Reason is a popular software for making beats for some very good "reasons". The current version as of this post is version 4. One of the most famous Reason created beats is T.I.'s "What You Know Bout That".
The Good:
First, Reason has a great sound to it. Part of making beats sound good is the quality of instruments and effects processing. Reason does not disappoint, this is a quality program.
Second, it comes loaded with enough sounds and a great variety of sounds it will keep all you beat makers inspired for a long time.
Compared to other DAWs, Reasons sequencer is very similar as is the main mixing console.
The Bad:
Reason does not offer extensive sampling / recording tools. This might be a minus to sample based beat makers. But if your needs are simple, it shouldn't be a big hurdle to overcome.
Third-party support comes inthe form of instruments and patches for existing Reason intruments. The common VSTs type instrument or effect is not supported.
The Ugly:
As with all beat making programs, there are some minor issues in my opinion. The biggest one is that in an effort to make all the sound generators and effects look like real hardware rack equipment, it makes a very poor use of the screen. I also found that routing instruments and effects was confusing at times.
This is a minor gripe though. Many people are making beats with Reason and love the fact that it makes them feel like they are using real hardware.
Conclusion
If you are NOT primarily a sample based beat maker the Reason is a good option. If you really like to tweak samples and manuipulate audio look elsewhere for your fix. The great sounds mean you can get a nice start on your beat making but the lack of support for the VST standard will leave you out in the cold as your non-Reason buddies all brag about the new plug-ins they can use.
