A New Reason Rack Design Concept

[Trancit]

I'm not entirely sure what motivated me to do this, perhaps because it's been a little while since I've done much GUI design stuff, or maybe it's because I've been spending a lot of time working on another project that I needed a different creative distraction from what I've been doing lately, or maybe I just wanted a challenge to solve a puzzle that's been sitting at the back of my mind for the past few days that I recollected from years gone by in the past. I don't really use Reason any more... so I guess it's just a bit of fun...something that just happened to grow out my head ...

...

Hombre... you´ve got definetely too much spare time...

[rlared]

I don't think this design would be a change for the better. People like the cables and the feeling like they are using an actual equipment rack. That's why they have details like mounting brackets and stickers showing. I don't know where you get "form follows function" but I believe that brands like Apple and Prada would disprove that pretty quickly.

[jancivil]

Form Follows Function is an ideal, perhaps the founding tenet, of the Bauhaus School, architecture.
Now you know where the phrase comes from. Reason, so who cares.
I kid. It's not for me, someone I hugely respect stays with it.

[rlared]

Interesting!

[kmonkey]

Dark GUI's are something that many producers are typically more use to, and if you've been use to Reason and it's primarily light GUI for many years, it's probably too much of a stark contrast to not have the brightness and illumination all the time.

I use dark GUI all the time

I get used to it decade ago when i was working with FL Studio.

But still your work is too dark - for me

Regards

[starflakeprj]

@THE INTRANCER

A darker GUI is easier on your eyes, but your example of Reason X is too dark, which makes it harder to distinguish the elements from each other, not to mention the clutterness, my eyes are bleeding when looking at it.

I know this is an old project of your's, and you have started over with a new idea. But as several people have mentioned already, Reason is Reason because of it's workflow. Nobody (except you and 2-3 more people?), who have bought Reason over the years, bought Reason to get a streamlined, linear, DAW. Honestly, if it wouldn't have been for the visible rack, with the cables, the CV features and all the possibilities you get with this, Reason would have been just another DAW. Possibly already forgotten judging by the lack of features people are talking about, an which I agree to some.

[Burillo]

I knew it would be this guy lol. I like how people treat this seriously, as if this has any chance of ever ending up in Reason.

[LawrenceF]

I knew it would be this guy lol. … as if this has any chance of ever ending up in Reason.

[Winstontaneous]

I've often wished for a Matrix routing overview in Reason in addition to the rack spaghetti - are there Swedish meatballs hidden in there somewhere? I would also want the ability to filter the view to only show actually connected mod parameters. IMO virtual wires in DAWs and software synths/FX get counterproductive on a 2D screen really quick once you move beyond the simplest patches.

I much prefer VAZ Modular's paradigm (choosing mod destination in a dropdown on the source module) or u-he's Modulation Matrix on Zebra & Hive (drag and drop invisible connector from source to mod target, especially compared to their Ace/Bazille rat's nests ). I also like how both Reaktor and Max/Pure Data let you zoom out to the coarsest level (whole rack/environment) and then zoom in to more atomic connections by clicking on a node. Of course NI just added spaghetti to the menu with the latest Reaktor update...

[ShawnG]

I've often wished for a Matrix routing overview in Reason in addition to the rack spaghetti - are there Swedish meatballs hidden in there somewhere? I would also want the ability to filter the view to only show actually connected mod parameters. IMO virtual wires in DAWs and software synths/FX get counterproductive on a 2D screen really quick once you move beyond the simplest patches.

I much prefer VAZ Modular's paradigm (choosing mod destination in a dropdown on the source module) or u-he's Modulation Matrix on Zebra & Hive (drag and drop invisible connector from source to mod target, especially compared to their Ace/Bazille rat's nests ). I also like how both Reaktor and Max/Pure Data let you zoom out to the coarsest level (whole rack/environment) and then zoom in to more atomic connections by clicking on a node. Of course NI just added spaghetti to the menu with the latest Reaktor update...

There are a few declutter options in there already, and you can route it by right clicking on the jack and selecting the target from a drop down menu.

[ShawnG]

I knew it would be this guy lol. I like how people treat this seriously, as if this has any chance of ever ending up in Reason.

This is not new, shouldve seen some of the designs we were “treated” to back on the PUF (RIP). If Propellerheads ever decide to make a version of Reason for people who hate Reason, maybe they’ll take him up on it.

At least he spelled the name of the synth correctly this time...

[THE INTRANCER]

I've often wished for a Matrix routing overview in Reason in addition to the rack spaghetti - are there Swedish meatballs hidden in there somewhere? I would also want the ability to filter the view to only show actually connected mod parameters. IMO virtual wires in DAWs and software synths/FX get counterproductive on a 2D screen really quick once you move beyond the simplest patches.

I much prefer VAZ Modular's paradigm (choosing mod destination in a dropdown on the source module) or u-he's Modulation Matrix on Zebra & Hive (drag and drop invisible connector from source to mod target, especially compared to their Ace/Bazille rat's nests ). I also like how both Reaktor and Max/Pure Data let you zoom out to the coarsest level (whole rack/environment) and then zoom in to more atomic connections by clicking on a node. Of course NI just added spaghetti to the menu with the latest Reaktor update...

Yeah... since I switched, I found having gone back to test Reason recently, that the whole method of wiring the rack, makes me want to run to the hills and far away, often wondering why I couldn't just point, click and make connections in a couple of seconds, instead of having to navigate through a maze of wires, hoping to find where I wanted to stick the end of the wire and god forbid if you accidentally depressed the mouse button among the spaghetti of semi transparent wires. The arrival of the combinator helped a bit when it made it's first appearance way back in 2005 in version 3.0, but it didn't address the problem in the way I wanted it to. Oddly, I found that even building things in Reaktor was quicker with connecting wires, when I got round to buying it way back in 2013, although admittedly, I didn't bother with that until around 2014 as I mainly bought ensembles for music. NI's half baked implementation of wires on the front which even predates that of Reasons 1.0 implementation way back in 2000, has me yawning of dis-interest as well. I get it, but I've been there, got the T-Shirt. ect.. just too f-ing messy to work with for me now.

Hive is one of my main synths I use as well, so the drag and drop effects section and the assigning a target method is one aspect of the concept I thought of in addition to how Presonus Studio One is able to assign parameters to macro knobs and buttons of instruments which creates automation lanes. And from there leading that to a Reaktor node like network where Racks and Device layers can be created and linked. Essentially fusing those ideas into the eco system of Reason, but in a different way. Studio One has a limit of just 8 knobs and 8 pads, and 4 X/Y Pads for any number of parameters. The concept I posted would essentially be unlimited on a per knob / per parameter way. ( Studio One has an alternative method of assigning knobs to controller devices, just as Reason has for it's automation of it's devices but thats an aside..)...

I tried to come up with a solution with Reasons rack with the Reason X concept years ago, but I wasn't ever satisfied in what the way forward for that was.

Propellerheads could contact me, they have all my details, (Test Pilot NDA forms ect they have at their HQ) about this concept... but I'm too pessimistic to think that would ever happen, and it wasn't my motivation in posting this anyway... but hay..crazier things have happened out of the blue, that I didn't ever think would...

[xbitz]

^^^ personally I would make the device selector dropdown more usable

0:20 >

currently, it can be used only under special circumstances, maybe a dedicated browser popup window would help, should stay open after a selection, needs target filtering etc. the same way as the side browsers work in Bitwig for ex.

[Burillo]

I'm not a Reason user, but judging by your "concepts" I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Why do you think you're even somewhat passably good at this "UX design" thingie is beyond me, because you're simply not. Your skills and designs do not warrant the kind of self-importance that come with them. I also like how you pretend that the Reason X GUI had some kind of connection to what you have posted and how you think they took ideas from you. The final GUI of Reason X sitting in your 3dbuzz topic as if they were related is a nice (if delusional) touch.

[JamminFool]

I'm not a Reason user, but judging by your "concepts" I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Why do you think you're even somewhat passably good at this "UX design" thingie is beyond me, because you're simply not. Your skills and designs do not warrant the kind of self-importance that come with them. I also like how you pretend that the Reason X GUI had some kind of connection to what you have posted and how you think they took ideas from you. The final GUI of Reason X sitting in your 3dbuzz topic as if they were related is a nice (if delusional) touch.

this.

"producers" and "UX designers". hilarious.