Reason compact question about future features

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scratchnsnifff
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17 Oct 2018

So I was wondering when people think that Reason compact will get other synths, and some sort of drum module

One of my main questions is about recording tracks. Say I want to use two instances of Europa. Would it make sense for them to have the ability to add either another Europa module with its own track?
Or just add another track to Europa that’s already there? I ask this because if it’s on a phone, how much can one Europa on one device?
Does anyone have experience with music making apps and how much an iPhone can create?
Also will Reason compact be a sneaky means of previewing up and coming rack extensions? I think that would be pretty cool. Say a new module came out that had a new name and some teaser features. Most people would be asking for it in their main platform, and if all went well the product would already be mostly developed. I feel like it would generate a buzz around not only reason compact, but for reason and rack extensions as well. If the cards are played correctly Reason compact could become a very powerful and inexpensive means of demoing Reason. Also if they had commercials they could even have a shot at gaining new customers that don’t know about music stuff (Reason and Reason compact have a very fun look with the hardware look)

Just some thoughts sorry for the longer post, I’d love to see what anyone has to say :)
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chimp_spanner
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17 Oct 2018

My ideal scenario (beyond *actual* Reason on an iPad, which I realise is pure fantasy knowing how awkward iOS can be) is that Reason Compact will have, say, 4 tracks. And those 4 tracks can be any combination of Europa, a drum module, a sampler, or whatever else they add to it. As long as I can do that, and also create multiple song sections, that'd be enough to start some decent ideas.

As for whether or not this is possible with phones/tablets...I have an Air 2. It's obviously a bit long in the tooth now as there have been what, two iPad Pro models since then? In any case, it can run a dozen tracks in Korg Gadget easily. But with something like Moog Model 15 or Model D (which is an AU plugin that can be instantiated multiple times) I can run one. So, without knowing how much CPU RC consumes, it's hard to say if multiple Europas are possible. Props own instruments tend to be very light on CPU so fingers crossed it'll be possible.

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selig
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17 Oct 2018

I would say the “gold standard” in 2018 for iOS music creation apps is Korg Gadget, which is quite full featured for what it is. I’m sure there are others along these lines, and Reason Compact has build a ways to go to even be considered in the same league as these apps. And by that time, these apps will have more features and RC will likely be playing catch up (as it is often said about Reason itself).


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ljekio
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17 Oct 2018

I think a more interesting way would be to put pressure on Korg to embed another export format like Reason Lite, and add original devices for it such as Europa, Grain, or already existing Stockholm.
Sequencer of KG much more flexible and functionality.

scratchnsnifff
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18 Oct 2018

selig wrote:
17 Oct 2018
I would say the “gold standard” in 2018 for iOS music creation apps is Korg Gadget, which is quite full featured for what it is. I’m sure there are others along these lines, and Reason Compact has build a ways to go to even be considered in the same league as these apps. And by that time, these apps will have more features and RC will likely be playing catch up (as it is often said about Reason itself).


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True. But I do feel like all it needs is a couple of synths and a drum sequencer to be able to at least stand in the same room as other music making apps.

As long as I can make a drum beat bass line and melody I’d be happy. That’s what I can do with FL mobile but FL mobile or even abletons new app doesn’t offer the same type of exact control. I love how RC made Europa actually feel like using Europa
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18 Oct 2018

I get the impression they are already backing off the whole thing. The branding on their site now refers to it as a 'synth in your pocket'.

Just look at its App Store rating. People hate it.

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EnochLight
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18 Oct 2018

scratchnsnifff wrote:
18 Oct 2018
selig wrote:
17 Oct 2018
I would say the “gold standard” in 2018 for iOS music creation apps is Korg Gadget, which is quite full featured for what it is. I’m sure there are others along these lines, and Reason Compact has build a ways to go to even be considered in the same league as these apps. And by that time, these apps will have more features and RC will likely be playing catch up (as it is often said about Reason itself).


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True. But I do feel like all it needs is a couple of synths and a drum sequencer to be able to at least stand in the same room as other music making apps.

As long as I can make a drum beat bass line and melody I’d be happy. That’s what I can do with FL mobile but FL mobile or even abletons new app doesn’t offer the same type of exact control. I love how RC made Europa actually feel like using Europa
It needs far more than a couple of synths and a drum sequencer to even stand at the window outside the room and look inside, IMHO. Korg Gadget truly is the "gold standard" for mobile music making on a phone - you can have dozens of instruments and effects - each on their own track - and build songs from blocks (each block containing their own set of clips and instruments). It would have been wise for Propellerhead to have approached Reason Compact like this, and maybe as the app matures it will start to resemble something closer to Gadget.

But I agree with Europa Compact - it feels like you're using Europa, and what they did, they did extremely well, IMHO. Although it's a feature-scaled-down version of Europa, it's far less crippled than the "preset player + a few tweaks" approach that Korg's Gadgets have. If we can have at least 2 or 3 more instances of Europa, plus drums (via Kong, UMPF, or Redrum + Drum Sequencer Player), then that would be off to a great start and be very usable. Add at least a few audio tracks, some select effects, and they could have a real winner on their hands - and then it could stand in the same room as Korg Gadget. ;)

I'm really excited they finally did Reason Compact, and while its launch was poorly marketed and the buzz hurt them initially, I have hope that as the app matures, us Reasoners will find it a truly valuable tool to help us compose on the go.
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selig
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18 Oct 2018

Interestingly, Korg Gadget added an impressive version of Dr OctaRex with no feature reduction (and even a few extras). Then there’s Thor iOS, which is fully patch compatible with Thor in Reason.

So it’s still a shame they had to scale down Europa (which I love) to fit into the iOS paradigm.

And I don’t think many will disagree it’s unfortunate they didn’t wait to have something more like what Korg Gadget had upon initial launch before launching Reason Compact.

In the end, HOPEFULLY, Reason Compact will be somehow compatible with the main Reason app so that ideas started on iOS can be continued (not just an audio dump) in Reason proper. Hopefully…


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EnochLight
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18 Oct 2018

selig wrote:
18 Oct 2018
Interestingly, Korg Gadget added an impressive version of Dr OctaRex with no feature reduction (and even a few extras). Then there’s Thor iOS, which is fully patch compatible with Thor in Reason.

So it’s still a shame they had to scale down Europa (which I love) to fit into the iOS paradigm.
The only thing I can surmise is that Dr. Octo is extremely light on DSP - it's completely sample-based, so it wasn't really necessary to scale down its features. Europa, on the other hand, is all DSP-driven oscillators, etc. (and Thor, let's face it, is a really old synth that is super light on DSP compared to modern synths).

Which brings me to... I hope that Propellerhead add Stockholm to Reason Compact (but please, Props, just call it Dr. Octorex)! :lol:
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scratchnsnifff
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19 Oct 2018

EnochLight wrote:
18 Oct 2018
selig wrote:
18 Oct 2018
Interestingly, Korg Gadget added an impressive version of Dr OctaRex with no feature reduction (and even a few extras). Then there’s Thor iOS, which is fully patch compatible with Thor in Reason.

So it’s still a shame they had to scale down Europa (which I love) to fit into the iOS paradigm.
The only thing I can surmise is that Dr. Octo is extremely light on DSP - it's completely sample-based, so it wasn't really necessary to scale down its features. Europa, on the other hand, is all DSP-driven oscillators, etc. (and Thor, let's face it, is a really old synth that is super light on DSP compared to modern synths).

Which brings me to... I hope that Propellerhead add Stockholm to Reason Compact (but please, Props, just call it Dr. Octorex)! :lol:
I guess I can see your point as stated above. I don’t have gadget, and didn’t know the synths were just presets, can you even tweak them?
Also i should have added...
It would be useful for myself to have a few tracks and drums. I like to add risers and one shot effects inside my drum samplers anyways.(so I specifically don’t really need audio tracks on the go)
But yeah I just would like to be able to make more than one melody

But here’s a fun guessing game, what do you think they would add next for synths? Obviously they even said a drum machine is next, and even that is a fun guessing game. One last thing would you think it makes sense to use RC as a means of teasing synths? If the platform is based on using staple features from synths, would it make sense (say they make a synth like serum with drawable distortion and warp modes as the main unique features) would it be fun to see that get released as a RC device first? Kind of like beta testing. But a means of beta testing concepts for different synths and effects? I would like that approach as idk if anyone else lets users have a go at their stuff before release, excluding the beta team
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EnochLight
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19 Oct 2018

scratchnsnifff wrote:
19 Oct 2018
I guess I can see your point as stated above. I don’t have gadget, and didn’t know the synths were just presets, can you even tweak them?
Oh you can absolutely tweak them - each "Gadget" is more than just an extremely scaled down preset player. Most synths allow you to tweak the ADSR, some filters, an oscillator here or there. Most samplers allow you to edit sample start/end and a few other parameters in addition to ADSR, filters, etc. The effects also have parameters that can be tweaked. But... I'll say this: Europa Compact has far more tweakable parameters than any one Gadget in Korg's lineup.
scratchnsnifff wrote:
19 Oct 2018
Also i should have added...
It would be useful for myself to have a few tracks and drums. I like to add risers and one shot effects inside my drum samplers anyways.(so I specifically don’t really need audio tracks on the go)
But yeah I just would like to be able to make more than one melody
Totally agree!
scratchnsnifff wrote:
19 Oct 2018
But here’s a fun guessing game, what do you think they would add next for synths?
It would be foolish for them to NOT add at least 1 other instance of Europa Compact. All of the work is done, they just need to instantiate another instance, along with its own sequencer track. But it would be cool to see something like Grain Compact - which would allow you to sample on-the-fly for your own graintables. Thor would be cool, I guess - and light on DSP. Synths like Subtractor or Malstrom seem extremely dated by today's standards, so I kind of hope they stay away from older devices like that (with effects being the exception - give me RV7000 MK2 in my pocket)! :mrgreen:
scratchnsnifff wrote:
19 Oct 2018
Obviously they even said a drum machine is next, and even that is a fun guessing game.
Yeah, we know a drum machine is coming next in the big update, but I'd guess it would have to be either Kong or Redrum (plus Drum Sequencer Player - possibly), in order to keep things compatible with opening projects in Reason Lite/Intro and full. They could always tie in a promo to let people score Drum Sequencer as an IAP, of course (or make it a time-limited freebie). But I would imagine it would be either Kong or Redrum. Doing Redrum would allow them to just use the built-in pattern sequencer, so no need for Drum Sequencer Player. Doing Kong would allow them to keep things a bit more modern (and let's face it - Kong is far more powerful than Redrum). Either way, I am pleading to Props that they allow sampling on-the-fly using the iPhone/iPad's built-in mic or an attached audio interface. Imagine the fun creative stuff you could come up with by sampling found objects into a pocket drum machine! #swoon
scratchnsnifff wrote:
19 Oct 2018
One last thing would you think it makes sense to use RC as a means of teasing synths? If the platform is based on using staple features from synths, would it make sense (say they make a synth like serum with drawable distortion and warp modes as the main unique features) would it be fun to see that get released as a RC device first? Kind of like beta testing. But a means of beta testing concepts for different synths and effects? I would like that approach as idk if anyone else lets users have a go at their stuff before release, excluding the beta team
I suppose that could work, but I'd rather they just port long desired instruments from existing Reason so we can get going with our pocket projects. That sounded weird now that I typed it. :lol: :lol: :lol:
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ljekio
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19 Oct 2018

EnochLight wrote:
19 Oct 2018
Oh you can absolutely tweak them - each "Gadget" is more than just an extremely scaled down preset player. Most synths allow you to tweak the ADSR, some filters, an oscillator here or there. Most samplers allow you to edit sample start/end and a few other parameters in addition to ADSR, filters, etc. The effects also have parameters that can be tweaked. But... I'll say this: Europa Compact has far more tweakable parameters than any one Gadget in Korg's lineup.
For me, the main advantage of KG is a flexible and powerful sequencer for any music.
I don’t think that something like this will appear in Reason-Compact.
Again, this 1/2/4/8 bar and the inability to change the tempo signature.

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EnochLight
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19 Oct 2018

ljekio wrote:
19 Oct 2018
For me, the main advantage of KG is a flexible and powerful sequencer for any music.
I don’t think that something like this will appear in Reason-Compact.
Again, this 1/2/4/8 bar and the inability to change the tempo signature.
I'm inclined to agree. I'm thinking Props will keep a more simplistic approach with Compact's sequencer, much to the chagrin of users. Hopefully their mobile team will hear our requests and laments, and adjust course accordingly.
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MrFigg
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10 Nov 2018

Downloaded Compact when it came out. I haven’t read through this whole thread but is it so that the only thing you can do with Compact at the moment, in terms of composing, is record either one melody or one chord sequence or one arpeggio using one sound. In other words no layering or merging of those three?
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joeyluck
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10 Nov 2018

MrFigg wrote:
10 Nov 2018
Downloaded Compact when it came out. I haven’t read through this whole thread but is it so that the only thing you can do with Compact at the moment, in terms of composing, is record either one melody or one chord sequence or one arpeggio using one sound. In other words no layering or merging of those three?
It is one track of Europa, but you can of course get pretty creative with arp + chords.

There is a competition going on now that ends tomorrow, and I've been liking with what I've been hearing so far :thumbup:

https://www.propellerheads.com/blog/joi ... -challenge

https://allihoopa.com/apps/reason-lt/latest

Some of my favs of what I've stumbled across:







It's cool knowing exactly what everyone is working with when listening to pieces. And probably not a bad thing for songwriting for folks to really hone in on one element and try to get it to stand on its own.

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MrFigg
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10 Nov 2018

Thanks Joey. Now I get it :)
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