Sync transport controls to the bar?

[ModSource]

This is my top feature request. Sync the Stop and Record commands so that those actions occur on the bar.

I've submitted this request to Reason Studios through e-mails and a recent survey that they sent to some customers. But they don't respond, and we know that sequencer improvements are very slow in coming.

Basically, what I want to do is record audio tracks that align to the bar. In other words, I want to capture ideas without 1) having to edit the end of the recorded clip afterwards or, most importantly, 2) without having to stop the sequencer.

Here is more detail about what I would like to do. Let's say that I have an audio track set to record my guitar. Loop is enabled and the Left and Right markers are set to a 4 bar region. I press Record, but the recording start is delayed because Precount is set to 1 bar. The recording starts in sync with the transport, and after the sequencer reaches bar 4, I press the Record button (assigned to a foot pedal) to turn recording off. But since the Record button is in sync with the transport, the recording continues to the end of bar 4, at which point recording stops and the recorded loop plays back from bar 1. The music keeps going, so I stay in the groove, adding more tracks and building the arrangement.

Note that this example shows how one feature of the transport is already in sync: starting a recording, by using the Precount option.

This is similar to the workflow in Ableton, where audio is recorded into clip slots in sync with the transport.

I know that one solution is to use Live with the Reason Rack plugin. But I really don't want to buy another DAW just for one feature.

It could be years before Reason Studios makes more improvements to the sequencer. In the meantime, is there a workaround?

[Benedict]

It seems to me that you are talking about Punch In/Out recording.

Personally I'd find it a PITA for the Seq to start & stop independently of when I hit the button. So that would mean some sort of mode too.

[Sterioevo]

In Ableton you can set the length of the clip to be recorded, the transport is not affected. It is a great feature, and with the push you can easily adjust the length of the clip to be recorded on the go whilst the track is rolling.
Punch in, if it was time synced and for a set duration might solve this, but is a different thing to Abletons session view clips.
Don't hold your breath is my advice.

[selig]

Auto Punch in/out would do exactly this.
And I should add this is a feature of EVERY MIDI sequencer I've ever used starting with my first Mac sequencer in 1986. It's also a feature of every DAW and many tape machines - and even the SSL computer could do this easily, for longer than MIDI sequencers even existed.

And considering Reason is a virtual sequencer/recorder/SSL, it's a very odd omission IMO and a feature I keep requesting year after year…

[ModSource]

It seems to me that you are talking about Punch In/Out recording.

Personally I'd find it a PITA for the Seq to start & stop independently of when I hit the button. So that would mean some sort of mode too.

Thanks, Benedict! Punch In/Out is a simpler and better way of describing the feature. I had in mind a button on the Transport Panel to disable/enable Punch, to allow for user preference. There is plenty of space on the Transport Panel to add a small button, like the ones for Dub, Alt, Click, and Pre.

Don't hold your breath is my advice.

I know that you are right. But such a simple feature for Reason Studios to implement.

Auto Punch in/out would do exactly this.
And I should add this is a feature of EVERY MIDI sequencer I've ever used starting with my first Mac sequencer in 1986. It's also a feature of every DAW and many tape machines - and even the SSL computer could do this easily, for longer than MIDI sequencers even existed.

And considering Reason is a virtual sequencer/recorder/SSL, it's a very odd omission IMO and a feature I keep requesting year after year…

Selig, thanks for that insight. I suspected that I wasn't the only one wanting such a basic feature!