Some of my thoughts about Reason/Record and ProTools:
So, I have used Reason for years (love it), Protools for years (it's a love/hate thing but it's the studio-standard & I can do anything in it), and I recently bought record (I've been VERY impressed).
- REASON seems to be the pre-emminent way of combining virtual instruments; it's really good for a project-studio when you are a one-man-band
- Yes, REASON is fabulous for arranging and getting things down quickly, then piping to PT but... working back-and-forth quickly becomes messy & time-consuming
- With the addition of RECORD, my workflow is much easier -- it's more intuitive, wastes less of my time, and I get more polished results quicker. PLUS....
- The REASON and RECORD main buses sound SO MUCH BETTER to my ears -- I have to tweak, add plugs, maximizers, analog emulators, etc to get my PT rig to sound the way it sounds OOB in RECORD. That said, I like the sound of the SSL emulation; some may not.
- I DO LIKE the idea of 'combinators' or 'bundles' of plug-ins that you end up using over and over. This idea doesn't work for me as easily in PT
- Routing in R/R is easy and intuitive; hit the TAB-key, drag some wires and it's done. I usually route PT with physical patch-bays.
- (Prior to PT9) I could run R/R on my standalone MAC much more easily. Not so, with PT [I haven't played with PT9 enough, yet, but that problem appears to be solved, now].
- Very creative (but not computer-savvy) friends of mine gave up on PT; they ARE using R/R, though (instead of analog, or Garage Band) which makes my life easier.
Sometimes I think PT is kind of like a surgeons knife; R/R is more like a great Chef's knife -- you end up using it on most everything you cook, b/c it's sharp, easy to work with, and you get results fast. Sometimes, though, you'll want a specialy knife...
OTOH...
- When I submit stems for mastering, a project to a client, or someone in the industry they usually want PT-format; it's the standard. When I am discussing or trouble-shooting a song or workflow; everyone knows what I'm talking about in PT terms,
- R/R IS limited in how you can edit audio -- no per-sample pencil tool, here. The limitations in how you 'comp' different 'takes' is sometimes annoying
- I love my PT plug-ins. It's like a mechanics tool chest. But, I've gotten used to 'throwing a plug-in' at a problem in PT whereas this won't work well in R/R. Maybe I've just become complacent; adapted to limitations in PT. I often find that I have to spend time constructing a 'combinator' that I would already 'have on hand' in PT (maybe this'll change, with time).
- I've got a lot of time, training, & $ invested in PT, so R/R is really kind of a 'disruptive technology'; the way digital initially compared with Analog
- A tweaked 'professional' mix/master with PT sounds better than a final mix in R/R (maybe that's not a fair comparison, though).
my final $.02?
All in all, I use both, but R/R gives me more 'joy'.