closest to the real acoustic instruments?

[samsome]

Guys can you please tell me the closest thing in propellerhead reason that comes close to

A real electric/acoustic bass

A real electric/acoustic guitar

A real acoustic drum kit


Do you believe Reason stock sounds are good for the above? Or do you go to external resources or other paid reason sounds?

please inform

THANKS!

[1reasonable]

IMHO with Reason Factory sounds you can achieve acceptable results, but really you have to look to the Shop for some more sounds to give you that little bit extra. Factory drums are pretty decent - the realism comes from clever programming. With bass, again with a good midi track it can sound very realistic. Electric guitars is where I’ve felt the need to invest more than anything else, and I’ve had great fun with the UJAM VG sets. The latest VG Carbon VST in particular is awesome. AAS Strum GS 2 VST also gets an honourable mention! But it all boils down to the sampling Involved, and how you can manipulate the software to achieve what you want. Try some demo software to see how you get on!

[samsome]

1reasonable - can i ask if you also play real guitar and how does that compare to the software? I know some basics of real guitar and i'm thinking i'll be better off to get a real guitar instead...

[MrFigg]

1reasonable - can i ask if you also play real guitar and how does that compare to the software? I know some basics of real guitar and i'm thinking i'll be better off to get a real guitar instead...

Get a real guitar. Nothing will get you closer to the sound of a guitar than a real one.

[guitfnky]

you’ll always get the best results learning the actual instrument you want to play, so if you want realistic guitar, and you’re on the fence about actually buying one and learning, pull the trigger already!

the cool thing about learning guitar is that once you can play that without too much trouble, that translates super-easily to bass. that knocks out two thirds of your list right there.

as for realistic drums, the best you’ll find strictly within the Reason ecosystem will be something like Reason Drum Kits (Rack Extension) or the BFD Refill. if you’re open to VSTs, there are a few better options, like Addictive Drums, Superior Drummer, BFD, and the like. whichever route you go, you can get good results, but the VSTs definitely have an edge in overall sound quality, especially if you need something pristine.

[EdwardKiy]

1. Reason Bass Guitar rig (comes standard in Reason Suite) is perfect to emulate a bass. My friend who is a pro bass player wants to buy Reason just for that. It's missing just a few expressions, for which he chopped his own sampled bass guitar.
2. Guitars in reason = Reason A-list guitar bundle, which has to be bought separately, but you can demo it for a month from the shop.
3. The best acoustic drum kit in Reason is the Reason Drum Kit (also comes standard in Reason Suite). Combined with the groove mixer (built into any Reason version), it is everything you will ever need and them some. Live jazz drummers swear by it.

1 and 3 come standard in Reason Suite and I think they are top class, but guitars are a lot harder to emulate, so if you play a real guitar, you should absolutely get one and use Reason amps, because learning to control an emulator and make it sound realistic will still take a lot of time.

[MrFigg]

Yep! REB and RDK. Use them all the time even though I play bass. But, as said, get a guitar for doing guitar.

[splangie]

丰2ॐ

Does that say we all need to have big gardens?

[MrFigg]

丰2ॐ

Does that say we all need to have big gardens?

If you want to get any exercise during lockdown then I'd say yes

[splangie]

If you want to get any exercise during lockdown then I'd say yes

[BradfordMoeller]

Bass is reasonable to emulate in my opinion, there are a few good options, Toontrack is coming out with EZBass on May 19 which I'm sure will be really good (I'd get it if I didn't own basses)

Not sure about guitar, it's a particularly tough instrument to emulate in my opinion.

Drums= Toontrack Superior Drummer 2 is (probably?) the most realistic I've heard. I'm perfectly happy with EZdrummer though, and I'm often a drum snob, it's way easier to use/work with, cheaper, and sounds very, very believable.

[Seckin]

You should check out the guitar libraries by the companies called Ample Sounds, Orange Tree samples, Ilya Efimov, Impact Soundworks and Native Instruments. You will be surprised by how close they get to the real thing. Indiginus and Pettin House are also two family firms run by one or two people each and they make good products at lower prices.

For bass, check out Modo Bass and Trilian.

All of these products are better than Reason's stock alternatives, in most people's humble opinions.

[1reasonable]

1reasonable - can i ask if you also play real guitar and how does that compare to the software? I know some basics of real guitar and i'm thinking i'll be better off to get a real guitar instead...

I don’t play electric guitar, but if you’re looking for sound of a guitar, I agree with the other posters, as with all real instruments you will never be able to replicate them exactly...but the VST’s I mentioned I think are are an excellent way to up the ante from Reason Factory patches, and are really aimed at people who don’t play guitar, and haven’t much hope of replicating what these can offer with their own playing. Before you make the plunge on a new guitar, you’ should just demo the VST’s and RE’s and see what you think - costs you nothing, and may surprise you!

[challism]

One big problem with sampled guita is you will pretty much be missing all the hamm-ons and pull-offs, bends, slides, and other technical tricks. A sample library might have some samples of these, but they will never sound as convincing or authentic as a live recorded instrument played specifically for the song because of timing and pitch issues.

Players have made me turn into a pretty lazy musician the last few years (also having a busy work schedule and children, etc). I just recently pulled my guitars back out and dusted them off. I did some recording and was very disappointed with my loss of skills (it's true what they say, use it or lose it). But after some practice and a few takes the recordings sounded so much better (maybe better isn't the right word... ha ha) than sampled guitar parts, especially when I was doing hammer/pulls and other noodling "tricks." But even when I wasn't being fancy, just laying down an arpeggio with a few simple hammer/pulls in it. It just added a lot to the song that a sample wouldn't have.

I also find that my music takes a way more creative direction when I am playing a real instrument vs programming a chord progression via a player or sampled loops. Probably because the guitar was/has been my instrument of choice for so many years, I'm pretty comfortable with the fretboard (why doesn't spell check know fretboard is a word?). Don't get me wrong, I love players, they are so much fun, but I have found it's good practice to pull out the guitar and strum out a starter song and record some lead parts, then introduce some player stuff on top of that. That is what I am trying to get myself to do, lately, anyway.

[MrFigg]

Something I just thought of. Although I play both guitar and bass I don’t play bass “like a bass”, I play bass like I play guitar. When I load up REB I’m more aware of the “structure” of the bass lines. Sure, I can play a real bass in a more “funky” way and also with slides and all that so sometimes I do that. REB works great though. Again however, there’s nothing I’ve found which could replace my guitar.

[challism]

Something I just thought of. Although I play both guitar and bass I don’t play bass “like a bass”, I play bass like I play guitar. When I load up REB I’m more aware of the “structure” of the bass lines. Sure, I can play a real bass in a more “funky” way and also with slides and all that so sometimes I do that. REB works great though. Again however, there’s nothing I’ve found which could replace my guitar.

Agree 100%. I'm terrible at bass. I have just never put in the practice to get good, and I don't really enjoy playing the bass. I can hold down a simple bass line, but I can do so much more if I use a sampled bass. And since I'm not a bass player, I think the sample library can be somewhat convincing when it comes to a bass, since my playing isn't fancy at all. I'm sure Flea wouldn't use a sample library.