Propellerhead Starts Beta-Testing Major Upgrade to Reason

Propellerhead Software today announced it has started beta testing for Reason version 4. Reason 4 boasts Thor, a highly sophisticated, superior sounding synthesizer, the ReGroove mixer, a new way to adjust the rhythmic feel of tracks, RPG-8, a versatile arpeggiator, a newly rebuilt sequencer coupled with many other workflow enhancements that give musicians the control and power to make great sounding music faster and easier than ever.

Thor, Polysonic Synthesizer, takes sound creation to a new level offering a veritable "museum" of synthesis techniques wrapped into one instrument. With six open "slots," Thor brings together six different oscillators with four different filter types plus wave shaping, enveloping and effects. Thor facilitates a plethora of modulation routings enabling users to exchange audio and control signals just like original analog synths. The result is a fantastic, full-sounding software instrument that is extremely light on CPU usage.

The ReGroove Mixer brings traditional groove and swing quantization from sequencers into the more flexible, usable paradigm of a mixing console. Using the ReGroove Mixer, users can apply in real-time varying amounts of swing, shuffle and grooves to tracks. This revolutionary approach gives users 32 "groove channels" that can be assigned to sequencer tracks and lanes, providing individual settings for groove strength, timing shift, velocity, duration and other parameters nondestructively. Users can create tighter sounding tracks with more human feel and even attain better mixes using ReGroove. Users can create their own groove templates. In addition, Reason 4 will ship with a large selection and variety of grooves—from grooves extracted from live recordings to grooves taken from vinyl funk gems of the 70s.

Reason's sequencer has been completely redesigned and rebuilt into a more intuitive and powerful tool, giving users control never before seen while still maintaining Reason's simple streamlined workflow. Users can quickly make global edits using "clips," assign notes and controller events to different "lanes," manage multiple takes, and edit events numerically—to name but a few of the hundreds of enhancements. Controller data now uses vector automaton for the smoothest of transitions. Users can manage tempo and time signature changes through a transport track. The inclusion of a floating tool window makes getting to frequently used tasks a snap

The RPG-8 monophonic arpeggiator device provides a wide away of controls for arpeggiation. Very easy to use, yet deceptively powerful, the RPG-8 provides endless creative possibilities for each of Reason's sound sources.

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The new Reason features a number of other improvements and enhancements. Reason 4 is now fully localized into English, French, German and Japanese, including all menus, interface items, help files and documentation. The transport control and hardware interface have been redesigned for easier use. A floating tools window lets users access devices, editing commands and groove controls without having to invoke menu commands or dialog boxes. The included Factory Sound Bank has grown with a number of additions, as well as a large set of signature Thor patches from well-known artists and sound designers. The Combinator and NN-XT devices have seen improvements and new features that are especially useful for sound designers and live musicians.

"This is clearly the biggest update to Reason ever. For users, this will be as inspiring as using Reason for the first time," says Ernst Nathorst-Böös, CEO and founder of Propellerhead Software. "We can't wait to hear the music our users will make with the new version."

Pricing and availability
Pricing on Reason version 4 will remain the same: MSRP is EUR €449 / USD $499. Upgrades from any prior registered version of Reason are MSRP EUR €99 / USD $129. All users purchasing Reason after June 1, 2007 will be entitled to a free upgrade with proper invoice/receipt documentation. This will be handled by local distributors once Reason 4 is released. Targeted for autumn 2007, the official release date for Reason 4 has not yet been set; it will be determined based on testing results and manufacturing timeframes. As available, all pricing and release information will be updated on the Propellerhead website.

For more information, visit their web site at www.propellerheads.se.