KVR Audio is the Internet's number one news and information resource for open standard audio plug-ins. We report new releases, product announcements and product updates (major and minor) for all VST Plug-ins, DirectX Plug-ins and Audio Units Plug-ins (and RTAS too). We manage a fully searchable audio plug-in database (updated daily), and offer many free member services including user reviews, product update notifications and a very active discussion forum. We also host official support forums for many plug-in developers plus the official Receptor support forum.
Plug-in Database: Virtual
Instruments, Effects & Hosts
Plug-in
Ranks
Banks & Patches
Download & Upload
Plug-in Ratings
by KVR Members
Wiki: Tutorials,
Audio Lexicon, ...
Listen to Music
by KVR Members
Search
KVR

Google Powered Search:

in new window

KVR Powered Plug-in Search:

REAPER
by Cockos
?
KVR Rank: 34 17 34 [30-Day: 21; 7-Day: 36; Yesterday: 24]
93 members are watching REAPER for news
Product REAPER
Developer Cockos
Primary Type Sequencer / Multitrack
Price (MSRP) $60 / $225
Plug-in Formats
Can Host
Instruments
VSTDirectXAudio Unit
Can Host
Effects
VSTDirectXAudio Unit
ReWireReWire Mixer/Synth Application
Operating System Availability
Operating
System
Latest
Version
Download Is it
Available?
WindowsWindows 64 / x64 3.0.5 Demo / TrialReleased
Mac OS XMac OS X Universal Binary 3.0.5 beta Demo / TrialReleased
Miscellaneous Information
Copy Protection Serial Number
Supported Sample Formats include MP3, OGG, WAV
advertisement
REAPER

REAPER (Rapid Environment for Audio Prototyping and Efficient Recording) is designed for the recording, arrangement, editing, mixing and rendering of audio.

Basic features:

  • Support for an unlimited number of audio tracks.
  • Audio tracks are all fully routable (multiple inputs, outputs).
  • Volume, pan controls and envelopes per track.
  • Supports audio processing plug-ins (DirectX, DXi, VST, VSTi, and Jesusonic) with automation, easy chain manipulation and editing.
  • Pitch shifting and time stretching.
  • Fast, reasonable and usable Windows-style UI, working well on both low and high resolutions or multiple monitors.
  • ASIO, Kernel Streaming, WaveOut, and DirectSound support for playback and recording.
  • Reads WAV, OGG, MP3 and MIDI files, records WAV and MIDI files.
  • Can render to WAV, OGG, MP3 if lame is installed.
  • Full SMP support (can utilize 2 or more processors).
  • Multi-layer undo/redo support.
  • User creatable color themes.
Advanced features:
  • Unlimited send/receives per track, with configurable parameters (pre-fx, post-fx, volume/pan adjustment/envelopes, mix to mono, phase, etc.).
  • Any track can act as a bus, for routing flexibility.
  • Tracks can have one or more (mono or stereo) hardware sends, for analog mixing capability.
  • Fully routable/FX-able folder tracks that can contain group tracks.
  • Item grouping.
  • Ripple editing.
  • Grid/snap support with configurable options.
  • Markers.
  • Unlimited takes per media item.
  • Auto punch-in/punch-out functionality.
  • Automatic record monitoring modes.
  • Selection length granularity options as well as grid snapping.
  • Tempo envelope (for grid lines/snapping/ruler), play-speed envelope.
  • Project consolidation/export options (for rendering all or parts of any number of tracks to WAV, etc.).
  • A UI and architecture that allows you to easily cut loops of many tracks simultaneously, without having to write them to disk.
  • Support for plug-in generated media (such as click tracks, etc.).
  • Project tempo envelopes for variable tempos in track, grid/snapping that supports variable tempos.
  • 64-bit floating point sample pipeline for high quality.
  • Advanced recording and monitoring options; examples:
    • You can route multiple tracks (inputs and/or media items) into a bus, and record THAT mixed down version.
    • You can record the input signal, or record the post-FX, post-track-render signal.
    • You can switch recording sources on the fly, even while recording.
    • You can arm/disarm tracks' inputs while playing or recording.
Other features:
  • Human readable, human editable, backwards and forwards compatible project file format.
  • Options to build peaks for recorded files on the fly.
  • Lots of control for the user to specify where recorded files go, etc., when dealing with many projects.
  • Template support to make it easy to load a project template and save it as a new project when you begin.
  • Input/output channel name aliasing (why view your inputs as "MOTU 896: Analog 1" when you could have them be "Vocal Mic", etc.).
  • Options for automatically backing up project files to alternate paths, time-stamped versions, etc.

RSS FeedAll KVR Audio news items relating to REAPER.

Cockos updates REAPER to v3.05 2nd July 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v3.04 22nd June 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v3.03 16th June 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v3.02 8th June 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v3.01 3rd June 2009
Cockos releases REAPER 3 27th May 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.58 17th March 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.57 13th March 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.56 3rd March 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.55 21st January 2009
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.54 23rd December 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.53 21st October 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.52 13th October 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.51 29th September 2008
Cockos releases REAPER v2.5 22nd September 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.46 1st September 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.45 26th August 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.43 (incl. x64 Preview and Mac Beta) 31st July 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.42 28th July 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.41 17th July 2008
Cockos releases REAPER v2.4 10th July 2008
Cockos releases REAPER v2.3 3rd June 2008
Cockos releases REAPER v2.207pre4/OSX0.96 Mac Preview Build (incl. AU Support) 27th May 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.205 for Windows; v0.89 for Mac OS X (preview build) 7th May 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.203 for Windows; v0.73 for Mac OS X (preview build) 28th April 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.202 23rd April 2008
Cockos releases REAPER v2.2 7th April 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.146 26th March 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.14159 (and releases new Mac preview build) 17th March 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.107 5th March 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.106 3rd March 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.105 27th February 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.103 8th February 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.102 5th February 2008
Cockos releases REAPER v2.100 1st February 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.032 25th January 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.027 4th January 2008
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.018 and ReaPlugs to v1.11 17th December 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.017 12th December 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.015 6th December 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.012 26th November 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.011 14th November 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v2.002 15th October 2007
Cockos releases REAPER v2.0 10th October 2007
Cockos releases REAPER v2.0 beta 6th September 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.888 21st August 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.885 15th August 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.881 26th July 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.872 4th July 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.866 18th June 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.863 5th June 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.859 24th May 2007
Cockos updates Reaper to v1.857 15th May 2007
Cockos updates Reaper to v1.852 8th May 2007
Cockos releases REAPER v1.844 23rd April 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.826 15th March 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.821 (Win) and releases a new Mac OS X Alpha version 8th March 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.819 6th March 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.806 21st February 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.800 12th February 2007
Cockos releases ReaPlugs beta 5th February 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.74 2nd February 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.71 25th January 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.61 7th January 2007
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.59 2nd January 2007
Cockos releases REAPER v1.54 and Mac OS X preview version 22nd December 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.53 19th December 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.50 15th December 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.49 12th December 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.47 4th December 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.42 23rd November 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.40 20th November 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.39 17th November 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.38 13th November 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.32 20th October 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.30 17th October 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.25 9th October 2006
Cockos updates REAPER to v1.21 29th September 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.18 21st September 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.12 14th September 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0.9 11th September 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0.5 4th September 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0.1 31st August 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0 24th August 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0rc1 22nd August 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0b4 17th August 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0 beta 1 14th August 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0 beta 0 10th August 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v1.0 pre 8 7th August 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.999 28th July 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.996 25th July 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.992 21st July 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.989 18th July 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.984 11th July 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.981 7th July 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.977 3rd July 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.975 28th June 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.969 22nd June 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.966 19th June 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.962 12th June 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.961 9th June 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.959 1st June 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.957 26th May 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.955 24th May 2006
Cockos updates Reaper to v0.954 22nd May 2006
Cockos updates Reaper to v0.953 17th May 2006
Cockos updates Reaper to v0.952 15th May 2006
Cockos updates Reaper to v0.951 8th May 2006
Cockos updates Reaper to v0.949 5th May 2006
Cockos releases REAPER v0.938 5th April 2006

User Reviews by KVR Members for REAPER.

CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR REVIEW

By frog_jr
On 13th March 2009
Version: 2.5+

Read all reviews by
frog_jr


3 of 3 people found
this review helpful.

Was this review
helpful to you?
Yes | No
Best in Class. Me, I'm mostly a mere hobbyist, whose professional work involves spoken word recording, editing and mixing. I like to play around at music and have for years. But I know a fair bit about DAWs after all these years of playing around with them, and have tried a few. Reaper is my favorite among all of them, with the possible exception of Audition 3, which I sometimes use in conjunction with REAPER.

First, Reaper is quite stable. It comes with a high quality selection of your basic plugins, and has a broad compatibility with the huge collection of VST plugins that I have, most free and some of your cheaper commercial ones. Updates to REAPER were taking place throughout '08 fast and furious but they've slowed down a little bit lately, but they are still forthcoming, and I've seen two now this month.

Second, the acronym I think is Rapid Environment for Audio Prototyping and Assembly R-something, I forget, something like that. But anyway, the first word is Rapid, and they mean it. To that end, Reaper is supremely script-able and virtually everything can be done with keyboard macros. The built-in scripting feature is as good as I've seen with any computer program bar none.

Third, Reaper can be automated in a handful of ways, and can MIDI learn to control almost any param of any audio track via midi controller, computer keyboard, etc. This was not available as a feature until '08 I think, and has been growing up and maturing pretty well in the past year and a half.

Tool-less. The GUI with a gazillion little windows and a half dozen little tools is gradually becoming a thing of the past I think, and a more elegant UI is the case in REAPER. It's all in the choices between right- or left- click, or Ctrl-click etc. now. The downside is it's not so obvious to the new user. The upside is you have it all at your fingertips without so much screen clutter.

Feature Overload:

Just a handful of features off the top of my
head: it has a really nice built-in media explorer that lets you preview any audio, and you can drag-n-drop onto any track from it. You can also drag-n-drop from Windows Explorer. Has a nice built-in sampler that I like to play around with, and for which there's a handful of templates for use as a drum sampler. I do that a lot with my Alesis IO 1010 drum machine, and it's a lot of fun. Nice features recently incorporated in '08, you can now have filters applied to samples or MIDI items individually and not just on a per-track basis. Full-featured MIDI editor. Easy routing and VERY flexible I/O configuration, oh boy, the list goes on and on.

Documentation and community: REAPER has always enjoyed a devoted community of users who provide and share resources for each other frequently. The number of users uploading custom skins, project templates, keyboard configs, songs, is pretty good. I have usually gotten my questions answered there in very short time. And thanks to a fellow user named Nicholas, there is a GREAT user manual available as a cheap downloadable PDF, or a spiral-bound hard copy for a mere $25. It is one of the best software manuals I've ever seen for any computer program. Probably because they love what they're doing.

There is no built-in Wave editor like in Audition. But at this well-developed state, it's not really needed. Instead of opening a track or audio item in a separate editor window like in Auditon, you simply zoom in on the item you want to edit and perform your edits directly. You can apply all filters or edits on a per-item basis this way, non-destructively, or you can render these changes to a new file, if you have an appetite for destruction. And I repeat, this can all be reduced to one macro. And for the edits I can't or don't like to do in REAPER, I have selected Audition and Total Recorder as a couple of my external editors, and you can just select "open item in external editor" from the context menu.

The application has a learning curve. I personally think that if you don't familiarize yourself with at least your basic keyboard shortcuts, you will not see the beauty of REAPER, and if you use REAPER much you will learn them by necessity. That probably applies for most advanced audio apps really. And of course with such a huge collection of things you can do with REAPER, there's naturally a lot of learning. But once over that hurdle, you will REAP the benefits of a mighty fast and powerful audio environment.

REAPER originated as a recording/mixing app, and has filled out nicely in more ways than I can count offhand. Five out of five.
 
Last edited by frog_jr on 13th March 2009    Report
By AzureCrystal
On 25th January 2009
Version: v 2.55

Read all reviews by
AzureCrystal


12 of 13 people found
this review helpful.

Was this review
helpful to you?
Yes | No
As a professional user of sequencers since the DOS days of Voyetra, I have tried most of the shareware and commercial audio sequencers out there (I also own Cubase SE, Sonar, Samplitude 9 SE, nTrack) and lately I keep coming back to Reaper for it's excellent audio quality, nice interface and low CPU usage.

I am really digging it's latest interface with all the cool context sensitive mouse functions, for instance, depending on where you hover, the mouse scroll button will do a number of things, resize tracks, control pan or volume, or simply scroll the mixer and track panes. Where Reaper is still behind is in Midi Editing, but the developers have been actively releasing new versions that have taken care of most of my original midi gripes and are getting really close to making this the best Audio product in this price range !! Support is top notch and I get frequent updates with significant feature enhancements and fixes, that in itself is an unexpected treat, as right when I think of a little midi wish list, the next release has addressed them.

I also love the very simple yet clever way of setting up Sends, Inserts, and Virtual Instruments. So far I have figured out most of the features without resorting the the extensive 500+ page PDF manual(which I also purchased a printed copy at Lulu.com to support the developer), that says a lot as I spent weeks reading through Samplitude's manual and just gave up trying to do even easy tasks, so Reaper it is for me !! I do also like Pro Tools, but it would not be a fair comparison considering that to get the same audio quality on that system I would have to spend $1,000 or more. All things considered, Reaper has become my main audio tool in my studio and based on the great support it has enjoyed so far, I know it will continue to evolve into a main contender, surpassing some of the more expensive products out there. I recommend Reaper enthusiastically !
 
Last edited by AzureCrystal on 25th January 2009    Report
By MaliceX
On 18th May 2007
Version: 1.857

Read all reviews by
MaliceX


10 of 12 people found
this review helpful.

Was this review
helpful to you?
Yes | No
REAPER, developed by one of the guys who previously worked on Winamp (Justin Frankel), was initiated to be THE DAW that had everything you needed in a really small package. To this day, it's already made a huge leap since its 0.x betas.

REAPER comes with a huge amount of Rea-- effect plugins, developed by Jesusonic, and probably amounts to about the same types that come with most highly-paid DAW programs such as ACID, FL, Live, Reason etc. The program is highly versatile, and can be considered an alternative to users of ACID or Live.

However, being a miniature-sized DAW (2.2mb setup), it would most likely be natural for one to realise that this doesn't necessarily mean it's the best thing out. In fact, it isn't, but for what it's gained is a huge feat.
The interface, in my opinion, is UGLY. A lot of buttons, a rather ugly default colour scheme (however there are custom interface enhancements being made by users), and is potentially off-putting for a beginner. Also, the MIDI sequencer still needs revamping.

The upside is, it supports BOTH DX and VST plugins, from which it takes about as long as Cantabile on startup. The render system is sufficient enough, and it doesn't take much CPU like some hosts do. In addition, REAPER supports various functions for MIDI and Audio input, and full automation of controls.

So far, I haven't had any random crashes with this program, which is a BIG FAT PLUS. Same with the amount of support the author gives to this program, in terms of updates and feedback. In addition, the program may be labelled as shareware, however EVERYTHING IS ACCESSIBLE. (ie: No limitations, uncrippled shareware, other than a nag screen) The licensing is probably more than fair. Cheap for non-commercial. Fair, for Commercial license.

Other than that, it might not look very nice of a DAW to use, but if you know what you're doing with that, then it could very much be useful to you. It's a matter of 'look' that needs work, really, but otherwise everything else is more than excellent. Great support, stable, CPU-hog-free (where applicable), and can fit in your USB drive.
 
   Report
Latest 3 reviews from a total of 3

Reviews, articles, interviews, etc. for REAPER.

None listed yet.

 

Products by Cockos

Product: ReaComp
Developer: Cockos
Type: Dynamics (Compressor / Limiter)
Price: Free
OS: Windows
Formats: VST
ReaComp features: Ultra-configurable compressor. Soft knee support. Sidechain filters, sidechain inputs. Feedback compression mode. Program dependent auto-release mode. Variable RMS size. Oversampling antialias modes (with optional limiting). Optional make-up gain. Optional lookahead. Wet/dry mix. Low CPU use. Useful metering. ReaComp is part of the free ReaPlugs VST FX Suite. General features of ReaPlugs: Support for Windows 98/ME/2K/XP/Vista, WINE. Fast, usable UIs with good metering. Low CPU and RAM use. Highly configurable. No copy protection. No installation required... [more]

 
Product: ReaDelay
Developer: Cockos
Type: Delay / Echo
Price: Free
OS: Windows
Formats: VST
ReaDelay features: Multi-tap delay, no practical limit on tap count. Up to 10 second delay per tap. Tap lengths can be in time (s/ms) or quarter notes. Feedback, LPF/HPF, resolution reduction per tap. Stereo width per tap. Volume/pan per tap. ReaDelay is part of the free ReaPlugs VST FX Suite. General features of ReaPlugs: Support for Windows 98/ME/2K/XP/Vista, WINE. Fast, usable UIs with good metering. Low CPU and RAM use. Highly configurable. No copy protection. No installation required. Freely usable. ... [more]

 
Product: ReaEQ
Developer: Cockos
Type: EQ
Price: Free
OS: Windows
Formats: VST
ReaEQ features: Unlimited band IIR based equalizer. Support for any number of many types of filters (shelfs, bands, LPF, HPF, notch, bandpass, allpass). Frequency response and phase response display. Display of approximate note+octave for frequencies. Per-band bypass control. Full-view of graph optional for precise editing. Mouse modifiers/mousewheel usable for editing bandwidth of points in graph. ReaEQ is part of the free ReaPlugs VST FX Suite. General features of ReaPlugs: Support for Windows 98/ME/2K/XP/Vista, WINE. Fast, usable UIs with good metering. Low CPU and RAM use. Highly co... [more]

 
Product: ReaFir
Developer: Cockos
Type: Multi FX
Price: Free
OS: Windows
Formats: VST
ReaFIR features: FFT based dynamics processor (requires host plug-in delay compensation). Supports FFT sizes of 128-32768. Useful in/out frequency response display. Supports defining response curves both using any number of points, or freehand mouse. EQ - can be used as a linear phase mastering EQ, or as a super-effective surgical EQ. Compressor - can compress at a fixed ratio with a per-band threshold. Gate - can gate with per-band threshold. Subtract - can build noise profiles and subtract noise from the signal. ReaFIR is part of the free ReaPlugs VST FX Suite. General features of ReaPlugs... [more]

 
Product: ReaGate
Developer: Cockos
Type: Gate
Price: Free
OS: Windows
Formats: VST
ReaGate features: Ultra-configurable gate. Sidechain filters, sidechain input. Lookahead for pre-open. Hold control. Hysteresis control. Variable RMS size. Can send MIDI events on gate open/close. Wet/dry mix, noise mix (can add noise when gate is open). ReaGate is part of the free ReaPlugs VST FX Suite. General features of ReaPlugs: Support for Windows 98/ME/2K/XP/Vista, WINE. Fast, usable UIs with good metering. Low CPU and RAM use. Highly configurable. No copy protection. No installation required. Freely usable. ... [more]

 
Product: REAPER
Developer: Cockos
Type: Sequencer / Multitrack
Price: $60 / $225
OS: Windowsx64Mac OS XUniversal Binary
Formats: VSTAudio UnitDirectXReWire
REAPER (Rapid Environment for Audio Prototyping and Efficient Recording) is designed for the recording, arrangement, editing, mixing and rendering of audio. Basic features: Support for an unlimited number of audio tracks. Audio tracks are all fully routable (multiple inputs, outputs). Volume, pan controls and envelopes per track. Supports audio processing plug-ins (DirectX, DXi, VST, VSTi, and Jesusonic) with automation, easy chain manipulation and editing. Pitch shifting and time stretching. Fast, reasonable and usable Windows-style UI, working well on both low and high resolutions or mult... [more]

 
Product: ReaStream
Developer: Cockos
Type: Network Audio
Price: Free
OS: Windows
Formats: VST
ReaStream features: Supports streaming from host to host of audio and/or MIDI over a LAN segment. Supports streaming from different host software on each end. Supports UDP broadcast for streaming one to many (if local network can keep up). ReaStream is part of the free ReaPlugs VST FX Suite. General features of ReaPlugs: Support for Windows 98/ME/2K/XP/Vista, WINE. Fast, usable UIs with good metering. Low CPU and RAM use. Highly configurable. No copy protection. No installation required. Freely usable. ... [more]

 
Product: ReaXcomp
Developer: Cockos
Type: Dynamics (Compressor / Limiter)
Price: Free
OS: Windows
Formats: VST
ReaXcomp features: Unlimited band compressor. Great metering per band. Fantastic sounding filters. Solo current band mode. Tons of controls per band (ratio, threshold, knee, attack, release, makeup, program dependent release, feedback detector, RMS size) Adjusting bands in graph is easy (modifiers to change ratio, gain, etc). ReaXcomp is part of the free ReaPlugs VST FX Suite. General features of ReaPlugs: Support for Windows 98/ME/2K/XP/Vista, WINE. Fast, usable UIs with good metering. Low CPU and RAM use. Highly configurable. No copy protection. No installation required. Fre... [more]

 
Coming Soon...