How to Troubleshoot Reason 4.0 & Cubase SX3

Midi keyboard.

Cubase SX3 and Reason 4 work seamlessly together. Running Reason 4 as a slave through Cubase SX3 allows the user to get much more from both applications and multiplies creative possibilities. Running two fairly complex programs can sometimes create problems. Below is a process to get the two programs synchronized and some advice on optimizing your home studio to get the best from both.

Instructions

1. Launch Cubase first. Reason will automatically "plug in" when it's running.

2. Launch Reason.

3. Ensure that Reason is in "Slave" mode. Click on "Devices" on the toolbar in Cubase and select Reason. You will then be presented with the Reason "Rewire Channel."

4. Click on "Mix L" which will arm both Reason stereo channels and then close the "Rewire" Menu. The rewired Reason channels will appear as a lane on Cubase's sequencer.

5. Open projects in both applications. Load your your mixers, racks, midi channels and effects and start building your composition.

6. Synchronize your midi data between Reason and Cubase. Anything that you have programmed in Reason will now play through the rewire midi channel in Cubase and will be synced with the data programmed in Cubase. If you have a drum track programmed in Cubase's sequencer and a bass line programmed in Reason's, they will play back at the tempo.

7. Use your Reason rack through your Cubase sequencer. Any patch that you load on your Reason rack can be programmed through Cubase's sequencer as though it were a VST plug-in loaded directly through Cubase. Load patches from Reason using the midi "out" drop down on any Cubase midi track in the same way you would if using a native VST. Every rack that you have open in Reason will appear here.

8. Mix in both applications. You can now add effects and mix in both applications simultaneously and add further processes to Reason channels and patches through Cubase. Everything that you can add to a Cubase midi channel you can add to a rewired Reason channel after automation and effects have been added to the slave input.

9. Export your composition in full. Click on "File" in the Cubase toolbar and select "Export," select "Audio Mixdown" and then adjust your mixdown settings as required. All data programmed in Reason and entered into Cubase will be mixed down.

Tips & Warnings

• Check your Random Access Memory (RAM). Cubase SX3 and Reason 4 state minimum system requirements of 384 MB and 512 MB RAM. It's difficult to get the best out of either program running anything less than 1 GB. For both to run efficiently together on compositions including a lot of midi data and automation, you need to be running at least 2 GB to eliminate any problems with jumping, skipping or mixing down.

• Close all unnecessary programs and check the system tray to ensure that nothing is running in the background. Both Cubase SX3 and Reason 4 are CPU intensive so it's best to make sure all available processor capacity is available when you're running them together.

References

• Sound on Sound: Using Reason with 8 major Audio Host Applications