REASON FRIGGIN ROCKS!!!

[ceenda]

Somewhat OT... but why is the classical example on Reason's demo songs page... err... not classical? At all. I can't even figure out what instruments, apart from Orkester strings, are being used. No samples on the Orkester section either. I know that people are doing soundtracks and all sorts of things on Reason, shame there's no examples. You certainly get the Electronica vibe from the presentation.

[Warmonger]

You can make music of any style in Reason. It is, admittedly, best suited to making electronic music though, and for composing a song in a different style, it's not necessarily the easiest or best program to use when used by itself.

[headquest]

One of Reason's best selling point in my view - and one not so often mentioned here - is the collection of samples that come bundled with it as NN-XT patches.

In particular, the Orkester sound bank, which is a great collection of multisamples of the full orchestra.

Also the Electromecahnical ReFill which is now bundled (or can be downloaded free by previous registered users like myself)... this is a set of classic keyboard samples that could be compared with (for example) NI Elektric Piano, etc.

These sample collection make Reason suited for a far wider range of musical styles than is often believed.

For example, (and I am a classically trained musician and teacher) if I produce a score in Sibelius (orchestral or otherwise) and save it as a MIDI file, I can then open it up in Reason, match the sounds I want, and produce a good musical realisation of the sound I had in my head during the writing process.

[DHR53]

I have some refills... that I ASFIK sound as good as any softsynths I have, AU or VST!! I really think the sound is going to be an eye-opener, with the mastering suite and combinator... People underestimate the effect of combi's and fx on overall sound! ...And I don't care about analog filters, because there aren't anymore of em'...

[headquest]

Agreed.
One other thing about Reason that is really worth mentioning is that it represents tremendous value for money in terms of module/price ratio.

Of course it's impossible to make meaningful comparrisons between Reason's devices and *similar* VSTs, and the pairings below are not meant to be direct comparissons... in most cases the VSTs probably offer more features.

However, if I hadn't bought Reason I would be looking to use the following within my own workflow to replace the Reason devices I presently use. Bear in mind that I use Reason as a ReWire slave within Tracktion/Audition for the most part, rather than standalone, so I would not need an alternative host/mixer/sequencer. Here goes:

NN-XT + NN19: NI Kontakt ($399)
Maelstrom: Linplug Albino ($199)
Subtractor: Linplug Alpha ($59)
ReDrum: NI Battery 2 ($229)
DrRex/Rebirth input device: N/A
Matrix/Combinator/Spiders: energyXT ($39)
RV7000 reverb: Roomverb M2 ($145)
Scream 4: Izotope Trash ($199)
MClass: Izotope Ozone ($249)
Orkester soundbank: Garritan Personal Orchestra ($249)
Electromechanical ReFill: NI Elektrik Piano ($199)

all other fx: freeware (mostly Kjaerhus classic range)

That's a total cost of $1,966 compared to just $369 for Reason

(prices are as quoted on this website for VSTs and Propellerhead site for Reason, but this is a reduced price, so an exact comparisson is not completely fair until Reason 3.0 is out.)

Don't say I didn't warn you that some of those pairings are pretty absurd - but they are the alternative choices I would personally make.

That's not to say that half those VSTs would necessarily work "out of the box" in my set-up, of course, though I think they probably would (using the Freeze in Tracktion, of course!)

That's the other advantage of Reason - it all work together straight out of the box without endless fiddling/tweaking. And the CPU hit is genius compared to VSTs - it's amazing how they do it, as ttoz has discovered

[lucille]

Comparing "ElectroMechanical"--which has very limited velocity switching--to NI's Electrik Keyboards--is a wild stretch. However--I would take
Dr. Rex over Intakt any day.

I'm sorry--I just cant buy into the Combinator hype.
More is not better--no matter how flexibly modulated.
Running Subtractor out thru Malstrom Filters is hardly a fix--the Malstrom suffers many of the sonic defects of the highly digital Subtractor. I am a little at a loss as to why improve sample accuracy will improve a synth, as claimed above

Better sound? I think Reason 2.5 sounds ok, we'll see. Why did it take 2 and 1/2 to generate an fx suite? That is pathetic.

[headquest]

[see below]

[headquest]

Comparing "ElectroMechanical"--which has very limited velocity switching--to NI's Electrik Keyboards--is a wild stretch.

Like I said, it wasn't a direct comparrison - just what I would personally buy, and yes, it would be an upgrade in that case

However--I would take
Dr. Rex over Intakt any day.

Because I don't really tend to use DrRex I left it out of my "personal " equation altogether... but for somebody wanting a loop player then Intakt would be one option... adding to the price tab I gave would take the VST price over $2000

I'm sorry--I just cant buy into the Combinator hype.
More is not better--no matter how flexibly modulated.
Running Subtractor out thru Malstrom Filters is hardly a fix--the Malstrom suffers many of the sonic defects of the highly digital Subtractor. I am a little at a loss as to why improve sample accuracy will improve a synth, as claimed above

Better sound? I think Reason 2.5 sounds ok, we'll see. Why did it take 2 and 1/2 to generate an fx suite? That is pathetic.

It's only one and a half years, not 2 and 1/2 . Over on the Propellerheads site they have explained many times now that they *were* a small team (recently expanded, so don't expect such a long wait in future ).

During that 1 and 1/2 years they did a major ReCycle update, the ElectroMechanical ReFill, Reason Drums, and the Educational Reason package (which as a teacher myself I can vouch is simply superb , and a real investment in the future of Reason with a whole new generation of computer musicians). So they weren't exactly slouching - give 'em a break!

[drez]

Better sound? I think Reason 2.5 sounds ok, we'll see. Why did it take 2 and 1/2 to generate an fx suite? That is pathetic.

It doesn't matter how long it takes. Every time they release something, it is something that is alot better than before. When the Malstrom came out, nobody had a synth like that...and still don't. Further, I know of no other Audio Software company that touches their quality.

They can take as long as they want, its THEIR product. You buy what they HAVE in a box. They have never gouged anybody for money, they do what they do with quality and don't rush it. They don't promise anything and don't deliver. They don't release tons of updates, they deliver when they deliver.

If you look at the changes between 2.0 and 3.0, they are massive. The only upgrade you are paying for is the upgrade from 2.0 to 3.0 because 2.5 was free! How long it takes is irrelevent because you haven't had to pay for anything!

How in the world can people gripe about how long it takes when you haven't had to pay for anything in a loooong time?

[quincy]

How in the world can people gripe about how long it takes when you haven't had to pay for anything in a loooong time?

Easy.

People are used to regular updates. Thats it.

When i owned reason i thought it was a pretty great concept, and i still do. But in comparison with other software they are lagging behind in adding new features to the studio.

I still thinks its great software, but it could be so much more. And i agree with whoever said that the combinator is not a substitute for better synths. Still a great idea for layering stuf up though, no argument there.

And thank god they've added some new FX, cos some of the old ones were shite.

[AD80]

Easy.

People are used to regular updates. Thats it.

When i owned reason i thought it was a pretty great concept, and i still do. But in comparison with other software they are lagging behind in adding new features to the studio.

Exactly.

[shamann]

NN-XT + NN19: NI Kontakt ($399)
Maelstrom: Linplug Albino ($199)
Subtractor: Linplug Alpha ($59)
ReDrum: NI Battery 2 ($229)
DrRex/Rebirth input device: N/A
Matrix/Combinator/Spiders: energyXT ($39)
RV7000 reverb: Roomverb M2 ($145)
Scream 4: Izotope Trash ($199)
MClass: Izotope Ozone ($249)
Orkester soundbank: Garritan Personal Orchestra ($249)
Electromechanical ReFill: NI Elektrik Piano ($199)

all other fx: freeware (mostly Kjaerhus classic range)

That's a total cost of $1,966 compared to just $369 for Reason

Or you could get VAZ Modular for $389, match a lot of what Reason can do, and cover effects lacking with some very excellent freeware VST plugins.

Not slagging Reason, just offering another perspective, as there are other things out there like it, that can also best it on many other levels to boot.

[FaX]

NN-XT + NN19: NI Kontakt ($399)
Maelstrom: Linplug Albino ($199)
Subtractor: Linplug Alpha ($59)
ReDrum: NI Battery 2 ($229)
DrRex/Rebirth input device: N/A
Matrix/Combinator/Spiders: energyXT ($39)
RV7000 reverb: Roomverb M2 ($145)
Scream 4: Izotope Trash ($199)
MClass: Izotope Ozone ($249)
Orkester soundbank: Garritan Personal Orchestra ($249)
Electromechanical ReFill: NI Elektrik Piano ($199)

all other fx: freeware (mostly Kjaerhus classic range)

That's a total cost of $1,966 compared to just $369 for Reason

Or you could get VAZ Modular for $389, match a lot of what Reason can do, and cover effects lacking with some very excellent freeware VST plugins.

Not slagging Reason, just offering another perspective, as there are other things out there like it, that can also best it on many other levels to boot.

VAZ + HOST still = more than Reason and after owning a synth like VAZ how much freeware are you going to wanna try when you've got that to compare them too?

[shamann]

VAZ + HOST still = more than Reason and after owning a synth like VAZ how much freeware are you going to wanna try when you've got that to compare them too?

VAZ Modular runs standalone as well as a VSTi and VST. Has built in step/pattern/song sequencer, multitimbral, up to 16 channels, with internal mixer.

Not sure I follow that last bit, but I own VAZMod and use freeware plugins all the time. Kjaerhus Classics would cover a lot of the lesser modules in VAZ (reverb is useable but not stunning, dynamics processors are in same boat).

[drez]

How in the world can people gripe about how long it takes when you haven't had to pay for anything in a loooong time?

Easy.

People are used to regular updates. Thats it.

When i owned reason i thought it was a pretty great concept, and i still do. But in comparison with other software they are lagging behind in adding new features to the studio.

I still thinks its great software, but it could be so much more. And i agree with whoever said that the combinator is not a substitute for better synths. Still a great idea for layering stuf up though, no argument there.

And thank god they've added some new FX, cos some of the old ones were shite.

Yes, but the Props aren't doing what alot of other dev's do...put a little update here and charge you $99 for the update.

There are people like ConcreteFX who put stuff out hourly. I love that too! Amazing products and amazing customer loyalty. But on the flip side, I think the props have customer loyalty as well. They have given free refills, Sample converter, 2.5.

I guess I come from a world where software updates DON'T happen all the time. I want my stuff to run and run well.

Its funny to me how lots of people want everything to sound "vintage analog". We want to emulate synths that are twenty years old and haven't been updated since. "That doesn't reeeeeeally sound like a 303!". I mean, what's the big deal between updates when we are trying to emulate stuff that's old in the first place?

Ah well...to each their own. I'll continue to use it if even if the next upgrade is in 2007. I'm sure if someone bought an ARP, they wouldn't be griping about the "lack of software updates".