Reason Studio's say SORRY for Reason 12?? 😔

Reason Studios seem to be on damage control after the Reason 12 release. Whatever their intention, we now have a roadmap for future Reason releases and it's looking good! 🔮
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[@JamielDeAbrew]

I’d love them to put a freeze on making new devices for at least 12 months. Instead focus on: * improving hi res * fixing bugs * adding workflow features * adding features to existing devices (without impacting compatibility) * optimising code and performance

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I think a freeze on new devices (or a least a slow down) is actually a legit idea.

[@adamwhite1934]

*Having more options to turn on and off midi inputs and output separately, like in Maschine (for when you have a beatstep pro and you want it synced, but only to control the synths it’s plugged into). *Having more than one output for midi sync. If Reason is going to be the centre of your setup this needs to be increased. Midi is 40 years old (40 years and 1 month), so there’s no technical limitation for why this is limited to 1 device.

[@profd65]

I'd like whiners like you to try another DAW.

[@JamielDeAbrew]

@@profd65 please keep in mind that I did purchase Reason 12. If Reason buyers like me switch DAW’s, Reason Studio’s would have less revenue to fund updates. That said, Reason Studios doesn’t need to do an update just for me. They will make decisions based on many factors. Customer feedback may be one factor, but I doubt it will be the only factor.

[@mirarisaga9213]

All I ever wanted was a Squencer update

[@matthewstuartnz]

Same 😅

[@totigerus]

You can resize the track lanes now yay but not much else has changed since reason 5. I do still enjoy the "=" (make all midi notes selected equal values) button in the inspector. I don't even think Logic has that but I could be wrong. There's a MIDI Transform window but it sucks dick and is usually pretty buggy.

[@kevinstoneham1245]

Reason have been too obsessed with adding more synths, but really how many do you actually need. It is the sequencer that needs some serious uplift, particularly in the area of making the real time song structure easier, rather than dragging clips on the piano roll.

[@matthewstuartnz]

yea new synths are fun, but what's the right balance? That's something I've been wondering about too.

[@spht9ng]

@@person5633 Reason has historically been more of a softsynth that was mostly used rewired to Pro Tools or Cubase. Only at the turn of the 2010s did it become a full DAW with audio recording. But they've always been behind on that aspect and I think they've just given up on getting to the level of the competition so they're pushing the rack plugin instead which is basically the replacement for rewire.

[@jeandista]

The right balance for me? REASON RACK. I think that's the pinnacle of their path. That's all Reason has always been about: SOUND DESIGN, REWIRE (up until RACK) and quick basic pattern sequencing. There's no chance (and no need) to be competitive on the D.A.W. side, as long as your competitors are called ABLETON, BITWIG, FL STUDIO, OR WAVEFORM PRO. Reason should always be that sort of trusty, inspiring and affordable creativity environment we've always been fond of. Can't wait for a major workflow update, though.

[@profd65]

Hey, genius: go use another DAW if you don't like it. Quit trying to turn Reason into Ableton.

[@pmoney8701]

I’m using v10 and I’m happy with it. I normally don’t upgrade anything when the new version comes out; I tend to wait until I see good value that pertains to what I like. With all that being said, I can’t see myself switching to something else.

[@matthewstuartnz]

If it works for you, that's all that matters!

[@EarJuice]

I have reason plus but it didn't add the new instruments and the website directed me to update so I did then I found out I already have the stuff with Reason plus. I still don't really get it. So do I keep Reason 12 installed on my computer as their isn't any Reason plus download? They gave me a refund for the upgrad.

[@matthewstuartnz]

I think so.. Reason plus lets you download Reason 12 anyway. The Reason Plus launcher should prompt you to update it if the is a newer version.

[@blogout412]

the new combinator needs to have the arrow to show devices by default, I always need to turn it back to open it...

[@matthewstuartnz]

Oh true. I haven't noticed that yet.

[@carstensorensen154]

Have been a Reason user since 1.0. Small example. During beta testing of Reason 12, I pointed out that the browser abandoned the Reason 11 standard of all browser folder keeping closed when once closed so all my many instruments and plugins could be hidden until needed. This did not change for the final release and it is a constant frustration that all folders are always unfolded… small issue, but constant stone in the shoe when using Reason. Another example is as frequently mentioned that the MIDI editing part of the sequencer definitely is the industry leading of frustration… I still love using Reason, mostly as a rack, but agree entirely with your analysis!

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I like what you said about the stone in the shoe. Reason has a lot of that. Hopefully, we can see a good shake out and clean up with this new roadmap.

[@GregorysMode]

I totally agree with you. No being able to close the tabs is a huge deal for me. Im been saying since beta. And they roll it out without fixing it. Says volumes to me. But it due another update so....🤞

[@gzappa]

I have been buying rack extensions regularly since their introduction and upgraded Reason every year, but I am thinking of cutting my losses and leaving after receiving this following message only 3 days after launch. "If you've been sitting on the fence about upgrading to Reason 12, there is literally no time like the present. On October 1st the price to upgrade will increase to £199". Seems like there is some urgency which doesn't inspire confidence for long term stability.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I really don't rate their PR this release 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@davidriddle6798]

I would like there synths to be MPE compatible. The synths sound fantastic already, but imagine being able to expressively control them with a roli seaboard, Linnstrument, K-Board Pro 4 or a Osmose. Imagine playing Objekt with MPE controller, that would be incredible 🤯

[@danolivier4899]

They say they think of it as a plugin and a DAW but don't mention a single improvement that's purely DAW related

[@matthewstuartnz]

I think that's in the investigation phase.. But yea, they need to get it out of the investigation phase asap.

[@jeffreyallen3855]

Hi res graphics, search updates, and combinator customization are cool. So is mimic, but genuinely... its not enough at this time for really anyone to update! Unless you were planning on getting mimic anyway from the reason store. I am STOKED about M1 support, and will upgrade for that. But I might as well wait till December since its gonna be released around that time anyway. Maybe they will have a Christmas sale around that time too (Maybe $99?) As for the future of Reason, I am very concerned. They released a roadmap, and nothing in there shows us that they are working on making more creative changes for users. No workflow updates, sequencer, midi editing....I loved Live 11's update, where they changed around the whole midi workflow (adding scales, randomize settings, note expression, etc) and made live feel more musical with update.... Reason however, just seems as if they're trying to play catch-up. Were just now gonna see VST3 support, NEXT year! Yea its cool, were finally getting that. But Ableton puts out updates that actually make you excited about updating. Make you WANT to update. Im not paying $130 at this time, spinning fans in my rack are not enough! Its hard to be a fan of Reason these days, with all the damage control you see the company having to do. Seems as if their sole focus is to bring in as many new users as possible, and that basically means they've turned reason into a cash cow. They care more about the money and the bottom line than the music these days. The developers don't have fun updating a dinosaur either lmao, let them do some more creative improvements to the DAW. Live11 really set the bar high for other DAWs, but if reason wants to survive and keep its long term members, then they really need to get their R&D kicked into gear.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I agree. Although, I'm optimistic that the roadmap is a sign of good things to come.

[@carsoncarr-busyframes619]

I agree with all this and that blog post from the CEO was encouraging. We need to give them a mulligan on the hires graphics though. They could have “easily” doubled the resolution of all the raster UI elements from the past but I believe what had to happen was a massive shift in code to a vector engine that had to be written from the ground up. This should allow for un-pixelated GUI from here to 20K displays and beyond. Not that you’d ever want to sit close enough to a screen that big to see the difference, but I think they were future proofing and it was 1000 x more difficult than when ableton shifted from raster to vector. Live has almost zero gradients or 3D or lighting, reflections or shadows. That stuff is very challenging to create with vector workflows. It’s like photoshop vs illustrator. Just a guess.

[@matthewstuartnz]

That's a good point. The visuals on Live are super basic.

[@bloodswarms]

October came and went, and the rest of Reason was not made hi-res, and there was no smart browser.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea they changed the road map but the communication about that was pretty shocking tbh

[@DjangoZa]

That blog post was music to my ears - one of the most exciting things I've heard in the music tech space, and with people paying a subscription fee, more frequent incremental updates make a lot of sense. I presume Reason+ users will get everything first though, which for me personally is a bummer. I seem to remember people asking for a better Combinator and hi-res support all the way back when Propellerhead said VST support would never happen, so it's untrue that they haven't listened. but the pace has definitely been lacking, especially with regard to workflow features. Their historic lack of pace, combined with the fact that I'm finding the rack terribly buggy inside Reaper, make me wonder if their timeline is overly ambitious, but for now, I'm cautiously optimistic.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Cautiously optimistic is a good way of putting it. I think that sums up how I feel as well.

[@walibeetz4477]

As a visually impaired reason user, I would like to know what you have planned to make reason accessible. The only reason that I’m able to do what I can do a reason is because someone help me memorize where to click some of the buttons, but what do you as a company intend to do to make your software accessible be through the program, or developing hardware gear that you can purchase, to make reason accessible for those musicians who are completely blind and or visually impaired?

[@matthewstuartnz]

I'm not involved with the company so I can't comment. Have you tried reaching out to their customer support?

[@walibeetz4477]

@@matthewstuartnz I have never talk to anyone from reason studios on the phone. I would have no problems talking to anyone from the company if he could push accessibility forward. I know so many musicians to use other DAW‘s, and other software‘s, because they are far more superior when it comes to accessibility. A lot of people I know can’t believe that I even use reason as a visually impaired person because it is not accessible for us at all. Reason though was the first program that I ever got a chance to get my hands on, that I can actually make work, and since reason for, I’ve always kind of used reason to make beats. I love the program, and I’m hoping that these kind of comments get seen, and at least starts the conversation.

[@kronzilla7244]

I just started working inside the full reason 12 update a few hours ago. The first thing I noticed was the presets for the channels were missing from the top of the channels. Weird...

[@matthewstuartnz]

Oh really? That is weird. I haven't really spend any time in standalone so I haven't seen that myself.

[@internetarchive369]

does anyone know how to adjust plugin keybinds? think I accidentally mapped one and now everytime I stop playback (shift+return) the preset of my plugin (HY-POLY) changes, its very annoying, can anyone help me figure this out?

[@matthewstuartnz]

Are you talking about in Reason standalone? It's been a while since I've automated VSTs in standalone but from memory, I don't think it's possible to map keybinds to them 🤔 I'm sorry, I honestly can't think of a solution. I never used shift+return. I remapped that button to D. Single button.. far easier to press 😅

[@taylorwells3706]

I only upgraded because 12 is optimized for my M1 Pro, 11 was glitching and skipping during playback for me

[@matthewstuartnz]

Oh true. How is 12 on the M1?

[@taylorwells3706]

@@matthewstuartnz It runs like butter for me! Just had a trumpet session with a session player and not a hiccup to speak of

[@matthewstuartnz]

That's awesome!

[@skyhawk77]

[ Long post ] I was with Reason from 1.0 all the way up to 7.01 including Record. That was about 13 years of regular use, but I got fed up with just how slow they were in meeting my needs. I built up a collection of 12 or 13 RE's to fill the gaps the program had gaps in, but it didn't fulfil my needs. The core of Reason was pretty much highly underdeveloped in the sequencer department, and there was no option for video like other DAWs either. When I saw and used Reason 8, I said that's it I'm done, and I switched to Studio One 2 Professional and later going from 3.0...4.6 where I am today. I switched and left Reason entirely and Rewire with Reason was just too clunky to use with Studio One. I came to realise that I could not only work faster and have features like folder tracks, macros, an intuitive drag and drop environment, a video player window, a right click menu system, FX Inserts on individual clips,, basic step time recording, a one window approach with a flexible mixer that can be configured in many ways and a simple but brilliant instrument tabbed instrument and effects window to select from, it was night and day between doing things in Reason. Reason whilst having developed VST integration which was long requested seems to have come at the expense of everything else such as the core aspects of GUI. Even today the SSL Mixer hasn't even been highlighted as being updated with new graphics in a darker style to match everything else that changes. It's blinding when working in no, or low light environments. The scalable graphics for the rack are welcome but I honestly feel the Rack in the DAW I use now to be alien like and the sounds of the instruments sound inferior to that of the VST instruments I use today which not only have scalable GUI's up to 4K but are just far more powerful than anything the rack devices can do. For me there's very little to justify upgrading Reason 7 to what Reason 12 has now. Studio One literally does everything I actually need and that includes Melodyne Essentials and a Mastering page on top of that. Studio One 5 adds more things, that I don't really need or feel justified in paying for and version 6 of that will be out next year. Reason Studios have a huge mountain to climb in catching up with competing DAWS, although they are getting there. The new Combinator whist that may seem cool, will really just add more to the distraction of making music in the conventional sense. You could do amazingly complex combinators with a just few knobs and buttons before with it, but it was a very slow process in dragging wires around the back of them which is another aspect which makes Reason feel slow. A complete new wiring system network needs to be created for the rack because seeing what is connected to what is a nightmare. That's something for the future though because there are far bigger issues to address first... Their roadmap doesn't impress me, their priorities wouldn't follow what I'd want after addressing the bugs and hi-DPI problems they have with the GUI atm... I'm staying with Studio One Pro 4.6. It's rock solid stable and does what I need without issues. Reason might come with more instruments but doesn't mean much when everything else is half-baked and lacks an ecosystem that looks as one, and a professional one at that.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Great post, man. All very fair comments. At the moment it seems like Studio One is an incredible option in terms of sequencer functionality.

[@eviloutionise]

3:17 summarises how reason users feel perfectly.

[@photophob]

Exactly!

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea man, that's what I've been feeling and the vibe I've been getting from a lot of people.

[@Peter_Jungwirth]

What do you think about the reason sound? I can't help but think that when I use Ableton, or Studio One, it sounds much more detailed and much less muffled. What is your opinion as an Ableton user? Greetings!

[@matthewstuartnz]

Personally, I don't think that mathematically any DAW has a particular sound. However, I do think the general instruments and effects bundled in the software and the way certain workflows are subconsciously encouraged cause users to hear a 'certain sound'. When I switched to Ableton, I didn't sound like me until I got comfortable with the software and figured out how to do what I wanted within it's workflow. I don't think any of the tracks I started in Ableton sound inherently different from ones I've done exclusively in Reason. But, the way I mix and master constantly evolves. I don't use a ton of stock plugins for this so if anything, I shouldn't 'sound' like Ableton either.

[@devalleshereef8705]

This video makes sense. And honestly, if Reason 13 doesn’t have vst3 support, have an easier way to side chain I will have to say bye bye. AND, I would like the option to change the mixer color because the white mixer kills my vibe with my 37” monitors. All other daws have darker color sceems. This is probably a bit petty, but it is all about my vibe when making tracks.

[@matthewstuartnz]

The vibe is a legit complaint. There's no reason why the colour theme shouldn't apply to the mixer 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@whoknows6794]

A easier way to sidechain? What's so hard about dragging a cable?

[@dynamix_nz_music]

I left Reason back at 10 for Studio One. There’s things I miss about it but I just couldn’t go back to the lack of features that I can so fast in my DAW. They’d be better off to not release an update for a couple years and sort it out. I also wish they’d bring back the Line 6 amps

[@matthewstuartnz]

Oh yea the line 6 amps 😂 Honestly, I think there are better amp models these days that would be awesome to see native to reason. But I agree about taking some time to sort stuff out.

[@VintageMusicGearTV]

Been using reason since 2.5 now on 11 and they still want £129 for loyal customers to upgrade wtf, totally agree reason 12 offers nothing new, some combinator sounds and a sampler . I have got enough sounds to last a life time, even easier workflow yes, a mixing desk upgrade yes, maybe reason studios can send me a new pair of glasses with my upgrade so I can see my screen! That would be awesome!

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, it's definitely expensive for long-time users who aren't really getting much more.

[@challism]

"one more slider to add to your combi" unless you already have 32 of them

[@matthewstuartnz]

Lol that's actually a good point 😂

[@PrimaudiaRecord]

I stumbled on this by accident but gave it a watch. Reason is the only daw that I learned inside and out so my knowledge of other daws is very limited. What i'm wondering is what these fundamentals you're referring to actual are. I've heard many say the reason sequencer is inferior but they never say how. I've never had an issue making music in Reason and the only things I would like to see added is VST3 compatibility and an update to whatever's necessary so it sounds as rich as Cubase, maybe it's the 32bit float bit depth

[@matthewstuartnz]

A lot of other DAWs have more tools and functionality in terms of how you can interact with the sequencer and piano roll. The way Reason introduced crossfades is a good example. It didn't even come close to the level of control you have over that function in Ableton.

[@ignite137]

I'm a Reason 11 user since version 6. That version was the crossingpoint from Record as sequencer and Reason as Rack extension deliverer. Some along the way they used their business model for the rack, and the sequencer part (Record) was left behind! It's ironic that since the version of Record, in the sequencer, only minor things have changed till Reason 12! It's still that clunky way of editing in the pianoroll. I don't want to produce in Reason because i can get so much quicker results in Cubase and Reaper. Exactly it lacks on the fundamentals, they drift off. If Reason Studios is only fixing their business model (as i mentioned), it wil simply not prevail. I agree, it's still a great product, and i make use of many programmed instruments in the rack, but i find the subscription not worth it. Older Reason users will not make full use of preset packs for the rack. Simply because we already collect enough over the years. And we have enough racks now. We just want to see a new exiting sequencer to brush ideas into! And a dark SSL mixer!...but that will be the icing on the cake..

[@matthewstuartnz]

That's a good point about older users having established their collections at this point.

[@buddy_love]

Are you saying that people who bought a box software product Didn't have to learn the ecosystem and spend the time and energy to do so?

[@matthewstuartnz]

No... sorry I'm not quite sure what you're implying?

[@EluZiveTrance]

Hows that panning out.....i still see a lot of complaints around the forums

[@matthewstuartnz]

Tbh I don't see them making massive strides in their roadmap. They've release a few cool things but I would have liked to have seen more.

[@robdela3632]

Yeah I’m not upgrading. Rather upgrade from ableton 9 especially since they let you do monthly payments.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Do they? That's actually legit! Yea upgrade Ableton for sure 👌🏻

[@machoman7655]

This is what I’m talking about we needed some PR on what direction they’re going in. Reason 12 is a absolute mess. I had to uninstall it and go back to 11 because all of the bugs. Do I trust them absolutely not but we will see how it goes. You’re right one of the biggest updates they need to make is the workflow of the DAW itself. At this point I don’t care about new devices take care of the DAW.

[@Oper8Music]

"I had to uninstall it and go back to 11 because all of the bugs." That's seriously incredible. I can't even believe it. This should be printed out and framed in their HQ. It's a real shame.

[@maxchadwick7714]

I had to do the same this evening. The VSTs are too small to see on my 4k laptop screen and only show half on my 1080 monitor screen - WTF! The zoom can't be used on just the rack for example, it zooms globally.... So I just booted 11 back in and I'll wait to see if the update solves the problem. I updated to 11 inside the free update to 12 window, so no loss in that respect, but you are correct Macho Man - 12 is way too buggy 👎

[@matthewstuartnz]

I haven't experienced the bugs myself (I haven't been using standalone), but I have heard heaps about them. Really disappointing.

[@machoman7655]

They also need to give a option to turn hi-res off.

[@maxchadwick7714]

@@machoman7655 Yes that would be a good move. Not everyone has 4K monitors...

[@jrappa4]

If they’re concerned about customization ability then don’t give us partial customization give us all of it. I’m still amazed that the dark mode they released only applied to the sequencer and not to the rack or SSL. Repear has more customization to offer yet they still have workflow options we’ve been dying to get. I’d like to see these things (Dark Mode/Color customization for the whole program, Video support, a better piano roll, different sounding click tracks, live looping like abelton and logic, track folders in the SSL mixer and sequencer, an updated Neptune, different preamps you can add to the SSL like in Luna, and an IOS app you can control reason with from an iPad or iPhone like Logic does)

[@matthewstuartnz]

Those are all fantastic suggestions man. I really want all of those too.

[@busywl69]

What they want for features that really should be free if you want your product to compete in modern times is just too much. I was shocked that this is what they released after ALL the input they got from long-time Reason users. Maybe they should just end the DAW side of Reason and focus on just the VST aspect. By now long time Reason users have made other arrangements for that day. You don't push product like they do with release crumbs (was shocked they didn't include ALL their in house synths n stuff in the RE store in the upgrade price) and bedroom guy marketing vids. Thing is they are not new to the internet and social media. They have seen the complaints, suggestions and competition for the last 15 years and have blown it ALL off lol. With gusto. I mean damn their in-house video of the new Reason 12 features was like 2 minutes long lol. Yikes. Now they post a "we care"? Sales must be terrible now. Hire more developers. Act like a real company and compete. Give your faithful crowd who is on their last legs with Reason a reason to stay with the DAW. I used to speak so highly of Reason. Converted 4 of my friends to it (they have long since left Reason and think I'm insane to stick with 10) and had faith they would get it together.

[@matthewstuartnz]

I can't argue with that. I hope we see them get it together but I still have my doubts.

[@kennymorris6459]

Had to uninstall Reason 12 and go back to 11. Upgrade has a lot of issues handling audio and VSTs. Then the sudden jump in processor usage.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Gutted man... hopefully they fix this in a patch pretty soon

[@GeorgeCopperfield]

Nearly a year later how have your opinions changed ?

[@matthewstuartnz]

Tbh they haven't really. I think they have released some cool devices but otherwise I don't feel like they have done much to keep up with or improve their roadmap.

[@TheRealWinsletFan]

Reason had a huge technical debt to pay off in their graphics Engine, but they pushed all the cost onto the user base in one update by doing nothing else useful. I hope the blog post isn't just blowing smoke up our asses and that they finally address workflow and other core deficiencies.

[@TheRealWinsletFan]

I have hope. I bought R12 upgrade.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea. The thing is though, now they have actually put pen to paper with the roadmap and the community will hold them accountable. It will be worse for them if they say this and don't follow through. The serious users aren't going to let them forget.

[@_20nine_]

Every musician and producer I know has made do with what they have. If you master reason, you can apply that knowledge to any professional workspace, you can use analog gear, it's all relevant. And, that ladies and gents is a solid workflow. If reason is good enough for Trent Reznor at ver like 3.0 then reason is good enough for me at 12.0, I scored an award winning film with Reason and won me my first IMDb director credit, even when ive been asking reason devs for native video playback within reason. The thing reason does is force you to be creative and find a work-a-round like a real engineer/producer does in real life. Limitations dont cap you, only yourself can do that

[@matthewstuartnz]

That's true. But I think at some point you have to acknowledge that the time spent trying to find a workaround is unproductive. At least that's what I've been hearing from a lot of people.

[@_20nine_]

@@matthewstuartnz everyone’s workflow is different, if every daw has the same workflow then what’s the point of different daws, I think the point is to find the daw that works for you and when reason went into the form of VST, there’s no excuse, you can have the best of both worlds, and I used to rewire reason into an audio recording Daw before I started using reason natively.

[@trevor_mounts_music]

Reason has a similar workflow to every other liniear daw minus anything that would make it logical or convenient

[@matthewstuartnz]

😂

[@_20nine_]

@@trevor_mounts_music says the dude making music on fast tracker II. Pretty sure that proves my point

[@sirvazo1633]

If the upgrade price was around $80, I'd upgrade straight away

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, that seems a little more reasonable given the features

[@xavierxook5848]

I've seen some of the responses about the price hike in Oct. I agree with you 100%. I'm not bothered by the increase at all. I'm bothered that Reason 12 has been such a disaster and is still 3-4 months out until it's fully completed. With a lot of the bad PR surrounding this whole thing along with Reason plus is bad timing. I don't think hitting people with FOMO is the right thing to do at this time considering. If they came correct and brought everything out completed it might be a different story. Not almost done or half way done. Many people believe the value proposition was bad already and now RS is going to double down on it. Might be the tipping point for many.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea their PR this cycle has been appalling.. Hoopefully they learn from it though and sort it out for the future

[@rogercawkwell5413]

Not encouraged to update until next year.

[@matthewstuartnz]

yea, if you're not in a hurry, I think that is the best call.

[@tomking8286]

There are a few combi base layouts in factory sounds/combinators.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Oh you're right! Good spotting. Thanks for pointing that out! 🙏🏻

[@calaverah7889]

Really hoping Reason improves their ext-vst support. Their remote feature for midi control is very poor in that setting up an override function can only be used for that one vst even when switching to a new instrument. Arturia vsts, for example, have midi-cc set up for generic controllers but that signal is not communicated from reason into the ext-vst like it is for RE meaning I have to overwrite my daw settings on my midi controller using the remote feature. Maybe it's coming with vst3? Also they never respond on social media so idk about the whole "we're listening" sermon they wrote here lol.

[@calaverah7889]

Okay I did some thinking and I *think* I have a solution (specifically for Arturia Collection users). If you make a combinator with the parameters you want to control and route the COMBINATOR controls to affect the desired parameters, you will be able to then set the combinator controls to you midi controller like a regular old rack extension. The pros: - You can save the combo patch for the entire VST as then use it in any session you want (just have to make it once) -Auto mapping controls to your keyboard the same as built in rack extensions The cons: -Controlling VST parameters can be a little clunky and aren't as smooth (although I think this may be due to combinator have only a resolution of 127 units so possibly this can be mitigated by tightening the amount of range for a given fader/knob/etc) -Auto mapping is only auto mapping, you don't get to say which midi control affects which combo control since it's decided by order of creation. So build wisely since you will only be able to control a certain amount and EVERYTHING WILL SHIFT if you DELETE an earlier control (for example deleting knob 2 will shift knobs 3/4 to 2/3). -The fact that you have to do this at all. Hopefully the option to increase sample rate of combo controls more than 127 is added in the future (to at least match the default of the parameter you select) as well as smoother vst support in general for the combinator/rack in general. Hope this helps anyone else out!

[@stephenbridge6838]

Will this mean we can open reason racks in maschine now?

[@matthewstuartnz]

You already can…

[@stephenbridge6838]

@@matthewstuartnz on pc?

[@matthewstuartnz]

I don't know.. I use Mac. But I can open Reason as a plugin in Maschine. Pretty sure using VST format.

[@pauls-audiolabor]

Buying promises is not a good idea. Better to wait until it’s delivered and then you are not disappointed when it’s half baked again.

[@matthewstuartnz]

That's actually very wise.

[@GS195]

I would have loved to play with Mimic with all its awesome features and great potential, but it looks like I’ll have to wait a while longer.

[@matthewstuartnz]

I take it you're not upgrading to 12?

[@GS195]

@@matthewstuartnz Not until all these horror stories about performance stop.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea fair enough

[@anzatzi]

Combinator update was implemented to support Reason Plus content, making it appear new and attractive. But what the Reason 9 Sounds Collection demonstrated was that over stuffed combinators are not sonically interesting, and are heavy and hard work with. That it took 18 mos to update Reason's graphic engine while not supporting any device zoom suggests they don't have enough developer resources.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I've been wondering about the state of their development team for a while.

[@miltmanmusic_BCS]

It almost feel like that one relationship that has all the signs to leave but then that one new thing starts to make you think, "He/she is trying to change". I was mad enough to remove 12 but not 10 smh.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Lol yea let's just hope they can change!

[@woolymammothproductions5162]

hey can reason 10.4 work on mac m1, i just got new laptop seemslike imight aruined myworkgflow idont think icaneven save mysongs anymore, sketchy shit gettingnewgear , not sure howto finish older songs now cuz its all jammed up with mac m1 chip hd drive not saving on usb c adapters haha nightmare, i cant figure any of it aout but working on it day three can you buy reason 11 somehow or they dont even sell it

[@matthewstuartnz]

I don't think you can get Reason 11 anymore

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

I WISH that you had a Twitter Profile!!! I'd share this if I could!

[@matthewstuartnz]

I think I do but I never really use twitter.. Sorry, I should..

[@dreamwishaudio7019]

I use Reason professionally since 2003. I love the software and I feel somehow devoted. THIS though seems like a Damage Control and also as you use to say... "poorly implemented". I remember back in 2008 when I asked them why they won't to become a full fledged DAW they just responded that "Propellerhead doesn't need to be Steinberg or compete with them, we are seeing Reason as it is. A virtual studio creative midi suite". Two years later they became the DAW they've been refused to become. What really cracked me up on this letter was this "We are investigating". WoW! What a dishonest way to say "We still don't give a shit about BASIC things every other DAW has and everybody ask us to do since Reason Record was released". I hope though if they want to investigate, so deep in their hearts, to finally find out who killed Reason. I'm really fed up with their attitude. IT'S NOT ALL MARKETING! They released a software for music creation which by definition means they have to do mainly with artists. We don't buy an oven for the next 10 years. We buy a living, breathing creative tool that has to evolve as we USERS do. For about 10 years I urge them to face Combinator as the new Kontakt and to update NN-XT as the main machine of it. They just did a first great step with the new Combinator but I'm not convinced if they understood what they did or what really are the future potentials with it. I'm really not sure if they understand now as in the past that they HAVE to compete with Native Instruments as they finally did with Steinberg. p.s. I also leave this here. Steve Jobs quoting Alan Kay on an Interview back in 1995 said "People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware". Ableton did it. Steinberg did it. Native Instruments did it.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Thanks for the comment. Some excellent points. I do really agree regarding competing with NI. I think they are trying to.. I just don't think they necessarily grasp the assignment. I love that Steve Jobs quote. I've been wishing Reason Studios would make hardware for ages. The Nektar controller was good.. but also had a lot of flaws. Nothing else is really optimised for Reason.

[@briannielsen9556]

Funny. Years prior to them making the Reason Rack, I wrote to them on several occasions to hint, that they might consider turning Reason into a plug-in as they would have a serious contender to all other synth plugins out there. And so they did. I belief that many have asked for this. But I know I did several times, because Reason never appealed to me as a DAW. I do find it odd and stupid compared to Logic etc. I understand that they want to stand out from the rest of the DAWs, but especially the sequencer, where pretty much all is being made, comes off very unintuitive. To me at least. I’ve used Reason since Reason 1 btw and used the ReWire function with ProTools. I later switched to Cubase and ditched the ReWire and made midi separately in Reason and exported it to audio to import in Cubase. I was so fed up with Reasons sequencer and stupid layout. I liked the synths and stuff. So when they finally came out with the rack, I was happy. It reminds me of the ReWire days 20 years ago, where it was just for midi. Love it. Hate the Reason DAW.

[@JKVisFX]

Yep, the current Reason 12 is indeed a bit thin. But, being a graphic designer and 3D animation and modeling guy, I can speak with authority as to just how complex and time-consuming of a job replacing the 20-year old graphics engine with a modern, GPU-based one with high-res graphics really is. No lie there. To me, that is a major feature big enough to make the upgrade worth it. Considering though that the other coming features, all of which will really make this a stellar upgrade, I think they would have done themselves a real favor and waited to release. For subscribers, release them as they are ready, that's one of the advantages of having a subscription inho but, for those that don't want to subscribe and instead purchase perpetual licenses, waiting to release until the real Reason 12 was ready might have been a smarter choice.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Thanks for sharing re the design angle. I agree with what you said about delaying it. If anything staggering the release to Reason+ users over a longer period of time would have only built more hype.

[@eviloutionise]

I think it was so necessary they did that. It was actually authentic. The only thing I want to see them is actually send out pills of what users want. They still keep secrecy and still see what other people want.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I think it's authentic. They kind of actually have to follow through now because users will hold them accountable. Which is good, I think.

[@ssilk]

Get fundamentals right: so true. But when you look at it as software-developer: They are working on it - you know this even without this blog-post, when you look at the many small changes they made.

[@matthewstuartnz]

What small changes are you referring to?

[@ssilk]

@@matthewstuartnzHm. I think I've been looking more or less only to what I've reported during the beta. What I can say there where many small changes under the hood. I personally had always issues with loading very old reason songs. Also problems with some specials VSTs. I reported some bugs with dragging devices, which all had been solved. I had issues with loading wrong missing samples. Also nearly solved. They automatically report currently every simple bug (they throw asserts) and most of them indeed gets fixed some weeks later.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Ah I see. That's good to hear. I wasn't actively participating in the beta this year so I probably didn't catch all of that.

[@sorocsosta2822]

Curious... I feel like they do not wish to be bound by the 'DAW' portion of their software. Seems like it's too much work to catch up. Wonder how vst3 fits in when all else is lagging behind. Is Vst3 the true grail of Reason features, I wonder?

[@matthewstuartnz]

I think their vision of doing both (DAW and VST) is noble... I have yet to see them do it well..

[@chitlun]

When Reason Studios can prove to me they’re no longer run by accountants, I may be interested! As it stands, I’ll be sticking with 11… There’s nothing in 12 which excites me so I’ll continue to use it with Cubase, as I have for years via Rewire but of course can now simply use the VST version. I read that blog from the CEO earlier and the overwhelming stench of corporate bullshit speak that wafted out of my screen was, frankly laughable! I was wondering how quickly you would get a vid out and, as always, very enjoyable. Peace ✌️

[@matthewstuartnz]

Thanks for checking it out man! 🙏🏻 Yea, I feel like they will have to have some accountability now but we'll see how effective they are in that.

[@xavierxook5848]

I agree with you that Reason being transparent is a positive step. I will however wait till Reason 12 upgrade goes on sale because it's still not enough for me yet. What I find interesting is the roadmap is finishing Reason 12. Everything else is just a thought. Kind of goes back to your video of Reason 12 being half done. The road map for the last quarter of this year and January seem to be their time to finish up what should of been finished prior to the official release of 12. I think if Reason Studios keeps their word and is transparent, listens to the community and makes the changes that people really want then they're on their way to be the Reason people remember. If not and this is all fugazi it's gonna be really hard for them to gain peoples trust. I'm hoping this is a sign of good things to come. Time will tell.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I think you're right. As I said in the video, they should have released the roadmap earlier. This feels like damage control. But I think they might have realised that a lot of long-time users are at a tipping point. I want to them to turn it around and I think they have the best intentions. Let's just hope they also have the follow through.

[@michaeltinglin7062]

I have been using since 1.0 - Reason needs to refine, catch up and surpass. In some ways they are becoming like Photoshop. Kitchen sink approach won't do it just listen to user base don't be like Avid/Protools

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea.. like photoshop just not as essential unfortunately 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@KrishnaDiamesso]

Well said, well said. Could not have said it any better. 🙏 Let's see what those updates hold

[@matthewstuartnz]

Thanks man 🙏🏻 Yea, I'm looking forward to seeing what they do now!

[@KrishnaDiamesso]

@@matthewstuartnz Bro. I dont understand those guys. A lot of the things you already covered. But why release Reason 12 if it s not done. Unless that is a new strategy where they are going to release something new every 2 months. But again to pick up on one of you last videos --> Half Baked product. Other thing that got to me is they are over here asking recommendations for directions and new products. I don't even want them to work on a new product. Just improve the old ones. Any new product that might come out might be half baked as well and it wont be useful in any way. People have been screaming in forums for features they want for years. Pretty mad at the people of Reason right now.Because a lot of the things they are doing dont even make sense.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I don't like that they seem to be ignoring the fact that people have been asking for years either. But, I'm hoping this is more of a reset and that they are like, 'now we're actually listening can you guys please reiterate what you said?' Annoying. But I'll take that over them not listening at all.

[@jaemarrs5189]

We don't need new devices we have VST's how about focus on the mixer & sequencer. Midi comping, more send fx inserts, more adjustable track colors, ability to reset all the channels at once, integrate recycle for playback in mimic, update older devices like Kong/Redrum with key detect so you tune your drums, device preset audition so you don't have to load up the presets, song audition on saved songs so you don't have to load them up to hear them, update the mixer EQ, etc etc.....

[@matthewstuartnz]

Good suggestions.

[@spaceinvader9982]

They had to do some kind of public admission. Reason 12 has been cracked recently. How ironic.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea. Hopefully a public admission for the best though

[@_boof]

Imo they need these Rack Extensions to compete with other established plugin companies. I'm not expecting the small devs to necessarily accomplish this. But I do expect Reason Studios to put more effort into theirs. It's weird because I don't actually use the DAW now and I'm ok with it. So maybe I'm not the general consensus.

[@matthewstuartnz]

You're okay with the update, you mean?

[@_boof]

@@matthewstuartnz I don't hate it, but it felt slightly underwhelming. Of course, I'm glad they announced the road map. It atleast makes me feel better about upgrading. I guess I'm used to Reason drip feeding me unfortunately..

[@fiddlestickzmuzik]

MORE THAN ONE MIDI CLOCK OUT PLEASE FFS..!!!! JESUS HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THIS..?

[@matthewstuartnz]

😂

[@gregserenade6653]

while some of the decisions they've made over the past few years were a bit unsettling to me for the same reasons you stated at the beginning of the video, such as Rack extensions being abandoned by developers because of the RE limitations. so now if I find there is a vst version of a RE I get the VST. as it stands now it still is my favorite music-making environment but only alongside Ableton which is a far superior music editing and sequencing environment for professional work. I agree with how fun it is to create using the rack, but I can't deal with the Sequencer in Reason anymore after getting accustomed to the one in Ableton which is also fun to use especially with a Live controller. I think the logical next step among other development concerns is better hardware integration. all the improvements especially the new combinator and Mimic justify the upgrade price for me, I just wish I waited and skipped upgrading from 10 to 11

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

Also one big factor in choosing a VST version of an Re if there is one, is non transferable licences which sucks big-time.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I'm in the same boat as you in regards to VST. I haven't found REs that have a VST version too compelling tbh

[@KarimLeMec]

I can't totally use it. Doesn't boot at all. I reverse on stil Reason 11 where I do all my professional projects ( God Damn!)

[@matthewstuartnz]

That's frustrating. Have you managed to fix it yet?

[@RobotSnake]

12:40. This is CLEARLY damage control.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Lol yea it seems like it 😅

[@aaronsaarela9883]

On the graphics update, as I got older I found it harder and harder to use Reason because of the non-zoomable graphics. I avoided upgrading to 8, 9, 10, and 11 because the graphics didn’t scale. This overhaul will let me start using Reason again. It doesn’t surprise me it took them two+ years to update the graphics engine as it obviously needed a complete rewrite. To me it was worth the effort.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I definitely think the graphics update was a welcome move for that reason.

[@mikethemusicman1978]

I've used Reason since 2.5, the updates from 11 to 12 as many have already said on social media have been very disappointing, as a Reason user feel let down, the thing that counts for me is the work on the sequencer, I'm not to fussed about hi res graphics or the combinator being updated, I don't tend to use the reason stock rack anyway, I'm more into VST's. If they were to just work on the workflow aspects and give us a better sequencer then yeah I'm all for that but it just seems like we have to wait until next year for all this to come to fruitition, if it ever does, they seem to want to make Reason look attractive but not focus on the main points of using the DAW, I have to admit Ableton have everything a musician could want in a DAW, they need to take some Ideas from them and start integrating similar features into Reason.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea Ableton is clean and functional. I wouldn’t say Ableton is inherently fun though. I think Reason is fun but less functional.

[@reaper7264]

I don't like the fact that if you put on a click in 12/8, that's what you get 12 clicks per measure. You have to make your own.

[@sinewaymusic]

I share most of the sentiment in this video. As an owner of Reason 10, there's no way I'll pay half of the sunk cost for a higher resolution rack and a sampler. The part about "immediate musical results" should be 80% of their focus, nothing else matters in the end. In a way, I sympathize with them. They're a small shop and so speed will always be their main weakness. Spending 2 years refactoring code isn't fun, but they knew they had no choice in a world where people can't really Reason on modern screens. I'm optimistic about their future, but I also think it's clear that they will keep playing catch up with other DAWs for quite some time, and their market share will reflect that.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I want to see them turn it round but the catch up game is going to be brutal.

[@ssilk]

Combinators: I think this plays direct into the targets of Reason+. Custom combinator layouts of new "instruments", sounding awesome, serve special purpose and looking really cool, make the Reason+ much more attractive.

[@matthewstuartnz]

I agree

[@DynastyUK]

Reason 12 cracked :O Holy shitballs

[@matthewstuartnz]

🤯

[@Theorica]

Thanks for the quick response. That was kind of funny with the timing. =) I have 11 Suite and will be waiting to upgrade until after January 2022. See what they've offered up or keep my finger on the pulse of any serious workflow updates. The VST3 support would be great. It'd allow me to use Reason in Renoise, finally. I can never seem to let go of my 1990s tracker roots. ;) Cheers!

[@pwrtrace]

you can use reason in renoise :)

[@matthewstuartnz]

Lol yea man, kind of felt I had to comment on this one! 😅

[@Theorica]

I was waiting for VST3 support in Renoise. Not the other way around. doh! wrappers worked ok last I set it up, but clumsy. 3.3 time to update. =)

[@pwrtrace]

@@Theorica yeah it got that and it is awesome :) I think there is a renoise vst called redux or something you can use in reason :)

[@ferensickrecs3942]

I became unhappy with reason previously because of lack of VST support among other things, which they then added but ultimately it was too late because I switched to Logic Pro. I recently came back to Reason mainly because music coming out of Reason sounds better than Logic OR I have to do more work in Logic to get a song sounding good. Basically I think Reason has a better sound engine. With that said I don't like how much effort it takes to properly record audio (latency issues). Logic Pro I can switch to Low Latency Mode & audio recording is on point. There are more pros and cons I won't bother to list now but I likely will move off of Reason again.

[@matthewstuartnz]

I think the latency issues could be fixed in Reason if they had a good freeze mode. That's what I do in Ableton when my session gets too big to run at a sensible latency for recording.

[@spicycandor6516]

As someone who is a tester in a dev team, pushing the release would have been the correct decision to make. We've done this when things just aren't where we want them to be.

[@matthewstuartnz]

You mean delaying it until it was ready?

[@Oper8Music]

Indeed ! Weird decision here... Or maybe it was just the necessity to catch even more newcomers, as this seems to have become their new business model ? Maybe selling more copies was their #1 priority over offering a final, polished release ? Who knows. But it sure makes quite a hard contrast as compared to how the Props used to do things before. I don't remember exactly, but I'm not sure they've ever given us any upgrade with half-baked or missing features, or which brought so few novelty...

[@matthewstuartnz]

Well, I think 11 was half-baked but yea, I think most of their previous releases were pretty solid.

[@lenglain]

It’s pretty appalling that they talk about listening to the community more etc, then they unveil their roadmap which relegates workflow and sequencer improvements to their INVESTIGATION PHASE!!!!! This means that they haven’t listened to 90% of their user base that’s been BEGGING - I mean really BEGGING, for sequencer and workflow improvements. Instead of such improvements being front and center they’re basically saying “we’ll think about it” as if they haven’t even given it a thought up until now. This means going AT LEAST another YEAR probably without these workflow improvements, during which times tons of people will try Reason out, and immediately leave to go back to DAWs with better sequencers. And even us loyal Reason users: Why should we sit around and wait another year instead of just moving on to better workflows so that we can make better music?

[@matthewstuartnz]

I hear you. The way I see it is the have finally realised they need to step up their game. If they weren't already working on it, which I'm not convinced they were, then it will take some time for them to get it out of the investigation phase. However, I'm okay with that and I take it as a good sign as long as they keep the communication coming and show that they are actually moving in that direction. It needs to get out of the investigation phase soon, but I'm realistic that it also won't happen overnight (as much as all of use want it too 😅).

[@d_s_ctube]

I think there is a folder of basic combinator designs included.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Really? Where?

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

I think this transparency with Reason Studio's and the roadmap is a very positive step forward for them. Now the only problem is, if they fail to deliver anything on the roadmap, the Reason community will go nuts lol! I only hope they deliver on their promises though. My fingers are crossed. I really would love to use Reason as my one and only environment to create in but it needs far too much for me (50+ workflow feature's, sounds a lot but about 30 are only small things like joining midi notes and a bypass effects LED on every mix/mixer channel etc) so can't see that happening before Reason 13 but really liking this new transparency approach.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I think they were intentionally a little vague so they don't overpromise and underdeliver. That's just smart business. But yea, the community will definitely hold them accountable now. I know we'd all love it to be an overnight fix, but I think we all realise that it will take some time. I just hope they keep the communication open during the process.

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

@@matthewstuartnz Yeah gonna be very interesting to see where Reason is at the end of next year. Hopefully they will release an update every few weeks and we will be on 12.6 by then. Don't think there's ever been a .6 version of Reason before lol!

[@matthewstuartnz]

Lol honestly I'd be stoked if they released an update every quarter!

[@CybreSmee]

Aaaaaaand 12-months later they've done nothing.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I wonder how that roadmap is looking. I haven't really checked in with that recently.

[@adenthedesigner7584]

I think we found the third member of flight of the conchords

[@matthewstuartnz]

😂

[@liothomasart]

They should really be ashamed of themselves. Really a lame update. Bigwig and Cubase is what I'm on now.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Bitwig AND Cubase? You have a preference? I'm curious as to what you use them both for?

[@mimikova390]

hey, you used my fix for your low-res racks. I feel like tech support. Didn't even have to hate watch this one. BE well.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, my bad for missing that. Thanks for pointing it out 🙏🏻

[@thebrandonbeatty]

I switched to ableton this year and will never look back. I've gone from needed 100 crappy rack extensions to just needing a handful of solid industry standard VST plug ins. I've begun completing projects faster and to a higher caliber. When I updated to reason 12, I was very dissapointed. It looks exactly the same as Reason 10. I don't even care about the HD rack or whatever.

[@matthewstuartnz]

What are you main go-to VSTs atm?

[@thebrandonbeatty]

@@matthewstuartnz My main synth VST's are Sylenth, Kontakt, Spire. Most of my chains consist of Fab Filter with Native Instruments or Waves compressor & effects plug ins

[@GregorysMode]

The biggest news for me was vst3. However. Because of thier lackluster impact on embracing more pro type tools for the daw and leaving vst3 so late I have starting looking elsewhere for a daw. That said i will use Reason somewhere. Its easy. Fun and is a brilliant designing new noise piece of kit. Enjoying your coverage and opinion on the Reason saga lol. 😁

[@matthewstuartnz]

Lol yea, it is turning into quite the saga 😅 What DAW are you using these days?

[@GregorysMode]

@@matthewstuartnz Well im really liking bitwig. Havent bought it yet. I think it will evolve the production side whilst maintaining brilliant sound designing features. I like a lot about fl but when i downloaded i found it fussy, busy. Live just doesnt appeal to me? It should but...? What made you pick Ableton over Bitwig ?

[@matthewstuartnz]

Tbh, I haven't tried Bitwig. Also, the fact that Ableton is more mainstream was a big factor for me as it's easier to work with other people outside of my personal music making. I'm also a fan of Ableton's general vibe as a company and the push controller. It's not perfect for sure, but there's a lot I like about it.

[@mj-lc9db]

I bought reason because of the rack its v.good tbh i started making beats.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea man, the rack is great!

[@thebrandonbeatty]

Reason 12 💩💩💩 0 useful features added. All I want is to fold mix channels into groups or folders. The rack fails to be cool anymore when you have 80 tracks and instruments to scroll through.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Excellent point.

[@rodrigoperes4805]

I will keep my 11 Suite and wait for R13

[@matthewstuartnz]

Good call 👌🏻

[@FlorianRachor1]

I don't know, I'm very new to desktop production and I'm still trying out DAWs. As you said, it's not about the money but getting into a DAW in the first place takes a lot of time for me, especially since I'm an amateur and I basically do this in the evenings and weekends. Now I understand and feel that I'm in the target group for Reason since I have a lot of fun using it (with the 3 months demo phase for Reason+ currently) but I have serious doubts if wouldn't bet on a dead horse right now in comparison to other DAWs. Sure, right now the workflow limitations don't concern me much. I don't need to be efficient, I don't need super advanced stuff. But what if I do at some point down the road? I feel much safer investing my time into Ableton then Reason. And Reason+ isn't exactly cheap either, especially if you compare it to competitors. I don't think I can justify paying for that yearly as an amateur but the base version lacks a lot of the fun stuff that I would have to buy extra.

[@okachobired5856]

I've been using Reason for about 20 years. Sure there are some things I'd like to see implemented in Reason but that doesn't stop me from having an effective workflow. Many things these users are asking for I don't really see myself using. But I'm still not against the enhancement. I haven't encountered the bugs many people are talking about except for a slight slow down with loading and some pointer glitches in the search section. But i can live with that. Make your music in the DAW that inspires you.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Ableton is expensive up front but it is really powerful. As an amateur you'd probably only need the Standard version. The push controller for Ableton is also great so I think Ableton would have a lot of room for you to grow into if you wanted. If you like Reason, I would consider buying 12 just so you can use it as a VST inside Ableton. You could also check out Studio One if you haven't already? I think it's really good. The standalone version of Reason is sufficient for a lot of people.. however, I still find myself in a position where I don't feel like I could honestly recommended it as the best choice for people like yourself. Atm, I'd view it as a fun VST you can use in whichever other DAW you prefer. Maybe it will change with Reason Studio's new roadmap, but we still need to see the extent of their commitment to that.

[@FlorianRachor1]

@@matthewstuartnz Thanks both of you for the answers. Yes I'll make sure to check the available options. Currently I'm on the Reason+ 3 months "Demo" and the Ableton Live 90 days demo. Afterwards I'll also check out Studio One as comparison. Let's see where I land. But your channel and the comments here have been very helpful in getting knowledge on what is what :).

[@matthewstuartnz]

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about any of them!

[@fallawait]

Screw the roadmap, mate. It's one thing to release a god-tier garbage "update", and totally something else to be asking existing users and loyalists to cough up more money for subsequent "updates". Starting October 1, the minions at RS are (rather brutally) upcharging their upgrade options. Mattias, Niklas, Ryan, and pretty much every one over there - genuinely don't give a shit, besides funneling every dollar we could possibly afford into their throats for (essential/core/critical) "updates" we're never going to see. Reason is dead. RS is the prime epitome of a scam. The last most stable and reliable version, to my knowledge, is R10.4d (back when they were still Propellerhead). I am done with investing my money into this DAW or hoping for it to get better. I'd still use the version of Reason that I own (10.4d). But migrating do a newer DAW that actually caters to the userbase's requirements and concerns - seems to be the wisest choice possible.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, I have hope for the future but can't argue with what you're saying 😔

[@chefhomeboiardee4574]

RS CEO…”look at how much work it took for us to make Reason look shiny and new on the outside. You can pat us on the back now…” Me… 🤔🤨🙄😑🥱🤦🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️ Sales must have been abysmal for this “update”.

[@xavierxook5848]

What? You mean that vague bar graph didn't convince you other wise? lol

[@chefhomeboiardee4574]

@@xavierxook5848 😆😆😆

[@matthewstuartnz]

yea, I really want to know how a new users views Reason. Like someone who hasn't been invested for 10 years and doesn't know all the history and baggage 🤔

[@chefhomeboiardee4574]

@@matthewstuartnz Here's an answer for you. Ignorance is bliss.

[@matthewstuartnz]

😂

[@ljc7935]

Your points and idea about the combinator browser 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

[@matthewstuartnz]

🙏🏻

[@marcelaudio8504]

If they deliver on the current plans, I’ll probably upgrade. VsT3 support has been a top priority on my list for a long time. Thank you David for this breakdown.

[@tomwatson283]

Same here

[@matthewstuartnz]

Thanks for checking it out! Yea, that's been much needed for a long time.

[@ElegantBass]

honestly, you shouldnt buy reason as a standalone, honestly i think the subscription has way more value. u get every instrument, a load of sample packs etc.

[@matthewstuartnz]

I haven't checked which instruments don't come with standalone but I think you're right. All the best ones are in the subscription.

[@thereal_ineedHelp]

15:00 1) We are not graphic designers, but if you’re human the aesthetic of software can alter your perception of it. At this point I just don’t use plug-ins (free or paid) my first immediate reaction to it is “This is some fugly software” lol. 2) As an ex-Reason user since v1.5, I honestly think there’s some merit to the controversial topic of Reason having “a sound”. Super long story short, I ultimately think it’s because you’ve got the same group of ppl designing all the included synths/samplers/etc, so they’re bound to have similar sounding characteristics at a fundamental design level.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea I'm with you for the most part re not using it if the design is bad. That's an interesting take. 🤔

[@johnsexton8082]

I've been a long term Reason user and think the reason12 update is minimal on the face of it but given you can still load reason1 songs into reason12, can this backwards compatibility be said about any other daw of the same age? This said, I'd like more to be done with the remote, it is a great midi control system, which is under utilised left behind and forgotten. As a person with low vision, physical midi control is key to accessing the daw. In fact I'm currently working on a web UI to act as an interface between midi hardware and reason, to give speech feedback, a little like the nks project from Native Instruments. Just by adding remote items to the reasons browser, would enable speech feedback of items in the browser and adding remote items to more of the sequencer, would also open up the level of accessibility to those with low vision. Reason is a great product and although I think the company have made many mistakes it will be interesting to see what they deliver from these plans.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea, they don't have a flawless track record for sure. But I hope this is first step in the right direction.

[@_robespierre]

reasons sequencer is annoying in design and function. make a session view sort of sequencer and make reason consequently dualscreen design. one for racks other for seq and mixer. and put the transport bar etc ON TOP. or at least make an option for it. reason would be great that way. oh and giv capture midi plz :D

[@Caelo_music]

great video and fair criticism. I`m glad you mentioned the point how they describe Reason, because this is one of my biggest worries. They describe it as "getting ideas out quickly" sounds to me more like a fun software/toy which does not enable me to work and produce on professional and serious music (sounds harsh and I know that you can produce professional music in Reason, but I hope you know what I mean). It touches on that half-finished idea of all the features which are great on first sight but as soon as you go deeper into the feature set, they start to lack a bit. On the other side, devices like Thor and Europa are so deep and you can really spend days discovering them. I will follow these blog post closely and hope they do it on a regular basis besides that I plan to upgrade R12 later this year and will continue to use it as my main DAW. I take Reason as it is right now and welcome every improvement (new devices, sequencer, mixer, ...) as they come. Also, nice to see you as a long-term Reason fan and user to give some criticisms and feedback. Really hope they are watching your videos.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Thanks for comment! yea, Reason is great and a lot of long-time users don't want to leave it. I hope the new transparency will result in the community feeling better about updates. I also hope they actually start delivering on certain requests. I do know they watch these videos and hopefully they read the comments and see your good thoughts as well!

[@Caelo_music]

@@matthewstuartnz I really hope so too.

[@Caelo_music]

Well Reason is quite active now. Any thoughts on the new blog post and the price changes? Hope for more investment in Reason or unnecessary money grab? Also there is a position for UX/UI designer and the sequencer was mentioned in the job description kind of gives me hope xD

[@matthewstuartnz]

I understand businesses needing to increase prices so I don't have any issue with it conceptually. However, I think this whole release cycle as been poorly timed in terms of PR. Ultimately, if this move allows them to better deliver on what they have promised at a faster rate, I'm all for it. However, I do understand why a lot of people are unhappy about it.

[@Caelo_music]

@@matthewstuartnz Agree. I also thought the release of Reason+ was poorly handled and they could have done a way better job, but that`s already in the past. I agree with your points however, a version upgrade for 200, - is too expensive in my opinion. I don`t think any DAW is that expensive for an upgrade. Now, I`m even more hesitant to upgrade aber my R+ trial ends.

[@davescomputercorner6015]

In this video? Thought was gonna be in a different video.

[@matthewstuartnz]

😂

[@spred_luv4001]

I’m still salty about how they shafted us with the suite. 🤷🏾🤡 . The ol banana 🍌 in the tailpipe. I’m probably gonna keep using it as a vat in logic until it’s actually competitive workflow wise.

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea Suite was a little bit of an odd situation. Fair enough, I don't think you're missing out on much if you've got the suite and skip the 12 update.

[@alemusicgirl]

to me its a nice update of course there are still thing to do like upgrading thor and malstrom

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea it would be cool to see some updates on older devices.

[@forrestcitygroove]

lol I'm still on Reason 7 upgrading soon tho

[@EBMZEQUENZER]

Just to clarify all my comments : I do not hate REASON and I never will, just need a better DAW :-) Also I noticed a huge number of people jumping from LIVE to BITWIG wagon :-)

[@matthewstuartnz]

Yea for sure. I'll always have a soft spot for Reason even if it does phase out of my workflow. I've seen people switching from Live to Bitwig too. I really need to check it out at some point.