Reason Vs. FL
Written By: 504MusicMan - Platinum INC Entertainment
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www.dirtysouthbeatz.com
(Practical Differences Between FL Studio & Reason 3.0 When Making Hip Hop Music)
1. I if u would like to use VST Plugins you can not do so with Reason 3.0 because its not supported
(at the moment, not sure if they ever will support VST's. We will have to wait and see)
2. Reason, has synthesis technology that allows one to "shape"
sounds into whatever the producer wants the sounds to be like.
(FL Studio also has synthesis ablities, however Reason has its own proprietary synthesis called Grain Table with the Malstrom device that is in a class of its own)
3. Fruity Loops does not have all the built in Hardware Racks and the flexibility to Route / Re-Route Devices to one another. Reason gives its users the ability to COMBINE Sound Modules (Devices) to enable Music Producers to create unique Sonic Sounds never heard of.
4. FL Studio 6 now ships with over 2 GB of Samples that are ready to be used. There are plenty of samples that ship with the product you can use out the box no matter what genre of music your producing. (Unlike Fruity Loops the older version of the product that had more Techno sounds then anything.)
5. Reason 3.0 has a Ton of factory sound banks that ship with the product that make it easy for u to open the box and start producing Hip Hop & R&B music immediately also. Sounds such as there HyperBottom Bass is infamous in Hip Hop n R&B tracks. Also there are lots of instruments loops, drum loops, and combinator patches that will get you up and running making beatz in no time.
6. Reason 3.0 has Samplers that do so much that i can't even explain it all on this 1 page. We will be releasing Training Videos that will cover the intricate features of the Samplers in Reason in the near future.
NOTE: The Samplers in Reason are more of what Propellerhead calls "playback devices". With traditional samplers you would have the ability to record Audio & you can not record audio with these samplers. However, you can use Recycle 2.0 to edit your samples and export them as REX files so you can use within the Reason application with the Dr. Rex player.
7. Reason 3.0 has a "Browser" feature that allows one to quickly access there samples / preview the files before loading in Devices (Samplers). You can also make Shortcuts to eaisly access files that you use often similar to how you can create shortcuts within Windows operating system.
8. Fruity Loops has sounds it ships with but you can add your own custom sounds.
And you can render in MP3 FORMAT. REASON DOES NOT SUPPORT MP3 Format.
9. Quantization in Reason 3.0 & FL Studio are real straightforward and easy to use. However, with the USER GROOVE feature in Reason you can quantize your midi data that you input (play from your keyboard) to have the same feel of a already loaded drum loop that is playing in the Dr. Rex player. Matter fact you can get the USER GROOVE from any device pattern that is loaded into its Sequencer making for a real user feel groove!
Robotic sounding tracks are a thing of the past once you understand how & when to (and when not to) quantize your tracks).
10. You can save your favorite sounds & folders as Shortcuts within Reason browser feature to easily call up sounds you frequently use.
11. You can create custom patches for mixing & mastering your beatz once they have been completed using the Reason Combi suite.
12. Both applications support the Propellerhead technology REWIRE, which will allow you to send out your Audio signals from these applications directly into a DAW program such as Cubase 3.0 or Pro Tools. There are tons of music production software applications that support REWIRE so this makes both of the applications very flexible in its usage.
13. Reason 3.0 and FL Studio allow you to customize the look and feel of the application by allowing you to change the skins, backgrounds, backdrops of select items.
14. The ReDrum drum machine within in Reason is a BEAST. Reminiscent to a Roland 808 from the 1980's you can Sequence drums on the same level as any piece of hardware on the market today.
15. The Step Sequencer on Fruity Loops is pretty tight too, but there are a lot of features on the ReDrum when used in combination with other devices that does things with drum patterns that will blow your mind!
16. Both Reason 3.0 and Fruity Loops (FL STUDIO) support the use of SoundFonts so that opens the doors for tons of other instruments & samples to add to your arsenal when programming beatz.
17. You can layer zones with Reason 3.0 and have multiple instruments play from a predetermined range of keys on your keyboard.
You can even play for instance the Flute with your Left Hand & the Piano with your Right by using Zones within Reason 3.0
18. There is a built in Vocoder within Reason 3.0 that will allow you to create your own Roger Troutman funk type of vocal arrangements with your samples.
(FL Studio has a SPEECH preset with a bunch of Vocoder sounds built in already. But Reason 3.0 gives you more flexibility & creativity abilities with its Vocoder device that you can combine with other devices such as SCREAM and do some off the wall sound design)
19. FL Studio is generally understood to be a "easier" program to use for noob music producers. The application dosen't look as intimidating as Reason 3.0 from what I hear from noobs that prefer Fruity Loops.
20. Reason 3.0 has a "learning curve" but if you could teach yourself how to use a computer, the internet, and all the other technologies in the world you surely can grasp onto Reason 3.0 if put in the effort.
NOTE: If you want the option of programming drums using "PADS" to have a more hands on feel.
Look at purchasing a M-Audio Trigger Finger or Akai MPD 24
M - Audio Trigger Finger (Is Pre-Mapped To Work Flawlessly With Reason 3.0 and Ableton Live 5)
Personally: I still use the AKAI MPC 2000XL with my music production software, because these products weren't out at the time when I bought the MPC.
Technology has come a long ways just in a few years (since 2004). So its cool you all have options.
But I still feel all "real" Hip Hop producers should have at least one MPC sitting around the studio, ya know. lol
Ask Pete Rock, Dr. Dre, or Kanye West to name a few.
FYI (For Your Information) Professional FL Studio 6 Music Producers incl.
Dem Franchise Boyz, 9 th Wonder (Jay Z / Beyonce producer), and Crime Mobb
FYI (For Your Information) Reason 3.0 Music Producers incl.
The Hip Hop Sampling Innovator – Marly Marl , Daz Dillinger, (The Dogg Pound / So So Def Recording Artist) , and 504MusicMan (me of course!)
Hope you found this guide to be informative in your quest to make some Blazin Beatz!
There are alot of more features & abilities of these products that we did not cover. This is just something to get you going in the right direction!
The Bottom line is you can make HOT beatz with either or, its just a matter of you figuring out which one is better for you.
Peace,
504MusicMan