Reason Studios shares their roadmap (September 7, 2021)

[guitfnky]

really happy to hear they’re going to be more transparent. still a bit worried that the DAW is taking a backseat to shiny new devices and the RRP, but less so than before.

almost makes me want to get off the fence and upgrade to 12, but I guess I need to see those kinds of improvements in active development or at least not third or fourth in line of the stuff that’s being looked at for the future.

[Billy+]

really happy to hear they’re going to be more transparent. still a bit worried that the DAW is taking a backseat to shiny new devices and the RRP, but less so than before.

almost makes me want to get off the fence and upgrade to 12, but I guess I need to see those kinds of improvements in active development or at least not third or fourth in line of the stuff that’s being looked at for the future.

Yeah I know what your saying, I'm certainly not running to the shop, maybe I might consider buying it 2022 when I can see what's been added

[Loque]

Great to see, that they have a plan and to hear some insights.
I knew it was a mssive work to move to HiRes, but 2 years is pretty long to see the birth of a baby...
Moar Combinator stuff (moar buttons+sliders+knobs, displays, limited/steppable rotaries and sliders, moar scales for the knobs and not online all scale indicators or none, ...) is my cup of tea and VST3 is also useful.

Here are my 2 cents for the investigation stuff:
New devices
Meehh, not really needed. But what would be cool is to see improvements to Kong (note controllable controls and more automation for the FX) or just extract the devices and fx.
If you really feel to add new stuff, please add some good LoFi device. I am so p!ssed that Mimic has something but cannot be used. A good bit crusher with some goodies like noise mixing would be really great for patches, since only stock devices will be used for the most RE patches which come with their own FSB.
And yea, some other cool basic build in devices like good sounding Resonators or RingModulators, which btw could also be part of a good LoFi device...

Tight integration with other DAWs
Sorry, no need for this. But from what i read, a Audio and CV Bus would be usefull, to exchange signals directly between RRP instances.

Immediate musical results
Sequencer! Trackfolders Freezing
And please, do not freaking scroll the god damn window, when i click a long note, which goes beyond the current view!

Authorization/Offline mode for Reason+
Yes, please. And please add a damn "Auto login", so i can click the Reason icon, get my coffee and Reason is ready to use instead stuck on the login dialog...

[Neo]

New devices
Meehh, not really needed.
Tight integration with other DAWs
Sorry, no need for this. But from what i read, a Audio and CV Bus would be usefull, to exchange signals directly between RRP instances.

+1

Cheers RS.
Good move sharing a road map with us.
Might calm down some of the early adopters to 12 (like myself)
- Holds breath lol
-

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[Arrant]

Great to see the CEO step up and finally give us a much needed roadmap, short as it may be. Will put an end to some speculation at least.
Pleased that some of my wishes are being worked on like VST3 support, HD sequencer and more combi2 assets, but also concerned that no workflow/sequencer improvements are in actual development. I see some of you read track freeze, track folders etc into this roadmap but I don't see any guarantees of that, and if those features do come they will probably be done in some weird Reason way like always

Fantastic to see a positive graph of active Reason users BTW, more users can only mean a better product right?

[anDre]

So bug fixing is not on their road map?
Seems that Reason 10 will be the last usable version for me.

The sample editor is still broken in Reason 12 but Reason Studios don't care.
Of course, looking here in the forum it seems most users don't care too.

Instead more styles for the Comb2 yeah... strange priorities these days.

Does anyone remember the days where Reason was a rock solid software?
At this time no way that Propellerhead would have left such big bugs as the sample editor bug in the software, especially not across two major versions.

That is really a shame.

[sonicbyte]

I'm so happily surprised from this, even more if Reason Studios are really willing to improve that roadmap with our feedback.

Most standalone Reason users feel bad or have doubts about Reason's future as a DAW... but It gives me some hope when reading this in the post:

"... We're investigating improvements to the current workflow, sequencer, and more."

So I will start with a very short list most users here I think we will agree that Reason needs asap:

• We don't need more new devices for a while, really please don't (no more synths, no more fancy fx)

• We need real sequencer improvements like:
  • Multi-channel Midi support, to work efficiently with multi channel VST instruments like Kontakt
  • Sequencer folders
  • Better audio / midi editing tools

Just know that these features could be in the roadmap, no matter how much time it takes, will make most standalone's Reason users happy and with hope about Reason's future as a DAW...

Thank you !

[guitfnky]

So bug fixing is not on their road map?
Seems that Reason 10 will be the last usable version for me.

The sample editor is still broken in Reason 12 but Reason Studios don't care.
Of course, looking here in the forum it seems most users don't care too.

Instead more styles for the Comb2 yeah... strange priorities these days.

Does anyone remember the days where Reason was a rock solid software?
At this time no way that Propellerhead would have left such big bugs as the sample editor bug in the software, especially not across two major versions.

That is really a shame.

bug fixing is taken as a matter of course. that said, if there are longstanding bugs they’re not fixing, that’s definitely concerning. they do squash bugs with each release, and will of course continue doing that, but apparently not all of them, and as you say, that’s really a shame.

[joeyluck]

Ultimately, you're putting words in people's mouths by doing so. Bad moderation style if you ask me. If you're that unhappy with a thread title, I suggest reaching out to said user either via PM or in the thread

Now back on topic, I complained about the lack of a roadmap 25 months ago.
And I'm pretty happy that I no longer have to bother with grasping for straws (news) regarding my personal upgrade plan - I'll do precisely nothing until January. Thank you, RS, for listening for once!

dude, being a mod doesn’t require that you have your hands in everything. ‍♂️

It ok with me tbf I was going to go with something similar but decided on a more click bait title at least now everyone knows exactly what the thread is about.

Maybe a compromise would be "Reason 12 The Roadmap"

Billy you are free to change it to whatever

I was creating a thread myself for the news that I was going to make a sticky, before I realized that your thread wasn't actually another prediction thread. And since it was just a sharing of a link and copy and pasting of some of the blog entry, it didn't seem personal. Anyways, I had also made your post a sticky, so people won't miss it. And that's the main goal.

We've been adjusting titles since the beginning. It's why you don't often see threads called "Why???" Or "Help!" I even adjusted a thread title of selig's recently to make it clear that it was in regards to combi backdrops and layouts. The search on here sucks and we do what we can to make things clear, particularly in cases of news.

[Billy+]

It ok with me tbf I was going to go with something similar but decided on a more click bait title at least now everyone knows exactly what the thread is about.

Maybe a compromise would be "Reason 12 The Roadmap"

Billy you are free to change it to whatever

I was creating a thread myself for the news that I was going to make a sticky, before I realized that your thread wasn't actually another prediction thread. And since it was just a sharing of a link and copy and pasting of some of the blog entry, it didn't seem personal. Anyways, I had also made your post a sticky, so people won't miss it. And that's the main goal.

We've been adjusting titles since the beginning. It's why you don't often see threads called "Why???" Or "Help!" I even adjusted a thread title of selig's recently to make it clear that it was in regards to combi backdrops and layouts. The search on here sucks and we do what we can to make things clear, particularly in cases of news.

Dude it's cool I'm happy to leave it as is, honestly I wasn't as bothered as others. Seriously it's fine

[Arrant]

So bug fixing is not on their road map?
Seems that Reason 10 will be the last usable version for me.

Bug fixing is normally a continual process apart from the feature roadmap.
I'm sure they are working hard on the bugs, leaving them in isn't really an option.

[Popey]

This is cool to see and a step in the right direction.

My 2 cents for rrp are vsts in combi2 and make the samplers (esp mimic) read the file formats of other Daw's stock sample library (eg.aif).

[AnotherMathias]

While I'm glad that Reason Studios finally are showing some transparency (this should have happened years ago, and in much greater detail than this), but ironically I think it could be the final nail in the coffin for me.

For the Reason DAW user, this roadmap gives us very little hope for any significant workflow and quality of life improvements. The few new things we got in Reason 12 were likely primarily geared toward attracting to new buyers to the RRP. High resolution, Combinator 2, Mimic, all good for users of other DAWs. NOTHING for the Reason sequencer.

But this roadmap seems to (mostly) continue on that path. Browser, Combi knobs, M1, even VST3, none of it addresses any of our workflow issues.

But be patient, high resolution and VST3 takes a lot of work, right? Yes, maybe, but as users we shouldn't have to care about any of that. If you need to work on deep level infrastructure AND continue to improve the DAW, then guess what, you hire more people. If you buy some milk, and it turns out to be old and spoiled, you don't hear from the dairy company "but milking cows is really hard work, so we didn't hire any truck drivers".
They are working on implementing VST3 now? You know when they should have started working on that? The day after VST2 was done.

Am I the only one to find it infuriating that once or twice a week (if we're lucky), somebody from Reason Studios pops by, answers a couple of really easy questions, and disappears again? They NEVER explain why so many things (almost all, really) on our (very) long list of wishes are ignored.
I'd be fine with answers like "no, we won't implement that feature because we think we have a better idea how that problem can be solved". Right now, a feature request or a complaint is like praying to some god that you don't even know if it exists.

[DaveyG]

Well I saw the thread title and expected another sarcastic rant and a spoof roadmap diagram so it's quite nice to see that it is real. I'd echo the need for VST Midi out.

[QVprod]

While I'm glad that Reason Studios finally are showing some transparency (this should have happened years ago, and in much greater detail than this), but ironically I think it could be the final nail in the coffin for me.

For the Reason DAW user, this roadmap gives us very little hope for any significant workflow and quality of life improvements. The few new things we got in Reason 12 were likely primarily geared toward attracting to new buyers to the RRP. High resolution, Combinator 2, Mimic, all good for users of other DAWs. NOTHING for the Reason sequencer.

But this roadmap seems to (mostly) continue on that path. Browser, Combi knobs, M1, even VST3, none of it addresses any of our workflow issues.

I get wanting sequencer updates. By all means it's always been the thing they spent the least amount of time on. However, you don't think the above features are desired and useful to DAW users? Those were actually some popular feature requests long before the plugin.

I too am curious to see what their investigations bring about though. I find the sequencer to be fine for most things, but I go elsewhere for audio and anything complex.

Immediate musical results – Reason can take on many roles, but we believe its strength is getting ideas going quickly. We're investigating improvements to the current workflow, sequencer, and more.

[Billy+]

Anyone interested in animated/gif backgrounds for CMBv2 so you can make one knobs that look like endless smile?

[lowtom]

This is very welcome.

[MannequinRaces]

Thanks for the transparency RS. Keep it up!

[arnigretar]

Damn, this is good. Reason forever

[AnotherMathias]

I get wanting sequencer updates. By all means it's always been the thing they spent the least amount of time on. However, you don't think the above features are desired and useful to DAW users? Those were actually some popular feature requests long before the plugin.

I too am curious to see what their investigations bring about though. I find the sequencer to be fine for most things, but I go elsewhere for audio and anything complex.

Sorry, I meant to say that as a sign of good faith, we needed to see a nice chunk of improvements that apply ONLY to the DAW users.
To add a bunch of things that benefits RRP users just as much (or more), and then say "see, we improved the DAW", is a bit disingenuous, I think. A bit like the government cutting taxes for everyone, and then saying "see, we are helping poor people".

For some users version 12 and the items on the road map brings no improvements at all. Mimic is too niche of a sampler (should have been a purchasable RE instead, IMO), high resolution is just basic housekeeping, not exactly a feature - and a bit of a mess at that (and for me, on a MacBook, the old resolution is what I'll keep using anyway), and the Combinator is just a way to bundle things that we already have and make them a bit more pretty.

As for investigating improvements, isn't that what a software company should be doing ALL THE TIME?

[joeyluck]

While I'm glad that Reason Studios finally are showing some transparency (this should have happened years ago, and in much greater detail than this), but ironically I think it could be the final nail in the coffin for me.

For the Reason DAW user, this roadmap gives us very little hope for any significant workflow and quality of life improvements. The few new things we got in Reason 12 were likely primarily geared toward attracting to new buyers to the RRP. High resolution, Combinator 2, Mimic, all good for users of other DAWs. NOTHING for the Reason sequencer.

But this roadmap seems to (mostly) continue on that path. Browser, Combi knobs, M1, even VST3, none of it addresses any of our workflow issues.

But be patient, high resolution and VST3 takes a lot of work, right? Yes, maybe, but as users we shouldn't have to care about any of that. If you need to work on deep level infrastructure AND continue to improve the DAW, then guess what, you hire more people. If you buy some milk, and it turns out to be old and spoiled, you don't hear from the dairy company "but milking cows is really hard work, so we didn't hire any truck drivers".
They are working on implementing VST3 now? You know when they should have started working on that? The day after VST2 was done.

Am I the only one to find it infuriating that once or twice a week (if we're lucky), somebody from Reason Studios pops by, answers a couple of really easy questions, and disappears again? They NEVER explain why so many things (almost all, really) on our (very) long list of wishes are ignored.
I'd be fine with answers like "no, we won't implement that feature because we think we have a better idea how that problem can be solved". Right now, a feature request or a complaint is like praying to some god that you don't even know if it exists.

Niklas did mention this:

"We're investigating improvements to the current workflow, sequencer, and more."

I'm looking forward to the "smart browser". I hope that means tags. That would be huge for my workflow.

Keep in mind that many DAWs were late to implementing VST3. And those other DAWs supported VST from their beginning. So the gap between VST2 and VST3 support for something like Ableton Live was much greater, and Ableton is a bigger company with more employees. VST3 was introduced in 2008 and Live didn't add support until a decade later, just a couple years ago. Not making excuses, but I imagine it's not so simple or otherwise it wouldn't have taken other DAWs so long.

And just a reminder that ReasonTalk is forum made by and run by users. So while we love having RS staff a part of this community, there shouldn't be an expectation to hear from them here.

[esselfortium]

Immediate musical results
Sequencer! Trackfolders Freezing
And please, do not freaking scroll the god damn window, when i click a long note, which goes beyond the current view!

• We need real sequencer improvements like:
  • Multi-channel Midi support, to work efficiently with multi channel VST instruments like Kontakt
  • Sequencer folders
  • Better audio / midi editing tools

I'm there in spirit screaming all of this outside RS headquarters with you.

Also, a way to load groups of mixer/sequencer channels from other song projects directly from the new browser, please! If RS is looking for ways to speed up the music-making process, this would dramatically improve workflow by effectively turning every song into a modular template to quickly pluck out a synth or drum machine or an entire submix from.

[Jackjackdaw]

What a relief they have released a roadmap! Looks like they finally read the room.

I would like to see the all the same sequencer and DAW improvements as everyone else. Make it a tight , highly capable and integrated environment.

I also want to see RRP 2.0 with device sampling working from external inputs, drag and drop samples to devices, multi timbral midi so I only need one instance with all my devices interacting CV together and removal of the splash screen .

I definitely don't want to see anymore devices until all the other stuff is done.

[Jackjackdaw]

Also, great to see them acknowledge the need for offline authorisation and the fact that the current one is flaky

[AnotherMathias]

What a relief they have released a roadmap! Looks like they finally read the room.

I would like to see the all the same sequencer and DAW improvements as everyone else. Make it a tight , highly capable and integrated environment.

But doesn't the roadmap tell us that they don't have any plans to be doing any of that?