Okay, I'm surprised I'm the first to post this, but I have some VSTis which run standalone, but didn't show up in the initial scan that Reason 9.5 did. (Lots of others showed up immediately and run great!)
- Does Reason Support Vst Plugins Plugin
- Does Reason Support Vst Plugins Pro
- Does Reason Support Vst Plugins Download
Just upgraded to Reason 11. I definitely want to start using some Reason plugins in my Ableton live sets for performances, but I’m a bit concerned because once we can start playing in clubs again, I’ll need wifi access to load Reason. 99% of clubs don’t have public wifi. So Props support didn't even read my email on this, they just copied and pasted a generic response that had nothing to do with this problem. So let me do their job for them: Renaming a VST seems to force Reason to re-scan that VST thereby making it re-appear in the list. All my P&M plugins came back. The whole rack interface contains a VST Host, and you can seamless drag and drop VST intstruments and plugins in to the reason rack as of the latest version. VST the old Method. Before diving in to it, there is always the option of 'Rewire'. Rewire is a protocol which allows other DAWs (that do support VST) to run reason in the background.
SO what's the procedure to:
a) figure out whether they are actually VSTs (I'm on a Mac, so they could be AUs)
Does Reason Support Vst Plugins Plugin
b) if they are VSTs, identify whether they are VST2.4 - or whatever level it is that works... I know it's not V3.c) put them where Reason can find them
Thanks in advance for any assistance on this! Just for reference, the VSTs I'm looking for are: Morphine by Image-Line (my only Image-Line instrument), Absynth by Native Instruments (I also have Reaktor 5, which shows up, but I haven't figured out how to make it work yet, and PPGWave by Waldorf (Palm) - I also have Wavegenerator by PPG (Palm) and that one works fine...
_Dave_
PS: for anyone who's wondering, these VSTs all work fine on my Mac in Reason 9.5: All of Arturia's Virtual Instruments: Analog Lab 2, ARP2600 V3, CS-80 V3, Matrix-12 V3, Mini V3, Modular V3, Oberheim SEM V (and SEM V2), Propher V3, and Synclavier V, and PPG's Wavegenerator. Native Instruments' Reaktor 5 shows up in the instrument browser and in the effects browser (3 times! As FX, FX 2x8, and Surround), but I haven't figured out how to make it work yet...
1. The Initial Scan
VST plug-ins in Reason have the same priviliges as any other rack module or Rack Extension, so they can be used in exactly the same way. However there are a few extra things to know about. When you first launch Reason 9.5 it will scan your VST folders. In case you have any custom VST folders set up, you can go into the Preferences > Advanced tab and under the folder location section, add any custom folders. If you are only using your system’s default locations on Mac or PC, they should be set up automatically.
2. Manage Your VSTs
Reason should warn about any incompatible plug-ins during the scan. Go to the Window > Manage Plugins option and you will see a list of available plugs. You can select any one to manually disable it, although it’s unlikley you would need to do this. If any plugs have been disabled by the scan you can choose them and press Enable to make Reason look at them again. If a plug has been disabled it probably means it needs an update, so try this via the plug-in’s own product website.
3. Load A VST
With those initial steps out of the way, you’re ready to roll. The Browser now has extra sections under the Instruments and Effects tab so while you’ll see Propellerheads’ own modules at the top, if you scroll down either list you will see your VSTs grouped by manufacturer, and of course you can simply type in a search for the name of any plug that you want, or add them to a favourites list for quick access. Double click on any VST or drag and drop it to load just like you would any regular module.
Does Reason Support Vst Plugins Pro
4. Add A Screenshot
One fun thing you can do is add a manual screenshot of a plug. Since Reason can’t guess what every VST will look like, you can click on the black area of the VST rack module to open the instrument or effect’s own interface, just like it appears in any other DAW. This associates a thumbnail with the plug’s Browser entry, and it will stay there. This means you can now identify a VST by sight. If you want to replace the screen shot of any VST, just click the Screen Shot button on its window again to replace with the current view.
5. Assign CV To VSTs
While VST instruments and effects can be patched, routed and played by MIDI just like any module in Reason, the VST rack module has a few new tricks up its sleeve. If you go to the CV programmer section and expand it, you can click on the Parameter column for any of the 8 slots and see all assignable parameters for that instrument. Each one will have a different set of controls that you can send CV to. This section also has Learn, Base Value and Clear buttons for each slot, so you can make custom configurations easily. The idea here is to take CV signal from elsewhere – other modules or generators – and send it to modulate VST parameters. Previously this would have required lots of workarounds and involved ReWire.
6. A CV Example
One use for this might be to take one of Reason’s trigger modules like an arpeggiator and hook up some of its CV outs to the CV ins of the VST module using the rear panel. CV assignment works the same way it always did in Reason, only now you can easily patch that CV signal into your favourite VST instruments.
7. Using VST Effects
Using VST effects in the rack works the same way – drag and drop an effect wherever you want it to go. The CV assignment from the front panel also works the same as with instruments. And around the back, the VST rack module has identical ins and outs. Although there are 8 additional audio inputs and 16 audio outs, these will only light up in green (meaning they can be used) when the VST supports them. So for example some plugs will just work in stereo, but others will have up to 16 or more outputs. You can see how many by looking in this area.
8. Multi-Output Plug-ins
In an example where a plug supports multiple outputs, Reason won’t manually create mixer channels for every output as this could quickly cause the mixer to become overcrowded. If you want to use more than two outputs, right click on the multi-output instrument or effect (here it's Kontakt) and choose Create Mixer Channel for as many stereo channels as you want. Then name them and route the relevant outs from Kontakt to them. It’s quick and easy, and this screenshot shows you how to set it up.
9. Connect VSTs To Remote
In cases where a VST uses the .fxb / .fxp preset format, presets will be accessible using the regular patch browser button on the VST rack module. Many do not use this format however so you will need to open their GUI in order to select a preset. The Props have made other Reason features available to VSTs. For example if you click on the Remote button on a VST’s window header, you can assign any physical MIDI control to a parameter inside the VST just like you can with Reason’s own modules. This means no tedious mucking about with MIDI maps.
10. Automate Any VST
Another button on the title bar is Automate. For devices that don’t yet have a sequencer track like effects, you must remember to right click on the device in the rack and click Create Track For… so it can record automation information. With record enabled and while playing back, hit the Automate button and move a parameter, and data will be recorded in the new sequencer track.
Does Reason Support Vst Plugins Download
11. Export Your Stems
Finally, VST channels appear just like regular channels when it comes time to export stems, so you can esily export instrument or effect channels for mixing elsewhere.