Reason Essentials $99

daryl1968


at Audiomidi - is it worth it?
 

I don't think so personally, it has a lot of the functionality of it's big brother but without the devices included in the 'real' one it's seriously limited other than as a basic tracker for which use it is excellent.

A lot of that functionality though would be covered with the Artist version of Studio one equally well for less money.

Having said that if you were interested in the delights and methodology that the full Reason version has to offer this is a good starting place and equals money off for the full version if you were intending to get further into it, if that was your intent then yes it's good value.

My two pence.

Just get the full version already...

daryl1968


How well does it integrate with Sonar, if at all?

With 64 bit Rewire enabled in both applications now the sky is the limit.

daryl1968


Do you need to record the audio in Reason to use the time-stretching functions or can it be imported into Reason?

Yes, you can import your audio or track it directly and it will then follow any new tempo you set in Sonar via Rewire and still stay in sync with any midi stuff going on in Sonar.  From that viewpoint alone it scores big over S1 Artist.

I think it's a really great tool to have.

For drum/rhythm tracks it is awesome. It is quite accessible learning wise also. Like JBouy says with Rewire now at 64bit the sky is the limit. 

Thanks Backwoods - I thought it was good value - I'll get the credit card out over the weekend.