Reason 6.5 Released – Voyage of the Acolyte

June 14th 2012 witnessed the release of Propellerheads Reason 6.5 upgrade complete with the fully integrated feature of Propellerhead Rack Extension (Re) technology. Announced in Frankfurt Musikmesse in March 2012 Rack Extensions is a new technology that opens up the Reason rack, enabling third party developers to create instruments and effects for the award-winning music making software Reason. Indeed, the Propellerhead online shop has a dedicated section for the purchase of Rack Extensions and is already populated with an array of quality FX from leading software developers: Softube - iZotope – Korg – Rob Papen -FXpansion – Sugarbytes – Audio Damage and many, many more.

Rack Extensions are quickly downloaded and installed directly into into Reason 6.5 via the new Authorisation Licensing software. All available Re’s may be used on a 30 day ‘Try Before Buy’ basis which is a great facility. The only down side to using Rack Extensions currently, however, is the fact that they only load into Reason via Internet access. This means; if your workstation that hosts Reason 6.5 is isolated from the Internet you cannot use Rack Extensions. That said, I do envisage the possibility of Propellerhead authorising Rack Extension licenses via the Codemeter USB dongle which would make the products become more accessible, for some, in the near future.

The plus side of this milestone of an upgrade – Reason 6.5 – is not only the flexibility and broader choice of production tools available for Reason users but also the new and free Propellerheads Rack Extension – Pulsar!

“To celebrate the release of the Rack Extension platform, Pulsar will be gifted to everyone who is using Rack Extension compatible versions of Reason and Reason Essentials for the first three months after release—a $49/€39 value.

“We want all Reason users to get the experience of using Rack Extensions,” says Leo Nathorst-Böös, Product Marketing Manager. “Pulsar is an amazing device that opens up a lot of new possibilities for creative sound-sculpting, and with the included ReFill, it’s something that all Reason users will enjoy—regardless of whether you’re a tweak-head or not. It feels great to be able to provide Pulsar for free to our loyal users.”

Thanks to the Reason rack’s flexible routing, Pulsar integrates perfectly with all Reason devices, opening up new possibilities for creative modulation within the program. With Pulsar it’s easy to create a shuffled tremolo that changes speed as different notes are triggered, or come up with ever-changing wobbles that respond to playing.

Using its audio outputs, Pulsar transforms from a low frequency oscillator to a high-powered synth with plenty of character. The waveforms designed for modulation, combined with the unique lag and shuffle controls, bring tons of unique tones.

For users that are not versed with the modular aspects of Reason, Pulsar also comes with a set of premade patches, containing everything from lush evolving pads to the grittiest of basses.” (Props Press Release May 2012)

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The success of Propellerhead Re Technology remains to be seen. Personally, I believe the whole package is a positive move for the future of Reason as a high-end audio software product but a move that needs to be controlled by integrity. The end-user should not be swamped with mediocrity for the sake of a fast buck.

For now though, the buzz is electric! With all things considered, Reason 6.5 is proving to be monumental in terms of Audio capability, Mixing capability, quality of onboard effects and now, through Rack Extension Technology, an open door for third party development. The die hard Reason purists may have their doubts, but for newly signed up acolytes this is a time of pure sonic indulgence, of product awareness which ultimately leads toward the goal of production enlightenment.