Why Reason?

[wils]

Just wondering why you guys chose Reason and if you find it does everything you need or whether you need to augment it with VSTs or even other DAWs.

For me, it's the first DAW I've actually owned (I've had some experience with lite versions of others). What made me buy this, and not cubase, Ableton live, sonar etc is very simple. Reason has everything in the box and it's designed that way. Ok others have instruments, effects and things included but Reason is the only one that I feel doesn't *need* additional stuff (mostly as a result of its sandbox approach).

My PC has crashed and died various times and this has meant new hard drives etc, with fresh installs of countless instruments and effects. It just takes too long. It's soooooooo frustrating to open up song 678 and get a "plugin XYZ could not be found" popup just because you went mad and wrote every new song with a different eight synths and twenty new send effects

In contrast, I know that won't happen with reason (my intention is to resist every single refill and rack extension that doesn't come bundles with it, and concentrate on making music with what I have and getting the most out of every included bit of kit).

[TritoneAddiction]

At first I started out with Reaper for a short while. Then a friend introduced me to Reason and I just switched. For some reason I got slightly better results with my music and I just stuck with it.
At this point I just don't see any big reason to change DAW. Even though I'm far from an expert with Reason I know what I need to know to make my music. Tbh I'm not sure Reason is the best DAW for me but now I've developed a workflow and I have no energy or desire to try out every DAW out there.

I do like the rack view better than floating windows for VSTs, that's for sure. Also right click on whatever you want to automate is great for my workflow. No annoying lists of everything everything that could be automated.

Judging from peoples opinions/complaints here at the forum other DAWs seem have a lot of stuff that Reason don't, but most of the time I just haven't been bothered by those "problems". I just work with what I have in Reason and get on with making music instead.

[GeiddE]

Because Reason makes me happy !

[sdst]

Just wondering why you guys chose Reason

1- because Reason don't crashe like the others

2- I like the Rack and cv workflow

3- because Reason don't crashe like the others

[SoulState]

Judging from peoples opinions/complaints here at the forum other DAWs seem have a lot of stuff that Reason don't, but most of the time I just haven't been bothered by those "problems". I just work with what I have in Reason and get on with making music instead.

Remember people with complaints usually shout the loudest.


Anyway back to topic... Why Reason?



DAWs: I've played around with them all...Starting with Cubase on an Atari; Protools then back to Cubase again - this time on a Mac. Logic seems overly complicated - to be fair, I've not used it for 10 years maybe its less bloated now... Ableton's cool for messing about with but I've never completed anything on it and I've had it as long as Reason (2001).
When I first opened Reason v1 it literally felt like Propellerhead had made this programme for me personally - it was that intuitive.

Reason is the only program I find effortless to use, it just doesn't get in the way of creating. In fact its a conduit to creativity.

[Electric-Metal]

Simply because Reason is the only DAW that clicked with me from initial start-up.

The worst thing for me was Live. A lot of people find it great. For me - installed it, didn't get it, uninstalled, never looked back

[dvdrtldg]

I use WaveLab for work, and for me it fills most of the gaps left by Reason, especially when it comes to editing. WaveLab is also a dedicated mastering suite, but I find more and more I'm mastering in Reason these days.

Love the back of the rack, love working with CV, love the fun factor. Looking forward to some improvements to the sequencer and maybe a more elegant VST implementation, but no major complaints really.

[Gorgon]

Hey Hydlide, how you doing.

[Zac]

Ummm......

Because since 1.01. I'm lazy. I stick with what i know if it works for me. It still does all these years later.

[plaamook]

Ummm......

Because since 1.01. I'm lazy. I stick with what i know if it works for me. It still does all these years later.

Same with me but I have a friend that teaches music tech some old shit at Uni who reckons that Reason users seem more likely to get stuck, for better or worse, in Reason that other primary DAW users as it's such a unique environment.
I've tried to get out, I just don't like it out there though. I used to use Logic for plugs n so on but hated it. Thing of the past now...

[QVprod]

Ummm......

Because since 1.01. I'm lazy. I stick with what i know if it works for me. It still does all these years later.

Same with me but I have a friend that teaches music tech some old shit at Uni who reckons that Reason users seem more likely to get stuck, for better or worse, in Reason that other primary DAW users as it's such a unique environment.
I've tried to get out, I just don't like it out there though. I used to use Logic for plugs n so on but hated it. Thing of the past now...

Fair point. The workflow is so unique. Most other DAWs, while still having their own unique features, are so much more similar to each other that it's pretty easy to switch between them. I myself also tried other options and still use Reason the most for producing/composing. I do audio engineering tasks elsewhere though.

[chaosroyale]

I used to do everything with hardware. Plug this wire into that, loop it back into itself, add 48dB of gain and a delay pedal, see what happens. Reason is the only software I've used that really feels like that. The playfulness, the "virtual studio building blocks" kind of approach is really important to me. If they could sort out some of the core issues (like being able type the input values you want...hello?) I'd never need anything else. As it is, Reason is much faster and more intuitive for really creative, experimental, and deep projects, and much slower and more frustrating for standard tasks.

[Ahornberg]

#1 Reason runs stable.
#2 I can freely route signal-paths and CV-cables.
#3 Best audio timestretch & pitchshift.
#4 The only DAW supporting RE & VST side by side.
#5 Reason is a pleasure to my eyes.
...
Have I mentioned the mixer? You can control it easily with the Console 1 controller.
And Blocks! For me the best way to build EDM tracks.
The way automation is handled in the sequencer. Automation clips are dope!
...
But seriously, I use Reason because I immediately internalized the main keyboard shortcuts

[stephensmattlee]

As others have said, I too am someone that’s been guilty of dabbling with just about every daw over the past 10-15 years, the only two I’ve stuck with are Logic Pro and Reason.

Reason is easily the most inspiring and creative daw out there and Logic fills the gaps for the more slightly advanced features that Reason still lacks. I guess if i really wanted to I could probably work exclusively in Reason but just find Logic slightly more comfortable for working with audio in the later stages of music making.

That said though, I absolutely love Reasons “clip” based approach to automation as a pose to the way other daws handle it, especially during the song creation process.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RandyEspoda]

Because -> Reason

[pushedbutton]

I got into reason cos I didn't want to be forever buying expensive upgrades and vst's and because the community was strong because collaborating was easy because everyone could open each others files. Now I just have Stockholm Syndrome.

[splangie]

Ditto on pretty much every point made. But I will mention the things I really like.

1. Back of the rack
2. Integration with Nektar P6
3. Workflow
4. Ease of use

I am still learning and just getting started again using sequencers and drum machines but the learning curve has so far been almost entirely downhill.

[wils]

2. Integration with Nektar P6

But is that a feature of the P6 just being a good piece of kit (i.e. I looked at reviews and apparently it's set up for *all* the major DAWs)?

Is the P6/Reason integration better than others?

[antic604]

I am still learning and just getting started again using sequencers and drum machines but the learning curve has so far been almost entirely downhill.

The more time you dedicate, the less you know? Interesting

[splangie]

I am still learning and just getting started again using sequencers and drum machines but the learning curve has so far been almost entirely downhill.

The more time you dedicate, the less you know? Interesting

Some learning curves can be steep and uphill and difficult for example, but the Reason learning curve for me has so far been as easy ride downhill. Though I am just getting started.

[Creativemind]

I started in 2012 at college on Reason 6 and shortly after bought 6.5 (just missing the Polar / Pulsar / Radical Piano free Re's ) . Our tutor at college had the option of teaching us Logic or Reason but he said Reason would be the easiest to get our heads 'round for beginners. He was right.

He also said Subtractor was one of the most straight forward to learn subtractive synthesis on. Again he was right. Very well laid out.

I upgraded to 8 just before 8 was released and got to play with 7 for a couple of weeks beforehand. I am now on 8.3.

Things I like about Reason:-

1) Thor is awesome and looks awesome too..
2) Subtractor is also a beautiful looking soft synth.
3) Automation is easy.
4) Completing songs seems to be easy.
5) It's got something about it that's inspiring.
6) Love the main mixer (just wish it had more frequency bands so you could have more points on the Spectrum EQ).
7) Malstrom is lush too.
8) Audio is self-contained. I know this doesn't suit most people but it's less hassel. An option to do both would be great though.
9) The way they integrated VST is amazing and love the combi style device they used.
10) the CV (although I don't use it often) is great and you can achieve such great sounds using it.

[splangie]

2. Integration with Nektar P6

But is that a feature of the P6 just being a good piece of kit (i.e. I looked at reviews and apparently it's set up for *all* the major DAWs)?

Is the P6/Reason integration better than others?

I believe the Panorama series was created initially for Reason integration primarily, but it works with many others. I have no other controller to compare it to as I have just started using both. Reason and the P6 were highly recommended to me by a great friend who is also a pro, so while my opinion regarding both are biased, I have been very pleased and have little to complain about regarding either one at this point.

[Reasonable man]

I'm half way through Peff's book Power tools for Reason (3) and my poor head is overloaded with complex information and routing. This book came out before there was even an SSL mixer in Reason and my brain is almost destroyed at how deep the rabbit hole goes . This guy makes Hydelide look cute and cuddly. The book is rentless like ......a Prodigy album. For someone who just wants to write music ..Reason isn't an easy daw to become best friends with. Anyone here who pretends not to have a masochistic relationshhip with it is a liar i tells ya .....a liar.

[Psuper]

So many areas that make Reason a joy to to play with -- an incredible possibility of sound in a box making many shortcomings bearable.

[CaliforniaBurrito]

I like when I press tab and the virtual cables jiggle.