Propellerheads Reason 4.0
Propellerheads were one of the first companies to embrace the idea of the virtual studio. With Rebirth we caught a glimpse of their 'all in one' hardware inspired environment. Reason then followed taking the bare bones setup of a few classic machines into something resembling a full studio's worth of gear. Although still retaining an element of simplicity, further iterations of Reason have expanded upon the original, giving the user more and more control. For the uninitiated, Reason operates on the premise that all the devices used within a session are contained natively within Reason itself. In other words no third party instruments or effects are allowed. Although somewhat limiting in certain cases, this helps ensure a more stable system and for beginners a level of self control due to the lack of too many choices. It can however interface with other DAWs using the ReWire protocol when more control is needed.
As each new version of Reason is developed, the range of possibilities increases though and with version 4 this is no exception. Version 3 added, besides other things, a new range of mixing tools, the MClass series, taking the sound quality available within self contained Reason productions to a higher level. Version 4 continues where 3 left off and gives us a massive new synth called Thor and many improvements with the sequencer operation. In addition, a full featured arpeggiator and ReGroove mixer, for adding feel to midi parts, have been added. With these new enhancements, Reason 4 starts to really come into its own as an all in one production center.
On first glance one will notice that the overall look of the sequencer has been smoothed out and is easier on the eyes compared to the somewhat clunky appearance of older versions. But there's more than just good looks here as many improvements have been made to facilitate ease of editing and composing. First up are the track 'lanes'. For each device's track you can have multiple lanes, or subtracks, which contain either note or automation information. This has many uses, one of which that ties into the new ReGroove mixer, discussed later on. With the new lane concept it's easy to try out different versions of riffs, or break apart prexisiting ones for arrangement purposes. To further take advantage of the use of lanes, two options on the transport for recording are offered. One creates a new lane for recording with the previous lane unmuted, the other with it muted. This way one can easily record with or without the accompaniment of a previous take. Overall recording itself is simplified by requiring the user to now only press record, without the need to additionally hit play.
Clips, or containers, are now generated automatically when recording midi performances. They be edited with the same type of functions we are used to in bigger DAW sequencers. The new razor tool works quickly to either slice parts into two or pull out chunks of unwanted data. A single click on a clip with razor selected makes a slice mark. Alternatively an 'area' can be drawn with the razor that creates slices on the left and right sides of the selection, ready for deletion. Further more this tool can be used across multiple lanes and devices, allowing efficient arrangement edits. Once clips are sliced the new mute clip ability comes into play, allowing a type of 'non destructive' way to try out arrangement ideas. If any of these sliced edits are unwanted, a join command exists to 'glue' them back together again. And finally, colors can be applied to clips now, with creatively given names such as 'Kelly Green' and 'Steel Blue' as some of the choices.
Automation and controller editing has been upgraded and is finally handled through vector based drawing instead of single bars to represent values. This makes creation of smooth changes easier, especially when needing to edit later on. Automation is contained within clips similar to note data making it easy to move and copy. Double clicking a clip with automation information allows one to grab the nodes of the vectors to make adjustments. You can edit automation not only in edit mode but also in arrange. On a side note, recording pattern changes from devices such as the ReDrum, is now handled directly on the arrange page without the need to enter edit mode.
A very welcome feature is the inspector display now available when editing performance data. To the right of the toolbar you will now see the numerical attributes of position, length, velocity, pitch, and values of controllers and automation. This makes detailed adjustments quick and painless. If a particular value is selected with the mouse, the wheel can then be used to increment up or down. This is my preferred way to edit within another sequencer and I'm glad to see it here. By the way multiple entries can be selected, with the option to normalize all the values to one common one, or too keep their respective difference when changing up or down.
Along with the functions added to the toolbar, a new tool window has been included. This floats off to the side of the sequencer and device section, helping to use a little more of your screen space. It's divided into three categories, devices, tools, and groove. The devices tab makes quick work of adding new devices and or effects to the rack area. You can also hide/show certain types of devices, either instruments, effects, or other, making this area uncluttered of devices you might not need.
