Propellerhead Software announced Reason 6, the latest version of the company’s music making software, on Tuesday. Most notably, Reason 6 has all of the combined features of previous versions of Reason and Propellerhead’s Record software, including audio recording, editing, and more.
Also new are several effect devices that can be inserted directly into instruments or onto tracks. “Pulveriser” allows users to compress, distort, filter, and modulate their sounds, while “The Echo” creates, as its name suggests, a stereo echo with adjustable delay, feedback, color, and modulation. “Alligator” is a rhythmic texturing tool that makes it possible to add rhythm and accents to synth sounds and change percussion loops. Users can also get pitch-perfect vocals using the new “Neptune” pitch adjuster.
Propellerhead is also debuting Reason Essentials, its successor software to Record. Reason Essentials has the core tools from Reason 6, including a selection of instruments and effects, such as a drum machine, loop player, sampler, synths, reverb, delay, distortion, and more. Compared to Reason, it has a more basic mixer and fewer effects.
Both Reason 6 and Reason Essentials are currently in beta and will be available for purchase on Propellerhead’s online store and at Propellerhead distributors worldwide starting September 30, 2011. Reason 6 will retail at $450 and Reason Essentials at $300; the company will also offer a Reason 6 upgrade from any other version of the software for $170. System requirements for both programs include Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later, 1GB of RAM, and 3GB of free hard disk space.