A Beginner’s Guide to Selecting a DAW – Part 8 – A Look at Record

Next in this series we will take a look at Propellerhead’s audio program, Record. Let’s start by asking some of the questions we have covered in the earlier parts of this series.

Does it Record Audio?

Record does record audio, allowing an unlimited number of audio tracks with a bit rate up to 24-bit/192 kHz (more on bit rate later).

Does it Have Timing Correction?

Record does not have timing correction. Of all the exciting upcoming features Propellerhead has in store for Reason 5 and Record 1.5, timing correction is not one.

Can it Comp my Takes?

Record has one of more intuitive ways to composite takes using just a few quick tool switches (e.g. the razor tool), also allowing for easy crossfading as well. Loop recording over any section creates multiple take lanes so that a comp of the best takes is a very easy process that any musician can understand.

Does it Come with Virtual Instruments?

Record ships with an instrument called the ID8 instrument device. This software instrument allows a few variations of the following: Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Guitar, Bass, Strings, Brass-Wind, Synth, and Drums.

Does it Allow 3rd Party Virtual Instruments?

Just as Propellerhead keeps Reason completely self contained, so it is with Record. However… Record integrates with Reason seamlessly. Can you say, powerful? This combination brings out the one of the most incredible, most stable, and by far the most powerfully flexible workstations on the market.

Reason and Record together, in my opinion, are the future of self contained music creation software.

Does it Work with Various Hardware Interfaces?

You can safely outgrow your hardware interface and Record will work with your new compatible upgrades.

Is Record in my Budget?

Record by itself retails for $299.00 USD. Record for those who already own Reason retails for only $149.00 USD. If you are new to both and want both right off the bat, the Record / Reason Duo package retails for $449.00 USD.

What sets this DAW apart form the others?

One word… Integration. Being able to combine Record with what I believe to be the most powerful soft synth workstation on the market, namely Reason, the Record and Reason duo combine audio with everything you’ve come to love from Reason.

At the time of this writing, Propellerhead has just recently announced the release of Reason 5 and Record 1.5 due out later this year. Some of the upcoming features are not only very exciting, but I’m having a hard time coming up with reasons to own any other DAW. As a matter of fact, if Propellerhead decides to incorporate timing correction of recorded audio in a future update of Record, with the exception of using my room correction plug-in for accurate monitoring, I would never need another DAW. With that being said…

Another absolutely fantastic aspect of Record is ReWire. That’s right, you can actually ReWire Record and Reason as a duo to any other DAW that supports being a ReWire host. Record can stream up to 64 simultaneous outputs to the host, and that includes audio. ReWire Record into another DAW like Cubase or Logic, and that room correction plug-in for accurate monitoring can be used, along with any other 3rd party plug-ins you can use inside of the host. Powerful.