Ableton Forum

hello, im trying to to use live 8 and reason via rewire but when i have live open then open reason i get the message that reason could not set up the control surface properly.this has got to be a easy fix, i just cant figure it out.thank you.

That is likely because Live is taking over its controller. Remember that Reason is a slave Live in rewire, so I recommend learning how to send midi to reason using the "external instrument" device. Are you aware of how to do so?

Yes, live takes over control.. and no i dont.. new to all this...

Well first I want to understand what is your use for reason. Are you trying to use it's sequencer along with Live? Or are you trying to use its instruments as a sound module? From there I can recommend what is best to do.

id like to use it both ways , but ,manly as a sound module

To use Reason as a sound module there are two main task (one for each app):

1) Wire the instrument's output directly to Reason's audio interface device (top of rack). You are basically bypassing Reason's mixer board. Each instrument will take one or two channels (mono or stereo). So lets say you want to use NNXT..open it and wire its outpus to 1 and 2. Now head over to Ableton Live...

2) In Live, open the "external instrument" preset. At the bottom pane, you can set the midi output to Reason, then select the desired instrument from the next list. Lastly, you set the "audio from" to the output that you wired in Reason.

Once you do this a couple times, you will get the big idea of what is possible. When you get comfortable, you can easily create presets that instantly wire these up for you. I have used complex setups to enhance workflow that require too much typing to explain. But as you spend time with it, you'll know what you are capable of. Let me know how this method works for you.

ya man..that helped, working now . thank you for your time.its funny i put the same question on the reason forum and no help...to funny.thanks again