Reason 14.1.0

Reason is a digital audio workstation from Reason Studios for Windows and macOS. It combines a virtual rack of synthesizers, samplers, drum machines and effects with a sequencer and mixer for recording, arranging and mixing complete songs. Its rack also runs as a plugin inside other DAWs. Reason is sold as a one-time license or as part of the Reason+ subscription. A free version called Reason Free covers a smaller set of devices.

A rack you wire by hand

Everything that makes or processes sound in Reason is a device in the Rack. Reason routes new devices automatically. An instrument gets its own sequencer track and mixer channel. When you add an effect to a selected instrument, Reason inserts it between that instrument and its channel. Pressing Tab flips the Rack to show the rear panels. Here, you can move audio and CV cables by hand so one device’s envelope or LFO can modulate a parameter on another.

By default each source track gets its own Rack column with its instrument, effects and Player devices. A group can be copied between songs with its connections intact.

Instruments, effects and Players

The device collection includes classic Reason synths such as Subtractor, Thor and Malström, along with the Europa wavetable synth and Polytone dual-layer synth. It also includes the Mimic and NN-XT samplers, and Kong and Redrum for drums. Effects include the RV-9 Reverb Station, the Neptune pitch adjuster, vocoders, amp simulations and MClass mastering processors. The Browser organizes a large library of patches, samples and loops by category and tag.

Player devices sit above an instrument and process MIDI before it reaches the sound source. Scales & Chords snaps notes to a key and builds chords from single notes, while Beat Map generates drum patterns. Send to Track renders a Player’s output into an editable note clip.

Combinator patches and VST plugins

The Combinator holds a set of devices and their internal connections as a single patch. Its knobs and buttons can each control several parameters inside. Instruments placed in a Combinator can be layered or split across the keyboard by key range and velocity.

Reason in standalone mode loads 64-bit VST2 and VST3 instruments and effects. Each plugin sits in its own rack device with eight CV inputs, so Reason’s modulation sources can drive plugin parameters. Multitimbral plugins receive only on MIDI channel 1. Reason does not support plugins that output MIDI.

Arranging in the sequencer

The Reason sequencer arranges note, audio, pattern and automation clips on tracks. Instrument tracks can hold several note lanes, which helps with drum parts, and each automatable parameter gets its own lane. Selecting a track opens the Track Panel, which shows that track’s signal chain, levels and sends in the sequencer view.

Double-clicking a clip opens the Edit Area, where notes appear in a piano roll above a lane for velocity or another chosen value.

Audio recording and editing

Audio tracks record mono or stereo from a selected interface input. In loop mode, every pass becomes a new take. The Comp Editor lets you cut between takes and assemble the best parts into one performance. Dub and Alt add tracks or lanes for overdubs and alternative takes.

Imported audio can stretch to the song tempo using its tempo metadata or length. In Slice Edit mode, Reason places markers on detected transients. Moving a marker stretches the audio around it without changing pitch. Quantizing aligns the markers to the grid. Vocal Edit mode handles monophonic material, snapping notes to semitones and adjusting drift, formant and per-note level.

The Main Mixer

In the Main Mixer, each channel strip has input gain and phase invert, a compressor and gate, and a four-band EQ with filters and a spectrum view. It also has insert effects, up to eight effect sends and a fader with pan and width. The master section adds a bus compressor, master inserts for limiting and a control room output for monitoring.

Finished songs or looped sections export as WAV, AIFF or MP3. Bounce Mixer Channels renders selected channels to new tracks or to separate files on disk, with or without their mixer settings.

Reason Rack in another DAW

The Reason Rack Plugin loads as VST3, AU or AAX in hosts such as Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, FL Studio and Cubase. Instrument and effect versions are available, and each instance has its own rack and undo history. VST plugins cannot be loaded inside it.

Licenses and Reason Free

Reason Free needs a free Reason Studios account and has no time limit or watermark.