i use reason/record primarily and renoise (and plugins obviously) secondary. i have komplete so yes i have kontakt. comparing kontakt to the nnxt is a non-contest in some ways because kontakt just totally destroys it. i don't have that many huge multisampled libraries (because atm i don't have enough HD space...) but the thing is an amazing sonic sculpting tool.
tbh though when i'm not using reason/record i don't even use a plugin sampler as renoise is already a sampler/sequencer and it fits MY PERSONAL needs quite well.
as for the nnxt. i actually quite like it. it's really a simplistic and straight forward sampler to use. one of my biggest gripes with the nnxt (and all reason samplers) was the lack of some simple sample editing options. this has been thankfully rectified in reason 5. tbh though the only time i end up using the nnxt is in combinators and that's because of the official props refills (abbey roads, electric bass...). when i'm doing drums i prefer to load up the nn19 or redrum, and now kong. if i'm just loading up single samples i load them up in the nn19 as well. most elements of my songs are synth based.
i love sound design and that is why i love reason/record. the simple to understand modular nature of the program is second to none. but because i love sound design and software i also don't like the idea of closing myself off with using only reason. that is why i like to use renoise and some vsts. there are just some amazing vsts out there that i want to use. do i need to use them? hell no. i don't need to make music either.
in terms of sound quality i really think that propellerheads need to step up their synth game. in terms of modularity and flexibility the combination of all the reason synths and effects is amazing. but in terms of sound quality there have been some recent synths that have come along and have really stepped the game up. i'm talking about the fxpansion synthsquad bundle, u-he's ace and waldorf's largo. there are others of course but those are just a few examples.
i love thor and malstrom. but the subtractor is just extremely (tho i still layer multiple instances for my sub sometimes...). i believe that props also need to upgrade the effects. some new eqs and compressors. a god damn dedicated filter unit (they could just make a super eq/filter) and where the hell is the god damn spectrum anaylser? there better be one in Record 2.0. i like mixing in Record but i really wish there was a spectrum anaylser in there.
i used to rewire reason first into renoise and then into reaper but it was too much of a hassle. i know some people do it but i just can't. when i'm using renoise i'll just load up a VST instead. it's about a million times simpler and more efficient.
i actually make very minimal music so a lot of the time my tracks are a lot simpler than most people's. while it's true we don't need a million tools to make good music, it is a fact that technology moves forward and it's kind of non-nonsensical to not want to embrace new and better technologies.
i want to use the best synths and fx. not because i can't make music without them but because if they're there why not? the plugin format (that props have shunned) gives people more options. i for one would have almost no use for the new electri6ty library because i don't use guitars much in my music. i do however use trillian and while that may be overkill for some people it suits me very well because my music is quite bass-centric.
for my personal workflow reason/record works very well (atm). but i like to use other things as well (even though i mostly just using renoise as a host nowadays to create sounds and export as wav to use in reason/record). but i can completely understand that it might not be all that useful for others (due to the closed nature of the program).
in regards to ableton, i really like their company. i like their design, their marketing and their attitude. last year when they came out and admitted their product was a buggy piece of shit i thought it was a very brave move. from what i've heard they've really worked on making it stable and their most recent version is supposed to be quite stable. i had planned on getting ableton and
maxforlive but i think i'll hold off on that for a while now as i've been using reaktor a lot lately. i never dug that deep into reaktor before but i've been reading up and experimenting a lot lately. i think with 5.5 i'll try to get deeper into the program.
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