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The
Work-Flow Reason
offers more than enough devices and features
to ensure that all necessary ingredients for
a good Dub mix can either be imported or
created in the program itself. We've got a
crucial console, a whole contingent of instruments and effects where the utilities
make sure everything is connected and
working properly. We've
seen a browser that significantly helps to
find the right thing pretty quick, too. That
browser is broadly announced by
Propellerhead as significantly increasing
the quality of the work-flow. In fact, the
word "work-flow" itself seems to
be the key word for this release, at least
where Propellerhead is concerned. Setting
up the devices and the sequencer, creating a
riddim, making a Dub: three different
phases, each one requiring another way to
work with the DAW. Yes, the browser plays a
huge role and we've established how indeed
it is a true joy setting up sounds and
devices through the browser. For a nice work
flow, though, there are more things to
consider. Options
and preferences, for example. Some
would like to hear tones when they are
created in the piano roll, others don't.
Some would like to hear sounds in the
browser, others don't. Or perhaps they do,
but not in every situation. Some want tracks
automatically armed for automation, others
don't. Reason 8.0 give the use many options
and preferences, in several menu's at
several places. There's a Tool Menu and
on-screen music keyboard for quick editing
or auditing, while the sequencer and devices
have different levels of entry. Reason
comes with a set of standard settings.
Probably they will suit the needs of the
beginners very well. The real work flow is
the work flow that you feel comfortable in.
Options and preferences as well as overall
responsiveness of the program enables you to
create your own flow as you discover the
program deeper and deeper. No problems
should be expected there anytime soon. A
Final Dub There's
nothing better than to hear and see Reason
8.0 in action for yourself. For this, a
third Dub Mix was made. Again, a riddim was
built from scratch with some of the new
effects and instruments incorporated. Again,
the Dub was mixed completely from the
console with the exception of some tweaking
on "The Echo" and an automation
loop on a filter's frequency range for a
bass effect. A
sample was taken from Ras Kitchen's Rasta
Vocal Sample Pack that you can download for
free from the Dubroom, for the drums open
source samples were used that you can also
find at studio.dubroom.org. Ras Kitchen's
vocal sample is run through the Neptune
device with a Vocoder-like result. A horn
loop from Mad Professor's Reel 2 Reel Reggae
(reviewed in the Dubroom) goes through the
Dr. Octorex, the bass goes through the bass
amp and the guitars through two different
guitar amps. For
the effects, "The Echo" was used,
a phaser and a filter, two RV 7000's and one
Audiomatic. Check
it out:
Reason
Eight Straight Out...
Here's the
$450 question: Should you buy Reason for Dub
production? The answer would definitely be
Yes. Prices may vary, but in Propellerhead's
Press Release about Reason 8 they suggest
a price of $495 or EUR 405. That's for
people who do not own any previous version
of Reason. When you do not own Reason yet,
and you want to make Dub with your computer:
get it! Without apology.
We can ask
the same question for 129 dollars or euros,
too. That's the price for an upgrade from
any version of Reason (including 1.0). Since
any
version between Reason 3.0 and this version
8.0 fell outside of the Dubroom's scope, the
answer could be less definitive. The console
was introduced in version 6, so everyone
owning Reason 1-5 should upgrade as soon as
they can afford the 130 euros/dollars.
People who
bought Reason 7 on or after July 1 2014 get
a free upgrade to Reason 8, so that leaves
pre-July 2014 buyers of Reason 7 and owners
of Reason 6. Hopefully, our review of the
main features has given you enough insight
to make a decision for yourself. If not,
feel free to comment on our blog or forum or
write us an email and we'll do our best to
find the answer for you.
It took
well over a week to complete this review.
Two brand new original riddims were created,
which is a creative process and therefore
requires inspiration. This inspiration came
and the way Reason is constructed with the
Console, Rack, Sequencer and Browser played
part in that, too. Just taking the ID8 out
of the browser into the rack for the first
time, then hit a chord on the piano, for
example. The superb sound that comes out of
the little sound module is illustrative for
the enormous quality of instruments and
surely played another part in the
inspiration for the two original riddims.
It takes
much longer then a week to discover the
deeper Dub realms of Reason, though.
Something that's done in studio.dubroom.org/reason.htm,
where you'll find that following our tutorial
on making Dub with computers goes much
better when your choice of DAW is that of
the Dubroom: Reason 8.0, without apology.
One Love,
Messian Dread (WWW, October 16 2014)
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