KVR Audio

N__K · Post by **N__K** » Mon Jan 30, 2023 10:30 am

mdkb wrote: ↑Wed Jan 25, 2023 4:28 pm [...] it really was nothing short of a biblical experience to discover a DAW without a focus on locking in customers.

This. For me, if not biblical, it was at least a real paradigm shift compared to any other closed-source DAW that I know of.

Some of decisive factors were customizability, extendability and relative openness - including REAPER not having any DRM. Whenever I think of something I might want to do in the app, there's probably already a script or extension for that - and if not, no-one is stopping me from writing/adapting one. And if I ever need to programmatically extract data from my REAPER projects, the almost-plaintext RPP format makes it relatively easy.

So far, any workarounds I've had to find (and any nitpicks still remaining) are insignificant compared to that. Plus, after version 6.3x, Razor Edit was a major improvement to manual editing workflows - after that, while I have other DAWs at hand, I've preferred to do most of everything in REAPER.

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Mon Jan 30, 2023 10:45 am

dermage wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 5:44 am Is there any base function missing in Reaper which ProTools has?

No, all your base belong to Reaper.

Danilo Villanova · Post by **Danilo Villanova** » Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:50 am

Reaper is at the same time extremely powerful and flexible while also being behind in a few things.

Razor edits are a fantastic addition as is the new thing that's being implemented now in the betas which I'm not allowed to discuss.

Both these things are already a part of other programs though and have been for a long time.

I'm switching to Studio One for now because there are certain things that it does better that I'm not sure will ever improve in Reaper. Chief among these are having a very nice piano roll, drum editor AND step sequencer. In Reaper, if you use the drum editor mode and you use one MIDI editor per project you will have to switch back to normal mode and back each time you open a new item.

Plus chord track, arranger track (region markers KINDA gets there), the best articulation manager ever, and a long etc.

Besides I've come to terms with the fact that aesthetics matter. I'm doing this professionally so I'm looking at my DAW all day and Reaper's GUI always made me a bit sad...

Will never stop using Reaper completely, since I know it like the back of my hand, and I'm confident that it will eventually catch up.

CapnLockheed · Post by **CapnLockheed** » Wed Feb 01, 2023 12:23 pm

I LOVE REAPER FANBOIS! And I LOVE how they think they know some deep dark secret that the rest us don't. Kinda like MAC fanbois. One of my best buds is probably THE most prolific creator of Reaper addons, themes, doo-dads and what not on the Cockos forums. He's been trying to convert me for MANY years. I REALLY tried to like it. Sorry. I Just don't. Regardless of it's flexibility it makes me feel claustrophobic and simply does not suit my workflow. If you love it....well good for you.

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Wed Feb 01, 2023 1:39 pm

CapnLockheed wrote: ↑Wed Feb 01, 2023 12:23 pm I LOVE REAPER FANBOIS! And I LOVE how they think they know some deep dark secret that the rest us don't. Kinda like MAC fanbois. One of my best buds is probably THE most prolific creator of Reaper addons, themes, doo-dads and what not on the Cockos forums. He's been trying to convert me for MANY years. I REALLY tried to like it. Sorry. I Just don't. Regardless of it's flexibility it makes me feel claustrophobic and simply does not suit my workflow. If you love it....well good for you.

Until you confess your sins and pay homage to the one, we can't give you the secret settings that all the pros use. You first have to solve the riddle, not everyone can solve it. Has your friend offered you an opportunity to solve the riddle in the presence of clergy? That's when you'll know that you're ready.

Cody1_30 · Post by **Cody1_30** » Wed Feb 01, 2023 5:02 pm

Isnt Cubase King of midi? If im not mistaken it was a midi sequencer before a full daw and has been around since the 80s i believe

enroe · Post by **enroe** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:28 am

CapnLockheed wrote: ↑Wed Feb 01, 2023 12:23 pm I LOVE REAPER FANBOIS! And I LOVE how they think they know some deep dark secret that the rest us don't.

Hayeah, cool off a bit!

I think most people are coolly rational about it all. They know exactly the
advantages but also the disadvantages of Reaper, and so it ultimately
remains a question of personal handling and personal taste.

Benefits of Reaper:

-- small code base that is extremely efficient
-- many features, like a swiss razor
-- extremely customizable and scriptable

Cons of Reaper:

-- some essential features are missing
-- no real GUI
-- ergonomics can only be achieved after a lot of customizing

It's personal preferences in the way you work and the workflow that
decides whether you like working with Reaper or not.

syntonica · Post by **syntonica** » Fri Feb 03, 2023 10:51 am

First off, can we change the title? Everytime I see it, my brain starts playing the 12" of Love Tempo by Quando Quango. Heartbeats, heartbeats, heartbeats... Love Reaperrrrrr...

Unfortunately, sometimes software, like bands, can attract very toxic fanbois who ruin things for everyone else. Reaper definitely has its pros and cons.

As for the GUI, just select a new look and a new menu and it's good to go. What you're left with (the ancillary windows) is what you're left with. Despite all the available scripted plugins, it's definitely a BYOP (bring your own plugin) affair, particularly on the VSTi side of things.

The one thing that bothers me most about Reaper is the disorganization. Things appear to be tacked on as they were conceived. It shows in the menus and in the Preferences window. Perfectly awful stuff. It sort of shows a lack of vision.

The one thing that impress me about Reaper is the website efficiency of its audio engine. It seems to beat out all other DAWs on CPU usage. It's also very feature rich and compact in size.

TL/DR: Reaper is not something that's ready to go out of the box. If you want batteries included, get Studio One Artist. If you have your own plugins and want a DAW you can wholly make your own, the Reaper is for you.

a9k1tp · Post by **a9k1tp** » Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:04 pm

1 Big problem (No workaround) - Midi programming is the worst experience in Reaper. It is the only reason I don't use Reaper for making beats. And there is no fix, no script. Notes do not snap to visible grid. A "Grid snap settings follow grid visibility" setting for the MIDI editor is a natural behaviour which should be present in any DAW.

2nd issue (Not a big deal) - Parallel fx processing on same track is not intuitive. Ableton, Bitwig, Studio One and FL Studio can do this very easily. But I can manage by using multiple tracks for parallel fx processing.

mdstudio · Post by **mdstudio** » Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:56 pm

Reaper is the perfect DAW for me, but I'm a programmer so YMMV. I pretty much have my ideal setup right now, I even wrote some scripts to randomize notes and patterns if I struggle with inspiration and created a theory helper tool to help generate harmonies. I have no idea what other DAW could come even close to this level of power, flexibility, stability and performance. That being said, there are some configuration defaults that should probably be changed for people new to the program.

Niowiad · Post by **Niowiad** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 4:58 am

a9k1tp wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:04 pm 1 Big problem (No workaround) - Midi programming is the worst experience in Reaper. It is the only reason I don't use Reaper for making beats. And there is no fix, no script. Notes do not snap to visible grid. A "Grid snap settings follow grid visibility" setting for the MIDI editor is a natural behaviour which should be present in any DAW.

I'm not sure I understand, since I've been using midi note snapping to the visible grid in REAPER for as long as I can remember.
Not with a fix or script, just the magnet-looking icon for enabling snapping, which comes by default.

a9k1tp wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:04 pm 2nd issue (Not a big deal) - Parallel fx processing on same track is not intuitive. Ableton, Bitwig, Studio One and FL Studio can do this very easily. But I can manage by using multiple tracks for parallel fx processing.

About parallel processing, there are few ways to go about it.
- the dry/wet knob (top-right corner) which is embedded to all instances of any FX you load,
- the method which you also mentioned, with multiple track sends, i'd still call very intuitive
- I'm leaving out the fact that that each track is actually 64 channels, which can be routed/split/merged in any way possible with some included plugins for any kind of parallel processing, because it's not really intuitive, although insanely flexible once give it a little time to learn it

GaryG · Post by **GaryG** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:09 am

a9k1tp wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:04 pm 1 Big problem (No workaround) - Midi programming is the worst experience in Reaper. It is the only reason I don't use Reaper for making beats. And there is no fix, no script. Notes do not snap to visible grid. A "Grid snap settings follow grid visibility" setting for the MIDI editor is a natural behaviour which should be present in any DAW.

No idea what you mean. I just checked and if you change the grid size in the midi editor (and you have Snap on, the magnet icon) then the notes will then snap to whatever the new grid size is... can you clarify what you mean?

Trancit · Post by **Trancit** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:55 am

I think he´s talking about an adaptive grid/snap like in Ableton or Bitwig where the more you zoom in the grid gets smaller (i.e. to 32nds, 64ths... etc...) and the more you zoom out the rougher the grid gets (to 8ths, 4ths, halfs, bars... etc...)

GaryG · Post by **GaryG** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:13 am

a9k1tp wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:04 pmA "Grid snap settings follow grid visibility" setting for the MIDI editor is a natural behaviour which should be present in any DAW.

Trancit wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:55 am I think he´s talking about an adaptive grid/snap like in Ableton or Bitwig where the more you zoom in the grid gets smaller (i.e. to 32nds, 64ths... etc...) and the more you zoom out the rougher the grid gets (to 8ths, 4ths, halfs, bars... etc...)

If that's what a9k1tp means then, yeah, Reaper has an adaptive grid built in... I think the Action is 'show adaptive grid menu', from there you can change the behaviour in the midi editor. I don't use it to be honest but think the option defaults to fixed so change it to a different setting and the grid spacing will change as you zoom in and out, midi notes snapping to wherever you end up.

Don't have Reaper in front of me but can screenshot later if clarification is needed.

Niowiad · Post by **Niowiad** » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:45 am

That would be my mistake, saying it snaps to "visible" grid for midi.
It does for the main timeline, but not on the piano roll.

The grid in REAPER's piano roll visually adapts to zoom, but it's true that it still tries to snap at whatever subdivision you set the grid on when zoomed out.
So if you leave the grid at 1/64 or 1/128 and zoom it all out it's basically impossible to be precise.
I don't know why you would do that though. Sure it would be better if the snapping automatically followed.

I tend to use 1/16, 1/32 at max and even then I find it manageable to snap to the subdivision I need unless I'm zooming so far out that notes become hard to even see and click on.
Whenever I need higher subdivisions I quickly adjust that with the mouse wheel in a split second.
Hardly a deal breaker for me, but I understand if someone finds it inconvenient.

LOVE REAPER......