Mimic: New Creative Sampler

[QVprod]

I think the I initial reasoning to sticking to the SDK is to be fair to other RE devs. Granted, I think that’s quite less of an issue now

[ddrex]

quite liking the possibility to sample into Mimic with no cuts in audio

[Gardinski]

Has anyone established what the longest sample is that Mimic can handle? Is there a defined limit, or is it just ''as much as your hard drive can hold''?

Could you, in theory, have a twenty-seven hour long one-shot?

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(Added after a bit of experimentation)

OK - to answer my own question: No. You can't have a 27 hour one-shot. (And realistically, what sort of LUNATIC would even want that?)

Mimic can definitely handle a 15 minute sample with ease, but I've been unable to load a 26 minute sample (so far) without it crashing. That's not necessarily a hard limit though: other people with more powerful (or less cluttered) laptops may do better.

Obviously, in most circumstances, you'd seldom need anywhere near this long a sample, but I was curious.

[platzangst]

Mimic can definitely handle a 15 minute sample with ease, but I've been unable to load a 26 minute sample (so far) without it crashing. That's not necessarily a hard limit though: other people with more powerful (or less cluttered) laptops may do better.

Obviously, in most circumstances, you'd seldom need anywhere near this long a sample, but I was curious.

If you were interested in researching further, you could see how much time you could get away with if you did things like reduce the sample rate or bit depth or convert stereo samples to mono, that is, anything that reduces the sample's file size while retaining duration...

[Ahornberg]

Has anyone compared the stretch modes in Mimic (except 'granular') to that stretch modes provided in the sequencer? Are they the same? I think a null-test could tell.

[Kilsane]

[jam-s]

Has anyone established what the longest sample is that Mimic can handle? Is there a defined limit, or is it just ''as much as your hard drive can hold''?

Could you, in theory, have a twenty-seven hour long one-shot?

As the sample will be loaded into RAM (converted to 32bit floating point most likely) the amount of RAM would be the limiting factor and not the hdd size.

[Quarmat]

I just wrote a little track with Mimic and, while I did not pushed the sampler to the max of its possibilities, I had great fun composing with it and really loved the workflow.

I wrote 8 bars using synths and drums, sampled and fed them in 2 Mimic instances. Then i built the rest around it.

Hope you like it.

[flori89]

Hey, forgive my ignorance, I'm just trying out Reason+ with the 3$ deal and while so far I find Reason to be quite cool, but I don't quite get what the hype is here:

- This seems like a rather basic sampler/slicer. Lot's of features that have been in samplers for a long time like beat and key detection are missing. I have a 9$ iOS sampler/slicer that does all of that.

- So far, lot's of the "instruments" in reasons seem to be quite similar to each other, this doesn't seem to be an exception. I think I counted 10 different samplers or something like that, lot's of them basically doing the same thing. Feels a little like they are creating "instruments" as a marketing tool and then leaving out features that they already had in other instruments.

- Reason kind of has the air of providing something unique, at least that's what I always thought about it. This doesn't feel unique to me, actually quite the opposite, this looks really boilerplate: Sampler, ADSR, LFO, effects.

A related question: How do I set the slices to be like 8 or 16 equally spread? I only found how to use the transient detection.

Don't get me wrong, there isn't something really wrong with this, it's just feels a little underwhelming and a little dated if you look at the current market. If I keep the Reason+ subscription, it's certainly not because of this.

Again, sorry for the negative vibes, nothing against Reason as a whole.

[Goriila Texas]

It's lacking most of the features that modern samplers have because RS have no diversity at the company and it shows as the man behind the marketing has never used samples. That's not a knock on Ryan though his genre of music doesn't use them. As part of the Hip Hop community we could've gave insight to build a more complete sampler as we have been barking for a new sampler for years. We've been creating our own instruments with samplers since the late 80's-90's but most other musicians from other genres looked down on it and it's crazy to see those same people wakeup to the power of using samples.

The sampler is not bad but won't bring many from Serato sample and those who only use Reason will do the necessary workarounds to make hits with it. We all know once the code is written RS will not upgrade any instrument so workarounds are here to stay. Again, it's better than the NNXT.

Edit: To answer your question from what I've read in this post it's not currently possible to chop 8th or 16th notes or lazy chop on the fly.

Hey, forgive my ignorance, I'm just trying out Reason+ with the 3$ deal and while so far I find Reason to be quite cool, but I don't quite get what the hype is here:

- This seems like a rather basic sampler/slicer. Lot's of features that have been in samplers for a long time like beat and key detection are missing. I have a 9$ iOS sampler/slicer that does all of that.

- So far, lot's of the "instruments" in reasons seem to be quite similar to each other, this doesn't seem to be an exception. I think I counted 10 different samplers or something like that, lot's of them basically doing the same thing. Feels a little like they are creating "instruments" as a marketing tool and then leaving out features that they already had in other instruments.

- Reason kind of has the air of providing something unique, at least that's what I always thought about it. This doesn't feel unique to me, actually quite the opposite, this looks really boilerplate: Sampler, ADSR, LFO, effects.

A related question: How do I set the slices to be like 8 or 16 equally spread? I only found how to use the transient detection.

Don't get me wrong, there isn't something really wrong with this, it's just feels a little underwhelming and a little dated if you look at the current market. If I keep the Reason+ subscription, it's certainly not because of this.

Again, sorry for the negative vibes, nothing against Reason as a whole.

[chaosroyale]

Don't worry, you are not being negative, you are exactly correct.

20 years ago, Reason had a strong design vision for its devices. They all did something very well (for the time) and had a clear use in the rack. But the last 10 years they have been adding more and more mediocre devices, and not upgrading the old ones. I'm sure you also noticed there are lots of drum machines, but the "flagship" drum machine, Kong, is stuck in the year 2010. There are 3 filter devices; the old one can do a clean, uncolored filter, but it is limited to a low resolution from the year 2001. The newest filter has a high resolution, but cannot do a clean filter! And now, they have 4 ok-ish samplers, but no full-featured sampler.

Device bloat, but no upgrades or innovations. Every category now has 10 ok devices, instead of 2 or 3 really good ones.

That's the Reason way. If you are expecting cutting edge devices or innovation, you should use something else. <<EDIT: yikes I was in a bad mood when I wrote this. But I stick by it.

- So far, lot's of the "instruments" in reasons seem to be quite similar to each other, this doesn't seem to be an exception. I think I counted 10 different samplers or something like that, lot's of them basically doing the same thing. Feels a little like they are creating "instruments" as a marketing tool and then leaving out features that they already had in other instruments.

[chaosroyale]

With you 100%

A year or 2 ago I said that Reason should lean heavily into the Hip-Hop community, because as a niche DAW with hardware-like devices, that is where they could actually shine, and pick up new users too.

"Kong 2", with extreme drum sculpting and layering tools, and some ideas stolen from MPCs, that would have been a killer device.

Mimic, but with proper tempo matching and note detection, and...well...all the things they half-assed, would also have been great. But here we are.

As part of the Hip Hop community we could've gave insight to build a more complete sampler as we have been barking for a new sampler for years. We've been creating our own instruments with samplers since the late 80's-90's

[friday]

Unfortunately, I have to agree, there would be so much potential with updating the old devices, and a massive update to the sample editor and a deep integration of this editor.

Umpf was a similar confusing decision, could most be handled with ReDrum and ADSR in the Sample Editor, or Kong with a updated NN-XT Nano and some new EFX in the slots.

Look I still love to make music with Reason (standalone), but somehow the tool becomes more and more confusing and packed. Their philosophy was always to give musicians an uncomplicated and creative approach, but if you can use 6 different devices for similar thing, is that still pushing the flow or makes us confusing? Redrum, Kong, NN-19, NN-XT, Umpf Retro, Umpf Club, Dr. OctoRex.... I understand Grain, that is a other approach to sampling, but Umpf could be Redrum 2.0 or Kong 2.0 , and Mimic could be Dr. OctoRex "Mother".

I was a immediate updater from version 1 to 10 but these days I have much more time, until I am ready to spend them more money.

Still hoping for some more integrated/updating decisions in the future, crossing my fingers. That's probably the reason why I do write my opinion here again, even if I'm sure I'm wasting too many emotions to this text. But hey I still identify my self hardly with Reason, its one of my longest companion, and I have spent a lot more time with the software than with most people in my environment.

Don't worry, you are not being negative, you are exactly correct.

20 years ago, Reason had a strong design vision for its devices. They all did something very well (for the time) and had a clear use in the rack. But the last 10 years they have been adding more and more mediocre devices, and not upgrading the old ones. I'm sure you also noticed there are lots of drum machines, but the "flagship" drum machine, Kong, is stuck in the year 2010. There are 3 filter devices; the old one can do a clean, uncolored filter, but it is limited to a low resolution from the year 2001. The newest filter has a high resolution, but cannot do a clean filter! And now, they have 4 ok-ish samplers, but no full-featured sampler.

Device bloat, but no upgrades or innovations. Every category now has 10 ok devices, instead of 2 or 3 really good ones.

That's the Reason way. It has been like this for at least the last 5 years. If you are expecting cutting edge devices or innovation, you should use something else.

[avasopht]

According to the poll, Hip-Hop and RnB make up 14% of users compared to 53% making Electronic and Ambient.

Maybe RS just need more feedback if they wanted to target samplers.

I get the impression they were just creating something that they would like, and it's best to treat it as an option.

Unless they were offering full support for Ableton Push, Maschine, Presonus Atom or any of the other serious input devices available, it'd be pointless even bothering.

But it does provide new possibilities within Reason. And the floor is always open to other devs to cater to the Hip-Hop market.

[ravasb]

I agree with all of the above. I don't think I would be this irritated with Mimic if it had not been advertised as one of the main pieces of Reason 12+. If Reason was my only DAW and I had never used samples this would have been okay. FLStudio added much better samplers and for no cost to those who already owned it. I bought Reason at version 2 and have spent a lot of money upgrading. I bought FLStudio at version 4 and have not paid a nickel to upgrade. I like Reason still. I used to love it. I am not boycotting them or refusing to upgrade in the future. It is just sad for me to see where they are now in comparison to before when they were really innovative. I am grateful to Lectric Panda for maintaining the old level of creativity.

[avasopht]

I'd hardly say they've lost creativity.

Between Algoritm, Scenic Hybrid Instrument, and Friktion, I'd say they've been pretty solid.

Samplers don't really need to be creative, they just need to have the right features. They're not "creative". There is just a list of things that certain crowds like in a sampler.

You can just as easily find a crowd who wouldn't find a sampler "creative" if it couldn't work like a looper pedal.

Reason is a completely different offering to v2.0.

I'm not in a position to say what Reason needs. I'm not even sure I know what I "need" from it.

If anything, I'd like better integration with hardware, a better hardware-like workflow, an advanced patch building environment and a dedicated controller (or at the very least full support for a few of them like Atom, Maschine, Push or the devices from Novation). Something like that.

[ravasb]

I have upgraded every single version since 2.0. I like the instruments that you mentioned, but they are not really more creative than a lot of VSTs. I also think that Mimic as a sampler is missing a lot of the "right features" that are available in the samplers of other DAWs and have been for quite a while. Again, I like Reason, I am just no longer excited by what they do.

[SebAudio]

I don’t think RS / Reason is less « creative » than any other music production software company. We are no longer at the beginning of the 00’s and every release is more or less bashed (Live 11, Massive X, …). It seems only « vintage » synth or FX emulation are all the hype these days ! And only because it leads to a lot of yt and forum discussions about comparisons with the real thing.

[Heigen5]

Ok, so it's the same thing every time when a new Reason drops. "I don't have this that and the other". Seriously, make music with Reason - or Mozart will end up in your dreams and he won't be that nice worded in there.

[ravasb]

Ok, so it's the same thing every time when a new Reason drops. "I don't have this that and the other". Seriously, make music with Reason - or Mozart will end up in your dreams and he won't be that nice worded in there.

I am making music. I am also sharing my thoughts in a forum.

[Heigen5]

Ok, so it's the same thing every time when a new Reason drops. "I don't have this that and the other". Seriously, make music with Reason - or Mozart will end up in your dreams and he won't be that nice worded in there.

I am making music. I am also sharing my thoughts in a forum.

It's all good you do. But I'm ALSO saying my thoughts here.

[chaosroyale]

Scenic: "creative"

Could not disagree harder! One of the laziest, most cliche devices I've ever seen. A pointless copy of every boring "cinematic" kontakt instrument. Put 2 grains in a combinator and you have it for free.

Friktion did seem like it was more fresh and individual than their recent direction, I'll give you that. It's not included with the DAW. Algoritm was...fine. But also not in the DAW.

I'd hardly say they've lost creativity.

Between Algoritm, Scenic Hybrid Instrument, and Friktion, I'd say they've been pretty solid.

[avasopht]

Scenic: "creative"

Could not disagree harder! One of the laziest, most cliche devices I've ever seen. A pointless copy of every boring "cinematic" kontakt instrument. Put 2 grains in a combinator and you have it for free.

Friktion did seem like it was more fresh and individual than their recent direction, I'll give you that. It's not included with the DAW. Algoritm was...fine. But also not in the DAW.

I'd hardly say they've lost creativity.

Between Algoritm, Scenic Hybrid Instrument, and Friktion, I'd say they've been pretty solid.

Being in the DAW is irrelevant when assessing their creativity.

[Timmy Crowne]

I don’t mind the “Quik’nFun” philosophy of Mimic. There’s clearly a user-base to whom that appeals.

I just wish there was also a “we’ve updated your old favorites with the features you’ve been requesting” philosophy to go along with it.

I like Reason and use it every day, but I do think it used to be more progressive. Dr. Octorex from Dr. Rex. Thor from Subtractor. NNXT from NN19. Europa from Malstrom. These devices basically did everything their predecessors did, plus more. That’s not true of Mimic and NNXT.

Mimic’s cool, but I still want a new sampler in Reason.

[avasopht]

I don’t mind the “Quik’nFun” philosophy of Mimic. There’s clearly a user-base to whom that appeals.

I just wish there was also a “we’ve updated your old favorites with the features you’ve been requesting” philosophy to go along with it.

I like Reason and use it every day, but I do think it used to be more progressive. Dr. Octorex from Dr. Rex. Thor from Subtractor. NNXT from NN19. Europa from Malstrom. These devices basically did everything their predecessors did, plus more. That’s not true of Mimic and NNXT.

Mimic’s cool, but I still want a new sampler in Reason.

Mimic does a lot of things NNXT can't.