Reaper and ReWiring with Reason

ok, i took a look at this at the recommendation by many WATMMers and while i like it, i seem to be getting stuck with something.

when setting up the ReWire and in the section "MIDI Send To ReWire" it is only allowing 16 MIDI Channels, effectively limiting me to only being able to sequence 16 instruments within Reason from the Reaper sequencer.

is there any way to address more channels so i can sequence more instruments than this?

if not, i'm gonna have to get hold of some sequencer than can

I have researched this and I guess there is still no way to get more than 16 rewire channels. As far as I told by a guy I met at a part whom used to work for Native instruments: Midi communication is still bottle necked at 1-128 under 16 channels same as it was since the beginning even though its all digital now in software the communication language is still the same as it ever was. Their is new music device communication protocols being finished right now to open up that bottleneck wide.

One thing that you can do is instead of using individual Reason instrument. Blend and combine your instruments in combinators which would only be one midi channel talking to as many devices as you want in that combinator. You can automate it to mute say a synth in that combinator for one movement and turn on many many separate devices for separate sections and so on with just one midi channel being used really easily. More than 16 channels doing something completely different rhythmically/melodically at the same time can be a bit much for mixes/listeners.

Another thing is you could can sequence parts in Reason and Reaper separately. Program say all you 37 different percussion devices in the Reason sequencer and assign all your melodic instruments to Reaper and sequence them in there at the same time separately.

There is also so many lovely VST instruments/FX to fabricate sounds you could never manifest in Reason that you could create in Reaper in Parallel so your not just using a gazillion Reason instruments alone. I highly suggest ha herm take advantage of being able to do combine Reason with limitless VST capability having Reaper in conjunction.

There is a shit load of buses to use out of Reason into Reaper so you could bus different Reason instruments that are midi assigned under one combinator mid channel and be able to use VSTs/Reaper volume automation etc. on individual instrument audio buses

I love the combination of these two genius applications. I use them together on nearly everything I do, I used to be quite prone to over saturating my songs with too many layers/instruments but haven't needed more than 16 different assignable midi channels so far in the last year.

^ Which is no doubt partly because I have been so grateful and inspired to make instruments from VSTs/manipulate audio tracks that I haven't been wanting to use only Reason devices in my compositions.

thanks for the help man,

unfortunately, it doesn't seem like i can use my MIDI keyboard natively inside Reason when Reason is in rewire mode, so sequencing using the internal sequencer on Reason while rewired is a no go for me. and the whole combinator workaround seems way too complicated for something that should really be supported inside the DAW anyway.

i've gone over to the latest version of Cubase, so maybe if Reaper supports this in future i may come back.

check youtube.

I used Cubase for 6 years and rewired Reason through it for the last year all the time. I instantly fucking hated it after learning most of Reapers shortcut efficiencies, comparable impossibilities and phenomenal comfort-abilities for a few ambitious days.

I would rather suck a butt than go back to using Cubase for recording/jamming/sequencing/editing etc. There is sooooo much I love about Reaper that from what I have seen you can't easily accomplish with every other DAW.

I never have needed to work that way but seriously combinating shit and automating solos etc. inside reason to do the shit I suggested above is incredibly fucking easy with Reason 4 or 5.

The combinators were really a brilliant addition to Reason.

As were the changes they made to automation.