Reason User looking to add on

[Cadevil]

I currently create using primarily Reason 3.0 with Adobe Audition for recording analog guitar instrumentation. I'm looking to bulk up my software a bit, as Reason does not have all of the back-end editing finishing capabilities that I would like. I'm looking for opinions about Ableton Live 6 versus bulking up on more synth and "other" capabilities in Native Instrument's Komplete package.

Any thoughts from dirts?

[swillhite]

buy a nord lead 2

[King of Snake]

Reason doesn't do VST plugins does it? So if you want to expand, plugin-wise you'll need to look beyond Reason, to something like Ableton or Cubase which can run VST plugins and Cubase also gives you the option of Rewiring Reason (or Live) into it.
NI Komplete gives you a lot of stuff, but are you sure you'd be using it all?

It's hard to recommend anything since you don't really specifiy what it is you want/need (other than "bulking up your software a bit"), nor what your budget is.

[Cadevil]

VST plugin support would be nice. Will AbletonLive provide all I need to start using VST plugins, or will I also need something like Cubase or Logic?

Ableton seems like a great program that can provide some great sound manipulation capabilities...and I believe allows Reason to Rewire in so I could continue using the synths and other "instruments" in Reason...how does Live affect where/how I do my sequencing?

I think I'm just a bit confused about what exactly Live is...everything I've heard about it sounds great...I'm just not sure I understand how it would fit into production workflow.

[Camiel]

The great thing about Live is that you can use it in mutiple ways. Not only is Live a DAW, it is also usable as a loopplayer for DJ purposes. My workprocess with Live is that I mostly make some loops with a bassline, some drums, some synths, etc. and then I will play with these loops to make a first draft of the song that I'd like to produce. This first draft will be recorded in the session view and then I will work on it (EQ, compression), add and cut pieces and effects, etc. to get a final song.

You can use Reason within Live via Rewire. And in Live you can also use VST plugins. Some would say that the sound of Live isn't the best quality though. Personally I'm happy with the sound though.

[King of Snake]

Originally Posted by Cadevil

VST plugin support would be nice. Will AbletonLive provide all I need to start using VST plugins, or will I also need something like Cubase or Logic?

Ableton seems like a great program that can provide some great sound manipulation capabilities...and I believe allows Reason to Rewire in so I could continue using the synths and other "instruments" in Reason...how does Live affect where/how I do my sequencing?

I think I'm just a bit confused about what exactly Live is...everything I've heard about it sounds great...I'm just not sure I understand how it would fit into production workflow.

generally speaking, Live is similar to other software like Cubase/Logic, except that it is (obviously) als suited for playing live and it has a session view (kind of a vertical grid with all your clips that you can trigger and loop as you please) as well as a standard arrangement view (horizontal timeline, like Cubase). The session view imo is the coolest part of Live, as the arrangement features aren't quite as extensive as those found in traditional sequencers like Cubase and Logic (but it still works pretty well).
Other than that, yes Live is a VST host so you can use any VST instrument or effect in it. And yes it's also a rewire host so you can still use Reason beside it and everything should sync up nicely. I'm not sure about the details of how those two apps would work together, although I guess you could program your Reason sequences in Reason's sequencer itself, which will then by synced with ableton's transport controls. Maybe you can also control Reason by using midi clips within Live.

I'd say both Cubase and Live will give you what you want, the question is which one do you prefer and suits best your working style, so try some demo's (although I don't think there's even a Cubase demo so you might want to try some, ahem, other means to acquire and "evaluation copy" )

btw I'm only mentioning Cubase and Live cause those are the two sequencers I'm familiar with myself. There is of course also Sonar as a pretty big sequencer platform and several cheaper sequencers like Traktion.

[adam]

As someone with experience with several sequencers, I'd say Live is where it's at. True, the arrangement view is somewhat simpler than a lot of dedicated sequencers, but it's %100 sufficient for most needs (I've never encountered any serious deficiencies).

I'd put it this way: if you intend to sequence orchestral-type compositions, you might need Cubase. Hip-hop or dance music, I think Live is a much better choice.