After months of waiting Reason 7 by Propellerhead finally makes its entry into the music scene.
I must confess that after enthusiastically closing a previous article on Reason 6 , I now find myself starting one on version 7 with a formal protest to the Propellers, or rather two…
I don't know why I waited for version 7 – released on 31 April 2013 on the web via download – to arrive in stores in the boxed version, I liked the idea of putting something solid on my shelf. Beautiful box, beautiful cd and even the sticker…. what's on the cd? Nothing! It is the first cd containing a download link and 2 externally printed codes, practically a virtual cd.
Maybe the heads of the Propellers needed to justify the 129 euro price? Hm!? Suffice to say that downloads and cds were practically the same thing, I would have spent my money sooner with more satisfaction. But now I also have the sticker!
To tell the truth, the cd also contains demos, some advertising on other products and some drum samples whose use requires the study of an elaborate procedure in which I even ventured without understanding much the sense.
One caveat for installing under OSX. As usual without much warning (“the Reason file already exists, continue?”) all the contents of the Reason folder are candidly deleted. Nothing serious if you have backups of 20gb of sounds, effects, and instruments… So be careful!
Having said that, in this article we will see the innovations introduced by the new version. Please refer again to previous article for more detailed information on the core program.
Shotgun wedding news
Version 7 partially introduces the novelties of a shotgun wedding. I mean that the introduction of midi clock management with the ability to manage external midi and synchronization, the management of groups in the mixer are more the compensation of gaps existing in previous versions than real market innovations. For those coming from programs like Cubase or Logic that have been using the aforementioned functions for years, it is difficult to fully understand the innovative nature of the functions.
All in all, however, for those who are used to working with this environment by its very nature closed midi is absolutely something new.
MIDI
As already mentioned Reason finally has midi sync and midi out. The interesting thing is that the creation of a midi out peripheral is managed like a real peripheral inside the rack with the possibility of connecting to other components. This feature greatly facilitates the use of the external device, in a new, visual way. There was very little to discover on the midi, it's a standard that has been consolidated for almost thirty years, but what intrigues is the way it is used, the connections can be multiplied with relative simplicity. It goes without saying that new scenarios open up with the Midi out.
THE MIXER – PARALLEL CHANNELS
In the mixer you can duplicate a channel for various uses. It's like splitting a track on one or more mixer channels with the possibility of inserting different effects, volumes, etc. Typical uses are the so-called New York-style parallel compression, track differentiation on left and right channels, any other creative idea based on duplication. The use to try different mixing settings without losing the previous ones is not excluded. Whatever the use, this feature is fast, right click and go and without taking up additional disk space!
THE MIXER – THE GROUPS
The group concept in mixing isn't new at all: multiple channels are sent to a single fader, all drum pieces to a single volume to which a series of effects and equalizations can be applied. Despite the fact that it is the discovery of hot water, I can only say that it is fast and intuitive, even here a right key is enough.
THE MIXER – THE SPECTRUM ANALYZER
This function is interesting and intuitive. Each channel has the possibility of displaying the spectrum of the track that is playing, offering the possibility of graphically intervening on the spectrum. On the one hand we can see the spectrum without additional plugs and on the other we can remove that annoying frequency by seeing it and equalizing it in real time with the mouse.
The analyzer also appears in some rack instruments. For example in Kong virtual drum you can see the spectrum for each sample by easily editing it.
AUDIO – AUTOMATIC SLICE
All audio tracks are automatically sliced Refill-style. This allows on the one hand to change the speed of an audio track without appreciable losses and on the other the possibility of interacting with the single slice (the track slice) to anticipate it, postpone it, change its accent, perform a stretch and the like. All with great simplicity. The tracks divided in this way can also be transformed into rex format and fed to the various samplers Kong, redrum, etc.
audiomatic
Reason has already introduced rack extensions from the previous version, rack extensions that allow you to add effects. They are usually paid products.
Audiomatic is included in this update. As mentioned above it's NOT on the CD and to complicate things it's not even on the download… you have to go and look for it after installing everything and activating the product. Once found, it downloads and installs for free.
It is a psychoacoustic effect that simulates various sounds, more technically it is a "Retro Transformer", sets the track in sounds like Vinyl, Tape, Radio, Psyche, Cracked, Gadget, Circuit, Wash, PVC, etc.
Nothing unseen, but a gift horse…
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Producer: Propellerheads
Model:Upgrade Reason 7.0
Website: www.propellerheads.se
Italian distributor: www.midiware.com
the next
Fabio Pesce
