If you're a company like, say, Ableton, you may be frustrated with how routinely people call your flagship DAW "Ableton" instead of its actual name, Live.
In a kind of official, mirror-image move today, the company formerly known as Propellerhead has renamed itself Reason Studios, in line with the moniker of its more-recognizable DAW, Reason. The company has also taken the opportunity to announce the latest iteration—Reason 11—and publicize one particularly groundbreaking development: that Reason can now be used as a plugin within other DAWs.
Reason has long been favored by producers for its modular, rack-based approach to instruments and sound design, letting users build a virtual "rack" of synths, drum machines, and other instruments, processors, and effects. Now, with the Reason Rack Plugin, users will be able to use Reason instrument and effects racks inside Live or other DAWs of their choosing.
Reason 11 is now in beta testing and will be fully released September 25. At that time, Reason Rack Plugin will be included as a VST3 in all versions of Reason 11, with product manager Mattias Häggström Gerdt saying in a blog post today that they're working on an AU version, which should be released as a free update by the end of the year.
Reason 11 includes five new devices: Quartet Chorus Ensemble, Master Bus Compressor, Channel Dynamics, Channel EQ, and Sweeper Modulation Effect, which includes a 40-stage phaser and filters from Reason's popular Europa synth (which the company released as a standalone softsynth last year).
Other new features include curved automation, audio clip crossfades, improved vertical zoom, the ability to mute individual MIDI notes, draw multiple MIDI notes at a time, and more. For Reason Suite, the most expensive version of the DAW, you'll also get the brand-new Scenic Hybrid Instrument, a "cinematic dream machine" that will also be sold separately.
For more information on the new Reason 11 and Reason Rack Plugin, check out the company's announcement post here.