How to make modern Reason sound like 4

[mickeysternum]

Hi there, years ago i used Reason 4 and contrary to what seems to be the opinion of a lot of people I absolutely loved the sound of it. I now use Reason 10 but for me it's too clean and doesn't have the same kind of 'chunkiness' to the sound. I was wondering if there is some kind of setting I can select to make it sound like 4 did? Thank you

[deeplink]

I'm starting to believe that these are all troll posts.
Seen it on Reddit and FB too.

[mickeysternum]

Haha definitely not a troll post. I suppose it's like my Ensoniq DP2 being 16-bit, it has more grit or something.

[mickeysternum]

I've read a fair bit about it and it seems that up to either 4 or 5 there was 32bit floating point for something on the output and then after that there was a switch to 64-bit and that cleaned up the sound somehow?

[avasopht]

Hi there, years ago i used Reason 4 and contrary to what seems to be the opinion of a lot of people I absolutely loved the sound of it. I now use Reason 10 but for me it's too clean and doesn't have the same kind of 'chunkiness' to the sound. I was wondering if there is some kind of setting I can select to make it sound like 4 did? Thank you

You're most likely imagining it.

Our perception is very easy to manipulate.

Just changing the GUI will make your perceive the audio differently.

Then add in the fact you're using a different mixer, and that each instrument is being fed into this more advanced mixer instead of the simple 14 channel line mixer, ... that influences your mix decisions.

There was an export aliasing bug in older versions of Reason, but I can't remember the conditions required to trigger it, and it's not likely do be that.

No.

There's no "cleaner". This is digital in the box sound production running at a minimum of cd quality audio.

At most, maybe you had a few devices defaulting to lofi like redrum

[Aosta]

Oh oh
A 'that Reason sound' post

[motuscott]

I remember the first song I wrote on my first Speak 'n Spell,
I shall never reach those heights again

[motuscott]

Sure I can paradiddle my way to The New Jerusalem but I'll never retrieve that innocence again.

[Marc64]

Don't use the ssl mixer, use the 14:2 mixer and switch to compatible eq on the back of it. That might get that "reason4" sound

[thx]

Pan laws can have an effect too; I think I read the newer mixer does things differently?

Our perception is very easy to manipulate.

Just changing the GUI will make your perceive the audio differently.

That is so completely true, it's shocking!

[mickeysternum]

Don't use the ssl mixer, use the 14:2 mixer and switch to compatible eq on the back of it. That might get that "reason4" sound

Thanks mate will give that a shot.

[mickeysternum]

Yeah I know there is placebo, but I had both running side by side at one point and there was an obvious difference between the two, it's not like me imaging the glory days and at the time I wasn't even aware that this was some sort of joke, I just remembered thinking that the new one sounded different. Maybe there was some setting I accidentally had engaged or something, because it's not like I was wanting there to be a difference, it was just extremely obvious when I was running both back to back.

If it keeps coming up maybe there's some truth to it? I've been using Logic for 10 years and Ableton for a fair while and I don't think I've heard of a single case of people thinking the old versions of those sounded different.

[mickeysternum]

Hi there, years ago i used Reason 4 and contrary to what seems to be the opinion of a lot of people I absolutely loved the sound of it. I now use Reason 10 but for me it's too clean and doesn't have the same kind of 'chunkiness' to the sound. I was wondering if there is some kind of setting I can select to make it sound like 4 did? Thank you

You're most likely imagining it.

Our perception is very easy to manipulate.

Just changing the GUI will make your perceive the audio differently.

Then add in the fact you're using a different mixer, and that each instrument is being fed into this more advanced mixer instead of the simple 14 channel line mixer, ... that influences your mix decisions.

There was an export aliasing bug in older versions of Reason, but I can't remember the conditions required to trigger it, and it's not likely do be that.

No.

There's no "cleaner". This is digital in the box sound production running at a minimum of cd quality audio.

At most, maybe you had a few devices defaulting to lofi like redrum

Yeah could be it, a couple of you guys have mentioned the 14 channel mixer so might try that and the lo-fi setting too. I appreciate the response thanks heaps

[selig]

Yeah could be it, a couple of you guys have mentioned the 14 channel mixer so might try that and the lo-fi setting too. I appreciate the response thanks heaps

There is absolutely no difference between the sound of the 14:2 mixer and the SSL. They both measure perfectly flat and distortion free.

BTW, there is no "lo fi" setting on the 14:2, there are two different EQ curves - that's it. If you don't use the EQ, you won't hear any difference with the "compatible" switch. OTOH, if you are comparing the EQ, then yes the 14:2 is different than the SSL - but neither one degrades the audio in any way, they are simply using different EQ curves.

There is no technical reason for them to sound any different either, so it's no surprise they both measure exactly the same.

Differences heard over the years have come down to two things I'm aware of. One is the factory sound bank/instruments 'quality' (frequency response, aliasing, etc), which is not an indication of the 'sound' of a DAW directly. Another is the instruments in Reason leaving headroom so not sounding as 'big" as others, which is also not an indication of the sound of the DAW OR the instruments. Other than that, there has never to my knowledge been any evidence there are any sonic differences between Reason versions, or between Reason and other DAWs for that matter.

Test after test after test have ALL come to the same conclusion, so I am very confident in saying there is no difference.
As always, I'm happy to review the evidence or look at new evidence if anyone has any reason for doing so.

[avasopht]

There is absolutely no difference between the sound of the 14:2 mixer and the SSL. They both measure perfectly flat and distortion free.

BTW, there is no "lo fi" setting on the 14:2, there are two different EQ curves - that's it. If you don't use the EQ, you won't hear any difference with the "compatible" switch. OTOH, if you are comparing the EQ, then yes the 14:2 is different than the SSL - but neither one degrades the audio in any way, they are simply using different EQ curves.

There is no technical reason for them to sound any different either, so it's no surprise they both measure exactly the same.

Differences heard over the years have come down to two things I'm aware of. One is the factory sound bank/instruments 'quality' (frequency response, aliasing, etc), which is not an indication of the 'sound' of a DAW directly. Another is the instruments in Reason leaving headroom so not sounding as 'big" as others, which is also not an indication of the sound of the DAW OR the instruments. Other than that, there has never to my knowledge been any evidence there are any sonic differences between Reason versions, or between Reason and other DAWs for that matter.

Test after test after test have ALL come to the same conclusion, so I am very confident in saying there is no difference.
As always, I'm happy to review the evidence or look at new evidence if anyone has any reason for doing so.

Just FYI, ... I explained that if he was using the SSL instead of the 14:2, that he might make different mix decisions, not that the mixers themselves sound different as well as the lo-fi setting in Redrum (and other samplers like NN19, Dr:Rex and I think NNXT might have that setting as well).

That's what he was responding to.

[selig]

There is absolutely no difference between the sound of the 14:2 mixer and the SSL. They both measure perfectly flat and distortion free.

BTW, there is no "lo fi" setting on the 14:2, there are two different EQ curves - that's it. If you don't use the EQ, you won't hear any difference with the "compatible" switch. OTOH, if you are comparing the EQ, then yes the 14:2 is different than the SSL - but neither one degrades the audio in any way, they are simply using different EQ curves.

There is no technical reason for them to sound any different either, so it's no surprise they both measure exactly the same.

Differences heard over the years have come down to two things I'm aware of. One is the factory sound bank/instruments 'quality' (frequency response, aliasing, etc), which is not an indication of the 'sound' of a DAW directly. Another is the instruments in Reason leaving headroom so not sounding as 'big" as others, which is also not an indication of the sound of the DAW OR the instruments. Other than that, there has never to my knowledge been any evidence there are any sonic differences between Reason versions, or between Reason and other DAWs for that matter.

Test after test after test have ALL come to the same conclusion, so I am very confident in saying there is no difference.
As always, I'm happy to review the evidence or look at new evidence if anyone has any reason for doing so.

Just FYI, ... I explained that if he was using the SSL instead of the 14:2, that he might make different mix decisions, not that the mixers themselves sound different as well as the lo-fi setting in Redrum (and other samplers like NN19, Dr:Rex and I think NNXT might have that setting as well).

That's what he was responding to.

Correct, sorry for any confusion on my part - it was indeed the other comment I was responding to, not yours…

[Mattvank]

Hi there, years ago i used Reason 4 and contrary to what seems to be the opinion of a lot of people I absolutely loved the sound of it. I now use Reason 10 but for me it's too clean and doesn't have the same kind of 'chunkiness' to the sound. I was wondering if there is some kind of setting I can select to make it sound like 4 did? Thank you

I know what you mean. Reason 4 reminds me also on a great time. But it has nothing to do with the sound. Make a favorite folder and put all devices from this version inside. There are a couple of other things, like emotion, the changes of the ears with becoming older, your past speakers and audiointerface. maybe an old Pc with that nostalic touch and so on.

PS: I like that reason 4 demosong a lot!

[joeyluck]

Yes, the answer is to use only instruments/effects/patches/samples found in Reason 4—instant Reason 4 sound

[challism]

Yes, the answer is to use only instruments/effects/patches/samples found in Reason 4—instant Reason 4 sound

Another solution is to install and use Reason 4.

[kooshan]

Hi there, years ago i used Reason 4 and contrary to what seems to be the opinion of a lot of people I absolutely loved the sound of it. I now use Reason 10 but for me it's too clean and doesn't have the same kind of 'chunkiness' to the sound. I was wondering if there is some kind of setting I can select to make it sound like 4 did? Thank you

Hi , you are not alone . I’ve had the exact same experience like you . Testing side by side , obvious as daylight . But …. What is causing it ? Not really sure . It’s certainly mix of couple of things …

I even started to make some new songs on Reason 4 since a year ago and surprisingly they sounded different than the ones I made on versions 5,6,7,8,9,10 and 11.

Could be the mix decisions , gui , limited devices and ….

But I’m pretty sure above all there is a distinct sound difference specially on the high frequecies which in Reason 4 it’s lacking on some areas compared to other versions.

I have to mention that this is just happening with version 4 . All other versions of reason sound the same with no difference. So if you guys believe that I’m just imagining it , it’s just the case with version 4 .

[mickeysternum]

Hi there, years ago i used Reason 4 and contrary to what seems to be the opinion of a lot of people I absolutely loved the sound of it. I now use Reason 10 but for me it's too clean and doesn't have the same kind of 'chunkiness' to the sound. I was wondering if there is some kind of setting I can select to make it sound like 4 did? Thank you

Hi , you are not alone . I’ve had the exact same experience like you . Testing side by side , obvious as daylight . But …. What is causing it ? Not really sure . It’s certainly mix of couple of things …

I even started to make some new songs on Reason 4 since a year ago and surprisingly they sounded different than the ones I made on versions 5,6,7,8,9,10 and 11.

Could be the mix decisions , gui , limited devices and ….

But I’m pretty sure above all there is a distinct sound difference specially on the high frequecies which in Reason 4 it’s lacking on some areas compared to other versions.

I have to mention that this is just happening with version 4 . All other versions of reason sound the same with no difference. So if you guys believe that I’m just imagining it , it’s just the case with version 4 .

Thank you! Yeah I mean I know that I sat there with both loaded on my computer at once (I think it was 6 or 7 at the time) and the sound from Reason 4 was different at the exact same time as 7 was loaded, I ran both into Ableton using rewire and the sound of 4 was definitely different, in a 'wrong/lofi' way but there was something about it, I would obviously keep using it if I could, but as far as I'm aware it was 32 bit and won't rewire into 64 bit hosts. Would love to hear if you have any insights into what's happening on 4 specifically

[mickeysternum]

Yes, the answer is to use only instruments/effects/patches/samples found in Reason 4—instant Reason 4 sound

Another solution is to install and use Reason 4.

Would love to but am now on an M1 system and I would be shocked if it ran on this machine. I think it was also a 32 bit app?

[challism]

Another solution is to install and use Reason 4.

Would love to but am now on an M1 system and I would be shocked if it ran on this machine. I think it was also a 32 bit app?

I was mostly just being a smartass. Yeah, I believe Reason was 32 bit until Reason 7, when it moved to 64 bit. I remember that because I had to upgrade my computer to continue updating Reason. I would still be on Windows XP if it weren't for Reason. ha ha

PS: I like that reason 4 demosong a lot!

Me too. That demo song just kept getting better and better. When did (Props) finally stop using that demo song. I think it was in Reason 1-5, wasn't it? And it kept evolving to show the new features. Does anybody remember the name of that song? Never mind, I just saw it... it was called "Default Song.rsn". I guess that's better than calling it Document1.

[avasopht]

But I’m pretty sure above all there is a distinct sound difference specially on the high frequecies which in Reason 4 it’s lacking on some areas compared to other versions.

There are none.

I've used Reason since version 2.

I've a good 20 years of stuff, and some have been bounced and backed up on CD or uploaded to sound cloud and sound click, so I've lots of material to compare.

You're either imagining it, doing something different in v4, have different settings, or are doing something terribly wrong.

[PitW.]

Is it possible to load a Reason 4 file into Reason 12? AFAIK, it should be possible.

Then you could check this in a scientific way:
1. Create a song in Reason 4
2. Export the song as a mixdown from Reason 4
3. Open the Reason 4 project file in Reason 10/11/12 (whatever you consider "modern Reason")
4. Export the song without making any changes
5. Open a new instance of Reason or your favourite audio editor
6. Import both mixdown files (old Reason vs new Reason)
7. Phase invert one of the tracks

Et voila. If all you hear is the blank noise from your soundcard, then there is no change in the audio signal at all
If you hear something, there ist a difference.