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Home » Computer Music » Software » Propellerhead Reason 3.0

Propellerhead Reason 3.0

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New Reason 3.0 gives you one-step loading of complex, customizable instruments and effect setups, a new instrument-packed soundbank, instant integration with MIDI keyboards and controllers, a new intuitive file browser, plus a suite of mastering tools. For a pleasurable, performance-friendly Reason experience.

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NEW! Propellerhead Record, intuitive recording software for musicians
As a Reason user, you can forget about the downsides of music production. Forget malfunctioning modules and confusing connections. Reason's cables don't tangle. Forget about steep learning curves and menus within menus. Reason is so direct you'll learn it in minutes. And forget the tedious process of gathering all the different disks and soundbanks needed to load up a song.

And so is the sound. The audio quality is everything you would expect from the people behind ReCycle and ReBirth. But pristine sound quality is only half the story; the instruments and effects in Reason are loaded with character and attitude. Reason will not just impress, but inspire you.

All the controls you need

Each unit in Reason's virtual rack is edited from its own on-screen front panel. All the sliders, knobs, buttons and functions are right in front of you, ready to be tweaked, turned and twisted in absolute real-time. And all your front panel actions - filter adjustments, pitch bending, gain riding or panning - can be recorded and automated in the Reason sequencer.

Need more gear?  

In Reason, you will never run out of rack space. No problem. Choose a synth, a drum machine, a loop player or any device from the Create menu, and it will instantly appear in your rack, logically patched into the signal chain. And because Reason is designed to go easy on your computer, you can repeat the process until you're more than happy. If you ever wished you had eleven samplers and ten compressors, Reason is definitely for you. And if you have created more machines than you have mixer channels, just create another mixer.

New in Reason 3.0:

Combinator

It's not an effect unit. It's not a synth. It sure isn't a sampler. It's... all of it. And more. The all new Combinator is a sophisticated device that allows you to build elaborate chains of Reason units - instruments, effects, pattern sequencers, you name it - and save as Combi patches.

MClass

Want big, tight, loud sounding tracks? Need extra stereo width, increased clarity, punchier bass? Say hello to MClass, the new mastering suite in Reason 3.0. MClass brings you four separate pro level mastering units designed to add power, presence and an overall professional feel to your Reason mixes.

Line Mixer 6:2

Line mixing, Combi mixing or regular submixing? Leave it to Line Mixer 6:2

Line Mixer 6:2 is a simple but effective 6-channel stereo line mixer. Built primarily for use in the Combinator, the Line Mixer 6:2 handles basic mixing and panning of Combi devices, but can of course be inserted anywhere in Reason: use it for submixing large drum kits, or to add extra mixer channels when Reason's main mixer is starting to fill up. Each of the six channels feature level and pan controls, mute and solo buttons plus an AUX send level control. Need more sends? Extra channels? Just create another Line Mixer.

Play your Reason system 
  
Play your Reason system! Coupled with the Combinator, the new features in Reason 3.0 - a fresh sound library, an enhanced browser and the new Remote protocol - turns your rack into a very livefriendly, very playable instrument.   

Reason 3.0 Remote

For those of you with a more hands-on approach to making music, the revolutionary Remote technology in Reason 3.0 will be a welcome new feature. True hardware integration!    

Reason 3.0 Browser

With the Reason 3.0 browser, the task of finding and loading sounds and patches becomes just as smooth and intuitive as the process of making good music in Reason.    

Reason 3.0 Sound Bank

Reason's sound palette is getting bigger, better, wider and wilder. The new sound bank in Reason 3.0 adds huge quantities of instruments, sounds and patches to Reason's already massive library. Focusing on carefully sampled musical instruments and useful Combinator setups rather than loops and beats, the new soundbank takes a more playable, more performance- friendly direction.

Overall Improvements 

  • Record automation on multiple tracks.
  • Copy automation between lanes and tracks in the sequencer.
  • New and improved Mute and Solo features in sequencer.
  • Faster loading of samples. Sample playing devices now load five times faster.
  • Improved sample playback timing and quality.

Here's what you need to be able to run Reason 3.0

Windows

  • Intel Pentium III 300 MHz or better
  • 256 MB RAM
  • 2 GB free hard disk space
  • CD-ROM drive
  • Windows XP/2000 or later
  • 256 color monitor / 800x600 pixels resolution or better
  • 16-bit windows compatible audio card, preferably with DirectX or ASIO drivers
  • MIDI Interface and MIDI keyboard recommended

Mac OS

  • OS G3, G4 or G5 processor, sufficiently fast to run Mac OS X 10.2
  • 256 MB RAM
  • 2 GB free hard disk space
  • CD-ROM drive
  • Mac OS X 10.2 or later
  • 256 color monitor / 800x600 resolution or better
  • MIDI Interface and MIDI keyboard recommended
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Propellerhead Reason 3.0 Reviews

9/10

Propellerhead Reason

— Adam Fielding September 7, 2006

I'll never forget the time I gave the Reason demo a whirl back in 2001. I was impressed by the accessible interface and immediacy of the software. Then I flipped the rack, saw the cables dangling and I was sold.

For anyone getting started in the world of Computer Music, you really can't go wrong. You're given a rack which can be fitted with any number of great devices (synths, samplers, vocoder, various effects units...). The sequencer is simple but effective, and since the release of version 3.0 has featured Remote support for an instant plug-and-play experience with supported controllers (works brilliantly with the Korg MicroKontrol).

The only real gripes with the software are its lack of audio-in and VST support. It is a closed package, though can be used with other (better suited for audio recording) packages such as Cubase, Logic and Live using the Rewire protocol. This in effect makes Reason usable as an additional collection of instruments within your sequencer of choice. Not bad at all.

For anyone getting started I can't stress how well suited Reason is. You can use it straight out of the box, with or without a MIDI controller, and get writing. It's as complex as you want it to be, and I'm still using it 5 years since its release (and 2 upgrades). Also worth mentioning is the fantastic user community over at the Propellerheads website, where users can share refills and music with each other and generally give each other useful pointers.

If you're unsure, give the demo a whirl and see for yourself. A great bit of software, and in my humble opinion it's worth every penny.

9/10

Reason 3

— Tom Page July 28, 2006

For electronic musicians, there’s something irresistible about a studio filled with gear that has lots of buttons and knobs for experimenting with sound, and a web of cables for rigging sonic creations. The translation of some of that hardware experience to software with a virtual rack of musical instruments and effects made previous versions of Propellerhead’s Reason a big hit. Reason 3 adds a stronger emphasis on live performance, though some will be disappointed that this version still lacks features, such as the ability to record external audio inputs and better sequencing that would make it an all-in-one solution. Nevertheless, the new Compressor and EQ get top marks in my opinion, perfect for making tonal corrections with surgical precision and silky smoothness. The big new feature is, of course, the Combinator, which allows multiple instruments and effects to be combined into a single entity, for more flexible, simple MIDI assignments and signal routing (you’ll want to use Reason 3’s new Line Mixer software device to combine multiple instruments’ audio output).

Propellerhead’s presets use the Combinator to create enormous, layered synth textures, complex effects, and automated drums, but I found it just as useful for everyday instrument creation and routing. It’s easy to map MIDI keys to different instruments and effects, route modulation for live sound control, build grooving pattern-based patches, and combine multiple settings into simple rotary, pitch, and mod-wheel controls that are perfect for live performance. Once you’ve tried the Combinator, you won’t want to give it up. It’s a big relief from other software and hardware in which each instrument routes MIDI differently and adds audio effects globally instead of allowing precise control over affected sounds.

The new MClass Mastering Suite includes four effects for sweetening your sound—shown here combined in a Combinator patch.

Reason can now automatically detect and configure supported keyboards and control surfaces via the Remote feature, so you can use the hardware instead of your mouse for adjusting everything from synth settings to mixer volume levels, without the manual configuration process this would usually require. Unfortunately, Reason can automatically detect only a handful of newer devices; others require manual configuration. But this feature could be reason enough to buy a new keyboard or control surface if you don’t have supported hardware.

The new MClass mastering suite sounds terrific and offers all the controls you need for getting rich, punchy sound, including an equalizer, stereo imager, compressor, and maximizer. The suite combines nicely into a default mastering Combinator patch so you can readily access basic, overall controls. Then, if you want, you can drill down to fine-tune controls on the individual effects. Other improvements are more minor, but also welcome, like improved performance and a new file browser that makes it much quicker to find and audition sounds and patches.

Tuck several sound and effect modules into a Combinator, and you can consolidate sophisticated routings into a single module.

Like previous versions of Reason, the Redrum drum machine sounds incredible, preloaded with a ridiculous number of drum kits to suit any need, ranging from subtle jazz sounds, to abstract drum and bass and old-school hiphop. The groove patterns provide a realistic swing to your dum patterns, and the individual sample controls allow each hit to be manipulated in an almost infinite number of ways. Once your drums have been programmed, thh Scream modulation and distortion effects allow you to manipulate your dums in order to create any atmosphere you desire.

The only real letdown of this version of Reason is its sequencer, which is beginning to look fairly primitive and dated these days, compared to other pro audio software, due to the awkward interface, and lack of transparency. The fact that you can only edit each track individualy, makes it incredibly tedious when attemting to get your head round a large number of tracks all playing at the same time. Unlike Cubase and Audition, the tracks are not stacked upon each other, and are not displayed as waveforms, making it incredibly confusing when attemting to sequence a number of tracks simultaneously.

Conclusion:

Considering that Reason's greatest strength has always been the quality of its instruments, it's a little disappointing to find no new ones in this update. Admittedly, it's hard to find any gaps in the capabilities of the six instruments provided, but an analog drum machine (using modelling rather than sampling) wouldn't go amiss, and it would be interesting to hear Propellerhead's take on acoustic modelling - a relatively rare but potentially a highly expressive form of synthesis.

It's also a real shame that even basic audio recording remains unavailable. If you want to add a vocal or other live instrument to your Reason tracks, you'll need to use it in tandem with another audio sequencer that supports Rewire. This is an expensive solution if you just want to add the odd live vocal.

But the bottom line is that Reason is fantastic fun. Its sounds are brimming with life, from the upfront attitude of the granular synth to the expressive, elegant orchestral samples and the show-stealing Combinator walls of sound. They sound fresh and up-to-date, and the vast majority quickly inspire musical ideas. By itself, Reason's lack of audio recording limits it to electronic music production or use as a musical sketchpad, but when linked to another sequencer the quality and versatility of its instruments will find uses in a far broader range of musical styles.

Overall Reason has a very interesting and unique feature set, perfect for making almost any kind of electronic music, but not so great for making music that requires lots of audio tracks.

Pros: Fun to play with; deep collection of instruments and tools; Combinator feature is perfect for both simple and complex routing; supports many keyboards and control surfaces without any configuration; great-sounding new effects and presets.

Cons: No third-party plug-ins can be used, and in this new version, no new generators (instruments) are included; Zero configuration works only with a few newer devices; still no external audio recording.

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