FL 9 compared to Reason 4

[logic7]

FL 3 was the first software I used to make beats with..I thought there had to be more to making beats than what FL shows you cuz it was too easy so I switched to reason which presented way more of a challenge..more of a challenge doesn't mean it's better but I figured if I could learn to use it efficiently and make hot beats with it then I really do have skill and InstaBeats aka Fruity Loops was just a more in-depth gimmick.not to mention that even as someone who had never used FL before,the sounds sucked ass

also,you're the first person to say that FL plugins don't suck..the best I've heard was that they were ok but VSTs were way better but you say they're powerful..are you sure you're not exaggerating to prove a point?

Sytrus is a monster. Most people shy away from it for the exact same reason they didn't get into programming a DX7: FM synthesis is hard to get your head around. Image Line did a great job of making it a bit easier to program an FM synth, but also made Sytrous flexible by allowing the FM operators to act as independent oscillators so you can do subtractive synthesis with all 6 osc's feeding 3 multimode filters + fx internal to the plugin. You can spend months programming sh_t in Sytrus alone in ways it would take chaining 3 Subtractors together with a grip of FX units to do and you STILL can't do the same level of FM synthesis with those Subtractor units (Subtractor will do simple FM stuff, but not the complex FM routing that Sytrus does). In all honesty, it takes Thor to do what Sytrus does, and at that, you would have to dedicate that one Thor unit to FM (use all three osc slots for three FM modules). Mind you, Sytrus has been in FL Studio since 4.5.1.


Ok, Wasp and Wasp XT are both pretty good subtractive synths. IMO, SimSynth Live is better, but where it stands against Subtractor is a matter of each one's strengths and weaknesses.

Subtractor's one glaring flaw versus the three FL plugins is the lack of a third oscillator. Sim Synth Live gives you better control over the third osc than the two Wasp plugins, but none of them has two filters like Subtractor does. Subtractor can also do simple 2op FM synthesis. They're all quite programmable synths.

Malstrom vs Granuliser??? That's a good one. They're both similar, yet have a different take on granular synthesis at the same time. FL allows you to choose what your source material is for your "grains", so it can be ANY piece of audio you have and you can process it from there. Malstrom has a selection of grains to choose from, but no way to deviate from them. All of the source material in Granuliser you have to provide yourself, so the Reason way is easier to grasp. I can't give you a clear winner here, but I've tinkered with Granuliser and you can extract some interesting stuff from it.

Synthmaker is like Thor but completely unlimited and you can create panels for it. Synthmaker is as simple or as mind numbingly complex as you want it to be.

It's all about learning to program synths. If you can't do that, you can't really speak on whether one is better than another.

 

[deRaNged 4 Phuk'dup]

for every pro someone is gonna find a con..the better sound quality and plethora of sounds is enough for me .all the rest of that shyt can work itself out if you're serious about what you do

What "better sound quality"?

We just had a discussion on this very board a few weeks back on why some find Reason's sound "worse"(the preset filters and EQ curving). I'm not saying either is better, both have been designed to give a distinctiveness to their sounds, you can turn off or on any manipulations and know how to make top quality mixes in either if you're a half competent engineer.

And what "plethora of sounds"?

If you own FL Studio you get the same ammount of sounds in downloadable content and presets. Not to mention creating your own sounds as well as the endless expansiveness through vstis.

I'm not on either "side" of this argument, just seems like people speak negative about products out of ignorance rather than simply speaking well of what they prefer. Both programs deserve the same respect.

And Logic7, very accurate with comparisons.

 

[logic7]

What "better sound quality"?

We just had a discussion on this very board a few weeks back on why some find Reason's sound "worse"(the preset filters and EQ curving). I'm not saying either is better, both have been designed to give a distinctiveness to their sounds, you can turn off or on any manipulations and know how to make top quality mixes in either if you're a half competent engineer.

And what "plethora of sounds"?

If you own FL Studio you get the same ammount of sounds in downloadable content and presets. Not to mention creating your own sounds as well as the endless expansiveness through vstis.

I'm not on either "side" of this argument, just seems like people speak negative about products out of ignorance rather than simply speaking well of what they prefer. Both programs deserve the same respect.

As I said before, FL's Directwave alone gives you a very far reaching library of sounds by way of the sheer number of formats it imports. Since it imporst REX and NNXT programs as long as they're not in a refill, you have access to a nice chunk of Reason's sounds as well.

DeRanged, both do deserve respect.

 

[logic7]

oh yah u the same guy thats said reason's nn-xt cant suport all these crazy sound fonts or formats your right. But its one thing that can solve that convert format to wave.

I had to come back to this one comment.

What you're describing doesn't give you the patch info. This mean the filter settings, the LFO's, the envelope settings, the mappings are all MISSING. All you get is the initial sample, nothing more. The patch data is what gives the sound it's character and your method strips it of that character.

This tells me something else about you: You've NEVER programmed a sampler.

 

[say it terror]

people are throwing around a load of opinions in this thread and basically stating them as fact.

so to clarify here is my personal opinion.

flstudio is technically the more powerful program. the fact that it supports plugins and reason doesn't justifies me saying that.
i personally prefer the reason synths, i like thor (because i guess i'm used to it) and i love the malstrom. the malstrom is really an amazing synth and probably the best thing in reason.
thor is not like synthmaker at all. logic7 you seem intelligent so i don't even know why you're comparing the two. one is a semi-modular synth, the other is basically a visual programming tool for creating your own devices. just because thor is the nearest equivalent to synthmaker does not mean they are similar at all or should be compared.
if i was still only using reason i would want to trade the subtractor for sytrus.

so in regards to "softsynths" in the 2 programs i would go:
malstrom
thor
sytrus

i left out synthmaker for reasons i've already mentioned.

both programs are very powerful and amazing and professional music can be made using either. people need to stop being so polarised in their thinking.

i think the sequencer in flstudio is superior to the reason sequencer. the step sequencer in flstudio is an absolute god send. i know reason has redrum but it doesn't compare.

i remember a couple of years ago reason was seen as being of higher quality than reason but i honestly think that perception has reversed recently. in fact it is only on hip-hop related message boards that i seem to see people bashing flstudio for being kiddy. image-line have been updating at a faster pace than propellerheads and are now offering a product that is cheaper, expandable (through plugins) and with the addition of new fx and instruments is able to hold its own right off the bat with no third party software purchased.

 

[logic7]

people are throwing around a load of opinions in this thread and basically stating them as fact.

so to clarify here is my personal opinion.

flstudio is technically the more powerful program. the fact that it supports plugins and reason doesn't justifies me saying that.
i personally prefer the reason synths, i like thor (because i guess i'm used to it) and i love the malstrom. the malstrom is really an amazing synth and probably the best thing in reason.
thor is not like synthmaker at all. logic7 you seem intelligent so i don't even know why you're comparing the two. one is a semi-modular synth, the other is basically a visual programming tool for creating your own devices. just because thor is the nearest equivalent to synthmaker does not mean they are similar at all or should be compared.
if i was still only using reason i would want to trade the subtractor for sytrus.

so in regards to "softsynths" in the 2 programs i would go:
malstrom
thor
sytrus

i left out synthmaker for reasons i've already mentioned.

both programs are very powerful and amazing and professional music can be made using either. people need to stop being so polarised in their thinking.

i think the sequencer in flstudio is superior to the reason sequencer. the step sequencer in flstudio is an absolute god send. i know reason has redrum but it doesn't compare.

i remember a couple of years ago reason was seen as being of higher quality than reason but i honestly think that perception has reversed recently. in fact it is only on hip-hop related message boards that i seem to see people bashing flstudio for being kiddy. image-line have been updating at a faster pace than propellerheads and are now offering a product that is cheaper, expandable (through plugins) and with the addition of new fx and instruments is able to hold its own right off the bat with no third party software purchased.

I said earlier that another poster has a narrow view of music, that it's hip hop/rnb centric. What you said right there is precisely correct. ONLY hip hop and RnB cats frown on FL Studio. People that make other types of music embrace it. I'm one of those people. My musical world doesn't stop at hip hop and because of it I see FL as the creation tool it is and don't belittle it solely because of it's original name: Fruity Loops.


I still stand by my Thor/Synthmaker comparison. Thor isn't semi-modular, it IS modular, but limited to the number of modules you can use. SM has no limitations like that.

BTW, Sytrus can do most (if not all or more) of what Thor does too.

 

[GST]

it ain't like ppl are gonna stop using whas working for them just cuz somebody else got something negative to say about it..it's always gonna be two sides...I say reason comes with more sounds,someone else comes in and says 'well if you do extra shyt FL has the same amount'..shyt never ends

 

[mrgibbs]

you mean like FL Studio's Layer Channel device?

and, looking at your iMac's specs, you have to really think in relative terms. Low CPU usage on your machine, might be HIGH on my 3GHz P4 and would probably bring my 966MHz P3 to it's knees, if it even worked at all. You have to think in relative terms when talking about CPU power. Your iMac is flat out faster than my P4. The machine that I use at work is many times faster than your iMac so I can run something on my office machine and it would have low CPU utilization, but doing the same thing on your iMac would simply crush it.

I been using reason since version 1 I've always had a low cpu power even on my old p3 pc which I will never use again lol ever computer I ve used on reason I've never had issue with stability or low cpu usage its just that good and extremely simple now fl has more features than reason but I prefer reason for my needs for 1 fl is not osx compatible without running parrellel. I don't like gui system and the layer channel to me is similar to the combinator but is the same, I'm not taking nothing away from fl at all its dope just not my preference the remote feature in reason alone to me works for my workflow, I don't like the thousand pop up windows in fruity loops that's too much for me I prefer to work in enviroment without all the windows record has 3 which I can deal with and its not cluttered

 

[Level Seven]

You know what, Im tired of all this i cant see how i got caught up in this. The bottomline is this: FL studios is a awsome program, I just think Reason and proepellerhead pruducts is Better thats my opinion. Fl was one of the 1st programs me and my brothers bought way back in the day. One program is not best. The million dollar producers use more than one program. I love Propellerhead stuff, I just hear tons of FL user always saying reason is limited just cause it doesnt suport vst's. When people defend FL they dont defend the Program itself they defend the Vst's it suports. FL9 Stand alone vs. Reason + Record Stand alone is somthing that people need to compare. Because were comparing Closed system vs. Open no dif from Mac vs. Pc. Good Music is nothing but Good Sounds with an amazing composer. And to LOGIC7 lets not get personal my friend its all Good i'm not the best writer lol. And i dont do hip hop i do it all Reason wasnt made for hip hop people of the hip hop genre started getting late.

 

[GST]

You know what, Im tired of all this i cant see how i got caught up in this. The bottomline is this: FL studios is a awsome program, I just think Reason and proepellerhead pruducts is Better thats my opinion. Fl was one of the 1st programs me and my brothers bought way back in the day. One program is not best. The million dollar producers use more than one program. I love Propellerhead stuff, I just hear tons of FL user always saying reason is limited just cause it doesnt suport vst's. When people defend FL they dont defend the Program itself they defend the Vst's it suports. FL9 Stand alone vs. Reason + Record Stand alone is somthing that people need to compare. Because were comparing Closed system vs. Open no dif from Mac vs. Pc. Good Music is nothing but Good Sounds with an amazing composer. And to LOGIC7 lets not get personal my friend its all Good i'm not the best writer lol. And i dont do hip hop i do it all Reason wasnt made for hip hop people of the hip hop genre started getting late.

exactly...thas all the talk I ever see but w/e..shyt is pointless

 

[CPhoenix]

You can also pop in 3-4 DirectWave's and have a full sounding arrangement.

And, if you were using FL, you wouldn't have a problem finding a good Brass sampleset because DirectWave reads the following programs:

AKAI AKP (S5/6K,Z4,Z8)
Battery (Version 1, 2 & 3 banks)
DWP (DirectWave Program, native format)
EXS24
Giga
Kontakt / Kontakt 2
Kurzweil (off DOS disk)
MPC (off DOS disk, not 1000/2500/500 series)
Reason NN-XT (any association with a Refill can't be loaded)
Recycle
SoundFont2
SFZ

Now... NNXT can't do that... can it. But wait... You can now load any of the highly acclaimed KURZWEIL LIBRARIES!!!! Kurzweil??? With FL, you will NEVER... EVER... EVA-EVA-EVAH have a problem finding a good sample set to use.



and if you were using FL, you could simply load RealStrat directly into the app without having to run another DAW, draining your CPU resources.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21DBG17pDJE

^^^ musical cats use FL too.

Ummm... among all of your comments, did you even notice that I gave FL a compliment? I called it a great program... they've really improved a lot of it's features. But what I'm getting at is that it's now a matter of preference... it's hard to argue that either is really better. Reason's a beast, and FL has stepped it's game up. For each arguement in favor of FL, I could produce an arguement in favor of Reason.... and vice versa.


And when I mentioned earlier that most producers use hardware... i meant high-end producers in demand making money on their music. Most have several keyboards (motifs, fantoms, etc. etc.), they have rack modules, they have MPCs, turntables... etc. I think many young producers nowadays are underestimating the power of being "hands on"... and most musical producers gravitate towards Reason b/c it's closer to being hands-on than FL.

The main point is.. none of this is a knock on FL. it's an excellent program.

 

[mrgibbs]

You know what, Im tired of all this i cant see how i got caught up in this. The bottomline is this: FL studios is a awsome program, I just think Reason and proepellerhead pruducts is Better thats my opinion. Fl was one of the 1st programs me and my brothers bought way back in the day. One program is not best. The million dollar producers use more than one program. I love Propellerhead stuff, I just hear tons of FL user always saying reason is limited just cause it doesnt suport vst's. When people defend FL they dont defend the Program itself they defend the Vst's it suports. FL9 Stand alone vs. Reason + Record Stand alone is somthing that people need to compare. Because were comparing Closed system vs. Open no dif from Mac vs. Pc. Good Music is nothing but Good Sounds with an amazing composer. And to LOGIC7 lets not get personal my friend its all Good i'm not the best writer lol. And i dont do hip hop i do it all Reason wasnt made for hip hop people of the hip hop genre started getting late.

exactly. talk about the programs standalone.

 

[Sqito]

FL does not have mod wheel control(unless recently added to 9)

It has. It actually had it since version 3? (maybe even earlier) but it's just not enabled by default.
Controller "omni" link mode is the magic word here. Pitchbend is assigned that way in FL, too - I don't really know why modulation isn't.

 

[GST]

Ummm... among all of your comments, did you even notice that I gave FL a compliment? I called it a great program... they've really improved a lot of it's features. But what I'm getting at is that it's now a matter of preference... it's hard to argue that either is really better. Reason's a beast, and FL has stepped it's game up. For each arguement in favor of FL, I could produce an arguement in favor of Reason.... and vice versa.


And when I mentioned earlier that most producers use hardware... i meant high-end producers in demand making money on their music. Most have several keyboards (motifs, fantoms, etc. etc.), they have rack modules, they have MPCs, turntables... etc. I think many young producers nowadays are underestimating the power of being "hands on"... and most musical producers gravitate towards Reason b/c it's closer to being hands-on than FL.

The main point is.. none of this is a knock on FL. it's an excellent program.

exactly..but no matter what points you give to a fruity producer their being on defense so much will not allow them to accept any..I think FL users understand that out of the 2 softwares most producers in the biz gravitate towards reason..thas not a reason to buy it but it says something..I was hanging out with DJ Babu last night,ni99a nobody uses FL,at least nobody making serious rap music.

Ive never said you couldn't make good beats in FL but FL is more used by straight up 'this is my first beat ever' beginners and then those that continue to use it soley b/c the easy workflow, some ppl want that quick gratification


It's like I'm sure anybody using a Roland SP-555 or the MV 8800 or Open Labs Production station or the old school ASR got arguements for the MPC

 

[Sqito]

out of the 2 softwares most producers in the biz gravitate towards reason..

most "producers in the biz" doesn't actually say anything.
8 out of 9 dentists would recommend brand X toothpaste. It's marketing and numbers don't say anything in that context.

 

[GST]

I didn't say recommend,I said actually use..they don't give a fuk what anybody else use..they don't get on forums and recommend shyt,they just use it

 

[Sqito]

..they don't give a fuk what anybody else use..

That's exactly what I would recommend, too.

 

[GST]

That's exactly what I would recommend, too.

not gonna happen on these forums but you're right,if someone wants to use soft ass FL ,more power to them cuz I make my own beats

 

[Sqito]

not gonna happen on these forums but you're right,if someone wants to use soft ass FL ,more power to them cuz I make my own beats

You're entitled to your own opinion, of course. But without any other argument besides "X uses it, Y thinks it's great" your point is weak at best.

 

[GST]

when the ratio is greater (ESP from a personal experience that others have experienced themselves)then it makes all the difference..numbers don't lie but w/e..like I said the shyt never ends...