Merry Christmas to me! Reason 11

[EscapeRocks]

I gifted myself the new Reason 11.

 

It can now operate as a VST, VST3, and finally an AU plug in, in addition to stand-alone. No more rewire needed to use inside of Mainstage, and it works wonderfully inside Gig Performer! It also works with Logic Pro X.

 

I just cracked open the door a bit to start messing around with it in conjunction with Gig Performer. Nice! When you add it to a rack in Gig Performer, it opens the Reason Rack GUI, without all the extraneous things you won't (usually) use live.

 

Back to learning now.... more later.

[Al Coda]

I upgraded to Reason 11 too and I´m disappointed about the VST3 rack.

Up to now it doesn´t replace ReWire at all and unfortunately RSN 10.x is the last version supporting ReWire.

 

At least I expected from RSN VST3 rack to be something like a NI Kontakt "Multi",- allowing usage of at least 16 ingoing MIDI channels (notes, controllers, mono/poly modes etc.) but it isn´t.

You can stack RSN devices and combinators inside the RSN VST3 rack, but everything responds to a single MIDI channel.

There´s no way to change MIDI channels for individual RSN devices and they don´t respond to MIDI program changes at all.

VST3 ditched MIDI program changes and program banks w/ 128 memory locations.

 

OTOH,- BlueCat now introduced MIDI program changes for their VST3 plugins,- so it´s doable.

Other companies work around using "128 memory location-MIDI banks" where users collect favourite patches ready to switch/select via MIDI program changes,- like Uhe p.ex..

 

In addition,- MIDI-Out also doesn´t exist w/ the RSN VST3 rack,- so you´re unable using RSN step sequencers or any "modulators" inside your (non-Reason-) DAW and w/ other VSTi or VST devices.

Not enough,- in opposite to Reason 11 standalone,- the RSN VST3 rack itself doesn´t support VST(3) at all !

So,- combinations of RSN devices and VST devices inside that rack don´t work !

 

This crap release isn´t usable for live work at all,- it came much too early, possibly by reason collecting money for future development.

This damn RSN VST3 rack is simply missing the "advanced MIDI interface" which is part of Reason standalone since decades,- 4 MIDI ports, 16 MIDI channels each.

 

And when you work w/ Reason standalone and don´t need MIDI channel selection because it´s automatic "by track",- that doesn´t mean you don´t need that in VST world.

 

When I´m wrong,- plz tell me how do you assign multiple MIDI channels to that damn "rack" when there are several RSN synths hosted inside the rack,.- THOR, EUROPA etc..

Did you try ?

I tried in Reaper and there´s no way ...

Today upgraded to Studio One Pro 4.6 ... no difference ...

 

A.C.

 

 

[EscapeRocks]

I am obviously not as well versed as you in Reason, and all the things you mention here. It is a learning process.

 

All I can say, is that when I call up Reason to use for a song in Gig Performer, I can have it respond to any MIDI channel I desire. I have not tried to use different MIDI channels for different synths within the Reason Rack itself. With the way I use Gig Performer, I don't have to.

 

The cool thing, for me that I found, is that in Gig performer, I can use a Reason Effect or two, in conjunction with other effects, and wire everything up accordingly.

 

[TommyRude]

Hey Al, you totally Grinched on EscapeRocks Merry Christmas!

 

Seriously, both you guys rock on this stuff, I'm about 20 levels below and look to you guys for inspiration on managing all this tech.

[EscapeRocks]

Hey Al, you totally Grinched on EscapeRocks Merry Christmas!

 

Seriously, both you guys rock on this stuff, I'm about 20 levels below and look to you guys for inspiration on managing all this tech.

 

LOL no it's all good! As I replied to Al, I'm way below him in how he uses this technology....

[ElmerJFudd]

I dig not needing rewire any longer and having Reason instruments save with the Logic/MainStage file.

Will take a closer look at this eventually.

[EscapeRocks]

Here"s a couple screen shots of messing around in Gig Performer.

 

Arturia B3 V2

IKMultimedia T-Racks Leslie

Reason Soft Tube Amp

 

 

[Al Coda]

I am obviously not as well versed as you in Reason, and all the things you mention here. It is a learning process.

 

All I can say, is that when I call up Reason to use for a song in Gig Performer, I can have it respond to any MIDI channel I desire.

 

Yes,- but that is ONE MIDI channel for every instance of the RSN VST3 rack !

I really HOPE they will improve !

 

When I read "rack",- I compare to hardware.

Usually a rack hosts all kind of MIDI tone generating modules, FX devices, dynamics, mixer ... whatever exists and makes sense in a combination,- and there´s MIDI,- at least 16 channels (´cause tha´is what a physical MIDI port offers), controllers, MIDI program changes,- and when you have a hardwrae sequencer/ stepsequencer and/or LFOs or other modulators in the rack, there´s MIDI Out too.

 

I simply don´t understand why a modern manufacturer thinks releasing a software rack NOT offering these basic features is cool and worth to pay money for.

 

I also don´t understand why Steinberg,- as THE developer of VST and ASIO,- thinks VST3 doesn´t need MIDI program changes anymore.

 

I have not tried to use different MIDI channels for different synths within the Reason Rack itself. With the way I use Gig Performer, I don't have to.

 

That´s not the point IMO.

See,- when you used Reason w/ Rewire, it was different.

The VST3 rack simply doesn´t replace Rewire up to now,- and that´s the reason why you´re able to install Reason 10.x and Reason 11 side by side on the same machine w/ just only 1 licence.

They knew users will recognize the disadvantages quick and still want to use Rewire even Reason Studios ditched it w/ Reason 11.

 

The cool thing, for me that I found, is that in Gig performer, I can use a Reason Effect or two, in conjunction with other effects, and wire everything up accordingly.

 

Yeah, the audio routing works inside the RSN VST3 rack, CV-routing too,- but it lacks VST and MIDI features Reason already offered w/ earlier versions,- standalone or when using Rewire.

When you read the Rewire specs, you see how many audio- and MIDI channels Rewire offered,- AND,- when Reason got MIDI-Out w/ version 7, that was a step up.

Where is it w/ the VST3 rack ?

 

B.t.w.,- I´m not a Reason expert,- in fact I´m more a hardware guy,- but this lack of features was obvious for me after checking out the RSN VST3 rack for 10 minutes.

 

I´m really happy I upgraded from Reason 6.5 to 10.x for a discount and got RSN 11 w/ that VST3 rack for free.

Otherwise I´d bit into my ass, just only because it doesn´t do what I expected.

 

Also have in mind, since Reason supported VST, users already created "multi-instrument" Combinator patches incl. 3rd party VSTs,- which are now unsusable in the rack because it itself doesn´t support VST at all,- and even Reason standalone DOES (!).

Not enough, users bought commercial libraries (Refills p.ex.) using these features and now these don´t work as expected anymore too ...

This also includes devices dealing w/ MIDI-Out to ext. hardware ...

 

They might need some time now to get all fixed and I guess they will (try to) charge again for the fixes.

 

In fact, it was simply a cheek releasing such piece of s##t rack,- at least for me.

ReasonStudios isn´t Propellerhead anymore and several of the former software developers went elsewhere.

This is the result.

 

A.C.