Reason (the software) - classic/dud?

REASON - You can generate tracks from start to finish, using only the built-in "virtual" instruments/FX (though you can also hook it up to run as a big ol' instrument within LOGIC)

I say get LOGIC, dive in and learn it. You'll be glad.

Re: Logic - It has a very STEEP learning curve. You can do some amazing things with it, but it is not for beginners. Also, it is MAC only.

(x-post, yep)

I just taught myself, made tracks with it. I had been using hardware sequencers beforehand, so I was familiar with all the MIDI business.
But there are some great books out there than can guide you.

to learn any program, you just have to RTFM (read the fucking manual) :0)

I say get LOGIC, dive in and learn it. You'll be glad. "

Seconded - Reason and Logic are the peanut butter & jelly of audio software.
Combine these with a halfway-recent Mac and you've got some serious music-making gear on your hands.

Just stuble around blindly turning knobs for years until it finally starts making sense.

+ what he said

I admit I always do that first, then refer to the manual when I get stuck on how to do something.

This is really misleading, I think: the thing I like best about Reason is that, in addition to a lot of pretty flexible synth modules, it gives you loads of room to bring in your own sounds. I've done stuff in Reason 1.0 that consisted entirely of stuff I recorded myself, from processing samples of my own guitar stuff to laying full vocal lines (recorded in another program; Reason can't record) into the finished songs.

I haven't used many of the competing programs, but I'm really fond of Reason, and I've liked the learning curve as well. After a week or two with it, I could already put together simple things that I liked the sound of. Now that I've been using it for maybe a year and a half, I feel like I can accomplish most everything I want to -- building tracks entirely in Reason, with only the help of SoundForge (for recording samples, editing sounds, etc.) and Cakewalk (for multi-track recording on-beat vocals or instrumental parts that I want to lay in). Adding really long single-sample takes to a track in reason -- say, the entire vocal track for a song -- can be a little annoying when it comes to any future editing, but there are certainly ways around this.

wow you've done that? i've considered it, but wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. did you just import the whole track into the NNXT sampler?

I've heard good things about AbletonLive too.

Reason is made to sync instantly to a supported host via Rewire (which is a built-in application). Launch Logic Audio, then launch Reason. Once this is done you'll find that pressing "play" in either program will start playback in both.

I also like the samplers, and the maelstrom synth is really cool.

Reason's learning curve for me was not too steep at all, I found it very easy to use.

Also, exporting an song or loop from Reason and messing around with it through fx modules in Native Instruments'Reaktor is fun.

-- hector (hector233...), July 30th, 2004.

OTM, that's my approach!

Could someone post a list like this please:

app x : purpose/ best use
app y : purpose/ best use
etc.
ie if possible how all these programs fit into the overall scheme ..

so for instance when Nabisco says
entirely in Reason, with only the help of SoundForge (for recording samples, editing sounds, etc.)
does this mean recording sounds into computer is simply more powerfully done with SoundForge or is there a chain of steps, with Reason unable to accomplish certain things ? (eg "this is really misleading" -- you _can_ record in, sort-of one-stop-shop with Reason ?)

Now, one of these instuments happens to be a SAMPLER. This means you can load .wav files (or whatever the mac equivalent is) into it. Reason does not let you directly record these wav files, only play them back through the sampler, hence the need for soundforge or cooledit or any sound recoridng software. The sample playback can of course be automated using the Reason sequencer. However this automation consists of "play the sample" at a certain point on the timeline i.e. not very flexible.

If you were in logic (I assume) or Cubase (which I am more familair with) you can create a new *audio* track on your sequencer and directly record into it (say from a guitar going in to the line in on your sound card) and then you will have a track on the sequencer in which you can actually see on screen the waveform you have just created. You could then, if you wanted to, splice it up or copy parts to other places etc.

It gets a little more complicated when you bring ReWire into it. What this does is

1. link the timelines in Reason and the "ReWire host" which can be cubase or logic so that when you press play in one the other starts.

2. Make the Reason inbuilt instruments available to the Host. Allowing them to be individually controlled via a MIDI track in the host.

fuck this stuff takes a lot longer to explain than I thought. correct me if I am wrong on any of this pls.

Also to throw this into the soft synth debate, I reckon that the quality of the instruments sound in Reason is OK but pales in comparison to the sounds that can be produced by Reaktor. They simply sound more ALIVE. Reason sounds seem muted compared to it. Reaktor can only play "one" thing at a time though and has no sequencer so is more of a pain to work with.

Reaktor does sound bettter but uses a lot more CPU power.

Also, I've found that Reason's sound quality improves drastically when pumped through a host sequencer - I've got 32 Reason channels ported to 32 Rewire channels in Logic, which allows me to then reroute things from my audio hardware into an analog mixing desk.

(i heard "FisherSpooner" the other day and whilst i have no wish to emulate their "act"/ "music" in any sense of the word, my reaction to it left me feeling empowered with a sense of urgency, that maybe now the technology is there and so yes, i might now actually dutifully be able to "save the world" after all)

1) Apparently you can only make a 'pattern' four bars (64 sixteenth notes) long, are you supposed to just keep making a succession of patterns?

2) Can you only change the master tempo in that bottom arrange/edit window? I couldn't find a setting in ReDrum.

3) How do you use the sampler?

These I can probably figure out on my own, but I hit a wall with my above question.

I do things totally the long way around - I write and sequence in Reason, then export each channel or instrument as a sound file, import them all into Cubase and chop and paste as needed. I know it's supposed to be possible, but I've never got Cubase and Reason to play nice.

You create several patterns within ReDrum containing each variation you want, and you can use automation to control what gets played and when.

"2) Can you only change the master tempo in that bottom arrange/edit window? I couldn't find a setting in ReDrum."

Yup. As far as I can remember, anyway.

"3) How do you use the sampler?"

Which one? The NN-XT?

I don't know! All I want to do is sample a couple of my own live drum sounds and work them into the beat I programmed.

If memory serves, you can sample anything you like and use sound files in... erm, what's it called? Sorry, I'm at work and don't have Reason in front of me. Dr.Loops, I think? That's better for playing drum loops and things like that.

*cough*

1) The 'ethnic' patches are fucked up, i.e. my kalimbas won't stop playing stupid out-of-time shit even after I press stop on the track.

2) The 'edit/arrange' window at the bottom is a fucking mystery to me, I can't get it to do anything I want. Fortunately, importing tracks and patterns into Cubase has proved to be shockingly easy, and it's way easier to loop and cut up stuff there.

Next step, recording a bunch of my own drum, percussion, and tuba samples this weekend and hopefully getting Reason to import them painlessly.

It's the dog's bollocks.

Has anyone used the Maelstrom synthesizer in Reason? It seems cool but terribly complicated.

I am completely naive about this. What I would like to do is to get a midi controller keyboard, use sounds from a program, and either actually play or sequence keyboard parts. Is Reason able to do this, and if not, how are you supposed to take advantage of the synths in it?

Btw, when you say hook up the keyboard and install the program, do you mean I actually have to do something to the keyboard to get it to play with Reason, or does the program recognize it automatically? Thanks in advance for making me not feel like a tool.

Also, (and for a bit of shameless self-promotion) if you want to hear some songs I made entirely with Reason, check out the tracks "The Deep Dark Woods" and "Pineapple" on this page:

http://www.myspace.com/clonefeed

I will check out, I don't think I can do it at work because of the Flash though.

It allows me to jam, and then edit my jams, or slice them up. Pretty much total freedom.

The only thing it lacks is a drum machine (at least in v3, v4 adds one) but that means you just have to get creative with your rhythms: take a sample of the wind, eq the crap out of it, then stick a rhythmic volume envelope over the top. Instant hihat/snare/squelch/whatever.

Shameless self-promotion follows --> http://www.frey.co.nz

I've got a question about USB and Firewire. Is it necessary to get a card for my pc with Firewire if I'm going to be recording on it, or is USB sufficient? The only issue is if there's latency or not, right?

How do you use your own wav files as Redrum patches/ReFills? I hoped it would be easy, but ran into trouble. Help please!

You'll need the Reason Refill Packer off the P'heads website if you want to make your own Refill - something I've never bothered with....

Reason 4 - Now It Makes Sense! I'd struggled to come up with anything significant in 3 but 4 is so much more user friendly, and great fun.

Rather than start a new thread I thought we could swap hints and tips for using Reason here.

I'm having a little trouble with the sequencer whilst using multiple dr rex's in the combinator. I want to use several loops and attach various effects that will affect them all together but the sequencer doesn't appear to show them in the note lane for whatever reason. any tips?