Anderton Posted February 1, 2001 Author Share Posted February 1, 2001 Okay, here's my biggest beef with Reason (this is also mentioned in my review in EQ magazine): You can't transition from one song to another when playing live. The only solution I see is to get two laptops, hook them up to a DJ mixer, and transition between songs as if you were doing it with vinyl (e.g. use a crossfader). Another issue: MIDI control with the PC1600. Suppose I'm using it to control Song A. Now I call up Song B and make it the top window. The PC1600 still controls Song A, so I get rid of Song A (Song B is the only song visible). The PC1600 STILL won't control song B. I have to quit Song B; upon re-opening it, then the PC1600 will control it. There is a section in the lower right that relates to "MIDI focus." This really doesn't do anything right now; apparently Propellerheads wanted to include these types of live performance features in V1.0, but time ran out. Maybe in the next rev... Also, I haven't found a way to sync LFOs to MIDI clock. The samplers have some limitations compared to top of the line hardware samplers, but whaddya expect for $400? As to stability, Propellerheads does indeed "get it." It has been incredibly stable for a 1.0 release, or actually, for any rev of any release. It didn't hiccup once during two recent gigs (one at MacWorld, one at NAMM). My original opinion stands: This is a brilliant piece of software. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike O Posted February 1, 2001 Share Posted February 1, 2001 Thanks for the additional info! Keep it coming... My 20 minute demo expired. Do I recall that there are only 4 veloc for any given drum sound? Am I confused? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham English Posted February 1, 2001 Share Posted February 1, 2001 I'm extremely impressed with Reason. The sound libraries are enormous! And the stability is rock solid. Hardly used an CPU with many devices going at once. It's already inspired me beyond expectation. ++ Graham English ++ Ear Training, Songwriting Tips, and Music Theory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Aikin Posted February 1, 2001 Share Posted February 1, 2001 Originally posted by Mike O: My 20 minute demo expired. Do I recall that there are only 4 veloc for any given drum sound? Am I confused? Three levels, actually. I have a long wish list for Reason enhancements, and five velocity levels is certainly on the list. (That's not to say Reason is deficient, you understand: The list is long because it's a complex and inspiring product. One of the best pieces of music software I've seen in a long time, in fact.) Not to worry, though: After using the "Convert Pattern Track to Notes" command, you can edit the velocities of Redrum notes with the pencil tool. At this point, Redrum will respond to the full range of MIDI velocities. --Jim Aikin This message has been edited by Jim Aikin on 02-01-2001 at 01:48 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted February 2, 2001 Author Share Posted February 2, 2001 FYI Jim just wrote an extremely comprehensive review of Reason for Keyboard, watch for it. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Hughes Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 "My 20 minute demo expired. Do I recall that there are only 4 veloc for any given drum sound? Am I confused?" You've probably figured this out, but the demo only works for 20 minutes _at a time_ -- not 20 minutes total. So once the 20 minutes are up, you can quit and restart it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike O Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 Jim- Thanks for the response. Will your wish list be included in your article? I hope so. I'm sure you can see how these things are a part of our buying decision. BTW- Also agree that because a product does not have something does not mean it is deficient. Thanks also to Craig and Jonathan (did not try to initiate Reason again until your post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman forgot his cape Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 Yes, indeed! Reason is a well designed,FUN piece of software, which also sounds good. Propellerheads can be relied upon to produce musically useful and elegant applications, a prime example being Recycle!, a true classic. reason is obviously aimed at the DJ/dance/four-on-the-floor fraternity/sorority. But working with patterns and loops can be refreshing and inspiring for musicians grazing in other fields. I was messin' with Reason on my iBook today... great sound thru' Mac AV into a Mackie D8B and a pair of large Genelecs, also had it running on a PT TDM rig with the DIGI ASIO driver. The sound library that comes with it is pretty good, especially the drums.... Yup...I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted February 4, 2001 Author Share Posted February 4, 2001 >>reason is obviously aimed at the DJ/dance/four-on-the-floor fraternity/sorority.<< True, but it also makes a pretty good stand-alone set of synthesizer tools. For example, I think it would be very easy to do new age-type music with it. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Aikin Posted February 6, 2001 Share Posted February 6, 2001 Originally posted by Anderton: I think it would be very easy to do new age-type music with (Reason). I'd love to read a discussion of how one might use the Redrum or Dr. Rex percussion modules in new age music. And the fact that the Matrix pattern sequencer is monophonic is going to force you to record your new age chord pads into the song sequencer using an external keyboard, so Matrix becomes less useful too. Then there's the question of how you're going to add your acoustic guitar tracks.... I dunno. I think I'll stick to making dance, industrial, and other more assertive types of music with it. --Jim Aikin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted February 6, 2001 Author Share Posted February 6, 2001 >>I'd love to read a discussion of how one might use the Redrum or Dr. Rex percussion modules in new age music. And the fact that the Matrix pattern sequencer is monophonic is going to force you to record your new age chord pads into the song sequencer using an external keyboard, so Matrix becomes less useful too. << Well, the Subtractor synth makes a lot of sweet sounds...and I'd be willing to use an external keyboard to play chords. The Matrix pattern seq would be great for arpeggiation type effects, ostinato bass lines, that sort of thing. And my taste in "new age" might be a bit more aggressive than most, but if you mess with the tuning and freq controls in Redrum, and load it up with percussion samples, no problem. Not sure I'd use Rex, though. And given that I probably won't be cutting any new age CDs any time soon, I'll probably not find out . I did do a sort of ambient piece on it at MacWorld and at NAMM that went over well, but that was by loading samples into the samplers and mixing them in and out. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdnunn1msn.com Posted February 7, 2001 Share Posted February 7, 2001 Downloaded reason off a magazine cd last night and the thing runs but cant hear any audio. What am i missing here ?. Thanks ..Nunn........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham English Posted February 7, 2001 Share Posted February 7, 2001 dude, hit TAB and then make sure your cables are routed to the master section properly. On my soundcard, Wavecenter/PCI, I have to reroute the cables to inputs 9 and 10. But for mixdown, you have to have the cables routed to the master input. Try that out. ++ Graham English ++ Ear Training, Songwriting Tips, and Music Theory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmstudio99 Posted February 7, 2001 Share Posted February 7, 2001 Originally posted by Anderton: True, but it also makes a pretty good stand-alone set of synthesizer tools. For example, I think it would be very easy to do new age-type music with it. This is precisely the reason I bought Reason...aggressive edgy new age...just arrived a week ago and already it's helped me finish a few songs that were waiting for that "final touch". I'm looking forward to making it as integral as my acoustic guitar. Paul Gila Monster Studio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Triny Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 Reason just basically sounds great..that's reason enough to buy it. But those modules just need to be spun off as VSTi or DXi -david abraham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted February 8, 2001 Author Share Posted February 8, 2001 >>Reason just basically sounds great..that's reason enough to buy it. But those modules just need to be spun off as VSTi or DXi<< Thanks to ReWire, the instrument outputs can show up in Cubase just as if they were VST instruments. With more programs getting into ReWire, spinning them off as VST might be a moot point soon. Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman forgot his cape Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 Yes...it's true...how embarrasing...nothing would work...I'm SURE it was the right password.....whatever....... I'm not sure that I understand exactly what "New Age" music is......could you enlighten me Craig et al? I find Reason to be a great stand-alone piece of software.It's not competing with LAMP, Cubase,DP, or any of the other MIDI/Audio sequencers..... The "Virtual Rack" format is great...just like having an old multiple S1000/TR808/909/synths and several MC500s in the old days....but,hell I can sit on the beach with my iBook,a 2 octave, battery powered MIDI master keyboard and a pair of decent cans, and groove. Good sound with Mac AV, plenty of decent on-board sounds, loadsa fun.... Yeah...maybe I'll try an opera next...just gotta import Pavarotti....... This message has been edited by batman forgot his cape! on 02-07-2001 at 11:01 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Triny Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 Originally posted by Anderton: Thanks to ReWire, the instrument outputs can show up in Cubase just as if they were VST instruments. With more programs getting into ReWire, spinning them off as VST might be a moot point soon. yes! I was never a real fan of Rebirth so I didn't take Rewire seriously, but Reason changes all that. I don't think Rewire takes care of things like automatic project recall though, I'll have to look more into it. -david abraham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Room Warrior Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 I'm working for a financial services company this week, scoring their orientation video. The company has a long and solid path, and a name that reminds you of the previous century, but they've been through a lot change in the past few years and want to update their image internally, so for this video they asked for an amalgam of styles.... modern techno, traditional orchestral, and "out of the box" jazz blended in way that sounds hip and urban. So I've been using Reason this week as a "groove generator:" instead of sequencing an entire song within Reason, I've been working very quickly in the Reason sequencer, stacking Redrum, Rex and Subtractor parts in dozens of 2-bar combinations, and then exporting as audio any 2-bar loop I really like (and making break-down versions - no kick, no hat, etc., as I go). Then I opened all the loops in Digital Performer and starting building beds that fit the flow of the video... accenting the picture by sequencing with trusty hardware synths and recording guitars and saxophones on top. I played some rough mixes at a meeting with the client yesterday and they were knocked out. I love this software! I haven't even had time to get it ReWire-d into DP and it's already radically expanded my capabilities. Jim Bordner Gravity Music "Tunes so heavy, there oughta be a law." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted February 9, 2001 Author Share Posted February 9, 2001 I'm doing a lot of these types of projects lately...fun, isn't it?!? Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Room Warrior Posted February 9, 2001 Share Posted February 9, 2001 Craig: yes, it is... I might go so far as to say that it's the most pure fun I've had with a computer since I got my first sequencer on an Atari ST. Best of all is getting to goof with old-school synthesizer controls without crawling behind the rack to run patch cords. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Jim Bordner Jim Bordner Gravity Music "Tunes so heavy, there oughta be a law." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2001 Share Posted March 2, 2001 Originally posted by batman: I was messin' with Reason... also had it running on a PT TDM rig with the DIGI ASIO driver. Just what I was looking for! Could you expand on that Batman? I'm going to DIGI's site to check out that DIGI ASIO driver. How did you configure both app.? And concerning the CPU performance of above posts: G3 Sonnet upgrade cards work great. Can't speak specifically for Reason but for everything else I've seen they do the job. We've got two old Macs revamped flawlessly with it. I for one used Reason on a trusty 9600 (stock CPU 350MHz no G3 there)with 260 megs of RAM while running PT TDM 5.01 or DP 2.72 open in the background. No problem. Samples in the drum machine can easily be replaced with a dumb proof easy browser. I've been using it for two days now. It just fuckin' rocks! Can't believe this v1.0! I haven't gotten deep into it and it's already making my life/music better. Emile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted March 2, 2001 Share Posted March 2, 2001 Oh... I'm disappointed... reading the title of the thread I thought maybe Craig had found some universal way to get people to be reasonable. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted March 2, 2001 Author Share Posted March 2, 2001 Well, until world peace and universal consciousness takes over, at least I have a cool program to keep me occupied while waiting! Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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