"The DAW That Producers Forgot?" The History Of Reason Studios
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 เม.ย. 2024
- In this video I will be taking a look at the history of Reason Studios. The DAW That Producers Forgot 🔥
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VST is Steinbergs proprietary technology, and the reason they've added it so late, was because vst2 went open source because Steinberg developed vst3.
Been within Reason since 1.0 can’t wait for 13, long live Reason.
All I use is Reason and Logic X, together.
Same here. Rebirth -> Reason 1.0 and every single version since. It's just become second nature to me in my composition process.
@@Jmusiquex I use Reason is very nice
Me with 2.5
I started with Reason 3 and oh boy, Reason 13 with the sequencer update will be awesome
The biggest problem Reason had was that they went hard core copyright protection on version 6. No new people got into past 5 so it kinda died off. Ableton and FL were easily pirated and built up big user bases.
Yep....
Reason was such a cool concept. People even used to say "you can tell that was made with Reason" because well, it just had its own instruments and effects. It definitely had a sound.
Kong is still one of the best names for a drum machine.
I got King Koooong in the trunk! XD
I kinda feel like adding VST support was when Reason lost its way. It still did its thing, but lost a little of that magic that made it special. But I guess they had to do something at some point.
It was an amazing concept. I remember when I 1st opened and was blown away. The only other daw I'd seen was logic so the devices were so sick. And see I think VST support might have been why alot of users started using other DAWS. I'm just glad I went down the rabbit hole 😅😅
They could have just made it cheaper & then everyone would have just brought it..
but at £411 they can forget it.
Especially in this age where Ableton has swamped the market, & you have Bitwig that makes Ableton look like a beta..
For the same price presuming people will just spend £400 on a VST DAW xD
Cos there is no youngster who’s going to jump platform.
So that leaves them open to having it cracked & thus losing money, selling less & jacking the price to compensate!
It’s a brilliant bit of kit but I think they have totally lost sight of the market.
& unless there are a billion tutorials for a VST no one will pick it up & just play.
I think that it's Roland that makes the best drum machines just by the many imitations of the 808 & 909, okay I will admit that korg do make good drum machines but they are also guilty of pushing them out one after the other instead of just taking some time and building a sturdy machine.
@@b00ts4ndc4ts I was only referring to the name Kong.
Reason is still my favorite, just because it has so much character. Using other DAWs feels too sterile, like I'm making spreadsheets. I still don't use very many VST plugins with Reason, just because the free kilohearts rack extensions are more than enough for just about anything you could want to do. I still get lost in experiments, just plugging things together to see what happens. I wish they would add a few more things to the combinator to allow us to customize them - things like displays and multi-position switches - but it's enough of the feeling of DIY kit that it satisfies my urge to tinker with electronics when I should be working on music.
It was a revolutionary tool for the first few years and then Propellerheads stuck their heads in the sand and stayed there. The physical dongle requirement, lack of hiDPI support, non-scaleable UI with tiny controls, lack of VST support, lack of audio tracks and the price… they eventually gave up and fixed all of these but at that point no one trusted them anymore and all the competitors were too far ahead.
Exactly
Yeah I have to agree, I mainly switched to Ableton for the audio editing and plugin support. I would use rewire to work in reason and ableton but it was just a sucky work around 😔
Same here, switched to Cubase and will never go back for Reason... Even the VST version crashes my Cubase session ...
I was so dissapointed with R11 that I've switched to Fl studio. I've regret that I haven't switched sooner.
Meh. You can pirate Reason 12. It's worth it for free.
Reason it the current version is a ridiculously powerful DAW. Great video and lots of great points my man. I actually think there are far more current users than people realize. I remember seeing a Reason Facebook post recently and the comments from people using it as their main DAW still were seemingly never ending. You're right though I remember around the Reason 6 time period it seemed like the buzz about the software was crazy but I also think that was because its when Reason finally became a DAW and the Rack Extension program was introduced with tons of Plugin vendors involved. I know its been a while since the last major version but I really think version 13 is going to be special since they've spent so much time making 12 super stable and at this point it handles VST's better than most of my other DAW's. Awesome job on this video. I love taking a trip down memory lane
Thanks for the comment bro! And there are deffo still tons of people using it, its quite rare I come across producers that use it primarily though. I been using it again recently and it feels so nostalgic though 😅 Thanks for watching man, glad you liked it 🙌🙌
I estimate that active Reason 12 users number under 50.000 based off of there TH-cam channel views for just Reason related videos that are not getting views outside of Reason users.
Reason will always be a revolutionary daw it's just going to get better and better
you mean worse and worse lol
But reason Studio always takes too long to get better...with version 13 still no mpe support
@@thegoodsherman well, as it says on the Reason Studios page, I guess it was never made for those looking for the standards
My secret sauce in a quite a number of tracks is Reason. How did you make that beat?! …Reason.
O Reason não é meu "molho secreto", é o ingrediente principal desde 2003, na versão 3.0
I think they gambled that Rack Extensions would overtake VST's. Kinda like Beta versus VHS. Some pretty serious miscalculations, but I think they're about caught up. 13 is coming out with what sounds like looooong awaited sequencer improvements. I think it's great software. It still feels like a 1990's MIDI studio to me and that's how I like to work.
Yeah I seen some stuff about reason 13 yesterday. It looks very interesting indeed. And yeah I never quite understood why the held out on both audio editing and VSTs 🤯
Forever 1999 :)
@@ErrorTheProducerthis is going to sound crazy, but back in the day it was a really big deal that producers could trade songs and they'd only be ~100kb. Before VSTs and before audio recording, everyone had the exact same Reason, same instruments, and often same Refills. So you could drop your reason file on a message board and when someone else loaded it, it would play back exactly the same. This was before Napster and before Bandcamp. They had a way for artists to share their music with each other on dial up. So people were really split on VSTs and Audio at first because as soon as that happened, you wouldn't have these tiny project files that worked for everyone.
I’ve been using Reason exclusively for the last 6yrs or so. I love the modular analog workflow, the SSL flavor, and all the amazing devices and patches. Easily the most slept-on DAW.
It's cool isn't it. Messing with the routing feels real rather than just clicking dropdown boxes. The stock sounds are some of the best too 👌
@@ErrorTheProducer I’ll add that Reason is probably the best DAW for TEACHING ppl audio engineering fundamentals. If one is familiar with Reason, they will be a step ahead of other DAW users if they ever get the keys to a legit studio.
Reason is actually my favorite DAW. Unfortunately, I lost it with a dead hard drive. Great video!
I started with Rebirth in the late 90's, then Cubase, and finally Reason 2.0. I had all the original Reason Boxes with CDs but I gave it all away to a drift shop last year:-( Thanks for taking the time to put this together I really enjoyed it.
Thanks for your comment. And that's so sad 😩. Iv had a few comments from people who have boxed versions. That's so cool. Glad you liked the video mate 🙌
I first got onto reason at 2.5 and loved it at the time, used it in some capacity up until about 5, although usually via rewire. the NN-XT was sick and I really liked the synths in reason. Felt so cool to be wiring things round the back, back then to. Kinda wanna make a beat in reason now. This video was sick!
Yeah I remember when I used rewire Ableton with reason. I always thought reason had the best sounds by a mile but ableton was always miles ahead with audio/midi sequencing. Now it's VST I'm gonna use it all the time though 🔥🔥
Nice summary! I stopped using Reason as a DAW (using Reason since version 3) but using it a lot now as a VST plugin. It's a rock solid and cpu-friendly program, it rarely crashes!
Solid as a swedish brick, fast loading and ridiculously backwards compatible - i can still open my very first project files from 2003 (or so) ♥️
I started using Reason on version 3 & eventually stopped using it. I’m back on it now , both as a daw & plug in. It’s Definitely a good program
Been using it since Rebirth.. still is my DAW of choice. Awesome vid!
Ayy that's dope! Thanks man glad you liked it 🙌
Still here, as well
I think it is definitely used by a minority of producers, but there are standouts like illmind, who uses it in his videos. He was an OG with Reason, before going over to Pro Tools. He then ditched Pro Tools due to Mac system update issues, and went back to Reason!
Yeah I know a few amazing producers that use it. I think it would be used alot more if they zigged when everyone else did. It's all good being original and unique but sometimes that can be a pitfall too. Thanks for watching bro 🙌
@@ErrorTheProducer Great video, and you're so right on Reason! I still use the occasional Reason + sub, and the Reason Lite versions, but bailed on them when they ditched Reason Suite.
I switched to FL Studio when R11 was released and I didn't regret it. Don't care about the rack plugin. They've only added more and more instruments and players instead of making Reason better.😢
@@lesfuller5984 I don't understand why you say ditched the suite, as I have Reason 12 Suite.
14 year reason user. I sparingly use MIDI in my productions. Reason's mixer and visual routing has been greatly beneficial for me and my maturation in music. I probably wouldn't be where I am musically if I had started on a different DAW.
I use reason since Version 3 and do totally appreciate the usability, and unique solutions. It opened up even further and I increased work with it once it was available as a vst within a daw as I basically hated rewire.
Joined the reason camp during v2.5 because back then one of their strengths as well was its stability. Working in music as a professional meant I had to use something reliable.
I’ve always enjoyed Reason and loved it since day 1. Considered switching as well but never did cuz I’m just so comfortable and fast on it.
That's dope! I had already switched but I'm hooked again now I have it in VST format 🔥
Still lots of users, and more innovative development, not forgotten.
Since Reason 1, until now. 13the version coming soon. Not going anywhere
🫡🫡🫡
Nods in respect. I’m in there since R2. See you in the R13 download pipeline.
I don't use it in it's daw form anymore, but I love using the rack plugin for effects and sometimes for the synths reason has. Being able to create complex, multi layered effects chains on a single plugin isnt really something you can do with any other plugin, especially in the way you get to interact with the effects modules as you do in reason. I even just find the whole connecting wires in the back of the software units just so fun to do.
I think it was Reason 5 and Rewire into Ableton Live 8 was my final straw with this DAW …the rewire function had been broken from what I remember was my end with the program.
I quickly rendered out all my individual tracks and eventually finished them in Ableton…. I might go back to see if I still have my install on that HDD although I don’t think I could ever truly go back to working with it full time
You really cant compare Reason 5 to what it is now lol
reason has been and continues to be the standard daw for producers of a subgenre of dubstep that i, and a lot of others make, called 'riddim.' theres very unique effects and instruments in reason that allow for a nice, gritty, og style sound that we replicate nowadays to sound like the riddim songs made sometimes over a decade ago. the main instrument used is malstrom, and i have been using it ever since i discovered it back in early 2021. its super fun and versatile, malstrom as well as the entirety of reason
I started with Reason 3 and Ableton Live 3. Live became my main DAW partly because it supported VSTs. I jumped for joy when Reason started supporting VSTs, and became a VST. Early on I had FL (before studio) and wanted Digital Producer, but they fell by the wayside.
Ahhh, takes me back! Good job! :D
Right down memory lane 🛣
I mainly use the reason VST rack plugin. It's a Swiss army knife when it comes to devices. I still find the mixer in reason great and friendly, being an SSL type mixer. Huge library of soundbanks with great sounds for some powerful devices. May not be the best DAW, but it is a hell of a VST.
I'm just lost in all the new sounds 🤣. I forgot how many sick arps and synths and stuff there are in there. The redrum drum computer brings back so many memories aswell 🤣
I bought Reason and recycle when it first released. It blew my mind. I think I was using Cubase 2 or 3 (I also remember their massive version 4 release which was to be a game changer. lol) I also experimented with Cakewalk which was in direct competition with Fruity Loops later on. Ohhhhh, those were exciting days. :D Thanks for the memory blast mate. Cheers.
Haha reason 4 was so good. Its actually one of the 1st softwares I used for making beats. And ahaa this video was so nostalgic to make. There were so many "Oh yeahhhhh" moments 🤣
I’m glad that I was use Reason from version 1 to version 7. Thanks for that, there was a lot of fun with subtractor, redrum, matrix, combinator and other old friends. But older version (7) was impossible to instal to newer OSX and Propellerhead’s update politicy forced me to get off. So I switched to Reaper, it’s diferent experience and nowadays I’m happy for that too.
Reason user here and it is a great DAW. Sure, a lot of features that most modern DAWs have are missing and Reason is never a head of the curve, but all their devices are thoughtful and have character. Reason is just a joy to use. The devices and simplicity of it make it what it is. Really unfortunate that they are only seen in a smaller core community nowaday.
I started with trackers and was immediately hooked with Reason when 1.0 came out and have been using Reason ever since. I've also been very excited about the Rack Extension plugin standard because I can develop my own Rack Extensions to use right within Reason.
I first got ahold of Reason 1.0 from a friend and colleague in 1999 (before modern licensing) and it changed my effing life. I'm a hardware guy so it was instantly usable and sounded great. I still use it, even though Luna is my main DAW. Again, old school hardware guy, so UAD is a natural fit.
Awesome video mi Amigo! I used Reason for years and I truly miss it. Thank you for reminding me of the best DAW in the world!
Thank you 🙌🙌
I switched from Cubase to Reason in the early 2000s and never regretted it. Reason was and still is my preferred way of UX for creating music. And yes, many people complained about the long and winded road with audio recording and VST support. But those people forget that Propellerhead always had their own philosophy what they wanted to be. I still love the concept of the rack and rack extensions, and I can absolutely understand why they hassled to support VST. But in the end they took the extra mile, rewrote large part of their codebase, to support things like VST and scalable UI.
I started with Reason 2.0 back in the day. It shaped my understanding of music production and i learned a lot from its physical routing emulation. Around R6 i switched to Cubase, because i wanted to get “more professional” … and yes, Cubase offers more and i even think it “sounds” better. After Cubase i switched to Studio One and i still really like it. But the thing is: working with those “classic DAWs” just feels like “work” for me. And for client work, recording etc. i would not touch Reason. BUT for making my own music, for getting inspired, for sound exploration and for the FUN of making music that comes from the heart, Reason is my Nr.1 goto music production environment.
I don’t even call it a DAW, because that’s not what it is for me. It’s my sound design playground.
And i’ll get the R13 update as soon as it’s out, just because i want them to stay in business and to continue supporting my playground 😊
I have been using Reason since version 3 and I still love it… I haven’t had the chance to play with it as much but once in a while I like to fire it up and listen to some of my old projects.. At any rate, I can’t see myself using any other DAW besides Reason..
Nostalgic memories with Reason. thanks for this video.
I used reason a lot a few years back, even playing live, really loved it back then
and tbh, at 499 paid once, I might just get it back
Great patch selections!
They are amazing right? 🔥
Been with Reason since version 3 and love how it emulates hardware in a realistic way cant wait for version 13 next month
A lot of love for Reason ever since v2. It did definatley have a slump where the sound was getting tired but that feels like a lifetime ago. Use it for all my commercial work like ads and production music. Main go-to for the early creative process before bouncing out to further add and mix in Reaper. Can't wait for 13!
I have reason for a long time and the VST support is simply fantastic. So easy to manipulate the settings of the Arturia and Roland soft synths in reason…very enjoyable for “jam sessions”. And it really sounds good on top of all the flexibility. Great program…!
Had it in the early oughties, tracks sounded great.
Ayy nice 🙌
Fell in love with it when in its infancy. Still use it today (12) in conjunction with Cubase (12 as well, actually).
Great documentary!!! Been using Reason since 2002 and I wrote my latest 2 tracks in Reason 12. I did the switch to Ableton back in 2008 and now I use them all together depending on what I’m doing.
Started with Rebirth then on to Reason and here I am years later still absolutely loving using it.
Reason is great for someone like me jumping between different genres. It has everything you need. Very stable. The mixer uppgrade was a big step up. The only downside is that if you are used to working in another DAW, and switch to Reason, then the learning curve is high.
7:16 These chords right here.
Epic right? 🔥🔥
Been using Reason since v1. Still is game changing. Regularly find Reason can provide a solution when others cant. Use it as a rack in ableton these days but its still a go to
I work with 5 Daw ,but Reason studio is a all in one DAW
Each DAW talks to a constituent user base. Each has its own ways of working that lends itself to the users who gravitate to it.
I've never forgotten it! Used it since R2! Never even thought about using anything else never will!!!
Loyalty 🏆🏆
@@ErrorTheProducer you know
I still use Reason 5 for the Abbey Rd piano ReFill. Sooo good!
Reason 5 is legendary 🔥
I first bought Reason 2.5 in 2004 - it was a 'reasonably' understandable system in those days and I enjoyed it immensely. However, with various updates and new versions it became increasingly complicated (especially for an old codger like me!) and the last version I bought was 10. I now just play about with it for the fun of creating sounds as the technology is changing too fast.
It really is! And that is so cool. If you enjoy making sounds you should try Vital. It's a free synth VST and it's quite easy to use. Thanks for watching mate 🙌
@@ErrorTheProducer Thanks for the tip - I'll have a look.
Reason today is great. Blocks allowed me to work very quickly and the combinator 2 helps me work even quicker as you can build your own custom stuff. If reason lacks it, then go build it yourself and save as a patch.
Been on reason since 2.0. Cant wait for 13
I tried Reason from 2005-2007 at a studio for our hiphop project in Oslo and while I made ca 30 songs on Yamaha hardware RM1x in the years prior, I managed to make only 3 songs in Reason in two years… it just felt strange to look at “hardware” on a screen and having to record vocals in cubase later. ……. I managed to make more songs in GarageBand after and now use the ultimate DAW for beatmaking SeratoStudio
I've been on & off with music for years but Reason was mostly the only DAW i've used, since either 5 or 6. Currently I have reason 12. Though I started using hardware synths a lot more than what Reason has, I still sequence them in reason, with some of its built in stuff too of course.
Reason is the only software I have to login to use. Thanks for the memories.
My artist name is Mairk. I can’t imagine using anything else. Great software for arranging writing and producing.
I started with Reason 5 and swore by it. Reason could still claim its title as a goat but theyre pushing users away these days.
One of last year's Best albums was produced in Reason: Stromae's "Multitude" . Stromae had a massive hit back in the early 2000s with "Alors on Danse" which is a classic now that was made in Reason. Some cool tracks like Drake's "Passionfruit", French Montana/Swae Lee's "Unforgettable", and others were made in Reason. They just announced Reason 13 today with an updated sequencer and soundbank. The future is promising!
EDIT: Damn I keep thinking it's 2023, "Multitude" came out in 2022.
That's so dope! And yeah I seen the reason 13 announcements. They look great. I just got reason+ so I'll be looking forward to July 🔥🔥
Man...thanks for the video...I forgot how much I love that program...I gotta start using it again
Back in the days I used reason 2 and 2.5 a lot. Then I quitted making music for some ergh... reason. Lately I came back and upgraded to reason 12, but I have to confess that I was so overwhelmed with the possibilities, that I totally lost sight and didn't finish any single song so far. While it was very intuitive earlier, at least I would have to read a lot of instruction and watch a ton of tutorials to master it now. And the mass of different sounds ... I'm really caught in a paradox of choice here. When I'm in the mood for just trying out crazy sounds, I go with reason, but when I want to finish something, I take a step back and use Cubase. (I also tried ableton lately, but even that is to confusing for me with their "double concept".)
Bitwig+Acustic Audio=🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I started on Reason 2. Flirted with Logic for a good few years when you wouldn't record audio straight in. I've been back on Reason since version 7 and couldn't be happier, very inspiring to use.
Great, now I have to start my Reason subscription back up. I forgot how amazing Reason is!
Haha my bad 🙌🙌
@@ErrorTheProducer I canceled my subscription for two reasons, one I became a new parent and two reason studios VST wasn't really getting along with studio One. I'm thinking about going to logic. Hopefully it works a lot better on logic
Vst support and the rack plug-in! The 2 biggest things for reason! Stock sounds are amazing and there are a ton of them.. also, there update videos are awesome thanks to Ryan! It’s a really deep daw
I'm on an M+ these days but Reason was the only daw that ever felt like it had some soul. I miss it. Might go back.
What is M+? I don't think I've ever heard of that one? 🙈
@@ErrorTheProducer a Maschine+. I don't even use a computer these days
@@DuckAlertBeats Ooooh I get you. Thanks cool. I been itching to get an MPC but there are too many to pick from. Any recommendations?
@@ErrorTheProducer Can't really say cos I only use Maschine cos I love the workflow so much. MPC One is probably the cheapest and seems to be the one most recommend tbh unless you want a vintage one
Been loyal since v2.0, but never needed to upgrade past 8.3 because I filled-out with analog equipment and record in. I know the software inside and out. I have a mint condition official flex-fit army-green reason hat that was gifted to me in '05-'06. I was introduced to Reason when I was invited to a Redbull - M-Audio music lab that was instructed by Lorin Bassnectar in '04. At the end of the week, the students were gifted v2.5. I went from DJ to producer and never went back. I'll never use any other software, less TRacks on the finishing end.
ive never actually used any other DAW. Simply because i cant be bothered learning something else. The biggest problem i have with reason is that there is limited demos and tutorials compared to more popular DAWs
I should learn to use this one just to be different.
I just work in reason. I've used a third party program so i could sync to video for scoring otherwise i've tapped out at reason 10.
I swear I read that the Fort Minor album was produced on Reason. It was dope software. Those presets! Damn.
No way man! That's sick 🔥🔥
That Fort Minor album is a classic.
Iv'e used Reason since version 1. It's still my go-to DAW and great when linked with Ableton.
Re-Birth was how I discovered Propellerhead, and when the first trailer for Reason dropped, I was floored!
I wasn’t able to get reason until 2.0, but I’ve been a fan for years, having upgraded several times. I hate to say it, but they do need to catch up with the competition. I’m currently on 11 - only because I wanted in on VST support, but I can’t see myself wanting to upgrade until they add VST 3 support, because I can’t use several of my plug-ins, which are 3 only.
Honestly, I can understand why they held off on VST support for so long. They had built up their Reason Rack Extensions, which they felt was superior to VST (back in the days when VST’s were notoriously unreliable)… BUT, industry wide support of VST’s is why they needed to change their stance - and I’m personally glad they did - but come Reason Studios; it’s time to add VST 3 support.
Some of the rack extensions and very good to be fair. There is version 13 coming in June, so I would like to think they would add it then. I would have to agree with regards to them being behind. I know the sequencer is getting an overhaul so that's a step in the right direction...
I was hooked since version 1. love the rack.
Pre ordered the 1st version and disappeared for about 3 years when it came out lol. Still have the versions boxed along with rebirth and recycle. Also keep it up to date even now. Good vid mate 👍
No way! That's so sick. The new version is so good. I'm 100 going to use it in my workflow even if it's in VST format. Thanks for watching mate 🙌
@@ErrorTheProducer Was the best thing they did making it a VST plugin. Best of both worlds. Cheers mate!
I started with Reason 1.0, I’ve got Reason 12, but still get much more inspiration using 1.0 with Recycle on my old PowerPC macs. There so much you can do with even the first version. The newer versions are a bit to cluttered for me, too many choices to get going.
That's so sick! I'd love some old software/ hardware to mess around with. It would make for a great series 👌
I started using Rebirth while it was just an idea in the creators minds. I must leave a comment that makes me sound cool for using it from the beginning. 😅
Great video I been Using reason since version 2.5 still has the best clear realistic sounds here waiting on 13
i been using reason, tried switching to ableton but reason has been so much better for me and the sort of music i make (pop and rock), it's also just so much fun and incredibly intuitive, not as daunting for first time users as FL, and with reason 13, they are adding a lot more efficiency features which FL is known for, so i really hope that can draw some people in or at least make my life easier
Been on it since 1.0
Still have rebirth and recycle in a binder at home
I'm genuinely shocked at how many people still have boxed reason versions and even Rebirth. That should be in a museum 🤣
I started on reason 5 used fl studio for a few years & came back to reason 2023
Been using Reason since 1.0 I made my first few releases in Reason but shortly after I moved to Cubase. I kept using Reason on the side though and kept occasionally updating as the program got new features. Fastforward to now, I still use Cubase for mixing/post production, but i use other daws/music/sound generators and bring it all in to Cubase with Reason being a workhorse
Reason in the 00s was a great concept around the time. Performance wise it was the best bang for buck Computer style workstation style setup. It essentially gave you Samplers, Drum Machines, Analog Modeling synths, Workstation level quality sounds, and ability to sequence and reasonably 2 track mix everything as it also had great effects as well. Only thing it didn't have was audio recording. At the time the lack of audio recording wasn't a big deal as Reason was more viewed as a Pre-Production setup. Reason was kind of like buying a hardware midi sequencer with synths and samplers all able to sequence in a self contained unit. It was a very unique concept and it was unlike a DAW. The only DAW feature it really had was midi sequencing. But at that time period Reason was more fun to work with as my experience with DAWs in the 2000s was love and hate. DAWs had some powerful and complex VSTs such as alot of NI stuff, but it also had alot of CPU hogging plugins and alot of plugins were unstable. I used Sonar at the time and whenever a major release would come out I would get some major crashes. One crash I remember the tech support recommended I reinstall Windows (which I did and still didn't fix the issue). I would just kind of stick with Reason after awhile as it didn't have these crashes. Sometimes no matter how bad my PC would perform on other applications, Reason projects would basically work and chug along and I could write songs. It's stability at that time was almost scarily good. Reason in the 00s had fairly slow update schedules but usually each year would have some type of surprise usually new Refill library they would develop (which where great at the time). The 3rd party Refill developers were also extensive so you didn't worry too much about lack of sample libraries (although many of the Refills were old 90s sample libraries which was fine as I haven't heard these anyways). The user community was great as well. There were plenty of passionate users, and internal company forum and external online forums which kept the community strong and I think there might have been more sense of community that any other program as everybody essentially had to learn how to make best of the built in devices already in Reason. There was always a push to make Reason a DAW, but there was also some resentment of people wanting Reason to be its own type of thing. But IMO Reason in the 00s where the Golden Years.
I think Reason going DAW was the start of it kind of losing edge. At the time though this was great news as the DAW component was more of an addon feature. We got a shiny new mixer (which some people were getting tired of the Mackie style Reason mixers). In practice though I think though this is where Reason's workflow kind of diverged and started being clunky, as now I have a Mixer that is more powerful than the old Reason mixer device but after having using DAW mixers felt kind of clunky workflow wise. As during the time Reason wasn't a DAW, DAW programs got better workflow wise, especially in areas such as mixing. The next cool thing were Rack Extensions which were a great concept as around that time people pushed for more powerful synths/samplers/effects in Reason. This was promising as it offered a new take compared to VSTs and kind of could have been an opportunity to be a good competitor to VSTs. Initially there was a healthy amount of 3rd party developers from big companies and small newer companies. Alot of cool things were released. But I think several factors such as these plugins only working in a closed system that requires a dongle (at that time), No way to use these plugins in other DAWs (at that time), and what I assumed to be a more rigid codebase compared to VST (as REs had certain size restrictions, and GUI restrictions, that a VST does not have somewhat limiting the type of synths and plugins that could be developed). And add to the top of all that, this is when I started noticing Reason being a little more of a CPU hog. It wasn't bad that said during that time but it wasn't 2007 no more. Also around this time the early 2010s, many DAW/VST developers made significant strides in VST development and DAWs abiltiy to host them. Gone where the crashfest of the 2000s, there were still some crashes but VST performance improved a good bit. VST technology improved a good bit too. I think the rapid pace of DAW/VST development was alot for Reason to keep up with as they essentially had to worry about both in their own platform (expanding the RE technology, improving the Reason DAW). Several years later Reason finally adopted VSTs but it was pretty late by that time and I kind of hoped they stuck to their guns on this one and focused more on making the RE technology better and more flexible. To me going VST kind of created more issues than improvements. For one thing the performance of working with Reason really went down, I started noticing Pops and Clicks in audio which was a rare and avoidable thing before this period (in the 2000s the only Pops in Reason I remember was a synthesized pop or sample of a pop). It didn't seem to matter too much whether I used Mac or PC, performance took a hit on both. Also with no real way to freeze audio (a concept DAWs implemented in the 2000s to deal with hoggy VSTs), working with VSTs in Reason was a chore. I don't think to this day the performance is on par with other DAWs (at least on Windows I don't think it is). The main improvement was that we could now use whatever plugin we needed whether it was VSTi or Rack Extension. Regardless of performance, adding VSTis was sort of a relief because I think Reason would focus on improving their workflow with all of these new devices, Rack Extensions, and VSTs. I was especially hopeful that with 3rd party RE developers they could focus less on synths. Reason went synth/device crazy after that period and did synth only updates, made Reason a plugin. These were some of the most controversial Reason updates that I remember and to me sent weird messages like you want users to start using different DAWs which is a weird strategy. I thnk around the time Reason started going device crazy, it seemed like there were less RE developers. So now Reason is in a somewhat weird state.
It definitely isn't the performance powerhouse it used to be. It does have some DAW features but I don't know how well it competes with the other DAWs. About the biggest Pro to Reason is that it allows you to use all of its devices in other DAWs, but FL Studio also does this (although its implementation is clunkier than Reason's), and Reason probably has some of the best built in sounds vs any DAW (except maybe Logic). Reason also has some of the best synths from any DAWs. But Reason's competition now is fierce as it competes with DAWs and VST developers.
I kind of hope if they would try to get the RE community back vibrant and maybe make a Free Reason Rack version (which might be just a plugin shell) to allow people to just purchase what REs they need. Also add at least a pattern sequencer to the RACK to make it easer to automate pattern devices when using the Rack version.
"Me I'm just a rack builder. You can tell by the way i patch." I can use reason with almost zero menu diving.
I've been using Reason since V6 and coming from a hardware background the rack makes total sense to me. Unfortunately I frequently have to use it inside Ableton to be able to connect my multiple hardware sequencers with multiple channels to individual instruments. Reason recognises all of the hardware but just doesn't want to allow you to specify a device and channel to an instrument.
They sucked me back in last year, I started a few demos and was blown away by the new physical modeling plugin, and thought the workflow for tuning is pretty ingenius and I really enjoy the SSL J thrown in on the pre-setup mixing console.
Like its super fast and easy to do certain things...
But like, the total cost of ownership is up there with Ableton and then VST packages... and like, I'm just over getting hit every year for $200-$300 from each of these vendors.
I've loved you since Reason 2, but you're just too boujee for me baby.
To this day i still have reason 3 installed, love it just of the RACK feature love the virtual studio and routing. If it only would have had a input - output for live audio *back then*. Now tho wouldnt pay for it!
Yeah I think that and the delay on VST support kinda put them behind a little 😔
I've been recording punk and black metal bands into Reason for over 3 years.
I have Ableton logic and studio. One Reason is my go to. it’s probably because I started using it in version1. Anytime I try to use something else I get annoyed.
I use FL/Ableton/mpc live 1/maschine as my main tools. I used to use reason but I just kind of left it alone but I think Reason is probably the best DAW out there (straight out the box with no 3rd party vsts) i used to use Reason 3/4 & 10.
Oh i remember why i stopped using it my Mac kept Fkn up so i went strictly with windows. If any brand new user wanted just one DAW I'd tell him to get Reason
It's 100% the most fun and inspiring to use. All other daws look like spreadsheets 😣
Brilliant watch 👌🏻
Thank you! Glad you liked it 🙌
Great history vid V.13 is updating the sequencer section.
Even if I use FL studio, I still go back to Reason for inspiration and to create patches to use it as a VST on sessions with people who has other DAW's !!!
they get always astonished by the sounds
I had reason back in 2001, and a terrible slow desktop computer and I honestly hated it, I got a midi keyboard and the latency made me want to lose my mind, it was so difficult to actually get a good take of anything, fast forward to 2024 and things have changed dramatically to say the least
I think most daws were like that then. I loaded up Fruity Loops 2 to get some screen recordings and the latency was horrendous 🤣
I'm ready to go full on with Reason as a DAW once i see what 13 has to offer. Honestly, the communities of nearly all thr DAWS irk me, and I'd rather be part of a group who truly love it. Even though there are those who love dunking on it for all the "missing features" Every DAW has missing features. Try complex routing in Bitwiig thats not the Polygrid. Yeah, see. You need Blue Cat Audio for help.
And what the hecks is FL deal?
Anyways, i do hope it flows more like modern DAW.
Been making music with Reason since 2007, Long live Reason
🙌🙌🙌