POLL - Do you still you use the old Reason synths? (Thor, Subtractor, Malström)

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Do you still you use the old Reason synths? (Thor, Subtractor, Malström)

Yes I still use Thor.
97
34%
Yes I still use Subtractor.
93
32%
Yes I still use Malström.
65
23%
No I've moved on to other synths.
33
11%
 
Total votes: 288
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TritoneAddiction
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Posts: 4219
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Location: Sweden

05 Oct 2020

Just wondering since every now and then people still mention the old Reason synths, especially Thor and Subtractor. Malström doesn't get mentioned as often it seems.

Do you still use any of them? Let's say in the last year or so. Or have you moved on to other synths?

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MrFigg
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05 Oct 2020

I can’t say “still use”...but I can say “finally started using” :)
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guitfnky
Posts: 4408
Joined: 19 Jan 2015

05 Oct 2020

voted for Subtractor and moved on to other synths. :lol: I like it, but I don’t reach for it very often. I have an active dislike for Thor (heresy, I know!), unless I need it for something only it can do. I should give Malstrom a go though—think I’ve only used it once or twice.
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TritoneAddiction
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Location: Sweden

05 Oct 2020

When I look back at my tracks I can see that it's been about 2 years since I used Subtractor, 3 years for Malström and over 4 years for Thor.
The only time I could se myself reaching for Subtractor is for the Bass Guitar patch. That's just a very useful preset. Malström is my favorite of the 3 for sure, because it's got it's own distinct character. Weird tracks always happen whenever that one is involved. Thor I'm sure is great as an all rounder, but the problem is, it's not really the best at anything. It's "ok" at everything.

These days I just like to work with various Rack Extension synths instead. The best things for me are the more niche/character focused synths.

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guitfnky
Posts: 4408
Joined: 19 Jan 2015

05 Oct 2020

TritoneAddiction wrote:
05 Oct 2020
When I look back at my tracks I can see that it's been about 2 years since I used Subtractor, 3 years for Malström and over 4 years for Thor.
The only time I could se myself reaching for Subtractor is for the Bass Guitar patch. That's just a very useful preset. Malström is my favorite of the 3 for sure, because it's got it's own distinct character. Weird tracks always happen whenever that one is involved. Thor I'm sure is great as an all rounder, but the problem is, it's not really the best at anything. It's "ok" at everything.

These days I just like to work with various Rack Extension synths instead. The best things for me are the more niche/character focused synths.
still love that Bass Guitar patch. it’s also pretty much the only one I use if I’ve got a Subtractor in session.

Thor is a powerhouse—no question...I just hate how it’s laid out and how unintuitive it is (and the G part of the GUI is pretty hard to love too, IMO). and to your point, I agree it doesn’t seem to do anything really well; just a LOT of stuff passably.
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tumar
Posts: 385
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

05 Oct 2020

Only Thor. Subtractor as sketchpad for quick ideas.

DougalDarkly
Posts: 193
Joined: 31 Jul 2019

05 Oct 2020

I still use all 3 - they're very capable, well designed and useful in all sorts of ways.

jwd606
Posts: 85
Joined: 19 Sep 2017

05 Oct 2020

guitfnky wrote:
05 Oct 2020

still love that Bass Guitar patch. it’s also pretty much the only one I use if I’ve got a Subtractor in session.
That's my go-to patch. It just sounds like a bass. It works.

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Jackjackdaw
Posts: 1400
Joined: 12 Jan 2019

05 Oct 2020

I like Thor. The phase distortion module is ace. I prefer it to the Arturia CZ V. The state variable SEM style filter is great as well and the mod matrix is the deepest in Reason. Europa and Grain and NN19 are my goto stock devices plus Complex-1. Otherwise I use V collection.

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Rising Night Wave
Posts: 1217
Joined: 03 Sep 2019
Location: Vransko, Slovenia
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05 Oct 2020

more or less no. but i have some old loops to make a songs out of them that has those old synth.
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VIVIsect
Posts: 177
Joined: 28 May 2017

05 Oct 2020

I still like Thor for pads. Never touch the rest, except for when I occasionally break out some ancient ReFills that use some of the other devices.

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Noise
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Posts: 470
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Location: Lisbon
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05 Oct 2020

My Quick tip for the subtractor.
1 - Load your favorite patch
2 - Duplicate the subtractor inside one combinator (optional)
3 - Route them for stereo output ( L + L )
4 - Fiddle with the subtractor settings for some juicy stereo (ex: ADSR ) and play the combinator.
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Kalm
Posts: 554
Joined: 03 Jun 2016
Location: Austin
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05 Oct 2020

I tend to stick with Europa and Grain. They just work for me.
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rgdaniel
Posts: 592
Joined: 07 Sep 2017
Location: Canada

05 Oct 2020

Subtractor for Bass Guitar, and I still have fun poking around with Malstrom. Thor, I don't hate it, but it doesn't usually call to me.

PhillipOrdonez
Posts: 3732
Joined: 20 Oct 2017
Location: Norway
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05 Oct 2020

Lately have started using Thor way way more than before but only as a filter and only for the formant filter.

Sometimes, I use subtractor for a certain patch. Certainly use it a lot less than before!

I don't think I've ever finished a track with malstrøm 🤷‍♂️

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dvdrtldg
Posts: 2386
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

05 Oct 2020

I occasionally reach for Thor if I'm in the mood to experiment, simply because it's so much fun to program. A great learning tool, and I'm not done with learning. Subtractor too, for the same reason, although less often than Thor. They're both classics, and as such they don't really go out of style

Malstrom was my favourite synth when I first started with Reason, I used it everywhere for everything and eventually got a bit sick of it. These days there are a lot of synths that can do a lot more in the weird, out-of-the-box genre

WOO
Posts: 361
Joined: 07 Aug 2019

05 Oct 2020

I only use reasons old synths when used as part of an old refill. My goto synths are dune 3,synthmaster 2,luna,hydronexius workstation,vk-2,reactor 5,kontakt 5 and mixfoods octo 8 and wt4 synths. I'm now trying out thorn and liking it alot.

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MannequinRaces
Posts: 1543
Joined: 18 Jan 2015

05 Oct 2020

Why not a ‘use all’ option, lol?!

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Bloma
Posts: 724
Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Location: Melbourne
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05 Oct 2020

I honestly only use Thor! I will move on at some point but I never get tired of making patches in it. I don't want to move on until I feel I've mastered it (in my own way). I've upgraded to 11 Suite but everything I've made so far in the other synths sounds horrible.

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Loque
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Posts: 11170
Joined: 28 Dec 2015

06 Oct 2020

Subtractor is really good. Just lacks a bit of high end and fine control for the knobs.

Thor is still top notch, just needs oversampling and more matrix slots.
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motuscott
Posts: 3420
Joined: 16 Jan 2015
Location: Contest Weiner

06 Oct 2020

Basically I just wire up a Shure 57 and play ye old nose harp into it with the gain cranked to high heaven through a Selig coloring EQ set to a sawtooth pattern.
Shit ain’t broke and I’m not getting off this couch to fix it…
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TritoneAddiction
Competition Winner
Posts: 4219
Joined: 29 Aug 2015
Location: Sweden

06 Oct 2020

MannequinRaces wrote:
05 Oct 2020
Why not a ‘use all’ option, lol?!
I thought about it, but thought this was better, simpler and showcases what synths are the most popular in a clear way.
If I had an "use all option" would people select all the individual synth options as well? Just seemed a bit messy and unnecessary. So I decided to keep things as simple as possible with just a few options.
I figured people can always comment if they want to be more specific.

robotgard
Posts: 146
Joined: 08 Sep 2018

06 Oct 2020

Image
Last edited by robotgard on 09 Dec 2020, edited 1 time in total.

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zoidkirb
Posts: 752
Joined: 18 Nov 2018
Location: Brisbane Australia
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06 Oct 2020

Subtractor is just so simple and well designed, and it has a nice character so I use it semi regularly.
Thor is more powerful but I just never seem to get the motivation to dive in. I used to use just the sequencer in Thor to trigger things in my combinator creations, but nowadays that's been replaced by the as-16 analogue sequencer.

As Phil said above, the formant filter is useful to send audio thru, so that might be the extent of my future use.

exxx
Posts: 154
Joined: 12 Sep 2016

06 Oct 2020

I am curious about the most used built-in synthesizer.

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