What Refills Are and Why You Need Them

Refills in Reason 13 are additional sound libraries and instrument packs that expand what you can create with the software. When you first install Reason 13, you get a base set of sounds. Refills add new drum kits, synth presets, loops, samples, and effects that you can use in your projects.

Refills come in two forms: official Reason packs made by Propellerhead Software, and third-party packs made by other developers. Some are free, some cost money. Adding them to Reason 13 takes about five minutes once you have the Refill file on your computer.

Key Takeaways

  • Refills are sound libraries and instrument packs that install into Reason 13 and appear in the browser on the left side of the screen.
  • You can download Refills from the official Reason website, third-party developers, or sound pack marketplaces, then drag them into your Reason folder.
  • Reason 13 looks for Refills in specific folders on your computer — Windows uses the Documents folder, Mac uses the Music folder.
  • After you add a Refill file, you may need to restart Reason 13 before the new sounds appear in your browser.

Finding and Downloading Refills

Start by locating the Refill file you want to add. If you purchased a Refill from the official Reason website, it will download as a .RFL file. Third-party Refills from other developers work the same way — they arrive as .RFL files that your computer recognizes as Reason packages.

Save the Refill file somewhere you can find it easily, like your Downloads folder or Desktop. Do not unzip or extract the file — Reason 13 reads .RFL files directly as they are. If your browser automatically unzipped it, you may need to re-download it or ask the developer for the compressed version.

Locating Your Reason Refills Folder

Reason 13 stores Refills in a specific folder on your computer. The location depends on whether you use Windows or Mac.

On Windows: Open File Explorer and navigate to Documents > Reason > Refills. If the Refills folder does not exist, create it yourself by right-clicking in the Reason folder, selecting New > Folder, and naming it "Refills".

On Mac: Open Finder and navigate to Music > Reason > Refills. If the Refills folder does not exist, open Terminal and paste this command: mkdir -p ~/Music/Reason/Refills then press Enter. This creates the folder automatically.

If you cannot find your Reason folder at all, open Reason 13 and go to Preferences > File & Folders. Look for the line that says "Refills" — it will show you the exact path where Reason is looking for them.

Moving the Refill File Into Place

Once you have located your Refills folder, move your .RFL file into it. The simplest way is to drag and drop: open your Downloads folder (or wherever you saved the Refill), then drag the .RFL file directly into the Reason > Refills folder.

Alternatively, you can copy and paste. Right-click the .RFL file, select Copy, navigate to Documents > Reason > Refills (or Music > Reason > Refills on Mac), right-click in the empty space, and select Paste.

Do not move the file to any other location in the Reason folder. Reason 13 only looks in the Refills subfolder, so putting it anywhere else means Reason will not find it.

Restarting Reason and Finding Your New Sounds

Close Reason 13 completely if it is open. Then reopen it. Reason scans the Refills folder when it starts up, so restarting gives it a chance to recognize the new file.

Once Reason opens, look at the browser panel on the left side of the screen. You should see a new entry in the list under Refills. Click on it to expand the contents and see all the sounds, loops, and instruments that came with that Refill.

If the new Refill does not appear after restarting, go back to Preferences > File & Folders and confirm the Refills path is correct. Then check that the .RFL file is actually in that folder — sometimes a file appears to be in the right place but is actually still in Downloads.

Troubleshooting Missing or Corrupted Refills

If you added a Refill but Reason still will not recognize it, the file may be corrupted or incomplete. Try downloading it again from the source. Make sure the file ends in .RFL and is not a folder or a .zip archive.

If Reason crashes when you try to load the Refill, move it out of the Refills folder temporarily and restart Reason. Then try adding it again. Some older third-party Refills are not fully compatible with Reason 13 — check the developer's website to see if they have released an updated version.

If you have multiple Refills and only one is missing, the problem is usually with that specific file. If none of your Refills appear, double-check that you are looking in the correct Refills folder — you may have created a second one by accident.

Managing Multiple Refills

You can add as many Refills as you want to the Refills folder. Reason will load them all when it starts up. If you have a large collection, the browser may take a few seconds longer to load, but this is normal.

To remove a Refill, simply delete the .RFL file from your Refills folder and restart Reason. The sounds will no longer appear in the browser. You can always add it back later by moving the file back into the folder.

Keep your Refills folder organized by naming files clearly. If a Refill came with a name like "Refill_001.RFL", consider renaming it to something more descriptive like "Vintage_Drums_Pack.RFL" so you know what it contains at a glance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to restart Reason every time I add a Refill?

Yes. Reason scans the Refills folder only when it starts up, so you must close and reopen the program for it to recognize new files. This takes less than a minute.

Can I use Refills from Reason 12 in Reason 13?

Most Refills from Reason 12 work in Reason 13 without any changes. Simply move the .RFL file into your Reason 13 Refills folder. If a Refill does not appear, contact the developer to see if they have released a Reason 13 version.

What if I accidentally deleted my Refills folder?

Create a new one in the same location (Documents > Reason > Refills on Windows, or Music > Reason > Refills on Mac). Then move your .RFL files back into it and restart Reason. Your Refills will work normally.

Can I move my Refills folder to an external hard drive?

Yes, but you must tell Reason where to find it. Go to Preferences > File & Folders, click the folder icon next to "Refills", and navigate to your external drive. Reason will then look there instead of the default location.

Why does Reason show a Refill in the browser but not its sounds?

The Refill file may be corrupted or incomplete. Try removing it from the Refills folder, restarting Reason, and downloading it again from the original source. If the problem continues, the Refill may not be compatible with your version of Reason 13.