ReWire
Encyclopedia
ReWire is a software protocol, jointly developed by Propellerhead
and Steinberg
, allowing remote control and data transfer among digital audio editing and related software. Originally appearing in the ReBirth
software synthesizer
in 1998, the protocol has since evolved into an industry standard.
Currently used in Mac OS
and Microsoft Windows
32-bit or 64-bit audio applications, ReWire enables the simultaneous transfer up to 256 audio tracks of arbitrary resolution and 4080 channels of MIDI data. This allows, for example, the output from synthesizer software to be fed directly into a linear editor without the use of intermediate files or analog transfers. There are also provisions to remotely trigger actions, such as starting and stopping recording
. The protocol is licensed free of charge, but comes with a "non-disclosure of source code" license that is incompatible with most free-software licenses.
The ReWire system consists of "Mixers", "Panels", and "Devices". Mixers are the host applications which typically do the sequencing at one end and the final mixdown at the other end. A Device is a dynamic link library that only generates sound; it has no user interface. A Panel is a graphical interface for setting the parameters of one Device. A typical setup would be to use Ableton Live in "Mixer" mode, and use Propellerhead Reason as a synthesizer. In this case Reason would provide Device/Panel pairs to Ableton, which could then send midi commands, sync timing and mix Reason's output into its own effects chains. Many applications support either mode; for instance, you could reverse this chain, making Reason control Live. In fact, an application could (at the discretion of a developer) act as both a Mixer and a Panel at the same time.
Propellerhead Software
Propellerhead Software is a music software company, based in Stockholm, Sweden, and founded in 1994. They are most notable for the studio emulation Reason.- History :...
and Steinberg
Steinberg
Steinberg GmbH is a German musical software and equipment company based in Hamburg. It mainly produces music recording, arranging and editing software as used in digital audio workstations and VSTi software synthesizers.- History :...
, allowing remote control and data transfer among digital audio editing and related software. Originally appearing in the ReBirth
Rebirth
-Spiritual:* Reincarnation, the migration of a deceased person's spirit to a newborn body** Rebirth * Baptism, a Christian ritual representing spiritual cleansing* Resurrection of the Dead-Music:* Rebirth Brass Band* Rebirth...
software synthesizer
Software synthesizer
A software synthesizer, also known as a softsynth is a computer program or plug-in for digital audio generation. Computer software which can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed are allowing softsynths to accomplish the same tasks that previously required dedicated...
in 1998, the protocol has since evolved into an industry standard.
Currently used in Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
32-bit or 64-bit audio applications, ReWire enables the simultaneous transfer up to 256 audio tracks of arbitrary resolution and 4080 channels of MIDI data. This allows, for example, the output from synthesizer software to be fed directly into a linear editor without the use of intermediate files or analog transfers. There are also provisions to remotely trigger actions, such as starting and stopping recording
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
. The protocol is licensed free of charge, but comes with a "non-disclosure of source code" license that is incompatible with most free-software licenses.
The ReWire system consists of "Mixers", "Panels", and "Devices". Mixers are the host applications which typically do the sequencing at one end and the final mixdown at the other end. A Device is a dynamic link library that only generates sound; it has no user interface. A Panel is a graphical interface for setting the parameters of one Device. A typical setup would be to use Ableton Live in "Mixer" mode, and use Propellerhead Reason as a synthesizer. In this case Reason would provide Device/Panel pairs to Ableton, which could then send midi commands, sync timing and mix Reason's output into its own effects chains. Many applications support either mode; for instance, you could reverse this chain, making Reason control Live. In fact, an application could (at the discretion of a developer) act as both a Mixer and a Panel at the same time.
ReWire Mixers ("Sequencers/Trackers")
- Ableton LiveAbleton LiveAbleton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer and DAW for Mac OS and Windows by Ableton. The latest major release of Live, Version 8, was released in April 2009. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for...
- Adobe AuditionAdobe AuditionAdobe Audition is a digital audio workstation from Adobe Systems featuring both a multitrack, non-destructive mix/edit environment and a destructive-approach waveform editing view.-Origins:...
- Audiffex inTone
- Logic ProLogic ProLogic Pro is a hybrid 32 / 64 bit digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer software application for the Mac OS X platform. Originally created by German software developer Emagic, Logic Pro became an Apple product when Apple bought Emagic in 2002...
- ArturiaArturiaArturia is a software company located in Grenoble, France and founded in 1999 by Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, both INPG-qualified engineers. The company's focus is on the development of electronic music software and tools - primarily emulation of vintage analog synthesizers...
Storm - FL StudioFL StudioFL Studio is a digital audio workstation developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface based on a pattern-based music sequencer...
- Cakewalk Project5
- Cakewalk SonarCakewalk SonarCakewalk SONAR is a digital audio workstation made by Cakewalk for recording, editing, mixing, mastering and outputting audio. The latest versions of the software are SONAR Home Studio 7, SONAR Home Studio 7 XL, SONAR X1 Producer Edition, SONAR X1 Studio Edition, SONAR X1 Essential Edition, and...
- REAPERREAPERREAPER is a digital audio workstation created by Cockos. It is distributed with an uncrippled evaluation license with a nag screen explaining the license cost. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X...
- Companion E&D Intuem RW
- Cycling '74 Max/MSPMax (software)Max is a visual programming language for music and multimedia developed and maintained by San Francisco-based software company Cycling '74. During its 20-year history, it has been widely used by composers, performers, software designers, researchers, and artists for creating innovative recordings,...
- FairlightFairlightFairlight is a digital audio company based in Sydney, Australia. In 1979 they created the Fairlight CMI, the first digital audio sampler, quickly used by artists such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Jean Michel Jarre. They are now a manufacturer of media solutions tools such as digital audio...
Xynergi - GarageBandGarageBandGarageBand is a software application for Mac OS X and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts. It is developed by Apple Inc. as a part of the iLife software package on Mac OS X.-Audio recording:...
- Granted Software ReVision
- Line 6 GuitarPort
- Line 6 RiffTracker
- MOTUMark of the UnicornMark of the Unicorn is a music-related computer software and hardware supplier. It is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has created music software since 1984.Products by MOTU include:*Digital Performer*AudioDesk*BPM*MachFive*MX4*Unisyn...
Digital PerformerDigital PerformerDigital Performer is a full-featured Digital Audio Workstation/Sequencer software package published by Mark of the Unicorn of Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Apple Macintosh platform.-Ancestry:... - MU.LABMU.LABMU.LAB is a digital audio workstation for Mac OS X and Windows developed by MUTOOLS. It is available in three flavors: a free version, which is restricted to four tracks, and XT and UL versions which have fewer restrictions...
- Opcode Vision DSP
- Opcode Studio Vision
- Petertools Live Set
- Plogue Bidule
- Reason (Can only host Propellerhead ReBirth RB-338ReBirth RB-338ReBirth RB-338 is a software synthesizer for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS 8-9 and iOS for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It was developed by Propellerhead Software, and its first alpha version was publicly released in December 1996. Propellerhead Software ceased developing the original program in...
) - RenoiseRenoiseRenoise is a contemporary digital audio workstation based upon the heritage and development of tracker software. Its primary use is the composition of music using sound samples, soft synths, and effects plug-ins. It is also able to interface with MIDI and OSC equipment...
- PreSonus Studio OnePreSonus Studio OnePreSonus Studio One is a music creation, production and mastering application for Mac OS X and Windows made by PreSonus.-Early development:In 2006, KristalLabs Software Ltd., a start-up company founded by Wolfgang Kundrus and Matthias Juwan, began working on Studio One in cooperation with PreSonus...
Pro - Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
- Notion 3Notion (software)NOTION is a computer software program for music composition and performance created by NOTION Music, a company located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Created for use on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS, NOTION's sample library for playback was recorded at Abbey Road by the London Symphony Orchestra...
- SamplitudeMAGIX SamplitudeMAGIX Samplitude is a computer program made by MAGIX for recording, editing, mixing, mastering and outputting audio. The first version was released in 1992 for the Amiga and three years later for Microsoft Windows...
- Sion Software QuickScore Elite
- Sonoma Wire WorksSonoma Wire WorksSonoma Wire Works is a company, based in Los Altos, California and incorporated in 2003, that develops audio software.Sonoma Wire Works began in an outbuilding in Sonoma County, California...
RiffWorksRiffWorksRiffWorks is a guitar recording and online song collaboration program for MacOS and Windows. RiffWorks is designed and developed by Sonoma Wire Works... - Sony ACID Pro
- Steinberg CubaseSteinberg CubaseCubase is a music software product developed by Steinberg for music recording, arranging and editing as part of a Digital Audio Workstation. It is one of the oldest DAWs to still enjoy widespread use...
- Steinberg Nuendo
- Synapse Audio Orion PlatinumOrion PlatinumOrion is a music production suite developed by Synapse Audio Software for Microsoft Windows.The software supports all stages of music production, from composing and arranging music to mixing and mastering. Its features include multitrack audio recording, audio generation, audio effects, and a...
- TracktionTracktionTracktion is a digital audio workstation for recording and editing audio and MIDI. The software is cross-platform, running on Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows.-History:Tracktion was originally developed by a single UK designer/programmer, Julian Storer...
- Zynewave PodiumZynewave PodiumPodium is a Digital Audio Workstation software program that integrates audio recording, VST plugins and external MIDI and audio gear. An object based project structure allows for advanced media and device management....
ReWire Devices ("Synthesizers")
- Ableton LiveAbleton LiveAbleton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer and DAW for Mac OS and Windows by Ableton. The latest major release of Live, Version 8, was released in April 2009. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for...
- ArKaos VJ
- ArturiaArturiaArturia is a software company located in Grenoble, France and founded in 1999 by Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, both INPG-qualified engineers. The company's focus is on the development of electronic music software and tools - primarily emulation of vintage analog synthesizers...
Storm - Audionaut Obsession
- Bitheadz Retro AS-1
- Bitheadz Unity DS-1
- REAPERREAPERREAPER is a digital audio workstation created by Cockos. It is distributed with an uncrippled evaluation license with a nag screen explaining the license cost. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X...
- Digital Salade Toki Shot
- FL StudioFL StudioFL Studio is a digital audio workstation developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface based on a pattern-based music sequencer...
- CakewalkCakewalk (sequencer)Cakewalk was a MIDI sequencer developed by Twelve Tone Systems, Inc. originally for DOS, starting with version Cakewalk 1.0 in 1987, and beginning in 1991, for Windows 3.0. Cakewalk for DOS, up until version 4.0, required an MPU-401 MIDI interface card operating in intelligent mode, while later...
Project 5 - MadTracker
- Cycling '74 Max/MSPMax (software)Max is a visual programming language for music and multimedia developed and maintained by San Francisco-based software company Cycling '74. During its 20-year history, it has been widely used by composers, performers, software designers, researchers, and artists for creating innovative recordings,...
- Open Labs Riff
- Plogue Bidule
- Reason
- ReBirth RB-338ReBirth RB-338ReBirth RB-338 is a software synthesizer for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS 8-9 and iOS for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It was developed by Propellerhead Software, and its first alpha version was publicly released in December 1996. Propellerhead Software ceased developing the original program in...
- RecordRecord (software)Record is a music software program developed by Swedish software developers Propellerhead Software. Designed for recording, arrangement and mixing, it emulates a recording studio, with a mixing desk, a rack of virtual instruments and effects and an audio and MIDI sequencer...
- RenoiseRenoiseRenoise is a contemporary digital audio workstation based upon the heritage and development of tracker software. Its primary use is the composition of music using sound samples, soft synths, and effects plug-ins. It is also able to interface with MIDI and OSC equipment...
- Sibelius 6
- Sony ACID Pro
- Speedsoft VSampler
- TascamTASCAMTASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Montebello, California. Tascam is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. Tascam also introduced the first low-cost mass produced multitrack recorders...
GigaStudio - Toontrack dfh SUPERIOR
- Torq
- VocaloidVocaloidis a singing synthesizer application, with its signal processing part developed through a joint research project between the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan's Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product...
- Vocaloid 2Vocaloidis a singing synthesizer application, with its signal processing part developed through a joint research project between the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan's Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product...
See also
- JACKJACK Audio Connection KitJACK is a professional sound server daemon that provides real-time, low latency connections for both audio and MIDI data between applications that implement its API...
— a similar, open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
API for LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Mac OS X. A windows version has recently been released. - Soundflower — another OS X option with a similar purpose.