Screen setups

[hadmyrackextended]

I think layout is one thing that really aids your work flow and I was wondering about everyone's screen setups in Reason.

What do you all have?

I've been using a 24" and a 22" as my rack and sequencer screens for as long as I can remember. But my eyes are getting tired and I decided to change for a better resolution/screen real estate.

In the end I went for a 34" ultrawide.
All i can say is, "I was blind but now i see". It's much better.

I've settled on splitting the screen horizontally (within reason) and allowing the sequencer and/or rack to take the whole width.
But you can also alt tab to flip over which works too.

The mixer is taken care of on a 27" positioned above (which is the perfect monitor size for the Reason mixer).

Hope this helps anyone contemplating a new layout.

20231108_155254.jpg (304.64 KiB) Viewed 3602 times

[MuttReason]

Samsung 34" Curved Ultrawide 4k (connected to my Mac via Thunderbolt 3) has been one of the biggest game changers in my DAW setup for years.

It's particularly good for DAWs (Reason but also others like Luna which is my new thing) because I can lay out an entire arrangement on one screen with quite a lot of detail visible without left to right scrolling. And it is brilliant with a mix that has a lot of channels going into the SSL (or the Luna mixer). I can also have all 3 main Reason views (rack, mixer, sequencer) side by side for more detailed work on a particular track.

Downside is you need a computer with a decent graphics card and a TB3 connection because at 4k resolution you're pushing a lot of pixels into an ultra widescreen monitor. On my old computer I sometimes got framerate drops. That's all in the past with my new computer (Mac Studio M2) which just flies - it's insanely powerful.

It's also quite an expensive monitor (but worth it IMO). Another upside is it's a great monitor for admin/office-type work stuff, it's like having up to 5 x A4-sized docs side by side which is so useful when doing lots of editing/research with multiple windows open.

I've had multi-monitor setups in the past but have settled on just the one single curved ultrawide for everything now. Can't imagine going back to a narrower monitor in future.

[robussc]

That looks amazing and the curved screen is a neat idea for having multiple racks visible. I just feel like I'd get neck ache looking up at the mixer monitor? I just replaced my 27" iMac with a Mac mini and got some monitor arms to bring the height down as the iMac was sitting on the back top shelf of my studio desk and it was just way too high for comfort. The arms have brought the replacement 27" down into my line of site (and much closer which is great for my old eyes!) Alongside that is a portrait 24" which holds the rack window and perfectly fits a single rack width, and as I navigate using the mixer rack buttons is quick to switch across. The one thing I don't like about that navigation model is that Reason (for some reason) doesn't scroll the selected rack to the center of the screen (if it can), it's always way up at the top.

Anyway, ergonomically it's been a game changer, no more sore neck after an extended session.

[PhillipOrdonez]

My neck

I just use a single monitor, I think it is 24”. Nothing special, does the job perfectly. I wouldn’t want more than that cause anything else would be a strain on my neck ‍♂️

[DaveyG]

I use two normal 24" monitors side by side but I'd be happy to replace them with a single ultrawide if/when they die. Not sure I'd want a curved one though, and I definitely would not be happy with another monitor higher up. I've tried that before and it leads to neck strain after a while.

[jklok]

My 27" 2560x1440 flat panel does the job.

If I had a studio work station to impress I would have three of these screens next to each other on a curved table together with various controllers.

But the f5, f6,f7 is ingrained into to my memory as we speak so no need really.

[selig]

I use three different monitors, but only one screen (priorities, I guess)!
Technically, I have a second screen I only use for livestream, which is way off to one side.

I do this partly to avoid so much reflective surfaces, and partly because I don’t have room for anything more than one good screen in the center, otherwise I’d have my speakers too far apart for my main job, making music.

[hadmyrackextended]

That looks amazing and the curved screen is a neat idea for having multiple racks visible. I just feel like I'd get neck ache looking up at the mixer monitor? I just replaced my 27" iMac with a Mac mini and got some monitor arms to bring the height down as the iMac was sitting on the back top shelf of my studio desk and it was just way too high for comfort. The arms have brought the replacement 27" down into my line of site (and much closer which is great for my old eyes!) Alongside that is a portrait 24" which holds the rack window and perfectly fits a single rack width, and as I navigate using the mixer rack buttons is quick to switch across. The one thing I don't like about that navigation model is that Reason (for some reason) doesn't scroll the selected rack to the center of the screen (if it can), it's always way up at the top.

Anyway, ergonomically it's been a game changer, no more sore neck after an extended session.

Actually no, because despite the angle of the pic, the top monitor is only just above head height so I can shift my gaze without rubber necking it It's really not bad at all.

[hadmyrackextended]

I use three different monitors, but only one screen (priorities, I guess)!
Technically, I have a second screen I only use for livestream, which is way off to one side.

I do this partly to avoid so much reflective surfaces, and partly because I don’t have room for anything more than one good screen in the center, otherwise I’d have my speakers too far apart for my main job, making music.

That's the problem with us music folk. You could have a 49" ultrawide. But then your stereo mix is a mile apart, causing problems.

I think this is the best balance for me. As i say the top monitor is tilted down and not as high as it looks. So you get that full immersive feeling but without my stereo mix being too wide.

According to Sound ID Reference when measuring the room im sitting just inside the tip of the equilateral triangle and my speakers are ~100cm apart.

[splitpen]

Similar setup as OT.

https://ibb.co/QD7MwJn
The MP midi is also very nice to work with