered.

Output Event Examples

Ok, with the technicals out of the way, here are some examples.

Multiple notes

This one from Cinematic Studio Strings sends 3 separate notes at specific velocities to set sordino and legato in addition to the sustains patch.

//! g="Reaticulate Examples" n="Multiple Note Outputs"
Bank 42 1 Multiple Note Outputs
//! c=long-light i=con-sord o=note:12/note:22,1/note:23,127
7 con sordino

Simple channel routing

A generic example where we have 3 individual articulation patches on 3 separate MIDI channels and we want to do simple routing only: no keyswitches needed by the underlying virtual instrument.

//! g="Reaticulate Examples" n="Simple Channel Routing"
Bank 42 2 Simple Channel Routing
//! c=legato i=legato o=@1
20 legato
//! c=long i=note-whole o=@2
1 sustains
//! c=short i=staccato o=@3
40 staccato

One-off layering

Here's another one from Cinematic Studio Strings, setting up spiccato without sordino. The twist is the "beefy spiccato" program, where we are setting CSS as with spiccato but also layering it with another patch on channel 2.

//! g="Reaticulate Examples" n="Layering"
Bank 42 3 Articulation Layering
//! c=short i=spiccato o=note:17,1/note:23,1
42 spiccato
//! c=short-dark i=spiccato o=note:17,1/note:23,1/@2
44 beefy spiccato

Both non-latching and latching articulation keyswitches

Now for a more sophisticated example: an excerpt from the Bohemian violin bank. This instrument controls legato by a single note toggle keyswitch (hitting the same note repeatedly toggles legato), so this is in its own group.

Most of the articulations in the Bohemian are only active while the note is held, and once the note is released, it defaults back to an intelligent, adaptive mode which VirHamonic calls the Performer. So the trick here is to specify an off program for the bank (we arbitrarily choose 0) which describes the default mode of the Bohemian when no articulations are explicitly chosen.

Finally, the last 3 programs define the Performer styles, and unlike the others, these ones are latching keyswitches, so we use the note type for these.

//! g="Reaticulate Examples" n="Bohemian Violin Exp1" off=0
Bank 42 4 Bohemian Violin Exp1
//! c=long-dark i=note-whole g=2 f=toggle o=note:35
35 chords

//! spacer=1
//! c=long-light i=phrase
0 performer
//! c=long i=note-half o=note-hold:24
24 arc
//! c=long-light i=legato-bowed2 o=note-hold:41
41 rebow

//! spacer=1
//! c=fx i=phrase g=3 o=note:48
48 improv
//! c=fx i=phrase g=3 o=note:49
49 czardas
//! c=fx i=phrase g=3 o=note:50
50 emotive

This example also uses the spacer attribute to provide a visual separation between the groups.

Contextual articulations based on state of other groups

Suppose a trumpet library offered a number of different articulations with different types of mutes (no mute, straight mute, or harmon mute), with each variant being available under a different patch.

The obvious approach would be to create different articulations for each of the normal vs hard attack variants. This is a perfectly cromulent strategy to be sure, but by using filter programs you could move the hard/normal attack flag to a group and use only a single program for each articulation even if it offers all three variants.

Here we we have the three different patches for the different mute types on different MIDI channels. A single articulation definition can route to the appropriate patch depending on which mute articulation is selected.

//! g="Reaticulate Examples" n="Contextual Articulations"
Bank 42 5 Contextual Articulations
//! c=long i=note-whole g=2
120 unmuted
//! c=long-light i=stopped g=2
121 straight mute
//! c=long-light i=stopped g=2
122 harmon mute

//! c=long i=note-whole o=note@1:24%120/note@2:24%121/note@3:24%122
1 long
//! c=short i=staccato o=note@1:27%120/note@2:27%121/note@3:27%122
40 staccato
//! c=short i=marcato-quarter o=note@1:28%120/note@2:28%121/note@3:28%122
52 marcato

This bank uses programs 120-122 to define the different mute types. Notice there aren't any output events with these articulations -- they don't actually emit any outputs directly, but rather they influence the output events emitted by the long and staccato articulations.

Changing one of the mute types will retrigger long or staccato (whichever is selected) and cause the appropriate output event to be emitted for the new mute type.

Articulation Colors

The c program attribute defines the color of the button for the articulation, which is either a HTML color code or one of the predefined names. When c isn't specified, then the default color is used.

The image right shows the available names and their out-of-the-box colors.

(The icons shown are just for demonstration purposes. The color selection has no bearing on the icon. That's defined by the i attribute.)

The factory banks use the light variants for articulations played more softly or subdued than normale, for example con sordino, sul tasto, or harmonics. The dark variants are used for grittier, distorted, or louder articulations, such as sul ponticello or Bartok pizzicato.

While you can define explicit custom color values, it's recommended you use the named colors (e.g. short-dark) in your banks, because users are able to customize these colors in Reaticulate's settings page. If you use an explicit color, then this color is forced upon other users of your bank. That may be ok in certain situations, and it's certainly not an issue if you're the only consumer of the banks you create, but it's something to consider when sharing your banks with other users.

Articulation Icons

Here are the current icon names that may be assigned to the i attribute:

Icon	Name
	accented-half
	accented-quarter
	acciaccatura-quarter
	alt-circle
	alt-gypsy
	alt-gypsy-eighth
	alt-gypsy-harmonics
	alt-tremolo-gypsy-harmonics
	alt-wave
	alt-wave-double
	alt-wave-double-stopped
	alt-wave-double-tr
	alt-x
	bend-down
	bend-up
	blend
	bow-down
	bow-up
	col-legno
	col-legno-whole
	con-sord
	con-sord-blend
	con-sord-bow-down
	con-sord-bow-up
	con-sord-sul-pont
	con-sord-sul-pont-bow-up
	cresc-f-half
	cresc-half
	cresc-m-half
	cresc-mf-half
	cresc-mp-half
	cresc-p-half
	cresc-quarter
	crescendo
	cuivre
	dblstop-5th
	dblstop-5th-eighth
	decrescendo
	fall
	fanfare
	flautando
	flautando-con-sord
	flautando-con-sord-eighth
	fortepiano
	fx
	ghost-eighth
	harmonics
	harmonics-natural
	harmonics-natural-eighth
	harp-pdlt
	harp-pdlt2
	legato
	legato-blend-generic
	legato-bowed
	legato-bowed2
	legato-con-sord
	legato-fast
	legato-flautando
	legato-gliss
	legato-portamento
	legato-portamento-con-sord
	legato-portamento-flautando
	legato-runs
	legato-slow
	legato-slow-blend
	legato-sul-c
	legato-sul-g
	legato-sul-pont
	legato-tremolo
	legato-vibrato
	light
	list
	marcato-half
	marcato-quarter
	multitongued
	note-acciaccatura
	note-eighth
	note-half
	note-quarter
	note-sixteenth
	note-tied
	note-whole
	phrase
	phrase-multitongued
	phrase-multitongued-cresc
	phrase2
	pizz
	pizz-bartok
	pizz-con-sord
	pizz-mix
	pizz-sul-pont
	plop
	portato
	rest-quarter
	ricochet
	rip
	run-major
	run-minor
	scoop
	sfz
	spiccato
	spiccato-breath
	spiccato-brushed
	spiccato-brushed-con-sord
	spiccato-brushed-con-sord-sul-pont
	spiccato-feathered
	staccatissimo-stopped
	staccato
	staccato-breath
	staccato-con-sord
	staccato-dig
	staccato-harmonics
	staccato-harmonics-half
	staccato-sfz
	staccato-stopped
	stopped
	sul-c
	sul-g
	sul-pont
	sul-tasto
	sul-tasto-super
	sul-tasto-super-eighth
	tenuto-eighth
	tenuto-half
	tenuto-quarter
	tremolo
	tremolo-con-sord
	tremolo-con-sord-sul-pont
	tremolo-fingered
	tremolo-ghost
	tremolo-harmonics
	tremolo-harmonics-a
	tremolo-harmonics-b
	tremolo-measured-eighth
	tremolo-measured-eighth-con-sord
	tremolo-measured-sixteenth
	tremolo-measured-sixteenth-con-sord
	tremolo-slurred
	tremolo-sul-pont
	trill
	trill-maj2
	trill-maj3
	trill-min2
	trill-min3
	trill-perf4
	vibrato
	vibrato-con-sord
	vibrato-molto