Propellerheads Reason - Anyone using it?

[Thirteen]

Curious as to whether Reason is worthwhile to get as a scratchpad composition tool? Is anyone using it successfully? I remember the earliest versions sounded thin and brittle, they are about to come out with V7 so I thought that it might be worth a look. I usually use hardware these days exclusively but it might be nice to have something to put down ideas. I had thought of Logic also, much cheaper than Reason but probably doesn't have the instrument integration of Reason.

[jkhuri44]

reason is alot better than it used to be, very very much so.
I would consider Fruity Loops as well btw as a serious contender for best software to put down ideas with.
it is seriously fast and incredibly intuitive.
and like reason sounds excellent, and a lot better than it used to when starting out.

[Thirteen]

Thanks Jamil!

[Ben M]

Ima long term reason user since Ver 1. It's pretty perfect for getting a quick idea down in 3 minutes. Usually I'll have it rewired into PT in case I want to throw a quick idea down across recorded material. I'll keep teasing it as things roll on and then when it feels like its serving the song... I record it or replace it with the real thing.
In standalone it's quick for looping a 16 bar part and adding ideas as you're looping round. Dropping devices into the timeline and auditioning sounds...getting creative on the spot...No problem.
In recent versions I've noticed better devices, effects, sounds and functions. And a very supportive community and customer service makes it another good reason.
It's a good tool if you want to program something up or just experiment on an idea quickly.
Go for it Steve!

[Thirteen]

Thanks Ben, that's really helpful.

[Ender]

Me too.. been using Reason since version 3 and always found a way to get a quick idea down simply that I couldn't do in other programs I had tried. There's a load more in Reason I don't (know how to) use, but usually also means I can stumble across something new while playing around trying to figure it out.

I tend not to use the 'Record' side of things even though its now all integrated.. tried it once but didn't think it sounded too great so it sounds like I use it similarly to Ben.. I use it in standalone first to get some idea out while I'm playing guitar or something along to it, then strap it into a PT session and build around it and turn the Reason parts off (unless there's a synth or something I want to keep). I really enjoy its simplicity.

[walding]

Yep another user/fan here.

Simple and extremely stable (one crash in 7 years)

I mainly use it in rewire mode as a bank of soft synths/samplers/plugins.

Seamless integration.

[Chinagraf]

I used to use it an a scratchpad heaps. I don't use it so much anymore but I still keep a 32 bit version of cubase on my pc so I can rewire it if I need to. (I have one version back from latest) The upright piano in the reason pianos refill is outstanding.
Thor (synth) is pretty fun too. The filter on the rex player is handy, really easy to sync and has a vibe about it.

[justmull]

I love it for x0x style drum sequencing and it's modular style step sequencer. The linear sequencer is average but serviceable. The modular style routing on the back of the devices is a great strength if you ask me, you can split and combine EG's and LFO's and send them a lot of places. It's filters are passable for software and it's also really efficient on resources. If it had midi out it would be all that I used, though since it doesn't I don't really use it anymore since I need external midi sequencing/sync. I do occasionally fire it up for the drum machine, if anyone has a better substitute let me know. The last 4 tracks on this album are all done entirely in an older version of Reason (like 10 years ago) - http://justinmullins.bandcamp.com/album/analogical

[geofflee]

I If it had midi out it would be all that I used, though since it doesn't I don't really use it anymore since I need external midi sequencing/sync. [/url]

Reason 7, due out this month, adds midi out support.

[Thirteen]

Thanks lads!