There are keyboard shortcuts for switching between mixer, rack and DAW screen (although I have remapped them to different keys as the standard ones are too clumsy to access on more recent apple keyboards). These make working with Reason a much smoother experience for me, and I haven’t felt the need for multiple monitors.
Having said that, I am very excited about trying out @William_WiLD’s suggestion of adding a horizontal screen for the rack - that sounds ace!
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Also, what I like in reason is the GUI… I know it’s just virtual device in terms of design… But i found it’s very FUN (plus you find device very fast, really like those piece of tape you can name things… really like combinators etc…) and also CV modulation and routing on the back panel are very cool… Can’t wait to see how I can use the back of the reason rack with max4live
To me other daw are not fun at all. (powerful, yes no doubt. but fun… nope)
And when you make music the “Fun” notion is important.
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Reason definitely has the “fun” element. I know a lot of people think the skeuomorphic interface is silly, but to me it’s always been very friendly and inviting. Back in the day when new versions/devices were released it felt like Christmas.
Well, Reason 11 is out today. Who’s buying?
I’m thinking seriously of upgrading to the Suite for $249. The long list of instruments and fx is calling my name. Looking forward to trying Grain, Complex 1, Parsec, etc.
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I was going to ask, anyone get into the VST yet?
For me too (in two times normal upgrade then suite upgrade)
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I am moving away from Reason -
The sound quality of the engine is not pro
10 years ago it made sense but Today we have better sounding Software options’
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Would you care to elaborate on that?
Not quite sure what you mean by this statement…examples?
Sure
The audio engine is outdated, the stock reason devices are outdated, they sound thin less dynamic compared to the VST instruments.
Compare Subtractor to NI Massive for example, Massive sound superior, open, really loud and present in a mix, and Massive is not very new it has been on the market for a while.
The very recent Reason devices (Europa, Complex etc) sound better, this is because Propellerhead had to release better devices to be able to continue to be in the market and compete with better and better VST world.
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awesome as a vst, got suite and its integrating beautifully inside of Ableton
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Happy to hear this! Going to be upgrading on pay day. Having Reason as a plugin in Ableton will be phenomenal! Can you use the players on devices outside of the plugin rack?
Best addition to the reason world in years
I think I’ll get intro, £69 for 11 instruments and 11 fx is a decent deal and run it in Ableton
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Sorry if I can’t follow your logic.
If more recent Reason devices manage to sound good in your ears, how can the Reason engine be outdated?
Would you also say that imported audio tracks sound worse because of the bad engine? Did you test this?
Nobody forces you to use Subtractor or the old FX devices. They are still there for backward-compatibility, but if you are looking for more modern effects and synthesis possibilities, you can just find them in the more recent Reason devices (of which there are many imho) …
I love Reason.
After sleeping with a photo of it under my pillow last night I woke up, gleefully rubbing my hands together, and was all set to pay hard-won cash monies for the upgrade to Suite. Then at the eleventh hour, I impulsively decided to be sensible and do free trials of the extra devices that aren’t included with the standard version (Grain is included with normal Reason @Bwax, and it’s a wonderful thing).
I already have Complex-1 (it’s good!), the Drum Sequencer (also good!) and the Quad Note Generator (I don’t really use it!), so these things won’t sway me. I trialled Radical Keys a few months ago and was not impressed. Disappointed with that one, lemme tell ya. I love EPs and I quite like the Radical Piano engine even, but I couldn’t dial in a single inspiring sound.
Anyway, it looks like there’s a fair bit of bloat in Suite for the likes of me at least, as you might expect with a bundle, but Parsec looks pretty nice. The step sequencer I’m yet to delve into. The soundscapey granular thing doesn’t seem to load user samples, which is disheartening (possibly user error?).
I’ll be getting Reason 11 in one form or another, but I’m yet to decide.
Free trials folks. Suck 'em and see.
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There is something in the summing which is not quite right and it is not convincing
Logic and also Ableton sound tighter and better.
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Correct, Scenic does not allow import of user sample.
They will implement it in a future update for sure
Yes - imported audio does not sound good at least not good as in Logic
With respect, this idea of “the Reason sound” has been tested at length and in great detail (for example, see many of the threads on the Reason Talk forum), and has been completely debunked. There is no “Reason sound”, with respect to audio quality. And while it’s true that softsynths like Subtractor are outdated, frankly so is much of the Kontakt library, the Ableton sample library, etc. The new stuff sounds good, and the Rack Extension ecosystem is full of fantastic synths.
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I do not follow Reason talk and I am not subscribed to it.
What I can tell you is that the filters of NN-XT don’ t sound and never sounded good as the Kontakt filters and not good like the new filters in Ableton
The Equalizers of the mixer are not precise like those in Logic- try to put a low cut at 30hz- you can’t/ you can only do 30.2hz
Do a mix in Reason, do a mix in Logic with the same audio material and than compare and you will understand Reason sums audio differently.
I am not new to Reason I have been using v1 through 10- using combination of hardware and software, sometime only hardware.
I felt that every update was always a catch-up towards other software and real improvements in audio quality has never happened- Subtractor, Redrum and NN-19 the most used device sound exactly like 19 years ago (Reason v1 was launched in November 2000)