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Forums > Software: Reason

it's so complicated!

theharme	Date: August 29, 2004 @ 7:15 PM Ok so I got reason hoping to replace fruityloops and while it seems amazing, it's too hard for me to use, for starters, if I'm using redrum and I make a couple of loops, how do I tell the sequencer I want to play loop 1 for 4 bars and loop 2 for the next 4 bars? Do I really have to record it in real time?! That seems rediculous. Anyway any help would be much appreciated.
paulc	Date: August 31, 2004 @ 10:02 AM I reckon it's easier to 'draw' the drums in the sequencer window, rather than on the actual redrum machine. If you don't know what I mean I can post a screenshot later. This way it makes it easier to have more variation in your drums. You can group parts, copy and paste, then edit them. Personally I like loading the individual drum hits in an nnxt, or using the dr rex.
kingo	Date: August 31, 2004 @ 11:17 AM Oh, fancy Dr. Rex. That's like an extra thingy, ain't it? I mean there's a dr. rex player, but the maker for the slices is an extra. The draw-em-in-the-sequencer is definitely a solution. However, you CAN use the drum machine to make patterns and use those. So you've got different drum patterns in redrum, say on A1, A2, and A3. To tell Reason when to play which patterns, you need to display a particular lane down in the bottom window. I'm not talking about the piano roll; there's another lane there. I forget what it's called (which helps this message IMMENSELY,) but when it's there it'll have on its left-hand side a drop-down arrow with a letter/number combo next to it; probably always starts out as A1. If you select the pencil tool, you can draw in that lane and it'll just make a bar labelled A1 for the length of the track. Then you can use that arrow to switch to A2, for example, and then start drawing on the bar at the position in the song where you want the A2 pattern to play. If that doesn't make enough sense I can be of more help when I can look at the damned software.
paulc	Date: August 31, 2004 @ 3:20 PM If you really like using the Redrum, one thing you can do is right click on it and 'Copy Pattern to track', similar to the 'To Track' button on the dr rex. This draws all the drums in for you. I don't like using the A1 A2 blah because I find it takes way longer to make variations to the drums. To create a beat with 1 differnt drum placement you have to create another 'pattern' on the Redrum. It's called the pattern lane, the yellow one. By default it appears on in the sequencer window. I always turn it off, like I said I never use it.
Jesuszilla	Date: August 31, 2004 @ 4:06 PM Did you know the 'pattern' was invented by General Pattern, American War of the Worlds Hastings 1066 general. On a less serious note, I've never ever used the pattern thingy, it's easier to draw stuff in, where are those beats? Oh they they are, check those large fat beats.
Jesuszilla	Date: August 31, 2004 @ 4:09 PM Another thing, Reason looks really daunting at first but it is really easy to use after a while. I used to use Fast Tracker II and Reason is a jillion times easier.
paulc	Date: August 31, 2004 @ 4:15 PM Fast Tracker 2 was great. I remember having to convert every sample to 8bit or people would complain about the filesize.
kingo	Date: August 31, 2004 @ 4:35 PM I am still only 8bit, and it makes me look all faek like I'm from 1980s or something.
kingo	Date: August 31, 2004 @ 4:36 PM Ultimately what I want to do is use Cakewalk's sequencer with REwire into Reason but I'm too cheap to buy anything. I'm hoping my computer spontaneously generates the requisite software.
pancreaspuppet	Date: September 16, 2004 @ 8:14 AM Halaka, I think if you try hard enough, your wishes will come true. Once I wanted software so bad, and so I gritted my teeth and tensed up, and started breathing the way the doctors tell you to in labor, and there was blinding pain, and suddenly my computer spewed forth all these wild and wonderful wares. I didn't think it would be worth much though, so I wiped by brow with it and sold it to Digidesign for $1.70. Some people call it Protools now, but I still like to call it my little chumbly-bumpkins.
kingo	Date: September 16, 2004 @ 10:54 AM I'm going to try that later. Except I'm going to hold out for $2.00 when I sell it to someone.
hpnotiq	Date: February 24, 2005 @ 5:49 PM Halaka, a screen shot would really help, i havent been able to set up the patterns in the drum machine at all
AdamsGod	Date: April 10, 2005 @ 12:06 PM i dont understand why everyones having a hard time with "Reason" its actualy pretty damn simple.. to me anyways. i meen, 'draw' your drums in, if youre not using a midi controller, draw your synths, bass or anyother insturment your using, nd just hit play man.. damn simple.
shadowself	Date: April 10, 2005 @ 12:43 PM Yep, I don't even touch the pattern banks in Redrum. I use the sequencer. Much easier and a lot more flexible. Reason is one of the more simple pieces of music software I have tackled. However, if you load up a song with 40 different components, you'll be overwhelmed. If you start small, it's easier to work with. Create a mixer, a couple of effects, and a synth or drum machine. That's all. Play with the sequencer until you're familiar with how it's all integrated. Then start adding more. I like adding a mixer just for Redrum, and routing drums to individual channels. Makes volume levels on individual drums easier to control, and you can have a lot of fun with effects on individual drums this way as well without having to do a lot of patching. When I record drums, all I have to do is select the track assigned to Redrum in the sequencer, hit Record, and then play the part on my MIDI controller. I can quantize and edit later easily.

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