Parsec 2 is in the shop!

[sdst]

I'd love to, but I don't think it's going to happen. Parsec 2 shows the way - only new, paid RE will get updates. No serious update for any old Reason device, because it doesn't make any money. But this is only my opinion.

well, they updated the reverb and now this

maybe they continue with that.

[Gardinski]

I think it's purely a technical reason behind this as Parsec 2 replaces Parsec 1, if you trialed Parsec 2 and open a project that had Parsec 1 in it and then saved it once the trial is over you would lose the settings you had set in your project as Parsec 2 is not available (Would be the same for any patches you open and save) and people would be up in arms about that. If there was away I believe that Propellerhead would have implemented it.

It's just 39 euros\dollars for major changes and 200 new presets, bit of a bargain if you ask me, would be surprise if it goes on sale before the end of the year...

Agreed. It's a very fair price, imho. (£30 to £35 in 'real' money: barely more than the cost of a refill of presets.)

I'm holding back purely because I've not used Parsec 1 much yet (in fact, not at all in any actual songs. I've merely dabbled with it a couple of times.) As soon as I've spent more time with it and found a way of incorporating it into future material, I'll most likely go for the upgrade.

And I think we're in agreement about the technical limitations on a re-trial for parsec 1 users. I'm sure there is no sinister motive behind Propellerhead's decision. I've never really understood the accusation that "they don't care about their customers".

Sure, they play their cards close to their chest and they never give away their plans for future developments, but how would that benefit us anyway? The bottom line is, they have consistently delivered the finest, most stable and most user-friendly workstation I've yet to experience. I truly love Reason, and am mystified by the negativity of certain users.

[Lrbatiste]

Question? Why do people complain that something isn't free? Just think about your answer before you do.

[Gardinski]

I'd love to, but I don't think it's going to happen. Parsec 2 shows the way - only new, paid RE will get updates. No serious update for any old Reason device, because it doesn't make any money. But this is only my opinion.

But Parsec was a paid, optional RE. It makes sense (to me) for a major upgrade such as this (not merely an update, but a whole new edition) to be 'paid'.

That surely doesn't mean Props will no longer contemplate updating the core Reason devices as unpaid updates, or more realistically as features in Reason version 10, version 11, etc. I think it's highly likely that they will do so, as a key selling point for future editions.

(Then again, if a Malstrom II came out tomorrow as a paid update at $39, I'd probably jump straight on that rather than wait for Reason 10 at $129, or whatever.)

[evolve187]

Hopefully it'll be a $20 upgrade in November.

That would be nice but I have low expectations for that as I don't believe there has ever been a sale on an update. Correct me if i'm wrong.

I love it to be cheaper too...I'm sure we all would. Hell in Canadian $ its more like $60 for me.... But for the amount of improvements in the upgrade, I think $39us is a relatively fair price.

[esselfortium]

New in Parsec 2 Build your sound with 35 new generators, including resynthesized instruments and all of Thor’s wavetables.
Thor 2 confirmed in reason 10.

I'd love to, but I don't think it's going to happen. Parsec 2 shows the way - only new, paid RE will get updates. No serious update for any old Reason device, because it doesn't make any money. But this is only my opinion.

Did you forget about RV7000 MKII?

[jonheal]

Only a few of the current "stock" Reason devices are in RE format. So they would presumably have to build an updated stock Reason device, like the wished for Thor 2 "from scratch" as a RE, otherwise, I reckon you'll have to wait for actual Reason updates to see potential updates to the stock devices. Maybe their long-range plan is convert everything to REs, but I don't believe the updated RV7000 is a RE, as there is nothing for it in the RackExtensions folder.

[Soundcells]

Hi,

Long time no speak here … :0)
I have to say that i was totally happy to spend the 39 bucks for this update. I always loved Parsec for what it is, for its fresh sound. Once i received the email about P2 i was visting the website and purchased within a minute … downloaded … and had fun for hours. To me this update is worth the money!

Best regards to all,

Harald | Soundcells

[TritoneAddiction]

I will never buy Parsec due to it being so expensive. It doesn't matter to me what it does or how it sounds. To be honest there is no sound it could possibly make that would make it worth more than $39 to me.

The highest amount I will ever spend on a software synth is probably $39. Something worth more than that, for me personally, would be something like Toontrack's Superior Drummer in Reason. If you are someone who can afford to pay more than this for a software synth I congratulate you.

There's definitely some cool cheaper RE synths, my favorites are probably Megasaur and Snakebite. But if you're not willing to go over the price of 39 bucks you're seriously missing out imo.
I'm sure I'm wrong but to me it almost sounds like you don't really care about making music or at least don't prioritize it very high. Of course I have no idea how your financial situation is and how that affects things.
But still musical gear and the ability to make/record your own music has never been cheaper. I just don't get the expectation that everything should cost next to nothing or be free.
I find a synth like Expanse (149 bucks) to be worth every penny and fairly priced. Considering the quality and all the stuff that's included it really isn't that expensive imo. With the depth and all its options I could play with that synth for years and still be able to come up with new sounds.

I'm not rich by the way, but making music is a priority for me, so I'll gladly pay for music gear and keep down the costs in other areas.

[tarmoog]

WOW! Just WOW! Knob range steps has gone from 1%,2%,3% etc.. to 1.1%,1.2%,1.3%
This is pretty much best upgrade ever, sound morphing is so smooth and tasty.
Old parsec had very annoying audible steps especially when slowly modulating generator.

From me this really brings Reason up to par with best vsti available atm.

[stp2015]

I just realized there is no stereo spread on the unison...That is a bit of a let down.

[pjeudy]

Question? Why do people complain that something isn't free? Just think about your answer before you do.

Sometimes it's simply customer feedback. I'm not gonna get upset if they ask for free updates...a company might agree and make there next product update free do to customer feedback...or not, doesn't hurt to ask.

Also there are other Product/company's out there that offer free updates that are relatively major to that product. A consumer should look at similar products,compare them and ask questions.
I wonder if they didn't think about making this upgrade free, at 39 it somehow feels like they could of just made it free and let word of mouth and customer rating and the power of version 2 do the rest at convincing none Parsec users to get on board. Also How do I know if I want to upgrade or rave about this new version 2 ....there is NO WAY TO DEMO THIS

[jonheal]

So I guess Propellerhead is going through a paradigm shift with their interface design. This new Parsec highly resembles the players which in turn exhibit characteristics that depart from the design of previous devices.

• Soft 90 degree shadows
• Lack of scruffy details
• No screws
• Interface widgets that clearly would not actually fit in the "virtual enclosure"

This new look is so clean, I wonder if it is not in fact actually vector-based. And the shadows are perhaps drawn on the fly using built-in operating system graphics methods, I reckon a scale-able rack may be coming soon.

The shadows on the back are all messed up. Depending on the widget, the light is coming from like three different directions!

Didn't stop me from plunking down my $39.00, however.

(Most likely, this device is held in place on the rack by neodymium magnets behind the face plate. And then when you need to move it, you have to yank on it really hard, and then it suddenly gives and slips out of you hands and crashes to the floor and then you scream, "F---!!!!!")

[moneykube]

well ... got to get it... spent my coin on antidote , chenille, and fritz... and now $39 more... aaak... oh well... sounds cool

[selig]

WOW! Just WOW! Knob range steps has gone from 1%,2%,3% etc.. to 1.1%,1.2%,1.3%
This is pretty much best upgrade ever, sound morphing is so smooth and tasty.
Old parsec had very annoying audible steps especially when slowly modulating generator.

From me this really brings Reason up to par with best vsti available atm.

If you use the modulation matrix then the knob resolution has no bearing whatsoever. I guess you're talking about using a combinator or automation, though I've never noticed this issue myself.

[selig]

So I guess Propellerhead is going through a paradigm shift with their interface design. This new Parsec highly resembles the players which in turn exhibit characteristics that depart from the design of previous devices.

• Soft 90 degree shadows
• Lack of scruffy details
• No screws
• Interface widgets that clearly would not actually fit in the "virtual enclosure"

This new look is so clean, I wonder if it is not in fact actually vector-based. And the shadows are perhaps drawn on the fly using built-in operating system graphics methods, I reckon a scale-able rack may be coming soon.

The shadows on the back are all messed up. Depending on the widget, the light is coming from like three different directions!

Didn't stop me from plunking down my $39.00, however.

(Most likely, this device is held in place on the rack by neodymium magnets behind the face plate. And then when you need to move it, you have to yank on it really hard, and then it suddenly gives and slips out of you hands and crashes to the floor and then you scream, "F---!!!!!")

Hey, no one questioned the Combinator's lack of screws for many years not…

As for the shadows, I don't see any issue. Shadows are generated automatically, and you have no control over them other than the height of a control.

On the back panel, there are only jacks and trim knobs, and they all cast proper shadows even when I zoom in - not that it matters as you point out. But still, I'm not seeing three different shadows, which is what you'd get with three different light sources. There have always been more than one light source BTW, but only one casts the shadows we see.

[tarmoog]

Yeah using any external CV still comes with low resolution unless there is some kind of smoothing algorythm working behind the curtains, which I doubt.

Using automation clips in sequencer view still gives it full range from 0.0-100.0%.

This is very interesting also considering will there be high resolution CV devices also in future?

[Creativemind]

Looks beautiful that.

I think it can be trialled.

Is the price the same as Parsec v1 then?

I hope we see an SDK III soon and updates to existing rack stock devices such as Thor, NN-XT, Subtractor and the Combinator.

[jfrichards]

P2 is really beautiful.


Here's the R9 P2 patch for this song:

[selig]

Yeah using any external CV still comes with low resolution unless there is some kind of smoothing algorythm working behind the curtains, which I doubt.

Using automation clips in sequencer view still gives it full range from 0.0-100.0%.

This is very interesting also considering will there be high resolution CV devices also in future?

Depends on what you mean by resolution. CV values are already very high resolution, as they are floating point. So PLENTY of resolution there.

The only place smoothing is needed is on some panel controls, and only then when they interact with the audio path in some way. Introducing smoothing is only going to remove higher frequencies, meaning the parameter value will lag slightly behind the knob position when moving it extremely fast. If CV did that, you'd definitely know about it!

[pjeudy]

Looks beautiful that.

I think it can be trialled.

Is the price the same as Parsec v1 then?

Same price!

[jonheal]

So I guess Propellerhead is going through a paradigm shift with their interface design. This new Parsec highly resembles the players which in turn exhibit characteristics that depart from the design of previous devices.

• Soft 90 degree shadows
• Lack of scruffy details
• No screws
• Interface widgets that clearly would not actually fit in the "virtual enclosure"

This new look is so clean, I wonder if it is not in fact actually vector-based. And the shadows are perhaps drawn on the fly using built-in operating system graphics methods, I reckon a scale-able rack may be coming soon.

The shadows on the back are all messed up. Depending on the widget, the light is coming from like three different directions!

Didn't stop me from plunking down my $39.00, however.

(Most likely, this device is held in place on the rack by neodymium magnets behind the face plate. And then when you need to move it, you have to yank on it really hard, and then it suddenly gives and slips out of you hands and crashes to the floor and then you scream, "F---!!!!!")

Hey, no one questioned the Combinator's lack of screws for many years not…

As for the shadows, I don't see any issue. Shadows are generated automatically, and you have no control over them other than the height of a control.

On the back panel, there are only jacks and trim knobs, and they all cast proper shadows even when I zoom in - not that it matters as you point out. But still, I'm not seeing three different shadows, which is what you'd get with three different light sources. There have always been more than one light source BTW, but only one casts the shadows we see.

The shadows from the four screw heads in the back corners cast very long and point due south. The shadows from the CV jacks also cast pretty long and they do so southeast. The audio jacks are highlighted from a light similar to the light highlighting the CV jacks, but they are casting very little shadow even though they are larger objects. The shadows from the CV knobs point due south.

As for the front panel, all of the cast shadows are very blurred and point due south. The shadows from all widgets on all of the stock devices are all less blurred and point south-southeast.

Giles, you are the acknowledged god of audio, but dadgummit, I KNOW pixels.

I know I am nitpicking, but people nitpick audio minutia about devices all the time. This device as well as the new players are absolutely painting their shadows in a different fashion than the stock devices.

[tumar]

I'd love to, but I don't think it's going to happen. Parsec 2 shows the way - only new, paid RE will get updates. No serious update for any old Reason device, because it doesn't make any money. But this is only my opinion.

But Parsec was a paid, optional RE. It makes sense (to me) for a major upgrade such as this (not merely an update, but a whole new edition) to be 'paid'.

That surely doesn't mean Props will no longer contemplate updating the core Reason devices as unpaid updates, or more realistically as features in Reason version 10, version 11, etc. I think it's highly likely that they will do so, as a key selling point for future editions.

(Then again, if a Malstrom II came out tomorrow as a paid update at $39, I'd probably jump straight on that rather than wait for Reason 10 at $129, or whatever.)

Surely? Why are you so sure? Combinator - 2005; Thor - 2007; NNXT - 2002; Scream - 2003; MClass Mastering Suite - 2005. Yes, RV700 (2003) got upgrade. I wish I was wrong but statistic looks cruel. I don't believe in "unpaid updates" like Malstrom II, Thor II, Combinator II etc.

[tarmoog]

Yeah using any external CV still comes with low resolution unless there is some kind of smoothing algorythm working behind the curtains, which I doubt.

Using automation clips in sequencer view still gives it full range from 0.0-100.0%.

This is very interesting also considering will there be high resolution CV devices also in future?

Depends on what you mean by resolution. CV values are already very high resolution, as they are floating point. So PLENTY of resolution there.

The only place smoothing is needed is on some panel controls, and only then when they interact with the audio path in some way. Introducing smoothing is only going to remove higher frequencies, meaning the parameter value will lag slightly behind the knob position when moving it extremely fast. If CV did that, you'd definitely know about it!

I don't really have any glue how reason handles CV currently, so basicly I'm just playing guessing game. Most knob ranges in reason devices are 7-bit values from 0-127.

New parsec has knob range 0.0-100.0% and internal modulation matrix has only values from 0-100 to scale amount CV going from source to destination (another 0-100 as inverted also). Kinda gets confusing.

[selig]

So I guess Propellerhead is going through a paradigm shift with their interface design. This new Parsec highly resembles the players which in turn exhibit characteristics that depart from the design of previous devices.

• Soft 90 degree shadows
• Lack of scruffy details
• No screws
• Interface widgets that clearly would not actually fit in the "virtual enclosure"

This new look is so clean, I wonder if it is not in fact actually vector-based. And the shadows are perhaps drawn on the fly using built-in operating system graphics methods, I reckon a scale-able rack may be coming soon.

The shadows on the back are all messed up. Depending on the widget, the light is coming from like three different directions!

Didn't stop me from plunking down my $39.00, however.

(Most likely, this device is held in place on the rack by neodymium magnets behind the face plate. And then when you need to move it, you have to yank on it really hard, and then it suddenly gives and slips out of you hands and crashes to the floor and then you scream, "F---!!!!!")

Hey, no one questioned the Combinator's lack of screws for many years not…

As for the shadows, I don't see any issue. Shadows are generated automatically, and you have no control over them other than the height of a control.

On the back panel, there are only jacks and trim knobs, and they all cast proper shadows even when I zoom in - not that it matters as you point out. But still, I'm not seeing three different shadows, which is what you'd get with three different light sources. There have always been more than one light source BTW, but only one casts the shadows we see.

The shadows from the four screw heads in the back corners cast very long and point due south. The shadows from the CV jacks also cast pretty long and they do so southeast. The audio jacks are highlighted from a light similar to the light highlighting the CV jacks, but they are casting very little shadow even though they are larger objects. The shadows from the CV knobs point due south.

As for the front panel, all of the cast shadows are very blurred and point due south. The shadows from all widgets on all of the stock devices arr all less blurred and point south-southeast.

Giles, you are the acknowledged god of audio, but dadgummit, I KNOW pixels.

I know I am nitpicking, but people nitpick audio minutia about devices all the time.

OK, then let me rephrase it - there are no "shadow" controls in the RE development tools. Therefore, all objects generate shadows based on the same light sources. Maybe the Props are doing something us mere mortals can't do?



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