ReasonTalk.com

I’m excited about R13, but now I’m wondering, after the addition of Polytone, Tools, and Ripley, is there anything else that RS can add to the rack?

I own all RE’s by RS so I’m lost for anything that Reason is now lacking as far as the rack. And whatever is missing I probably own a 3rd party RE for, I think we’re entering the era of Core Rack updates. Subtractor, Maelstrom, Kong, Octorex, Mimic, Grain and the Mastering Suite could all use a touch up.

But can anyone think of anything missing that can be added at this point? Any Player ideas missing that they can make. I’m sure they have something in the pipeline, I mean it is Reason, but what can be added that truly adds value at this point?

Looking at what 3rd party stuff I reach for.

FX:
Maybe a more sophisticated distortion unit with upsampling options and good anti-aliasing filter. Or a frequency filter device with ultra high quality synth-filters like "The Drop" by Cytomic. https://cytomic.com/product/drop Or with crazy filters like the one from Minimal Audio. https://www.minimal.audio/products/rift

Instruments:
Tough one. Even physical modeling was perfectly done with Friktion and Objekt. Maybe a synth with a sophisticated WT-editor or sample to WT convertion.

Players:
Among others, Robotic Bean, Lectric Panda and Static Cling did amazing player devices. Can't think of anything that hasn't been done before.

Utilities:
Same as with players. There are so much excellent devices like the Dual CV Source by Andrew Russell. And probably hundreds more. I can't thnk of anything that I miss.

i wish there was a stock EQ8. I use the synapse one now which works fine. Mostly i just know a stock one would be efficient enough to use on every channel if i wanted

Native devices I'd like to see are -

Beat Repeater Tool (like Peff's Buffre)
Simple Supersaw synth (like Antidote)

accessible musicologist data and audio analysis tools

analog video generation like the stuff from syntonie

midi2.0

allow for multiple accounts to be signed into the same project from online for restricted but collaborative composing

i reckon they could work on a different program entirely though, something like allihoopa but video chat and youtube for music makers

I'd like to see a LUFs mastering tool.

I'm not sure if Ripley will cover the weak reverb situation, but if it does then I won't ask for an improved reverb. I was stunned when I compared Valhalla Vintage Verb to RV-7000, the quality difference was incredible.

Those are the two biggest holes in the rack today IMHO.

I've been wondering the same thing. With every new version of Reason I'm less and less excited about the new rack devices. 13 is likely to be the first new release I haven't immediately jumped on - I'll probably upgrade at some point when it goes on sale because Ripley looks a bit tasty, but fucked if I'm going to pay full upgrade price for Ripley alone. Polytone doesn't interest me at all, not from this distance anyway. Same with the new Tools

I think there are a few areas where Reason could beef up the rack, like a nice feature-rich EQ would be great but I totally get why they're not bothering to roll one out. And can you imagine the bedwetting from the Loyal Reason User crew if they did

I guess "AI-powered" devices are probably coming down the pike, there might be some interesting rack additions there

From the top of my mind:

- An algorithmic reverb to give Valhalla a run for their money
- NN-19 MK2 (height reduced to 3U, streamlined graphics and controls)
- A better wavetable synth since Europa can't hold a candle against Vital, Pigments, Massive or Serum.

- I'd rather they update the SSL EQ than make a new rack EQ...

Abstrax wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

i wish there was a stock EQ8. I use the synapse one now which works fine. Mostly i just know a stock one would be efficient enough to use on every channel if i wanted

I’ve been asking for an EQ like this for years. I always get told it’s a waste of time because we have other EQ’s. But I agree, Reason versions are always way more efficient as far as power.

cocoazenith wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

- An algorithmic reverb to give Valhalla a run for their money
- NN-19 MK2 (height reduced to 3U, streamlined graphics and controls)
- A better wavetable synth since Europa can't hold a candle against Vital, Pigments, Massive or Serum.

+1 this whole post. But also, do you have Scenic? The reverbs on that are pretty good, not as good as Synapse DR1 IMO, but good. And Processed Pianos has a decent ShimmerVerb but I still like the one on Obsession a bit more.

robussc wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

I'd like to see a LUFs mastering tool.

Yes this should’ve been in the rack a long time ago.

nickb523 wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

Beat Repeater Tool (like Peff's Buffre)
Simple Supersaw synth (like Antidote)

Yes I like both of these ideas. I truly think it’s time they looked at the rack and started updating the older ones. I would love for Grain to have multiple slots like Mimic so you can blend samples during playback. And Pulsar could even use a touch up as far as features. If R13 was a refresh of a bunch of stock units, Europa, Grain, Mastering EQ, RV700 etc along with the current workflow changes I think I’d be way more hyped about it.

Reason is an odd duck in the software world, they keep introducing new devices and almost never update the existing devices. Imagine if Kontakt, Pigments, Diva, Omnisphere, etc never updated?!?

At some point we don’t need more and more devices with more and more patches, right? So I’m not sure the model can sustain forever. And yet here we are 20 years down the line and they’re still releasing new devices and not really updating the old ones. Go figure.

selig wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

Reason is an odd duck in the software world, they keep introducing new devices and almost never update the existing devices. Imagine if Kontakt, Pigments, Diva, Omnisphere, etc never updated?!?

At some point we don’t need more and more devices with more and more patches, right? So I’m not sure the model can sustain forever. And yet here we are 20 years down the line and they’re still releasing new devices and not really updating the old ones. Go figure.

This is why I posed the question. I was sitting at desk just messing around in R12 and just had the thought “I have everything I need right now!” Stock and 3rd party. Polytone sounds “cool/ok” but I’d rather see the core come up to modern times more. Ripley seems awesome though. I’m just good on synths.

Update the devices 🪧🪧🪧 update the devices 🪧🪧🪧 we want all old devices updated 🪧🪧🪧 that includes the sequencer 🪧🪧🪧 and we also want an EQ like EQ8, all the bells and whistles and equally efficient 🪧🪧🪧

I would like to see more original effects devices like Polar, BV-X, and Ripley. These kinds of experimental devices are what Reason Studios excels at.

For example, it would be cool to have an all-in-one granular effects processor that can do freeze, granular delay/reverb, sample-and-hold microlooping, etc. Look to the guitar pedal world for inspiration: Hologram Electronics Microcosm or Chase Bliss Onward are two interesting implementations of this type of effect.

Ted Pikul wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

I would like to see more original effects devices like Polar, BV-X, and Ripley. These kinds of experimental devices are what Reason Studios excels at.

For example, it would be cool to have an all-in-one granular effects processor that can do freeze, granular delay/reverb, sample-and-hold microlooping, etc. Look to the guitar pedal world for inspiration: Hologram Electronics Microcosm or Chase Bliss Onward are two interesting implementations of this type of effect.

+1

selig wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

Reason is an odd duck in the software world, they keep introducing new devices and almost never update the existing devices. Imagine if Kontakt, Pigments, Diva, Omnisphere, etc never updated?!?

This really depends on how you look at it. Especially now that the rack plugin exists, you could argue that the rack in its entirety is one product. In that case, each new device is an update of sorts. Compared to Arturia's catalog, Reason straddles the line between something like Pigments and something like V Collection (where each plugin has a more limited scope and new ones are added every year).

Pepin wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

selig wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

Reason is an odd duck in the software world, they keep introducing new devices and almost never update the existing devices. Imagine if Kontakt, Pigments, Diva, Omnisphere, etc never updated?!?

This really depends on how you look at it. Especially now that the rack plugin exists, you could argue that the rack in its entirety is one product. In that case, each new device is an update of sorts. Compared to Arturia's catalog, Reason straddles the line between something like Pigments and something like V Collection (where each plugin has a more limited scope and new ones are added every year).

V Collection synths get updated though. A few in the collection are on version 3 or 4 now. Updates would make the rack as a whole a more attractive product. Subtractor, while still quite capable, isn’t beating most things in the sound character territory without being in a combinator .

QVprod wrote: ↑

05 Jun 2024

Pepin wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

This really depends on how you look at it. Especially now that the rack plugin exists, you could argue that the rack in its entirety is one product. In that case, each new device is an update of sorts. Compared to Arturia's catalog, Reason straddles the line between something like Pigments and something like V Collection (where each plugin has a more limited scope and new ones are added every year).

V Collection synths get updated though. A few in the collection are on version 3 or 4 now. Updates would make the rack as a whole a more attractive product. Subtractor, while still quite capable, isn’t beating most things in the sound character territory without being in a combinator .

Oh I agree with all that. I'm just saying Reason occupies a unique position as a product. Leaving Subtractor without updates isn't quite the same as NI letting Absynth languish and die, since the rack also functions as one plugin, with each new device adding features to that "instrument". Reason straddles the line between one giant instrument (Pigments) and a collection of focused plugins (V Collection).

That said, I would love nothing more than a Malstrom 2.0

Pepin wrote: ↑

05 Jun 2024

That said, I would love nothing more than a Malstrom 2.0

Totally agree...

Pepin wrote: ↑

05 Jun 2024

That said, I would love nothing more than a Malstrom 2.0

I hate to admit this but I haven’t used Maelstrom in a long time. What would you update about it? How can it and Subtractor be improved?

To reiterate what many have said and to add;

To complete the *stock* RS offering
- full featured rack EQ i.e multiple bands, left/right and mid/side options, variable slopes, cv ins
- an easy multi-multi-band splitter (e.g optional 2-4 bands)
- multi-band comp for gentle to extreme OTT style compression
- a Player Tool, similar to the new Tools in Reason 13. (with Note/Gate CV in)
- a CV swiss army knife of sorts
- simple FM synth
- a beat repeater

Fancy (ish) things;
- granular effect, which could hopefully encompass a simple granular delay to a more complex Microcosm type effect
- a new distortion unit to challenge the legacy of Trash2
- tape style pitch effect, something you could put on the master to slow down your entire mix, as well as do HalfTime VST style sync'd pitched changes
- a reverb to challenge the likes of Strymon and Vahalla

Bring back PX7 and make it a stock device and make Drum Sequencer a stock device. Filling in gaps in the stock package should be their priority.

deeplink wrote: ↑

05 Jun 2024

To reiterate what many have said and to add;

To complete the *stock* RS offering
- full featured rack EQ i.e multiple bands, left/right and mid/side options, variable slopes, cv ins
- an easy multi-multi-band splitter (e.g optional 2-4 bands)
- multi-band comp for gentle to extreme OTT style compression
- a Player Tool, similar to the new Tools in Reason 13. (with Note/Gate CV in)
- a CV swiss army knife of sorts
- simple FM synth
- a beat repeater

Didn't see this post until after I posted the above comment. These are great suggestions.

An RV7000 Mk3? The current Mk2 we have is still fantastic in terms of functionality. However, compared to some of the VST alternatives available now, its sound is a bit lacking. Personally, I find that stacking two of them with proper stereo impulse response samples loaded helps fill that gap. So, maybe adding more of those and packing everything into a super cool RV7000 combinator would suffice?

I feel like the new combinator is a missed opportunity. It's great that they are focusing on new devices, but we already have so much. They could have repackaged or repurposed many of the existing cool things.

Aside from that, I agree that updating some of the core devices would be really cool. Small enhancements like oversampling would be a big deal for me. I love Scream4; I still think it sounds good, but it gets busy quite quickly if you crank it up to the max. Having oversampling on some of those saturation/distortion devices would be really nice. Unfortunately, I don't have a powerful enough machine to run projects at 96kHz.

And how about a Mk2 refresh of the MClass effects? It would bridge the gap between the classic Reason stuff and more advanced VSTs out there. I have some great tools for that, but I always prefer to work with stock products when I can.

If everything has to be new, I agree that focusing on some weird and unique effects every now and then could be a lot of fun (Chase Bliss, WMD, Earthquaker, Dr. Scientist, Alexander Pedals, etc.).

I don't think there is much they can add that is useful to me. For new users they needed to add some basics such as the forthcoming audio utility, but anyone who needed these kinds of things in the last couple of years or longer had probably already bought a RE to do this. The same goes for effects and instruments, anyone who isn't a noob probably has already got what they need. I'm expecting there to be much less interest in plugins over the coming years as some much good stuff has come out in the last 5 years, so IMO Reason will need to improve the core app to keep people interested. Adding more synths worked in the past but I don't think this will work forever.

Good suggestions!

cocoazenith wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

From the top of my mind:

- An algorithmic reverb to give Valhalla a run for their money
- NN-19 MK2 (height reduced to 3U, streamlined graphics and controls)
- A better wavetable synth since Europa can't hold a candle against Vital, Pigments, Massive or Serum.

- I'd rather they update the SSL EQ than make a new rack EQ...

True, a good native algorithmic reverb would be nice.

nickb523 wrote: ↑

04 Jun 2024

Native devices I'd like to see are -

Beat Repeater Tool (like Peff's Buffre)
Simple Supersaw synth (like Antidote)

I like SAW-1 Discovery SawWave Synth by J Chris Griffin https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... ave-synth/ but I agree: a native to Reason Supersaw synth .. why not?

As for general purpose EQ I like to use Synapse GQ-7 Graphic Equalizer or Selig ColoringEQ but a nice native to Reason one? Yes please.

And a multiband compressor, please.