I've just recently started producing some trance music, and am looking for some better software. Currently I own a Novation X-station, and am running that through garageband on my mac. My computer is a G4 1.2 GhZ iBook with 768 megs of RAM. While I have been playing piano and bass for over 8 years and have a solid base of classical and jazz music theory, this is really my first venture into electronic music and recording...

I'm aware that I can't record any audio into Reason, but I only have 1 synth, and I believe Garageband now supports rewire so if I REALLY needed vocals or something I could put them in a song.

Really, my main concerns are about the learning curve of Reason..is it difficult to program for a synth newb? Do any of you feel limited by the fact that you can't record audio into it? If mastered properly, can you get a fairly pro sound out of it? Also, does my computer have the specs to run the program?

Thanks for all your help in advance

your probably going to get flamed for posting a topic that comes up alot but anyway.

reason is a very easy program to use and its very user friendly. i only use it as a rewire program so i havent went in depth on its capabilities.

the best thing to do is to type reason into the search button and you will find alot of useful info.

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Try it out, it's the only way to know wich software suits you best. No one can tell you wich program you should choose...
The thing with that you cant record audio in reason is easily solved by using rewire, so give it a shoot

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reason is very very easy to learn. but its sound quality is inferior than other stuff (software and hardware). and no u cannot record any audio into it. on the other hand its a complete system all around, which contains everything synths , samplers fxx and its nice because its a modular design is a very good way to learn how hardware works.
if u can rewire it into another sequencer, then i would say that u go for it, because im sure u wanna record many things. look for a vst compatible sequencer or AU for Mac. if ure new and looking for something that u can start playing right away, then reason is for u!!!
bit if u already know synths and have hardware, then get something like cubase or logic.

I agree everything that has posted before. Reason is what you pay for, it's mostly a pattern-sequencer, but don't get me wrong, you can do good work with it -if done properly-, but with your particular background and experience probably you'll find Reason limited, so i agree with Pixxxan, go for Cubase or Logic. But try them before buy. Logic has a version called Logic-express, the "light" version of the program, which is accesible ($), later you can upgrade it to the professional version.

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I am going to get flamed too, but I seriously recommend you consider FL studio. It's affordable ($170), can do audio and has nice synths (sytrus and 3osc), real samplers (direct wave and edison), vst support for synths you can buy like the native instrument products(reason does not), and is very user friendly. It is my favorite of the DAWs. Its piano roll sequencer is much more like traditional music notation as opposed to reason's sequencer. I like and use reason. As well as cubase and ableton. But I recommend FL studio. Ableton and cubase are very expensive (like $500 and up) and you may not like computer music, and might switch back to traditional music if computer music turns out not to appeal to you.


EDIT oh crap I just realized you are working with a mac

Logic is your answer, my friend. Since they no longer support emagic, you can pick up the emagic 5.5 on the web for free and upgrade to logic pro when you are ready in a few months.

Last edited by Majutsu on Aug-03-2006 at 21:53

I recommend that you get Reason, Ableton, and Logic. All three are great programs.

Thanks for all of your responses...

What do you all think of Mackie's Tracktion 2 software? It seems like a fairly inexpensive DAW with audio editing capabilities and lots of plug-ins. Its also cheaper with a student discount, and doesn't seem extremely processor intensive...Are the built in synths and drum machine any good? Or can I program better sounds through Reason?

This is the website for tracktion:
http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion2/

reason is agreat place to start the journey. you'll prob jump ship l8r but very gd place to start.

Reasons sound quality is in no way inferior to other software and you're not forced to use the pattern based sequencing.
The midi sequencer is very powerful and easy to use, although it's a bit limited in some ways.
I recommend Reason, it's the easiest of them all to learn in my opinion.
The user interface feels very natural and intuitive, working with Reason is fun.

go Reason

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quote:

Originally posted by lazybassplayer Thanks for all of your responses... What do you all think of Mackie's Tracktion 2 software? This is the website for tracktion: http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion2/

I got a version of Tracktion bundled with my audiofire device. Tried it out a couple of times, and it seems really nice. The things included seem decent, if not great, and the layout and workflow was also very nice.

I did, however, end up going back to Cubase. Don't really know why. Guess it's because all my old projects were made here...


Regards

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