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Well first off you are never supposed to master what you mix/write. Someone with brand new ears in a real mastering house must do this for you. Even if you were the best damn mastering engineer in the world you should still never do this no matter what hardware/software you use. As you mix and record your ears become colored with what you are trying to perceive instead of what is really there.

Reason also lacks proficient mastering tools. Yeah ok there is a "Mastering Suite" but that is more for marketing and should be considered no more than a toy when compared to actual hardware/software that was designed for mastering.
It lacks a good EQ with M/S ability. It is also extremely hard to pinpoint a specific freq. The other tools it provides are meh at best.
The whole workflow of reason is just not set up for masteringbut instead is set up for production/Live play.

Mastering goes a hell of a lot deeper than just throwing some plugs on your mix and cranking perceived loudness to max via a compressor/limiter. Man it goes deep, very deep and it takes a long time to train your ears and attain the knowledge to get good at mastering.

Now that being said I'm not saying you couldn't get "OK" results using Reason to master, but you would still need to be in an environment that is conducive to mastering. Room acoustics and shape, monitor configuration, AD/DA conversion and so many more things need to be set up before you should even try to master anything period.

My long time friend who runs Stonebridge Mastering here in Memphis just published a very concise book on the matter through McGraw Hill. He even got contributions to the book by some of the world's top mastering engineers like Brad Blackwood and Bob Katz. There is very helpful info in there even if you aren't a mastering engineer. It also goes into some advanced mixing techniques that are extremely helpful for any engineer or producer.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Audio-Mastering-Practical-Techniques/dp/0071819576

• PropellerheadSW YouTube channel has a ton of stuff to watch.
  
  
• Groove3 has excellent tutorials, but they cost money. You get access to everything for $15 per month which is a pretty good deal.
  
  
• There are also book series like "Ignite" and "Power" that cover Reason. Any book on Reason 6 will be directly applicable to Reason 7.
  
  
• And finally there is an excellent book called Modern Recording Techniques that covers the ins and outs (and they WHY that you are wondering about)

In addition to the manual, I would highly recommend Reason 5 Power! when it's released. I have his book for Reason 4 and it's excellent. He discusses each instrument in great detail, but he also provides a lot of tutorials and walkthroughs that really help you understand them as well.

Here is the link to Reason 4 Power on Amazon. You can use the "Look Inside Feature" to get an idea of what kind of detail this guy provides.

I would also recommend getting something with some pads. I have the Akai MPD 18. There are some negative reviews regarding the responsiveness of the pads, but I used the electrical tape fix and it worked great. The MPD 18 is much easier to mod because there's less to fight with.

I recommend reading this book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0240815807/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I asked this very question myself on /reasoners a while back and someone suggested it to me(thanks whoever you were). Gives you a really good foundation on the more technical aspects of mixing and the theory behind certain mixing practices. Kinda a dry read but push through it.

I'd also like to second that mixing is not really so much about loudness but rather making your mix sound balanced both in the volume of individual tracks and the areas of the eq spectrum in which they occupy. Loudness is typically achieved as a result of this and also mastering after your mix sounds the way you like it.

Also, it helps to compare your own mix to a song or artist that you like the sound of and want to imitate from a mix standpoint.

It takes time but you will get it figured out. Just keep at it.

Nektar IMPACT LX25+

The integration of the Nektar line with Reason is incredible. Basically it allows you to switch banks in any of the instruments using the keyboard (no mouse). It auto maps all of the dials and pads as well. Yes it's got some stuff you seemingly won't use, but it's well built and pretty amazing for $100.

If you're in to dance music, The Dance Music Manual is densely-packed, but still easy to read and fun.

Reason 101 has a "visual guide to the Reason Rack" that's really good. PM your address and you can have mine. The type is too small for my eyes to read.

Here's one tip: For $4 - $10 you can pick up the book "Power Tools for Reason 3.0".

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0879308613/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Yeah, 3.0. Don't get 6.0 - it's not by the same author. The 3.0 version is 90% relevant anyhow and has some great information. It's designed primarily with examples that show interesting routings and combinators that yield all kinds of different sounds and effects. The example-driven approach really helps you to get familiar with the nuts and bolts of Reason. Make sure you go through the process of building the examples - I don't think it would be the same to just load a patch. Anyhow, I'm a big fan.

If you are a piano player, I recommend the Alesis Q88, a lightweight full-sized keyboard with a good action for both piano and synth parts. If your budget is for the keyboard and speakers and soundcard then this would be the list I recommend: Sound Card http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-Audio-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410636197&sr=8-2&keywords=behringer+usb+sound+card Monitors: http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-MS16-Active-Personal-Monitor/dp/B00181T20O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410636254&sr=8-2&keywords=behringer+monitor+speakers Keyboard: http://www.amazon.com/Alesis-Q49-49-Key-Keyboard-Controller/dp/B0038YX3BS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410636355&sr=8-1&keywords=49+key+keyboard
These are all units I have used and been very happy with.

I've found it worthwhile to learn what all the knobs, switches, buttons, and slides do. This applies to all the synths and samplers. This allows you to tweak the preset patches and experiment less blindly. Youtube is a good resource but I've gotten more from this book
But I vote anything that sounds good acceptable!

This book helped me improve with Reason a lot. The genre-specific sections are pretty dated now, but it is loaded with great advice on sound design, music theory, and mixing.

Dance Music Manual, Second Edition: Tools, Toys, and Techniques https://www.amazon.com/dp/0240521072/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pV1dBb1P15E5N

I can't say. For people who have got it working after the same issue, they often bought something like this. Good luck, and God's speed.

Never hurts to study some basic music theory, if only to learn how to communicate with other musicians.

Jazzology is a good book if you're interested.

Turns out it hasn't been updated in four years but here's the link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1285866576 ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdo_pwNTzb9J4S62R

Even though it's for Reason 7, it's still good if you want to learn all about the included instruments and several intricacies of Reason.

This! I got the Dance Music Production one and it's fantastic

[Amazon] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dance-Music-Manual-Tools-Techniques/dp/0240521072/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376289177&sr=1-1&keywords=dance+music+production)

Get any of the Reason books that function as expanded user manuals and just digest every segment of each device until you understand them. Once you understand, experimentation can begin!

Also, Peff is the man. I'd even recommend picking up his power tools book (even though the version is outdated, the insights are amazing). http://www.amazon.com/Power-Tools-Reason-3-0-Software/dp/0879308613/ref=la_B001KITWI2_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368307588&sr=1-1

for queuing when DJing, i need headphones that won't break when being put on & pulled off like a million times a night, and are loud enough. these have been GREAT and don't break!
for sound quality, i use these, but notice the wee little wires that you don't want breaking... they stay at home.

A few purchases I made recently after few days of researching and asking for recommendations.

Mike Stavrou - Mixing With Your Mind

Rick Snoman - Dance Music Manual, 3rd Edition

Bob Katz - Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science

Bobby Owsinski - The Mixing Engineers Handbook: 4th Edition


Edit: ...and I just checked out the ableton book recommended by /u/NeiloMac and now it's on its way.

Reason is $360. Are your bjs really 80 cents a pop? I think you should at least price match your local streetwalker and you just might spend less time on your knees.