12 Features that Make Reason Better Than Ableton!

In my last video, I listed a few of Ableton’s features that I either compared to Reason’s or wished Reason had. Today I’m going to do the opposite. There are a few features in Reason that I really like and would be cool to see in Ableton, The other DAW I use regularly. If you are a beginner to Reason this video will be good for you to learn a few helpful features or for you to brush up on if you are a more seasoned user. I often forget all the ways to get things done in my DAW.
Enjoy!
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00:00 - Intro
01:36 - Feature 1
02:36 - Feature 2
03:23 - Feature 3
05:29 - Feature 4
07:40 - Feature 5
10:38 - Feature 6
13:07 - Feature 7
14:58 - Feature 8
15:56 - Feature 9
17:07 - Feature10
18:29 - Feature 11
20:12 - Feature 12
21:10 - Outro

[@campbellkennedy9658]

I think I like Reason more than any other DAW is that it invites play. It feels like it was designed with fun and curiosity in mind.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Agreed!

[@okashasunami32]

I bought Reason many years ago. Then switched to Ableton. Well....I've just switched back to Reason after almost 10 years of using Ableton. Why? It's just more fun to look at the synths and players. It's a a new world of rediscovery! great tutorials! Thanks! Got my sub.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah it's hard to completely leave. It's just too fun! Thanks for watching!

[@d.o.nmuzic3802]

That’s almost my exact story. Reason is just a more inspiring environment to play in

[@b00ts4ndc4ts]

I use what ever I am in the mood to use, all depending on what I want to produce. I have no loyalty to anyone be it DAW or hardware.

[@BK-iw1zm]

I have both Reason and Ableton. One thing that Reason has and keeps me more inside of that DAW than Ableton is the Pitch edit mode. Its great having something like Melodyne built right into the DAW!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah. It’s a pretty underrated feature. Thanks for watching!

[@VicTor-lf2ny]

One of my favorite thing about visioals in Reason, is that your memory don't remember in boxes, like in Ableton. If you haven't work with track a long time, in Ableton, you have to kind of study it from very begining, it's take a lot of time, cause all tracks and devises looks the same. It's like remember all tracks in one track.

[@avace917]

I'm surprised you didn't mention Blocks. That changed my composition process in Reason forever. Took me back to my hardware MPC days. The Rack definitely gives the familiarity of a hardware studio. It can be even educational to someone who never used hardware before

[@itsdjQuasar]

True! I've covered it before but it warrants another deeper dive. It might be the MOST slept-upon feature. Thanks for watching!

[@frodemadsgard2660]

Your reaction at 10:35 is my entire reaction to Ableton. Been using Reason since version 1, cannot for the life of me see that i'll ever switch to another DAW. Great video!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Hahaha. Bitwig definitely looks interesting! Thanks for watching!

[@kriss12loverap]

u guys miss the point ableton looks powerful! less is more, but u guys brain need that dopamine hit of the ui, i would rather feel the dopamin hit from the audio coming through my speakers!

[@privatedomicile6627]

@@kriss12loverapwhatever helps you create is the best tool for you, and it sounds like you’ve found a great set of tools for yourself, it seems others here have also found a good set of tools for themselves. Being drawn to the utilitarian UI of ableton is a preference, not a virtue. Ableton doesn’t gel with my particular brand of ADHD, neither does Reason for that matter, but Bitwig does it for me. All any of that means is that we have all found what works for us, rather than it meaning others have yet to see the light.

[@user-sv1sw9ev3w]

@@kriss12loverap daws are like cars, some drive lambos, some drive chevies

[@InVisionsynthmindscape]

I've tried them all (including logic) but the one I love most and Reason since the beginning I've been talking about version 3.0. Thank you for this video DJ Quasar. 🙏

[@itsdjQuasar]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@song23ministries]

Great new entrance. Best ever. Great new background. Whole new level. Great content as always. Keep up the great graphics and no nonsense straight to the point info. Fantastic!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thanks! I appreciate it! See you in the next one!

[@GeneralDubby]

Precise, funny - so thinx nah get too technically AND relaxed.. So very good to watch & learn. Well done, DJ Quasar !!! ONE! from Germany Dubz

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thank you very much!

[@tonescapes9673]

Cheers my man.always helps to get straight forward&clear.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thanks for watching!

[@questt5]

My first daw was reason 2.0.0 in 2002, and got hooked watching Peff making electronic music with his crazy synths even though I was making hip hop beats & sampling as I wasn’t really producing yet. 2009 I finally went to school for music and got all my certifications for pro tools in mixing and engineering. A year later got my carts for mastering. So was using pro-tools to track and mix my music stems from reason and do vocals in pro tools cause I hated rewires ups and down in reliability. Never liked logic or fruity, but I’d use them for some of the features and bring the stems back into my now daw of choice Ableton. I stopped using pro tools at home and only in certain studios cause pro-tools became unreliable for me at home. Too many crashes. While I agree with every key point you gave as to why reason is still a go to. I just haven’t seen the need to transition back to reason because of the saved templates I’ve made for recording, mixing, and mastering. Guess I’ve invested a lot in reason. I still use reason as a rack plug in and sometimes as a drum sequencer when i decide to start a new song with the drums first. I guess what has kept me using Ableton as my main daw is gumroad and the amount of user created Ableton max for live devices and racks that are made for getting creative or daw ease of life tools. Chordimist max for live combined with bouncy notes is crazy what you can create. And I guess since I finally can say that after all these years of searching for the right daw for me I found my perfect formula in Ableton. I also tell people that if they don’t like the lack of some MIDI capabilities of reasons sequencer then use blue cat patchwork bay. Lastly I always say there is no one perfect daw. Find the daw that makes you feel comfortable and continue to test others to get you out of your comfort zone to learn. There’s Pro-Tools, Ableton, Reason, Fruity Loops, Cubase, Reaper, Logic, cakewalk, Presonus, and some lesser known ones. Explore, create, fine tune your craft, and have fun.

[@NozUrbina]

I really enjoyed this. I felt bad I couldn't "get" Ableton and be like all the cool kids. I've seen several of these videos now and I realise I'm just one of the people who doesn't like making music as much in Ableton. I'm not dumb or incapable, I'm just not a fan.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Hahaha. Right? It's just a matter of preference. Keep making music... However you prefer to. Thanks for watching!

[@anzatzi]

super impressed that you are so conversant in both DAWs--and all the Reason modules!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Not all the modules haha. Thanks for the kind words!

[@someonewhobitthedust9124]

I’m taking an Electronic music production class and they use Reason which I was super resentful at first (because I’m used to Ableton) but this vid has helped change my mind. Thank you for sharing 👍

[@itsdjQuasar]

Glad I could help! What class you taking? I ask because I haven’t seen many that teach on Reason although I always thought that would be a great choice. Great way to learn signal processing (the rack) and how a mixing board works. DAWS are still built on these concepts even if they have stayed a bit in their execution.

[@RigatoniModular]

Bruh - how did I not know about the tool window? I was looking for all of those exact features (partial quantization, etc.) and no amount of googling was giving me answers. Thank you!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Glad I could help!

[@probindemufhoes42069]

Don’t stop putting out Reason vids u the man Quasar. Btw can you do a video on delay compensation and how to actually use it? I know the mixer has one on the master but I saw there’s also this free delay compensation RE called the VMG-01 sample delay that looks handy but I have no idea how to use/measure it.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I'll look into it! Thanks for watching!

[@BenedictRoffMarsh]

I agree. Reason is simply easier to use in most cases. No other DAW I know has such a good sense of ability to see what is going on overview to detail. Things like that F2 EQ window that follows what you focus is just the best. The SSL style EQ is perfect for mix tone changes. I add another EQ for surgical but that is not so necessary most of the time. Automation, and MIDI in general, is the best I have used - rivaling Opcode Vision. I use a screen per page which makes for great clarity. In one-screen, it is a bit cramped, but all DAW are the same. :-)

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah, it must be more of a joy with multiple screens. Thanks for watching!

[@partlysimpson5154]

Eaaier?? Ableton isnt easy?

[@Skettalee]

Wanted to just say i enjoyed the video, great presence !

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thank you so much!

[@anzatzi]

Rewatching this--somehow Reason to me just feels 'lighter' when sketching out ideas. Great channel!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Awesome! Thank you! See you in the next one!

[@BartvanderHorst]

Thanks for this video, you re-ignited my love for Reason again... Reason has the history of softsynth in itself. yet... I think soon this all will be replaced by A.I. synths, no one is yet fully aware of what is coming.

[@itsdjQuasar]

True. You think music making will be fully replaced by AI?

[@sinewaymusic]

Nice summary. One small thing I'd love to see is a way to quickly colorize different parts of the rack. In the mixer view, I find it easy to stay organized thanks to the ability to put your specific colors on different parts of the song - but as soon as I switch to the rack, I'm completely lost. Customizing the skin of various devices is too cumbersome. Hell, even just a little padding to separate sections would help a great deal! That way you could group all drum stuff and have a clear visual separation between that and the bass stuff even at the thumbnail view of the rack.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah that's a good one. The fact that the rack and sequencer can be in completely different orders as well. It can get confusing. Thanks for watching!

[@sinewaymusic]

@@itsdjQuasar Your videos are always worth watching. Thanks for your work!

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@sinewaymusic Thank you very much!

[@johnsexton8082]

I think there is a free rack extension you can use to both add text notes and set a colour, you can also drag devices to the right of the rack to create another rack along side allowing you to have a horizontal scroll of multiple racks.

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@johnsexton8082 There is! It's by Selig Audio and it's called ReMark Rack Divider.

[@musicandvideoentertainment7651]

Reasons is the closest thing to working in a studio environment. Reasons is a engineers software, and rack gear enthusiast. Works perfect with any outboard MIDI gear and hard disk recorders. If you trying to work like your in a studio environment this is the software to use.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Agreed! Thanks for watching!

[@buckycore]

All DAWS are beautiful, man. I actually do not like the sequencer at all, even though the integrated patterns in the automation lanes is dope AF. That being said, the synths, effects (especially the filters and modulations) and of course the PLAYERS are hands down top shelf best stock plugins ever. Dude, and the array of drum machines and samples. Plus all those free packs? DUDE!!! so, even if I can't stand the sequencer (as I'm madly in love with Bitwig and married to Studio One), I can't imagine living a life with out Reason rack plugin or even the times I just open up the standalone to sketch out 4/8 bars for experimentation. And I love the fact you're such an advocate for Reason and I shall support your channel always because of this

[@itsdjQuasar]

Wow, man. I feel that completely. Thank you.

[@anagma2702]

Another thing i absolutly love about Reason and rack ext is that you have everything in one account. When you need to reinstall your computer or install a new one you only need to log in to your reason account and install and sync everything from there so you have your DAW and all your rack exts installed in one go from one place. Dont need to log in to several account to get this EQ from that website and that synth from another website and so on.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah, and REs always work. No BS. Thanks for watching!

[@massufiani7467]

am always glad to see the true reason Jedi back at it, i personally am a reason lover and also falling in love with Live 11 as a sound design station and mastering suite TbH but reason is smarter when it comes to sequencing and short cuts

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that! thanks for the kind words! See you on the next one!

[@FloorStylez]

Love the mixer in Reason!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah, it's great. Nice to have a channel strip ready.

[@fraicheness]

Nice, I didn't know you could also time stretch automations. My personal fave is the design of each unit (aside from the old ass halfrack devices). Redrum, Malstrom, Kong, BVX, Europa, Grain and on and on 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩. If you look at other famous VSTs, most of them haven't aged gracefully at all.

[@itsdjQuasar]

True. True. Thanks for watching!

[@Antonio_Ortiz]

Real talk: I tried Ableton for a year, and even though is has a very sleek, streamlined GUI and you can do some pretty advanced things with it, I went back to Reason and fell in love with it all over again with Reason 12. The main reason (no pun intended): the Piano Roll. The Ableton Piano Roll felt so boxed and clunky, it almost single-handedly killed my enjoyment of it. The Reason Piano Roll feels spacious, intuitive and has convenient functions assigned to single keys, plus great scaling options (as does Reason in general). Ease of use and intuitive workflow really takes top priority for me.

[@PauLtus_B]

I've been using Reason for a very long time and I mostly came here to see whether I'm actually using the things that make Reason stand out. It's funny to see that there's a a bunch of features that I took for granted that are in fact unique to Reason.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thanks for watching!!

[@PauLtus_B]

@@itsdjQuasar Thanks for the video!

[@thegbgfamily]

You cn draw the automatiin lines in Ableton. Just start from one ring point and hod left mouse button and draw a line from there.

[@juicerox]

I too have used both Ableton and Reason over the years but I find myself always just making more music when I'm in Reason. I find it to be the most inspiring DAW out there and everything "Just works" the way it should. No other DAW has a built in pitch editor that works as smooth as Reason's does. Time Markers work better and sound cleaner than in other DAW's to my ears. Coming from a studio working with Rock bands the Rack system just makes sense to me and invites me to experiment with sound design. Finally, the stability, even after implementing VST's, Rack Extensions, and the entire Graphical re-write, is unmatched. I can count the amount of times Reason has crashed on me using Windows in 20 years on one hand. The coding of Reason is brilliant.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I agree with you! I will say that Logic has excellent pitch editing as well and had it first but other than that... yeah fully agree. Thanks for watching!

[@anzatzi]

Hoping you'll have time to vlog about Reason 13--be well!

[@3xAudio]

interesting stuff. ill have to give it a go later!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thanks for watching!

[@SolarSoundMusic]

Lovely DAW!

[@Iredidv]

12:20 a nice trick with ableton is you can right click on a dot/point and select change/edit value, wich also shows the value. Copy paste the value before automation to after automation. Takes 2 secs. Btw no preference I have both and almost all re’s, both using since 1.0. It’s like eating, even if you have caviar and lobster everyday after a week of eating that, a burger with fries will taste awesome. And sometimes both at the same time. Also love maschine but can’t get my head around my mpc one. Probably because I used maschine since 1.0 and have that muscle memory, I don’t see why I should learn it all over to do the same. I do use the mpc as an fx unit and load the instruments on midi channels to trigger with maschine, ableton link syncs them up well. I go from standalone to in the box too to change it up.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I have always wanted to try Machine it'd be fun to get more tactile with it. Do you feel it's limiting in any way?

[@hotshot6674]

I started with my Amiga 500 and Protracker, moved then to A1200, Aura sampler and OctaMED, then PC with Fasttracker and finally Reason 1.0. I used it up to v5 then switched to Ableton and can't imagine to go back again. Every now and then I get the trial version of Reason and uninstall it after 1-2 hours because there is nothing I am missing in Ableton. Maybe I just got too used to it, no idea. But I keep Reason 1-5 in my memories, that's the daw I produced my first vinyl release with; that was a fantastic time for me and I don't want to miss it.

[@itsdjQuasar]

It's one of the few DAWs that truly hits the nostalgia button. Thanks for watching!

[@offbeatscratcher]

I tried Ableton but I find Reason more inspiring to work with. Ableton has some features I like though. Especially the zooming and note highlighting. These are minor though easy to work around. You can't work around an uninspiring interface.

[@user-vb2di3ku3f]

Dat Bus compressor totally worth the price of Reason. Love its workflow and great sound.（switching from Ableton too）

[@itsdjQuasar]

Totally agree! Thanks for watching!

[@CinoPORakaDjCino]

I understand not every DAW fits to everyone because a little detail or other! The best DAW is the one that fit to us, but Ableton is king... !

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear ya. Thanks for watching!

[@njigyfd]

you made some excellent points

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thanks! See you on the next one!

[@emberdubz]

I really think that it depends on the person. I use ableton but damn... reason is just so powerful especially right now after objekt was released

[@itsdjQuasar]

I still haven't tried Objekt. Might have to look into it...

[@BillyBanter100]

I use Reason and Cubase. Cubase has nothing like the combinators or players like reason but I do prefer Cubase for final mixing and mastering. It's more grown up in that respect. Cubase can get over complicated however and that's where Reason has the advantage for laying down initial tracks.

[@itsdjQuasar]

A lot of people swear by Cubase. Looks like a good program. Thanks for watching!

[@LossLeadas]

im back my guy...i will do a video soon on using a dual screen for reason. you try that be the best thing ever especially using a screen vertical for the rack

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah I'm always jealous when I see a setup like that! Thanks for watching!

[@Meteotrance]

Reason make you focus on what is the most important to many musician, get focus on your music and not the technical side of it, but of course you can also be very technical using the built in SSL like desk with the side chain aspect of the compressor by using the tab with the modular aspect of it and also using combinator as swiss army knife tool for stacking many layers of module like rack extension or VST, ableton for me is more looper and DJ oriented it's another mind set.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that! Thanks for watching!

[@micromando4669]

Thx for the video Q! Do you remember how the automation workflow was back in the days? I think it was v4 or 5 when they changed it to these dots and lanes. The old way was the same as the curve mode in the Matrix Sequencer, just awesome. Maybe they should have made it changeable because some functions like bending the line weren’t available. A modern approach would be to integrate the drawing tools of Synchronous into the sequencer/automation. I often requested it in the Reasonstudios Channel. Another annoying thing is, when i put a player on one instrument i want it to automatically adapt to the first set scale/key on the first player i created. Who in the world would write a song in different keys? At least if you’re not purposely making a modal change. What makes me jealous when watching ableton producers is the way you can handle and juggle wav/audio files. Its more like in an audio editor, you just selected a part of the waveform and apply various changes. I want in Reason to select a specific region in an audioclip and say apply from the left selection marker to the right marker a timestretch or any fx like flanger etc. Just like in Audition/Cool Edit and directly apply or bounce into or on a new lane.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Oh man, I feel you on the players. They need to change that, STAT. And the weird bug that makes the rack jump when you add a player. I hear you on the rest as well! Thanks for watching!!

[@pwrtrace]

I love reason cause it is easy to use and you have everything there to start right away. Also the back with all the cables, I like to have fun draging them to whatever I like. No daw is better than the other either cause everyone can do a banger in whatere they set theire mind to and really try :) I will never switch to another daw :)

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that! Keep on keepin' on! Thanks for watching!

[@danielbryant3323]

Feature 1: I agree to an extent. #5. It took me a minute to get use to the midi editing too lol. #6: hiding the automation is missing, but the region based automation is 🔥. #7: Regroove… uh… pass lol. #8: 3 pages is crazy, but it does look much better than Ableton. Lol. Overall, good video. Ableton is definitely better for workflow and efficiency. The routing was cool for a while but eventually got annoying. Especially the more complicated the routing got.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear ya! Thanks for watching!

[@ErikHawk]

I'm gonna add something, Reason's ability to quickly add MIDI lanes to a virtual instrument track. Sure, you can do this in other DAW programs, but I've never found another DAW that makes it as easy as it is in Reason. You want to add an alternate MIDI performance, another drum part, an entirely different groove feel playing the same virtual instrument in Reason's Rack? Not a problem, just select the track and click the "+" button to add a new MIDI lane. This feature alone is a big reason why I like to compose in Reason.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Nice one! you can use the comma key or period key on your keyboard to make a new dub midi lane or alternate midi lane, respectively. Automatic midi take lanes when cycle recording would really complete the situation, though. Thanks for watching.

[@mackie32x48]

Been using Reason for years and honestly you dont need much more than whats on this board. Simple is better!!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Amen! Thanks for watching!

[@drum877]

I stoped using reason after reason 7. The only thing I miss about reason is the automation clips. It’s so easy to move your automation. I’m glad they finally let you use VST’s. That was the main reason I left. The modular system is also hella annoying.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah the automation clips are great. I like the modular system but i get it can feel cumbersome.

[@leestanford2452]

I use the reason rack in Bitwig. My personal favorite combination:)

[@itsdjQuasar]

Been wanting to try Bitwig. I've heard good things. Thanks for watching!

[@partlysimpson5154]

Hows perfomance, reason rack in biwig?

[@LossLeadas]

nudge CTRL or ALT and ARROW based grid setting

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah, ctrl arrow key is a good tip.

[@chemiZtry]

What do you think about Cubase Pro 12? I use to use Reason 5 and upgraded to 12 but still like Cubase. Although Reason does have a nice interface and workflow.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I've only seen it used. Never used it. I will say that they have a lot of loyal users.

[@minceorbeminced9885]

fl has hands down the best piano roll. its not even debatable. if reason could copy some things id switch quick

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah their piano roll is really feature rich. Thanks for watching!

[@constantismedia857]

You forgot about blocks and opportunity to creating your own vst in combinator designer, which I guess really great features.

[@itsdjQuasar]

BLOCKS is cool but session mode in Ableton smashes it. If you haven't tried it and you like BLOCKS then you may want to . Its probably Ableton's most unique feature. BLOCKS is dope. Session mode is doper. Thanks for watching!

[@constantismedia857]

@@itsdjQuasar Different tools, different needs, for example sound design session are just amazing with blocks and comp editing 🤤 Wich I can't compare with Ableton.

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@constantismedia857 I hear that.The comping in Reason is definitely up there with the best! Ableton's is good but I think I like the way it works in Reason more.

[@LordOfSweden]

Reason is the best. I feel at home in reason. It has everything you need. I don't even use a bunch of cables and stuff. I think if someone cannot make good music in reason, it's probably them 😅 I've tried all the others, but none felt at home. The only other one I could possible change to is Studio One, because it was created by one of the creators of Cubase, so it's like a modern version of Cubase.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that! I like more Ableton, Reason, and Logic but I keep coming back to reason.

[@LordOfSweden]

@@itsdjQuasar I just tried Ableton briefly but I didn't like that much, but it's also the thing of learning a whole new program, feels a bit unecessary. Unless there is something very crucial you miss, which I don't. Logic seems nice! I like the clean the design of Logic, but I haven't tried it, cause I got PC. When you use Ableton or Logic, why do you use it instead of Reason?

[@LossLeadas]

i been doing this music and in the busniss for 24 years i spent money buying DAWS and let me tell you they all has something you would not like or hate. I realize now if my daw dont have certain features or things i dont like, the question is CAN I STILL GET THE JOB DONE ESPECIALLY WHEN DOING BUSINESS.

[@itsdjQuasar]

True dat!

[@gkillmaster]

Thanks so much for the great thoughts. I usee Bitwig and Reason Rack in Bitwig but this video is making me want to give Reason a closer look!

[@billandersonworceste]

What are those vocal mics? Amazing players!

[@kriss12loverap]

best way to split in ableton is duplicate the note move one step up, half the length move back lol

[@itsdjQuasar]

🙃

[@mecd4167]

Ableton was my companion DAW for Reason but I've now made the transition to Bitwig which is way of a better companion for Reason. You should try Bitwig.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I've been watching videos on Bitwig. Interesting stuff. Looks fun.

[@WyattLite-n-inn]

Can you use Bitwig as a VST in the way that you can vis a vie Reason?

[@MrMarcLaflamme]

Good video! The mixer, while great, gets VERY unruly when you're dealing with external gear, especially overbridge and Elektron devices, and wanting to record the stuff to audio. Take the Syntakt for example, it has 12 channels and in order to record these channels, Reason forces you to check the tiny "make record source" button on the mix channel (you can't source an audio channel without doing that to a mix channel). So now you have 24 channels in the mixer screen (and none of them can be collapsed or hidden).... It's why I still need to use Bitwig for recording audio. I love the tool window but wish it was somehow integrated into the UI somewhere (I would love to replace the Tutorial window with Tools) Players are cool, but the sacrifice was not getting proper midi handling VSTs (so ANY MIDI VSTs aren't able to be used in Reason). Can't you include automation in the clip level in Live? Which means you can do it at the lower level or at the higher sequencer level? The Reason GUI does not cater to smaller displays (I use a 12" MB with it and if it's not at 80% scale, it's frustrating) The one big thing I do like that Reason has and other DAWs don't is bounce in place (and normalize).

[@itsdjQuasar]

You can do automation at the clip level in AL. Good point. That does give AL a bit more flexibility and it is nice that automation is automatically copied over when you duplicate a clip unless you hit a button that locks it in place. AL might get the edge here. AL's freeze command can work like bounce in place if you just copy the frozen region to a new audio lane. Or you can just flatten the whole lane as well, of course. Thanks for watching!

[@MrMarcLaflamme]

@@itsdjQuasar I didn’t think it was the same with midi bounce in place. I mean the Reason method is pretty fast and seamless although I did discover an issue where the bounced audio was occasionally delayed enough to chop off a transient at the start of the clip when using the razor tool. Each daw definitely has its pros and cons and unfortunately not one excels at all things for any one person. Maybe one day.

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@MrMarcLaflamme Yeah I have had that delay happen as well. Yeah you're right, no one DAW has it all...

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

I dont use the Reasons Mixer to do High pass low pass or EQ editing pas as I do that on every device using M class 2 band EQ. I hardly ever use the Reason mixer and will Use the old device mixer because its quicker and easier to modulate mutes, volume changes and panning. Audio tracks are always on the mixer and so is the final mastering but for jamming and ideas the old mixer is better as it's more like a Dawless jam set up.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Interesting. I haven't used the old mixer since the SSL came out. So many ways to work in this program. Thanks for watching!

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

@@itsdjQuasar You probably have used the old mixer, as it's in alot of Combinators and still has alot of value in that regard.

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@HOLLASOUNDS true. I use the line mixer for that.

[@HOLLASOUNDS]

@@itsdjQuasar 🤜🏻🤛🏾

[@GratDuForloradeArgumentet]

I've stuck with Reason too, the first program I tried. Because, I don't know. It just feels familiar and cozy. Maybe because I know it the best as well. I didn't like Abletone or FL studio, or cubase or Pro-Tools. The next best thing to Reason I think is Studio One. Because it's from the creators of Cubase who left that company, but just a modernized version. So you get a modernized Cubase basically. I don't have Mac but otherwise I think the Mac DAW whatever it's called again, look clean.

[@itsdjQuasar]

The Mac daw is called Logic. I have a license to that as well but haven't used it since I bought my beefy PC. It's a good program, though. Studio one looks interesting to me too! Lots of cool features. Thanks for watching!!

[@GratDuForloradeArgumentet]

@@itsdjQuasar Right, logic. No im a PC guy as well, but it looks clean as well. I haven't tried it. Why fix something that isn't broken... :) I think most people put too much into which DAW they use. It doesn't really matter, all are good. But of course, it's good to try out some and see which one you prefer.

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@GratDuForloradeArgumentet Yeah, we should always spend more time creating and less time worrying about the minutia.

[@GratDuForloradeArgumentet]

@@itsdjQuasar Yeah for sure :) I just feel the most at home reason. It really does feel like home and I don't really use routing. Except very basic for ducking and stuff like that (which was hard to understand as well how to do in the begining) before you remember what to plug in. I don't have any sound engineering background or such.

[@emmanuelbrowne4788]

@@GratDuForloradeArgumentet You should start. CV and Audio Routing, along with the rack and mixer, is THE reason I'm still with Reason.

[@dj_instruments937]

FL is the best hands down. They just need to implement some major changes production wise. It's clean and no clutter. Easy to route and create busses and so on. They just have to step it up a tad bit with the mixer and other features like automation.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that. People rave about FLs midi sequencer, tho. Thanks for watching!

[@zad904100]

Agree with you Brother

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thanks! Thanks for watching!

[@michaels8607]

Ok,good points yet as long as they record great music, it really does not matter. What matters is what works for the person and that's totally subjective. That's just a fact and why even top musicians use Atari/Amiga/older Mac/PC machines/software. Then when you get on a higher level, it's Samplitude/ Nuendo/CSound/MAX/PD/Reaktor/VCV/Buzz and others that give you full control/power without having to keep replacing the machines themselves. One of my friends uses Reason, and does some amazing stuff with it. When you own your own studio, there's so many options. It's about control, workflow, and not being pigeonholed into one method.

[@itsdjQuasar]

True. True. Thanks for watching!!

[@michaels8607]

@@itsdjQuasar you're welcome

[@AdamsOlympia]

I think Reason has the best sounding first party synths of any DAW... (For the most part...Nothing quite touches the power and flexibility of Logic's Alchemy though) ..

[@flo1creative854]

I have the same mixer

[@otonomimusic]

I’ve never used Ableton’s scale after like 10 years of using it

[@npinero1]

Did you suggest at 6:50 that Reason is the Mandalorian of the DAW world? “This is the way.”

[@itsdjQuasar]

Hahaha! Yep. I guess I did! Thanks for watching!

[@aslanyo]

Shortcuts for zooming in and out of the Timeline view are so slow for me. I use the keyboard keys and the handlebar box below. but there is nothing quicker than the “scroll” mouse feature in Ableton.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that. Thanks for watching!

[@emmanuelbrowne4788]

All you have to do is right click and drag on the handlebar box.

[@freshkidblaze]

Do you think time stretching audio in Reason (including mimic's advanced algorithm) sounds wayy cleaner than Ableton's?

[@itsdjQuasar]

Umm. Kinda. It sounds great especially for straightforward stretching. I think you can get more creative with Ableton’s time stretching and transposition as it has more algorithms and formant control and more. The workflow is a bit better in Ableton, as well. Don’t get me wrong Reason’s sounds top notch but you can do more with Ableton. I don’t use mimic enough to answer that part of you question. (I know I should) Thanks for watching!

[@noahbodymusic8897]

Say there young man, did you have to buy the "chord sequencer"?

[@itsdjQuasar]

I did. I like it.

[@noahbodymusic8897]

I saw it advertised with that "rep" from reason. May I ask how much you paid? It looks XCLLNT. Ps, are you from Jersey?

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@noahbodymusic8897 Can't quite remember but I think i paid $60 something for chord sequencer. No not from Jersey. From LA living in Austin now. 🙂

[@trackmasters65]

Ableton looks like hospital software it's the grosses UI I've ever seen. From what I've seen, Logic is the most beautiful DAW and I tried switching to itbecause of that, but I find I like Reason's look the best. It just looks fun as hell, i love each device, I love that it can be messy if I want or super well structured/Organized almost like a real studio.

[@itsdjQuasar]

Logic does look really nice. It's a great program as well. Haven't used it since I bought my PC. Reason is definitely up there as well in the looks category. Thanks for watching!

[@ChuckWasHere]

My biggest gripe with Reason is the sequencer. As amazing as it is, I find little things here and there that totally throws off my workflow. A lot of it has to do with default views when switching back and forth between the sequencer and mixer. The navigation is clunkier than I feel it should be. I'm becoming so frustrated with it that I'm starting to wonder if switching to another DAW might improve my workflow.

[@ChuckWasHere]

For instance, when I have a parameter automated on the mixer that I want to edit, I'll right click that parameter and click edit, which switches me to the track on the sequencer, but it doesn't take me to sequence for editing. I have to click the Edit Mode button, which sometimes isn't present, so I have to fumble around to get where I want to be. To me, requesting to edit an automated parameter should take me directly to the midi data to be edited. This is one gripe of several I have related to the sequencer design.

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@ChuckWasHere Yeah there's quite a few little things that could streamline things a bit more and make production overall faster. Thanks for watching!

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@CZR27 I don't usually have follow song on. I find it annoying. Automating by hand can be fun but I'm not sure what that has to do with placing notes on the sequencer. Do you mean automation nodes? If that's what you mean then sometimes drawing automation is quicker. I don't want to record it in and then edit it. That's more steps. Unless the automation isn't a simple curve then recording is best. Thanks for watching!

[@CZR27]

@@itsdjQuasar yeah it is more steps to record and then edit but i was suggesting doing it by hand so it will automatically place it for you on the sequencer as that's what i assumed @mezzanine237 was struggling with...

[@anzatzi]

good comments!

[@itsdjQuasar]

Thank you very much! See you in the next one!

[@rodoascanio]

I think Reason is the best ... And Reason is the best for creativity.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that! Thanks for watching! See you in the next one!

[@chocomalk]

14:59 command/tilde will cycle between the windows

[@itsdjQuasar]

Sounds like you are on Mac? On PC it’s F5, F6, and F7 Still a lot of switching around. Thanks for watching!

[@trackmasters65]

Bro - You just rocked my world. Had no idea

[@chocomalk]

@@itsdjQuasar Those work as well if you want to switch to a particular window, I find it easier just to cycle since it's just 3 windows.

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@chocomalk I'm guessing you pop your windows out, then. Make them separate windows? Command/tilde is still just a mac thing (a clever one at that ) but on PC we only have the one command alt/tab and it switches between all open windows. We don't have the second command that tells the computer to only switch between the windows in this program. Would be nice, though.

[@chocomalk]

@@itsdjQuasar Yeah I pop out all windows for more space, I didn't know it was a Mac exclusive function, what a bummer

[@aresoltero]

The half of the Tool window should be accessible via the tool bar. I mean Midi Transpose, Legato Adjustments and Scale Tempo in a Tool Window? Why is that when the 2/3 of the tool bar is empty?

[@itsdjQuasar]

That’s an interesting point.

[@MrMarcLaflamme]

Yup. Totally agree. Plus theres also the right click menu that could be context sensitive. Select a bunch of midi notes, right click and pick a tool.

[@aresoltero]

@@MrMarcLaflamme Reason can actually dismiss every tool by replacing all of them with a region tool like in Ableton. They can keep the Razor just for the midi note split function. Multiple tools as an idea is so outdated.

[@MrMarcLaflamme]

@@aresoltero I would die for a multi tool like Bitwig (plus adding the zoom nav using the timeline at the top). Navigation and tool changes in Reason takes so long compared to other DAWs. Honestly the nav is one of the biggest turnoffs for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Reason but come on. We need some sequencer/tool/navigation love.

[@emmanuelbrowne4788]

@@MrMarcLaflamme Why do tool changes take so long? Each Tool is mapped to the QWERTY keys.

[@ucheattoh]

Reason should create a player that loads midi vsts like scaler..this is the biggest draw back I have with reason today...i use so many of these vsts in my production...it's frustrating Reason has simply not integrated this requirement into reason....the moment they do, along with folders in the sequencer, reason will be my number one daw

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah, agreed. It's a limitation. Thanks for watching!

[@krissavagelive]

Clip fade in/out curves are way better in ableton though (can you even crossfade in Reason?). Automation editing is amateurish compared to the options you have in other DAWs like Logic or even Cubase

[@itsdjQuasar]

You can crossfade in reason. Press X on the second, overlapping clip. It's just as easy as other DAWs.

[@sebbosebbo9794]

non MPE feature on edit midi data record data synth is so sad ..but the rest is good in Reason. Its hard competion time now a days...... with Bitwigs modular World , Cakwalk new clip launcher , Sonar Melodyne ,Fruity L. etc...

[@itsdjQuasar]

Yeah, lots of DAWs on the market now. It's competitive out there.

[@bigmoneysteppa]

I need a welsh daw.

[@illyph9963]

I havnt upgraded to12 yet, but why did they change the analog look of regroove to like that “apple” style, I don’t like that, I don’t want them to start doing that to other stuff lol, I was upset they took the channel insert section out too, I use to use that like “channel combi” all the time for my inserts, like I’d route the 4 buttons n knobs to important stuff in inserts, that way when I tackled whole mix with console in front of me, I rarely had to go back to rack, but that is what it is I guess🤷🏻‍♂️, but I don’t like seeing them taking the analog look “away” from something, I know it’s just visual, but it’s big part of why I love reason, the last thing I’d want is them to just become like other daws n loose the authenticity, I know it’s JUST regroove lol but still just hope it’s not sign of things to come having less “knobs” and more “flat” GUI’s

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that. I personally like the regroove update but I understand where you are coming from. Thanks for watching!

[@AntiPattern123]

You forgot about the pitch edit mode in Reason. No need for melodyne. Or is this feature in Ableton and I just missed it?

[@itsdjQuasar]

You're right. That is a huge feature. Will be doing a video on it for sure! Thanks for watching!

[@krissavagelive]

Melodyne (polyphonic) is way better than Reason's pitch editor (monophonic). It's not even close lol

[@itsdjQuasar]

@@krissavagelive Truth! However it’s nice that pitch edit is built-in. Melodyne does smash it though.

[@gahdzuwkz6647]

You’re trippin. I used Reason since I started like 15 years ago, but Ableton is light years better as far as mixing and UI. You can do sooooo much more with Live.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear ya. Thanks for watching!

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

@Reason Studio fails with #Apple_Silicon_Native... ...Why would any of us who are on Apple Silicon upgrade to the newest reason, any more than we would introduce other bottlenecks into our systems or latency into our signal chains?

[@itsdjQuasar]

It still hasnt been recoded for apple silicon? Considering how popular those computers are/wil be that needs to happen.

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

@@itsdjQuasar RIGHT?!

[@Iredidv]

Also 13:25 8 grooves, but you have a b c d too..

[@itsdjQuasar]

True. Have you ever used more that 8? Thanks for watching!

[@MrFullyCharged]

I feel like reason is really a fun tool, but it’s not (IMHO) the full-on DAW and creative sketch pad ableton offers. Everyone has an opinion though.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear ya. Thanks for watching!!

[@LabofmusicRecords]

10 features that make bananas better than apples... 😂

[@nkosiengwenya]

I love reason, but I prefer ableton for live performances

[@itsdjQuasar]

Oh for sure. It's miles better for that. Thanks for watching!

[@minceorbeminced9885]

reasons piano roll, arrangment window, and tranport functions suck though. i love reason but they need to stop adding devices and update the basic functions.

[@Nine-Signs]

I have used reason for 20yrs, it has two massive failure points the developers do not give a damn about despite over a decade of requests from users. 1. No auto save, you crash, work gone. 2. No ability to specify a different sound card in to out. And I am that pissed off with this still lack off basic features even in new often unstable reason 12, that I am looking for a new DAW.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear that. what DAW you thinking about?

[@Vaxter701]

Ableton has too many long standing issues that they seem reluctant to do anything about, version updates have become mostly heres a couple of new devices and the same issues you had last version.... I've gone to bitwig but I do like reason too

[@kriss12loverap]

this video just conviced me to not get reason. ableton 12 ftw

[@itsdjQuasar]

Glad to have helped!

[@cristianomello9424]

Fanboyism dont have limits, but Reason features have! xD

[@itsdjQuasar]

They all have limits, my friend.

[@user-ch7yu6ig5o]

I don't like ableton because it's look like grey dead fish. I do like reason alot because it's look gorgeous and I wanna touch it. Maybe it's a little like toy but this is good style an aesthetic.

[@itsdjQuasar]

I feel ya. Thanks for watching!

[@VanillaSoul]

Reason is a fucking dark horse in the oversaturated market. But I've been going through a GAS with DAWs recently. I've really liked the look of Bitwig lately, and still want to try Logic and FL.

[@itsdjQuasar]

The journey never ends. Thanks for watching!

[@Ddotsun]

ableton just way faster for me

[@itsdjQuasar]

I hear you there. It's faster for sure overall.