Propellerhead is currently working on Reason 6.5, which is expected to be released next summer. The sequencer gets a dedicated plug-in format with Rack Extentions. This is great news for Reason users. Fortunately, the new plug-in format is embraced by external developers, including Rob Papen, Sonic Charge, Korg, GForce, U-he, Softube, iZotope, FXpansion and Peff.
The following video reveals what the plug-in-builders are working on. In any case, it takes a while before all plug-ins will be available for Rack Extentions. Moreover, existing plug-ins are not always transfered just 1 to 1. For example the Rack Extensions version of Etch, Fxpansion’s new effect, looks a lot different than the VST version. And Gforce comes with Re-Tron, a synthesizer that we have not seen before. Last but not least Korg is finally working on a bigger interface of its Polysix synthesizer.
The video shows the advantages of the Rack Extentions compared with other plug-in formats in more detail. Especially (it looks like) the Undo function is perfectly integrated, a very handy feature.
Will the Rack Extentions sound as good as they look? And what about the cpu usage? We can’t wait to try them out.