[........]

[Frederic Petitpas]

[........]

[Obtuse]

There are a crap load of FL users here. There are a few of us Reason and Reason and Record users.

To each their own. The DAW is just the tool you use to make the music. I could write in a different DAW and still find ways to be productive. However I prefer Reason because of its logical sequencer and the fact that everything is modeled as a hardware device.

Also, search for older posts at the bottom of this reason forum. There's a bunch of older stuff that disappears due to no activity.

[SonicThHedgog]

There are a crap load of FL users here. There are a few of us Reason and Reason and Record users.

To each their own. The DAW is just the tool you use to make the music. I could write in a different DAW and still find ways to be productive. However I prefer Reason because of its logical sequencer and the fact that everything is modeled as a hardware device.

Also, search for older posts at the bottom of this reason forum. There's a bunch of older stuff that disappears due to no activity.

ABLETON ALL DAY (J/K) but alot of people here use Fl studio because of ''its Easy yo, use piano roll and sequencer''. I dont like fl because its hard to record complex music and the playlist is just not good and not fast, but fl has good plugins tho.

I will try reason one day, i heard its good for all types of recording like abelton.

[EC2151]

If I was smarter I'd use Reaper 4 life.

I'm still trying to learn its intricacies, as well as, you know figure out basic stuff to streamline shit.

But yeah, FL is pretty darn easy. Must be that free demo.

[Leitbur]

I sequenced and mixed my entire album in Reason. The only thing I did elsewhere were the vocal edits, but even then most of the processing effects were done in Reason.

[Nabeel Ansari]

But yeah, FL is pretty darn easy AND SUPER DIFFICULT TO MASTER. Must be that free demo.

Fixed.

I tried Reason demo and I can see the appeal, but if it doesn't have FL Studio's super workflow optimized piano roll then I don't like it.

Also, to anyone saying FL Studio is hard to record complex music, that just confuses the hell out of me. They only say that because they don't know how to use it properly.

[Tensei]

Also, to anyone saying FL Studio is hard to record complex music, that just confuses the hell out of me. They only say that because they don't know how to use it properly.

Amen. My stuff gets complicated as fuck sometimes, but it's all FL Studio (well, and Audacity and T-racks, but that's neither here nor there).

[Leitbur]

I just love how ANYTHING is possible in Reason using their baseline effects. Just depends on how you chain them together. An example: load up a multiband compressor preset, open up the Combinator and take a look at what they did. Simple and brilliant. It's not as effective as a standalone VST plugin, but still pretty cool. I haven't used FL in forever, but from what I remember, their workflow just wasn't as organic.

[Lostinthamusic]

I began using Reason 5 a bit ago. The Kong Drum machine is a nice software emulation of an MPC/MPD. I choose to use FL because I can Rewire Reason into it.. as well as use all of my VSTs too. But there should be more Reason users.. it's a great DAW.

[Leitbur]

That's the one thing Reason needs... VST support.

[Native Dialect]

1) I use Reason. I have been using it for about three years now. I am still clueless on things I should probably know by now (e.g. chaining, properly using the compressor rather than relying on the compression patch in Scream 4), but I seem to be able to get the job done. I suppose you can be the judge of that for yourselves. Here is my most recent composition in Reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV3Jh8aFFgU

2) I agree with Obtuse. The Reason sequencer is logical and easy to arrange your songs in a loop form (easier to create break downs, choruses and main riffs). Reason also has the best mixing board of all of the DAWs I have used. I also appreciate the visual component of the rack, as well as an actual list of what instruments I have set. You can't beat being able to hit tab to literally unplug something from the mixer.

3) While I agree that the piano roll sequencer is pure garbage (though Reason also offers a piano roll sequencer for those who must have one), it does not define the overall quality of the music suite. Most of my online musician friends use FL Studios and they come up with some pretty epic VG mixes. In fact, here is something that my friend Kariu recently made. He only uses FL Studio

The man is a genius with that program. Only a poor craftsman blames a functional tool for his performance. A true craftman will use a tool and not allow it to hinder him. My friend Kariu defines that kind of work ethic. With that said, FL Studio has VST support. To this day, Propellerhead refuses to add that feature to Reason, because they view Reason as a sort of expanded VST that can be ReWired into other DAWs (and this is apparent when you begin to understand the way things like Malstrom and Combinator work, essentially allowing you to create your own synths, effects and mastering suites).

While the Combinator, Malstrom and other devices can allow you to come up with damn near any kind of sound, instrument or effect, there are moments where you have to take the low road and sample something and chop it up in ReCycle, and import it in Dr.Rex or ReDrum. You don't have to do that with FL Studio. They quite literally have a VST for anything musical. While I love Reason, the included "rhodes" are garbage and sound nothing like a genuine rhodes piano. On the other hand, rhodes, theramin and guitar VSTs all sound authentic. FL Studio shouldn't be the target of your ire, if you are unwilling to consider what it is capable of. At the end of the day, it all comes down to what kind of music you make and what your preference is. If you are on the path toward being a true musician, you won't allow a program to handicap you.

[Nabeel Ansari]

2) I agree with Obtuse. The Reason sequencer is logical and easy to arrange your songs in a loop form (easier to create break downs, choruses and main riffs). Reason also has the best mixing board of all of the DAWs I have used. I also appreciate the visual component of the rack, as well as an actual list of what instruments I have set. You can't beat being able to hit tab to literally unplug something from the mixer.

I disagree with that. I find the mixer very poor because there's no obvious way to chain mixer tracks, making sidechaining very complicated. Willrock told me himself that it's hard and he's been using Reason for a while now. I like the FL Mixer because it's simple and chaining a mixer track to another is as simple as clicking a button (which it actually is)

Reason's mixer has no support by itself for routing mixer tracks into others.

[avaris]

I disagree with that. I find the mixer very poor because there's no obvious way to chain mixer tracks, making sidechaining very complicated. Willrock told me himself that it's hard and he's been using Reason for a while now. I like the FL Mixer because it's simple and chaining a mixer track to another is as simple as clicking a button (which it actually is)

Reason's mixer has no support by itself for routing mixer tracks into others.

Completely untrue on so many levels dude. There is no program that is easier to split and combine audio signals than Reason. Also there are multiple methods to side chain. It is built into the mclass compressor. You can also side chain anything located on one of the mixer channels to a multitude of signals.

[Arcana]

I have stopped using Reason now for various reasons.

However, as a music effects generating station, it was unparalleled bliss. There's almost no other program where you can create a buttload of subtractive synthesizers, wire their LFOs into each other, and then press a button and have the synthesizers generate the song FOR YOU that evolves and changes over time.

If you're bored, create a bunch of stuff, hit "TAB" and then route the output LFO and put it into a few input gate controls. Map a Matrix to an MClass Compressor sidechain. Create a gigantic-sounding synth with ten detuned square waves, lots of reverb, and have it all tucked away inside a combinator so you don't have to actually see it. I only wish I could do this in Logic Pro (well, I could with Rewire actually but usually it takes too much effort for my mini music projects).

As I said I stopped using Reason now (a big reason is VSTi support actually) but when I started it was a blast and about once a month I wonder if it would be worth it to upgrade my Reason 3 to the modern version just so I can play around with awesome sounds.

I would easily suggest Reason to anyone starting music, because the all-in-one makes it incredibly easy to begin with.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Completely untrue on so many levels dude. There is no program that is easier to split and combine audio signals than Reason. Also there are multiple methods to side chain. It is built into the mclass compressor. You can also side chain anything located on one of the mixer channels to a multitude of signals.

I'd like for you to show me, cuz I looked the back of that mixer over and over and there's no plugs for putting mixer tracks into each other.

[Gario]

As I said I stopped using Reason now (a big reason is VSTi support actually) but when I started it was a blast and about once a month I wonder if it would be worth it to upgrade my Reason 3 to the modern version just so I can play around with awesome sounds.

Ah, a fellow Reason 3.0 user, eh? Wait, Arcana is a 'former' Reason 3.0 user...

Because of the lack of VSTi support it's certainly not something you can use forever. I will double Avaris, though, and say that Reason's mixer board is easily the most intuitive that I've seen. If Willrock is having trouble with it... well, to each his own, but personally it's done wonders, for me.

I never did figure out how to get the program to make tunes for me at the click of a button, though. Then again, I never really wanted a program to do that for me, either - I'm a bit of a control freak, when it comes to note placement.

I use Reason 3.0. I don't have the money to upgrade it, sadly, and if I did I'd probably get a program that had VST/VSTi support and start getting used to that, instead.

Have you ever hit the 'TAB' button on the mixer board, Neblix? That's where all of the attachments are on the program, and it's very visual. Easy, peasy.

[Arcana]

I'd like for you to show me, cuz I looked the back of that mixer over and over and there's no plugs for putting mixer tracks into each other.

Don't you use the chaining master and the chaining aux for that, to basically have two mixers that use the same aux chain.

Or maybe I'm not understanding correctly and you want to combine two audio signals, if you want that then a Spider will do it.

As Gario said, TAB is your friend.

I never did figure out how to get the program to make tunes for me at the click of a button, though. Then again, I never really wanted a program to do that for me, either - I'm a bit of a control freak, when it comes to note placement.

Well it's not really "a click of a button" and they're not really real tunes even. You can make some really avant-guarde stuff though, mostly by playing a single long note in the sequencer to drive a synth, and then routing the VCs from that one synth to the VCAs and VCFs of other synths.

So it's really less "it makes beats for me" and more of "damn, look at the insane things you can make, not because they sound good, but because they're POSSIBLE!"

Part of this control though is why I stopped using Reason. Once you started getting into semi-large projects, actually doing a mixdown started to become very difficult, especially when it came to following an effects chain or remembering exactly where Mixer #2, port #7/8 hooked up to, and if that EQ unit is before or after the compressor. It's possible that the newer versions handle this much more gracefully but it quickly got overwhelming for me.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Have you ever hit the 'TAB' button on the mixer board, Neblix? That's where all of the attachments are on the program, and it's very visual. Easy, peasy.

Okay, maybe I'm just blind. I've checked that already. And there are no places to connect one mixer track to another. Where is it?

[BlackPanther]

I would assume the spider would work to merge one mixer track into another

[PROTO·DOME]

Why has there been no Willrock up in this thread yet?

Anyway, nowadays it's cool to hate on Reason fans.

[Arcana]

Okay, maybe I'm just blind. I've checked that already. And there are no places to connect one mixer track to another. Where is it?

Can you describe what your goal is, rather than what you are trying to do?

[Nabeel Ansari]

Can you describe what your goal is, rather than what you are trying to do?

I am attempting to figure out how to get one instrument route to that mixer track and have that mixer track to route to another.

EXAMPLE:

I have one mixer track for one kick and one snare each. I have different effects on both tracks, now I want to run the kick through the first one and then through the second one.

NOT simultaneously. To do this in FL Studio, I would deselect the master track from the kick's track's chain and instead send it to mixer track 2 (the snare).

This means it goes through the mixer track one effects, and THEN, without sending to the master, goes through to effects in track 2, which then gets sent to the master track.

[Arcana]

Wouldn't you do this by:

1) Create your drum machine.

2) Create Mixer 1 (small mixer) and Mixer 2 (big mixer). Put your various effects on each mixer.

2) Route Kick to Mixer 1 channel 1. Put your send effects on Mixer 1. Route the output of Mixer 1 to Mixer 2, Channel 1.

3) Route snare to to Mixer 2, Channel 2.

That seems to me the way that you'd do this. If you had hardware seems that it would be the only way to do this, IIRC many mixer boards don't have individual outs.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Wouldn't you do this by:

1) Create your drum machine.

2) Create Mixer 1 (small mixer) and Mixer 2 (big mixer). Put your various effects on each mixer.

2) Route Kick to Mixer 1 channel 1. Put your send effects on Mixer 1. Route the output of Mixer 1 to Mixer 2, Channel 1.

3) Route snare to to Mixer 2, Channel 2.

That seems to me the way that you'd do this. If you had hardware seems that it would be the only way to do this, IIRC many mixer boards don't have individual outs.

Okay, well, all I'm saying is that I think it's funny people say Reason is the "easiest" for doing this kind of stuff, when you have to create two mixers and do all this wiring stuff when in FL Studio you just click a button.

[SenPi]

Reason makes more logical sense. Its modular like in real life. Think about what you ACTUALLY want to do, and thats how you do it in reason.