So... Why aren't you using Reaper?

[lowkey]

Keep in mind that SONAR 7SE has almost all the same widgets and functionality of the Producer's Edition - including all the cool new MIDI stuff - and at $299 makes it competitive with Reaper as far as price goes.

I used to use Sonar. They took out the midi widgets and refused to put it back or update it (2 to 3). On top of that they came out with b*llshit about how the fact I live in the UK means I should pay more for the software and have 1/5 of the American manual and not be eligible for the offers they used to spam me with, because Im not American. Nah

I got sick of playing "workaround" bingo and moved on.

I didnt use most of the "pro" bolt on features so I wouldn't buy it.

[kenn]

as of yet Reaper does nothing that all comercial daws don't. it needs a unique selling point, like Live or Reason.

Actually it has one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet (I think) and may seem like a tiny thing but actually it's something I wish all Hosts had. Reaper uses a file format that is editable in a text editor.

That's a VERY good point. If a DAW/sequencer has a proprietary, not human-readable file format, and they won't release details of the format, that's a form of lock-in, that prohibits file exchange.

If more DAWs used formats like Reaper's that are easily parsed (eg XML) or published the file format, it would be that much easier for 3rd parties to write offline utilities including format translators (eg Cubase to Samplitude), or to add import/export utilities to an app.

Think of it - if it was relatively easy to move projects between apps (say, -anything- to ProTools ) then the choice of DAW/sequencer would be much more based on the users preference for and skills with a given app... and of course on price.

[RichLum]

as of yet Reaper does nothing that all comercial daws don't. it needs a unique selling point, like Live or Reason.

Actually it has one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet (I think) and may seem like a tiny thing but actually it's something I wish all Hosts had. Reaper uses a file format that is editable in a text editor. How many of us have experienced corrupted files in a programme and been unable to do anything to fix them and had to wait for the dev to fix the programme but even then often the files are lost forever.

Yep this happened to me with a project in Reaper when it wouldn't load a project file after I added a plugin that didn't play nice.

I simply opened the project file in notepad and deleted the problem plugin and then Reaper opened the project again fine.

It is very easy for someone with no programming experience (like me) to open a Reaper project file, identify the tracks, plugins and wav files and remove individual items or whole tracks

I work mainly in audio and when I do use midi, it is mainly to record me playing my keyboard or midi guitar and then the only editing is just deleting bum notes, and maybe moving some notes around if the timing was out a bit.
Reapers midi editor is fine for my simple midi purposes.

I can see that people that do a lot of manipulation of midi or mouse input of midi information might not get what they need from Reaper.
It seems to be very well suited to solo musicians who want to record all the separate parts (me ) or bands that want to record and then edit and mix.


The audio side is awesome for me.
With track tmeplates it is so much quicker than any other app I've used to record an idea. I have different track templates setup for vocal recording, Di electric guitar, mic and DI acoustic, keyboards, midi recording, my most common used VSTi's (Jamstix, FreeAmp, Discovery etc.), all with plugin chains already on them, short and long reverb auxes and a couple of different inputs on my soundcard.

One left click, 1 right click, <CTRL><R> and I'm recording.
No adding a track, then arming, then selecting the soundcard input or adding the plugins.

And as others have mentioned, the efficiency of Reaper is great on my system.

Also I like the fact that you can demo it without any functions being crippled.
A lot of other apps either don't have any demo at all or have some functions disabled in the demo.
How can you see if something suits you if you can't try it out fully?
Some apps I've demoed have had a limit on the number of plugins on a track or the number of tracks allowed etc... How are you supposed to see how far you can push the app? Of course you would expect it to perform OK with only a few things loading your resources.
One app I tried to demo once had automation envelopes disabled... I use them all the time and had no way to see if I liked the implementation.

There are some things I don't like in Reaper (no audio scrub yet, automation with multiple parameters on the same plugin/track could be neater) but I had a chance to fully understand all of the things I liked and didn't like about it before I made a decision that the things that worked for me outweighed the things that I didn't like and bought a license.
Other DAWs I've tried I probably gave up on demo'ing earlier due to coming up to some crippled function that put a halt to any real testing or prevented me from making a fully informed decision where I could say "yes I know exactly what I'm getting here"


Rich

[aMUSEd]

as of yet Reaper does nothing that all comercial daws don't. it needs a unique selling point, like Live or Reason.

Actually it has one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet (I think) and may seem like a tiny thing but actually it's something I wish all Hosts had. Reaper uses a file format that is editable in a text editor.

That's a VERY good point. If a DAW/sequencer has a proprietary, not human-readable file format, and they won't release details of the format, that's a form of lock-in, that prohibits file exchange.

If more DAWs used formats like Reaper's that are easily parsed (eg XML) or published the file format, it would be that much easier for 3rd parties to write offline utilities including format translators (eg Cubase to Samplitude), or to add import/export utilities to an app.

Think of it - if it was relatively easy to move projects between apps (say, -anything- to ProTools ) then the choice of DAW/sequencer would be much more based on the users preference for and skills with a given app... and of course on price.

Which brings up another pretty killer feature to me - Reaper has a bigger list of exchange and import formats than many (if not all) other DAWs. It supports direct open of Vegas and Samplitude EDL projects, as well as Radar format (not sure if anything else supports that and it's addition drew the praises of Radar's developers) and Ninjam logfiles and supports import and export of most common audio formats including FLAC, OGG, MP3, WAVPACK and even APE. OK no ProTools maybe but I'm sure that's not down to Reaper's devs. It can even save as EDL (Samplitude and Vegas flavours).

[Amberience]

The thing I like about reaper is that (for me mind you!) it is so transparent. I load up my guitar effect (revalvermkii) record guitar, right click on clip, render FX as a new take, move to another track with no effects.

Rinse and repeat.

Pretty soon, I've got a song structure.

Then I begin the process of double-tracking, adding in frilly spilly jelly bits, and generally sexing up the piece.

Pretty soon after that, I have a song.

I don't think I was ever able to work this way before, not with Cubase, not with Reason, and not with Fruityloops (waaaaaay back in the days before FLstudio)

Of course, it has only been in the past two years that I've really begun to focus on guitar based music (after playing guitar for nearly three) and those other programs were perfect for my music before that point - electronica.

Reaper is equally good for electronic music too, however the midi section does not have the frills that others appreciate in other programs.

[pattonfreak1]

me rikey REAPER...




















but i voted for fish.

[SuitcaseOfLizards]

I use Reaper to mix and master the tracks I lay down in Orion Platinum. It works fine for that, no issues on my machine. I'm a real MIDI-head so Reaper isn't my go-to app for composing, I doubt it ever will be.

But for loading in a crapload of audio tracks, hitting 'em with effects, and rendering out a stereo mixdown, it's pretty darn good. At least, so far it's been good enough that I haven't upgraded my Tracktion2 license...!

Oh, but I voted for "fish" since my loaches were watching me post...

[LawrenceF]

Although it's matured quite a bit since I bought it back in March or April, I bought Reaper for one reason only.

It's the only daw besides maybe SAW (that I know of) that can launch from a USB key. I can take it with me and use it anywhere without installing it. That alone (considering it actually does work) was worth the $50 non-commercial price tag.

I use Cubase 4 at home... and Reaper everywhere else... in a non-commercial form. It's invaluable to have a pro daw that you can lauch and mix audio files on just about any PC.

Without installing anything. And without risking my valuable Cubase 4 USB key and license by toting it everywhere. Call it "USB Key Insurance".

Well, actually two reasons. The other being just to support what seems to be a fine effort at something new.

[thelizard]

2.019 just came out.

[eduardo_b]

One left click, 1 right click, <CTRL><R> and I'm recording.
No adding a track, then arming, then selecting the soundcard input or adding the plugins.

That is such a cool feature. I have found myself going through all kinds of steps with other DAWs to simply record stuff on the spur of the moment, and go back later to see what I can do with it.

[eduardo_b]

2.019 just came out.

Geez, I just downloaded 2.018 this afternoon.

[Barbarossa]

I tried Reaper seriously but that was before i gave Live a try. Since that time i can't imagine to compose anymore with clips in arrangement view. Although Reaper has an excellent Take-system, which allows to make variations of clips and try them in contxt easily, i prefer the Session View in conjunction with the freeze-functionality by far.

Another aspect is building an arrangement. For electronic genres it is the best i've come along so far.

A problem i always had with Reaper, was the interface. Not that it looks bad, or had a bad layout or functionality. Not at all!
But i always had problems, to recieve a certain optical impression, where clip-waveforms and where background is.

Another big aspect for me was the MIDI-side.
Again here Live just does, what i need in a most simple and efficient way.

Also the stability is extremely impressive. I can load highly demanding projects that max out a Quad CPU despite of freezing and the software is absolutely stable.

Another aspect is professionality. During 10 years of using Logic, i never worried about the development of the host. I just knew, that the next version will bring exactly, what users really need. The same is with Live now. From the feature list is was not impressed, but once i started to dive into L7, i immediately had that feeling i knew from Logic. "Oh, that was changed, great. And this one also works now: fantastic." Will the current big projects from L6 open correctly in L7? Or should i finish them in L6?
In Logic i never had to care. I started up L7, i was asked if a wanted to adapt the library. Everything there as usual. Then loaded a current project and everything was there like expected.

It's just too much to mention. Live just fits like a glove for me and it magically developed that sphere of creativity, speed of work and security i only knew from Logic.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[musikmachine]

I voted something not on the list.Been a long time user of Live but had midi timing issues since i started using hardware.Was looking into getting cubase as it's known for it's solid midi timing.But i wasn't keen on learning another host which could also bring another set of unforeseen problems.So with the release of R4 and it Live 7 on the horizon i decided to get Reason as a workaround for my issues until i decided what to do in the long run and i could use reason as a substitute for my hardware and replace the sounds when tracking.What i wasn't prepared for was how good Reason sounds!I've been blown away by the quality and range of the refills available.I haven't upgraded yet but between Live 7 and Reason 4 i should have all i need in terms of software for a long time and i'll have my hands full with that lot anyway so i've no plans to add yet another piece of software as i'd actually like to make some music!

[Barbarossa]

are we talking live here or reaper? Because i found with reaper when the cpu overloads, the whole thing freezes, it has no protection to stop itself playing so to speak. That's one thing i REALLY hated about it

Sorry. I mean Live.
In Reaper i also had crashes from time to time, when lot's of plugins were used.