Using Reason live as a workstation/virtual expander ?

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reason.fan
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07 Apr 2015

Hye
I was asking myself if some users do that.
Associated with a Panorama, for example, i think it can be a good swiss knife.
With some classical sounds from Radical Pianos, strings, etc, it can be at a same level.
Anybody ?

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QVprod
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07 Apr 2015

Many of us have been doing it for years actually http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov06/a ... h_1106.htm. From a keyboard player's perspective (mine at least), Reason is basically the software equivalent to a workstation and can rival just about any workstation out there....even the Kronos.

reason.fan
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11 Apr 2015


Thanks for your reply.
Well, i'm making some comparisons between Reason and Live.
I actually use some vsti (Omnisphere, Electrax, Korg Legacy) and the Ableton live suite, with some special pack (Grand piano, String, drums...)

I don't want to use Reason in the rewire mode in Live, because it's heavy cpu consuming.

I'm asking myself for swapping from 180° and work with Reason, only.
But, for the moment, i haven't found the deep and fat synths of Omnisphere.
I'm still a little disapointed by a lot of sounds, i think less warm or deeper than in Live.
Reason has a lot of interesting things, for sure, and i really like the idea of "all in one" product.
But i think that if i make the choice to change of daw, i may be disapointed.

Am i wrong ?

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QVprod
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11 Apr 2015

Reason can sound just as great as Omnisphere, the thing is like most workstations you have to build things to be big. You won't find default patches that are Omnisphere compatible, but thats where combinators come in. If you're not already aware of it check out eXode's Massive Synthesis refill here https://www.propellerheads.se/download/ ... lType=Free. That should give you a peek into the possibilities. The thing with things like Ominsphere is there's already complex layering and fx on all the patches which gives it it's 'big' sound. To get that sound out of Reason you'll essentially need to do the same thing.

Personally, I build my own patches for performance depending on my needs and simple layering can do the trick, I've learned that many keyboard players performing with workstations rarely use just the default patches alone. 

reason.fan
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12 Apr 2015


Thanks QVprod for your answer.
Well, i've been using REASON for...about 15 years now !. The thing is that i've choosen to forgive that soft about 5 years ago, when Reason was still "closed", i mean no audio inside, no midi out, etc...
But, previously, i was very involded into Reason things.
I've moved to Ableton Live at the same time, because it was answering my needs. So i  run into the vsti world with some vsti, some good, and some very good like Omnisphere.
I remember to have used the XMS refill by the past, which wav very good. i also used a lot of Reasonbanks refills (because i'v'e worked with Andras for building refills, Analog Night and Quadrasynth Story).
Actually, i've the possibility yo upgrade My old Reason to the version 8 for an interesting price. the question is: will it be interesting or me ? i've done some tests las days using Reason rewired into Live. works fine but rewire is cpu consuming, not a solution that i can really imagine. So, am i ready to switch back entirely to Reason and forget Live and the Vstis ? I'm not very sure !
I've a doubt about what you say about Omnisphere: it's really over the top, i've never heard such deep and warm sounds in Reason. But i will make comparative tests this day, between some Omniphere patches and some XMS ones...

reason.fan
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12 Apr 2015

Hye

A little Test with 4 sounds, where i've tried to approch the Omnisphere sounds with Reason
http://leida.free.fr/mp3/test/comp.mp3

0:00: Pwm strings (Reason-Exode Massive refill)
0:22: Big Analog Strings (Omnisphere)

0:42: Pwm brass (Reason-Analog Monster refill)
0:54: Oberheimy brass (Omnisphere)

1:07: Superfat Monobass (Reason-Orange4 refill)
1:19: Classic Fm Bass (Omnisphere)

1:32: Saw pad (Reason-Exode Massive refill)
1:44: Prophet Ten Pad (Omnisphere)

Let me know what you think of it...


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QVprod
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12 Apr 2015

Ok good to know, wasn't really sure of your background so I answered as I did.

The Omnisphere patches here do indeed sound deeper than the Reason patches you compared, but they don't seem unattainable from within Reason to me. Granted I'm not a world class synth programmer, but if I can find some time this week I may try to match some of your examples. One thing in particular that stood out to me for example, was that layering some real sampled strings along with the Pwm strings patch from the eXode refill would get you closer to the Big Analog Strings patch from Omnisphere. I have some strings from Logic/Mainstage (mapped to NNXT) that I would use for that but you could probably use the ID8 (included since Record) to get a similar result.

Overall though I don't think you would be making an error in upgrading to a current version. As of whether or not to trade in Omnisphere to only use Reason maybe a matter of workflow... ie how much time you want to spend designing patches vs choosing a ready made preset that you may or may not need to tone down within a mix later). Additionally there are Rack Extensions you could buy like Antidote, Predator, and Parsec if you want to increase the sonic palette (I own none of them but people rave about them). That said though, I'm a multi-DAW user myself and for certain things, particularly to use Kontakt here and there, I'll rewire Reason to Studio One. However for performing (and most producing/composing in general) I just stick to Reason as I'm rarely not able to get the sound I need out of it.




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mcatalao
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14 Apr 2015

reason.fan wrote:Hye

A little Test with 4 sounds, where i've tried to approch the Omnisphere sounds with Reason
http://leida.free.fr/mp3/test/comp.mp3

0:00: Pwm strings (Reason-Exode Massive refill)
0:22: Big Analog Strings (Omnisphere)

0:42: Pwm brass (Reason-Analog Monster refill)
0:54: Oberheimy brass (Omnisphere)

1:07: Superfat Monobass (Reason-Orange4 refill)
1:19: Classic Fm Bass (Omnisphere)

1:32: Saw pad (Reason-Exode Massive refill)
1:44: Prophet Ten Pad (Omnisphere)

Let me know what you think of it...
That's an interesting comparison. To be honest i think you could make Example 1 and 2 very more similar tweaking envelopes.

The third example is a classical job for PX7 and you might come near if you use it.

The fourth example, lacks the upper harmonic but you can easily add it with an additional synth.

I must say i was expecting a bigger difference.


reason.fan
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14 Apr 2015

Hye
Thanks for your feedback !
Well, i was also surprised but i must admit that  i've choosen a certain process: i've choosen 4 sounds which i like in Omnisphere, and try to make it sound similar in Reason.
But Omnisphere can do a lot of things that can't be done in Reason (and the opposite is true, however ! ;-)   )
The goal of the test was: am i able to work without Omnisphere and with Reason.
For the moment, i must admit, i miss some characteristics sounds, with a lot of rythmic things inside.
That could be a fun challenge: i propose 2/3 sounds, and people try to imitate in Reason ;-)

lowpryo
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14 Apr 2015

mcatalao wrote: That's an interesting comparison. To be honest i think you could make Example 1 and 2 very more similar tweaking envelopes.

The third example is a classical job for PX7 and you might come near if you use it.

The fourth example, lacks the upper harmonic but you can easily add it with an additional synth.

I must say i was expecting a bigger difference.
 
that's why i have a problem with these kind of comparisons. yes, they sound different in that audio file, but if I had my hands on them I could make them sound much similar. and I'm sure a lot of other people here feel the same way.

it's not really comparing Reason's capabilities, it's just comparing some arbitrary patches. if the Reason version sounds different, at what point do you stop and say "yep, that's all Reason can do"?

reason.fan
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14 Apr 2015

i totally agree: i think my previous post, just before yours, explain my idea at the beginning.

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Marco Raaphorst
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15 Apr 2015

Hey Eric! Your sound example is great. Omnisphere is a beast of course. I think you need some extra samples/layers for getting that deep modulations. I am using the Korg Polysix sometimes with superb sounding Unison. But maybe you can do this in Thor as well. Would be a challenge. The Wavetable OSC in Thor are the most clean sounding OSC's, might be really great for these kind of sounds.



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