Reason 13.1 Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin
This manual describes both the Windows and macOS versions of Reason; wherever the versions differ this is clearly stated in the text.
#Text conventions
The text conventions are pretty straightforward. The examples below describe when certain text styles are used:
*
This style instructs the user to perform the task(s) described in the sentence.
*
This text style means IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Read carefully to avoid problems!
*
This text style is used for tips and additional info.
#Key command conventions
In the manual, computer keyboard commands are indicated with brackets. For example:
*
Hold down [Shift] and press [C].
However, some modifier keys are different on Windows and Mac computers. Whenever this is the case, the manual separates the commands with “(Win)” and “(Mac)” indications as in the following example:
*
Hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and press [S] to save your song.
#References to context menus
Whenever the manual instructs you to select an item from the “context menu”, it means that you should right-click (or [Ctrl]-click if you’re using a Mac with single-button mouse) on the specific area, section or device, and then select the item from the pop-up menu that appears - the context menu. The item list in context menus varies depending on where in the application you click. See “Context menus” for an overview of the context menus in Reason.
#Frames and circles (call-outs)
In pictures throughout this manual there might be circles and/or rectangles highlighting certain areas or objects. These are indicated by filled lines according to the examples in the picture above. Sometimes these highlighting frames/circles might also be accompanied by descriptive texts. The different colors of the frames and texts are only to enhance the contrast to the background pictures.
#Dashed arrows
A dashed arrow in a picture indicates the directions in which the pointer (or other tool) should be dragged to perform the desired operation. The example in the picture above shows in which directions (up and down) to drag the pointer to change the knob’s setting.
Reason uses an authorization system designed to be as flexible as possible, while at the same time providing the best possible copy protection for the product.
•
The core of the authorization system is your Reason Studios account (and license number, if you are using a licensed version of Reason 13).
#Registering Reason (licensed version only)
To be able to run your licensed version of Reason, the program must be registered to your account on the Reason Studios web site.
*
If you purchased a Reason license in a music store, follow the instructions you received from the shop.
*
If you purchased Reason directly from the Reason Studios Shop web site, the Reason license has already been automatically registered to your user account and you can use Reason by running it on a computer connected to the Internet.
#Authorizing Reason
*
Note that Internet connection is initially required for the procedures described below.
*
Launch Reason and enter you Username/e-mail address and Password for your Reason Studios account and click the Log in button.
Reason launches in Authorized Mode.
•
The first time you log in to the "Welcome to Reason" login dialog, the program will automatically store your user credentials.
The next time you launch Reason it will start without showing the login dialog. This also automatically enables off-line use, allowing Reason to run even if you have no Internet connection. Reason will then run off-line for a month. This period is continuously renewed when you run Reason (licensed or Annual Reason+ subscription) with an Internet connection. You do not have to do anything manually, except connecting to the Internet once a month.
#Logging out from Reason
Logging out means removing the stored login credentials - do this if you’re not going to use Reason on that computer, or if you need to log in to another Reason Studios user account.
*
In Reason, select “Quit/Exit and Log out” from the Reason (Mac) or File (Windows) menu.
The next time you run Reason, you will need to enter your Username/e-mail and password in the "Welcome to Reason" dialog again. Internet connection is then required again.
#Authorizing a computer for long-term off-line use
In addition, if you have an Annual (yearly) Reason+ subscription or own a licensed version of Reason 13, you can authorize your computer for long-term off-line use. This can be useful if you are traveling or working in a studio without Internet access, etc. The long-term authorization allows for staying off-line on the authorized computer for one (1) year. If you are a Reason+ subscriber you are limited by the subscription end date, though. In most situations, authorizing a computer for long-term use is not necessary, though.
#Authorizing Reason for long-term off-line use
1.
Open Reason’s Preferences and click the Account tab.
2.
Click the “Add long-term authorization” button:
•
The authorization expiry date for your computer is now shown in the Offline Authorization section.
•
You can authorize up to three (3) computers for long-term off-line use.
#Removing a long-term authorization for a computer
If you've already long-term authorized three computers and would like to authorize another computer, you will need to remove the authorization for one of the computers first:
1.
Launch Reason on one of the computers that already has a long-term authorization.
2.
Open Reason’s Preferences and click the Account tab.
3.
Click the “Remove long-term authorization” button:
•
If you can no longer access any of your authorized computers, you need to contact support to have them remove the authorization(s). This can be done .
#What happens if an authorization expires?
•
If a Reason authorization should expire during a session, the program will automatically enter Demo Mode, see “Running Reason in Demo Mode”.
You can continue to work, and save your songs as usual.
•
When you reconnect to the Internet and log in, Reason will automatically revert to authorized mode (provided that you have a valid Reason license or a Reason+ subscription).
#Running Reason in Demo Mode
If you don't have a Reason license, a Reason+ subscription, or if you don’t have an authorized computer and don’t have a working Internet connection, you can run Reason in Demo Mode:
1.
Launch Reason.
The following window appears:
2.
Click "Run in Demo Mode".
Reason launches in Demo Mode.
The Demo Mode LED lights up to the right on the Transport Panel:
Running Reason in Demo Mode allows you to perform all operations as in authorized mode, with three exceptions:
•
You cannot export audio or bounce mixer channels to disk.
•
You will only have access to the built-in devices in Reason, not to any Rack Extensions installed by the Reason Companion app.
•
You cannot open songs.
The only songs that can be opened in Demo Mode are the dedicated demo songs (file extensions ".rsndemo" (Reason Demo Song). See “Opening a Reason Demo Song”.
#Managing additional content
Reason comes with some additional content (Rack Extensions and ReFills) that you can download separately,
either right after the Reason installation or at a later point. To download additional content, proceed as follows:
*
Note that this procedure requires Internet connection!
1.
Open the Reason Companion app and click the Devices tab.
2.
At the top of the Devices tab, install the desired additional device(s).
Alternatively, click the “Install All” button to install all Rack Extensions in one go:
3.
Then, click the “ReFills” tab and install the desired additional ReFill(s).
Alternatively, click the “Install All” button to install all ReFills in one go:
4.
After installation, restart Reason for the installed items to become available.
The additional content is stored on your computer as follows:
•
The additional Rack Extension devices are stored in the following folders:
Windows: C:\Users\[your.user]\AppData\Roaming\Propellerhead Software\Optional REs
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Propellerhead Software/Optional REs
•
The additional ReFills are stored in the “Music > Reason Studios > ReFills” sub-folder.
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” for details). Also, the F2, F3, F4, F8 and F9 keys are shortcuts for showing and hiding the Spectrum EQ window, Device Palette, On-screen Piano Keys window, Edit Area and the Browser, 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:
1.
Open the System Preferences in macOS and select the "Keyboard" item.
2.
Click the “Keyboard Shortcuts...” button:
3.
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:
4.
Select the “Accessibility” tab.
The Accessibility window shows lists of keyboard shortcuts assigned to system functions. For example, [Cmd]-[F5] is assigned to turn VoiceOver on or off. In Reason, this is the keyboard shortcut for detaching the main mixer into a separate window.
5.
Either remove the tick from the checkbox or assign it to another keyboard shortcut.
6.
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.
Reason supports automatic program updates (within each major release). When you launch Reason it automatically checks for new updates on the Reason Studios web site - provided your computer is connected to the Internet.
If you are working with Reason off-line, and then connect to the Internet, you can manually check for updates by selecting the “Check for Updates...” item on the Reason (Mac) or Help (Win) menu.
*
Note that the automatic program update function only works within each major Reason release version, i.e. there will be no automatic update between Reason 12.x and 13.x.
Each time a new Reason version is available, an “update bar” appears at the top of the Reason song document after launch. In the update bar you can choose to either download the update now or later:
If you click “Not Now” Reason will wait a number of days before it checks for updates again.
If you click “Download” the update is downloaded and prepared for installation. A download progress bar appears in the update bar:
*
If you want to abort the download, click “Cancel”.
*
If you want to hide the download progress bar, click “Hide”.
When the download is ready, two options are available:
*
Click “Restart and Install Now” to install the update and launch the updated version of Reason.
*
Click “Install on Quit” to continue running the current Reason version and install the update after you quit the current Reason session.