Users' Guide to Propellerhead Reason 2 [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Debbie Poyser (Author), Derek Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 2002

Get up and running with Propellerhead Reason 2 in no time! The expert authors begin by explaining how to install and set up the program on a Mac or PC and then walk you through every separate Reason device with hands-on tutorials. Whether you are a new user or a more experienced Reason musician, you will find out how to get the most from the musical phenomenon that is Reason.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Stuffed with quick-start tutorials, tips and info boxes, it's a must have for all dedicated Reason users." -- Music Tech Magazine

"The perfect book to have next to your machine." -- Digital Creative Arts Magazine

About the Author

Derek Johnson and Debbie Poyser are active musicians and music journalists who have contributed to some of the UK¿s top music tech magazines. They have tested and written about countless music and studio products and have more than 15 years of experience in synthesis and sound recording practice. They¿ve been dedicated users of Reason since the program¿s launch.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (December 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929685777
• ISBN-13: 978-1929685776
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,537,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The essential user's manual for Reason, September 1, 2003

By 

Matthew Tomich (Basel, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Users' Guide to Propellerhead Reason 2 (Paperback)

Reason is an intuitive program whose interface mirrors much of the hardware that you'll find in a studio. Whether you have hands-on studio experience or have never loaded a music software program before, this book is the definitive guide to Reason.

The book starts out with a clear introduction in the basics of sound synthesis, MIDI, latency, and other issues surrounding compuer-based music. By the end of the first hands-on chapter, you'll have confidently created your first sounds with Reason.

Each chapter thoroughly goes through each device in Reason 2.0, describing the philosophy, abilities, and limits of each. Even Reason pros will likely find revelations, as the authors constantly find creative uses of Reason's control voltage (CV) modeling, as well as great ideas on how to create an arpeggiator, layer synth sounds in Subtractor, or work around Reason's lack of a feature for tempo changes.

This book is suitable for Reason 1.0 and 2.5 as well. The authors point out the differences with 1.0 (and even point out how to get around them, like how to manually create a synched LFO in 1.0, a feature that was introduced in 2.0.) Even with the recent 2.5 update this book is still essential. The 2.5 update adds four new effects and an audio and CV linking/splitting component but does not replace or update any of the core devices in 2.0 that are thoroughly covered here.

This is a clear and well-written guide that in a perfect world would come enclosed with every copy of Reason. If you're a Reason user, don't bother reading any more reviews. Just read this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative and fun to read!, February 16, 2003

By 

Isaac Suarez (Charlottesville, Virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Users' Guide to Propellerhead Reason 2 (Paperback)

This book covers just about everything there is to know about Reason 2.0. It has many examples, screenshots, and it is easy and fun to read. The book is great for beginners, but not boring for advanced users, I think everyone can profit from this book. It is also an excellent reference for use when working (This is great since the Reason handbook is not available in printed form).

I love the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get full usage of the reason program.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than any other Reason info so far..., May 21, 2003

By 

toobee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Users' Guide to Propellerhead Reason 2 (Paperback)

I began my quest toward fully understanding Reason 2.0 with the obligatory print version of the 'Getting Started' manual.

Then I moved on to the .pdf 'Operation Manual' that came with the software, which to my taste, is oriented a bit cryptically, beginning with 'Recording' before ever talking about creating the sound content to be recorded. But in its entirety, it IS a useful reference...

Then I moved on to the ... Propellerhead 'Producing Music with Reason' CD tutorial, which is also helpful, except the tutorial song to be recreated is pretty 'yesterday's music.' To me, anyway ;)

Then I got this book. If there is a better reference source to clue you in to what Reason can do, and most importantly, how to do it, I haven't seen it. Yet.

Thanks for reading, and, if you care about music and Reason, buy this book.