Questions about Reason and Making Music

[Jerry]

I got a demo version of Reason the other week and although it only lasts 20 minutes at a time it is pretty easy to use compared to alot of demo versions of other software I have had a go at (ie Cubase VST). Here are my questions as it costs a bit get the full version:

Q) Is this a program that you can make quality tracks that in the end you could release if they were good enough ?

Q) Is this program worth spending $800.00 to get the full version or are there other programs of a similar nature that are easy to use aswell and that you would recomend instead ?

Q) What programs do the pro's use ?

Q) I am going overseas next year but I will be getting a laptop to take with me so I can continue making music. How good a programs like Reason etc. on a laptop ?

Take this into consideration there is nobody else I know who wants to make music so I have nobody to ask about this stuff and I am not the brightest when it comes to computers so if these questions seem stupid sorry.

The reason Reason appeals to me is that it's a user friendly interface that doesn't confuse me and I am actually making headway with it even though I can only play on it for 20 mins at a time. I just don't wanna waste my cash on something that nobody uses to make tunes as I have a tendancy to watse money on crap.

Any help would be extremelly appreciated

Cheers,

Jerry

[compressed]

Originally posted by Jerry
Q) Is this a program that you can make quality tracks that in the end you could release if they were good enough ?yes, definitely - there have already been tracks released that were done purely in reason.

Q) Is this program worth spending $800.00 to get the full version or are there other programs of a similar nature that are easy to use aswell and that you would recomend instead ?um...difficult to say. reason is pretty easy to pick up, and can sound fairly good, but i wouldn't spend $800 on it.

Q) What programs do the pro's use ?varies. some would use a midi sequencer of some sort (eg cubase or logic) hooked up to hardware, some use the same software utilising other software, and some would take a primarily hardware approach. horses for courses.

Q) I am going overseas next year but I will be getting a laptop to take with me so I can continue making music. How good a programs like Reason etc. on a laptop ?as long as the laptop is of a comparable spec to your desktop machine, it should be ok.

if money is a big issue though, i would suggest checking out something like cubase in abit more detail. yes, its more confusing, but it gives you alot more power and avenues for expansion than reason does.

hope that helps in some way...sure someone else can give better answers than me :)

[thebrownhornet]

howdee.
OK - yes you can write tracks good enough for release on reason,
mirage (from syd) just got signed to bukems label looking good.

We - BPM - have just started selling software (including reason, recycle and rebirth). but also - live - native instruments.

We have set up a mac in the shop and will be having a few free seminars in the coming weeks to run threough the various software options for writing music

go to

www.bpmrecords.com

and submit you email address on the mailing page

we will be sending out email invitations to attend the seminars at the shop

AND there are more options that just reason for writing too.

[Phibbler]

$800! is that what reason costs!?!

Damn, dude save yourself the money , and get a copy from a friend.

I'm all for honest paying for goods and services, but that thing is overpriced as all get out.


Reason is good, but cubase is better to use in the long run.

[phunkdust]

i wont bother repeating what others have said - compressed said it pretty well... reason can produce excellent results - just note the processing power of your laptop (i'd be wanting a p3/800 with 192 ram at least)

yes it is expensive, but its probably worth it, since it contains "everything" you need - ie its completely virtual... no gear and much cheaper than using gear.

we wont mention illegal aquiring of software here ;)

an alternative is Fruityloops - the latest version 3.55 is excellent, it's got a few things in common with Reason, and it has an ability to produce professional sounding tracks - it does lack a little - you dont really get "ready to use" synths and drum machines like reason gives you - you need to do a little programming first, and it would be wise to have a nice collection of drumkit samples (or an internet connection for your laptop so you can download samples while you are overseas)

It can do a lot of things reason cant, and its a tad more flexible, at the sacrifice of simplicity.

It's also much cheaper than reason ($100-$200 depending on package) and is a little less power hungry (runs fine on my p3/600 notebook)

If you want to expand the capabilities of either package i'd look at some VST instruments such as Absynth or FM7

PM any fruity q's or VST q's to me - happy to help out... 8-)

[Phibbler]

Crap... should have mentioned fruity loops.

OR
Conversely there is a cheap reason-like clone that can use DX plugins and DXinstruments, it's called Orion.

Goes pretty cheeply too and it don't sound too shabby.

And as for illegal acqustion of software ...?
Oops... i got busted custard

but i got 800 reasons why you you would strap on the eye patch bust out the cutlass and go pirate. Argh!

[Sean]

well when you consider everything reason offers, and compare it to the cost of a lot of other pieces of software, its not too pricey. the nice sequencer, automation, and routing options are lovely. as are the options to program the synths. im in love with the malstroem.

and $800 is sounding like a lot more then it should be. my original copy of reason cost me $600........and i was lucky enuff to get the upgrade for free (not pirated). cubase is nearly twice the price and lacks many instruments, that said the ones it has are killer, and there is a lot of cool free vsti's out there

im a big reason advocate, but fruity rocks pretty hard also.

[SwishFish]

hpstekno here....

i think orion has it over fruity for making complete tracks it's a really good (and cheap) package it has a much easier gui than fruity for the beginner and the results are compareable to anything you can do on reason check it out here http://www.synapse-audio.com

but reason is a kick ass package :)

[redmond_herring]

I was using Fruity for 3+ years before I only recently started using Reason also.

I prefer Fruity in most cases, but yes Sean the malestrom is yummy!!!

My point is that changing and 're-learning' Reason with a background in Fruity is very easy - fruity is the trickier one (and more complex)

Go buy fruity - its ridiculous man, $139 or something..... FULL version, FREE upgrades... man its a crime how cheap it is for what it does (well compared to the big boys toys)

Having a background in fruity can only be a good thing for those wanting to get into the game without spending a fortune.

:) :P :p

[Jerry]

Cheers everyone for the advice, I have used an old version of Fruity Loops a while ago and thought it was reasonanly easy to use aswell. $139 for the full version is a good price too esp if you get all the manuals and free upgrades too, I think I might get that to start off with and keep plaing around with the demo version of reason too until I get to the point where I know what I am doing completely, then reasess outlaying $ for it. It's all very addictive and I can see my daily sleep decreasing from 8-6 hours a week.

Here are some other questions I have in regards to midi keyboards, where do they plug in on the back of the computer, do they plug into the souncard or into a port. Can you plug them into laptops also.

How do they work in regards to programs ? ie what programs can I use them with and how ?

Can you plug any old keyboard into a computer or does it have to be a Midi keyboard, my sister has a Yamaha keyboard (4 years old) at home that I am gonna borrow (Steel) as I used to play keyboards when I was a young tacker and wanna start getting lessons again also to brush my skills up again.

Once again cheers for all your help.

[compressed]

yes, it has to be a midi keyboard. it will plug either into the midi port of your soundcard, or if you have one, an actual midi card.

pretty much any program that can deals with midi will work with a keyboard. exact setup would vary from program to program (basically need to set the midi input in the software to the external midi port), and it will allow you to play notes into the software. so for someone who can actually play (such as yourself), you'll be able to bash out a melody (for example) on the keyboard, hear it triggering the software, and record the notes you play. once you've recorded the notes, the software will play them back from then on, allowing you to play other parts into it, or edit what you've just played (correct timing mistakes etc).

[thebrownhornet]

I think everyone started using cracks, and i can't blame them. I did too. It just gets to a point where you realise you are gonna be writing music for the rest of yourlife, and at that point, things like upgrades, support and manuals become a good thing.

IHave any of you guys seen ableton LIVE?

[Phibbler]

Abelton live?
Brings the joy in large stacks. looks all amounts of good for a throw down


Yeah i can see a day where sailing the seven seas of technology misappropriation, shall wear me down, argh!
But i say,"soon as i actually see any money from the fruits of my labour, the the cash shall trickle once more from wallet and into the hands of the deserving"

[kenada]

Hell yeh reason is professional, Orbital use it, Danny Tenaglia swears by it. And if you look at the props site and listen to what some amateur producers can get out of it you will see this really is capable of pro sounding tunes.

MIDI - u can connect it to usb port, or to your joystick port in your soundcard.

MIDI controllers - they are fairly affordable, and then your virtual hardware suddenly isn't so virtual anymore. You have hands on control of all parameters.

I can't give enough praise of this product. Leave fruity alone, I have used it for a while, and it's not really intuitive in the way the reason is.

If you are quibbling about the price and in $ASD I don't blame you, get it from someone generous, the good people at
neo-modus are usually quite forthcoming.

Get it - and save thousands on the hardware you will never need.

[driload]

some of the things i enjoy most about reason are the speed of which you can lay down various configurations in the sequencers (the Matrix).

also i was one of those nerds constantly whinging on the Props board about a tear-away sequencer so it was money well spent getting version 2.0. a dual monitor setup is blissful now.

i tend to use hardware still for nearly all the synth work, and an mpc for most of the drum programming, and Sonar 2 for all the sequencing, but a lot of sample experimentation can happen fast and nicely in the reason samplers, and the Redrum is brilliantly concieved and i tend to swap MIDI files between the Redrum and my MPC as im of the belief that every way to create has some nuance of style and its own limitations... its good to exploit every tool at your disposal.

i tend not to use the new sampling model as the NN19 is so much like the AKAI S2000 i first learnt to sample on that keysplits and creating multisampled programs is second nature to me. admittedly the new GUI of the new sampler is nice, but i dont need it for what im doing in reason as im mid-project. i like to get everything out of the way before i explore new toys/methods/tools.

THE SETUP:

i use reason 2.0 rewired to Sonar 2.0XL and this is a beautiful setup but one that needs at least a 1 gig processor to keep abreast of things, although even a 550 amd will handle it ok. also we have two Toshibi Satellites that we midi sync to one of my DAW's and run Ableton Live on them

we even use Ableton Live at gigs now and soon the MPC will be the master control clock for both laptops so they can go silly with the joys of Live and Reason in exactly the same we we do it with all the synths now. i see no real difference between a laptop and these programs and a supernova2 or ms2000. they make noise... they go blippy SCHwowowowowo.... we like things that do that.

oh and yeah, theres a lot of stuff from reason on the 8 BIT CRUNCH album.


one thing quickly is that you shouldnt expect to work from start to finish in just Reason, obviusly its possible but why limit your sound? i wouldnt recommend using ANY of the fx as they are very distinctive and shithouse, and EVERYONE who uses reason should check out some of the fantastic PEFF articles or others all around the net on the creative ways to use CV routing and the patchbay.

if anyone isnt familiar with the joys of the control filter let me know and i will post the article i wrote while at the Con to the ITM site.


one LAST thing is yes, i have used Reason live at a gig at the old Reaktor:Zen warehouse, back when that was flourishing (mainly Kazu Kimuras parties, the rest were lame), and never had a problem. a friends act had it crash on them though, which was funny because it was right in the middle of a big descending bassline riff and it got "stuck" and sat going:
RaRaRaRaRaRaRaRaRaRaRaRa

ouch


ps, midi controllers are a must... before i could afford one i just worked out how to use a TR-505 as a controller. mapped to channel 10 (of course, its a roland drum machine and they all are channel 10) you can use any of the 16 pads as assignable keys.

likewise you can do this in Soundforge and use it as a Controller... ie to Start/Stop/Go To End/Go To Start etc etc

[compressed]

Originally posted by driload
ps, midi controllers are a must... before i could afford one i just worked out how to use a TR-505 as a controller. mapped to channel 10 (of course, its a roland drum machine and they all are channel 10) you can use any of the 16 pads as assignable keys.actually, iirc, each pad can be assigned a midi channel as well as a note number on the 505, so the bassdrum pad can be sending note 12 on channel 1 while the snare pad can send note 86 on channel 14.

never figured out why roland gave that little piece of crap such a good sequencer spec...

[driload]

are you sure about that?

is this a setting on the TR-505? your wording states that the PAD "transmits" on different channels... so we ARENT talking about the midi learn and cc crap in reason i assume.

well i'll be damned... howd i miss that.

fill me in on how to re-assign the pad/midi channel config!!

and just to cover all bases we arent taling about the MC-505... but youde know that

[compressed]

yep, the tr-505:

http://home.it.net.au/~aksen/graphics/tr505.jpg

unfortunately i don't own my 505 anymore, sold it about a year and a half go, so i can't remember exactly how it was done. i stumbled across the settings more by accident than anything (didn't own a manual), and i'm not 100% certain on the midi channel aspect of it, mainly because you've sown the seeds of doubt :)

do you know how to reassign the note number on each pad? because changing the midi channel follows the same setup routine. for each pad you can set midi channel, midi note and a volume setting (not sure if this transmit as velocity, but it certainly changes the sample volumes inside the 505), which only has 5 volume settings.

ah, here we go, a scan of the manual which shows you how. looks like i wasn't wrong thankfully :)

http://alanhorvath.com/TR505/midi.html

so from the looks of it...

to set note number: SHIFT-MIDI-MIDI-MIDI-MIDI-PAD-UP/DOWN to change the value.

to set midi channel: SHIFT-MIDI-MIDI-MIDI-MIDI-MIDI-PAD-UP/DOWN to change value.

[viceversa]

Reason is good but I wouldn't agree that you can produce release-quality music with it. I think you'd find that anybody who has released stuff with it (e.g. well-known jungle/drum & bass producer Peshay) has mixed tracks down and put them through some serious mastering before coming up with a finished product. But as far as learning how to write stuff I don't think anything really comes close. It runs stable even on slower computers and the new instruments in the 2.0 version sound pretty cool.
That's my opinion anyway.

[LowJohnny]

Originally posted by viceversa
Reason is good but I wouldn't agree that you can produce release-quality music with it. I think you'd find that anybody who has released stuff with it (e.g. well-known jungle/drum & bass producer Peshay) has mixed tracks down and put them through some serious mastering before coming up with a finished product. But as far as learning how to write stuff I don't think anything really comes close. It runs stable even on slower computers and the new instruments in the 2.0 version sound pretty cool.
That's my opinion anyway.

I thought you produced your stuff in Reason? :p

[Tax Invoice]

Originally posted by viceversa
Reason is good but I wouldn't agree that you can produce release-quality music with it.

What a fucking Stuuuuupid statement.
:lol:

[mungo]

Reason is great and can always be run in combination with just about anything else (although Cubase is the obvious one). Starting on reason is a great way to get into music, second hand its very cheap. But as you grow in your skills you can just go out and get your self a copy of Cubase and link e'm up over rewire, this gets rid of the shoddy FX processors in reason. Also a usb controller is a must for reason get one with as many knobs as possible as routing the mixers needs heaps of hands on control.