Is REAPER the current best long term choice?

[__Karlo__]

Well, if the dude who developed it ever quite developing… it wouldn’t be much of a long term DAW. Hope he stays in the game or finds a protege to pass on the torch.

[buzz1]

When it's all said and done, REAPER still sucks. The End

Care to actually say why?
Or is "Reaper still sucks" the limit of your analytical ability?

[cantaloupe]

I've been using REAPER since like 2008, maybe even earlier, so I am a pretty long time REAPER user. I've always liked REAPER because it works a lot like what music production looks like in my mind: that is, not a direct port of "analog way of working" like Cubase/etc. do, but a "what would music production look like if I were a software engineer making it all up from scratch" kind of vibe. For a lot of things, it works great: I can do things in REAPER I can't do in other DAWs, and I'm very used to working with it, because it follows how my mind works.

However, lately, I've had a big pause in doing music, and haven't opened REAPER in a while, and when I did it again recently, I realized that I'm sooo tired of REAPER I needed a change. I felt like an idiot, because I was advocating for "freedom" and "customization" this entire time, but now I feel like all of this is just extra cognitive load - and people kept telling me that, and I didn't listen! I honestly don't know whether it's me getting old or more experienced or whatever, but my tolerance for uninspiring interfaces, kludgy workflow, and "sandbox" mentality in place of sane defaults, has really went down a lot with time.

I've installed an old copy of Studio One Artist that I had, and while it's quite different from REAPER in a huge amount of ways, I realized that Studio One is actually well thought out once you let go of a "I can do all kinds of crazy shit" mentality and go back to basics. I'll be switching to Studio One. Life is too short.

Fair perspective, but i don't relate at all personally. Most of my customization boils down to "how can i remove stuff/menus/features/buttons/complexity/bloat/settings" so i can focus purely on making music without having to deal with any of the engineery stuff at the same time. I hate mouse-driven busywork and Reaper has been the only DAW that gives me the tools to automate and remove most of that noise. Reaper is back to basics, to me. I guess this is the double edged sword of freedom - some strip it down to the leanest basics, others keep building this labyrinthine monster of complexity just because they can, and lose perspective of what they actually need.

I see people with 60 toolbar buttons all over and all these cryptic makeshift scripts and conflicting workflows and TOTAL CONTROL OF EVERYTHING and a mess of hotkeys, and that just seems exhausting and unecessary. It don't have to be like that, you know.

That said, Studio One seems great, and if it gives you peace of mind and creativity, it is well worth it. 2008 was a long time ago, maybe it was time for a change or a detour anyway.

[do_androids_dream]

I see people with 60 toolbar buttons all over and all these cryptic makeshift scripts and conflicting workflows and TOTAL CONTROL OF EVERYTHING and a mess of hotkeys, and that just seems exhausting and unecessary. It don't have to be like that, you know.

I know right.. Some screenshots I've seen on the reaper forum look like esoteric scripture from Ancient Aliens plastered all over the gui.. I would love to know if any of these folks actually get anything done

My menus have hardly anything in them. I have one toolbar with some mastering specific actions, and a pretty simple cobbled together theme based on the original V1 Classic theme. It works perfectly for me and, like you say, offers a pretty unique opportunity to clear out unnecessary noise.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

What I fear about reaper is that the developer one day will get bored and abandon the project.

How long has Reaper been active now? Over 15 years and still going strong? And it's not only Justin, he's got Schwa as another fulltime developer. I think Justin being the owner/founder and not needing any outside influx of cash is actually a strength of Reaper, not a weakness. The dude was a multi-millionaire before he started Reaper, and has been working it regularly going back over 15 years now, with near daily updates. And because he's got a small dev team with no real marketing department outside of Kenny, it's probably a very profitable business model.

Meanwhile, you've got some Cubase developers who were unhappy and went on to essentially start Studio One, who are no longer there today. Development of both DAWs continues. So in short: I don't think Justin getting bored is anything you should be concerned about.

[syntonica]

What I fear about reaper is that the developer one day will get bored and abandon the project.

How long has Reaper been active now? Over 15 years and still going strong? And it's not only Justin, he's got Schwa as another fulltime developer. I think Justin being the owner/founder and not needing any outside influx of cash is actually a strength of Reaper, not a weakness. The dude was a multi-millionaire before he started Reaper, and has been working it regularly going back over 15 years now, with near daily updates. And because he's got a small dev team with no real marketing department outside of Kenny, it's probably a very profitable business model.

Meanwhile, you've got some Cubase developers who were unhappy and went on to essentially start Studio One, who are no longer there today. Development of both DAWs continues. So in short: I don't think Justin getting bored is anything you should be concerned about.

Just to mention, the Reaper programming community is quite large, so there will be no shortage of available talent if Justin decides to step away, either temporarily or permanently.

[rod_zero]

What do you think Justin will make of reaper if he retires? donation ware? or some kind of employer owned project? Will be interesting to see what happens when a project like a DAW isn't motivated by profit in the long run

[audiojunkie]

I’m sure there’s some profit motivation. I just don’t think he’s underfunded, and he treats his customers well.

[syntonica]

I’m sure there’s some profit motivation. I just don’t think he’s underfunded, and he treats his customers well.

Probably no profit motive, per se. If he's able to pay himself (and staff) and the company breaks even, then it's a success. He's not beholden to stock holders or venture capitalists. Might as well take money from loan sharks--it's safer.

[MidnightRunner]

I switched to reaper. Very happy with it.

[Michael L]

What do you think Justin will make of reaper if he retires?

Most KVR users will retire long before Justin, who is only 45.

[audiojunkie]

What do you think Justin will make of reaper if he retires?

Most KVR users will retire long before Justin, who is only 45.

Sadly, true! I've got 15 years left, if I don't die first.

[FapFilter]

What do you think Justin will make of reaper if he retires?

Most KVR users will retire long before Justin, who is only 45.

Sadly, true! I've got 15 years left, if I don't die first.

depending on where you live, and / or your occupation, you can be even younger than Justin and still have "just" 15 years left until your official retirement.

what's the retirement age in your area btw?

here in germany it's 67, but i wouldn't be surprised by the time that it's my turn if this had not been raised to 69 or even 70

[skijumptoes]

What do you think Justin will make of reaper if he retires? donation ware? or some kind of employer owned project? Will be interesting to see what happens when a project like a DAW isn't motivated by profit in the long run

He'd sell it to the biggest bidder I think, there's always hardware manufacturers wanting their own DAW to build an eco system around.

It's one thing to be comfortable now and not require to make profit on your work, but when you get out the game it's about securing a legacy for your family, children... their children etc.

[skyscape]

What do you think Justin will make of reaper if he retires?

Most KVR users will retire long before Justin, who is only 45.

I don't think age has anything to do with it in this particular context, he could have retired 20 years ago if he wanted to!