Reason session loses punch ???

[mrain]

Hi all, I wonder if anyone else has experienced this?

On more than one occasion, I have a song I'm working on... and it's getting full and punchy, just how I want... but upon saving and moving on to more work on the session, I have found on occasion, some small amount of dulling / loss of punch whilst working on the song.

So to check I'm not mad, I go back to a previous session of the same song, and lo behold, the punch and fullness is there.

It's difficult as it's not always obvious. But it's real.

Anyone else had this? Using Reason 11 Suite on Win7 and Mac Big Sur.

[Mataya]

Check in the far down right on the transport bar if "delay comp" is off in one project and on in another...and if it is, see what setting gives you better "punch".

M

[Tweak]

Latency compensation is definitely a candidate, as plugin or rack extension induced latency can lead to phase cancelling effects, and this likely is responsible for the loss of oomph you experience. You'd do well to look at your signal chains to see where else you might have short delays causing phasing. Latency compensation AFAIK only operates in mix channel inserts (some effect devices don't report latency accurately so this can still be an issue), but send effects attached to the main SSL console will certainly produce latency (a minimum of 64 samples I believe + more for the connected devices).

As a result best to make sure anything merged back from your send effects is not too loud, low frequency (where the power is going I'd expect), and delayed. To avoid this, in my experience you are best not using compression as a send, instead try to achieve parallel compression via those effects that combine the signal for you with a wet/dry, or use a parallel mix channel. This helps avoiding merging whole mix buses with slightly delayed compressed versions of themselves which are liable to phase cancel.

I should add, other candidates for causing issues are ReDrum and Dr.OctoRex, both of which will automatically play their patterns on playback. If you've sent the pattern to the sequencer, and not explicitly chosen to turn off pattern playback on these devices, the corresponding pattern will play twice: once from the sequencer and once from the pattern on the device. This can cause phasing style effects too.

[mrain]

Wow, I'm glad I asked now. Thank you for the feedback.

Is this a phenomenon that would happen in any DAW?

It's been really weird for me because I'll be thinking to myself HMMMM, am I imagining it or having some punch gone ...

[Tweak]

Is this a phenomenon that would happen in any DAW?

In a word yes, it can happen in any DAW. However, other DAWs tend to offer more rigid and structured ways of routing that are less likely to introduce these sorts of issues. Reason's free routing ethos tends to lead to delays in the signal chain if you are enthusiastically experimental, and route things in unusual ways.

[DJMaytag]

It’s called “working on a track until the wee hours of the morning, thinking it’s great, but it’s shit the next morning syndrome”.

[mrain]

Haha!

Thanks to you for your replies and help. Really appreciate it.

I have the extra headache of sending the mix bus out through hardware and back in again

[RobC]

It’s called “working on a track until the wee hours of the morning, thinking it’s great, but it’s shit the next morning syndrome”.

I usually get the opposite, cause I get sick of the song. : )

[Tinnitus]

It’s called “working on a track until the wee hours of the morning, thinking it’s great, but it’s shit the next morning syndrome”.

I usually get the opposite, cause I get sick of the song. : )

I hear you both.