Propellerhead Reason 3 review: Propellerhead Reason 3

Propellerhead Reason takes it up a notch
Mimicking the look and feel of a roomful of high-end recording and mixing equipment, Propellerhead Software's Reason has always dazzled with its ability to turn a MIDI-enabled keyboard into any instrument or sound you can dream up. Version 3 adds an indispensable new component called the Combinator, which lets you bundle as many instruments and effects as you like into one sonic package, then save your creations as easy-access Combi patches. If it doesn't get your musical creativity going, you might not have any. It's not the perfect upgrade, though, and version 4 had better include a long-overdue sequencer overhaul and stronger audio input options to make it an all-in-one solution. Propellerhead Reason 3 comes on three CDs: one with the app itself and two with different sound banks chock-full of audio goodness. You'll need to register the program before you can use it, and after you've done so, you can download any upgrades. We immediately pulled down the 3.0.4 upgrade, which required us to trash the folder we'd just installed, install the upgraded app, then reinstall the two sound bank CDs. Hey Propellerhead, did it really need to be that cumbersome?

The Propellerhead Reason 3 interface is unchanged in this version. It offers a virtual rack where you can add mixers, audio-processing modules, and instruments (analog synthesizers, sample playback modules, loop playback modules, and drum machines). To select a new module, click the Create pull-down menu and select your device. The sequencer, which can be undocked for a larger view, sits at the bottom. As before, you can tap the Tab key to show the rack's reverse at any time, where you can easily change input and output cables. The interface is true to life, although constantly scrolling up and down in your rack is a little tiresome. To get the most out of the diversity and grandness of Reason, you should be using a large display.

For existing Reason users, the new Combinator is reason enough to upgrade. Essentially a rack within the rack, the Combinator lets you group instruments and as many effects as you'd like to create intense layered, sonic creations. Reason has always been about turning a MIDI keyboard into as many instruments as you can dream up, and the Combinator makes it even easier to create unique sounds. Start by selecting the Combinator from the Create pull-down menu; below its controls, you'll see a bracketed area for new components. Click the Combinator to call up the red insertion line (if it's not already visible), then added modules will go within the Combinator. Add a mixer, a sampler, and as many effects as you'd like, and tweak the always precise controls to get as complex a sound as you want. When you're done, you can save your work as a Combi patch so that you can instantly call up that Combinator configuration in the future. The included sound bank libraries include hundreds of Combi patches to help get you started.

While the Combinator is the big story, it's not the only reason to love Propellerhead Reason 3. We flipped for the improved browser, which makes it easier to find just the patch or effect we want. You can now preview instruments and effects within the browser, making the selection much faster. You can also do a text search, to find, for example, everything related to the trumpet, no matter what sound bank folder it's in. Make your selection and Reason will automatically load the correct modules into your rack, whether a Combinator, a sampler, or a synth.

Reason's new Remote technology lets you easily use the faders on knobs on your keyboard or control device to make adjustments, instead of reaching for the mouse. It autodetects for setup but only with newer models. The included sound banks have been beefed up for this release (hence the extra CD) and are nicely heavy on sampled instruments rather than loops, for musicians who want to sit down and start playing.

Not that everything is four stars with this release. We're surprised that Reason's sequencer hasn't gotten the overhaul it badly needs. It doesn't offer the control of a fully featured sequencer (such as Apple's Logic Pro) and doesn't let users change the tempo within a song, so many will choose to pair it with another app. It also still doesn't let users record external audio. If Reason could get those problems fixed for version 4, it would go a long way toward being a complete all-in-one solution.

As in previous releases, Reason is surprisingly efficient even on low-power machines. It runs on 300MHz Pentium III Windows systems and G3 Macs that have OS X 10.2, so you don't need a powerhouse to use it. We used Reason on a 933MHz G4 PPC Mac desktop (along with an M-Audio Evolution MK-461C keyboard) and found it extremely efficient with the CPU, running complex arrangements without a hiccup. We didn't notice any latency during our testing, as the program was always quick and responsive. If your system has latency issues, use the Audio Preferences to adjust either your buffer size or the latency compensation. The richness of the sound quality blew us away--even with our little Harman Kardon speakers--no matter what ghostly or electronic effects we were using.

Software requirements and specs:

Platform(s): Windows 2000/XP; Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later (10.3 or later recommended)

Processor: Intel Pentium III 600MHz or better; G4 or G5 (Mac)

RAM: 256MB

Disk space: 2GB

Sound requirements: 16-bit Windows-compatible audio card, preferably with DirectX or ASIO drivers

CD-ROM required: Yes

Downloadable full version: No

Recommended extra: MIDI keyboard with built-in MIDI interface, or MIDI keyboard and MIDI interface

Propellerhead Reason 3's support options are decent but a little light for a $499 product. The support section of the company Web site includes helpful FAQs and worthy tutorials (even video tutorials) for those who want to get more out of the program but only e-mail support if you're having a major problem. We'd like to see phone support added. The site has user forums, but they're not in the support section, so look around if you need them. The product box comes with a clearly written 112-page manual that does a great job of explaining the program's major parts but leaves plenty of room for the online tutorials to take over.