Is Reason a viable main DAW?

[woodsdenis]

Reason is great, but agree with above posters, you will constantly come to stupid things that really should be updated. My two cents to all above. Click in empty space to position cursor, play from previous position option and user defined key commands for everything possible.

[antic604]

Well, my biggest gripe is with the interface, as a result of working on small, but high resolution screen of Surface Pro 4 (and I'm sure a lot of people nowadays work on laptops):

- the bitmaps for rack devices, mixer, icons, etc. really need an upgrade for 4K / high-DPI screens - it's really apparent now with VSTs or if one uses other DAWs as well;

- while I can live with 3 separate work areas (sequencer, rack & mixer) it should be possible to reduce that to just two screens: (1) sequencer and (2) rack + mixer located side-by-side and not on top of each other, both focused on currently selected device/track;

- link between sequencer and rack/mixer - I should be able to click the device thumbnail on the track header and be transported to rack+mixer view focusing on that device and track; there are dedicated buttons SEQ/MIX and SEQ/RACK in rack & mixer respectively, but not in sequencer?

Simple things really, but would be a tremendous improvement. Hopefully in 10.5

[jonljacobi]

Absolutely viable. I like its approach. I just can't hack the tiny icons and controls. But my eyes suck. Younger, better eyes are kind of a must for Reason.

[jancivil]

It is for some people. For instance, my good friend and a truly happening composer loves it, he's aware of plugins and that kind of situation but he enjoys that it just works with what you get ITB and his latency situation is excellent. I don't have any notions of him working with audio, it's piano-roll compositions using the combinator and a totally familiar/comfy workflow. And the rack.

I find a workflow committing things to audio and mixing with audio offers ways of working with sound MIDI cannot. A little like a writing vs. a mixing, or even mastering workflow and it doesn't look like Reason is happening here. I'm used to plugins, I'm accustomed to the instruments I use, I learned to mix using certain things; just as he did, and it isn't happening for me. I had v 2.5 and it was kind of just goofy to me. I like the control voltage paradigm but I don't go for the virtual cables GUI or the look of things.

But I work slow and aspire to a sound that isn't going to come in Reason. He makes a lot more music than I do, OTOH.

[Jace-BeOS]

I would give Reason more time myself if the GUI wasn't stuck in the 72-PPI era...

[SpittingLama]

I would love for Reason to be my main DAW. It's the music app I've been working with longest (V2) because of it's combo of flexibility and stability. (Flexstability?) In the age of audio I still work predominately with MIDI. And my main gripe is the sequencer - and, for me, it's near fatal. The constant switching in and out of edit mode is a workflow killer. Secondary is the inability to edit multiple MIDI parts simultaneously. There needs to be an independent piano roll view window that can remain open on a screen. Working with harmony and drum parts it's difficult to see and edit the relationship between midi notes on 2 different tracks. This is simple in Logic,Cubase, Bitwig, DP, Samplitude, and likely more.

This is why I always end up needing a different DAW. And I think it should be required of anything that assumes to call itself a DAW. Or at least a MIDI+Audio sequencer...

Tell me if I'm missing something....

This is more of a wish list item -

I also have spent a lot of time building alorithmic composition devices in Reason - both pre and post Player type devices. Rendering the MIDI output of MIDI processors/FX back into Reason is also a pain. This is an are where Reason is not alone. It seems silly. We can render audio all day long in most any DAW but can't render the output of a MIDI process without a loopback. This gets particularly difficult in Reason.

Again - tell me if I'm missing something....

All said, my most successful work has been written in Reason because Reason inspires me to imagine what might be possible with it's MIDI/Audio/CV infrastructure....

Lama Out

[ShawnG]

Reason is a viable main DAW (well, unless you have to work with video, in which case, there are workarounds, but... yeah) I love the UI (mostly) and since they fulfilled my 2 main requests in 9.5 which was VST support and MIDI file import to existing track, I am happier with the current state of the software than ever, and I was always a fan.

If, like me, you started recording with tape, mixing desks, and hardware rackmount devices, you might feel as home with the UI as I am. If you have only ever made music "in the box" you might wonder why so much effort went into replicating a hardware environment, and might be a bit lost.

Reason, and reason's devices in some cases can make some fairly complicated DAW procedures easy and inspirational, but on the flipside, there are simple everyday things that are more complicated to achieve than need be.

still no multi timbral vst support, but you can use multi-output synths for drums and such. also MIDI out on VST plugins isn't supported yet.

CPU usage is more than other hosts, I have a new, beefy, and overclocked desktop, so I am not bothered too much, but lesser machines might struggle.

[EdgarRothermich]

With all the talk about Cakewalk/Sonar's demise, it seems all of the other DAWs have been mentioned as replacements, with Reason being notably absent.

No matter what DAW you are using or plan to use, it all depends on what you need it for and your personal workflow.

Reason is a fine piece of software, but I'm not sure if you want to use it if you like to record your band, doing surround sound projects or do major film scoring. Although I used it quite a bit on film scoring, but only as a Rewire sound source slaved to Logic Pro.

[Fleer]

That would be my approach. Reason 10 with Logic Pro (and Bitwig plus Waveform when feeling right). By the way, it's just fantastic to use plugins like Zynaptiq's Adaptiverb or FabFilter's Pro-R inside Reason. Thanks, Props, for letting hell freeze over. It's a blast.

[THE INTRANCER]

Reason was my main music production tool for the best part of 13 years, it eventually became soo long in the tooth and archaic compared to other daws that it came to a point where it was just too under developed and slow compared to the competition that, my forgiveness for it's failings just ran out. I started on version 1.0, right up to version 7. When version 8 came out, it was quite frankly, a horrible experience having tried it.. Since that time...I've not seen anything to change my view on that.

My faith and trust in Propellerheads slid down the proverbial ski slope, but fortunately I managed to grab on to a rope and make my way to the warmer waters of Studio One Pro 2 and later 3. I've barely touched Reason 7 since in the past 3 years. I've got 10 times as many VST's as I've got instruments and effects in Reason (including RE's), and I can fit 4 times as many tracks on screen than I can with Reason's SSL. Presonus isn't perfect when it comes to Studio One though, they do bugger things up in their release version's sometimes and their manual is dreadful, hence why there was an attempt to rectify that by a third party.

But is Reason viable as main daw ? Well...that depends if you want play with a lego set or meccano set, you'll only get so far with lego which is what Reason is. Beyond that and if you want to take to the next level daw, then you much wiser choosing a meccano set, those which have had VST implemented from the outset, and from the front runners in this field.

[Fleer]

Good point. I love Lego (Reason) and Fischertechnik (Logic Pro).