Pet Peeves

[JNeffLind]

Thought this might be a fun thread idea. What are your "pet peeves" in Reason or in DAWs/music in general. First person to mention lack of VST support gets punched in the balls (or ovaries).

For those who do not have the best English, a pet peeve is something that bothers you more than it should. For some reason it just makes you crazy.

I'll start: When I'm auditioning patches and I find something I love but then discover it has a super long "tail" where it keeps on echoing or making sounds after I let the key up. Since I use a lot of constantly shifting harmonies, this makes the sound unusable. Drives me crazy.

Honorable mention: Accidentally clicking the scroll bar in the mixer window when I mean to click a mix channel.

Honorable mention #2: When two notes overlap in the sequencer and so the second one just sounds short and muffled. Why reason?!?

[jonheal]

The docked Browser. No sir; I don't like it.

[AttenuationHz]

Being unable to make the browser window disappear altogether from the sequencer window. Since its been added to the rack I haven't used it on the sequencer still its out of the way though.

On the tail thing though you could just set the release or sustain properly to fit the track. Or use a gate RE. Or cv a matrix to the amp level. Or automate the level on mix channel... many ways to fix it with a little work.

[Raveshaper]

1: Programming on the grid and fiddling with the sequencer destroys the flow of my tracks, reducing arrangements to stilted, robotic sequences that lack emotion. This is true for every daw, but some have better tools for swing, note randomization, scales, arpeggios, etc. I need the actual arrangement phase to be more organic and less like using a TI-85 to draw graphs that make sound. Top of my list. It's enough of a problem that it is the list.

2: Where is my scone. It's terrible that I don't have one in my hand right now. Possibly?

[pushedbutton]

Going to the FSB to browse all instruments and gaaaarrrgh!!!!

[Zac]

Missing the knob and moving the whole device!
Waiting for the calc dial to get all the way round.
Compressors missing the 1st peak and having to play a 2nd time to make sure it's just the same old glitch.
Computer too slow!

[buddard]

Like when you have an automation part open in the sequencer for editing, and you attempt to double-click on an automation part in another lane to edit that one instead: The first click will deselect the current lane, making it shorter, and the second click will create a new empty part on a completely different track/lane, because the second half of the double-click ended up somewhere else... I can't believe how often this happens to me!

[Last Alternative]

When I go to open a song and randomly it's zero kilobytes and won't open; gone forever and PH says there's nothing they can do.. 8x now.

[KirkMarkarian]

1) Lack of extra markers to mark track changes
2) knobs sometimes too small, causing the instrument to move and the mix channels to switch their position from the left rack to the right rack
3) Lack of built-in video preview, so I can score to film inside the DAW
4) When saving my synth presets, I have them carefully placed in separate folders. I know it's my fault, but I wish I could set patch "destinations"

[Jagwah]

The browse device by developer list - it's awful, just awful.

The lack of a marker in the analyzer that can be set to a specific frequency. If I'm trying to decipher a frequency I am like 'Oh yeah it's somewhere between 640 and 1300Hz and it's kinda to the right of the middle so.....' Really annoying that is.

Tiny devices, and super tiny screens on tiny devices. For instance look at the display screen size on Carve and compare that to your monitor size. I cringe when people request devices be made small - cramming all knobs / parameters / screens into the smallest space possible, just ugh!

There's still nothing to compete with or stand against NI Massive, you can all forget about dubstep, unless you making oldskool flavour.

When I open a clip and go to draw with the pen tool and i'm in tiny 1/16th resolution. I have always hated this, it really rattles my maracas.

Seeing the awesome new Players in Reason - WITHOUT CV SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >: (

Noob focus - via Propellerheads.

CrapRe and CrapRe2 - they are pieces of CRAP!

[Raveshaper]

Jagwah has inspired me. I have come up with a few more.

• Closed minded culture
• Rigid, set and forget approach that leads to a thin and static sound
• Pandering to entry level or idle hobbyists
• Fewer and fewer supported hardware models
• Requiring developer level commitment just to add support for your hardware
• The ease of use for MIDI support is a NIGHTMARE!!! <-- (I feel bad for anyone reading the SDK for the first time)
• Opaque devices whose precise internal functions are a mystery (unless people graph them on here)
• Few tools for analysis
• Frequency related automation measured in arbitrary units
• RED Everywhere in the SSL for crying out loud!!
• How Many Times Will You Re-Pay For What You Already Had (face it, that's more true here than any other app like it)
• Adjusting Stock Reverbs Completely Breaks Signal Output???
• No "Refine Search" in the Shop???
• Money Spent on REs Can Not Be Recovered (glad I never bought any)
• It is a learning tool that the truly passionate will very rapidly outgrow
• Everything you need to learn can be done in R5, for free.

[Olivier]

Like when you have an automation part open in the sequencer for editing, and you attempt to double-click on an automation part in another lane to edit that one instead: The first click will deselect the current lane, making it shorter, and the second click will create a new empty part on a completely different track/lane, because the second half of the double-click ended up somewhere else... I can't believe how often this happens to me!

Although it may not be a bug exactly, i have made a bugreport about this in the past. In the respons i got props indicated they are aware of this.

[Jagwah]

Deleted...

[AttenuationHz]

Like when you have an automation part open in the sequencer for editing, and you attempt to double-click on an automation part in another lane to edit that one instead: The first click will deselect the current lane, making it shorter, and the second click will create a new empty part on a completely different track/lane, because the second half of the double-click ended up somewhere else... I can't believe how often this happens to me!

Although it may not be a bug exactly, i have made a bugreport about this in the past. In the respons i got props indicated they are aware of this.

So annoying partly the reason why I started recording my automation changes.

Few tools for analysis

Do you mean the half assed frequency analyser with no precise measurement to where your mouse is pointing for frequencies and no phase scope to speak of anywhere (cough, cough RE, cough, cough)

Frequency related automation measured in arbitrary units

If its at 64 its about halfway for sure should be Frequency only by this stage or both for less confusion.

No "Refine Search" in the Shop???

That's a pain!

I hate when you alt click for automation changes to be written to the sequencer and it brings the sequencer window to the front when its detached nightmare when your doing multiple alt clicks in the few seconds it takes to click.

[Creativemind]

I mention many things on this site but I think the few main ones are:-

No 'Ganged' Faders on the Main Mixer.
No proper dB /summing readings on the Main Mixer channels and Master Section.
No 'Undo Events List' and Undo's can be set from 300-400 or 500 and minute undo's such as labelling etc turned off if you want.
No Notepad for Lyrics (Viewable in the Sequencer with multiple pages / fonts, cut/paste, bold/italic/underline, savable, printable).
No Muting / Unmuting of Notes in the Midi Editor.
No Keyboard Shortcut to create a mix channel in the rack.

The fact that all volume related parameters don't work in dB and that all frequency related parameters don't work in Hz including automation and that there isn't a Synch All Windows Checkbox in preferences which works for Soloing, Muting, Labelling, Order and can be used for browsers too but browser is optional.

Looking at what other people have said here, more peeves than features:-

Accidentally moving the instrument in the rack when you're trying to drag the sides of the rack up to scroll.

When you double click an audio clip in the sequencer, then slice a transient with the razor, so it now makes it more than 1 clip, you have to click out of the audio quantize mode to then delete one of the new clips if you don't want it. You should be able to click the clip with the pointer and press backspace to delete it, or use the rubber to delete a clip without having to click out of the quantize audio mode.

Also, not being able to open more than 1 Spectrum EQ at once. Should be unlimited, I was told you need to compare spectrum eq's sometimes and it's your cpu. You should use your noggin and only open as many as you need, or close them.

[The Real Deanc2000]

I would love a floating tool bar, with floating transport. I would just keep it close to where I'm working, so I don't have to move the mouse so much.

[Creativemind]

Jagwah has inspired me. I have come up with a few more.

• Closed minded culture
• Few tools for analysis
• No "Refine Search" in the Shop???

I'm with you on these 3.

Close minded culture - think they're realising they need to address many issues now. Reason 9 was a big step forward for me but still a way to go. It's just a shame. If they hadn't have been so 'close minded' feature wise in the past, there could be 30 features more (so I've counted) in Reason by now, and I can see clear versions where said features would've tied in with the things added in those versions.

Few tools for analysis - true. We could do with a vectorscope and a multimeter (with built in line meter).

As for the shop, I sometimes can't find devices because you have to be way too precise with the device name in the search sometimes and I find the search box hard to find in the shop as it's white on white background.

Another peeve is some of the colours are awful.

[ilikestargazing]

The docked Browser. No sir; I don't like it.

This. Biggest one absolutely. What the fudge.

Perhaps also that most effect devices only effectively process a mono signal or the weird way sample stretching sounds sometimes.
Don't even get me started on the whole line 6 thing.

[ProfessaKaos]

Reason - These are more things that I wish Reason had, but at times I find it annoying that Reason doesn't have these features.

- Only being able to cross fade clips in Comp mode
- Fixed cross fade types
- Browser minimized when saved in a session doesn't open minimized
- No punch in recording like Pro Tools
- No group linked slice edit time stretching

All I can think of now but I feel like I have more if I can think of more I'll add.

[kuhliloach]

"Missing the knob and moving the whole device!"

UI is too small in the Rack and needs zooming features. A fully scalable UI would also be welcome.

Lack of a smart data-driven category-driven searching capability in the browser.

RE SDK not being expanded to meet and exceed the capability of VST's.

Allihoopa button not removable. Hope I never click it accidentally.

Lack of elegant built-in tutorial systems.

Not user friendly. The high learning curve means most newcomers will be afraid or Reason.

Copy protection decreases DAW exposure and world wide adoption.

The notion that my pet peeves are in fact broad complaints rather than specific pet peeves.

[WongoTheSane]

A global sidechaining source which could be enabled/disabled infividually for each track with a button, instead of having to spider the kick everywhere everytime...

[Zac]

Erm, aren't pet peeves annoyances with what is available? Not some existential list of imaginary features that don't exist? There's the feature request threads for that... no?

To try and seem like I'm not just policing .... It also peeves me that my eyesight is going so that I keep putting midi notes at x.2 rather than x.1... my fault but still a peeve.

[groggy1]

There's lots of features I want.

But my biggest PET-PEAVES are:
1) When I'm in the sequencer, and right-click on a clip, Bounce-To-REX isn't available. I have to first click on the clip to edit it (I'm not sure what the mode is called), and then Bounce-To-REX is available.

2) When I upload a song to Alihoupa, I keep checking "Private" because I use Alihoupa mostly to listen to my in-progress work in the car. My pet peave is that it can't remember that I previously selected "Private", and I have to remember each time.

3) When I control external MIDI instruments, I want to be able to send Program Change messages easily. Reason makes it easy to send single-byte program-change messages, but there are other standards too. So it works well with some synths, but not others. (i.e. I want to load a song and have it transmit program changes at song-load)

[Raveshaper]

I mean, look.

Oskari Tammelin has been able to make a forward thinking software, Jeskola Buzz, by himself over the past 15+ years. It was around at the same time as Reason 1 or 2. In that time, it has gone through development hell, including loss of source code due to hard drive failure. Even so, it has now been adapted to integrate with FL Studio. The devices can be loaded into the modular router inside of FL to add even more tools to an already saturated host.

Just look at this here:


Each spectrum of each signal traveling along each audio "wire" can be analyzed between any two modules in the workspace.
Anybody can write their own devices for it, and the devices can be loaded into FL. This is made possible by a VST wrapper that he himself made.

One guy made all of this in the amount of time that we got MIDI notes that can be resized from the left.
One guy.

CLIP LAUNCHING:

Topdown Routing:

Massive Pattern Editor:

An Intuitive Piano Roll:

Native Audio Slice Editor:

Loading Non-audio Files as Audio (Audacity pictured):


Anybody else feel like something doesn't add up here?

[JNeffLind]

This isn't exactly what I intended with this thread. Pet Peeves are generally things you shouldn't be bothered by that may be mere annoyances to others but for some reason set you off. Like inconsequential things that assume excessive importance in your mind. I guess the board can always use another feature request thread though. I guess this thread is kind of a hybrid. Ain't evolution a batch?