Reason 12 announced

[Crossinger]

S1's step sequencer is really quite basic compared to Reason's Drum Sequencer though...

Huh? I‘d like to have some details on this. S1 step sequencer has individual lane lengths, ratcheting, velocity, patterns, and so on.

What exactly makes it basic compared to Reason‘s Drum Sequencer?

[EnochLight]

Huh? I‘d like to have some details on this. S1 step sequencer has individual lane lengths, ratcheting, velocity, patterns, and so on.

What exactly makes it basic compared to Reason‘s Drum Sequencer?

I also own Studio One, and I don't consider its step sequencer basic. That said, Reason's Drum Sequencer does the following:

• Drum patterns can be saved in patches.
• For each drum, you can specify the pattern length (1-16 steps), the speed (i.e. resolution) and the playback direction. You can also slide drum channels in time.
• Each drum step can have its own velocity (1-127).
• Each drum step can have repeats/ratcheting, so that the note is played e.g. 2 or 3 times, for rolls and other stuff.
• Each drum step can have a probability value - a percentage setting determining how likely it is to play.
• There are quick Preset functions for entering a rhythmic pattern for a drum channel.
• A separate, continuous Shuffle control.
• Real-time recording (quantized to steps).
• CV Gate outputs for controlling devices via Gate signals - see “Connections”

I don't know Studio One's step sequencer in depth, but I'm pretty sure it can do a lot that.

[SLiC]

S1's step sequencer is really quite basic compared to Reason's Drum Sequencer though...

Huh? I‘d like to have some details on this. S1 step sequencer has individual lane lengths, ratcheting, velocity, patterns, and so on.

What exactly makes it basic compared to Reason‘s Drum Sequencer?

I use them both, they are both great.

Reason drum sequencer has individual speed and step count for each channel means you can go for polyrhythmic stuff. Per-channel play direction as well (cant remember if S1 does that) and slide is quite nice. It reminds me of the sequencer in Tremor which I always liked. Of course the big deal with drum sequencer in Reason is the way it integrates with other players in Reason (you can build cool stuff, for example throw some Euclidian sequencers in with quod note generator and save it all in combiner with your drum sounds of choice) and of course that you can use it in the Rack in any DAW, so anything you build is portable and remains editable in any DAW!

[mholloway]

Studio One's step sequencer is just as powerful, and far more pleasant to use, than Reason's drum sequencer, IMHO.

The huge issue with Reason's is that a single Pattern Maxes out at a meager 4 bars. And while yes, there are 8 patterns total to switch between, you can't hear them play consecutively unless you switch over to the arrangement page and program a series of Pattern Clips into the arrangement.

Considering that the workflow of step sequencers is generally meant to be lightning fast, I find this implementation / workflow absolutely baffling. In a drum sequence, 4 bars is nothing. It's playback takes a matter of seconds. I always, always want to hear the first 4 bars I programmed run straight into the *next* four bars I've programmed (the 2nd pattern, in Reason's drum sequencer), and so on. But that is literally impossible inside the sequencer interface itself -- you can't chain the playback of the 8 patterns. ?!!!???!!!??? Again, to make them play this way, you need to leave the drum sequencer interface entirely and start drawing pattern clips into the arranger area of the DAW.

This also makes the Drum Sequencer essentially 100% useless in the Rack VST. If someone wants to argue that programming in the required pattern changes into your host is somehow a 'fast and easy' workflow, you are free to try... but for the thing to actually be usable, they need to make the 8 damn patterns chain-able inside the device itself.

Studio One's Pattern + Step Sequencer implementation, otoh, is absolutely the best I've seen anywhere (including logic, which gets the Step Seq part right, but bails on the Patterns, sadly). S1 does everything the Reason sequencer does, except I suppose the Slides, and has none of the weird workflow issues. It's lightning fast to program, and every pattern can be as short or long as you need it, none of this 'max at 4 bars' garbage.

[MuzikFreq]

Yikes, the Studio One fans are fighting.
Studio One looks nice and does have a lot of features, but I find the way to work with them a tad cumbersome. Tried making a multisample sampler patch, both bitwig and reason we're super easy, I was scratching my head in studio One... Though at least it's not like FL studio and ableton where to make one you have the buy their big samplers or higher tiers of software packages.
Actually... Anyone with Ableton know if you can create your own multisample sampler with simpler?

[SLiC]

As long as you don’t need polyrhythms or each lane to have different amount of steps and/or speeds you are all set in S1. Both have their uses and Reason (suite at least) has a lot of other options, not just a pattern sequencer, for example a topographic XY sequencer and Euclidean sequencer....the drum sequencer is just one option.

This is obviously a thread about Reason 12, there is a lot more to it than a simple midi player offering just one option for sequencing drums...S1 has nothing native like mutate, polyarp, Euclidean 4 notes etc, but as I say, you can put all that in S1 (or logic or Bitwig or reaper....) with the rack, but you can’t do visa versa!

[chk071]

You know... I can kind of understand both: The people who are annoyed with other DAW's being discussed here, or Reason compared to other DAW's. On the other hand, I also can understand people who want to "set things straight", or just state their opinion about Reason, and why they prefer to work in other DAW's.

[mholloway]

You know... I can kind of understand both: The people who are annoyed with other DAW's being discussed here, or Reason compared to other DAW's. On the other hand, I also can understand people who want to "set things straight", or just state their opinion about Reason, and why they prefer to work in other DAW's.

I fail to see the problem nor understand why anyone would complain about discussion of other DAWs in a thread about one DAW in a sub-form literally named 'Hosts & Applications (sequencers, DAWs, Editors, Etc)".

It's almost impossible to discuss a DAWs features --especially when that DAW is upgrading and introducing new features -- without comparing and contrasting against the same, existing features in other DAWs.

If the thread being about "Reason" means we are barred from discussing how other DAWs have implemented the same features Reason has / is / will implement, then I honestly am not sure what the point of the thread is, other than to say "Cool, yay, Reason 12, I love Reason!"

[SLiC]

I certainly don’t mind people discussing the relative merits of DAWS in any thread, I own most of them anyway and I have only just upgraded to Reason 11 suite (to get 12) in the sale. All I can say (as a long time S1 use) is that I am very impressed with Reason now (compared to how I left it) and I am having a ton of fun with it and making music....that’s what it’s all about right!

[SLiC]

You know... I can kind of understand both: The people who are annoyed with other DAW's being discussed here, or Reason compared to other DAW's. On the other hand, I also can understand people who want to "set things straight", or just state their opinion about Reason, and why they prefer to work in other DAW's.

I fail to see the problem nor understand why anyone would complain about discussion of other DAWs in a thread about one DAW in a sub-form literally named 'Hosts & Applications (sequencers, DAWs, Editors, Etc)".

It's almost impossible to discuss a DAWs features --especially when that DAW is upgrading and introducing new features -- without comparing and contrasting against the same, existing features in other DAWs.

If the thread being about "Reason" means we are barred from discussing how other DAWs have implemented the same features Reason has / is / will implement, then I honestly am not sure what the point of the thread, other than to say "Cool, yay, Reason 12, I love Reason!"

If people who don’t use Reason want to waste their time in a thread for discussing the new Reason 12 update I guess that’s up to them...although why anyone feels the need to tell Reason users they don’t like Reason is strange to me!

[antic604]

I certainly don’t mind people discussing the relative merits of DAWS in any thread, I own most of them anyway and I have only just upgraded to Reason 11 suite (to get 12) in the sale. All I can say (as a long time S1 use) is that I am very impressed with Reason now (compared to how I left it) and I am having a ton of fun with it and making music....that’s what it’s all about right!

Have you tried Blocks yet?

[SLiC]

I certainly don’t mind people discussing the relative merits of DAWS in any thread, I own most of them anyway and I have only just upgraded to Reason 11 suite (to get 12) in the sale. All I can say (as a long time S1 use) is that I am very impressed with Reason now (compared to how I left it) and I am having a ton of fun with it and making music....that’s what it’s all about right!

Have you tried Blocks yet?

Yes, I like it a lot, being able to add variations on top is very useful. I have already used it on a backing track I was working on for guitar solos with a bunch of variations...I have my blocks now as templates for typical blues sets.

The alt and dub tracks are great as well, keeping everything on separate lanes is very useful.

As you know, I only bought Reason to get the rack, but the quality of the sequencing work flow has really impressed me. The stuff I need is very accessible and easy to use.

Scaled 120% on my 32 4K it looks great as well, very happy.

[mholloway]

If people who don’t use Reason want to waste their time in a thread for discussing the new Reason 12 update I guess that’s up to them...although why anyone feels the need to tell Reason users they don’t like Reason is strange to me!

Was someone actually doing that, or are you referring to my post complaining about the drum sequencer? I love reason, I've used it for 20 years at this point, give or take. I mostly use Ableton these days, but having the rack VST has been fantastic. But sometimes, they blow it -- like with the drum sequencer, for the reasons I already detailed. Disliking one thing in a DAW and explaining why isn't the same as "telling Reason users they don't like Reason", so I'm hoping you're referring to something else posted here,

[antic604]

If people who don’t use Reason want to waste their time in a thread for discussing the new Reason 12 update I guess that’s up to them...although why anyone feels the need to tell Reason users they don’t like Reason is strange to me!

Was someone actually doing that, or are you referring to my post complaining about the drum sequencer? I love reason, I've used it for 20 years at this point, give or take. I mostly use Ableton these days, but having the rack VST has been fantastic. But sometimes, they blow it -- like with the drum sequencer, for the reasons I already detailed. Disliking one thing in a DAW and explaining why isn't the same as "telling Reason users they don't like Reason", so I'm hoping you're referring to something else posted here,

Since RRP is THE product going forward, they'll have to figure out a suitable replacement for pattern tracks working with sequenced REs outside of Reason. What is needed are 3 parameters: one to select pattern, one to trigger playback, one to offset the starting point - all of that could be made via automation and/or using some very low / very high MIDI notes.

[THE INTRANCER]

Posted something rather cool related to Reason today that I've never posted here before over here.

It's pretty weird when I look back to the old Reason days, because there were times that I didn't make any music at all, but instead spent several days or weeks working on highly complicated combinators and trying to design skins to go along with them.

From combinators, I got into Reaktor in building instruments using nodes and wires, such as with this highly complex instrument here.

If you want to gain a basic understanding of modulation and routing, Reason does help here, but it highlights how shallow it has been and highly restricted it has been with no development of the Combinator in what has been 16 years now since it came into version 3.0 in 2005.

The new combinator system in R12 feels like it's come a bit too late to the party, it should have been updated at least 10 years ago and to actually capitalise on what could be done with Rack Extensions.