KVR Audio

dirsenac · Post by **dirsenac** » Sun Dec 05, 2021 6:52 am

Hi all,

I used Reason back around version 6 to make music, and had a good time with it. I unfortunately dropped the hobby because I went back to college for 5 years. I want to get back into it, so I picked up Reason 10 a couple years ago but I find using it way more tedious than I remember, and spent too much time trying to get sounds right.

I feel like using Ableton and VSTs would make it easier to focus on getting music out, and was wondering if that's an accurate observation.

Winstontaneous · Post by **Winstontaneous** » Sun Dec 05, 2021 11:42 pm

Follow your instinct! I have a similar experience...I used Reason solidly for a few years because I loved the modular instruments/effects, but found myself fighting the limitations of the DAW/sequencer portion. Then moved to Ableton Live in 2015, I ReWired Reason occasionally. Around Reason v. 11 they ditched ReWire but made the Reason Rack plugin you can use in other DAWs. But there's no elegant way to bring in the hundreds of Reason projects I started years ago through the plugin. Over the years they did little to improve the wonky DAW features, and IMO opening up Reason to hosting plugins itself was a mistake because it torpedoed Reason's legendary stability and low CPU use. Add in a corporate buyout in the last couple years...

So, render as audio or REX files and move along...

Synthack · Post by **Synthack** » Mon Dec 06, 2021 3:47 am

.........

sephirothspawn666 · Post by **sephirothspawn666** » Mon Dec 06, 2021 10:17 am

Winstontaneous wrote: Sun Dec 05, 2021 11:42 pm Follow your instinct! I have a similar experience...I used Reason solidly for a few years because I loved the modular instruments/effects, but found myself fighting the limitations of the DAW/sequencer portion. Then moved to Ableton Live in 2015, I ReWired Reason occasionally. Around Reason v. 11 they ditched ReWire but made the Reason Rack plugin you can use in other DAWs. But there's no elegant way to bring in the hundreds of Reason projects I started years ago through the plugin. Over the years they did little to improve the wonky DAW features, and IMO opening up Reason to hosting plugins itself was a mistake because it torpedoed Reason's legendary stability and low CPU use. Add in a corporate buyout in the last couple years...

So, render as audio or REX files and move along...

I fully agree. The stability issue was what prompted me to buy Reason version 2 in 2003. And in those days it was definitely the best option for doing what that Reason did.
I decided to sell it when I was on version 10 for a similar reason to the one you mention about workflow, and also because other DAWs had improved a lot as well as the operating systems, and better and more capable options like Live or Bitwig were appearing.

dirsenac · Post by **dirsenac** » Fri Dec 10, 2021 1:50 am

Thanks for the feedback folks. I ended up buying a used license of Live Suite 10 because it seems like there's just more information out there for it (was also a good deal). I think I'll probably fire up Reason again once I'm more experienced / back into it. I think I'm really gonna miss Dr. Rex, though.

I didn't know Reason has been bought-out, that's unfortunate.

ckoe · Post by **ckoe** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:09 pm

I was Reason user long time ago, around version 3-5 and then for a short time with version 10 but I didn't get warm anymore. Cubase and Ableton Live are the DAWs of my choice today.

astralprojection · Post by **astralprojection** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 12:01 pm

i started making music with rebirth then reason, and i used reason up until 5 for a very long time until i swapped to cubase, and then also lots of rewire. fast forward a decade or so, i tried reason 10 and thought it sounded really good, much better than i remembered, and i was impressed with the sound of the "ssl" mixer. even though i really hated the extremely small and clottered ui.
id say just stick to it, learn it, and reason gots some really cool synths and sounds on its own, you barely need vst synths anymore, in there.
that said i bought cubase years ago and ofc i think thats a vastly superior daw, but reason is much more creative and fast to turn out ideas than cubase. if i could afford it, id buy reason to make ideas and much of the production (using the Reason Rack VST - which is basically reason inside your daw) then use cubase to arrange, mix and master

ive still gots lots of love for the matrix step sequencer and have had a hard time finding a replacement. and Europa is a beast of a synth, possibly even more fun to use than serum and vital combined.

Lectropunk aka influx808 · Sat Dec 25, 2021 12:20 pm

I got reason 11 in the black Friday sale used it once now I don't use it at all then there is codemeter, I recommend ableton live 11 suite it is free for 3 month, I find ableton really good at starting tracks fast ,but bitwig for sound design. In my opinion get ableton 11 suite trial version.

hyperdeath666 · Post by **hyperdeath666** » Sat Dec 25, 2021 6:52 pm

For what it's worth, I'm another ex Reason user, and I recommend migrating if you're on the fence. It was a great DAW ... 10 years ago. Unfortunately, it hasn't improved much in the intervening years, and the synths and effects aren't anything special by today's standards.

The "Reason Rack Plugin" is much better, but personally, I can't recommend it as a primary DAW in this day and age.

miguelp1986 · Post by **miguelp1986** » Tue Dec 28, 2021 10:46 pm

I echo previous sentiments about using Reason as a plugin for your DAW of choice. I admit that it can be tedious to use, but I really like the sound of some instruments (i.e. Parsec) and they have some pretty cool effects to jump start creativity (i.e. Players). You don't have to dive in too deep to get some cool sounds out of them either.

antic604 · Post by **antic604** » Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:39 am

dirsenac wrote: Sun Dec 05, 2021 6:52 amI feel like using Ableton and VSTs would make it easier to focus on getting music out, and was wondering if that's an accurate observation.

No. Bitwig + Reason is

Joking aside, I find Reason to be a perfectly capable DAW - for my music, of course! - and actually it gets my creative juices flowing the fastest (I also have Bitwig 4, Live 11, Studio One 5). The problem is projects become unwieldy after they get to certain size, due to lack of folder tracks and growing web of cables in the Rack

astralprojection · Post by **astralprojection** » Sat Jan 01, 2022 4:34 pm

i really miss reason tbh, and i made much more music then, than what i do now with cubase. but that ofc could mean anything or nothing

but i do miss it. since v10 its become a real powerhouse that sustains itself very nicely without needing much 3rd party stuff. and the sound coming out of it; if there even is a sound anymore in daws in general; is surely up to par with every other daw.

Used Reason some time ago, finding hard to get back in.