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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Recording and Composition Software Ever, May 9, 2011
This review is from: Propellerhead Record Reason Duo (Electronics)
After having used Ableton, Cubase, Dr. T's KCS, Logic, Creator/Notator, Vegas, Fruity Loops, Cool Edit Pro, and ProTools, I tried out Reason (v3 & v4). At first I didn't like them, or even understand them. Then I had the pleasure to try the Reason/Record Duo version 5 bundle, after I already had some experience and became comfortable with Reason. At that moment my life changed. I saw the entire history of my experience with music software pass before my eyes. Even more a light went on inside my head, and a hopeful message: may the computer never ruin your musical idea again.
In a sense I wish I had never seen any other software. It tainted my brain. I wish I had Reason/Record ten years ago. I am trying to erase the horrendous memory of configuration problems and VST plug-ins from my head entirely as I delve further into this highly functional music creation tool.
With Reason and Record everything just works. You can get into funny routing but the truth is you never even need to "flip" the rack if you don't want to. Non-technical musician types will jump for joy at the pure effectiveness of this recording tool. Once you are up and running you might never launch Reason by itself again. All I ever do at this point is launch Record, which essentially has the full-blown Reason inside, beating like a heart.
Comparing this solution to others is almost impossible as the user-interface for recording audio tracks combined with the built-in instruments makes this product unlike anything I have ever used. Sadly, I lump almost everything else I've tried into a category I can only refer to as "pain-in-the-butt software". At the end of the day, for a musician, these products are all about what you get done, how you get it done, and IF you get it done. Other products I've tried have been so problematic I dare say many of them completely prevent creativity. I've had musical ideas that completely disappeared after 45 minutes of messing around with plug-in problems and deciphering the basic routing of audio signals. With Reason 5 / Record 1.5 it seems these issues are gone for good!
I always celebrate software tools that excel in quality user-interfaces and ease-of-use for people who are NOT technically inclined. This is why we buy computers. Propellerhead Software has created the killer-audio-app of the century that I can say without hesitation completely warrants the purchase of entire computer system. This is a turn-key solution of epic magnitude, and it strikes me as very odd that every musician I know has heard of Reason but nobody has heard of Record. Thus my desire to write this review. I see people constantly going into studios so the "Pro Tools guy" can make their record. This program doesn't need a separate "guy". All it needs is you.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ONe of the best DAW's for the beginner. . ., October 4, 2010
This review is from: Propellerhead Record Reason Duo (Electronics)
Set up is a breeze. Although, I'm a little more advanced than your beginner. I have an M-Audio FastTrack Pro, and I have a several MIDI controllers in the studio. A little complicated, but well worth it.
I've been messing with the demo for a while now, and LOVED the interface. Now with the Reason 5 and Record 1.5, I feel it is now a complete DAW and recording suite. Now I just have to save up for ReCycle, and I'm complete for a home studio for hip-hop. And with Record, I can record acoustic guitars and/or vocals. Comes with a mastering suite, so this can be your all in one (although I prefer ProTools mastering suite).
I'd say try it out from the direct download if you're not sure. You get 30 days to mess around with it. . .
I don't have to say much, but you can probably find videos on youtube or from the Propellerheads website.
UPDATED
Nevermind. . .I won't need ReCycle any more. . . .It's now all internal!!!! Wish I could add 3 more stars for that!!!!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Constantly Amazing, June 10, 2011
This review is from: Propellerhead Record Reason Duo (Electronics)
I bought Reason 1.0 back in 2000 after downloading the demo and hitting the tab key. Reason (and Record) is engineered to be like a rack system. When you hit the tab key you see the back of the rack with all the patch cords, and you can rewire everything to your heart's content. When I saw that I was like... "Oh, I have to get this." Since I was used to having an actual rack, the whole thing made a lot of sense to me.
The big problem back in 2000 was the sequencer, which was not exactly what one would call robust. So I used Reason in Rewire mode for 10 years with Performer, which was great because I love Performer's sequencer (thanks Propellerhead for making Rewire so easy). I would run Performer and record all the audio tracks there, using Reason as a sort of auxiliary rack for a lot of sample playback and synths. Along with the VST instruments in Performer it's still a great way to work.
After skipping a couple Reason upgrades I finally decided to upgrade to Reason 5 and included Record 1.5, which is a great deal for any previous Reason owner. All I can say is wow, they finally did it. The sequencer is so much better. I wish it had the functionality of the Performer sequencer with its transpose and split notes features (for instance), but it's a very very easy sequencer to use making things like automation data a breeze.
The other great thing about the improved sequencer is the use of Blocks. I am used to using Chunks in Performer so it was a no-brainer for me, but the Propellerhead Blocks have a feature where you can very quickly mute specific tracks within the Blocks and actually override the Block content with variations for lead-ins and bridges. This is way easier than what I'm used to doing in Performer.
This is a great software product. I agree with the other reviewer here that it is one of the best software products you will ever own. It seems to be crashproof. I just can't seem to break it. I tend to try rather unorthodox patches between instruments and samples in order to create new sounds, but it never seems to complain.
If you are thinking of getting into music on the computer, don't bother with any other product. Reason and Record will make your life so much easier. This is a product that will serve you well for many many years.
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