Reaper 7 released

[replicant X]

deleted

[neverbeeninariot]

Reaper is in V7 and still no toolbar by default where you can select a pencil and draw a midi clip.

Hold CTRL and click-drag on any track to create a new empty MIDI item.

If you select another item first, then CTRL click-drag, it will draw a copy of the item (audio or MIDI).

You can also create a time-selection, then run the action "Insert new MIDI item.." (this can be made into a toolbar button).

I know how to insert the midi item i dont think you understand what i wrote, so going to repeat again

...and still no toolbar by default where you can select a pencil and draw a midi clip

overal Reaper was never and still isnt user friendly without doing all sorts of mods and adding scripts.

I understood

The problem (IMO), with adding specific default functionality (like a toolbar icon for drawing items, or whatever anyone's personal need/want is...), is that they will never be able to provide a set of defaults from the vast amount of available actions that will please everyone. What's user-friendly for you is not a one-sized fits all type of thing.

What they do provide instead are a very robust set of key modifiers that remove the need to select a specific tool from a toolbar. Want to stretch an item, hold Alt and drag the edge, want to slip edit, hold Alt and drag the contents, etc... (yes, I get that you know how all this works), but it's the Reaper way, right? I don't see that changing.

Horses for courses, you know what you want obviously, but hopefully you get my drift; Out of the box you get 'the Reaper way', for better or worse (subjectively...), with the possibility to customise to your hearts desire, but it won't ever suit everyone.

[Klinke]

But that's just a missing "feature" in your opinion. Though strictly speaking the feature is just a different set of default buttons in the Toolbar, it's not like there's any functionality missing in Reaper. In my opinion, the toolbar should only contain buttons for something that can toggle between different states (like turning snap on/off), and not a button for things that trigger actions (we have menus or the action list for that, and actions you need often can just be assigned to a button). And since Reaper doesn't have an "insert" state, I don't think there should be a button for the "feature" you're missing by default. So what now?

I agree that there are DAWs which are more accessible than Reaper. But I also think that there is always a tradeoff between accessibility and power in software (not only because of the limited time available to software developers) and I favor the latter (not for nothing I use Emacs as an editor and not Notepad).

[lfm]

The problem (IMO), with adding specific default functionality (like a toolbar icon for drawing items, or whatever anyone's personal need/want is...), is that they will never be able to provide a set of defaults from the vast amount of available actions that will please everyone. What's user-friendly for you is not a one-sized fits all type of thing.

It's enough to have a look at what other daws have as default tools in toolbar buttons.
- and they have a tool for pen/draw
- usually you can toggle a couple of modes on the same button

Most daws have a right click feature and show/hide various toolbar modules.
- one for selecting and moving and stuff
- one for editing copy/paste and pre-roll, loop and punch-in ranges
- one for markers and screensets and similar
- drawing envelopes or for entering notes etc
- something like that

I think it is weird that after 20 years of development Cockos has not picked up on this.
- and it's their loss

Personally I like executing commands too on toolbar buttons.
- but Reaper waste buttons on new project, open project
- those I don't do more than once a day, and can do over menu just as well
- things you do many times a day is handy needing less clicks to reach

[ElVincente]

Great update !
I renewed my license.
loving the containers and the new comping/line system.

Still hoping for real poly at support and a damn bigger preference menu window...

[neverbeeninariot]

The problem (IMO), with adding specific default functionality (like a toolbar icon for drawing items, or whatever anyone's personal need/want is...), is that they will never be able to provide a set of defaults from the vast amount of available actions that will please everyone. What's user-friendly for you is not a one-sized fits all type of thing.

It's enough to have a look at what other daws have as default tools in toolbar buttons.
- and they have a tool for pen/draw
- usually you can toggle a couple of modes on the same button

Most daws have a right click feature and show/hide various toolbar modules.
- one for selecting and moving and stuff
- one for editing copy/paste and pre-roll, loop and punch-in ranges
- one for markers and screensets and similar
- drawing envelopes or for entering notes etc
- something like that

I think it is weird that after 20 years of development Cockos has not picked up on this.
- and it's their loss

Personally I like executing commands too on toolbar buttons.
- but Reaper waste buttons on new project, open project
- those I don't do more than once a day, and can do over menu just as well
- things you do many times a day is handy needing less clicks to reach

Most DAW's audio flows visually from left to right, Reaper flows right to left. This one thing alone should tell you that it's just not going to be like most other DAWs

Tool-less is a Reaper thing - It's been like that at least since I started using it at v3, and I don't see anything to suggest that they will be changing that any time soon. Some people like it, some don't - if not, well, you can customise your way out of it to a point, but if that's too much hassle, then other DAWs are available.

As for whether it's their loss - that's their call. We can only speculate on what ambitions they have for the company and it's products.

[? ? ?]

overal Reaper was never and still isnt user friendly without doing all sorts of mods and adding scripts.

Why use it then? Go find a daw with a pencil icon and be done with it. Simple.

[? ? ?]

Most DAW's audio flows visually from left to right, Reaper flows right to left. This one thing alone should tell you that it's just not going to be like most other DAWs

I'm willing to bet Kenny Gioia has a video showing Reaper can do this.

[elassi]

Just ctrl+drag to draw a midi clip on the arrange page...

... the only DAW that doesnt have this ease of use funcionality is Reaper.

This is not true.

in Ableton Live you can not even set the length of a new clip with one drag. In session view you have to double click a free slot and afterwards set the desired length by changing the loop length from standard 1 bar to the desired length.

In arrangement view the double click creates a clip according to grid settings. You'll have to lengthen it then to your needs. In addition, you might have to change the grid settings when you want to lengthen or shorten the clip (i.e. from 1 bar length to 1.5 or 0.5 ...).

Oh, and yes, I hear you: "But there is a pencil icon in the top toolbar!"

True, but it does something else ...

[Guenon]

In arrangement view the double click creates a clip according to grid settings. You'll have to lengthen it then to your needs. In addition, you might have to change the grid settings when you want to lengthen or shorten the clip (i.e. from 1 bar length to 1.5 or 0.5 ...)

The fastest way for my tastes, in Live, is to paint the selection first (with or without snap to grid), and then hit the hotkey of creating a new MIDI clip:



The same works in Reaper:



You can paint multiple selections and then create the clips:



But as was noted somewhere above, it's simpler to just paint the items onto the track directly (as I'm doing here, just holding Ctrl) :

[elassi]

Nice demo, Guenon. Good job!

[muzicxs]

How flexible is the modulation system in Reaper? I noticed that there are a few basic shapes (saw, pulse, etc). Is there a way to add more complex shapes like MSEG? Is it easy to modulate modulators like in Bitwig? Asking for a friend

[Negoba]

I am very happy with Reaper overall with my current 6.78. It seems like there are a large number of small additions for this upgrade but that the overall product hasn't changed that much. As a hobbyist with some experience, I can't see that I'm going to use any of the upgrade features. Anyone else feel like this?

[imrae]

How flexible is the modulation system in Reaper? I noticed that there are a few basic shapes (saw, pulse, etc). Is there a way to add more complex shapes like MSEG? Is it easy to modulate modulators like in Bitwig? Asking for a friend

Usually for this kind of thing you would use “automation items” - create a clip that can be copied, pooled, looped etc like audio but contains some automation curves.

I don’t see a way to nest parameter modulation but that would be great. (It could get complicated to navigate though, without a patch-cable view...)

[muzicxs]

Usually for this kind of thing you would use “automation items” - create a clip that can be copied, pooled, looped etc like audio but contains some automation curves.

I don’t see a way to nest parameter modulation but that would be great. (It could get complicated to navigate though, without a patch-cable view...)

Ah, that's a pity. Would it be possible to have multiple automation lanes working in tandem cumulatively or multiplying? What I mean is to have 3 or so automation lanes for the same filter cut off, but with different shapes. Resulting in complex shapes without too much effort.