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I've been producing with Reason for a few years now, and I'm finally getting to the stage where I feel like I understand production and the program itself (I didn't take it that seriously up until recently and I took a long break). I love it, but there's certain things about it that bother me. A mate of mine who only started producing on FL a few months ago is currently making the jump to either Ableton or Cubase. I collab with him fairly often, and when we do its usually at my place on Reason cos my setup's better.

I've been thinking about trying a new DAW for a while now and I figure now would be a good time if any. So the question is, do you guys reckon its worth learning either Ableton or Cubase when I'm already moderately proficient in Reason? What are the pros and cons of switching, and how does Reason compare to the other two DAWs in your opinions?

I worked with Reason 4-6 for about a year until I followed a production course that was totally Logic. I switched like a month ago and honestly, my production feels so much better now.
I don't know, it's personal taste. I like Logic way more and the lack of VST's in Reason bothered me way to much.

It all comes down with your personal preference mate. Check other DAW's out.

That's what bothers me about it, there's just a certain sound that Reason has that I think is hard to escape from. Ableton and Cubase seem cleaner and more professional based off the the music I know was made with them and the little hands in time I've had with them... I just love the workflow and design of Reason

It's all personal preference, I used reason for like 6 months, didn't really like the lack of the option to use 3rd party plugins, wasn't keen on the hardware look they have going on and really wanted the use of a spectrum analyser so switched to logic and really glad I did. But you can make some sick stuff using reason. I mean Koan Sound use reason and their production is insane. If you like the sounds reason can produce but you want to use 3rd party plugins, you can just simply rewire into the DAW of your choice.

Use something re-wire-able. I know Cubase/Logic are, not sure on the others. I found it so helpful going from purely reason to be able to do certain bits of production in one DAW and one in the other. Eventually I ended up purely using Logic, but i suppose it can be a bit daunting at first. It doesn't feel as hands-on as Reason but it's all a bit more clinical. No idea if that's your thing though.

i also switched from reason to logic and am loving the decision. certain things are just SOOO much easier and faster to do. theres only a few things i miss about reason. and u can rewire to use some of reasons synths/plugs.

id say go ableton if you guys are on pc, if not def try logic.

Well, the question here is: do you want VST? Reason has the same basic capabilities that all the other sequencers have. Others have their unique features but Reason has more than any (because of cable routing). Sound quality is a matter of the pilot, not the plain. As a sequencer, I think Reason is a pretty good one.

BUT, then there's VST. VST is a whole new world of synths and effects available for you. Reason's instruments aren't that bad but you can't really compare it to Massive, FM8, Albino or z3ta. There are also millions of effects to be mentioned here. I started years ago in Reason too but VST made me change (first Cubase for years, now Ableton).

You can still Rewire though.

e-motion wrote: you can't really compare it to Massive, FM8, Albino or z3ta.

Actually you can do so quite easily...

Use what works for you. no good forking out money for a DAW that you end up hating or having a slow workflow
Also look at reaper its like 60 quid and has a huge free trial, and its just as good as anything else. If I was you I would stick with reason or rewire it into another DAW as someone said earlier that way you can still utilise its synths.

Just got a McBook from college and I'm thinking about either getting Reason 6, Logic or Live.
I've been using Reason 4 on pc for 2 years.. only thing I hate is having to use stuff like Recycle when working with samples.
It really slows you down. You can't really work with 'raw' sound.
But what I do like is using step sequencers and the hardware workflow. Anyone have any tips? Like a magic rewiring
combination or something

Downloading the Reason 6 demo right now.

(btw. I can get educational discounts on each one but Logic is still by far the cheapest)

The mixer in r6 is amazing and working with audio is great. Plus, if you buy r6 ull get a free upgrade to 6.5 which includes rack extensions

ehbrums1 wrote:The mixer in r6 is amazing and working with audio is great. Plus, if you buy r6 ull get a free upgrade to 6.5 which includes rack extensions

Hm I'll have a look in a minute. Intrigued by the RE concept, do you think it'll take off? I heard there are already quite
a lot developers signed up (Korg etc..) but it's probably a lot harder to develop plugins for Reason than it is for
Live for example.

I think as a dev it's a great idea because youd be opening your self up to a new market that has been demanding your product for years... Pulverized, alligator, and the echo are made by other devs, prop head was testing RE by putting them in reason 6

Not sure if this has been said, but.. why switch completely, combine them.

Echoi wrote:Not sure if this has been said, but.. why switch completely, combine them.

Yeah thought about this. It's the most expensive option for me but it might be worth it.

Just tried Reason 6, you can work with audio now which is great. Don't really see why it's worth that
much though but I didn't get into the mixer yet.

use rewire if you must.
everything your probably looking for is capable with a rewire.

i had the same dilemma and was looking to make my sound idk more vibrant and fuller. and i thought Ableton was the trick cause supposedly Reason isnt a real DAW or whatever. but then realized that i hadnt been using Reason to its full extent. anything you produce with another program you can do with Reason, you just need to know how, and what youre actually working with, and why things are making the sounds that they are, and how to control them. everybody probably says that but its true.

but yes having Ableton is also a plus too cause i use Reason 5.
and if youd like to use vsts like Massive or Fm8 you can, plus Thor, Maelstrom and Subtractor all combined, plus anything else that reason offers.
Ableton really helps with chopping samples too cuz you can drag audio into the sequencer and go at it, export it to a .wav file and just load it into a Redrum or NN-XT. Reason really isnt equipped for that except Reason 6 but i havent tried it yet

..oh and rewire through the audio I/O if you do, not through the mixer its cuts the volume a tad.

Thanks for the replies. Think I'll just go ahead and buy Reason 6, as I like the workflow etc..
Could always get Logic and rewire it.

Apparently Logic is the one mate. Seeing as your going to be on Mac and it's mac only it would be a no brainer for me personally. However Reason 6 is the prettiest IMO, the mixer looks so sick I almost bought it just for that reason alone hehe.

Think logics also cheaper than R6 on the appstore no?

logic is dope. i love it. after a few months im just starting to get pretty comfortable in logic. i mean i still dont know all its features because it does have a ton of secret power hidden in menus but im starting to uncover them. reason is still awesome to have though. honestly if i were you id just keep reason 4 and get logic, and use reason as a plugin. reason 4 is the best to use as a plugin because its not full screen. now that i have logic i wish reason wasnt full screen anymore lol, i know i can move it still but it looked better as a plugin as reason 4.

btw r6's mixer is the absolute tits. BUT i still prefer the way logic uses inserts, sends, busses, and groups. yes reason 6's mixer looks awesome and does have a few built in tools but i actually prefer the way logics mixer works above it. so i dont mix in reason anymore. i use reason for drums and the regroove mixer. i also use reason for malstrom and some synth sounds as well as using the combinator to achieve things i wouldnt be able to in logic.

so again, id say stick with reason 4, it will be all you need if you get logic.

Hm yeah I have Reason on my old Windows machine.. I'll go with a combination
of Reason and Logic anyway