The Best Of The Best 
by Josh Bryant from Cap City A.K.A Topeka, KS, May 2008
Music Background:  Artist, Producer & CEO

I have used Reason 3 and the switch to version 4 was a no brainier. Yes they have made some switches to the sequencer but nothing that's to hard to learn in a few hours. After using Reason for about 3 years I can 100% say that I can match and run tracks around hardware. For all of you thinking of buying this "DO IT". Imagine your dream synth you'll be able to design yourself in Reason 4 and from the comfort of your own PC. The boundaries are only set by your imagination. Any synth sound can be designed, hardware can be "Blown Away" and hits can be made. Reason user for life!!!

  A bit of an unecessary learning curve, but great software! 
by Andy from Worcester, UK, February 2008
Music Background:  Hobbyist

I've been a Reason fan since 2.0, upgrading as-and-when until settling with 3.0 for the last year or so. It's for this reason that I am finding it a bit of a struggle to work quickly with the updated sequencer, especially in the pianoroll edit view where it seems to have been over complicated compared to 3.0. The Thor is an obvious benefit in this version and I do look forward to the day I'm as adept with 4.0 as I was 3. If you are going to upgrade, don't do it unless you have a week or so to adjust to the changes, they are not as intuitive as you'd think for a software update. I also didn't like the fact you have to remove earlier versions to install this one, I would have liked to retain 3.0 in order to be able to write comfortably and learn 4.0 in my own time, as it stands, I'm not writing at the moment, just playing around with the new options. Worth the update for Thor alone, but expect a bit of head scratching!

  REALLY REASON IS THE BEST AMONG ALL 
by Bala from India, January 2008
Music Background:  pro musician

Just plug-in midi controller and open your mund that's all i really appriciate this software

  A myriad of wonderful new additions and enhancements! 
by Mark Holloway from Phoenix, November 2007
Music Background:  Hobbyist

I feel Reason continues to mature in the most appropriate way. Thor goes head to head with the best VST Instruments out there and delivers so many options for creativity and quality sound. The arpeggiator has been a big request from die-hard Reason users for years, and Props did it just right! The Groove Tool may not be something everyone think they need, but it's a welcome addition and does add options for variety in music. Finally, the Sequencer recieves a great overaul and while SOME people may find it a bit challenging at first, I think the Seuqence is FANTASTIC in so many ways. It retains a striaght forward, fairly simplistic approach yet allows the compose the flexibility needed to do anything desired. I find the Seuqencer much more streamlined than Logic Pro 8.

  This is so worth it, and R4 is now in the 21st century! 
by Noisebleed from Phx, October 2007
Music Background:  Musician/Experimentour

I can see why some people wont like R4, any change is painfull.
Plus Reason never tried to become the all in one studio solution, it's always tried to be the synth solution on a computer, with an impressive paradigm similar to the analog world works.
THe new seq is realy, realy nice compared to the old, even if it is more clicks involved. The old one was just super simplistic, and in my eyes, just barealy more sophisticated than a old school tracker.
THe new ones have made it so you can plan your work realy nicely.
Thor is fantastic, and the sound is standing up to any sofsynth out there, and in most cases a head above.
That coupled with the routing capabilitites and low CPU load, and you can make synthesizer combinations that are extremely sophisticated.

T

  Three steps forward two steps back. 
by Richard Dean Anderson from Delaware, October 2007
Music Background:  Recording Engineer

The new synthesizer, arpeggiator, and groove tool are amazing. I have no problems with thor. The groove tool comes with a lot of grooves, you can set user grooves but you can not save them and transfer them song to song.

The new sequencer is worse than the old one, which was already bad. If you are using a keyboard and you record all your MIDI notes and automation, it works reasonably well. If you try to do anything manually there are a bunch of extra steps. The automation is a little easier to control. But, now you have to draw a clip before you can draw automation. You also have to draw a clip anytime you want to input any notes manually. If you are in the clip view and you get your note drawing tool out then go to note view, you are out of luck if there are already notes there, you have to go back to the pointer and select the clip, then draw the notes in. You can now have multiple sequencer tracks for one instrument. This is helpful and a hindrance. Zooming on the sequencer is unbearable. It zooms from the middle instead of the start. Lets say you recorded something and you want to fix the first notes. you have to make sure the beginning of your loop is in the middle of your window to zoom in properly. In older versions of reason you could play one instrument while looking at another sequencer's notes. Now, the sequence you are looking at defaults your keyboard to that instrument.

There is now a tools window which you can do a lot with. A lot of options you used to be able to right click to get to, you now have to hit f8 to open a window, which floats on top of the other windows.

The Rack window still will not resize, if you want a wider sequencer you have to open two windows. And if you want to do any advanced editing of your notes, you will need to have the tool window open.

The installer is now on DVD. The sound banks have only been slightly added too.

If you can find a discounted version of 3 stick with that. Hopefully 5 is worthwhile.

  Very nice! 
by B. Amazed from Saint Louis, September 2007
Music Background:  Professional

Very impressed with the thor synth and new interface and track lanes. Bought v3.04 from SW and then got the upgrade for 129 including shipping. Well worth every penny. Ditch all your hardware, get a midi synth, this is all you'll ever need!

Click here to Read the inSync Review for the Reason 4

Write Your Own Review!
We all love gear, and we all love talking about gear with our friends and bandmates. Why not share your thoughts with the hundreds of thousands of customers who regularly visit Sweetwater.com? Write your own customer review on this product! To begin, just Click Here!