Reason Trio Bundle worth it?

[Kaosis]

Got a props email about the reason piano, drums and basses are bundled for $124. Sadly I can't trial them, so I figured I'd ask about them.

Not worried about the basses per say, but does anyone have experience with the pianos and drums? Are they worth while? I'd like to get more velocity layered drums for kong kits, but this looks like it's setup for nnxt. I could rebuild them in kong, but don't want to bother with single velocity one shots.

Also, the pianos. How do they compare to radical?

[pushedbutton]

For once I can speak from experience because I own all three.
These are Reason 4 era refills. They sound good, no complaints there, but yeah as far as I know you'll have to do some rewiring to get the most out of them. I'd be interested to see if they've done anything to modernise the signal path but I get the feeling you'll be doing the work yourself. If I'm wrong let me know cos I'd love an update to these refills cos they're good all-round cornerstones in general.

[JNeffLind]

I'd say Reason Pianos alone is worth that. Best piano sounding library in Reason for me. Sympathetic resonance is beautiful, and there are tons of great patches from effects heavy ones to natural ones. Three different pianos mic'd in lots of different ways. I use the drums and bass too, but the pianos are the high point imo.

[Kaosis]

I'd say Reason Pianos alone is worth that. Best piano sounding library in Reason for me. Sympathetic resonance is beautiful, and there are tons of great patches from effects heavy ones to natural ones. Three different pianos mic'd in lots of different ways. I use the drums and bass too, but the pianos are the high point imo.

Good to know the piano sounds good, you've peeked my interest. Have you ever demoed or compared to the radical piano? I can demo the radical, but not the refill obviously.

Are the drums multi-velocity samples or single velocity. I don't mind rebuilding the sounds into a kong or even using straight on the keyboard, but I like the variety a multi-velocity layered drum kit gives.

[QVprod]

I'd say Reason Pianos alone is worth that. Best piano sounding library in Reason for me. Sympathetic resonance is beautiful, and there are tons of great patches from effects heavy ones to natural ones. Three different pianos mic'd in lots of different ways. I use the drums and bass too, but the pianos are the high point imo.

Good to know the piano sounds good, you've peeked my interest. Have you ever demoed or compared to the radical piano? I can demo the radical, but not the refill obviously.

Are the drums multi-velocity samples or single velocity. I don't mind rebuilding the sounds into a kong or even using straight on the keyboard, but I like the variety a multi-velocity layered drum kit gives.

If Reason is your main or only, then Reason Pianos is the best you can buy. It beats Radical Piano in realism. If you use another DAW then there are far better sounding pianos you can buy. The drums are velocity layered. You can reroute things and process all the mic positions to sound however you want them to. The beauty of those refills is the flexibility. The Bass refill is the most dated though as they provide samples recorded from different amps and Reason has real bass amp options now.

[Kaosis]

I'd say Reason Pianos alone is worth that. Best piano sounding library in Reason for me. Sympathetic resonance is beautiful, and there are tons of great patches from effects heavy ones to natural ones. Three different pianos mic'd in lots of different ways. I use the drums and bass too, but the pianos are the high point imo.

Good to know the piano sounds good, you've peeked my interest. Have you ever demoed or compared to the radical piano? I can demo the radical, but not the refill obviously.

Are the drums multi-velocity samples or single velocity. I don't mind rebuilding the sounds into a kong or even using straight on the keyboard, but I like the variety a multi-velocity layered drum kit gives.

If Reason is your main or only, then Reason Pianos is the best you can buy. It beats Radical Piano in realism. If you use another DAW then there are far better sounding pianos you can buy. The drums are velocity layered. You can reroute things and process all the mic positions to sound however you want them to. The beauty of those refills is the flexibility. The Bass refill is the most dated though as they provide samples recorded from different amps and Reason has real bass amp options now.

Velocity layered, why couldn't I think of that terminology lol. I claim a lack of sleep

Anywho, Reason being my only DAW you've sold me as I've been wanting a slightly better grand than the defaults. Quality drums are a must have for me, been working on giving my drums proper love to humanize and it's tremendously improved my tracks. Hence the yearn for velocity layered sets. How would you compare the drums to the A-List stuff?

[QVprod]

I'd say Reason Pianos alone is worth that. Best piano sounding library in Reason for me. Sympathetic resonance is beautiful, and there are tons of great patches from effects heavy ones to natural ones. Three different pianos mic'd in lots of different ways. I use the drums and bass too, but the pianos are the high point imo.

Good to know the piano sounds good, you've peeked my interest. Have you ever demoed or compared to the radical piano? I can demo the radical, but not the refill obviously.

Are the drums multi-velocity samples or single velocity. I don't mind rebuilding the sounds into a kong or even using straight on the keyboard, but I like the variety a multi-velocity layered drum kit gives.

If Reason is your main or only, then Reason Pianos is the best you can buy. It beats Radical Piano in realism. If you use another DAW then there are far better sounding pianos you can buy. The drums are velocity layered. You can reroute things and process all the mic positions to sound however you want them to. The beauty of those refills is the flexibility. The Bass refill is the most dated though as they provide samples recorded from different amps and Reason has real bass amp options now.

Velocity layered, why couldn't I think of that terminology lol. I claim a lack of sleep

Anywho, Reason being my only DAW you've sold me as I've been wanting a slightly better grand than the defaults. Quality drums are a must have for me, been working on giving my drums proper love to humanize and it's tremendously improved my tracks. Hence the yearn for velocity layered sets. How would you compare the drums to the A-List stuff?

Never compared them head to head sonically, but for the price of the bundle you get more options. I believe the A-list stuff is all 1 kit each, where as the refill gives you a few different kit options (multiple snares, kicks, toms, hihats, and cymbals) with multiple mic positions. It's less plug and play than the a-list stuff but provides a little more sonic variety especially for building your own kits.

[chimp_spanner]

I have both A-List and RDK, among others, and IMO A-List is okay if you just need "some drums" to slot into a mix. Once you expose them, the lack of velocity layers becomes really obvious. You're also super tied in in terms of if you find a kit that has a nice kick and snare but crap toms, you then have to wire up a second A-List and trigger just the toms you want over CV and, well yeah. Not ideal.

RDK, on the other hand, I was initially a bit disappointed with. But as others have said, to get the most of it you really need to spend some time patching it yourself. The presets - no offense to whoever made them - aren't great. But being able to load in any combination of drums (and there are plenty to choose from) and then create your own overhead/ambient bleed mix, route each kit piece out to a mixer channel and throw your rack arsenal at it...is actually pretty damn cool. And there's a lot more expression and variation in the hits.

The only things I don't like in RDK are the hats and cymbals, and I typically end up using Ryan Greene Alt Drums 1 for that (it also has individual kit pieces that will slot in nicely with your RDK patches).

[esselfortium]

RDK, on the other hand, I was initially a bit disappointed with. But as others have said, to get the most of it you really need to spend some time patching it yourself. The presets - no offense to whoever made them - aren't great. But being able to load in any combination of drums (and there are plenty to choose from) and then create your own overhead/ambient bleed mix, route each kit piece out to a mixer channel and throw your rack arsenal at it...is actually pretty damn cool. And there's a lot more expression and variation in the hits.

Agreed. I would get so much more use out of RDK if there was a new set of preset combis made for it. I've been able to get some great sounds out of it with some work, but I'm not usually in the mood for that when I'm in the middle of composing. Just being able to quickly drop it into a mix and already have it sounding respectable would be so convenient.

[JNeffLind]

I'd say Reason Pianos alone is worth that. Best piano sounding library in Reason for me. Sympathetic resonance is beautiful, and there are tons of great patches from effects heavy ones to natural ones. Three different pianos mic'd in lots of different ways. I use the drums and bass too, but the pianos are the high point imo.

Good to know the piano sounds good, you've peeked my interest. Have you ever demoed or compared to the radical piano? I can demo the radical, but not the refill obviously.

Are the drums multi-velocity samples or single velocity. I don't mind rebuilding the sounds into a kong or even using straight on the keyboard, but I like the variety a multi-velocity layered drum kit gives.

To my ear the Reason Pianos sound better and I also thought there was more variation in some of the more effects heavy patches. The sympathetic resonance when using the pedal makes quite a difference. Not sure about the drums, never messed with them much.

[chimp_spanner]

I really like Radical Piano! Keys, not so much. But you can get some lovely sounds from it if you crank up all the mechanical noises and sympathetic resonance, dial back the tone/timbre a bit and chuck on some compression. Instant vibes.

[GRIFTY]

i have all three, very useful but IMO 124 is still WAY too much. i'd buy them again for 40 probably