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I've heard that using the maximizer in reason you can monitor what level your sounds are going up to but there are two different options to monitor the output on, 'Peak' and 'VU'.

Which of these should I be monitoring on and if somebody could explain why it would be really helpful.

Thank you.

peak meters are quicker reacting and catch the closer to the actual peak of the sound.

vus are slower and show you more about the average amplitude

i dont think vu meters are proportional to db, not sure about the peak meters

Use ur ears and keep everything OUT OF THE RED.

I agree with that ^ but it can be useful to know how far out of the red you are, so that you don't accidentally go into the red later.

OP: Peak readings are what you want sir. They show the instantaneous value, whereas VU's show an average over time (usually 300ms). VU's are closer to how the ears hear it, but will not show up clipping (unless you are running things WAY WAY too loud)

macc wrote:I agree with that ^ but it can be useful to know how far out of the red you are, so that you don't accidentally go into the red later.

OP: Peak readings are what you want sir. They show the instantaneous value, whereas VU's show an average over time (usually 300ms). VU's are closer to how the ears hear it, but will not show up clipping (unless you are running things WAY WAY too loud)

But Reason is a pile of shite. The LEDS do not even have numbers and tbh I think they are just their for show because they are not accurate at all.

I used it when I had reason 4 and you could get sounds to clip without them going into the red...but overall it works pretty fine (reason 5 has an actual monitoring meter at the top of the rack).

I feel that reason 5's mixer faders and the 'big meter' are a bit more responsive and accurate than the mixer or maximizer in v4. You should make the switch it's worth it imo.

serox wrote: But Reason is a pile of shite. The LEDS do not even have numbers and tbh I think they are just their for show because they are not accurate at all.

Isn't that exactly why people like the OP use the maximiser for metering?

Not used Reason since v2, btw, so I have no idea.

macc wrote:

serox wrote: But Reason is a pile of shite. The LEDS do not even have numbers and tbh I think they are just their for show because they are not accurate at all.

Isn't that exactly why people like the OP use the maximiser for metering?

Not used Reason since v2, btw, so I have no idea.

I think they are like gimmick toys tbh when it comes to true Db readings. They are not really accurate so I found using ur ears works the best in the long run.

Fair do's

And there you have it folks!

macc wrote:Fair do's

And there you have it folks!

I use Reason, it has its good points. But compared to Cubase and what I have seen from Logic, Reason is a bit like a toy and requires more knowledge to use it good I think.

serox wrote:

macc wrote:Fair do's

And there you have it folks!

I use Reason, it has its good points. But compared to Cubase and what I have seen from Logic, Reason is a bit like a toy and requires more knowledge to use it good I think.

eh i wouldnt dive into that battle. i mean sure maybe for some things reason might not be as easy as other daws, but for the most part reason is pretty damn intuitive and user friendly. i have only used reason and some of ableton and its hard for me to use any other program than reason.

lyons238 wrote:

serox wrote:

macc wrote:Fair do's

And there you have it folks!

I use Reason, it has its good points. But compared to Cubase and what I have seen from Logic, Reason is a bit like a toy and requires more knowledge to use it good I think.

eh i wouldnt dive into that battle. i mean sure maybe for some things reason might not be as easy as other daws, but for the most part reason is pretty damn intuitive and user friendly. i have only used reason and some of ableton and its hard for me to use any other program than reason.

I am on about the metre readings/leds tbh. I always get the feel they are there for show but thats just my opinion. Like I said, I use Reason for some things.

serox wrote:

lyons238 wrote:

serox wrote:

macc wrote:Fair do's

And there you have it folks!

I use Reason, it has its good points. But compared to Cubase and what I have seen from Logic, Reason is a bit like a toy and requires more knowledge to use it good I think.

eh i wouldnt dive into that battle. i mean sure maybe for some things reason might not be as easy as other daws, but for the most part reason is pretty damn intuitive and user friendly. i have only used reason and some of ableton and its hard for me to use any other program than reason.

I am on about the metre readings/leds tbh. I always get the feel they are there for show but thats just my opinion. Like I said, I use Reason for some things.

yeah as someone stated before, i think reason 5 is more accurate. i have never had a problem with it. a combo of using your ears, leaving some head room, and watching the meter seems to work ok. but then again i could be wrong haha.

you should get the upgrade man. it can be had for like 75-100 bucks. its really worth it. honestly i would pay that just for kong. not just for the pad style, but for the actual drum designer. its real nice to be able to make any drum sound from scratch and tweak it completely to your liking. but then i still route it to redrum to put a simple pattern in to get me going.

lyons238 wrote:
yeah as someone stated before, i think reason 5 is more accurate. i have never had a problem with it. a combo of using your ears, leaving some head room, and watching the meter seems to work ok. but then again i could be wrong haha.

you should get the upgrade man. it can be had for like 75-100 bucks. its really worth it. honestly i would pay that just for kong. not just for the pad style, but for the actual drum designer. its real nice to be able to make any drum sound from scratch and tweak it completely to your liking. but then i still route it to redrum to put a simple pattern in to get me going.

Right now I am learning and enjoying using the subtraktor for all noises. DMZ are proof that there is a lot to learn by using Reasons synths (mal sub) and I am nowhere close yet.

I wasted too long browsing patches and going thru VSTs when I should have been learning basic waveforms and processing inside out.

I dont know why people say Reason is a toy NN-XT is an awesome sampler, and Thor is one of my favorites for bass.. I rewire thru cubase so that I can use my vst's for metering and such. IXL spectrum analyzer is my go to vst

I love reason 5, i have been around since reason 4 was launched, and i have to say that my mixes sound a lot more professional. As for the metering, I use a maximizer in a combinator to monitor my levels. I barely ever touch the mixer since i have adjustment through the synth, usually a 6:1 mixer, and a maximizer. The main mixer i use for panning, automation of panning, main track fade in's or outs, and a final master when you have all your volume automations set but the track needs to be lowered a SMIDGE to fit into the mix better. If you want more depth in general to your synths, you should try using more malstrom. The spread knob is magical for taking up space. Don't use it too much tho (beyond 20).. because it will just fully pan to the right, and at that point you might as well just use the mixer.

I hope this helps.

serox wrote:

lyons238 wrote:
yeah as someone stated before, i think reason 5 is more accurate. i have never had a problem with it. a combo of using your ears, leaving some head room, and watching the meter seems to work ok. but then again i could be wrong haha.

you should get the upgrade man. it can be had for like 75-100 bucks. its really worth it. honestly i would pay that just for kong. not just for the pad style, but for the actual drum designer. its real nice to be able to make any drum sound from scratch and tweak it completely to your liking. but then i still route it to redrum to put a simple pattern in to get me going.

Right now I am learning and enjoying using the subtraktor for all noises. DMZ are proof that there is a lot to learn by using Reasons synths (mal sub) and I am nowhere close yet.

I wasted too long browsing patches and going thru VSTs when I should have been learning basic waveforms and processing inside out.

yeah this is very true. why bother browsing for patches when you can make your own. and its not how many vst synths you have, its just learning the few you do have inside and out. thats why i dont even care about using vsts because reason gives me all the synths i need and more. subtractor is amazing and fairly easy to whip out a grimy bass. malstrom is sick, i can get a classic metallic sounding bass so easily, and thor for everything else in between and more.

but im just a beginner and i still have way to much to learn. im not good at synthesis at all, i just tinker around with reasons synths and deconstruct presets to try and learn.

serox wrote:Use ur ears and keep everything OUT OF THE RED.