My Wish List, as a Cubase user who only uses Reason only as a plugin: 1.) Windows ARM Support. 2.) Improve the value proposition for Plugin-only users with each Upgrade. Workflow stuff in the Reason DAW does nothing for me anymore, and the two devices in the 13 Upgrade that actually matter as a Plugin user are not worth $199. The synth is something that I already have very well covered with other VSTs, and the Ripley delay, while very cool, doesn't push it over the line for me. When I think of what they could have added, like including more Players in the upgrade (Are they out of ideas with this, or just greedy?), or a granular effects option, or something that would be targeted to the film scoring market... They just need to do more, to get my money now. For perspective, the Cubase 13 Upgrade costs $99 and I got it on sale for $69, and the value proposition was absolutely staggering when compared to the Reason 13 Upgrade. One of the things I often think is: If they *just updated Recycle* with a dark theme, modernized it to compete with current the competition, *and added it to Reason*... They could even still sell the standalone version or Standalone + VST for $99 for people who don't use Reason or wouldn't want Reason. They would make so much money by doing that. If they did that, *I'd buy that upgrade in a second*. They could even do a niche feature set of integration for MPC and Maschine users to push it over the top. It's an obvious win that they just ignore. The company just seems like it has a very stubborn culture, and it always keeps them on the backfoot, always catching up and never pulling ahead.
I do think there's more scope for Players. They're one of my favourite aspects of Reason. I'd love to see more generative stuff, taken from the modular world. I would also reeeeally like to see the addition of a master key signature track, where you can set all of your players scale mode to "Global". Automating every single device to the correct mode/key is a nightmare. I have used Reason for film and sound design stuff but as it stands I don't think we're the target audience. A lot of the marketing seems to be around Dance, Pop and Hip Hop. Which is fine, obviously. I do some of that too for work. And it's obviously got more mass appeal. Cubase is definitely a better environment for that. How long have you been in Cubase btw? I started in the 90s on ATARI STE. Dropped off around Cubase 8 and switched to Reason almost exclusively. So it's weird to be coming back, and SO much has changed!
@@PaulOrtiz I think there's scope for Players. I'm just not sure Reason Studios will be the ones to make them. I use the Lectric Panda stuff, and I love it. I wish Reason Studios would have included one or more players, for the purchase price of $199. Or just something more, generally. As a plugin user, one instrument and one delay just isn't enough. I agree with your wants for a master key signature track, a global scale mode. I also want MPE support. I started making music in the 90s with Sonic Foundry Acid. Then I got the original MBox /w Protools LE in I believe 2001, and that was such an awful experience that I just stopped making music altogether for years. I think in 2015 I got Reason 8. Then I upgraded to 9.5 because they finally added VST support. Then I got 10 and then 11 Suite and finally 12. I started with Cubase with version 10. I've bought every upgrade since. My only complaint with Cubase got resolved in 13, which was a weirdness with the windowing, where when you exited the program, the File menu bar would stay open. With every update they've brought significant enhancements, and with the last two versions especially, I have been really impressed. Steinberg seems to have never lost their passion. I really like Reason's instrument rack, but Cubase is far and away the best DAW I've ever used, and I've tried all of them in at least demo form. I'm at the point where I just can't settle for "It's almost there, now," and companies that slow walk releases for fixing their self-made problems. I gave you a follow on Twitch!
Not really seeing a $199 upgrade. That's an almost comical asking price for an upgrade that should have been $49 with the synth an optional buy in the shop.
Agree. The amount of cope in this video and the comments is kind of hilarious. I have evolved beyond emotional attachment to bits and bytes. Deliver suitable value or get in the rearview, as far as I'm concerned.
@@tgoodjenkins That's the thing. Reason studios knows this, ad have known this for years, but keep doing the same routine. Especially after the sale of the company. I just wonder if this is enough to satisfy the Reason cult or will they too be offended at these $199 service packs?
Agree with this. I upgraded from Reason 7 to 12 last November so I was fuming that I didn't get the free upgrade because I upgraded a month before being eligible!
Hey dude this was killer, really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the new version! Also, wanted to reach out and say thanks for getting me into Reason / music production so many years ago. I came across an old clip you posted about 12 years ago and found out that you used Reason for a lot of it. Immediately grabbed a license and learned a lot from your forum posts / videos. Now I’m doing this full time as my main gig. Thanks for making the sickest music and for sharing your knowledge over the years 🙏🏻
No worries, and thanks so much for the kind words! As it happens all the songs in the background and everything in the bandcamp link down the bottom (or almost everything) was Reason made. I love the software, I've done some of what I consider to be my best work in it. And I'm sure I'll continue to. But I'm just hurting for those QoL features now. Fingers TIGHTLY crossed for 13.x, 14 and beyond!
GREAT video.. I never knew how to articulate midi note chase!! That drives me crazy.. and in a stroke of delight, I realized Bitwig has it and I just have to turn it on. :) I've long left Reason as my main DAW but still have a soft spot for this great tool. Hoping they work on more quality of life features vs devices.
ngl , i actually hate the floating browser, its one more button i have to press to find things i want to use, where as on 12 everything is alawyas on that left side. the floating screen gets in the way and it makes music longer for me to make
One thing I did discover today is that after you've set your tags, the patch up/down buttons and the preset list reference the search results. So you can continue to browse presets that way without having it open.
@@PaulOrtiz yeah but if you're someone who makes more than maybe 3 genres of music, tagging all samples, will and can be very tedious, where as in R12, i have my folders setup, i need something i know where is it without even having to search or have the 3/4 extra clicks you have to do now in R13, if there was an option to just keep the browser as it is in R12, i think the update would be a little more enjoyable, but the whole floating window thing is annoying, especially if your producing on a smaller screen/laptop
Very funny that they still don't have Midi chase feature. Its like 10-years-ago standard, and for me, its an surprise that Reason still don't have this. Also, good point about track folders: now i see that this is like a "must must have" feature for me, and i can't even work without combining tracks into folders. 199 upgrade price for almost just Browser - looks like to much.
I feel that Reason Studios, by pricing the upgrade at $199, are basically making a backhanded jab at their commitment to still have Reason available as a licensed purchase, after introducing their subscription model. Whether intentionally or not, they are making a bad case of trying to promote the subscription route as a better paradigm for software users.
Add to the wishlist the possibility to resize clips & notes without having to select them first. Small details like that, note preview and scale snapping makes a *huge* impact on workflow. That's where RS often miss the target. They seldom add these small workflow features. The new timeline zooming is this kind of time saver 👍. I don't care how "far behind" it is to other DAWs. Enhance the things we constantly do/use.
Hey! Nice to put a face to the name. Great video, very well explained points too, most of which I’m familiar with from your forum posts. I too (in recent years) have been DAW swapping like there’s no tomorrow but I keep coming back to Reason. I’m not keen on using it as a plugin in other DAWs and when it comes to mixing, I just can’t get the sound I want out of Logic or Live. I only really use other DAWs because there’s no WAV and AIFF sample synching in Reason’s browser (still/yet). Otherwise I’d just stay in Reason 100% of the time. I know what you mean about Cubase though. I started out on that on the Atari ST!
Aye I’m in the same boat. Even now, while I’m really enjoying Cubase, I’m still excited at the prospect of writing in R13. And I mean, I will! But like I said if I wanna get my productivity up then I’ve gotta reduce the amount of DAW hopping.
Thanks for this very balanced overview! I'm with you on almost all points. Track folders would be a HUGE improvement for my workflow and the Favorite Devices functionality has to come back in some way or another. I would also like a dedicated marker lane - but tbh i use an "empty" automation lane on top of the sequencer and it does all i need in that regard 😇 R13 might not be the biggest thing ever, but i like the direction they are going (again). For me, the upgrade was definitely worth it. Ripley is dope!
Yeah I use an ID8 and just make empty note clips with text labels as markers. Sometimes I’ll record notes into them if I wanna jot down an idea of what should go next in a song section!
As much as track folders have been requested for a long while (must be one of the top feature requests, if not the top), I have to think RS is not oblivious to this, and that it's something particularly challenging to implement in the Reason ecosystem. I appreciate that ecosystem, but if it prohibits development of such features, Reason is rather painting itself into a corner. I've only used Reason (for years), but I echo your reluctant ponderings about switching DAWs, alas. Even the free LUNA, -even with its presently week midi features, seems already competitive with Reason, and likely to get better. And then there's the $199 upgrade price...
LUNA seems competitive with Reason's MIDI because Reason's MIDI Editing is actually quite primitive when you look at it objectively - and LUNA shares some of the same deficiencies. What it doesn't share, is a $499/199 MSRP/Upgrade price tag - though I'd argue that the Pro Bundle is pretty much fundamental if you're going to use that DAW. But that's what people have been saying. Ignore the rack and take the rest of the DAW in isolation. Not very competitive with what others are bringing to the table... That's the part that they need to improve for people to stay on the platform, otherwise it just becomes a pile of limitations and there is only so much "Limitations make you more creative" or "I don't really need that, though" copium someone can chug before it becomes toxic. IMO, LUNA fits best as a Recording/Mixing DAW (Pro Tools alternative) or when paired with Maschine/MPC Workflows - where you produce on Maschine/MPC and then bring that over to LUNA for Arranging and to Record/Edit Audio (Vocals, Acoustic Instruments, etc.) and Mix everything. The API Console Extensions (Consume Emulation, Summing) are amazing, as are the Tape Emulations. The only other DAW that sort of comes close to that is Studio One with its Mix Engine FX...
Well done video my man. I've always loved your music and enjoyed your commentary in the Reasontalk forums. I'm personally very happy with this update but I totally understand why a couple of these things are important to your workflow. I'm a Cubase user as well and it really does have every feature imaginable. Looking forward to more of your videos going forward
Thanks Juice! Yeah I definitely wanna do more stuff. I love nerding out about music and DAWs and especially Reason. I'm just having to remind myself how all this stuff works. Not me asking Chat GPT how to split a video clip in DaVinci 👀👀👀
really valid points and I think these feature requests are also well established in the core Reason community. Track folders seems to be the final boss for the programming team.
To each their own of course, I much prefer the mixer does NOT reorder automatically if I reorder my tracks the sequencer. That's just down to how I prefer to group things differently between those 2 areas.
It should definitely be an option! Like I said sometimes it makes sense to do it one way or the other but something in the settings to lock device order sync would be great!
Good one mate. About track folders, Even simple projects just always get big in DAWs nowadays. We have a new track for everything, unlike in the past. That is why this should be prioritized when delevoping the sequencer. Hoping all the best for Reason in the future🙂
I think anything that discourages you from making changes to a song should be addressed. Once you've got 100 tracks of MIDI and automation, it becomes so hard to just grab a section and move things around without leaving little bits of clips behind. If we ever get folders, I hope it's like Cubase. With the top level clip that you can move/size/chop/etc.
I have been a Reason user, buying every perpetual license since R5 as well as many RE's and I don't think I have ever seen so many negative reviews/comments about Reason! Just based on these reviews/comments I am not buying into a product that I once loved. Enough is enough.😢
Im on reason since version 3 and absolutely love it. I hovewer the last update i have ever bought was 11. It becomes like Apple "iphone 15 is great. If you want a charger cable, it's another £50 but you dont have to buy if you have the old one. But you won't be able to use the fast charge". The Sequenser needs to be more flexible if Propellerheads won't hear it it will be the same story as with VST support, which they eventually made, but many people have changed their daw preference waiting for it
For me, Reason is a selfcontained ecosystem. I only use Reason's native instruments/effects plus rack expansions when working in Reason. For real instruments/band setups, I work in Studio One. Reason is more of a sonic playground for me. I have 13 for free for six months, but I will wait until a black friday price to get it. Reason is a perfect songwriting tool IMHO.
How is Reason a better songwriting tool than, say... Cubase or Logic Pro, which have better features for songwriters as well as a better set of stock FX along with better acoustic instruments and good stock synths? ARA2 Support. Chord Track/Pads/Assistant. Audio to MIDI [Chords]. Score Editor. Scale Assistant. Arranger Track. Signature Track. Expression (Articulation) Maps (Sets). MusicXML Import & Export. Retrospective Recording (Audio & MIDI). Marker Tracks. Audio Alignment. Group Editing. Multi-Mixer Views. Mixer Versioning. That's just the stuff that I find I reach for almost every time for songwriting - not the stuff people are likely to respond "But, I don't need that" to. That's also ignoring any disparity in Arranger Workflow (Folder Tracks, Track Visibility Management, etc.), the handling of plug-ins (VST MIDI Routing, Suspend VST3 Processing for Silent Tracks, etc.), Core Audio/MIDI Editing Features or interoperability with Third Party Application (External Audio Editor Support, etc.). Nevermind MixConsole many MixConsole features. Do you say this because it... bundles rack extensions? FL Studio Signature probably bundles more, but I don't really consider that a great DAW for "songwriting," personally. I personally find the experience in Reason to be closer to grooveboxes like Maschine or MPC than Generalist DAWs like Cubase or Logic Pro.
I don't use reason anymore, but it's always good to be up to date with the different DAW options. A couple of thoughts: It would be great to hear the banger track names you're using as the background music (they sound sick), as well as a link to your twitch stream (I already know it by heart but would be a good idea for newcomers). Cheers and keep em coming!
Hey! Thank you :) You can hear all the songs used in the background at paulortiz.bandcamp.com and they're all Reason! Songs are: Santuary The Nexus Hidden Cities Aurora Hyper.Drive And great shout on the Twitch link. I'll add it to the description.
DOOM music 13:40 100% Track folding in groups interesting, I had not thought of that but it would be good, but isn't putting multiple tacks on a bus mixer lane a similar thing? If I make a bus lane then create track for that bus lane then it controls all of those channels?
Just picked up ML Drums - cannot recommend them enough. Dirt cheap, small RAM footprint, massive sound. Also the pitch shifter on the Neural DSP X amp sims is really good. At least until my Bass VI bass/guitar thingy arrives :) Mixer busses are great for actual mixing, and I really like how Reason handles this vs most DAWs. But I'm talking more about arrangement. Being able to collapse a huge project down to a handful of master clips that you can chop and move and copy, delete, whatever. I like that in Cubase it's purely for sequencer data. It doesn't do any audio routing, like in Live. I think that's the approach I'd love to see Reason take one day!
@@PaulOrtiz I'll look into those drums then, thtnks for the heads up, I don't make Rock music like that however. I think Reasons blocks is for containing and moving around large sections of multiple tacks and cutting moving around and so on however I dont use it.
@@HOLLASOUNDS Blocks are really cool. I had a job once where I had to smash out like 20+ tracks in 2 weeks (played too much Mass Effect, my own fault lol). I laid every song out with Blocks before I'd even written a note. All I had to do was populate each section, come back out to the arranger, and the song was like 80% done, minus transitions. I also sometimes build a scaffolding around a reference track using Blocks. It's an underrated feature IMO!
@@PaulOrtiz I need to play around with blocks, however I dont really understand it, I have seen videos about it but didn't stick in My head. Would you say Blocks a feature that is better then other DAWs? We know what Reason cants do, but what can it do that other DAWs can't? When I say DAW I'm not including the Rack.
2 things that have been begged for too many years. Not another synth I will not use. The sequencer updates are features most other DAWs have had for years and the most basic.
Reason is the undisputed king of lackluster updates. This one is another ridiculous “update”. Especially when you consider the asking price and what the competition offers. It’s completely absurd. Literally the only new thing is the browser, the rest is just the same things that always existed but arranged in a different place. That’s why they put the new devices, to justify the new numbered release. But let’s be real, if reason needs anything and we had to prioritize, it’s certainly not new devices. Devices should be the icing on the cake, not the bulk of the release. I have the impression Mattias and the Reason team are extremely lazy when it comes to do actual work to take reason to the new level. Seems like they just want to have fun playing around creating new synths and devices. Highly disappointed.
It's funny, the latest version of Ableton Live removed the ability to categorise VST plugins into folders and replaced it with a tagging system - simultaneously throwing away years of producers careful categorisation and workflow. It was not been well recieved at all. Seems like Reason Studios saw that and said "yeah let's do that too!" without giving it too much thought. I recently ended my 20 year relationship with Reason in favour of switching to Ableton and this was immediately really restricting to me. Can't believe it happened back in Reason now too!
@@Noldy__ it seems what they've added is the option to categorise VST by developer, I don't think they've added back manual folder organisation. Unless I've missed something.
I move any samples I want to use in a project into a temporary foulder on My desktop and once the project is finished I delete but keep a list of everything that was in that folder. I was fed up of loosing sounds in Reason, or not beimg able to find sounds im Reason 12.
did ableton ever have the feature to put vsts in favorite folders?? they had those 7 collections shortcuts which you could move vsts to but if you wanted to move a vst to a manually created folder, you needed to first save it as a rack.
This is one area I'll defend RS on somewhat; I get why users want it but I think the redesign of Reason's sequencer and its handling/routing of MIDI would be a LOT of work. Not saying it should never happen but there are other, simpler things that could be addressed first. I know there's a workaround involving LoopMIDI but I've not tried it!
I really love Reason. I really want to like Reason Studios. I just can't find a way to put on a smile or a positive spin on this. But they keep on doing their half-assed minimal implementations. Too short closed beta-testing. Not listening to customers. They think their development and software is super secret instead of embracing open development. I was super excited for the Sequencer improvements, but even they turned out to be half assed (especially the new Browser) and they also removed features that people used because they want it done their way. Just see people on ReasonTalk having problems and Mattias chiming in with a quick fix coming... could have easily been spotted in beta-testing, but even there they've split the testing base between owners and R+ users.
Also really no use in making wishes or Wishlists. Reason Studios will do what they want, if they haven't listened to its users for the last decade, I don't see it happening ever. I think I might skip R13 and keep on using R12, maybe check out R13.5-14...
I do wish that there was more openness. Had they shared the blueprint for Reason's browser at the design phase, I can't think of a single person who would've said "Device favs? Nah, don't need em!". But obviously how they work is how they work. Maybe they have their reasons! Still I get the feeling that some features/ideas are wrongly characterised as 'niche' or for 'experts' only. I don't think it's a bad thing to consider the needs of experienced users. Cast a wide net, capture the hobbyists, sure. But the aim should always be to make powerful tools for people who know what they're doing, or who aspire to know. Ultimately this isn't a mobile app for kids. It's a digital audio workstation, that necessarily has a skill barrier that I think it's reasonable to expect people to meet. If they can't or don't want to...there are other hobbies to get into.
😂 Well look, personally, I really wanna see Reason stick around. I only ever criticise out of my love/passion for what is still an *amazing* piece of software. I said elsewhere but when you've got a huge project just chugging along and everything's just working and all this crazy stuff is happening, it's a marvel. I guess it depends if you're coming in as a perpetual or R+ user. R+ users seem to be happier than perp, from what I can tell. If 199 is too steep, just hold out for a sale. There's also an online store that always seems to offer Reason at quite heavily discounted prices. J...shop? JR shop? Something like that. It's mentioned on Reasontalk a lot.
One of my favorite workflow goodness was favorites so no more updating for me and that comes from a hardcore reason junky (300-RE , 24 years of refills , A great many VSTs)
Polytone is nice but the rest was underwhelming. Even there, the UI is kind of small for my screen and eyes. Not a fan of a floating window for the browser. The split sequencer is kind of annoying so far. Otherwise I'm not really even sure what they added or updated, it's not immediately obvious yet.
Consider a pen tablet to prevent RSI. I switch off between my pen and mouse depending on the task. There’s just less wrist action and more elbow action w the stylus.
I have an old Wacom Intuos that I used to use with my pc. I feel like I may have to buy a new one as I know what it’s like with Apple. If it’s older than x years good luck getting it to work on new OS’s!
True midi having to play from start of notes is a old problem needs fixing 14:16 I just bounce sounds like that to audio, and keep a copy of the midi to revert to if I need to edit it.
As soon as the new side chain plugin was announced last month, I thought about you and pump. I never ended up buying pump, but maybe now I won’t have to. Thoughts?
BTW, Reason is like that old friend from jr. high that everybody collectively decided to ignore, but you personally can’t because there’s just too much history between you two. Like the bald guy from Hot Tub Time Machine.
I use it in Tape mode sometimes to just add some nice lo-fi sounding grit. Although I’ve also started using OCS and Lo-Fi-Af on the master as an alternative. Both great plugins if you haven’t checked them out!
You’ve always been a diehard fan of Reason, and for you to say that you will be looking to move to Cubase is a big deal. Reason Studios must look into it; otherwise, the future of Reason is bleak!
I have been and on some level I think I always will be! Re-watching this morning maybe it sounded a bit like a breakup letter lol it's not, but I do have to settle on one host that has most of what I need. I keep bouncing between Reason, Live, Logic, Cubase. It's counterproductive. I've been Cubase most of my life (literally). So it does make sense. But I'll always rep for Reason. Even with its flaws there are things it does uniquely well, that I'd also like to cover in another video!
@@PaulOrtiz Hey mate, I understand entirely. I am a diehard fan of reason as well. I have Live and Logic Pro, but I have never used them. The push toward subscription and treating the perpetual license owners like 💩 is reflective of the new CEO’s Niklas Agevik mindset. He gives me the vibes of Martin Shkreli, who, if you remember, was the CEO of a pharmaceutical company and raised the price of a life-saving drug from 13.50 to 750 overnight. Now that company is hated well, I fear reason studios is going that path.
@@usedusermoser Haha I remember that guy yes. Well thing is I know the company has to make money. Devs, like musicians, face the same problem atm which is how to survive in those long, desolate periods in between releases. Much like how it's hard for artists to stay afloat in between full length albums. The expectation now is a constant stream of content. So in theory I don't have a problem with companies pivoting to a 'service' model, so long as you get good value for your money during the lifetime of your subscription. I also feel like subscribing should count towards a HEAVY discount for a perpetual license if you decide to go that way.
@@PaulOrtiz I completely agree. They have to make money to be afloat; however, it has to be within reason, as most musicians don’t earn money . They could make it like a plugin alliance offer where you get to keep ten plug-ins every subscription year. Or port the reason to the iPad/iPhone and have that on a subscription, like Logic Pro for iPad. And you can switch between the projects efficiently. That will fit the new motto of making music faster.
Could we PLEASE for the love of everything get more than 8 FX SENDS! lol....also a channel strip inspector in the sequencer window would be nice. So we dont have to keep F7'ing to the mixer.
I gotta say I haven’t hit the limit yet but I understand how others might. Mostly I use effects as inserts, and parallel processing so I can cut tails quickly when I need to or include them in side chain pumping. But yeah 16 would be really nice! Also a single channel strip would be great. Works nicely in Cubase!
Yes I totally skipped over this! Funny thing is, when I was using lots of external hardware I wanted this and didn't have it. Now I have it, I'm doing it all in the box and on the verge of selling my hardware haha.
There is still no MPE support in 13, as this is such a supported thing in keyboards why is it not important to have in a DAW, it makes it impossible to use MPE unless you use a VST instrument as standalone rather than in a DAW, so then what is the point of the DAW!
I feel they did the bare minimum to the sequencer to show that “hey we still care about the daw”. That and it had the lowest budget allocation. The only real new thing was click and drag to zoom. The rest already existed and was just moved elsewhere. The old tools menu even looked more polished. Can’t stand the chunky oversized aesthetics and confusing button names. I think it reinforces that RS isn’t a daw company, it’s a device company that has to package them in something.
I pay for it every month, but barely touch it. This update is so weak, I've considered canceling. The only reason I don't, is because Reason is still better than Ableton for my final mastering, because it can simply handle a ton more VSTs in real time (on a 64 core/256gb machine with a pricey audio interface). Number one reason I don't care for it is the same as before. I don't find it fun to route dozens of cables for simple tasks. Number two. Still no midi linking between devices. i.e I can't route Scalar to another instrument and play it through Scalar. Those two thing had me running over to Ableton desperate to learn a new workflow. Now, I call upon Reason as a plugin, once in a great while.
If you see this message, I am trying to upgrade my reason 12 to reason 13 but they only have annual and subscription. I do not see a upgrade payment only option. Can you help me in anyway or anybody out there that sees this message how to contact them thank you.
Oh weird! Definitely hit up support with that one. If you already have a 12 license you should qualify for the 199 upgrade price. Hope you get it sorted!
you need to put in manual work to be able to create music. This concept of thinking everything should just POOF happen in front of your eyes and music is created is kind of nonsense. It all boils down to "muscle memory" or a developed workflow. Psychologically, you just get used to a process no matter how tedious anyone else thinks it is.
I mean actual creative work is one thing. Repeatedly doing the same workarounds or wasting time due to limitations is another. If you work in parts of the music industry that are fast paced (like sync music) you really start to resent those wasted clicks ya know? Sometimes they want music within a few hours. Also just on a personal level the older I get the less time I feel I have to write. It’s like I finish work, blink and it’s midnight. I wanna make sure whatever time I do have for myself is spent wisely! Nothing to do with expecting the actual process of writing to be easy/fast. That’s the bit I love most!
I’ll be honest I never noticed this 😂 I just kinda adjust to taste but yeah I see how that would be useful. I still really like reasons automation on the whole (clips, static/return values).
I think it's gonna be for people to make their own decision as to whether or not it's worth it. The process of hand tagging like, everything, is definitely worth something. I suppose as it comes with devices it's sorta ambiguous as to what you're paying for. For value, a year of R+ with packs and anything else they might come out with in the next year device wise probably makes more sense, and I think they know that too. Definitely trying to funnel people down that route. There will be a black friday sale though, so that might be the time to jump in! For the record I do like the browser - I think more work went into it than just moving it and changing the paint. I feel like the R12 graphical update this was something that was on the to-do list for a long time and it didn't make sense to do other stuff when these other things had to change first. That's just my hunch/hope.
@@PaulOrtiz When you see what FL Studio customers get with their life time of inclusive updates, the Reason offering is laughable. Their relentless and blatant push towards 'renting' software you thought you'd bought ten years ago is also very discouraging. I remember when they seemed like a decent company to do business with, with relatively rewarding upgrade prices for loyal customers. Maybe they should just merge with Magix and get it over with. 🤣
I don't understand the new browser, it's a massive step back. Why do we need two browsers now, the old multiple collum system was way better, and it won't dock so it just sits there in the middle of your project screen. The split view kinda sucks too as it hides the sequencer, so you cant choose multiple tracks for MIDI note ghost. Can't believe they still don't have track folders, it's becoming a meme.
I will say, working with the new browser is quickly become second nature. Especially for exploring the included sounds and samples to manipulate in mimic, grain, etc. I’ve seen a lot of people on reason talk saying they’ve gone from hating to quite enjoying it, although there’s room for improvement. Picking a random result would be nice. A waveform display and scrubber. Devices, obviously!
Don't get me wrong I love Reason, even as a DAW. And the things it does well, I think it does better than other DAWs. I'm actually gonna do a video all about that. But like, automation. Being able to add/remove devices and change routing without breaking the audio stream, decent audio pitch edit (which even Live doesn't have yet). As a sorta visual playground of virtual devices I think it's very hard to beat. And I've done some of my favourite ever work in Reason. There are no hard barriers to making music in it right now. Just pain points that I hope can be addressed one day.
Hello! I am the music director for a production/sync music company. So music is my job? Kinda. But mostly I’m doing production/consultation and metadata.
I absolutely love it to death, I am a subscriber so the cost is meaningless to me, all the moaning is insane. If you buy one instrument on Roland cloud its like $149 ONE INSTRUMENT ?? Reason is amazing and it costs money to build great software so stop moaning FFS and just subscribe, its $20 a month, that's nothing, its less than my chewing gum budget.
I already subscribe! Don't get me wrong, Reason *is* amazing and I'm already planning a video talking about the things I love that it does really well, that I feel not enough people talk about. As someone who started music on the Atari, it's basically magic to me. So please don't take this as nitpicking/moaning. I just really, really love the software. Enough to be somewhat passionate about where I think it could improve, and I'm definitely not alone. But I have made and will continue to make a lot of music in it (you can hear some in the bandcamp link in the description). Anyone can make amazing in music, today. Some things about it could just be a little easier, that's all :)
The new browser concept is not well thought out and definitely has a lot of room for improvement. I like software that gives you the freedom to work in a way that suits your nature. Reason restricts this freedom unnecessarily. I don't like that at all.
Once I got into it, it definitely got easier. Understanding the different ways of entering the browser helped big time. In the DAW, I get on well with it. In the RRP it feels claustrophobic as the browser is bound to the RRP window, which can only be resized vertically. Feels cramped.
I think the update is rubbish because there’s not enough changes to call this an actual “Upgrade” from 12! The fact the mix console is ancient & is not practical for new users to get to grips with it needs updating! The scrolling the mixing console is long & stupid yeah it is a version of a real desk console but it’s digital! Why make users scroll down & up surely the full desk can be displayed on the main screen without scrolling! Surely if the entire desk was visible it would be more realistic & from the user selected are section it can zoom in! But the scrolling thing is rubbish surely if the entire desk was on show the different function can be expanded! They can expand when in use then return to the full desk view otherwise what’s the point of it because as it is It feels restricted & not fun to use it may have been acceptable back in the day but it should have been updated years ago! If Reason had a better Mixing Desk Visual Presentation that was user friendly rather than just a gimmick that was a novelty back in the day, But today the feature is not good to use because it is to much work for instance the simple task of controlling the volume of the track is all the, Way at the top of the mixing desk console navigation to this location is bothersome because it could & should be in sight at all times! If it is mimicking the same as a real desk console the user can see the entire desk console & controls so it the user that focuses on a particular section! Reason has had the same mixing desk console presentation for ever when it was cool because it was different & familiar but it’s 2024-25 This feature is rubbish because it hasn’t evolved or improved it is just the same awkward workflow that hasn’t changed to be improved! Reason has done the bare minimum to this update disguised as an upgrade! ♾️⚖️🪶⚖️♾️
You mean the track 'trim' pot at the top? You don't really need to use that for controlling track volume (unless you wanna make a quick tweak without messing up fader automation). In the master output strip of the mixer, there are several small boxes that let you turn on/off different areas of the mixer depending on what you want to see. You can hold alt (or option) and click any one of them to 'collapse' all mixer sections, and then just add what you need. It's one way of seeing more of the mixer at once.
I mean. I work in library/sync music. If a brief comes in 7pm on a Thursday, they might want it 9am Friday. Or, I might just wanna make music for myself in the few hours I have free at the end of a day. Every second counts. I have no expectations of the actual process of writing being fast, but general workflow stuff…I don’t wanna be wasting time fighting it.
@@PaulOrtiz I know : 👍 the browser is atrocious : everything you've mentioned showing Cubase absolutely spot on : instead of giving us a synth that no one needs : focus on tools you showed seriously my friend f**k this new browser ............. Also for Gods sake disable the splash screen in plugin mode ! 🤬🤬🤬 Cheers 🥂
To be fair like I said the browser grew on me! I started missing it when I went back to 12, put it that way. But I get why it’s divisive. Do find it fast for building drum kits and getting ideas going though. Maybe at some point I should just show it being used. Was too tired last night haha.
i hate that cable stuff going on ! its bullshit. They should have done the Programing way different instead of having that crap going on ... i used to use reason back in somewhere around 1997 maybe 1998/99 dont know for sure in which year, and hated this cablestuff and they left it still in the very overall look like back in the day, yet they want a mouthwatering 500 euro ...let alone the crappy soundengine. why do i say crappy ? i did the very same track with the very same setting in two different DAW : presonus st 1 artist and reaon 12 : in PS1 6 Artist it sounded pefrect , while in reason like if i was listeting to a 1990s monitor ND I USED A STUDO HEADSET * this is how i do all of my muslic mixing ). they spent time to make crappy cable simulation going on in the backside and those cooler but they did not spent no second on the freakin soundengine i wanted reason but what i wanted more was a good soundengine which reason has not so no reason for reason
Reason DAW is so far behind I don't know how they can catch up considering most these DAW's have had these missing features for 10-20 years. It is fun, but limiting, which could be great for some people.
I mainly use reason and I'm not too familiar with other DAWs. I have FL Studio as well... 12 I think??? ... as well as Cubase 10... In what ways is Reason behind other DAWs?
@@chad6326 considering you have FL and Cubase, there are so many more things they both have, especially piano roll key commands/shortcuts/customizations/macros/Interface customizations/custom window arrangements.
Thing is I don't think it'd take much to bring it up to spec. I know when people talk about modern/advanced sequencers they're gonna talk about things like Live with its clip launching, or FL with its....every-feature-every-user-has-ever-asked-for-ever-which-is-why-I-can't-stand-it lol, MPE, etc. Personally, I don't want any of that stuff. But the basics are there. You can record audio and midi, edit, stretch, slice, quantise, all of that. It's fine. But it's the low hanging fruit like MIDI note chase that, as you say, has been a standard for decades. It does get harder to justify why I'm working without something like that when I have other DAWs that already do it. But like I said to someone else, you can make amazing music in Reason right now. I don't think there are any hard barriers to it. My favourite music I've ever written has been in Reason. I love it. I just wanna see it be the best version of itself it can be.
@@PaulOrtiz Yeah, I guess there’s hope that they will focus on their DAW more, considering this latest update does focus heavily on it. FL is so powerful, but it’s also bloated. If you don’t want most that stuff then it sounds like you’ve landed in the right place. For me, because I like to dabble in many DAW’s I’ve formulated common shortcut between them when I can. It would be nice to have that flexibility using custom key command in Reason. What I do now is set my Logitech mouse buttons to the same relative key commands for the same function so I don’t have to think about it too much. Like the middle mouse button opens VST instruments, or in reason, the rack.
look its not about fanboy but a DAW has to work for you and not the other way around ! i felt it that i was doing the shit with the vables first before making even anything more beside the beat and appreg and some piano chords .... why ! why has this to be this way Reason Studios huh ? why the hell does every other Compnay manage to not have that cable shit going on and to fuckin have a good soundengine and you guys are stuck in the fuckin 90s ! i hope they read this and come up with a real Reason 13 instead of that fake 13 that they called a 12 and it was nothing but a fuckin 1990s 0,2 or whatever was the version cant remember
I mean it's not because they don't know how to do it without cables - it's supposed to mirror modular and studio gear, and I think it does it in a way that's not really comparable to another piece of software. Personally I hope they never change it. A lot of things are routed automatically so you hardly ever have to think about it. But being able to run a CV out from your kick drum to restart an arpeggio, or use the amount compression on an instrument to control the cut-off or LFO speed on another instrument...it' s just so much harder to do this without the cabling.
Always the same complaints when a new Reason version is out Best version so far as usual and remains true to itself It does not try to be another DAW and that will not change
The noise at 15 seconds is not a fart. I repeat, not a fart.
Agreed --> Track folders, midi note chase, favourites
My Wish List, as a Cubase user who only uses Reason only as a plugin:
1.) Windows ARM Support.
2.) Improve the value proposition for Plugin-only users with each Upgrade. Workflow stuff in the Reason DAW does nothing for me anymore, and the two devices in the 13 Upgrade that actually matter as a Plugin user are not worth $199. The synth is something that I already have very well covered with other VSTs, and the Ripley delay, while very cool, doesn't push it over the line for me.
When I think of what they could have added, like including more Players in the upgrade (Are they out of ideas with this, or just greedy?), or a granular effects option, or something that would be targeted to the film scoring market... They just need to do more, to get my money now.
For perspective, the Cubase 13 Upgrade costs $99 and I got it on sale for $69, and the value proposition was absolutely staggering when compared to the Reason 13 Upgrade.
One of the things I often think is: If they *just updated Recycle* with a dark theme, modernized it to compete with current the competition, *and added it to Reason*... They could even still sell the standalone version or Standalone + VST for $99 for people who don't use Reason or wouldn't want Reason. They would make so much money by doing that. If they did that, *I'd buy that upgrade in a second*. They could even do a niche feature set of integration for MPC and Maschine users to push it over the top. It's an obvious win that they just ignore.
The company just seems like it has a very stubborn culture, and it always keeps them on the backfoot, always catching up and never pulling ahead.
I do think there's more scope for Players. They're one of my favourite aspects of Reason. I'd love to see more generative stuff, taken from the modular world. I would also reeeeally like to see the addition of a master key signature track, where you can set all of your players scale mode to "Global". Automating every single device to the correct mode/key is a nightmare.
I have used Reason for film and sound design stuff but as it stands I don't think we're the target audience. A lot of the marketing seems to be around Dance, Pop and Hip Hop. Which is fine, obviously. I do some of that too for work. And it's obviously got more mass appeal. Cubase is definitely a better environment for that.
How long have you been in Cubase btw? I started in the 90s on ATARI STE. Dropped off around Cubase 8 and switched to Reason almost exclusively. So it's weird to be coming back, and SO much has changed!
@@PaulOrtiz I think there's scope for Players. I'm just not sure Reason Studios will be the ones to make them. I use the Lectric Panda stuff, and I love it. I wish Reason Studios would have included one or more players, for the purchase price of $199. Or just something more, generally. As a plugin user, one instrument and one delay just isn't enough. I agree with your wants for a master key signature track, a global scale mode. I also want MPE support.
I started making music in the 90s with Sonic Foundry Acid. Then I got the original MBox /w Protools LE in I believe 2001, and that was such an awful experience that I just stopped making music altogether for years. I think in 2015 I got Reason 8. Then I upgraded to 9.5 because they finally added VST support. Then I got 10 and then 11 Suite and finally 12.
I started with Cubase with version 10. I've bought every upgrade since. My only complaint with Cubase got resolved in 13, which was a weirdness with the windowing, where when you exited the program, the File menu bar would stay open. With every update they've brought significant enhancements, and with the last two versions especially, I have been really impressed. Steinberg seems to have never lost their passion.
I really like Reason's instrument rack, but Cubase is far and away the best DAW I've ever used, and I've tried all of them in at least demo form. I'm at the point where I just can't settle for "It's almost there, now," and companies that slow walk releases for fixing their self-made problems.
I gave you a follow on Twitch!
According Microsoft/Reason Studios ARM Windows support is coming in 2025 to Reason.
The favourites need to come back. Thanks for the workaround. I only like a few devices in each folder.
If you watch Ryans video, it shows you how to tag and fill your fav and other categories
Not really seeing a $199 upgrade. That's an almost comical asking price for an upgrade that should have been $49 with the synth an optional buy in the shop.
Agree. The amount of cope in this video and the comments is kind of hilarious. I have evolved beyond emotional attachment to bits and bytes. Deliver suitable value or get in the rearview, as far as I'm concerned.
It honestly should've been a 12.2 updates. Most DAWs put out more than this in free updates between major releases.
@@tgoodjenkins That's the thing. Reason studios knows this, ad have known this for years, but keep doing the same routine. Especially after the sale of the company. I just wonder if this is enough to satisfy the Reason cult or will they too be offended at these $199 service packs?
Agree with this. I upgraded from Reason 7 to 12 last November so I was fuming that I didn't get the free upgrade because I upgraded a month before being eligible!
@@busywl69 Ooof, I had no idea. They sold out to an investment firm? Nothing but trouble with those things. Uuuuugh
Hey dude this was killer, really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the new version! Also, wanted to reach out and say thanks for getting me into Reason / music production so many years ago.
I came across an old clip you posted about 12 years ago and found out that you used Reason for a lot of it. Immediately grabbed a license and learned a lot from your forum posts / videos. Now I’m doing this full time as my main gig.
Thanks for making the sickest music and for sharing your knowledge over the years 🙏🏻
No worries, and thanks so much for the kind words! As it happens all the songs in the background and everything in the bandcamp link down the bottom (or almost everything) was Reason made. I love the software, I've done some of what I consider to be my best work in it. And I'm sure I'll continue to. But I'm just hurting for those QoL features now. Fingers TIGHTLY crossed for 13.x, 14 and beyond!
GREAT video.. I never knew how to articulate midi note chase!! That drives me crazy.. and in a stroke of delight, I realized Bitwig has it and I just have to turn it on. :) I've long left Reason as my main DAW but still have a soft spot for this great tool. Hoping they work on more quality of life features vs devices.
+1 for track folders and order sync between the three views 💪🏻
ngl , i actually hate the floating browser, its one more button i have to press to find things i want to use, where as on 12 everything is alawyas on that left side.
the floating screen gets in the way and it makes music longer for me to make
One thing I did discover today is that after you've set your tags, the patch up/down buttons and the preset list reference the search results. So you can continue to browse presets that way without having it open.
@@PaulOrtiz yeah but if you're someone who makes more than maybe 3 genres of music, tagging all samples, will and can be very tedious, where as in R12, i have my folders setup, i need something i know where is it without even having to search or have the 3/4 extra clicks you have to do now in R13, if there was an option to just keep the browser as it is in R12, i think the update would be a little more enjoyable, but the whole floating window thing is annoying, especially if your producing on a smaller screen/laptop
Very funny that they still don't have Midi chase feature. Its like 10-years-ago standard, and for me, its an surprise that Reason still don't have this. Also, good point about track folders: now i see that this is like a "must must have" feature for me, and i can't even work without combining tracks into folders. 199 upgrade price for almost just Browser - looks like to much.
I feel that Reason Studios, by pricing the upgrade at $199, are basically making a backhanded jab at their commitment to still have Reason available as a licensed purchase, after introducing their subscription model. Whether intentionally or not, they are making a bad case of trying to promote the subscription route as a better paradigm for software users.
Add to the wishlist the possibility to resize clips & notes without having to select them first. Small details like that, note preview and scale snapping makes a *huge* impact on workflow. That's where RS often miss the target. They seldom add these small workflow features. The new timeline zooming is this kind of time saver 👍. I don't care how "far behind" it is to other DAWs. Enhance the things we constantly do/use.
Hey! Nice to put a face to the name. Great video, very well explained points too, most of which I’m familiar with from your forum posts.
I too (in recent years) have been DAW swapping like there’s no tomorrow but I keep coming back to Reason. I’m not keen on using it as a plugin in other DAWs and when it comes to mixing, I just can’t get the sound I want out of Logic or Live. I only really use other DAWs because there’s no WAV and AIFF sample synching in Reason’s browser (still/yet). Otherwise I’d just stay in Reason 100% of the time. I know what you mean about Cubase though. I started out on that on the Atari ST!
Aye I’m in the same boat. Even now, while I’m really enjoying Cubase, I’m still excited at the prospect of writing in R13. And I mean, I will! But like I said if I wanna get my productivity up then I’ve gotta reduce the amount of DAW hopping.
A lot of good ideas for future updates for the sequencer here 👍
Thanks! Loving your REs btw, I used a bunch of Anoma in a big sound design job recently. Absolute secret-sauce!
@@PaulOrtiz Great to hear!
Holy moly. Lots of comments on this video. 😮 I agree with you on every bit of these. Track folders was my no.1 wish. Now it's to get favorites back. 😂
Thanks for this very balanced overview! I'm with you on almost all points. Track folders would be a HUGE improvement for my workflow and the Favorite Devices functionality has to come back in some way or another. I would also like a dedicated marker lane - but tbh i use an "empty" automation lane on top of the sequencer and it does all i need in that regard 😇
R13 might not be the biggest thing ever, but i like the direction they are going (again). For me, the upgrade was definitely worth it. Ripley is dope!
Yeah I use an ID8 and just make empty note clips with text labels as markers. Sometimes I’ll record notes into them if I wanna jot down an idea of what should go next in a song section!
As much as track folders have been requested for a long while (must be one of the top feature requests, if not the top), I have to think RS is not oblivious to this, and that it's something particularly challenging to implement in the Reason ecosystem. I appreciate that ecosystem, but if it prohibits development of such features, Reason is rather painting itself into a corner. I've only used Reason (for years), but I echo your reluctant ponderings about switching DAWs, alas. Even the free LUNA, -even with its presently week midi features, seems already competitive with Reason, and likely to get better. And then there's the $199 upgrade price...
LUNA seems competitive with Reason's MIDI because Reason's MIDI Editing is actually quite primitive when you look at it objectively - and LUNA shares some of the same deficiencies. What it doesn't share, is a $499/199 MSRP/Upgrade price tag - though I'd argue that the Pro Bundle is pretty much fundamental if you're going to use that DAW. But that's what people have been saying. Ignore the rack and take the rest of the DAW in isolation. Not very competitive with what others are bringing to the table... That's the part that they need to improve for people to stay on the platform, otherwise it just becomes a pile of limitations and there is only so much "Limitations make you more creative" or "I don't really need that, though" copium someone can chug before it becomes toxic.
IMO, LUNA fits best as a Recording/Mixing DAW (Pro Tools alternative) or when paired with Maschine/MPC Workflows - where you produce on Maschine/MPC and then bring that over to LUNA for Arranging and to Record/Edit Audio (Vocals, Acoustic Instruments, etc.) and Mix everything. The API Console Extensions (Consume Emulation, Summing) are amazing, as are the Tape Emulations. The only other DAW that sort of comes close to that is Studio One with its Mix Engine FX...
Well done video my man. I've always loved your music and enjoyed your commentary in the Reasontalk forums. I'm personally very happy with this update but I totally understand why a couple of these things are important to your workflow. I'm a Cubase user as well and it really does have every feature imaginable. Looking forward to more of your videos going forward
Thanks Juice! Yeah I definitely wanna do more stuff. I love nerding out about music and DAWs and especially Reason. I'm just having to remind myself how all this stuff works. Not me asking Chat GPT how to split a video clip in DaVinci 👀👀👀
@@PaulOrtiz I feel ya on that man. Haha
really valid points and I think these feature requests are also well established in the core Reason community. Track folders seems to be the final boss for the programming team.
To each their own of course, I much prefer the mixer does NOT reorder automatically if I reorder my tracks the sequencer. That's just down to how I prefer to group things differently between those 2 areas.
It should definitely be an option! Like I said sometimes it makes sense to do it one way or the other but something in the settings to lock device order sync would be great!
Good one mate. About track folders, Even simple projects just always get big in DAWs nowadays. We have a new track for everything, unlike in the past. That is why this should be prioritized when delevoping the sequencer. Hoping all the best for Reason in the future🙂
I think anything that discourages you from making changes to a song should be addressed. Once you've got 100 tracks of MIDI and automation, it becomes so hard to just grab a section and move things around without leaving little bits of clips behind. If we ever get folders, I hope it's like Cubase. With the top level clip that you can move/size/chop/etc.
They funnel their rack extensions with the update. Let us decide to include them in the update and let us pay only for the core DAW update.
You’ve made some valid points👍🏽
this update pricing makes no sense unless they pull out some crazy new features and synths for the racks in minor version updates
I have been a Reason user, buying every perpetual license since R5 as well as many RE's and I don't think I have ever seen so many negative reviews/comments about Reason! Just based on these reviews/comments I am not buying into a product that I once loved. Enough is enough.😢
Im on reason since version 3 and absolutely love it. I hovewer the last update i have ever bought was 11. It becomes like Apple "iphone 15 is great. If you want a charger cable, it's another £50 but you dont have to buy if you have the old one. But you won't be able to use the fast charge". The Sequenser needs to be more flexible if Propellerheads won't hear it it will be the same story as with VST support, which they eventually made, but many people have changed their daw preference waiting for it
For me, Reason is a selfcontained ecosystem.
I only use Reason's native instruments/effects plus rack expansions when working in Reason. For real instruments/band setups, I work in Studio One. Reason is more of a sonic playground for me.
I have 13 for free for six months, but I will wait until a black friday price to get it. Reason is a perfect songwriting tool IMHO.
Agreed .Same here. Free for 6 months (Akai promo) then buy it on sale LoVe iT
How is Reason a better songwriting tool than, say... Cubase or Logic Pro, which have better features for songwriters as well as a better set of stock FX along with better acoustic instruments and good stock synths?
ARA2 Support. Chord Track/Pads/Assistant. Audio to MIDI [Chords]. Score Editor. Scale Assistant. Arranger Track. Signature Track. Expression (Articulation) Maps (Sets). MusicXML Import & Export. Retrospective Recording (Audio & MIDI). Marker Tracks. Audio Alignment. Group Editing. Multi-Mixer Views. Mixer Versioning.
That's just the stuff that I find I reach for almost every time for songwriting - not the stuff people are likely to respond "But, I don't need that" to.
That's also ignoring any disparity in Arranger Workflow (Folder Tracks, Track Visibility Management, etc.), the handling of plug-ins (VST MIDI Routing, Suspend VST3 Processing for Silent Tracks, etc.), Core Audio/MIDI Editing Features or interoperability with Third Party Application (External Audio Editor Support, etc.). Nevermind MixConsole many MixConsole features.
Do you say this because it... bundles rack extensions? FL Studio Signature probably bundles more, but I don't really consider that a great DAW for "songwriting," personally.
I personally find the experience in Reason to be closer to grooveboxes like Maschine or MPC than Generalist DAWs like Cubase or Logic Pro.
I don't use reason anymore, but it's always good to be up to date with the different DAW options. A couple of thoughts: It would be great to hear the banger track names you're using as the background music (they sound sick), as well as a link to your twitch stream (I already know it by heart but would be a good idea for newcomers). Cheers and keep em coming!
Hey! Thank you :) You can hear all the songs used in the background at paulortiz.bandcamp.com and they're all Reason!
Songs are:
Santuary
The Nexus
Hidden Cities
Aurora
Hyper.Drive
And great shout on the Twitch link. I'll add it to the description.
DOOM music 13:40 100% Track folding in groups interesting, I had not thought of that but it would be good, but isn't putting multiple tacks on a bus mixer lane a similar thing? If I make a bus lane then create track for that bus lane then it controls all of those channels?
Just picked up ML Drums - cannot recommend them enough. Dirt cheap, small RAM footprint, massive sound. Also the pitch shifter on the Neural DSP X amp sims is really good. At least until my Bass VI bass/guitar thingy arrives :)
Mixer busses are great for actual mixing, and I really like how Reason handles this vs most DAWs. But I'm talking more about arrangement. Being able to collapse a huge project down to a handful of master clips that you can chop and move and copy, delete, whatever. I like that in Cubase it's purely for sequencer data. It doesn't do any audio routing, like in Live. I think that's the approach I'd love to see Reason take one day!
@@PaulOrtiz I'll look into those drums then, thtnks for the heads up, I don't make Rock music like that however.
I think Reasons blocks is for containing and moving around large sections of multiple tacks and cutting moving around and so on however I dont use it.
@@HOLLASOUNDS Blocks are really cool. I had a job once where I had to smash out like 20+ tracks in 2 weeks (played too much Mass Effect, my own fault lol). I laid every song out with Blocks before I'd even written a note. All I had to do was populate each section, come back out to the arranger, and the song was like 80% done, minus transitions.
I also sometimes build a scaffolding around a reference track using Blocks. It's an underrated feature IMO!
@@PaulOrtiz I need to play around with blocks, however I dont really understand it, I have seen videos about it but didn't stick in My head. Would you say Blocks a feature that is better then other DAWs? We know what Reason cants do, but what can it do that other DAWs can't? When I say DAW I'm not including the Rack.
@@HOLLASOUNDS I’ll do a video on this soon!
reason also needs multi midi channels and video player
2 things that have been begged for too many years. Not another synth I will not use. The sequencer updates are features most other DAWs have had for years and the most basic.
I agree with the wish list! 😁👍
Reason is the undisputed king of lackluster updates. This one is another ridiculous “update”. Especially when you consider the asking price and what the competition offers. It’s completely absurd. Literally the only new thing is the browser, the rest is just the same things that always existed but arranged in a different place. That’s why they put the new devices, to justify the new numbered release. But let’s be real, if reason needs anything and we had to prioritize, it’s certainly not new devices. Devices should be the icing on the cake, not the bulk of the release.
I have the impression Mattias and the Reason team are extremely lazy when it comes to do actual work to take reason to the new level. Seems like they just want to have fun playing around creating new synths and devices.
Highly disappointed.
This comment is spot on
It's funny, the latest version of Ableton Live removed the ability to categorise VST plugins into folders and replaced it with a tagging system - simultaneously throwing away years of producers careful categorisation and workflow. It was not been well recieved at all.
Seems like Reason Studios saw that and said "yeah let's do that too!" without giving it too much thought.
I recently ended my 20 year relationship with Reason in favour of switching to Ableton and this was immediately really restricting to me. Can't believe it happened back in Reason now too!
Ableton have brought back VST as folders in the new update. Probably FX will come next.
@@Noldy__ it seems what they've added is the option to categorise VST by developer, I don't think they've added back manual folder organisation. Unless I've missed something.
@@fionaskittle Oh. Gotchya!!I don't think I used that feature. I can see how it can be annoying to reorganize with the new tagging system though haha
I move any samples I want to use in a project into a temporary foulder on My desktop and once the project is finished I delete but keep a list of everything that was in that folder. I was fed up of loosing sounds in Reason, or not beimg able to find sounds im Reason 12.
did ableton ever have the feature to put vsts in favorite folders?? they had those 7 collections shortcuts which you could move vsts to but if you wanted to move a vst to a manually created folder, you needed to first save it as a rack.
Loved your balanced thoughts!
they still did not add vst to vst midi routing ...so vsts like scaler are limited in Reason
This is one area I'll defend RS on somewhat; I get why users want it but I think the redesign of Reason's sequencer and its handling/routing of MIDI would be a LOT of work. Not saying it should never happen but there are other, simpler things that could be addressed first. I know there's a workaround involving LoopMIDI but I've not tried it!
@@PaulOrtiz wow seems my harmless opinion got moderated....Sad... 😔
@@ucheattoh hey! I never saw it, what did you (try to) say?
I really love Reason. I really want to like Reason Studios. I just can't find a way to put on a smile or a positive spin on this. But they keep on doing their half-assed minimal implementations. Too short closed beta-testing. Not listening to customers. They think their development and software is super secret instead of embracing open development. I was super excited for the Sequencer improvements, but even they turned out to be half assed (especially the new Browser) and they also removed features that people used because they want it done their way. Just see people on ReasonTalk having problems and Mattias chiming in with a quick fix coming... could have easily been spotted in beta-testing, but even there they've split the testing base between owners and R+ users.
Also asking for 200€ for this update seems like a bit of a joke (yes I know JRR etc.)
Also really no use in making wishes or Wishlists. Reason Studios will do what they want, if they haven't listened to its users for the last decade, I don't see it happening ever. I think I might skip R13 and keep on using R12, maybe check out R13.5-14...
I do wish that there was more openness. Had they shared the blueprint for Reason's browser at the design phase, I can't think of a single person who would've said "Device favs? Nah, don't need em!". But obviously how they work is how they work. Maybe they have their reasons!
Still I get the feeling that some features/ideas are wrongly characterised as 'niche' or for 'experts' only. I don't think it's a bad thing to consider the needs of experienced users. Cast a wide net, capture the hobbyists, sure. But the aim should always be to make powerful tools for people who know what they're doing, or who aspire to know. Ultimately this isn't a mobile app for kids. It's a digital audio workstation, that necessarily has a skill barrier that I think it's reasonable to expect people to meet. If they can't or don't want to...there are other hobbies to get into.
I'm still undecided whether I should punish Reason Studios for the update or buy it so that my favorite DAW continues to exist.
😂 Well look, personally, I really wanna see Reason stick around. I only ever criticise out of my love/passion for what is still an *amazing* piece of software. I said elsewhere but when you've got a huge project just chugging along and everything's just working and all this crazy stuff is happening, it's a marvel. I guess it depends if you're coming in as a perpetual or R+ user. R+ users seem to be happier than perp, from what I can tell. If 199 is too steep, just hold out for a sale. There's also an online store that always seems to offer Reason at quite heavily discounted prices. J...shop? JR shop? Something like that. It's mentioned on Reasontalk a lot.
One of my favorite workflow goodness was favorites so no more updating for me and that comes from a hardcore reason junky (300-RE , 24 years of refills , A great many VSTs)
Well I was pleased to see it directly addressed in the R13 live stream. They're working on a solution right now. So watch this space I guess!
@@PaulOrtiz thanx for the heads up!
Polytone is nice but the rest was underwhelming. Even there, the UI is kind of small for my screen and eyes. Not a fan of a floating window for the browser. The split sequencer is kind of annoying so far. Otherwise I'm not really even sure what they added or updated, it's not immediately obvious yet.
Consider a pen tablet to prevent RSI. I switch off between my pen and mouse depending on the task. There’s just less wrist action and more elbow action w the stylus.
I have an old Wacom Intuos that I used to use with my pc. I feel like I may have to buy a new one as I know what it’s like with Apple. If it’s older than x years good luck getting it to work on new OS’s!
@@PaulOrtiz Huion offers decent tablets as well.
True midi having to play from start of notes is a old problem needs fixing 14:16 I just bounce sounds like that to audio, and keep a copy of the midi to revert to if I need to edit it.
Yeah same - there's a workaround, of course! But the best solution is to just fix it.
As soon as the new side chain plugin was announced last month, I thought about you and pump. I never ended up buying pump, but maybe now I won’t have to. Thoughts?
BTW, Reason is like that old friend from jr. high that everybody collectively decided to ignore, but you personally can’t because there’s just too much history between you two. Like the bald guy from Hot Tub Time Machine.
Well pump is free now! So go get it :) Sidechain tool is great though. I like the option for filtering the MIDI note it responds to. Nice touch.
It's amazing how half-arsed and low effort the changes to the sequencer are
All these for $199 ain't it though.
A scream 4 in ya master is wild but inspiring.
I use it in Tape mode sometimes to just add some nice lo-fi sounding grit. Although I’ve also started using OCS and Lo-Fi-Af on the master as an alternative. Both great plugins if you haven’t checked them out!
You’ve always been a diehard fan of Reason, and for you to say that you will be looking to move to Cubase is a big deal. Reason Studios must look into it; otherwise, the future of Reason is bleak!
I have been and on some level I think I always will be! Re-watching this morning maybe it sounded a bit like a breakup letter lol it's not, but I do have to settle on one host that has most of what I need. I keep bouncing between Reason, Live, Logic, Cubase. It's counterproductive. I've been Cubase most of my life (literally). So it does make sense. But I'll always rep for Reason. Even with its flaws there are things it does uniquely well, that I'd also like to cover in another video!
@@PaulOrtiz Hey mate, I understand entirely. I am a diehard fan of reason as well. I have Live and Logic Pro, but I have never used them. The push toward subscription and treating the perpetual license owners like 💩 is reflective of the new CEO’s Niklas Agevik mindset. He gives me the vibes of Martin Shkreli, who, if you remember, was the CEO of a pharmaceutical company and raised the price of a life-saving drug from 13.50 to 750 overnight. Now that company is hated well, I fear reason studios is going that path.
@@usedusermoser Haha I remember that guy yes. Well thing is I know the company has to make money. Devs, like musicians, face the same problem atm which is how to survive in those long, desolate periods in between releases. Much like how it's hard for artists to stay afloat in between full length albums. The expectation now is a constant stream of content. So in theory I don't have a problem with companies pivoting to a 'service' model, so long as you get good value for your money during the lifetime of your subscription. I also feel like subscribing should count towards a HEAVY discount for a perpetual license if you decide to go that way.
@@PaulOrtiz I completely agree. They have to make money to be afloat; however, it has to be within reason, as most musicians don’t earn money
. They could make it like a plugin alliance offer where you get to keep ten plug-ins every subscription year. Or port the reason to the iPad/iPhone and have that on a subscription, like Logic Pro for iPad. And you can switch between the projects efficiently. That will fit the new motto of making music faster.
gawd blimey is like watching ya dad years ago! lol Love ya man!❤💛💚
Nick!! Haha good to hear from ya dude, I hope you're getting on okay. You hear I've returned to spawn, I'm a Clacton boy again haha.
@@PaulOrtiz and I saw ya using cubase - careful now ;)
Could we PLEASE for the love of everything get more than 8 FX SENDS! lol....also a channel strip inspector in the sequencer window would be nice. So we dont have to keep F7'ing to the mixer.
I gotta say I haven’t hit the limit yet but I understand how others might. Mostly I use effects as inserts, and parallel processing so I can cut tails quickly when I need to or include them in side chain pumping. But yeah 16 would be really nice! Also a single channel strip would be great. Works nicely in Cubase!
Reason is bloody awesome and beautiful aesthetic looks wise but it's starting to seem like the apple of DAWs. Charging so much for basic upgrades
I use Cubase 13 as my main workhorse daw, plus Reason as normal VSTi... best solution.
I'd love it if you could load Reason as a MIDI insert like in Logic. That would be a game changer!!
Do not forget the possibility to send MIDI Clock to multiple MIDI Out ports _
Yes I totally skipped over this! Funny thing is, when I was using lots of external hardware I wanted this and didn't have it. Now I have it, I'm doing it all in the box and on the verge of selling my hardware haha.
the favorites list pops up in the browser tab
You can’t put devices in it. Or VSTs. Yet. They’re working on it though, off the back of everyone’s feedback. So that’s great news.
Did you tag that Nostromo patch at 7:57 yourself? Or have some non-Reason Studios rack extensions gotten tagged by the developers?
I think I may have done during testing yes!
WHY THE FUCK DID THEY REMOVE THE FAVS FOR PLUGINS?
They missed the mark. Fl Studio, Logic, Live are still way ahead.
Also, I don’t like the new zoom feature, the old one was better
Reason is Reason. Just stick with the other DAWS
There is still no MPE support in 13, as this is such a supported thing in keyboards why is it not important to have in a DAW, it makes it impossible to use MPE unless you use a VST instrument as standalone rather than in a DAW, so then what is the point of the DAW!
I feel they did the bare minimum to the sequencer to show that “hey we still care about the daw”. That and it had the lowest budget allocation. The only real new thing was click and drag to zoom. The rest already existed and was just moved elsewhere. The old tools menu even looked more polished. Can’t stand the chunky oversized aesthetics and confusing button names. I think it reinforces that RS isn’t a daw company, it’s a device company that has to package them in something.
good points 👌🏾
I pay for it every month, but barely touch it. This update is so weak, I've considered canceling. The only reason I don't, is because Reason is still better than Ableton for my final mastering, because it can simply handle a ton more VSTs in real time (on a 64 core/256gb machine with a pricey audio interface).
Number one reason I don't care for it is the same as before. I don't find it fun to route dozens of cables for simple tasks.
Number two. Still no midi linking between devices. i.e I can't route Scalar to another instrument and play it through Scalar.
Those two thing had me running over to Ableton desperate to learn a new workflow. Now, I call upon Reason as a plugin, once in a great while.
If you see this message, I am trying to upgrade my reason 12 to reason 13 but they only have annual and subscription. I do not see a upgrade payment only option. Can you help me in anyway or anybody out there that sees this message how to contact them thank you.
Oh weird! Definitely hit up support with that one. If you already have a 12 license you should qualify for the 199 upgrade price. Hope you get it sorted!
$199 is a ridiculous price.
Your twitch channel isn't linked anywhere on RUclips
Added to the video description! twitch.tv/chimpspanner - I'll be on tonight around 9pm GMT :) But it'll be a Cubase session!
Worst upgrade ,why they took away edit tool tbat was upfront,i dont use tool window why i cant toagle it and had what was infront of me
you need to put in manual work to be able to create music. This concept of thinking everything should just POOF happen in front of your eyes and music is created is kind of nonsense. It all boils down to "muscle memory" or a developed workflow. Psychologically, you just get used to a process no matter how tedious anyone else thinks it is.
I mean actual creative work is one thing. Repeatedly doing the same workarounds or wasting time due to limitations is another. If you work in parts of the music industry that are fast paced (like sync music) you really start to resent those wasted clicks ya know? Sometimes they want music within a few hours.
Also just on a personal level the older I get the less time I feel I have to write. It’s like I finish work, blink and it’s midnight. I wanna make sure whatever time I do have for myself is spent wisely! Nothing to do with expecting the actual process of writing to be easy/fast. That’s the bit I love most!
@@PaulOrtiz spot on. FYi what would it take to give us folders to manage tracks
And Reason is Reason. Stop begging them to be like the others. Just move along.
And we still can’t automate volume or gain in dB…
I’ll be honest I never noticed this 😂 I just kinda adjust to taste but yeah I see how that would be useful. I still really like reasons automation on the whole (clips, static/return values).
@@PaulOrtiz it always confuses me to not be able to at least see zero, somewhere. :P
A slightly different browser?
Nobody in their right mind should pay 200 quid for this ridiculous so-called "update".
😂
I think it's gonna be for people to make their own decision as to whether or not it's worth it. The process of hand tagging like, everything, is definitely worth something. I suppose as it comes with devices it's sorta ambiguous as to what you're paying for. For value, a year of R+ with packs and anything else they might come out with in the next year device wise probably makes more sense, and I think they know that too. Definitely trying to funnel people down that route. There will be a black friday sale though, so that might be the time to jump in!
For the record I do like the browser - I think more work went into it than just moving it and changing the paint. I feel like the R12 graphical update this was something that was on the to-do list for a long time and it didn't make sense to do other stuff when these other things had to change first. That's just my hunch/hope.
@@PaulOrtiz When you see what FL Studio customers get with their life time of inclusive updates, the Reason offering is laughable.
Their relentless and blatant push towards 'renting' software you thought you'd bought ten years ago is also very discouraging.
I remember when they seemed like a decent company to do business with, with relatively rewarding upgrade prices for loyal customers.
Maybe they should just merge with Magix and get it over with.
🤣
I don't understand the new browser, it's a massive step back. Why do we need two browsers now, the old multiple collum system was way better, and it won't dock so it just sits there in the middle of your project screen. The split view kinda sucks too as it hides the sequencer, so you cant choose multiple tracks for MIDI note ghost. Can't believe they still don't have track folders, it's becoming a meme.
I will say, working with the new browser is quickly become second nature. Especially for exploring the included sounds and samples to manipulate in mimic, grain, etc. I’ve seen a lot of people on reason talk saying they’ve gone from hating to quite enjoying it, although there’s room for improvement. Picking a random result would be nice. A waveform display and scrubber. Devices, obviously!
you nailed it. period. huge improvements but, too far behind most DAW. Reason is only interesting as a VST plugin.
Don't get me wrong I love Reason, even as a DAW. And the things it does well, I think it does better than other DAWs. I'm actually gonna do a video all about that. But like, automation. Being able to add/remove devices and change routing without breaking the audio stream, decent audio pitch edit (which even Live doesn't have yet). As a sorta visual playground of virtual devices I think it's very hard to beat. And I've done some of my favourite ever work in Reason. There are no hard barriers to making music in it right now. Just pain points that I hope can be addressed one day.
"Dust off the instruments"... Pray tell chief, what is it that you do for a living?
Hello! I am the music director for a production/sync music company. So music is my job? Kinda. But mostly I’m doing production/consultation and metadata.
I also think 199€ are too much for an update
I absolutely love it to death, I am a subscriber so the cost is meaningless to me, all the moaning is insane. If you buy one instrument on Roland cloud its like $149 ONE INSTRUMENT ?? Reason is amazing and it costs money to build great software so stop moaning FFS and just subscribe, its $20 a month, that's nothing, its less than my chewing gum budget.
I already subscribe! Don't get me wrong, Reason *is* amazing and I'm already planning a video talking about the things I love that it does really well, that I feel not enough people talk about. As someone who started music on the Atari, it's basically magic to me. So please don't take this as nitpicking/moaning. I just really, really love the software. Enough to be somewhat passionate about where I think it could improve, and I'm definitely not alone. But I have made and will continue to make a lot of music in it (you can hear some in the bandcamp link in the description). Anyone can make amazing in music, today. Some things about it could just be a little easier, that's all :)
199€ no🤯
The new browser concept is not well thought out and definitely has a lot of room for improvement. I like software that gives you the freedom to work in a way that suits your nature. Reason restricts this freedom unnecessarily. I don't like that at all.
Once I got into it, it definitely got easier. Understanding the different ways of entering the browser helped big time. In the DAW, I get on well with it. In the RRP it feels claustrophobic as the browser is bound to the RRP window, which can only be resized vertically. Feels cramped.
I think the update is rubbish because there’s not enough changes to call this an actual “Upgrade” from 12!
The fact the mix console is ancient & is not practical for new users to get to grips with it needs updating!
The scrolling the mixing console is long & stupid yeah it is a version of a real desk console but it’s digital!
Why make users scroll down & up surely the full desk can be displayed on the main screen without scrolling!
Surely if the entire desk was visible it would be more realistic & from the user selected are section it can zoom in!
But the scrolling thing is rubbish surely if the entire desk was on show the different function can be expanded!
They can expand when in use then return to the full desk view otherwise what’s the point of it because as it is
It feels restricted & not fun to use it may have been acceptable back in the day but it should have been updated years ago!
If Reason had a better Mixing Desk Visual Presentation that was user friendly rather than just a gimmick that was a novelty back in the day,
But today the feature is not good to use because it is to much work for instance the simple task of controlling the volume of the track is all the,
Way at the top of the mixing desk console navigation to this location is bothersome because it could & should be in sight at all times!
If it is mimicking the same as a real desk console the user can see the entire desk console & controls so it the user that focuses on a particular section!
Reason has had the same mixing desk console presentation for ever when it was cool because it was different & familiar but it’s 2024-25
This feature is rubbish because it hasn’t evolved or improved it is just the same awkward workflow that hasn’t changed to be improved!
Reason has done the bare minimum to this update disguised as an upgrade! ♾️⚖️🪶⚖️♾️
You mean the track 'trim' pot at the top? You don't really need to use that for controlling track volume (unless you wanna make a quick tweak without messing up fader automation). In the master output strip of the mixer, there are several small boxes that let you turn on/off different areas of the mixer depending on what you want to see. You can hold alt (or option) and click any one of them to 'collapse' all mixer sections, and then just add what you need. It's one way of seeing more of the mixer at once.
What is you peoples obsession with working faster : you should enjoy writing music
WTH !?
I mean. I work in library/sync music. If a brief comes in 7pm on a Thursday, they might want it 9am Friday. Or, I might just wanna make music for myself in the few hours I have free at the end of a day. Every second counts. I have no expectations of the actual process of writing being fast, but general workflow stuff…I don’t wanna be wasting time fighting it.
@@PaulOrtiz I know : 👍 the browser is atrocious : everything you've mentioned showing Cubase
absolutely spot on : instead of giving us a synth that no one needs : focus on tools you showed
seriously my friend f**k this new browser .............
Also for Gods sake disable the splash screen in plugin mode ! 🤬🤬🤬
Cheers 🥂
To be fair like I said the browser grew on me! I started missing it when I went back to 12, put it that way. But I get why it’s divisive. Do find it fast for building drum kits and getting ideas going though. Maybe at some point I should just show it being used. Was too tired last night haha.
@@PaulOrtiz Cubase is my next move in the winter .....
i hate that cable stuff going on ! its bullshit. They should have done the Programing way different instead of having that crap going on ... i used to use reason back in somewhere around 1997 maybe 1998/99 dont know for sure in which year, and hated this cablestuff and they left it still in the very overall look like back in the day, yet they want a mouthwatering 500 euro ...let alone the crappy soundengine. why do i say crappy ? i did the very same track with the very same setting in two different DAW : presonus st 1 artist and reaon 12 : in PS1 6 Artist it sounded pefrect , while in reason like if i was listeting to a 1990s monitor ND I USED A STUDO HEADSET * this is how i do all of my muslic mixing ).
they spent time to make crappy cable simulation going on in the backside and those cooler but they did not spent no second on the freakin soundengine
i wanted reason but what i wanted more was a good soundengine which reason has not so no reason for reason
How did you collapse all?
Option + click on the small arrow
Reason DAW is so far behind I don't know how they can catch up considering most these DAW's have had these missing features for 10-20 years. It is fun, but limiting, which could be great for some people.
I mainly use reason and I'm not too familiar with other DAWs. I have FL Studio as well... 12 I think??? ... as well as Cubase 10...
In what ways is Reason behind other DAWs?
@@chad6326 considering you have FL and Cubase, there are so many more things they both have, especially piano roll key commands/shortcuts/customizations/macros/Interface customizations/custom window arrangements.
You should really think of updating fl to 21. And if you like 12, simply install in a different folder 📁
Thing is I don't think it'd take much to bring it up to spec. I know when people talk about modern/advanced sequencers they're gonna talk about things like Live with its clip launching, or FL with its....every-feature-every-user-has-ever-asked-for-ever-which-is-why-I-can't-stand-it lol, MPE, etc. Personally, I don't want any of that stuff.
But the basics are there. You can record audio and midi, edit, stretch, slice, quantise, all of that. It's fine. But it's the low hanging fruit like MIDI note chase that, as you say, has been a standard for decades. It does get harder to justify why I'm working without something like that when I have other DAWs that already do it.
But like I said to someone else, you can make amazing music in Reason right now. I don't think there are any hard barriers to it. My favourite music I've ever written has been in Reason. I love it. I just wanna see it be the best version of itself it can be.
@@PaulOrtiz Yeah, I guess there’s hope that they will focus on their DAW more, considering this latest update does focus heavily on it. FL is so powerful, but it’s also bloated. If you don’t want most that stuff then it sounds like you’ve landed in the right place.
For me, because I like to dabble in many DAW’s I’ve formulated common shortcut between them when I can. It would be nice to have that flexibility using custom key command in Reason. What I do now is set my Logitech mouse buttons to the same relative key commands for the same function so I don’t have to think about it too much. Like the middle mouse button opens VST instruments, or in reason, the rack.
look its not about fanboy but a DAW has to work for you and not the other way around ! i felt it that i was doing the shit with the vables first before making even anything more beside the beat and appreg and some piano chords .... why ! why has this to be this way Reason Studios huh ? why the hell does every other Compnay manage to not have that cable shit going on and to fuckin have a good soundengine and you guys are stuck in the fuckin 90s ! i hope they read this and come up with a real Reason 13 instead of that fake 13 that they called a 12 and it was nothing but a fuckin 1990s 0,2 or whatever was the version cant remember
I mean it's not because they don't know how to do it without cables - it's supposed to mirror modular and studio gear, and I think it does it in a way that's not really comparable to another piece of software. Personally I hope they never change it. A lot of things are routed automatically so you hardly ever have to think about it. But being able to run a CV out from your kick drum to restart an arpeggio, or use the amount compression on an instrument to control the cut-off or LFO speed on another instrument...it' s just so much harder to do this without the cabling.
Cubase is way better
Always the same complaints when a new Reason version is out Best version so far as usual and remains true to itself It does not try to be another DAW and that will not change