Setting Up | Reason Studios

This chapter is only relevant for the stand-alone version of Reason. For Reason Rack Plugin, no further setup is needed as the host DAW handles audio and MIDI connections.

This chapter describes the settings you need to make before you can start using the stand-alone version of Reason. These are necessary in order to get any sounds to and from the program and to be able to play and control Reason via MIDI.

#About the Audio Hardware

If you are running Reason Rack Plugin, all audio inputs and outputs are handled by the DAW host - refer to the manual for your specific DAW.

The audio hardware is the computer equipment that converts the analog signals from instruments and microphones to digital signals that Reason can work with and store, and back again (for connection to an amplifier, headphones, or similar). This equipment could be a built-in audio card, a 2-channel USB interface, or an audio card with several inputs and outputs, digital connectors, etc. Regardless of which, you need to make sure the hardware and its drivers are properly installed:

#Audio hardware and macOS

#If you are using the built-in audio hardware in your Macintosh

All Mac models come with a built-in audio interface, providing stereo input and output jacks (and in some cases a built-in microphone). Depending on your needs, the quality of these inputs and outputs may be fully sufficient for use with Reason.

#If you are using other audio hardware with your Macintosh

You may want to use other audio hardware with Reason (e.g. an audio interface with multiple outputs, digital connections, etc.). For this to be possible, the audio hardware must be compatible with macOS, i.e. there must be a Core Audio driver available for the hardware.

Install the audio hardware drivers as described in its documentation.

Note that some audio hardware does not require any special audio drivers. Please, refer to the hardware documentation.

Connect the stereo outputs of your audio hardware to your listening equipment (speakers, mixer, headphones or similar).

For info about how to use multiple outputs (i.e. more than a stereo output), see the Operation Manual pdf. For now, we stick to standard stereo connections.

If possible, test that audio plays back OK with the audio hardware.

With some audio hardware, a test application is supplied for this purpose.

#Audio hardware and Windows

To run Reason with full audio in and audio out functionality under Windows, an ASIO driver is required for the audio hardware.

Reason can run with DirectX or MME drivers as well but this will only support audio out - and at considerably higher latencies than with ASIO drivers.

Make sure you have the latest ASIO driver for the audio hardware!

Please check the manufacturer's web site for the latest versions.

Install the audio hardware drivers as described in its documentation.

Connect the stereo outputs of your audio hardware to your listening equipment (speakers, mixer, headphones or similar).

For information about how to use multiple outputs (i.e. more than a stereo output), see the Operation Manual pdf. For now, we stick to standard stereo connections.

If possible, test that audio plays back properly with the audio hardware.

In the case of audio hardware with ASIO drivers, you will need some test application for this (often included with the audio hardware).

#About MIDI Keyboards/Surfaces/Interfaces

While it is possible to use Reason without an external MIDI controller (by using the “On-screen Piano Keys” window for playing MIDI notes, or by manually drawing notes in the sequencer), this would not allow you to use the program to its full potential. From now on we assume that you are using a keyboard controller - either a USB keyboard with a built-in MIDI interface, or a separate MIDI interface and a MIDI keyboard.

When installing the keyboard controller, or MIDI interface and its drivers, follow the instructions in its documentation carefully.

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While a MIDI interface with a single MIDI port is sufficient, you will benefit from having two or more individual MIDI ports.

This is especially true if you want to manipulate Reason parameters with additional MIDI control surface devices, or use the program in conjunction with an external, stand-alone sequencer, drum machine or similar.

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For some MIDI interfaces connected via USB, no driver installation is required. Just plug in the interface and you're ready to go!

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For other, more advanced MIDI interfaces (or at least to take advantage of more advanced features, like multiple inputs) you will need to install a driver.

Please consult the documentation that came with the interface for details.

#MIDI In Connections

Simply connect the USB cable from your keyboard to your computer.

Connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI Out on your MIDI keyboard (or other MIDI controller) to a MIDI In on your MIDI interface.

This is sufficient to be able to play and record notes and controllers in Reason from the MIDI keyboard.

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If you are not using a USB keyboard, you may also connect the MIDI Out from the MIDI interface to the MIDI In on your MIDI keyboard.

This is not strictly necessary to use Reason, but it will enable two-way communication when using Auto-detect Surfaces in the Settings (see “Adding a specific Control surface”). Whether auto-detection works or not depends on the keyboard model.

If you have several MIDI control surfaces or similar that you want to use, we recommend that you connect them to separate MIDI ports (or directly to the computer using USB).

#MIDI Out Connections

If you have external synthesizers, drum machines or other devices that can be played via MIDI, you can control them from Reason. For this you need to have a MIDI interface with one or several outputs.

Connect a MIDI cable from a MIDI Out jack on the MIDI interface to the MIDI In jack on your external instrument.

Read more about how to control external MIDI devices from Reason in the Reason Operation Manual.pdf or Reason Help, accessible from within the program.

#About the Settings

The basic settings for audio and MIDI are done in the Settings dialog. This is opened from the Edit menu (or, if you are running macOS, from the Reason menu).

The “Audio” tab in the Settings dialog.

Described herein are only the most important settings in the Settings. For information about other Settings settings, see the “Menu and Dialog Reference” chapter in the Reason Operation Manual pdf or Reason Help.

#Setting up the Audio Hardware

You need to establish a connection between Reason and the audio hardware. This is done by selecting a driver - a software component that acts like a link between the program and the audio hardware. Proceed as follows:

In the Settings dialog, click the Audio tab.

Click the Audio Device selector and select one of the available audio drivers.

Which driver to select depends on the platform and the audio hardware. If an option is not applicable to your setup it will be disabled in the dialog.

#macOS

Select the option that corresponds to the hardware you want to use (the built-in audio connectors or some additional audio hardware that you have installed).

A number of predefined combinations of built-in inputs and outputs will also be available in the Audio Device list.

The number of available input(s)+output(s) combinations depends of your computer’s specific audio hardware configuration.

#Windows

If you run Reason under Windows, it’s required that the audio hardware supports ASIO drivers, otherwise you won’t be able to record any audio.

Select the option that corresponds to the ASIO hardware you want to use.

If you are using audio hardware for which there is a specific ASIO driver, you should select this.

With an ASIO driver written specifically for the audio hardware, Reason can communicate more or less directly with the audio hardware. The benefits are lower latency (see below) and possibly better support for additional hardware features such as multiple inputs and outputs.

#About Latency and other Audio Settings

On the Audio tab, you will find a number of additional settings for audio. The most important ones are Sample Rate, Buffer Size and the corresponding readouts for Input and Output Latency.

The Input Latency is the delay between when the audio is “sent” from a connected microphone or instrument and when it’s received and detected by Reason. Output Latency is the delay between when audio is “sent” from Reason and when you actually hear it. The latencies in an audio system depends on your audio hardware, its drivers and their settings.

When you select an audio driver, its latency values are automatically reported by the audio card and displayed in the on the Audio tab in Settings. Depending on the audio hardware and the driver, you may be able to adjust these values. If you experience high latency values, you will need to make adjustments to your configuration.

If available, drag the Buffer Size slider the left to lower the latency.

The lowest buffer size setting you can choose depends on the audio drivers and your computer's performance. If you get crackles and glitches during playback, the buffer size is set too low for your system - you need to raise the buffer size until you can play back normally.

If the Buffer Size slider is disabled, you may be able to lower the buffer size in the control panel for the audio hardware - click the Control Panel button to open this.

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A high Sample Rate will give lower latency. However, it will also tax your computer’s CPU more. Generally, 44,100 Hz Sample Rate is recommended, since this will give the best performance.

For more information, please consult the Reason Operation Manual pdf or Reason Help.

#Setting up MIDI Control Surfaces

In Reason, MIDI keyboards or remote control devices are called control surfaces. MIDI input from control surfaces can be handled by two systems: “Easy MIDI Inputs” and Remote. Here are some of the main features:

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You can use any number of control surfaces at the same time.

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The program supports a large number of control surfaces out of the box - knobs, faders and buttons on the surfaces are automatically mapped to the most useful parameters on the Reason devices.

You don't have to change the settings on the control surface to control different devices in Reason - if you change MIDI input from a ID-8 track to a Combinator track, the control surface will automatically adapt. You just set up your control surface once and for all for use with Reason - the program handles the rest!

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For control surfaces that are not natively supported at this stage, you can use generic drivers.

Note however, that Remote drivers for additional control surfaces will be added continuously - check our web page for more info.

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By default, all control surfaces follow the sequencer Master Keyboard Input.

This means that you set MIDI input to a track in the sequencer to route the control surface(s) to the track's device in the rack.

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You can lock a control surface to a specific device in the rack.

For example, you could have a Master Keyboard that follows MIDI input, while another control surface is locked to the Main Mixer. This way you can control levels and pans at all times. This is described in the Operation Manual.

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You can use remote overrides to map a specific control on a surface to a specific Reason parameter or function.

For example, you could override-map a knob or fader on your control surface to the Main Mixer's master level fader. Or you could map buttons on your control surface to control Reason's transport (play, stop, record, etc.) at all times, regardless of which track has Master Keyboard Input in the sequencer. This is described in the Operation Manual.

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Remote also supports some control surfaces with MIDI feedback.

If you have such a control surface and it is supported by Reason, you can take full advantage of motorized faders, meters, displays, etc.

In case you specified a Master Keyboard in the Setup Wizard, and you don't have any other control surfaces, you don't have to do anything else. But if you want to add additional control surfaces or edit your settings, this is done in the Settings.

#Automatic set-up using the Easy MIDI Inputs function

By default Reason automatically scans and detects all available MIDI In port(s) on your computer. If you have a MIDI keyboard or MIDI control surface connected to your computer, Reason automatically connects and lets you use it for controlling Reason. This way you don’t have to do any manual set-up but can start controlling Reason right away.

At the bottom of the MIDI tab in Settings all currently available MIDI In Ports are listed:

All available MIDI In Ports on your computer are listed in the Easy MIDI Inputs list.

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The Easy MIDI Inputs function supports input of MIDI Note On/Off (with Velocity) as well as standard performance controllers, such as Mod Wheel, Pitch Bend and Sustain Pedal.

You can also do manual Remote Overrides to assign Reason parameters to knobs/sliders/buttons on your control keyboard/surface. See the Remote chapter in the Operation Manual for more information.

Deselect the Enabled box(es) to disable MIDI Ports you don’t want to be available for Reason.

For example, if you have a drum machine connected via USB to your computer, you might not want it to start sending MIDI Note data to Reason, especially if it’s synced to MIDI Clock to Reason’s sequencer.

#Adding a specific Control surface

If your specific MIDI keyboard/control surface model is featured in the list of supported surfaces in Reason you will get even more functionality if you add it in the “Remote keyboards and control surfaces” section at the top - with knobs/sliders/buttons already pre-assigned to parameters in Reason.

Open the Settings dialog and click the MIDI tab.

If your control surface is connected via USB (or if you have made a two-way MIDI connection), try clicking the Auto-detect Surfaces button.

Reason sends an ID request to all MIDI ports and checks for answers from any connected control surfaces. Note that not all control surfaces support auto-detection.

If a MIDI Port of your connected control surface/keyboard is already used by the Easy MIDI Inputs function (see “Automatic set-up using the Easy MIDI Inputs function”), this detection will override this and automatically remove the MIDI In Port from the Easy MIDI Inputs list.

All found surfaces are listed in the “MIDI Keyboards / Controller” list.

To add a control surface manually, click the “Add manually” button.

This brings up a new dialog.

Select the manufacturer of your control surface from the Manufacturer pop-up menu.

If you can't find it on the menu, see below.

Select the model of your control surface from the Model pop-up menu.

If you can't find it on the menu, see below.

An image of the selected control surface model is shown, often along with some information text - read this carefully.

For some control surfaces, you need to select a specific preset to use the surface with Reason - this is noted here.

Use the MIDI Input pop-up to select the input port to which you have connected the surface.

If in doubt, you can click the Find button and then tweak a control or play a key on the control surface to have Reason find the correct input port for you.

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Some control surfaces may have more than one MIDI Input pop-up menu.

You need to select ports on all MIDI Input pop-up menus.

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Some control surfaces will have a MIDI Output pop-up menu.

In some cases this labeled "Optional" - then you don't have to make a selection. In other cases, a MIDI Output is required. This is the case if the control surface uses MIDI feedback - motor fader, displays, etc.

If you like, you can rename your control surface in the Name field.

Click OK to add the surface.

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Depending on the surface model, alerts may appear, reminding you to select a specific preset etc.

In some cases, Reason can restore a preset in the control surface to factory settings - you are then informed of this.

Finally you return to the MIDI tab in Settings, where your added surface is now listed.

#If your control surface model isn't listed

If you can't find your control surface listed on the Manufacturer or Model pop-up menus when you try to add it, this means that there's no native support for that model. However, the program supports generic keyboards and controllers. Here's what to do:

Select "Other" on the Manufacturer pop-up menu and then select one of the four options on the Model pop-up menu.

Or, if the Manufacturer is listed but not your specific model:

Select one of the four "Other" options on the Model pop-up menu:

In both cases, the options are:

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MIDI Control Keyboard

Select this if you have a MIDI keyboard with programmable knobs, buttons or faders. You need to set up your MIDI control keyboard so that the controllers send the correct MIDI CC messages, depending on which Reason device you want to control - check out the MIDI Implementation Chart in the Reason documentation. If your control surface has templates or presets for different Reason devices, these can be used.

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MIDI Control Surface

Select this if you have a MIDI controller with programmable knobs, buttons or faders (but without keyboard). Again, you need to set your controllers to send the correct MIDI CCs.

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MIDI Keyboard (No Controls)

Select this if you have a MIDI keyboard without programmable knobs, buttons or faders. This is used for playing only (including performance controllers such as pitch bend, mod wheel, etc.) - you cannot adjust Reason device parameters with this type of control surface.

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MIDI Multichannel Control Keyboard/Surface

These options can be used if your MIDI keyboard or surface can handle multiple MIDI channels simultaneously.

After selecting a model, proceed with selecting MIDI input as described above.

#About the Master Keyboard

One of the control surfaces can be the Master Keyboard. This is like any other control surface, but it must have a keyboard and it cannot be locked to a specific Reason device (in other words, it always follows the MIDI input to the sequencer). This is the surface you use to play the instrument devices in Reason.

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The first surface with a keyboard that is added (or found by auto-detect) is automatically selected to be the Master Keyboard.

This is shown in the Attached Surfaces list on the Settings page.

If you want to use another surface as Master Keyboard, select it in the list and click the "Make Master Keyboard" button.

You can only have one Master Keyboard.

If you don't want to use any Master Keyboard at all, select the current Master Keyboard surface and click the same button (which is now labeled "Use No Master Keyboard").

#Master Keyboard Input

This allows you to set a preference for how Master Keyboard Input mode is selected:

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Standard mode

This always sets Master Keyboard Input to the selected sequencer track.

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Separated mode

This will allow you to independently select tracks while Master Keyboard Input is unchanged. When this is mode is active, Master Keyboard Input is set by clicking the device icon in the track list. Selecting another track (by clicking on the track name or somewhere in the track list), leaves Master Keyboard Input unchanged.

#Other functions

To edit a surface, double-click it in the list (or select it and click Edit).

This lets you change its name and MIDI port settings, if needed.

To delete a surface, select it in the list and click Delete.

You can turn off a surface by deactivating its “Enabled“ checkbox.

This could be useful if the surface is connected to your system but you only want to use it with another program, etc.

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There is also an “Other Controls” and a “Sync” tab in the Settings.

These are only used for External Control MIDI buses and for MIDI Clock Sync. All hands-on MIDI
control is set up on the MIDI page.

#Setting up a Default Song

It's possible to select a default Song which will automatically open as a “template” each time you select “New” from the File menu. The Default Song could be any Song you have created earlier, or a factory made Template Song. You can select this Default Song on the “Browsing” tab in Settings.

Select “Settings” from the Edit menu (Win) or “Reason“ menu (Mac) and then click the “Browsing” tab.

Click the "Template" radio button in the "Default Song" section.

Click the Browse button to the right and select the Song you want to use as template when creating new Songs.

The Template Songs that come with Reason 14 can be found in your local Music folder at:
Music/Reason Studios/Template Songs/Reason 14.

Each time you create a new Song (by selecting "New" from the File menu), the selected Song will be loaded and used as a template for your new Song. On Windows platforms, the Song document will be named "Document n" where "n" is an incremental number. On macOS platforms, the document will be named "untitled n" where "n" is an incremental number. You can then save your Song with a new name.

#Opening the last Song at program launch

It's possible to instruct Reason to automatically open the last Song each time you launch Reason. You select this on the “Browsing” tab in the Settings dialog.

Select “Settings” from the Edit menu (Win) or "Reason" menu (Mac) and then click the “Browsing” tab.

Tick the "Open last song on startup" checkbox.

When you launch Reason the next time, the last saved Song will automatically open in a document window.

#Reassigning the Function Keys in macOS

When you work with Reason, you will do a lot of navigating between the three main areas - the main mixer, the rack and the sequencer. The quickest way to switch between these areas is to use the function keys F5, F6 and F7 (see “Navigating between the areas” in the “Common Operations and Concepts” chapter in the Operation Manual and Help system for details). Also, the F2, F3, F4 and F8 keys are shortcuts for showing and hiding the Spectrum EQ window, Browser, On-screen Piano Keys window and the Tool Window, respectively.

However, on many Macintosh models (especially MacBooks), the function keys double as hardware control buttons. For example, they might control the volume of the built-in speaker, the display brightness or keyboard backlight. To make these keys actually work as function keys for software such as Reason, you need to hold the "Fn" key while pressing them.

This can work perfectly OK, but to get the best workflow in Reason we recommend that you change this behavior, so that pressing e.g. the F5 key actually sends "F5" to Reason (and you hold down the Fn key to get the hardware control functions instead). Here is how you change this:

Open the System Preferences in macOS and select the "Keyboard" item.

Click the “Keyboard Shortcuts...” button:

Select the "Function Keys" tab and make sure "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" is switched on.

Now you can use F2-F8 for controlling functions in Reason. To use hardware control features such as volume and display brightness, you need to hold down the "Fn" key before pressing the function keys.

Some function keys might also be pre-assigned to macOS keyboard shortcuts, which will have priority over software such as Reason. This is easily changed:

Now you’re finished with the settings and can exit System Preferences.

From now on, the function keys and keyboard shortcuts will perform their intended functions in Reason.