The good things about Rack Extensions...

[Zac]

Seems to me that REs get criticized pretty often so how about we have a thread about the good things about them? I'll start...

They are incredibly stable compared with vst environments.

I think we have some really talented, generous and very responsive developers...

[Rice]

I enjoy some of the RE's that are exclusive to Reason only (Selig Desser, Leveler and of course all of the CV stuff), that's pretty great for a platform considered as a "toy"

[EnochLight]

• They just "fit" inside of Reason, as native rack citizens.
• I can go to any RE and know that its patch browser is exactly like any other Reason device.
• I know where to find its cables on the rear (also, CV)!
• I know how to automate everything.
• I can restore all of my RE purchases (and demos) with a single click of the button, on any computer, and on as many computers as I want (just so long as I am only running once instance at a time).
• They're only available in one spot, so if I want a new one, I know where to find them easily.

I'll avoid derailing this thread into my list of complaints, for they are legion.

[Zac]

Hehe well done Enoch that just about covers it all

If REs hadn't come along maybe I would have moved to another daw at some point but it would have been with great regret because I know Reason and love using it.

With the REs I now license it's now like Reason V99 in terms of the old trickle of devices per update. It has cost a pretty penny but I could use Reason 24/7 for the rest of my life and not know them all completely I'm sure.

I guess some people might see this as an arse kissing thread but even still on R7.1 I feckin' love what Reason gives me now. It's the mutts nuts.

[dvdrtldg]

One-click sync/update for all REs is worth its weight in gold

[TritoneAddiction]

Like EnochLight mentioned, everything works the same, automation, undos etc.

And also for unique things that are only available for Reason.

I mean where else would I get such a beautiful looking plugin like Crapre?
Kidding aside I actually find Crapre2 pretty useful.

[challism]

I freaking love rack extension. I think they have made an already amazing DAW that much more amazing. I echo everything that you guys already said.

[MassiveSoundStudios]

I'm not sure if any of you found this, but one of the less obvious things I love about REs compared to AudioUnit/VST Plugins, is how the mouse cursor interacts with the device's parameters. The parameters are smooth and respond exactly how you'd expect. I've come across many plugins (even the stock AUs in Logic), where you click and drag on a knob or rotary and it gets stuck, or starts to fly all over the place. I believe this is partially due to Plugin parameters responding to the mouse wheel (or Magic Mouse scrolling) being able to control these parameters, as it's getting confused between clicking and dragging with a combination of mouse wheel scrolling. It's extremely frustrating. In Logic specifically, if there is a way to turn this off, I'd love to know?

I also find the way plugins intergrade within DAWs to be clunky and messy. With Reason it feels like everything is in one place and it's the closest to feeling and reacting like real hardware. I know others mentioned something similar, but I have to echo this, along with many other things mentioned in this thread.

There are some plugins that are really lovely to use though.

Reason just feels right! It's not perfect, nothing is really, but it fits much better with the way I like to work personally.

[Lowas]

Stable, hazzle free and almost bugfree.
I want to be able to open an old project 10 years from now and be able to work on it.