Polarized opinions about Reaper

[MRT]

Tried Reaper several times over the years and it just didn't click. Finally picked up a license about 2009 and after using it for a few years would not like switching to anything else I've tried.

It certainly is hard to beat when you look at features per dollar, especially when I look at approximately 10 years as a Sonar user and the yearly paid updates. Reaper has a great forum, lots of helpful folks to get you through the rough spots, and I don't know of any other DAW that has a user base that is constantly adding functionality with Jsfx and scripts.

If folks don't like,I get that, but I don't recall ever jumping into a Pro Tools thread and telling them how I feel about that choice.
(your mileage may vary so I suggest always move in the direction that gets you closest to where you want to be)

[digitalboytn]

Tried Reaper several times over the years and it just didn't click. Finally picked up a license about 2009 and after using it for a few years would not like switching to anything else I've tried.

It certainly is hard to beat when you look at features per dollar, especially when I look at approximately 10 years as a Sonar user and the yearly paid updates. Reaper has a great forum, lots of helpful folks to get you through the rough spots, and I don't know of any other DAW that has a user base that is constantly adding functionality with Jsfx and scripts.

If folks don't like,I get that, but I don't recall ever jumping into a Pro Tools thread and telling them how I feel about that choice.
(your mileage may vary so I suggest always move in the direction that gets you closest to where you want to be)

Reaper didn't click with me until V5,even though I came in at V3....

I was also a long time Sonar user until Henry da Vandal appeared,but when I dug a little deeper and started to really use Reaper,I understood just how well it is coded and how efficient it is...

Many people judge the digital tools they use based on the appearance of the GUI,rather than on the function of the device,so they are also listening with their eyes rather than listening with their ears....

This is a sad indictment on the increasingly superficial world we live in...

As forcthe GUI,I like the Default Commla theme and I can get around the DAW without really needing to refer to the manual most of the time...

In saying that,I found the instructional videos from Kenny Gioia really beneficial and enlightening....

I do have a license for Studio One 3 Pro and I think that it's also a great DAW,but if I could only take one DAW to the proverbial desert island, it would be a toss up,but Reaper would win

[machinesworking]

So I'm becoming a convert, hopefully I won't soon drive everyone nuts defending Reaper in every thread on KVR!

I still haven't tried to write a song in Reaper, just getting to know the MIDI editor for instance is quite the chore, there's a lot to it, but almost everything is set up completely differently than any other DAW I've used. For instance on a Mac anyway, option is always click drag to copy, not in Reaper, slicing the MIDI notes involves this crazy hovering while holding Shift S, the pencil tool is ALWAYS active, so remembering that and converting what is in every other DAW left click drag to select MIDI notes to the right click is brutal, I still have not figured out how to show all selected MIDI tracks in the same open editor window... MIDI Items being a Menu thing is goofy, I guess I'm used to DP's lack of object oriented MIDI and Live's simple double click to create a Clip.

As I pointed out in a Live 10 thread her though, Reaper is far more CPU efficient on Mac than either Logic or DP9, and it kills Live dead. The Java hack done for Push 2 is painful to set up, the thread on the Reaper forums has many fallen heroes, but once you do it's fantastic! shockingly good!

If I can customize Reaper to work like the best parts of Live and DP I can see only messing around in the other DAWs rarely for sure.

[braj]

So I'm becoming a convert, hopefully I won't soon drive everyone nuts defending Reaper in every thread on KVR!

I still haven't tried to write a song in Reaper, just getting to know the MIDI editor for instance is quite the chore, there's a lot to it, but almost everything is set up completely differently than any other DAW I've used. For instance on a Mac anyway, option is always click drag to copy, not in Reaper, slicing the MIDI notes involves this crazy hovering while holding Shift S, the pencil tool is ALWAYS active, so remembering that and converting what is in every other DAW left click drag to select MIDI notes to the right click is brutal, I still have not figured out how to show all selected MIDI tracks in the same open editor window... MIDI Items being a Menu thing is goofy, I guess I'm used to DP's lack of object oriented MIDI and Live's simple double click to create a Clip.

As I pointed out in a Live 10 thread her though, Reaper is far more CPU efficient on Mac than either Logic or DP9, and it kills Live dead. The Java hack done for Push 2 is painful to set up, the thread on the Reaper forums has many fallen heroes, but once you do it's fantastic! shockingly good!

If I can customize Reaper to work like the best parts of Live and DP I can see only messing around in the other DAWs rarely for sure.

I recently got Playtime to get the basics of Live's session view in Reaper, I like it a lot.

[BMoore]

Btw. Does anyone know how to quantize the midi item/clip?
Let's say I'm recording 8 bars, I have to stop the recording at exactly 8 bars, or drag the midi item/clip to be 8 bars long.

Maybe I'm missing something essential.

[EvilDragon]

If you're recording 8 bars and PRECISELY 8 bars, why not use time selection auto-punch recording mode?


That said, if you stop recording before the play cursor passed those 8 bars, you WILL get a shorter item. Why fill the rest of the item with nothing/silence (especially true for audio recordings)?

[BMoore]

I get that if recording audio. But as I said I'm recording a midi item. No excuse for not quantize that.

I'll check out time selection auto-punch mode.

[EvilDragon]

Well, the excuse is valid either way, be it MIDI or audio. Why create a part of the item that nothing was recorded to? If you want to enforce that, feel free to create the MIDI item of necessary length first, then set track record mode to MIDI replace.

[LawrenceF]

That does come in handy actually, for midi, to have the clip auto-size to the nearest bar when you punch out assuming you're not overdubbing. You'll have to do it manually later when you start duplicating or looping things so it will all fit. Some other products do work exactly that way.

[EvilDragon]

Well, no, at least for duplicating, there's an action that duplicates items within time selection, so that can take care of the empty leftover area (like example 3 in this thread here).

Looping - point there.

[BMoore]

Well, the excuse is valid either way, be it MIDI or audio. Why create a part of the item that nothing was recorded to? If you want to enforce that, feel free to create the MIDI item of necessary length first, then set track record mode to MIDI replace.

Because you move, duplicate and loop the midi items. You'd want them to be exactly at bar length.
And when editing midi notes, I want the full lenght of the bar to work within.
Reaper also loops by the length of the midi item if only have one item (or the longest item?) and not set the loop handles.

[EvilDragon]

Loop handles are just for playback purposes (if you're talking about those in the ruler). Yes, Reaper loops by item source length if "loop source" is enabled. That's very much behavior lifted from Sony Vegas.

[machinesworking]

I recently got Playtime to get the basics of Live's session view in Reaper, I like it a lot.

Yeah I mentioned that VST in the Live 10 thread. Haven't bought it yet, want to see how it sits with my other DAWs, it was crashing Live and Logic, and I'm not paying any amount of money to have to use a plug in manager every time I want to use that VST.. Looks like the dust settled and the other DAWs on this computer have blackballed it successfully.
$20 is cheap, I'll mess with it more and see how I like it..

[braj]

It is Reaper only, not to be used in other hosts. You can stick it in its own folder and just add it to your plugin scan paths in Reaper.

[machinesworking]

It is Reaper only, not to be used in other hosts. You can stick it in its own folder and just add it to your plugin scan paths in Reaper.

Lazy Mac user here, I've never set a scan path for VSTs in a particular DAW, Live also does this, but this is the first time I've had a VST that's only compatible with a certain DAW. If it continues to give strife I'll set up the seperate VST folder for Reaper stuff!

I'm about to mess around with mixing down in Reaper, particularly it's ability to cue mixes, wish me luck!