Reason 6.5, Rack Extensions and Figure

Well, the music tech corner of the interwebs is buzzing its little titties off at the moment with the announcement this evening by Propellerhead that in Q2 2012 (so, any time from April 1st) Reason 6.5 will be launched as a free update for existing users and it will feature, for the very first time, the ability to host 3rd party instruments and FX plug ins! This is a major shift in the Reason paradigm and incredibly welcome!

For the last ‘I don’t know how many’ weeks, I’ve had to sit tight on this info as I am somewhat involved with this little development. I can’t yet say how, but I am incredibly excited to be involved and can’t wait to share all the good stuff with you. Once my new evil overlord allows me to blab, trust me, I will 😉

Rack Extensions

Here’s the blurb from Propellerhead’s site, along with a 40 minute video from them, filmed at the press conference yesterday…

Everything your music needs today.
And tomorrow.

Imagine a future where things just work. A future where nothing stands in the way of your musical impulses, and you always have the means to act upon them.

Rack Extensions

With Propellerhead Rack Extensions and the Rack Extension Store, you’ll already be there. Instead of unstable plug-ins, authentication nightmares and compatibility complications, Propellerhead offers an alternative: Unifying. Simplifying. Future-proofing.

Rack Extensions expand Reason, and lets you add whatever your music needs. Be it instruments or effects, by Propellerhead or others. Try it, buy it, and download it straight into your rack. There simply are no risky choices. Just everything your music needs today. And tomorrow.

Propellerhead Rack Extensions arrive in the next version of Reason, second quarter of 2012. For owners of Reason 6 or Reason Essentials, the upgrade will be free.

What are Rack Extensions?

With Rack Extensions the Reason rack opens up to third party developers. Through this new technology — built into Reason 6.5 and Reason Essentials 1.5 — you can expand your collection of instruments and effects with the Reason devices you want; devices created by Propellerhead and other developers.

Ernst Nathorst-Böös

This is not another plugin format—Rack Extensions are full Reason rack citizens, giving you the same great experience as any other Reason device. Load them in Combinators, route cables on the back, automate all parameters, and experiment with the safety of undo.

Browse all Rack Extensions in the Rack Extension Store and even download fully functional trial versions to load into your rack. Every Rack Extension you have purchased can be downloaded as many times as you need — for both Mac and Windows — and the latest version is never more than a click away. There are simply no risky purchases.

This is the official press statement…

Propellerhead unveils Rack Extension technology for Reason

New technology opens up the Reason rack to third party developers

Stockholm, Sweden, March 20, 2012 — Propellerhead introduces Rack Extensions: a new technology that opens up the Reason rack, enabling third party developers to create instruments and effects for the award-winning music making software Reason. Through this new technology—built into the next version of Reason and Reason Essentials—users can expand their collection of instruments and effects with the Reason devices they want.

“Musician’s from all corners of the planet keep telling us that Reason is the best thing that ever happened to their musical creativity,” says Ernst Nathorst-Böös, Propellerhead CEO. “With Rack Extensions we rocket it into another dimension, by inviting a world of creative and talented developers to bring their designs to the Reason rack. Rack Extensions have everything you love about Reason, from the cables on the back and integrated patch browser to its world-renowned stability and ease of use”.

To see an overview presentation video from Propellerhead CEO, Ernst Nathorst-Böös go to: www.propellerheads.se/go/E57D029D

Available to third parties as a software development toolkit, the Rack Extension technology is not just another plug-in format. Rack Extensions are full Reason rack citizens, giving users the same great experience with third party extensions as with any other Reason device—including the ability to load them in Reason’s Combinator, route audio and CV cables on the back, automation of all parameters, copy/paste devices and signal chains, and experimentation with the safety of unlimited undo.

Propellerhead also announces the Rack Extension Store, an online store where Rack Extensions from all Rack Extension developers can be purchased and downloaded directly into the Reason rack, as many times as needed. All Rack Extensions are Mac and Windows compatible, and can be tried with users’ own song files in Reason before purchase. The automatic installation and authentication ensures that users keep the focus on being creative and finding the right sounds for their music.
Pricing and availability

The Rack Extension technology will be introduced in version 6.5 of Reason and version 1.5 of Reason Essentials to be released in Q2, 2012. The upgrades will be available for free download for all owners of Reason 6 and Reason Essentials. Users of previous versions of Reason can upgrade to Reason 6 today and download the upgrade for free once it becomes available.

For more information and continuously updated news on Rack Extensions, visit www.propellerheads.se/news/rackextensions/

Also announced was Figure, an iOS app that features Kong & Thor. This was submitted to the App Store last Friday so should appear any day now. Once I have official information, I’ll broadcast it. But it looks great and I can’t wait to play! What I can confirm is that it’s an iPhone app, as opposed to a Universal iOS app, but apparently does look good on the iPad and works identically. I can also confirm that Figure will not support export to the Reason desktop app in its initial release. However, Kalle Paulson, Product Manager of Mobile Apps at Propellerhead, tweeted me tonight to say that it is on their list of features to build in through updates.

Here are some bits emerging from around t’internet 😉

There is, of course, a huge amount of speculation, discussion (99% of it, from what I’ve seen is incredibly positive) and assumption going on but I like to wait to see & hear stuff from either the company themselves or good 3rd party interactions. Until then, I’ll keep my own counsel but I can honestly say, this has been one of the most exciting updates to the world of Reason in a very long while.

Right, that’s it for now. I’m going to let the hubbub die down a bit. I can’t ever claim to be one of these blogs that gives you bleeding edge news headlines, but I definitely can give you reasoned (pun intended) and detailed insight in a relaxing and comfortable environment. See you soon! 🙂