Question for reason users

[scratchnsnifff]

Not sure how to make a poll but I’m wondering how often people use the combinator? Been seeing a lot of Facebook videos and it looks like not nearly as many people use it unless it’s from a refill or something

As for myself, everything except Kong and maybe a percussion loop will be i a combinator. No right click and combine as that creates a “subtractor” lane anyways. And my purpose for using the combinator is to avoid unnecessary tracks in the sequencer. Basically saying the combinator is most of what makes my workflow work!

I would like to know how often it is used because it would be nice to see if the interest is there for an update. I know it is often that those who do use it will post in the feature request thread. But idk maybe If enough interest is shown we could hear from the props perspective. And from what iv gathered is that it seems like devices can have additions but can’t have things taken Away (patch compatibility)

[Oquasec]

When Reason 5 came out you got access to 2 combinators. The mixer and the regular combi.
Save as FX or save as Cmb. If they make a third option, it would need more knobs.

[JRJulius]

I never use it but I also don’t save my presets — I just re-program every device from Init every time. Worse, I start every project completely blank even though I use the same devices over and over.

My workflow is terrible...

[Loque]

I use it as soon as i have more than 1 device involed. It is my Rack-Grouping container. I think i use it in every song, 95% if i design sounds, 99% for fx. Sometimes i just use it for 1 device too, if i have some routings on the back on it, like i put out an LFO and reroute it to something, just because the mod matrix is filled - this will not be saved within the patch, so i need a Combinator.

The worst thing that could happen is, i get out of mod matrix slots or CV within 1 Combinator.

Sometimes i use the mix channel as grouping container, but i found this too much hiding of everything, especially the synth i use.

I just whish sometimes, i could group more in a Combinator, like a mix channel, 2 parallel channels and its mix bus. And THAN i could save THIS

[Psuper]

I love using the combinator, use it far more than I expect given I primarily do piano and vocals. However it's typically for experimentation.

[scratchnsnifff]

I use it as soon as i have more than 1 device involed. It is my Rack-Grouping container. I think i use it in every song, 95% if i design sounds, 99% for fx. Sometimes i just use it for 1 device too, if i have some routings on the back on it, like i put out an LFO and reroute it to something, just because the mod matrix is filled - this will not be saved within the patch, so i need a Combinator.

The worst thing that could happen is, i get out of mod matrix slots or CV within 1 Combinator.

Sometimes i use the mix channel as grouping container, but i found this too much hiding of everything, especially the synth i use.

I just whish sometimes, i could group more in a Combinator, like a mix channel, 2 parallel channels and its mix bus. And THAN i could save THIS

I have to force myself to save a CV slot sometimes, my love for sound design has grown into an issue XD and these. New deep synths aren’t helping! Especially those like Europa with a hundred filters and modifiers. I don’t like using LFOs to control the phase distort modifier I like it when it changes the sound and is static, and automating the position of the phase distortion that goes on. Would be nice to see more matrix slots per device, even if the combinator had an update with just that I’d pay!

[ravisoni]

Post reason 5, I've almost never even thought of using the combi, and that is due in large part to me having to separate the composition and mixing process. Certain REs demand more processing power; in the past I would simply hook all my fx devices in the same combi chain, but I leave all of that out until I am done with the composition as the various synths/devices are themselves very demanding on the CPU. Once everything is bounced to audio tracks for mixing, I then don't have a need for combi anymore as a mix channel is its own combinator of sorts.

[Loque]

I use it as soon as i have more than 1 device involed. It is my Rack-Grouping container. I think i use it in every song, 95% if i design sounds, 99% for fx. Sometimes i just use it for 1 device too, if i have some routings on the back on it, like i put out an LFO and reroute it to something, just because the mod matrix is filled - this will not be saved within the patch, so i need a Combinator.

The worst thing that could happen is, i get out of mod matrix slots or CV within 1 Combinator.

Sometimes i use the mix channel as grouping container, but i found this too much hiding of everything, especially the synth i use.

I just whish sometimes, i could group more in a Combinator, like a mix channel, 2 parallel channels and its mix bus. And THAN i could save THIS

I have to force myself to save a CV slot sometimes, my love for sound design has grown into an issue XD and these. New deep synths aren’t helping! Especially those like Europa with a hundred filters and modifiers. I don’t like using LFOs to control the phase distort modifier I like it when it changes the sound and is static, and automating the position of the phase distortion that goes on. Would be nice to see more matrix slots per device, even if the combinator had an update with just that I’d pay!

Yea, i would probably do it too... Sick... And Europa needs more CV on the back and every synth, except Nostromo, needs more mod matrix slots. Great what Nostromo did with the panels!

[antic604]

I love the idea of the Combinator, but I hate how it's actually implemented:
a) you can't change a thumbnail in the sequencer, so all Combinator tracks look the same (no, skinning is not enough),
b) you only get 4 knobs & 4 buttons to automate, which is nowhere near to what I need for a device that can contain a mixer, 1-2 instruments and several FX,

Also, like @JRJulius I don't save patches, because actually patching device chains is one of the more satisfying things in Reason and why I got interested in it in first place

[Psuper]

I love the idea of the Combinator, but I hate how it's actually implemented:
a) you can't change a thumbnail in the sequencer, so all Combinator tracks look the same (no, skinning is not enough),
b) you only get 4 knobs & 4 buttons to automate, which is nowhere near to what I need for a device that can contain a mixer, 1-2 instruments and several FX,

Also, like @JRJulius I don't save patches, because actually patching device chains is one of the more satisfying things in Reason and why I got interested in it in first place

Oh I could go on all day how the backend is severely lacking in so many ways. Both your points have been said to death to Props and should have addressed sometime after R3 release... 14 years later nothing.

[antic604]

I love the idea of the Combinator, but I hate how it's actually implemented:
a) you can't change a thumbnail in the sequencer, so all Combinator tracks look the same (no, skinning is not enough),
b) you only get 4 knobs & 4 buttons to automate, which is nowhere near to what I need for a device that can contain a mixer, 1-2 instruments and several FX,

Also, like @JRJulius I don't save patches, because actually patching device chains is one of the more satisfying things in Reason and why I got interested in it in first place

Oh I could go on all day how the backend is severely lacking in so many ways. Both your points have been said to death to Props and should have addressed sometime after R3 release... 14 years later nothing.

Sorry to beat a dead horse, then. I'm new to Reason

[Psuper]

Oh I could go on all day how the backend is severely lacking in so many ways. Both your points have been said to death to Props and should have addressed sometime after R3 release... 14 years later nothing.

Sorry to beat a dead horse, then. I'm new to Reason

Oh no mate I was totally agreeing with you, cant be said enough really. Just pointed out that its a request demanded by a majority for a long time. And such a simple one at that, yet Props ignore it or are unable to develop it further (per our other conversation about the source code).

[scratchnsnifff]

Haha again with the source code XD I think they are saving the combinator as a part of a bigger update or something, clearly the props use the combinator (in their YouTube tutorials) and if we the users have run out of combi matrix slots, surely the propellerhead staff has :p I feel like all it will take is just one of their employees to mention it a few times a month or week to the bosses

[Psuper]

Haha again with the source code XD I think they are saving the combinator as a part of a bigger update or something, clearly the props use the combinator (in their YouTube tutorials) and if we the users have run out of combi matrix slots, surely the propellerhead staff has :p I feel like all it will take is just one of their employees to mention it a few times a month or week to the bosses

I'm sure its been mentioned many many thousands of times over the last 14 years.

But like I said, if they do add that minor crumb everyone's been asking for, it will be a Propellerhead MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT along with a couple crippled 3rd party packs and an expected $130 upgrade price.

[FlowerSoldier]

Reason is a tool. Like a hammer.
I think a lot of us on here use more than one DAW. I have Logic and Live on my machine.
There is no one DAW to rule them all.
Reason is really unique and i think that's what makes it so easy to love (and also to criticize.)

[esselfortium]

I don't build combinators as much nowadays as I used to, especially since SSL channels and multiple rack columns do a lot to help separate and organize devices. I do still use them because of refills and some custom secret-sauce FX patches and the like that I've built over the years. They're also still useful for stacking instruments together, too, of course: I've been double-tracking VST instruments a lot recently, and the combinator makes that very simple and straightforward. It can be great for simplifying weird automation setups, too.

What I want even more than a way to add more controls to the faceplate (though I want that too! and more, labelable inputs/outputs!), is a new type of combinator that can contain SSL channels (and ideally, allow nesting inside other combinators). When the combinator was introduced in Reason 3, it finally made it possible for big multi-channel setups like Reason Drum Kits patches to be saved and recalled easily without needing to awkwardly paste them in from a template document. When the SSL mixer was introduced in Record, though, there was suddenly something important that couldn't be stored inside a combinator, and for any patch that depended on mixer channel routing, you were back to saving it in a song template.

[scratchnsnifff]

Interesting stuff here, I’m wondering what the most productive way to let the props know about this topic. Surely they realize that most Reason users love the combinator (as well as refill makers). I wonder if it is more practical for them to just make a new one, or update the old one

Like iv said before right click and map to combinator knob would be mad useful

More matrix slots per device. 15-20 instead of 10
Maybe either 2-4 knobs and buttons for super stacked instrument racks
Or instead of the right click function, a learn ability like the vst wrapper.
I’d assume if they did make a new combinator that it would look snazzy like the vst wrapper, I absolutely love the look of that thing. I think the amount of CV control is enough for myself because most synths have cv

[plaamook]

I use it as soon as i have more than 1 device involed. It is my Rack-Grouping container.

Same