Polarized opinions about Reaper

[jtrake]

I have tried to use Reaper several times but have never bounded with it. For me it is like the LEGO version of DAWs. When other DAWs adds features they integrate it in the UI and adds the buttons in the most obvious place and when you have learned it you know where you can find it.
In Reaper you often get a function made available but have to add it to the interface by adding a buttom, choose an icon and bind an action/macro or whatever.
This just kills the usability of the DAW for me. Yes it is customizable but this also means that Reaper does not look the same or work the same way on two computers.
I believe this is part of the love hate relation people have to Reaper. I imagine that they who just want to install a daw and have all functions placed in the UI ready to get used just don’t like Reaper because you will have to spend some time to customize the user interface in Reaper before it feels right or usable.
My observation is that people who like to be able to customize UI and put down some time on that loves Reaper.
Personally I hate tinkering with a programs interface. I prefere using a DAW over the years and learn the UI and just use it. The functions is always on the same place in ghe UI, even after a reinstall or on another computer etc.
Functionality wise Reaper is up there with the best and maybe it is the best but the UI is just killing it, for me.

Reaper fans don’t seem to understand that not everyone wants to spend time tinkering with programs userinterface. ”You can make it appear just how you want...” is often mentioned. Well, some people just might think that maybe a professional UI designer is more competent to implement functionality into a GUI than them self.
When actually programming functionality into the GUI the DAW company can also use more creative ways to implement features than a row of square buttons with a script attached to them. Makes the whole UI experience more inspiring and often more intuitive to use.

If they kept the customization options as is but also built a more fully functional UI out of the box I believe Reaper would be even more loved. Functionality wise Reaper probably kills most other DAWs but the user experience is lacking big time. IMO
I already hear the Reaper fanbase voices sayin ”but you can customize it however...”.
Well I don’t want to
Just my personal opinion and thoughts on Reaper. I have a license and have supported them by updating it regulary.
Respect to them who use Reaper but it is not for everyone. Just like Cubase is not for everyone or Live or Logic or.......

[Dandruff]

GUI only gets properly reworked for major versions. REAPER 6 should be much better I guess.

[EvilDragon]

This is the best Reaper thread on KvR, I'll state as a well-known Reaper afficionado. Glad it didn't devolve into name-calling and opinionated bullshit. A really great discussion taking place.


And some pretty good pig-related jokes! SOWStudio had me in stitches!

[Bombadil]

Tried a couple of versions. Didn't like it. Felt very clunky. Even bought a MPV tutorial for it. Maybe, if I go off Apple, I'll do it. For now, I have Logic. I don't think anyone's plumbed the depths of what it can do.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

SOWStudio had me in stitches!

[Azura]

I think we can draw a conclusion here. It seems that the GUI is the main reason why the opinions are so polarized. Of course, one could say that opinions will always be polarized regardless of the DAW in quesition, but, as I stated before, I have the impression that this polarization is more pronounced in the case of Reaper.

Concerning the GUI, there are two aspects to consider. First, some do not like the look of if, out of the box (i.e. stock theme). Some do. That's completely subjective, nothing to argue here. Second, the customization of the GUI. As I said before, I can understand that some can feel intimidated by the customization possibilities. As you said, jtrake, some may want to have all the actions, tools, options, etc on buttons displayed on the screen. But I think that there is this misconception that one have to spend a lot of time customizing it. There are a number of pre-assigned shortcuts (like any other DAW I suppose), there are some buttons on the toolbar, right-click on items, notes, etc make a menu appears. Nothing extra-terrestrial here, one can become very efficient in a relatively short time without customizing anything. That was my case.

But I agree, this GUI is not perfect, I would like to see some changes implemented, but they are on very precise aspects (like user-define sub-folders and sub-sub-folders in the FX browser). You can find these kind of requests frequently on Reaper's forum.

Marc

[braj]

I actually appreciate that there isn't a default toolbar with a huge number of buttons that I never use cluttering up my workspace. I never went through Reaper and just started adding buttons either, I add them as I find I need them. I can understand why some would prefer a default, non-configurable set of icons, I can understand how that makes for a more unified GUI, but I don't work in teams with other people where we all need to have the same buttons everywhere. It actually keeps my GUI from being cluttered.

[soulone82]

It actually keeps my GUI from being cluttered.

THIS!

REAPER is the most customizable DAW on the market...that´s why I dig it so much. Of course I also appreciate the company ethos, pricing scheme, efficiency and stability.

[original flipper]

Hi

can a Reaper user please describe the process for loading up a VSTI along with an associated midi track- several versions back I found it rather unintuitive and am wondering if it has changed.

[braj]

Hi

can a Reaper user please describe the process for loading up a VSTI along with an associated midi track- several versions back I found it rather unintuitive and am wondering if it has changed.

You open the fx browser and drag and drop a vst to the track area, it creates a new track and all routing. If it is a multi out vst, it gives you the option to create tracks and routing for them then.

[braj]

Hi

can a Reaper user please describe the process for loading up a VSTI along with an associated midi track- several versions back I found it rather unintuitive and am wondering if it has changed.

You open the fx browser and drag and drop a vst to the track area, it creates a new track and all routing. If it is a multi out vst, it gives you the option to create tracks and routing for them then.

[braj]

It works just like it does in Studio One, sans the big plugin icon eye candy.

[fese]

I think part of it is that some people love to feel like they're part of a group which exists on a "higher plane" than everyone else. People like this have seen the light and have been made aware of some higher level of truth which sets them apart from the masses, who believe everything they read in the media and follow trends like sheep.

Discarding the practical pros and cons of Reaper as a DAW, you have to admit that as an "outsider" it is an ideal platform for the abovementioned type of person. It's cheap, and thus they feel wise compared to these saps who pay corporations $500 for a DAW. It looks raw and utilitarian out of the box, so they feel unlike these pliable cretins who are dazzled by fancy GUI's. It looks complicated, so they feel a sense of intellectual superiority.

You see the same sort of thing in Linux users.

Whenever you get something that makes people feel like they're part of some "in the know" club for using it, you're going to see tension between them and the people who apparently "don't get it." Side A thinks side B is gullible and stupid, whereas side B thinks side A is smug and pretentious. Hence the polarization.

I think those are some really good and valid points you made there. It isn't so much about the actual product itself but the image it conveys.
If there a new DAW to appear on the market that was even more powerful and customizable than Reaper but open source and only usable with weird key commands and programmable by a f*cked up scripting language (let's name it vimDAW just for fun), there'd be a devoted following fiercely defending their beloved product against all perceived "attacks" and thus generating a feeling of belonging and superiority. Whereas the rest of the world looks slightly belittling at those nerds or is annoyed by their, as you said, smug behavior.
Now enter the users of "emacsDAW"... oh, wait, wrong decade...

Yeah, so we've seen this before, isn't new or specific to DAWs.

disclaimer: avid vim user here, because I like the customizability. no reaper user, though, because I don't want to spent my time customizing my DAW. Humans are weird.

[braj]

Lol, you guys have some imagination about what other people are thinking.

[mostlyjustj]

I think a big part of the whole equation is this:

Here's the thing: I don't (or better said, didn't) particularly like the way Reaper was set up out of the box. And I don't particularly feel like learning how to customise it

In other words, it's *personal*

For me, I went FROM Ableton TO Reaper, and Reaper just opened up all the doors for me... it just turns out that the types of tasks *I* regularly perform make out-of-the-box Reaper (minus a couple of annoying navigation tweaks I always fix on a fresh install) pretty much my dream setup. It suddenly became SO fast and so easy for me to move around on a track, manually slice up audio right in the arrangement, and set up automation.

So for some people, whether you like Reaper is more a combination of a) HOW you make music and b) what you personally find to be intuitive - rather than whether or not you are a Tinkerer/Cheapskate Type. At least this is the case for me, for sure!