Europa by Reason: Propellerhead release their first VST plug-in
I don’t know about you but I’m still shocked by the fact that Reason can load VST plug-ins and that happened a year ago! Now in another shocker Propellerhead release their flagship Europa wavetable Reason synth as a VST and AU plug-in.
Reason and VST
VST support is the one thing Propellerhead said they would never do but then they did. I get the impression that something has changed and the possibilities are quite exciting. Reason has its own unique flavour and way of working which doesn’t naturally lend itself to the structure of VST plug-ins. But they overcame it and far from becoming just another DAW they have managed to open up VST plug-ins and instruments to their CV modulated architecture in very interesting ways. But they retained their own unique sound sources within the Reason format. This latest development has them releasing some of their sonic blueprint into the larger world – is this just testing the water or the beginning of something new?
Synths like Thor have already materialised on the iPad so I guess moving beyond the restrictions of tablet processing power into VST/AU formats makes a lot of sense. Can we expect to see other parts of Reason become plug-ins for other DAWs? I really don’t see why not. Although I’m sure getting into bed with VST caused a bit of a blip with Reason users I believe it’s all the stronger for it. It was great to see Noise Engineering recently embrace the Reason way of doing things in their first ever software module releases. Reason remains unique and interesting with its own workflow and creative tools but Propellerhead also has a back catalogue that people who want to work differently could really benefit from.
Europa by Reason
Europa is a spectral wavetable synthesizer with three sound engines. There are over 30 engine models and wavetables, 24 filter types, all sorts of modulation and some cool effects. You can load your own samples and wavetables not only as sound sources but also as spectral filter shapes. It morphs beautifully between waveforms and has a comprehensive modulation matrix that’ll run everything into everything else in very pleasing ways.
If you’d like to try it out then Propellerhead have a version that runs in a browser. If you’ve got a web-MIDI compatible browser like Chrome you can even play it from a keyboard. Check it out here.
Europa web player · Source: Robin Vincent
If you’re still not convinced then you can also download a trial version and run it in your DAW. Until the end of June Propellerhead are offering Europa by Reason for $99. If you are an existing Reason 10 user then you get it for free. Go to your account to find your license.
Everyone wins.
More information
- Europa by Reason page
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One response to “Europa by Reason: Propellerhead release their first VST plug-in”
You should also mention the web version allows you to open and save custom patches.