Exciting news from the Reason Studios team as it looks like the eagerly anticipated 12th version of the Reason DAW is almost ready for launch!
What can we expect from Reason 12?
Reason’s developers are promising a huge update with version 12 that promises to help ensure Reason doesn’t get left behind by rival DAWs. The Reason 12 update looks like it could be the most significant update since Reason 9.5 introduced VST support.
Helping to bring Reason 12 bang up to date is a comprehensive overhaul of Reason’s rack. Yes the rack is going high resolution (at long last) so all of Reason’s devices will now look great and resize to match your monitor set-up. The developers are promising all 3rd party Rack Extensions will be ready for hi-res too.
Mimic Creative Sampler – Reason’s Killer Sampler?
Beyond the cosmetic enhancements Reason 12 is also bringing a brand new sampler device to the Reason rack. The Mimic Creative Sampler promises to be a really cool device that is going to become an essential tool for all of us avid beat makers and sample manglers!
“Sampling is all about finding a cool chunk of sound and turning that raw material into a musical idea. We designed Mimic to make that process painless and intuitive. Reason is the best place to get musical ideas going and Mimic fits that promise like a glove.”
Reason Studios Product Manager Mattias Häggström Gerdt
The new Mimic Creative Sampler is designed to quickly explore, capture and play back your sounds and takes advantage of Reason’s time stretching capabilities so that you bend, stretch, pitch and warp your samples in a variety of interesting ways. You can also run samples through Mimic’s filter and effects too.
The most exciting feature for me is Mimic’s ability to create a playable, multi-sampled instrument from just one sample!
Check out the Mimic Creative Sampler overview video below:
If you’re a Reason+ subscriber you can try out the Mimic Creative Sampler right now.
Combinator 2
Always one of Reason’s most useful and versatile tools, the Combinator device is getting a significant overhaul too including more CV inputs and controls, easier programming, loads of new patches and – most exciting of all – it’s going be fully customizable.
It sounds like we will be able to create our own custom interfaces (including using our own images), changing the panel size and setting up macro controls – this could be as close to creating our own plugins as many of us are ever going to get!
When is Reason 12 Launching?
Reason 12 launches on September 1st and if you’re a Reason+ subscriber you’ll get the new stuff as soon as it’s available.
For more information on the Reason 12 launch see the official Reason 12 blog
What is Reason?
If you’ve not heard of Reason before then all you need to know is that’s it originally started as a self contained DAW with a studio of virtual equipment such as the Redrum drum machine, Subtractor synthesizer, Dr Octo Rex loop player and many other devices and effects with which users could populate their virtual rack with in any way they wished.
In recent years Reason has gone through a number of changes most controversially of which was adding support for third party VST plugins.
Is Reason a DAW or a plugin?
Reason started off in life as a self contained DAW (with ‘ReWire’ protocol to let Reason talk to other DAW software) however since version 11 Reason can be loaded as a plugin inside any DAW that is capable of loading VST/AU/AAX plugins.
You can still run Reason as a fully self-contained DAW if you so wish.
What is Reason+?
Reason+ was introduced in January 2021. Reason+ is a subscription service which gives you:
- Weekly sound packs
- All of Reason’s devices including any new ones when they are launched
- The latest version of the Reason DAW software (standalone and plugin version)
- Reason+ companion application for installing and browsing packs, rack expansions and devices
Can I get Reason+ for Free?
Reason Studios offer Reason+ free for 7 days anyone with no obligation or credit card required.
How much is a Reason+ subscription?
A monthly subscription to Reason+ is $19.99/€19.99
A yearly subscription to Reason+ is $199/€199.
Can I still buy Reason software?
Yes. If you do not wish to pay a subscription you can purchase a complete copy of the Reason 11 (soon to be 12) software which is yours to keep forever.