Reason fanboy's thread

[stillshaded]

I don't use reason, but I have in the past.

I mean how can you really hate on it? It's a semi-modular DAW for poop's sake.

OK I admit I find the piano roll to be atrocious, but it's still a great application just not my cup o tea.

[robogone]

Too many people dis it because it doesn't work the way they want it to. It's kind of weird that there are so many threads complaining that it's different to other software...

[IncarnateX]

Today I have expanded the master section by adding another stereo widener so I now have a three banded stereo widener. This way I can keep everything below 200 hz strictly mono while still being able to expand the mid frequencies and high frequencies separately. If I add a compressor to each band I will have a fine multiband compressor/ widener. Not that I need one but just being able to do so warms my heart.

How can anyone trash a program like this with such endless possibilities? It is like molesting a cute little puppy who gladly will do any trick you want it to.

[headquest]

While I wouldn't describe myself as a "Reason fanboy", in answer to the original question "Reasons to love Reason"...

The thing I have always loved from the beginning is The Rack - its devices and its general concept. For me Reason is/was always focussed on learning and using those Rack devices - a piece of software designed around the instruments themselves, rather than using the instruments as an add-on within a production environment.

Propellerhead have a genius way of designing their devices that makes them immediately inviting, easy to use, but high class. When I first bought Reason it was the ReDrum and Subtractor that took up hours of my time, and gave me so much pleasure to use. Over the years other great stuff has been added of course - when Reason 2.5 came along the Scream and RV7000 really upped the game, and then the M-Class devices in Reason 3 made the programme capable of great end-results, even without rewire. But it was as a rewire client that I mostly continued to use and love Reason - for me it provided a far superior synth/sampler rack than the ones built into other DAWs, so I would always simply fire up Reason within my main DAW and ... off I would go! Wonderful fun! More recent additions have continued to make it better and better as a rack, notably THOR and KONG.

Some other things I have really loved/enjoyed since they were added: ReGroove is great (such a shame it doesn't work with audio tracks of course...) and ReMote are great. And unlike many, I actually like the sequencer itself, even more so since they added the fantastic Blocks feature (again, I know others don't always like it, but I do).

As said elsewhere, I wish they had continued to focus on developing the Rack, making greater and greater devices (rather than getting others to do it that aren't so used to the concept, because none of the stuff in Re comes close to the brilliance of Propellerhead's own Rack devices in terms of design ... JMHO... Etch comes close). Instead the focus now is towards making Reason an all-powerful DAW in its own right, but for me it doesn't offer several crucial things I need in my DAW, so the present iteration doesn't fit my workflow any more... a pity.

But great software - Reason 5 continues to feature heavily in my music, and will no doubt remain a favourite for a long time

[angelremington]

Originally I bought Reason 5 and Record 1.5.
I loved Reason and used most of the time, Record not as much, I just couldn't "click" with it, but later when R6 come along with all of the record functionality in it and more, I loved it even more after intimidating first start to get used to the first changes, being able to do everything i did before but on top of that import vocals, audio loops, beats etc, I loved it

Yes, I'm not the greatest fan of the R.E. as yet, however I do like the sequencer a lot, in fact I love it, probably is my most favorite part of Reason, I spent a lot of time testing other DAW's and asking a lot of questions and advice here as to which DAW has the most similar sequencer to Reason's one as I find it really simple, easy and quick to use, I love the way automation work in it,, right click on anything you like and just draw a clip.
I've done everything exclusively in Reason, from learning a bit of music theory, programming drums, composing, remixing etc...
I still love it as such, and I'll keep it and keep using it, however I also started using other software, I just fell in love with Sylenth, Nexus, Alchemy, etc... so obviously needed to get into other programs to be able to use them and enjoy them, also have hardware synths that I want to utilize in my tracks and I can't play much but I can program and sequence etc.... so MIDI out is a must.
Hopefully with next release will see some of my needs / wants addressed and can go back to Reason for this stuff.

Reason is a great program, fun to use, can give you great results with a bit of effort, I have no intention ditching it completely, I just don't see myself jumping on the RE any time soon, until something really jumps in front of me, like Nexus or sylenth or alchemy... well... you get the picture, and yes until they change the policy with the RE, like no installer software to download or transfer option etc... I almost never ever sell any software I ever bought, ( I just buy ), but that is not the point

Yes guys, I love reason but i am not a "fanboy" or a Propellerhead flagwaver like some here and a lot more @ PUF

Maybe instead of "arguing" here about this and that, my DAW is better than yours (although good fun sometimes), we should all be happy and feel blessed with so many choices and so much good software and pluggins or refills or RE or you name it, to choose from and all @ affordable price, capable of incredible results, it is awesome when you think about it...

[hotmitts]

Same as many here, not, I think,a fanboy, but been using Reason a long time. What I like;

Uninterrupted workflow - you don't have to pause to Patch-browse, to add or delete effects, to arm tracks. You can keep the music going effortlessly. Coming from Sonar, that's been the main thing for me.

Learning environment - I've learnt how to do everything from MIDI editing, to EQing, to Synth programming, over the last few years. Personally I've found Reason great for that.

Fast installation - slower now there's more stuff, but I don't have to authorise all plug-ins with separate companies, it's all one thing. Might not sound much but every year some part of my computer generally dies (planned obsolescence?).

There's more but it's 3 a.m here in UK. ZZZzzzz

[KevWestBeats]

Seriously. Why does Propellerhead have such a bad rep here?

because it doesn't support vsts. Many feel if it did it would be the ultimate DAW not me. I love Reason but let's not pretend that there is such thing as a best program

[saturdaysaint]

Where to begin? If you told me 10 years ago I'd be using a program without auto crossfades or PDC, I'd probably laugh. I left Logic and Live, which are some of the most sophisticated and cool programs I've used in many respects, for a few reasons.

1. An amazing, well organized, truly useful soundbank. Logic and Live are no slouches, but I felt Live's soundbank was too techno-centric and generally gimmicky. Logic's are pretty good, but horribly uneven/out of date in a lot of areas. To my ears, Reason's soundbank rivals a great synth. Even if it's sounds aren't always best in class, I can get "in the ballpark" of any sound in my head with Reason faster than with anything else.
2. Intuitive sound design. YMMV, but I find anything from routing a snare drum to a delay to creating a crossover to modulating pitch with an LFO easier and more intuitive in Reason than any of the others. I'd usually just give up and settle for a simpler sound in Live/Logic/Sonar, but in Reason I can generally roll up my sleeves and make anything happen .
3. Stability. Not sexy, but it still matters and Reason is still unparalleled here. Hey, I'd probably be on Sonar if it wasn't such a glitch-fest.
4. Lots of genius little easy-to-use extras that make writing/composing fun and easy. I have an unreasonable LOVE for the guitar tuner button next to the record enable button on every audio track. A dynamite arpeggiator (how come no other DAW includes one this good?). Blocks. Addictively fun effects like Scream, Echo, Pulsar, etc.

[re8]

I don't understand why people could HATE Reason; at worse, thanks to ReWire, Reason can be a good VSTi in your fav DAW. Don't like the rack system? No problem; there are so many free presets, you have 10,000s of sounds available, & turning a few knobs never hurt anyone.

On the DAW end, not liking Reason's workflow, well I can't argue there.

I like Reason's sound; it has a certain "sheen".

[headquest]

This is the *love* thread, not the hate one,

But i don't think people genuinely *hate* Reason. Sure, there may be some who don't enjoy its' workflow, perhaps even some who don't rate the sound of its devices. And certainly there are quite a few people who are disappointed with Propellerhead the company, for a variety of things. But I agree, it would be weird to actually hate Reason, because even if it isn't your cup of tea there's no denying that it is a superb programme

I think that perhaps some people *love* Reason to a point where it pains them to hear legitimate criticism and debate about it though. So they assume that people who actually really like Reason - but who express a few misgivings - are somehow *haters*. It happens lots on this and all forums. Debates then descend into arguments, and people get more polarised in their opinions.

For those of us who love Reason but not without question, who aren't the "fanboys" of the thread title, ... it's simply that some of us don't see everything as black and white, us against them, etc.

[mrdr]

Those '<insert any DAW here> fanboys' are probably people who are completely fed up with nonstop forum whining. They know that there is no perfect DAW, no ideal workflow for everybody and still discussing about it is just pointless and totally non-productive. They're just producing stellar music or maybe not with Reason, FL Studio, Reaper or other 'not so perfect' hosts.

[saturdaysaint]

For those of us who love Reason but not without question, who aren't the "fanboys" of the thread title, ... it's simply that some of us don't see everything as black and white, us against them, etc.

It's tricky because Reason is what it is because of Props' development style. They don't add anything unless it's been absurdly well thought through, to the point where Reason has some glaring feature gaps by the standards of your average 2012 DAW. But what IS there fills an interesting creative/musical role, is impeccably designed, and is stable as a tank.

"Complaints" are kind of tricky in this context. On one hand, I empathize if it's missing something for you - I couldn't really give it the time of day until v. 6 (guitar and vocals are my primary instruments and I was probably overly reluctant to go the ReWire route). On the other hand, its slow, careful expansion seems to be part of its impeccable quality control and ability to deliver interesting new ideas with every version. As someone who's bought way too many upgrades that respond to as many user complaints as possible, promise the world, and end up giving me a buggy mess of half-baked feature additions, I have a hard time joining the angry mobs.

I can see why 6 - 6.5 might be kind of frustrating for those mostly wanting a nice little synth rack. But I think Props have a lot to offer audio recording and I think they needed to offer a more end-to-end solution in 2012's competitive market. In any case, I'd love if Reason 7 got back to Props roots and focused more on the needs of the synth and sampler oriented among us. Hopefully Props will be able to focus more on those core features and fundamentally cool ideas now that they're not soley responsible for expanding Reason's sonic palette.

[saturdaysaint]

Also, I loved Chris Randall's (decidedly non-fanboyish) 2 cents on Reason in his blog. The second paragraph really captures what I dig about it:

"I'll state for the record (hah!) right now that Reason is not my cup of tea as a user. It doesn't do a lot of things I need to do, and does a lot of things I don't like. I will in no way apologize for that. There are a lot of DAWs out there like that (granting that Reason and Record are "not DAWs"). I own licenses for virtually every possible mechanism of recording and playing back audio created for PCs and Macs, so I can use whatever I want, for the most part. I use Live when I'm feeling frisky and Cubase when I have work to do, because those two are comfortable and familiar to me, and do what I ask of them for the most part.

Now, with that out of the way, it should be noted that Reason's relatively static existence and insular nature allow a person to develop a mastery that isn't usually paralleled in other DAWs. I think of it more like I think of a sophisticated workstation (e.g. K2600) than as a DAW, and I know from my own experience with the K2xx series, and the Emax before that, that if you pick a particular tool and take the time to learn its tricks, and that tool doesn't change very often, you can develop a skill level with it that is difficult to argue with.

One could say that it is, perhaps, easier to make shitty music with Reason than it is to make _any_ music with, say, FL Studio. One wouldn't be wrong. And one could also say that it has a particular "sound" to it (but that is about to change). So one could make a sweeping generalization like "most songs I hear that were made in Reason are shitty" and one would be able to stand on that argument. However, the larger truth is that one has heard a lot of shitty songs, period.

-CR"

[hotmitts]

Nicely put, Saturday Saint.

[IncarnateX]

This is the *love* thread, not the hate one,

Exactly, so stay focused

"I think that perhaps some people *love* Reason to a point where it pains them to hear legitimate criticism and debate about it though. So they assume that people who actually really like Reason - but who express a few misgivings - are somehow *haters*. It happens lots on this and all forums. Debates then descend into arguments, and people get more polarised in their opinions.

This thread is not about the realtionship between lovers and haters but only about the love for Reason as a program, fanboy or not. It is not about the "pros vs, cons" about Reason but only the pros. This thread is not meant to be balanced but fanboyishly positive.

For those of us who love Reason but not without question, who aren't the "fanboys" of the thread title:

...are most wellcome to write about your love for Reason but your criticizm doesn't fit here. Make an alternative "pro vs. cons of Reason thread" for that purpose.

Hmmm...then again if you can deliver your critizism very very constructively e.g. like a fanboy's "wish list" for Reason, it might work