For Niklas: List of Sequencer improvements

[Proboscis]

To my mind, there's always ben a missing feature relating to solo/mute on the sequencer tracks.

Compare to the Mix Channels > SSL Mixer, there are two buttons;

MUTE ALL OFF
SOLO ALL OFF

The Sequencer has M & S, but it doesn't function the same way, and is not talking to the desk.

A Global Mute / Solo across both screens would be ACE.

[Creativemind]

-automatically create nodes at start and end of new automation clips that are set to the control’s current value

+ 1 for that one and for markers.

But I think there's so much missing at this point there's too many for Reason Studio's to contend with (if they added 5 workflow feature's a month big or small it'd take them a year odd lol!) but here are my main wants:-

Top 10

* Linked Clips and Automation
* Track Folders
* Midi Chase
* Midi Controller Key Highlighting (across the actual note row)
* Audition Audio Clips In Sequencer with Speaker Tool
* Slice By Song Position Pointer
* Transient Time Displays In Slice Edit
* Sync Browsers
* Undo History
* A proper black Theme and allow themes to affect the Main Mixer and no restart required to apply.

Others

* Merge Clips In the Bounce in Place
* Join Midi Notes
* Note Displays
* Remove them Arrows off midi notes and clips until you hovered your mouse cursor to either end of the note or clip
* Shortcut To Select All Clips On a Track
* Bypass All Effects Buttons (An LED light which you could click would be cool like FL Studio) on all Mixer / Mix Channels
* Tempo Detect of Audio with Fit To Tempo (Like FL Studio)
* Convert Audio Clips Stereo to Mono & Vice Versa (should be in the menu on right clicking)
* User Definable Shortcuts
* Sync Windows on the Fly (long time request I think going back years)
* Manual Parameter Inputs with Copy & Paste (I think another long time request)
* Scan VST Folder While Reeason Is Open
* Track, Rack and Mixer Notes as well as Sequencer Lyric / Notepad.

Smart Browser

* Hope they don't leave out a wave display (I vote for also being able to click the wave display whilst holding the left mouse button to highlight a section and it plays / loops that section), also clicking anywhere within the wave starts play from where you click (from Reaper) regardless of the highlighted section if you have one.
* Pitch Shift + or - 12 semitones of samples
* Tempo, key, length of sample display and add a dB reading to the volume slider
* Tempo Match with half speed / double speed
* Put Dots next to all previously auditioned samples in a folder
* Refresh button for Folders (and all newly added files show up in a different colour)
* Sync Browsers (which I mentioned above)
* Patch auditioning
* Midi Auditioning (plays with the sound of whichever track you have selected)
* Route to a track to audition samples with effects
* New Section at the top of Browser thumbnails where newly installed vst's sit for 24 hrs after installing for quick finding
* Tag and Branch searching

Icing on the cake - Device searching within projects. I had a friend come round a couple of weeks ago and he wanted to listen to a track I showed him months ago. It had no specific name so I hadn't the foggiest what I'd called it. I tried a good dozen projects but no joy, then he had to go. I knew it had a Kong in. If I could've searched for all tracks containing a Kong, it would've narrowed down the search a little.

I also have a feature I don't think any DAW does - convert You Tube clips to audio and stick it in the sequencer. In the file menu, you could have a Convert To Audio listing and just copy and paste the You Tube URL in there and voila - asks you if you want Mono or Stereo too. To get round copyright just don't mention You Tube anywhere, not even in the manual lol!

[Oper-8]

The Sequencer has M & S, but it doesn't function the same way, and is not talking to the desk.

The Mute and Solo buttons in the Sequencer pane also allow you to mute specific lanes in one SSL channel, and also the effect lanes (that have an automation lane in the sequencer but no SSL channel). But indeed, the state of the main Mute and Solo buttons for each track in the Sequencer pane should be tied to its matching SSL channel.
They should also let the users choose (in the Settings window) whether they want those track icons (Mute, Solo and Record Enable) under each device's thumbnail or to the right (the current default position).

[Marc Swing]

• Drag and drop samples from the browser to vst

• Group tracks / Track folders

• Zoom style like the mimic sampler where you click and hold and move the mouse down to zoom in or move the mouce up to zoom out

• Glide and slide notes inside the sequecer

• Fix Kong with a "lock the output settings" so it doesn't forget the routing when changing sounds

• Audio to midi polyphonic

• Multi MIDI channel support

• Control the volume of each channel in the sequencer

• Crossfade/fade in and out types

• Humanize selected notes

• Note Chase

• Scales & modes (same as Scales & Chords Player device, but live in the sequencer)

• Strum selected notes

• Strip Silence ( https://helpx.adobe.com/se/audition/usi ... lence.html )

• Native vocalign ( https://www.synchroarts.com/products/vo ... a/overview )

[Oper-8]

I've been watching videos showing Mimic, and it actually doesn't have loop options (unless they're not shown in videos and I missed something). Therefore I'll add a couple of suggestions for Mimic specifically :
- Set loop points (start and end) like Grain : mouse drags or sets position of start or end loop point
- Set loop direction as you can do on a regular sampler : FW / FW-BW / BW / BW-FW
- Import and export REX loops
- Send sample to track (bounce)
- Per slot : offset start (add virtual silence before a sample or slice)
- Group select slots, to edit parameters for multiple slots at the same time

I have other suggestions by the way - for Reason's devices and UI :
- All devices : Browse button : point to device's native (base) folder
- All devices : Option to toggle any useless animations
- All devices : Randomize patch
- Browser : Audio preview for patches
- Browser : Audio preview for REX, WAV and AIFF loops, time-stretched, bar-synced to the song's tempo (when song is playing)
- Browser : Audio preview with waveform
- Browser : MIDI preview (based on FX on current selected track)
- Browser : Option to toggle horizontal/vertical display
- Browser : Option to toggle thumbnail for devices (Text/Graphics/Text+Graphics)
- Browser : Search by alias (users should be able to give an alias to each and every RE and VST plugin, e. g. "Radical Keys" could be called "Virtual Rhodes" if we want to)
- Browser : Search by tags (devices ?, samples, patches)
- Browser : Song preview
- Browser : Sort columns for Favorite folders (by Name, Parent, Date)
- Colours : More application-wide user-customizable colour schemes (we have only two options since YEARS, and they are FIXED colour schemes !)
- Colours : Palette (check out concurrent DAWs : FL Studio has GREAT options and features)
- Combinator 2 : Assign parameter through arrow click & drag (like Grain or Europa), instead of menu-diving
- Misc. : Pasting another device's patch should replace with the right device. Say you copy a patch from a Kong, try and paste on a Redrum : "Paste patch" is disabled. It should be enabled, auto-detect the patch type, and create a Kong instead of the Redrum.
- Popup menus : Build your own menu system, on more than 1 column (would be damn handy when you have 100 patches listed), with icons and find-as-you-type textbox
- Shortcuts : Escape key to close the VST window having the focus
- Tools window : Rebuild it from scratch ; Add DAW-worthy features ; Make textboxes modern, so we can mouse-scroll values
- VST : "Keep open" icon : checked by default (or option to choose default state)
- VST : Scan VST folders without closing Reason

[bxbrkrz]

I couldn't find this little option in the manual, but maybe it is there already.
The option to mirror the position of the sequencer tracks and the mix channels, when you move them around as your production grows.

[chimp_spanner]

I've made some version of this list a thousand times but, hey, why not 1001

- Folder Tracks
I'd look to Cubase for this, not Live. Cubase's folder track creates a master 'container' clip that you can move around, slice, copy, paste, etc. And all the clips on all the tracks inside it just follow. I was hoping you could do this in Live but, alas, you can't. Being able to move even a single track around with all of its automation neatly packaged would be such a time saver.

- MIDI Note Chase
Notes should play from anywhere, not just the note-on event.

- MIDI Note Preview on Arrow Nudge
Currently you can only hear the note if you click and drag. If you nudge with arrows you have to count/sing in your head

- Browser Preview Playhead
For scrubbing through long samples before you import them.

- User Keyboard Shortcuts

- Add Sample As <Device>
From the browser, auto-load selected sample/s into a compatible sampler device.

- Drag Sample From Sequencer To Sampler

- Auto Sync Device Order (Optional)
Any time I introduce people to Reason, they get very confused trying to understand the relationship between track, rack and mixer, and why the orders can be different in each. There should be a setting where if you move a track in the track list, the rack and mixer auto update.

- Save Device + Mixer Channels

- Legato Operation Fix
Currently, legato will join all notes together but the last note is left short because there's not another note to join to. In Cubase/Live/etc. the last note is extended to the end of the clip. I've spent a lot of time, cumulatively, correcting this by hand.

- Re-Pitch Time Stretch Mode
An additional stretching algorithm where the pitch/speed of the sample are linked.

- Tempo Definition For Audio
Not sure where this would live but there should be a way to tell Reason the tempo of a file and have it stretch to the correct length. Some kind of audio pool for managing audio in the project would be good also.

- Per-Pad Audio Out For Kong

- Drag & Drop Matrix For Thor

- Custom RE & Content Locations

- Per-Socket Splitter
Every audio/CV output should be able to go to x number of destinations from a single socket (Voltage Modular does a great job of this). Double/long/modifier click a socket and a splitter pops out. For more than 6 connections, users can do manual splitting with spider or equivalent.

- Patch Mode
Right click a socket to initiate patching. Navigate to destination, right click to complete. No more clicking and dragging. Moog Model 15 has this.

- Instanced Clips/Patterns/Ghost Copies/Etc.
Basically per-track blocks, or a cross between the pattern system and full note editor. Change my Chorus Bass pattern once, it changes everywhere. Like Ghost Copies in Cubase, or pattern painting in FL Studio.

All I can think of atm.

[Creativemind]

- Select notes per math functions (1 out of 3, etc.)

+1

I’d thought about this one before too—it would be super handy!

Not quite understanding that one, what's it mean?

One Midi Editor shortcut I've wanted for years is a shortcut to send selected notes to the beginning of a clip. The amount of times I play a sequence and the first one is ok, 2nd one better but not perfect, 3rd one 90% there. Then I enter the midi editor, select the first 2 attempts and delete, then I select all to highlight the remainder of notes, ctrl k to quantize, then I just want a 3rd option, to send selected notes to the beginning of that clip.

[Creativemind]

- Drag Sample From Sequencer To Sampler

- Legato Operation Fix
Currently, legato will join all notes together but the last note is left short because there's not another note to join to. In Cubase/Live/etc. the last note is extended to the end of the clip. I've spent a lot of time, cumulatively, correcting this by hand.

- Re-Pitch Time Stretch Mode
An additional stretching algorithm where the pitch/speed of the sample are linked.

Same, that making a feature list a 1000 times thing. Mailed RS / Prop about half a dozen times over the years, probably more.

+1 for drag audio from sequencer to sampler.

The way track folders work in Cubase sounds like the one.

That stretch mode setting sounds great too and you would think they'd fixed that legato thing by now wouldn't you. Not having that last note go to the end of a clip sounds illogical.

[rootwheel]

- Legato Operation Fix
Currently, legato will join all notes together but the last note is left short because there's not another note to join to. In Cubase/Live/etc. the last note is extended to the end of the clip. I've spent a lot of time, cumulatively, correcting this by hand.

I currently workaround this by creating another note where I want the actual last note to end, doing the legato command, and then deleting my temp note. I agree it would be far nicer if it worked like you suggest.

Another addition in a similar vein would be allowing the quantising of the end of notes. Currently we can only quantise the start of a note position and that causes the end of the note to get moved from where it was originally played; sometimes the note's release then gets moved even further out of time. There's currently no way which I know of to quantise the note ends in batch; they each have to be manually resized so the end snaps to grid.

[guitfnky]

+1

I’d thought about this one before too—it would be super handy!

Not quite understanding that one, what's it mean?

say you recorded a hi hat pattern and played straight eighth notes. you like the general vibe but want to hear what it would sound like if you removed every other note, or every third note, or every fifth note, etc. the idea would be that you’d select every note in the pattern, and then tell it to deselect some of the notes based on your mathematical rule. then you don’t have to manually delete every X# note.

[PhillipOrdonez]

Yes to this:

"automatically create nodes at start and end of new automation clips that are set to the control’s current value"

[Oper-8]

@chimp_spanner : Excellent suggestions !

@Creativemind : Sorry, I should have explained this. I'm not sure when or where, but I once saw this in an DAW (Cubase or Logic, maybe), but that was ages ago. There were math/logic functions, and/or curves and stuff, that were designed to select and edit notes.

@guitfnky : Thanks for your very good example ! Of course it would also be useful if you need those 8th notes to be not deleted, but just lowered in velocity. They might also include another option, '"Select even/odd notes".
And it would be handy for manual synth arps, for instance, where you need to figure out how your arp would sound with a C# instead of F#.

The only thing the Props need to think of is a handy floating tool window that we could display with a right-click. Or even better, add options over the sequencer lanes, right after the Note Length and Velocity. There's room to add useful stuff here !

Here's another batch of suggestions :
- Sequencer : Key shortcuts : When you double-click ahead of a line of notes (say, the hi-hat pattern from above), and you want to move them step by step using Ctrl+arrows, you can't. It moves the whole clip instead.
- UI : SSL desk : Decrease font size on channel's label when text gets too long

[Creativemind]

Not quite understanding that one, what's it mean?

say you recorded a hi hat pattern and played straight eighth notes. you like the general vibe but want to hear what it would sound like if you removed every other note, or every third note, or every fifth note, etc. the idea would be that you’d select every note in the pattern, and then tell it to deselect some of the notes based on your mathematical rule. then you don’t have to manually delete every X# note.

Oh yes, that would be cool. Do others daw's have this functionality?

[pushedbutton]

For the auto tool switching stuff, it's worth getting accustomed to using the QWERTYU key shortcuts. Once you have that muscle memory, you can switch to the tool you want instantly without thinking about it.

Track folders in the sequencer and mixer would be good.

I'm used to using the keyboard to switch tools but I'd love to be able to just use a slicing eraser tool.
I spent a lot of time feeding my 'vocalist' line by line so to cut out the silence between the useful audio clips would save a lot of time for me.

[R303]

-Permanent clip names
-Sequencer is not very nice (all themes, sorry) as opposed to the Rack
-Again "Set track as default height", because I'm not motivated to resize new tracks every time
-Optional track numbers
-Optional old Grid setting (more 4 bars respectively 1/4)

Quote: "And my personal testing shows that good looking Combinators sound better too.."
This also applies to the Sequencer.

[Proboscis]

The Sequencer has M & S, but it doesn't function the same way, and is not talking to the desk.

The Mute and Solo buttons in the Sequencer pane also allow you to mute specific lanes in one SSL channel, and also the effect lanes (that have an automation lane in the sequencer but no SSL channel). But indeed, the state of the main Mute and Solo buttons for each track in the Sequencer pane should be tied to its matching SSL channel.
They should also let the users choose (in the Settings window) whether they want those track icons (Mute, Solo and Record Enable) under each device's thumbnail or to the right (the current default position).

Maybe it's the haphazard way in which I work, but I'm always soloing (multiple) sequencer tracks, and at other time soloing SSL tracks. But I often hit a point when I want to unmute/unsolo everything. This is easy enough from the mixer, thanks to the two buttons under the master fader, but this does not impact the sequencer mutes/solos. That means a whole other step.

Two true 'global' buttons in the dead space to the right side of the transport would be great, to disable both the SSL and sequencer mutes/solos.

That said, there are plenty of other more important things I'd like to see improved.

Linked clips - so if I change a MIDI note in a clip, it is also reflected in a linked clip. Also, locking clips together (across different sequencer lanes) so when I move one, the accompanying section also moves

Time/section markers - Seriously stone age workaround currently, using empty 'blocks'. Which is an unusable workaround if you're actually using Blocks as intended.

[joeyluck]

Thinking of solo buttons...

In Logic, as it may be with other DAWs, you can solo the solos (one at a time). I think it's by holding option when clicking a solo button (so then you don't have to unsolo something before you solo another track). I don't think there is a way to do that in Reason?

[Proboscis]

Thinking of solo buttons...

In Logic, as it may be with other DAWs, you can solo the solos (one at a time). I think it's by holding option when clicking a solo button (so then you don't have to unsolo something before you solo another track). I don't think there is a way to do that in Reason?

Doesn't that add more complications, rather than less ?

With my (admittedly limited) experience with other DAWs, I don't believe the 'disconnect' I outlined would even exist, because there's no third control element (the three being the Rack, Sequencer and Mixer).

And considering that the most popular desktop configurations (for music makers) are either one or two monitors (rarely three!), to have the sequencer on Monitor 1, bounce the mixer to a floating window on monitor 2, that's everything the user needs to manage DAW control.

Sure, we can do the 'split screen' on two of the three elements, but at the sacrifice of screen real-estate with Reason (DAW) being already an inefficient use of visual space.

[joeyluck]

Thinking of solo buttons...

In Logic, as it may be with other DAWs, you can solo the solos (one at a time). I think it's by holding option when clicking a solo button (so then you don't have to unsolo something before you solo another track). I don't think there is a way to do that in Reason?

Doesn't that add more complications, rather than less ?

With my (admittedly limited) experience with other DAWs, I don't believe the 'disconnect' I outlined would even exist, because there's no third control element (the three being the Rack, Sequencer and Mixer).

And considering that the most popular desktop configurations (for music makers) are either one or two monitors (rarely three!), to have the sequencer on Monitor 1, bounce the mixer to a floating window on monitor 2, that's everything the user needs to manage DAW control.

Sure, we can do the 'split screen' on two of the three elements, but at the sacrifice of screen real-estate with Reason (DAW) being already an inefficient use of visual space.

No, it's just for soloing one thing at a time. Currently, you hit solo on your bass and then you hit solo on your vocals, you are soloing both. Which is the default for other DAWs. But then there's an option with a key modifier to solo one thing at a time without having to unsolo the other.

As far as the separate solo/mutes in the sequencer, it has its benefits. It would be handy to have both in the sequencer (what is there now and a link to the mixer buttons). I just don't know how they could be presented to be intuitive. But I do like being able to mute/solo sequencer events separate from the mixer and vice versa.

[aeox]

My sequencer wishlist:

1. Merge the pen and eraser tool into one tool

It’s a time killer to draw a note (or multiple notes) with the pen tool in the piano roll, and then having to choose another tool to remove the note (or multiple notes).

Please make it so that I click to write the note, and then click again on that note to remove it.

Double click
Personally, I like the way it works

2. When in razor mode, automatically change the razor to select mode when I want to move to another section in the sequencer.

Atm, when the razor mode is selected, I can’t move in the sequencer until I manually switch to select mode. That’s time consuming.

I don't see this as a huge flaw, or a flaw at all. You get quick with the shortcuts after a while.

4. Control the volume of each channel in the sequencer

Give me creative control in the sequencer without having to go to the rack

Automation lanes are great for that!

5. Track folders


Long time request

Yes.. please!

8. Easily zoom wherever my mouse pointer is located

Self-explanatory. Be able to smoothly zoom wherever my mouse pointer is located.

I like this idea

9. Increase note rolling/splitting to 1/256 (it’s currently at 1/128)

Give us more creative freedom with splitting and rolling notes.

Agreed

10. Glide and slide notes inside the sequecer

The classic 808 slide that you’ve heard on UK Drill and Trap music can’t be done in Reason. It can be done both on Ableton and FL Studio.

It's possible, if you know how.

[Proboscis]

As far as the separate solo/mutes in the sequencer, it has its benefits. It would be handy to have both in the sequencer (what is there now and a link to the mixer buttons). I just don't know how they could be presented to be intuitive. But I do like being able to mute/solo sequencer events separate from the mixer and vice versa.

I've seen a couple of your 'mock-ups', so will offer you this one I just created.

The Transport bar is the one constant, no matter which 'view' we are in. A pair of 'Global' buttons which behave as their mixing desk counterparts do, with the additional function of influencing the sequencer, could live in the lower right side of the workspace.



.

globalmutesolo.jpg

[Proboscis]

And further to the management of mute/solo, why the heck are the SSL controls on the top part of the 'split', so when you scroll up to use all the features of the desk, those individual channel mute/solos are off-screen ?

This is a very amateurish oversight, that could be remedied by reducing their size and having them reside under the channel strip names, to be 'always there' in SSL view. It's another of the many 'WTF' of Reason's antiquated and abandoned feature deployments.

.

image_2021-09-16_150502.png

[Jackjackdaw]

Track folders
Retrospective record
Midi note chase
Markers

I actually really like the tools and their shortcuts. I wouldnt want that to change.

[plaamook]

Well as they've actually asked...

Zoom out to at least 1 Hr or more at 120bpm.
Vertical zoom to pointer not top down!
Folders
Markers
Cut at loop points/markers
Drag ti highlight loop points at the top Logic style
Drag loop bar at top Logic style
Drag Felf and Right to resize/hide device section on the left of the sequencer screen as you can with the browser
Tape Stretch Mode added to Alt Drag function
Retro-record
Drag audio from sequencer to rack device
Consolidate all the wasted blank space tighten the whole thing up to buy some space for us 13" laptop mobile folks
Smaller consolidated Transport

Off the top of my (and others) head(s).