reason, cubase or motif?

[mercuryavenue]

Hey im trying to figure out whats best for my mini studio. Im trying to add instruments to my audio and guitar recordings and i wish to record and create from varied genres though mostly rock. Should i get a yamaha motif(or mo6), cubase with its vst instruments or reason 4 with a midi keyboard. which sounds better, has the most instruments and has the most creative freedom? i currently have a korg d1200 digital recording studio to record tracks and audio. I dont want to spend more than 800 and i dont mind going on ebay. Any opinions or any other suggestions would be very much appreciated. thanks

 

[monkie]

I'd go with the motif. I have the classic rack version and I loved the sounds. I think it's way better thank Korg's. Just me though.

 

[dnkygirl]

Hey im trying to figure out whats best for my mini studio. Im trying to add instruments to my audio and guitar recordings and i wish to record and create from varied genres though mostly rock. Should i get a yamaha motif(or mo6), cubase with its vst instruments or reason 4 with a midi keyboard. which sounds better, has the most instruments and has the most creative freedom? i currently have a korg d1200 digital recording studio to record tracks and audio. I dont want to spend more than 800 and i dont mind going on ebay. Any opinions or any other suggestions would be very much appreciated. thanks

I believe reason would work better, it will allow for growth... as far as sounds go and overall functionality. The only thing reason lacks is the ability to control external midi devices and the ability to record outside things like vocals, guitar.... etc... maybe in the next version they will make it a fully functional production station.

 

[eyema_believer]

I use Cubase at home, and Reason at school. So far, I like Cubase for its amazingly flexible routing and setup. I use Battery 2 for my drums, and I can send each drum through its own output channel and EQ, compress, add effects etc separately, TO EACH DRUM! I love that. Yes, you can do lots of those things inside the VSTi too, but I like having them there right alongside my regular audio tracks, doing the same kinds of processing to them.

That said, you can get a heck of a lot of action out of Reason for the money. I just started using it this semester, and don't know all about it (don't really care to since I'm not planning on buying it) But it seems very complete, yet geared toward electronic or other non-organic sounding music... stuff where a drum machine sounding like a drum machine is a good thing. I could be wrong about that, but that seems to be the case with a lot of the instruments.
To me, I would always choose a computer setup over a stand alone synth for what you want to do. If you were a keys player looking for a gig-rig, or a nice keys module for your studio, I would recommend the mo6, but for serious rock and roll production, you'll be better off with some good VSTi stuff. Besides... if you don't like the reverbs etc in the mo6, whatcha gonna do then?? If you have Cubase, you can just try a different effect.
As always, YMMV.

Peace!

~Shawn

 

[Dax Productions]

I use Cubase at home, and Reason at school. So far, I like Cubase for its amazingly flexible routing and setup. I use Battery 2 for my drums, and I can send each drum through its own output channel and EQ, compress, add effects etc separately, TO EACH DRUM! I love that. Yes, you can do lots of those things inside the VSTi too, but I like having them there right alongside my regular audio tracks, doing the same kinds of processing to them.

That said, you can get a heck of a lot of action out of Reason for the money. I just started using it this semester, and don't know all about it (don't really care to since I'm not planning on buying it) But it seems very complete, yet geared toward electronic or other non-organic sounding music... stuff where a drum machine sounding like a drum machine is a good thing. I could be wrong about that, but that seems to be the case with a lot of the instruments.
To me, I would always choose a computer setup over a stand alone synth for what you want to do. If you were a keys player looking for a gig-rig, or a nice keys module for your studio, I would recommend the mo6, but for serious rock and roll production, you'll be better off with some good VSTi stuff. Besides... if you don't like the reverbs etc in the mo6, whatcha gonna do then?? If you have Cubase, you can just try a different effect.
As always, YMMV.

Peace!

~Shawn

You should check out reason drum kits 2.0 and the pianos and abbey roads addons. Definitely not geared toward "electronic" type stuff, and amazing sounding too!

I personally love the workflow in Reason. I find the midi much easier to work with than most sequencers and easy to get in to and get creative.

Honestly, in a studio these days, I don't know why you'd want an outboard synth/workstation when you can do it all in the box. For oldschool analog stuff, of course its nice to have the real thing, but I bet reason can do anything that motif can do and then some. There might even be a motif refill!

For my money, its reason plus a good daw. Pro Tools, Logic, Sonar, Cubase, Nuendo.

 

[eyema_believer]

For my money, its reason plus a good daw. Pro Tools, Logic, Sonar, Cubase, Nuendo.

Sounds like "sound advice" to me... OP should look hard at it!

 

[Toddskins]

Reason 4

I introduced a friend to Reason 4 this past few months, and all I have ever owned is standalone keyboards (i.e. Kurzweil K2500XS, Novation Supernova II).

I had read a lot on Reason, and a friend of mine, a few years back was using Reason 2.5, so I had some ideas about its abilities.

Since you are going to be using it for recording studio, I think you will fall in love with Reason. This vew version 4 has topped all the critics list, and has been getting awards and great reviews since it came out.

You cannot bring external sounds into it (although a guy on YouTube did, but he had to use Rewire and a trick or two). You cannot create samples with it. You can play samples, but not make them from scratch.

The amount of free patches and samples you can download is enormous! Not only from the Propellerhead site, but a bunch of 3rd party sites dedicated to Reason users. The amount of free sounds must reach close to a Terabyte!

Lastly, if you are in any college, you can buy it online for $199, just like I did for my friend. Just send them an image file of your student ID attached to your Email.

http://www.floridamusicco.com/products~cat~61.htm

 

[hardwire666]

The combo of Cubase (or any other squencing software), and reason is the way to go. Reason has some great patches stock, and then there are plenty for purchase as well as the aformentiond free ones all over the web. The Reason Drumkits 2.0 is absolutely awsome and totally worth the price. The drums tend to be a bit dry but as long as you know what to do with reverb and delays your good.

Reason is very versitile, I mostly use it for drums, keys, strings, and highly reccomend it to everyone even grandma.

 

[Somnium7]

Honestly, in a studio these days, I don't know why you'd want an outboard synth/workstation when you can do it all in the box.

The reason dedicated hardware is still attractive is because you can turn on the power switch and get right to work on your music. There aren't any confusing/complicated software related problems in your way. In the box you can spend a great deal of time messing with updates, downloads, dongles, registration keys, drivers, configuration etc. etc..

For example, when I upgraded Acid 4 to Acid 6 the installer forced me to also install the M$ .NET Framework and automatically started the download and ran the installer. This took forever. When it was finished Acid complained it needed the .NET Framework 1.0 even though it had already installed 2.0. So then I had manually go and install that which also took forever. In the end, I never even used the Acid feature that required .NET anyway. Additionally, my ability to import Acid projects into Cubase ceased working. Still can't figure that one out.

In the box isn't all it's cracked up to be IMO. Compared to dedicated hardware it can be alot more frustrating and technically demanding in the long run. Sometimes powering on a synth and jumping right into work can be just what you need in a moment of inspiration.

 

[WhiteStrat]

The reason dedicated hardware is still attractive is because you can turn on the power switch and get right to work on your music. There aren't any confusing/complicated software related problems in your way. In the box you can spend a great deal of time messing with updates, downloads, dongles, registration keys, drivers, configuration etc. etc..

+1 Listen to the wisdom here folks. My synth and keyboard capability is fairly robust, I can get, make or tweak any sound I want--but it's all in the box.

I'm getting ready to buy both a digital piano and an old synth, because I just want to sit and play and develop ideas. You can't overestimate the value of that immediacy.

 

[Somnium7]

I'm getting ready to buy both a digital piano and an old synth, because I just want to sit and play and develop ideas. You can't overestimate the value of that immediacy.

Sorry to reiterate WhiteStrat, but some of the best stuff I've come up with was in the heat of the moment where I just ran to my rack of synths, plugged in headphones and went to town.

While I'm beating deceased horses consider this. My bands last gig of the summer last year was almost a disaster thanks to the craptop. Two songs in it decided to become a stuttering idiot. Luckily I had Midi only versions of everything in my Akai sampler. I put it in setlist mode and finished the show without a hiccup.

Dedicated hardware will ALWAYS be faster and more reliable than a computer.

I'll put the soapbox away now.

 

[WhiteStrat]

And to clarify--and perhaps kick that dead horse one more time!--it's about both. For the money, I don't think the samples in my computer can be beat. (I've got a number of odd VST synths) but my primary sampler is Sample Tank. For example, last year I caught a $30 deal on an "expansion tank" CD full of really sweet strings to add to Sample Tank. I love the tweakability right in my Cubase environment.

But none of that happens until I've got a song--and without fail, I just need a real keyboard to beat on for the ideas to start flowing...

Clear as mud now?

 

[Somnium7]

Clear as mud now?

Yes but no. I like my coffee this way though

I have hope that the computer will get as good as dedicated hardware. Maybe when people get off their asses and make Linux work for the masses...

My Akai sampler has a USB port and some slick software for the PC. I can shuffle sounds back and forth at will with no sweat. So my sounds can originate in either platform. I can poke at the front panel of the sampler to make some powerful edits or open the files up in Sound Forge and use it. It is a best of both worlds thing for me and I love it.

From what I have seen alot of todays hardware units are integrating that seamless approach via USB or Firewire. This is really cool IMO.

 

[Dax Productions]

The reason dedicated hardware is still attractive is because you can turn on the power switch and get right to work on your music. There aren't any confusing/complicated software related problems in your way. In the box you can spend a great deal of time messing with updates, downloads, dongles, registration keys, drivers, configuration etc. etc..

For example, when I upgraded Acid 4 to Acid 6 the installer forced me to also install the M$ .NET Framework and automatically started the download and ran the installer. This took forever. When it was finished Acid complained it needed the .NET Framework 1.0 even though it had already installed 2.0. So then I had manually go and install that which also took forever. In the end, I never even used the Acid feature that required .NET anyway. Additionally, my ability to import Acid projects into Cubase ceased working. Still can't figure that one out.

In the box isn't all it's cracked up to be IMO. Compared to dedicated hardware it can be alot more frustrating and technically demanding in the long run. Sometimes powering on a synth and jumping right into work can be just what you need in a moment of inspiration.

Sounds like you had a pretty bad experience. Also sounds like an old school/new school workflow type situation. For me, I've had computers since I was like 4 years old and if something goes wrong with it, I know how to fix it. Plus, I know how to make sure nothing will go wrong in the first place! Also, for me, I just hate navigating all the menus on dedicated workstation synth type things. Just not my bag!