Got My Hands On Reason 4

RiotNrrd · Post by **RiotNrrd** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:01 am

Although the "official" release date isn't until the 26th, I saw posts on the Props board that Guitar Center was selling the Reason 4 upgrade already. So I gave the local store a call, and indeed found that it was true (and that they were selling it out very quickly). So I asked them to set one aside for me, then rushed down there and picked my copy up.

I've been playing with it for a couple of hours now, and I have to say that the Props came through. VERY nice indeed!

I won't run through all the new features here - info about them is posted on the Propellerheads site. But I will say that while Thor (the new synth) is excellent, I think the module that I really like is the arpeggiator that they FINALLY included. I'm going to get a heck of a lot of use out of that thing.

The new sequencer has a lot of new features that are going to take me a while to learn, although so far the learning curve has been pretty easy to navigate. I was always happy enough with the old sequencer, although I know a lot of people felt it was too simple. Well, they've added a LOT to it - it doesn't look much like the old one at all anymore.

Alright, that's enough for now. Back to my investigations...

silverdragonsound · Post by **silverdragonsound** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:21 am

Sounds good. Keep us informed about your findings, likes, dislikes ect. Happy playing!

Diego · Post by **Diego** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:31 am

Hi!!

I've had a lot of fun playing with reason 2, but I've never checked out reason 3. I'm pretty sure reason is a great product, so this time I think I will give a look to reason 4.

please, keep us posted about your feelings on this new product.

regards

RiotNrrd · Post by **RiotNrrd** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:36 am

Well, so far there is nothing I don't like about the new version. Oh, as is usual with new releases, a few buttons here and there have been moved (although, I think, for the right reasons), which has caught me by surprise a couple of times. But that's a pretty piddly complaint.

I've only scratched the surface of what the new features involve. I haven't even touched the expanded sequencer features yet, as I've been spending most of my time previewing the new patches (in which Thor plays a major part) and playing with the arpeggiator (which is better even than I'd hoped for).

There are no issues with Vista at all. I didn't think there would be, but it's nice to find out that I was right.

So... if you don't already have Reason, is it a good purchase? Although the list price is pretty steep, I think that I still say yes - there is practically nothing you can't do with this software, and it sounds excellent. Versions 1 and 2 had some sound issues (people claimed it sounded "thin"). Version 3 fixed that with a complete overhaul of the sound algorithms, and now version 4 has a synthesizer that takes full advantage of that. Thor sounds, to my ears, as full and rich as any of my Native Instruments synths.

If you already have an earlier version, though, it would be practically a crime NOT to upgrade - the upgrade cost is almost nothing in comparison to what you get. If you're already riding the Reason train, then RUN to a music store and get your upgrade ticket punched as soon as you can. There is no better softsynth purchase you can make.

silverdragonsound · Post by **silverdragonsound** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:00 pm

RiotNrrd thanks for the review and insights into it. Its good to hear aboit the non issues with vista for a change as several other programs seems to have a terrible time with Vista.