Reason is a professional DAW for creating and editing music. This software mimics a rack of hardware that includes samplers, synths, sequencers, mixers, and signal processors. These, in turn, randomly interconnect. This is a complete virtual music studio or, as some see it, an independent set of virtual instruments. The software is capable of both sequencing and mimicking live performances.
Reason: its Origins
Over the course of time, this DAW has developed and innovated. The original design emulated a music studio rack. In it, users were able to insert virtual devices and have total control over them. At the time it had a built-in MIDI sequencer; it still has it today. Moreover, it offers the possibility to use several sequencing applications.
Where Sounds and Effects Come From
Furthermore, this software obtains sounds and effects from a variety of devices. On the one hand, you can route them via two mixing devices. On the other, you can simply merge and split utilities. Some of the most popular effects include chorus, vocoder, reverb, and mastering. The main interface involves a Toggle Rack command with which the user can route virtual audio and CV cables from one device to another. This feature turns this software into a highly flexible and attractive one.
Reason: a Continuous Innovation
Each new version of this DAW has innovative content and major improvements. But, more importantly, each new version also has downsides that the manufacturers fix in the later editions. For instance, Reason 2.0 included MIDI capability to control software with external MIDI units. Later, the 2.5 version added new effect devices. Then volume 3.0 included a four-band parametric and shelving equalizer, compressor and maximizer modules, as well as a stereo processor. After, Reason 4.0 introduced a device that produced a subtle sound that swapped out with oscillators and filter combinations. This version also included a device to break up chords into several note-triggering patterns and another one that added shuffle controls and human-qualities to sequenced patterns.
On to the innovations, Reason 5 had a major enhancement that enabled users to directly sample audio. Afterwards, no. 6 introduced audio recording, but it lacked third-party plugins. Because of this, the 6.5 update introduced rack extensions, while no. 7 included a MIDI output rack device, loop slicing, audio quantize, native mix bus routing, as well as a spectrum equalizer. Then Reason 8 involved a brand-new file browser that allowed an improved and faster workflow. Later version 9 added an improved pitch editor as well as a new class of rack units known as players. In the end, the 9.5 update added VST support.
The Latest Versions
But it doesn’t end there. Reason 10 includes the biggest upgrade of all times, featuring five new devices and a multi-gigabyte library of sounds and device patches. It also involves three new sample-based organic instrument units. In a slight change, the 10.1 update added new features to the SDK. Then the 10.2 added workflow improvements, as the 10.3 supported VST plugins. Furthermore, its edition 10.4 added stability improvements. Similarly, Reason 11 added workflow enhancers to the sequencer and other devices; it also introduced a new plugin. A new version, the 11.1, added minor improvements and bug fixes, while the 11.2 added the ability to drag notes. Finally, the 11.3 version added a new plugin, which enabled users to employ the software hand-in-hand with other DAWs.
Conclusion
Reason is one of the best music production software. It is a well-established DAW that is in constant evolution.
