Which DAW should I get to replace Reason? (Windows only)

Want to talk about music hardware or software that doesn't include Reason?

Which DAW will be the best/easiest to transition to from Reason?

Ableton Live
27
23%
Bitwig
34
29%
Cakewalk
5
4%
Cubase
10
9%
Fruity Loops
3
3%
Pro Tools
1
1%
Reaper
11
9%
Studio One
11
9%
Other
15
13%
 
Total votes: 117
avasopht
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04 Oct 2021

Try them out.

Studio One, Bitwig, Live and Reaper all have decent trials.

No matter what people advise you, it all comes down to which one works best with you.

You might be better to Reaper's workflow, or vibe more with Bitwig's clips and integration with the Presonus Atom.

My recommendation is to also try out the DAWs with their respective controllers.

When I wanted to try out Live I bought an Ableton Push 1 and then later Push 2, as well as a Launchpad Pro (think I also got a Launchpad mini).

Right now I have Maschine mk3 (along with Komplete Ultimate to get the full NI experience), Studio One Artist (but without any Presonus control surfaces) and Reason. The control surfaces can bring it all to another level depending on your workflow.

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QVprod
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04 Oct 2021

No such thing as a replacement. Perhaps consider an augment. I use different programs for different things. The said Studio One sn my go to and even has some 'Reason-like' functions such as the arranger track (Blocks) and Multi-instrument (combinator). The default key commands for tools are also similar being the row of numbers just above the QWERTY keys used for Reason in the sequencer with the option to customize..

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Greg Savage
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04 Oct 2021

Creativemind wrote:
18 Sep 2021
People still call it Fruity Loops? it's been called FL Studio for 18 years. 🤣
:clap: Doesn't the F and L still stand for Fruity Loops though?

Fl Studio...Fruity Loops Studio...No matter how you church it up, it's still what it is
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Greg Savage
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04 Oct 2021

I think it depends on how you like to work. Essentially all of the Daws work the same but they all specialize in something a little better than the other. I've used a lot of DAWS and often have to have a lot of when working with clients who prefer proprietary project files.

If I had to choose a few to throw out there that are good to work in I’d go with (in no order)

Cubase
Reaper
Digital Performer
Logic X
Maybe Ableton...maybe

The one thing that's hard to find in other daws is Reason Production Tools. Good thing it's a plugin though.
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Benedict
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04 Oct 2021

It's always loopy loop loops of fruit to me

I voted Bitwig as that is where I would go with the smoothest sense of staying alive. Definitely feel the closest to the sense of 'we are one' that Reason has. interesting to see that I am not the only one.

Otherwise Studio One is really nice too.

DP is interesting, esp seeing my Opcode Vision background when V & DP were neck & neck) but it is a whole other ball of wax so probably fails hugely on the seamless transition front. Same with Reaper (that I had to pony for to get those high-track-count mixes done and paid).

:-)
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jam-s
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04 Oct 2021

I think the choice depends on your way to work and make music. So if you record a lot and work mainly with stems S1 might be the better option. For experimental and mostly midi based I think Bitwig is a good choice as it is quite a bit more modern and pleasing from the UI in comparison to Ableton live and also has a modular playground a bit like Reason.

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Creativemind
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05 Oct 2021

Greg Savage wrote:
04 Oct 2021
Creativemind wrote:
18 Sep 2021
People still call it Fruity Loops? it's been called FL Studio for 18 years. 🤣
:clap: Doesn't the F and L still stand for Fruity Loops though?

Fl Studio...Fruity Loops Studio...No matter how you church it up, it's still what it is
Technically yes but it's called FL Studio. People are still (although very rare) still calling Reason Studio's "Props" on some Facebook pages and forums lol! Never understood Props cause they were never Propellerheads anyway, it was Propellerhead, so technically they should've been referred to as Prop lol!
:reason:

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Greg Savage
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06 Oct 2021

Creativemind wrote:
05 Oct 2021
Greg Savage wrote:
04 Oct 2021


:clap: Doesn't the F and L still stand for Fruity Loops though?

Fl Studio...Fruity Loops Studio...No matter how you church it up, it's still what it is
Technically yes but it's called FL Studio. People are still (although very rare) still calling Reason Studio's "Props" on some Facebook pages and forums lol! Never understood Props cause they were never Propellerheads anyway, it was Propellerhead, so technically they should've been referred to as Prop lol!
'Props', gotta love that :lol:. That's right up there with 'Reasons'
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Benedict
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06 Oct 2021

Props = Propellerhead people - collectively as in plural peoples which has no "s" in this usage but puts one on the affectionate form.

"RSers" or even simple "RS" somehow does seem to have the elegance.
Besides we tend to stay with the first impression we have of something/someone - esp if we preferred them that way ;-)

:-)

p.s. It is not like the advert for "AI Intelligence" music-making soft (in the head) ware. Or people who talk about CD discs. ATM machines...
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tronam
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07 Oct 2021

Creativemind wrote:
18 Sep 2021
People still call it Fruity Loops? it's been called FL Studio for 18 years. 🤣
Yeah, but Fruity Loops Studio sounds so much more fun. FL is *yawn*
Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune.

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Creativemind
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07 Oct 2021

Greg Savage wrote:
06 Oct 2021
Creativemind wrote:
05 Oct 2021


Technically yes but it's called FL Studio. People are still (although very rare) still calling Reason Studio's "Props" on some Facebook pages and forums lol! Never understood Props cause they were never Propellerheads anyway, it was Propellerhead, so technically they should've been referred to as Prop lol!
'Props', gotta love that :lol:. That's right up there with 'Reasons'
:lol:

Here in the U.K people for some reason are always pluraling supermarkets and I often correct them lol! Lidl's or Aldi's.
:reason:

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Creativemind
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07 Oct 2021

tronam wrote:
07 Oct 2021
Creativemind wrote:
18 Sep 2021
People still call it Fruity Loops? it's been called FL Studio for 18 years. 🤣
Yeah, but Fruity Loops Studio sounds so much more fun. FL is *yawn*
I never understood why they had to change the name as apparently Kellogg's tried sueing them but the cereal isn't called Fruity Loops, they're called Froot Loops both words with double o's so different?
:reason:

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Greg Savage
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07 Oct 2021

Creativemind wrote:
07 Oct 2021
tronam wrote:
07 Oct 2021

Yeah, but Fruity Loops Studio sounds so much more fun. FL is *yawn*
I never understood why they had to change the name as apparently Kellogg's tried sueing them but the cereal isn't called Fruity Loops, they're called Froot Loops both words with double o's so different?
Very simple, they violated Kellogg's trademark. Generally when a company creates a name/name for their products they trademark variations of it as well. When it's violated a cease and desist notice goes out of some sort and Imageline obliged.
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avasopht
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07 Oct 2021

Greg Savage wrote:
07 Oct 2021
Very simple, they violated Kellogg's trademark. Generally when a company creates a name/name for their products they trademark variations of it as well. When it's violated a cease and desist notice goes out of some sort and Imageline obliged.
They didn't "violate" it.

Kellogs overstepped their trademark.

The Froot Loops trademark only covered foods and drinks. They didn't have a legitimate case. It's just that Image-Line at the time didn't (and probably couldn't afford to) fight against it.

IL said that they also felt the "Loops" might have given people the wrong impression and associated it with the loop players of the day such as Dance Ejay.

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Greg Savage
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07 Oct 2021

avasopht wrote:
07 Oct 2021
Greg Savage wrote:
07 Oct 2021
Very simple, they violated Kellogg's trademark. Generally when a company creates a name/name for their products they trademark variations of it as well. When it's violated a cease and desist notice goes out of some sort and Imageline obliged.
They didn't "violate" it.

Kellogs overstepped their trademark.

The Froot Loops trademark only covered foods and drinks. They didn't have a legitimate case. It's just that Image-Line at the time didn't (and probably couldn't afford to) fight against it.

IL said that they also felt the "Loops" might have given people the wrong impression and associated it with the loop players of the day such as Dance Ejay.
Okay :thumbs_up:
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DaveyG
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07 Oct 2021

Benedict wrote:
06 Oct 2021
"RSers" or even simple "RS" somehow does seem to have the elegance.
Perhaps aRSes? Certainly works for the UK sense of humour. :D

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Benedict
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07 Oct 2021

I understand, and while I may feel that at times with their spacing of support issues and bug creation versions that rival Apple, I think it may lead to less positive outcomes ;-)
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Creativemind
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08 Oct 2021

Greg Savage wrote:
07 Oct 2021
Creativemind wrote:
07 Oct 2021


I never understood why they had to change the name as apparently Kellogg's tried sueing them but the cereal isn't called Fruity Loops, they're called Froot Loops both words with double o's so different?
Very simple, they violated Kellogg's trademark. Generally when a company creates a name/name for their products they trademark variations of it as well. When it's violated a cease and desist notice goes out of some sort and Imageline obliged.
Fair enough.
:reason:

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ortxedys
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08 Oct 2021

Bitwig is my new go to the last several months. There's something about the interface and the way plugins are sandboxed that really makes other DAWs feel like they're in the stone age. I hope RS takes a few tips from those guys..

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Kalm
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08 Oct 2021

Honestly can't tell you. There's nothing to replace Reason's workflow so it literally comes down to what you're looking to get out of it . . . and then you're Windows only.
Courtesy of The Brew | Watch My Tutorials | Mac Mini Intel i7 Quad-Core | 16 GB RAM | Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB | Reason 11 Suite | Studio One 5 Professional | Presonus Quantum | Komplete Kontrol 49 MK2 | Event Opals | Follow me on Instagram

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Skimrok
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11 Oct 2021

I looked AL but the layout was bland unless you have big monitor screens the text was small to my eyes I didn't get on with it
it was only a brief so i don't want to put it down, then I checked out Studio One i love you can do colour codes for track lanes mixer channels etc , i agree nothing I seen is like Reason so any DAW you going to go for is going to be different, but its not a bad thing trying to get your teeth into something new,
12 with 11 Suite :reason:/ Akai Mini Mk3 / MPD218 /Eve SC207 Monitors / Mrs10 Sub / Motu M2 / Zen Can

kitekrazy
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Joined: 19 Jan 2015

11 Nov 2021

I have all of those except PT and Bitwig. You start to view them as apples and oranges.

At one time I started out with Sonar 2 and moved away because the GUI was getting cluttered. I spent $200 for Cakewalks lifetime updates and fell prey to the software killer named Gibson.

Bandlab is free and you should check it out. They update it more than Reason.

Reaper is impressive but takes some time to find out how great it is.

I also look at long term costs and licensing. Reason fell out of favor since of those DAWs listed the upgrade price is the highest other than Live Suite. I tend to pay attention how often a DAW is upgraded before they want you to buy a new version and what improvements they made.

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mcatalao
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12 Nov 2021

There are a bunch of features in other DAW's that I wanted in Reason. So I took the plunge and 3 months ago cross graded to Cubase with a huge discount (I had Cubase before, stopped using it when reason got audio, so it was logical to pursue a DAW that i already knew). I also have Reaper, it's been quite useful for client's project's, but again... i end up converting the project to audio and mix it in reason!

You know what happened?
I'm using cubase to retrieve old songs, convert them to midi/audio stems, and develop further in Reason. Because most features i've been complaining about are not creative features, and mostly workflow issues that don't get in the way of music making.

I don't say I won't turn to Cubase or Reaper (or both) in the mid-long run. But even having used them with Reason in the plug-in version... The workflow is convoluted (you browse in cubase, then have to browse in reason) compared to just using Reason, you have SO MANY CLICKS added on the path... and the added stuff that I need to re-learn, it's pulling me away from these daws and into reason again. Music for me now is a secondary gig, a sometimes paid hobby, not more. And I need instant results, on the limited time I have for music in the end of the day and weekends. I don't want to invest time on a new daw instead of making music.

Anyway, answering directly to your question, your daw choice depends a lot on what you want to do. I think the more logical path from reason is Bitwig or Abelton, as they are more directed to the genres most people that use reason do. But on the functional part of it, most DAWs are more complete than reason, but they implement the features differently. And if you plan to play live launching stuff, I'm told Ableton is a better option.

If your only problem with Reason 12 is the Browser, imho you shouldn't leave it. From where I stand, the browser is faster and more powerful than the one in Reason 11, and the combinator and mimic make reason 12 quite worth it. It's a pity that the High res endeavor is putting such a strain on the project, and we still don't have mixer and sequencer improvements. And R12 is not stopped. There's still stuff coming out, improvements to high-res, the browser and so on. We have to be a bit more patient. Reason had some major reviews to the app in the last years (VST2, the performance review in V10.4, the Rack VST and now high-res, these were really hard things to accomplish in an app that retains almost full retro-compatibility without converters of any sort), and the hi-res one is probably one of the most hard (from the high-res itself to outsource graphics to the GPU, these are things that are in the making for years).

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nooomy
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12 Nov 2021

Arrant wrote:
18 Sep 2021
R12 has come along and it has some decent features but if the browser is not fixed I am forced to move to another DAW or keep using R11 forever.
For those of you who have already moved or are investigating the options, which competing DAW did you move to or recommend?
Look at it from a perspective of having a long history of Reason projects that you want to move over and keep working on, probably using the Reason Rack Plugin (R11).
Logic is not an option here since it's Mac only (Yes, I still carry a grudge against Apple for this).
If its the browser that is holding you back i would really recommend the ADSR sample Manager it is freaking awesome!

https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/soft ... e-manager/

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