apart from implementation of audio it is the most requested feature. they say they have no plans to integrate VSTs as it would go against what they stand for. a closed environment and stability. unfortunately it's 2009 and the issue of stability is losing importance so that is where i can see propellerheads falling behind.
if somebody who is just starting out production has to pick a first daw the reason/record combo is at the bottom simply because you are forced to work in a non-expandable environment. there is nothing wrong with that of course and brilliant music can be made with reason. but it just so happens that from a technical point of view there are better tools out than what reason has to offer,
and people tend to want what's best, not what is just fine.
reason offers a very unique workflow and intuitive (imo) workflow. part of that is because there is no plugin support. but times are changing and a lot of people who are starting out are now avoiding reason altogether because of lack of plugin support. with the recent release of Record and propellerheads demanding that it not be referred to as a daw it seems pretty clear that they don't want to be seen in competition with more full featured recording applications. if you look at the record features you would assume that it is a daw but by labelling it as something else they've been able to sidestep direct comparisons by clueless consumers. this is a direct quote from propellerheads.
"Propellerhead Software has officially unveiled Record, not a digital audio workstation application, but ” a whole new take on music recording” that “combines effortless recording and a stunning software mixer console with a limitless rack of audio processing gear that builds itself or can be infinitely customized."
http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2009/05/11/propellerhead-record-is-not-a-daw/
instead they label it as a "whole new take on music recording". it really looks as if they're going after beginners with an attitude like that and that can be seen as applicable to reason as this sort of attitude may transfer to future updates of reason if propellerheads decide that they can simply no longer compete with the more open-ended and fully fledged daws anymore. in the future we may see props marketing reason more towards beginners and hobbyists.
when i switched to software i tried out the different daws for a while. i spent a while with flstudio but then i went with reason and decided to stick with it. i didn't spend a huge amount of time with flstudio where i become adjusted to it. i was still in the "testing it out" phase.
if somebody has been using flstudio or ableton for more than a year and wants to switch to another daw you could recommend them a whole host of other applications. but it would be very difficult to recommend a combo of reason/record to that person as it would be effectively like taking a step backwards. as all the major daws, sans reason, allow for plugin support it means that they are expandable. if you've collected some plugins you will be able to transfer them over to your new host. reason closes itself off and therefore makes it very hard buy for a lot of people.
if you already had another daw it would be even a stretch to recommend it as a sound module because there are better synths and samplers out there.
so although you personally may not feel the need for plugins in reason a lot of people do want them. but because of the stubbornness of propellerheads the people who wanted plugin support either shut up or got sick of waiting and moved onto something else.
i think it will be very interesting to see the direction props take reason 5.
if propellerheads integrated VST usage you wouldn't have to use buggy vsts. nobody is forcing you to use any vsts at all. i don't have a particularly amazing computer and i run a lot of freeware plugs and the i think i've suffered instability issues twice.
calling VSTs "buggy as hell" is a very misinformed statement to make. also calling most daws unstable and buggy is a bit of an odd call.
if all the plugins you own are "buggy as hell" then i wonder what plugins you're using.
the language you are using would lead someone to assume that all daws apart from reason are unstable wrecks and that vsts aren't worth the trouble to use.
that would go against what the vast majority of people who compose music using software think...
