Any way to save Reason project into Reason Rack (not just via MIDI file)

[Nick Hope]

Is there any way to save a Reason project in its entirety into the Reason Rack VST to use in another DAW?

I can export/import via a MIDI file, but I'm finding it fiddly and time-consuming to then insert all the Reason Rack VSTs, find the instruments, effects, patches and try to replicate their settings, especially if the settings are complex.

[robotgard]

[Nick Hope]

Combinator?

Good idea! Combine them all and save a custom patch, then uncombine them in the Rack VST. Thanks. Will give it a go.

[xboix]

In your Reason project make sure the instruments and effects for each track are inside their own combinator and don't include any VSTs. Then you can load each combinator into a separate instance of the Reason Rack Plugin your other DAW. No need to unpack them though, unless you want to make more changes. You do have to export and import each MIDI track though.

In practice it's better to work completely in the "other" DAW rather than start a song in Reason then try to migrate it. Another option is to export stems from Reason and pull them into the other DAW.

[Nick Hope]

Thank you xboix.

Yes, it has to be done lane by lane. And yes, it's necessary to wrap multiple Reason devices in a Combinator and and save a custom patch, then open that patch in the other DAW. In the case of Redrum, I'm finding a Combinator wrapper is required even if that's the only device on the track, to get the rhythm sequencing as well as the kit patch to transfer across.

It's a pity there isn't a simpler way to do this. If Reason Studios are keen to get the Reason Rack used in other DAWs, they should consider introducing some project export functionality for the major ones. e.g. "Export project to **** as Reason Racks".

[antic604]

It's a pity there isn't a simpler way to do this. If Reason Studios are keen to get the Reason Rack used in other DAWs, they should consider introducing some project export functionality for the major ones. e.g. "Export project to **** as Reason Racks".

Have you even read what you wrote? You want RS to implement a feature that lets you to write a whole song in Reason and then transfer it to other DAW? For what? Might as well finish it in Reason, then...

[Nick Hope]

It's a pity there isn't a simpler way to do this. If Reason Studios are keen to get the Reason Rack used in other DAWs, they should consider introducing some project export functionality for the major ones. e.g. "Export project to **** as Reason Racks".

Have you even read what you wrote? You want RS to implement a feature that lets you to write a whole song in Reason and then transfer it to other DAW? For what? Might as well finish it in Reason, then...

Interoperability.

One producer might have a sketch of a song in Reason and want to send it to another producer who uses Pro Tools. So why not support whole-project export to avoid the fiddly job of rebuilding each track? RS still get to sell a copy of Reason to the Pro Tools user so they can have the Reason Rack.

Or my own case where I want to migrate some of my own projects to Reaper and continue working with them in there. I still upgraded Reason and use it for some things.

Project import/export capabilities are common in software. For example, this is the project export menu in VEGAS Pro:



RS clearly want Reason to be "open", hence the introduction of VST support and the RR. Why not take it further?

[moneykube]

also the ability to save file as an earlier version is common in some daws , and helpful to collaborators on different versions

[OverneathTheSkyBridg]

Have you even read what you wrote? You want RS to implement a feature that lets you to write a whole song in Reason and then transfer it to other DAW? For what? Might as well finish it in Reason, then...

Interoperability.

One producer might have a sketch of a song in Reason and want to send it to another producer who uses Pro Tools. So why not support whole-project export to avoid the fiddly job of rebuilding each track? RS still get to sell a copy of Reason to the Pro Tools user so they can have the Reason Rack.

Or my own case where I want to migrate some of my own projects to Reaper and continue working with them in there. I still upgraded Reason and use it for some things.

Project import/export capabilities are common in software. For example, this is the project export menu in VEGAS Pro:



RS clearly want Reason to be "open", hence the introduction of VST support and the RR. Why not take it further?

Get your tracks perfect in Reason, then bounce all the stems and get it set up in Pro Tools and mix further from there. If you're going to go to the lengths of using Reason's sequencer to create all the music, but then suddenly want it in Pro Tools, why not wait til the Rack is available in Protools. Everything you've done before now can be bounced to audio and mixed from there, that's essentially how a lot of mixing is done anyways isn't it?

[enossified]

One producer might have a sketch of a song in Reason and want to send it to another producer who uses Pro Tools. So why not support whole-project export to avoid the fiddly job of rebuilding each track? RS still get to sell a copy of Reason to the Pro Tools user so they can have the Reason Rack.

That would be very complicated to do. Take each MIDI track and create the appropriate Rack instance. Do you include the devices from the mixer channel into the Rack as well? For audio tracks, create an effect Rack or not? What about sends? Then export the individual audio tracks and the MIDI data for each MIDI track. That's way more complicated then exporting stems and SMFs.

I'll admit to total ignorance here...outside of exceptions like Logic importing Garageband projects or exporting from an iOS app into the PC/Mac version, does any DAW support exporting into another DAW's project format?

[chimp_spanner]

Have you even read what you wrote? You want RS to implement a feature that lets you to write a whole song in Reason and then transfer it to other DAW? For what? Might as well finish it in Reason, then...

Interoperability.

One producer might have a sketch of a song in Reason and want to send it to another producer who uses Pro Tools. So why not support whole-project export to avoid the fiddly job of rebuilding each track? RS still get to sell a copy of Reason to the Pro Tools user so they can have the Reason Rack.

Or my own case where I want to migrate some of my own projects to Reaper and continue working with them in there. I still upgraded Reason and use it for some things.

Project import/export capabilities are common in software. For example, this is the project export menu in VEGAS Pro:



RS clearly want Reason to be "open", hence the introduction of VST support and the RR. Why not take it further?

To the best of my knowledge this is not at all common in the audio world, with the exception of OMF files. Which basically allow you to package up a project and have another DAW know where to place audio clips on the timeline (I *think* it may carry over some basic channel information like level and panning as well but it's been a while since I used it). So that's probably all that Vegas is doing. Writing to .aaf, .prproj, etc. in such a way that the basic information like where each clip should start is preserved. But more complicated stuff like crossfades, event fx, etc. will almost certainly not be included because those things can be implemented and interpreted in so many different ways.

The best option, if you want to work on these projects in a different DAW, is to just bounce everything to audio and export a MIDI file. Whatever you're happy to keep as-is can stay as audio (plus ya know, you get to work with it as audio which offers some possibilities beyond MIDI anyway) and then if you do wanna make further adjustments you can load in a single instance of RRP and trigger it with MIDI. A good tip here would probably be to name the MIDI tracks after their patch name. Should make it easier to marry the two things up again in another program.

[Menacemusic]

I collaborate with lots of Reason only users that mostly do midi and send me a song file. I’d love to be able to open it in my Reason vst within Cubase in my case and be able to edit and add my audio ie vocals there. Even having a way to save multiple rack instrument setups that I’ve created in Reason in the past and just be able to open that setup in the VST plugin. Would be a huge time saver. Almost like save a rack setup that I had used in Reason stand alone as a temple and open all those instruments with patches loaded in the plugin.

I know people have been putting this thing down because it may not be a workflow they would use but in my case it would save so much time trying to recreate an instrument rack one instrument at a time and then finding the patch etc. I might have 15+ instruments open for say a string/orch arrangement in stand alone that I have used and to recreate it would take way to much time.

Seems like a very reasonable request as a function.