KVR Audio

JonSolo · Post by **JonSolo** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:56 am

Not losing sleep over what others think of Reason. It is a marvelous program. It fits a niche and has a workflow that is improving with this build. The Beta is NOT a sign of what is included in the final product. I can say this with confidence. Other Beta testers would agree (and if you are a tester you know why).

Bottom line... we do not know what is and is not included. But the workflow is vastly improved. It still stands apart in its own right as a fantastic piece of music production software. I consider this a large rewrite. The code is tighter and has a smaller imprint (thus far) on your system.

The Betas are always a hog on the system. I tested 7.1 as well and the beta bogged down from time to time...but once the reporting code was removed I got 4x the power out of it (unscientific guess).

And Reason is not dead. RE is amazing. But I feel that way about Cubase, FL, and Bitwig (I never could wrap my head around Ableton). So take this for what it is worth to you.

festeringheap · Post by **festeringheap** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 3:04 am

thejonsolo wrote:The Beta is NOT a sign of what is included in the final product. I can say this with confidence. Other Beta testers would agree (and if you are a tester you know why).

Well of course, the Beta testers are not testing the Softube Amps...

thejonsolo wrote:TBottom line... we do not know what is and is not included.

We do. Matthias from Propellerhead has already posted that the drag and drop, browser and the Softube Amps are the upgrade.

HobbyCore · Post by **HobbyCore** » Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:13 pm

thejonsolo wrote:The Beta is NOT a sign of what is included in the final product.

From this only 2 things could be construed:

1. The things not included in the beta are extensions of some sort (RE/ReFill) or very minor additions.

2. Propellerheads has totally lost it and has no idea how to run a development team.

I'm going to assume that it's #1, and probably just the Softube amps and maybe some unannounced and underwhelming RE.

krucial · Post by **krucial** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:47 am

thejonsolo wrote: And Reason is not dead. RE is amazing.

REs are amazing indeed. The platform has a few of the best BBD delay, BBD Chorus, De-Esser in the plug in world. Awesome stuff man.

julioelgenio · Post by **julioelgenio** » Thu Sep 11, 2014 1:59 am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNZD-03Xboo

I wouldn't place myself on any high expectation, I'll accept R8 as is, in combo with my current DAW, it's a good update, maybe laying down foundation for something even greater to come?

weemss · Post by **weemss** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 11:40 am

i am waiting Reason 8 Update for Free because propellerhead makes offer for anyone bought their product before sept 30th. but when reason can use 3rd party plugin? i need some plugin like melodyne and UAD plugin. it will be great DAW!

sellyoursoul · Post by **sellyoursoul** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 1:18 am

I've been waiting, waiting, for Reason to add some needed things, and I'm thinking that it will be somes years still before Reason catches up to the rest of the daw world, assuming that more RE devs actually do create some worthwhile plugins (softube amp sims...nope). I might as well stick to the power and flexibility of Reaper, adding Komplete for more powerful synths, much better sampled instruments, and more modern effects than I could shake a stick at, which would be a more powerful and complete combo than Reason and RE. Also Reaper + Komplete requires no rewire headaches, Komplete can be purchased at a much lower cost during an NI sale, and NI doesn't strip away user resell rights. I'm thinking that jumping the Reason ship just makes more sense for me on all levels. I'm not really downing Reason, but after a few years in, I'm thinking that Reason was the wrong direction for me.

bharris22 · Post by **bharris22** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 2:55 am

It seems to me there are two different issues that are being conflated here on the forum:

1) Is Reason a good DAW?

2) Is the proposed Version 8 upgrade worth $129 to existing Reason 7 users?

I am a happy owner/user of Reason 7, and think that it is a good DAW for my needs (others, of course, may differ in their assessment). I like the existing workflow, have a ton of REs and Refills, and enjoy making music with it. This is a separate question, to me, from the question of whether the upgrade to Version 8 is worth $129. From what I know now, I would have to say no. I would probably buy the new Softube Amp if it was available separately (for no more than $50, as the Kuassa amp REs are pretty damn good and cheap), but the "workflow" improvements, IMHO, would be worth $129 only to the most hardcore user, and probably not to most users of Reason 7. Again, Propellerhead may have something up its sleeve to sweeten the pot once the upgrade is released (although I would have thought that they would have disclosed that already given what appears to be the lukewarm reception (at best) that this upgrade seems to have received), but at this point there is no compelling "reason" for me to upgrade from Reason 7 to Reason 8. Rather, I will sit on the sidelines until Reason 9 or wait until they include another RE with the upgrade.

jjpscott01 · Post by **jjpscott01** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 6:18 pm

I own and have used Reaper, Studio one pro 2, Magix Samplitude, Pro Tools 8 le, Sonar X3 and Ableton live. All have their strengths and some are just brilliant at certain tasks. Reason inspires the hell out of me and i get more music done inside of it than any Daw ive used to date. I still use different programs for different workflows or types of music but reason will always be the one i can fire it up and it just works and works fast. Thats saying a lot in todays world of rapid technology advances and changing formats. Reason 8 will only further it for me and my workflow.

saturdaysaint · Post by **saturdaysaint** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 6:47 pm

I am a veritable Reason lover - I'm not even particularly tempted to test the waters with other software yet - but this update is a loser. It's a poorly implemented copy of the Ableton browser. REX loops don't play back in tempo, there are few useful keyboard shortcuts to establish any kind of workflow, they inexplicably list devices with space-hogging icons, getting audio from the sequencer to samplers in the rack is still a chore involving lots of right clicking. For all it's deficiencies,at least the old browser had the decency to hide itself when you weren't using it! The beta forum is full of some of the most seasoned, loyal Props fans that are happier with 7 than 8.

I was optimistic to give Props the benefit of the doubt even though the update sounded skimpy, so I understand why some are objecting, but this is really a disappointing update. I'm speaking up because I really think it's a worse app than 7. I want to stay a Reason user but if they go another version without seriously tightening up the browser workflow, I might not be able to.

Tronam · Post by **Tronam** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 9:38 pm

saturdaysaint wrote:I am a veritable Reason lover - I'm not even particularly tempted to test the waters with other software yet - but this update is a loser. It's a poorly implemented copy of the Ableton browser. REX loops don't play back in tempo, there are few useful keyboard shortcuts to establish any kind of workflow, they inexplicably list devices with space-hogging icons, getting audio from the sequencer to samplers in the rack is still a chore involving lots of right clicking. For all it's deficiencies,at least the old browser had the decency to hide itself when you weren't using it! The beta forum is full of some of the most seasoned, loyal Props fans that are happier with 7 than 8.

I was optimistic to give Props the benefit of the doubt even though the update sounded skimpy, so I understand why some are objecting, but this is really a disappointing update. I'm speaking up because I really think it's a worse app than 7. I want to stay a Reason user but if they go another version without seriously tightening up the browser workflow, I might not be able to.

I can't speak for Windows, but in OSX I can completely customize the keyboard shortcuts for any menu or right-click option in Reason. The GUI transition is going to be difficult for people, especially seasoned users, and it's one of the bigger ones I've seen for this program so it will no doubt experience some growing pains as it continues to evolve. From the looks of the videos though I'm liking the context-sensitive nature of the browser. It seems pretty smart from what I can tell, aside from the REX loop tempo issue. I can't imagine why clips-to-samplers would be a chore though. Wouldn't it just be selecting one or more clips, then "Bounce to new samples"? You could then theoretically drag'n'drop any or all of them onto the sampler devices.

napishu · Post by **napishu** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 9:44 pm

This is the most shit update which could dream of. Wild trolling from prop developers, eahh

. They talk about improving the workflow (haha..) but really just trying to sell you a new SofTube RE under new major app version, with some changes. And if not the new SofTube REs then you will realize that the update would be about nothing. This is a slap in the face of its customers. Next update will show how they can continue to compete in the market and don't take big $$$ for the shit updates. The program needs to be expanded and communication with iOS for example. Many user requirements...

Reason is actually stagnating, but you have a RE store ahahah ..

Not very clear how props can take same $$$ for updates that are different for new features.

Eahh, true story man

Tronam · Post by **Tronam** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 9:59 pm

napishu wrote:This is the most shit update which could dream of. Wild trolling from prop developers, eahh. They talk about improving the workflow (haha..) but really just trying to sell you a new SofTube RE under new major app version, with some changes. And if not the new SofTube REs then you will realize that the update would be about nothing. This is a slap in the face of its customers. Next update will show how they can continue to compete in the market and don't take big $$$ for the shit updates. Eahh, true story man.

The Reason 7 browser is nine years old, going all the way back to Reason 3. The old days of waiting three years for a couple of new instruments or effects are behind us. The Propellerheads are shifting focus away from what used to be primarily the rack and working to improve the actual application as a DAW. R8 might seem like a worthless update to people that mainly use Reason as a rewire slave, but this is a constructive development forward for those that use it as their primary music making environment. The $129 upgrade price applies to any version of Reason, so there's no penalty for skipping R8 and waiting until a later update that is more appealing. I skipped Reason 5 because Kong and Octo Rex didn't feel worth it to me. I might skip 8 as well, but I like the direction it's going.

jjpscott01 · Post by **jjpscott01** » Sat Sep 13, 2014 11:44 pm

napishu wrote:The Reason 7 browser is nine years old, going all the way back to Reason 3. The old days of waiting three years for a couple of new instruments or effects are behind us. The Propellerheads are shifting focus away from what used to be primarily the rack and working to improve the actual application as a DAW. R8 might seem like a worthless update to people that mainly use Reason as a rewire slave, but this is a constructive development forward for those that use it as their primary music making environment. The $129 upgrade price applies to any version of Reason, so there's no penalty for skipping R8 and waiting until a later update that is more appealing. I skipped Reason 5 because Kong and Octo Rex didn't feel worth it to me. I might skip 8 as well, but I like the direction it's going.

Well said. It really is an update geared towards those of us who use and love reason but have begging for a smarter browser system. Composing and writing in Reason has always been its strength and this new way of managing instruments and files for me is a deal breaker. The amount of time I will save when writing is more than enough to justify my decision personally. Those who dont feel the new browser will add much to their way of working have every right to wait it out until the next major update. I also agree that Propellerhead is heading in a good direction with Reason. When the dust settles after the 30th and those of us who decide to upgrade have had a chance to work inside the new version, I guess well all have a better idea of how "worth it" it was

Carpenter · Post by **Carpenter** » Sun Sep 14, 2014 4:26 am

Whew!... I'm glad I came here. Just finished playing with the R8 Beta and I thought I was really dense or crazy. I couldn't find anything warranting a paid, full upgrade price. Unless they have an updated reverb or sequencer still under wraps, I don't get it. I certainly don't get the hyperbolic statements that Propellerheads have used in the R8 marketing so far.

Everything I've seen just feels like this should be a free, point release upgrade.

If this is all they have for R8, I think Propellerhead will be cutting the upgrade price, or offering a huge % off sale very soon. I always give into the lure of "the upgrade", but this just feels like Reason 7 with a dab of makeup. I'm sure I'll get it at some point, but there's nothing here that motivates me set some money aside for the release date. More like... "I'll get it when I get it".

Reason 8 - Official