Cockos Reaper

[juliansader]

What has always bothered me about MIDI editing in Reaper is how the mouse cursor never intuitively "snaps" to what I want it to do at that position. Simple stuff like dragging a note length, moving the note up/down semitones and octaves, dragging out the selection etc.

The mouse cursor itself doesn't snap, but if you enable "snap to grid" (via a shortcut or the toolbar button), the stuff that you are dragging or moving should snap nicely.

another thing, about the midi editor. it seems be configured for a different set of shortcuts which is a bit mad to me. i actually think this is THE achilles heel of this software. it's annoying as hell that navigating in it has no relation to the arrangement timeline.

I do not quite understand what you mean -- could you give some examples?

[inkwarp]

i simply mean that shortcuts that work in arrangement do not work in midi editor window. which is frustrating and a bit counter-intuitive, i have to be mindful whichever part of the program i am in. i am sure it's customizable..

[Azura]

i am sure it's customizable..

That's an understatement!

[soulone82]

i am sure it's customizable..

That's an understatement!

[Shockwave77598]

I have been using REAPER for years. Since the early XP days.

I'm normally not a fan of software that updates a lot. But the updates in Reaper are optional -- you don't need to have the latest version to be up and running. Heck, you can even roll back to a previous version and it'll still work perfectly -- try that with your Microsoft product. And the licensing and price are incredible. If you want to try it, do so for free. The free download is as powerful and unlimited as the 75$ one, only with nagware screens to remind you that programmers have to eat too. And that purchase price gets you all the updates for the version you are buying, and all of the next version as well.

As for as stability: The only problem I have ever had with Reaper is when using the VST ProteusVX. Yes, it's old. Yes, it's stale. But yes, I have every library produced for it, so I use it when I need something quickly. There are tricks to making that work though, and I posted a primer on how to keep VX alive and well in this day and age. But that's it -- Reaper doesn't crash and if you keep the 32bitBridge on for older VSTs, a dying only vst written in the 1700s by tibetan monks will still work fine. That said, there IS an issue that people mistake as a crash. When the sound level goes over 20db (f'ing loud!) the MUTE buttons are automatically turned on for the offending track, and the output. You have to turn them back on manually after you've fixed the usually-for-me feedback problems. But if you don't know about this feature because you didn't read the manual...

The only real issue with Reaper is that it's a bare bones solution, and you have to know what you are doing or be willing to learn how to use a DAW the hard way. Me, I took the hard way, and it was very time consuming to be able to record and then mix to something between garage quality and pro quality. But the good is, YOU will know what you are doing and you can then get quality sound out of anything. You won't be ruined when you visit a studio and wonder where the "Gold Record" button is -- all of them are. It comes with lots of bare-bones effects and eqs and the like. You can add more by buying them and dropping them in the right directory. If you need a softsynth, get one, because it only comes with a puny 2osc analog built in. If someone sells a plugin, odds are it's gonna work in Reaper.

If you are looking for a good bang for your buck and a DAW that's actively being improved weekly by a developer who knows what he's doing AND wants his tool to be the very best in the world, Reaper is for you. Don't be put off by the spartan look of the plugins. The appearance of a Ferrari 512BB dash is likewise spartan; but I doubt anyone would turn their nose up and walk away from buying one for 75 bucks. If you are serious about the craft then it's fine. If you are new to the craft or need help getting started, then the lack of handholding will cause you problems. Just like any advanced tool there is a steep learning curve involved. The raw power and stability of Reaper makes it worth the time invested.

[digitalboytn]

That's not mysterious, that's ultra-powerful.

[inkwarp]

you are right, looks can be an issue with reaper but it's not so relevant when you consider the tools you get for making all kinds of music. the js plugins are actually rather good on the whole. ( and don't forget, there are a tonne of themes and skins on the Reaper forums.)
and extensions... and frequent updates...
hard to beat at $60 or there abouts.
over time i have been sliding over to Reaper more and more.
for me it's all about productivity and i seem to finish more tracks with Reaper than anything else i have used ( and still continue to, it's nice to take a break for using one workflow solely, a change can be very fruitful...

[bundoo]

when minimising the tracks is it possible to have solo mute buttons still on the right of the strip in arrange view?

agree with midi view / arrange view command discrepency

[machinesworking]

Reaper is a very special DAW-software, really!

Normally you differentiate between Audio-tracks and
Midi-tracks. These types are totally different - totally
different in usage and editors.

But NOT so in Reaper:

You can drop any midi-notes on any track: Reaper
will play them! And you can drop wav-files onto the
same track: Reaper will play them. This is quite
mysterious!

That's not mysterious, that's ultra-powerful.

I've watched hours of tutorials and I haven't come across one that explains the usefulness of this.
I could see reasons why this would be useful, I just haven't had the time to hunt and peck at it, or figure out exactly how to search for the part in the manual that goes over it. if you could do something like have the same track be MIDI in and out for a hardware synth and also the audio track that you record said audio onto I would get why it would be ultra-powerful, but if it's just an artifact from the fact that any track can be anything in Reaper I don't see much of a point of a mixed track. Even the tutorials on external synths use separate tracks for audio and MIDI...

[EvilDragon]

i.e. you can have MIDI for the synth on the same track as the vocoder effect applied on an audio item as take FX - no need to route anything from track to track.

Regarding what you said - a track can only have one recording input type, so that can be either audio or MIDI, so you cannot have a track that will be MIDI in and out for the external synth AND receive its audio input. This has nothing to do with the universal track type that Reaper has. But, for example, you can have your audio and FX happening on one track, then also have MIDI on the track that sends to an external device (i.e. to a lighting rig or something), keeps things tied to whatever audio is on the track...

You don't HAVE to mix data types on a single track if you don't want to. But Reaper allows you to do so, because why not?

[woggle]

I've watched hours of tutorials and I haven't come across one that explains the usefulness of this.
I could see reasons why this would be useful, I just haven't had the time to hunt and peck at it, or figure out exactly how to search for the part in the manual that goes over it. if you could do something like have the same track be MIDI in and out for a hardware synth and also the audio track that you record said audio onto I would get why it would be ultra-powerful, but if it's just an artifact from the fact that any track can be anything in Reaper I don't see much of a point of a mixed track. Even the tutorials on external synths use separate tracks for audio and MIDI...

It just means one less thing to think about - you have a track - that's it, you dont have to think or find what sort of track. But where the power comes in is with free item positioning mode where you basically have a 2D workspace within which you can position items sequentially or overlapping. That may or may not be useful depending on what music you make.

[danfi]

i.e. you can have MIDI for the synth on the same track as the vocoder effect applied on an audio item as take FX - no need to route anything from track to track.

Regarding what you said - a track can only have one recording input type, so that can be either audio or MIDI, so you cannot have a track that will be MIDI in and out for the external synth AND receive its audio input. This has nothing to do with the universal track type that Reaper has. But, for example, you can have your audio and FX happening on one track, then also have MIDI on the track that sends to an external device (i.e. to a lighting rig or something), keeps things tied to whatever audio is on the track...

You don't HAVE to mix data types on a single track if you don't want to. But Reaper allows you to do so, because why not?

and how often do you use vocoders in your music? how often do you send midi to a lighting rigs? Reaper is only gimmics, there is barely any real use for these "ultrapowerful" features

[EvilDragon]

I just pointed out two possible examples. They are most certainly not gimmicks - it's up to anyone to work out how to make best use of what is offered in Reaper. And what is offered is a lot. If you think it's just gimmicks, then you're missing the point completely, and it's your problem if you don't know how to use those ultra-powerful features. There are other people who certainly do make use of them

[machinesworking]

and how often do you use vocoders in your music? how often do you send midi to a lighting rigs? Reaper is only gimmics, there is barely any real use for these "ultrapowerful" features

To be fair that's some really dodgy logic there. Because you don't use it that often doesn't mean it's a gimmick.

I just pointed out two possible examples. They are most certainly not gimmicks - it's up to anyone to work out how to make best use of what is offered in Reaper. And what is offered is a lot. If you think it's just gimmicks, then you're missing the point completely, and it's your problem if you don't know how to use those ultra-powerful features. There are other people who certainly do make use of them

I think you're setting yourself up for these types of responses by calling a limited use feature "ultra powerful". If Reaper allowed a single track for MIDI and audio recording of external instruments for instance, or printing of software instruments to audio on the same track that holds the MIDI, then the mixed use feature would have almost universal use for pretty much everyone, and be "ultra-powerful". I think the truth of the feature lies somewhere between ultra powerful and gimmick, i.e. it's a good feature.

[JoseC.]

I just pointed out two possible examples. They are most certainly not gimmicks - it's up to anyone to work out how to make best use of what is offered in Reaper. And what is offered is a lot. If you think it's just gimmicks, then you're missing the point completely, and it's your problem if you don't know how to use those ultra-powerful features. There are other people who certainly do make use of them

I believe that this "feature" is probably a consequence of adding midi to Reaper as an afterthought, and probably one of the reasons why midi in Reaper sucks so badly, as stated in:

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=181729

Especially (for me) latency compensating and live recording in general

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=188208