Reaper recording software - thoughts experiences etc please!

[rockindillo]

On the recommendation of a friend, I've just downloaded Reaper.

I was just wondering if anyone here uses it and what their thoughts are about it. Pros, cons, faults, strengths and weaknesses?

The way I look at it, it's go to be pretty awful not to be worth $25, but what's the view of you guys.

[buddyboy]

i love it so far, but I'm a noob when it comes to mutli-track recording in general

[fr8_trane]

I've switched from Sonar v.4 to Reaper. My recording "career" has been reduced to a hobby and I just don't see the need to shell out the money anymore for Sonar version updates.

Anyway I would recommend you check out the reaper forum as there are many threads that detail exactly what you want to know.

I can tell you that in many respects I feel Reaper is a professional audio recording tool on the level of any of the expensive commercial products and its evolution is taking place at a staggering rate.

Like any DAW it will require you to dig in and develop a comfortable workflow and that will take time.

Bottom line: Don't let the price tag fool you, this is a deep and powerful app - not a toy.

[moody07747]

I think some of the lower priced Cakewalk Sonar software is better however I did use Reaper for a few months and liked it a lot more than Audacity. It supports VSTs and works with MIDI. I really liked how many FX it had on board.
My only complaint was I could never get it to export to MP3...

[jammybastard]

It's as good as Pro Tools LE, and in many ways much easier to use.
I love it, and as you said the price is right.
Plus unlike PTLE is has ADC built in so when you start using plug-ins, like guitar amp simulator programs, it compensates for the lag created by the computer processing the plug-in. In PTLE you have to shift the recorded track over or process it the correct number of samples to get it in time with the rest of the track.
That's a big deal for many former PTLE users who have switched to Reaper. That and the excellent customer support.

[Ed DeGenaro]

Yeah...know. Reaper is pretty amazing, and that's not amazing for the price, but amazing period.
And I'm saying this with Sequoia a my main platform and Nuendo as a secondary.

[hobbes1]

used it for a year and a half. it keeps getting better and overall, i think it's the best on the market (IMHO). the main architects of the software read the forums and respond on occaision to the queries and suggestions from the users. that plus the other dedicated user support from fellow users, makes it far and away better than any other software i've encountered.

[stump]

I just started using it and like it better than any others that I own or have tried. The effects work well, haven't noticed any latency and it works with Microsoft Vista.

[stigg]

"this is a deep and powerful app - not a toy."
+1
stigg

[mtlin]

Here are some good points:

1. Great support. As mentioned, the developers read the forum and they respond quickly to feedback.

2. Light. Loads in seconds and fits on a USB key.

3. Stable. It almost never crashes.

4. Routing. Head and shoulders above the competition.

5. Flexible. You can write a macro for just about any function you want.

6. Tool free. Just place the cursor where you want it and use a key command. Far superior to a tool based format IMHO.

7. Skinable.

8. I could go on and on.

Negatives:

1. Midi support is still developing.

[Rusty G.]

Do you guys use it more for Audio recording or Midi work, like sequencing, looping, etc.?

I'm looking for a good sequencing tool.

[fr8_trane]

I use it exclusively for audio. The midi is still catching up from what I understand but is improving at a steady rate. I have every reason to believe it will be competitive with the commercial midi apps by version 3.0 and part of the fun is watching the feature requests being fulfilled on a weekly basis.

That's right I said weekly basis. Not anually or even semi anually like say... Sonar or Cubase.

[meterman]

I've got a basic version of Cubase (SE maybe?) that is several years old and I was considering upgrading to a newer version for a couple hundred bucks.

Would Reaper be a better option even without cost being a factor?

thanks,

[s2amps]

I use it for tracking. Especially when I am recording multiple tracks on my laptop. I prefer to work with MIDI and do my mixing in Sonar though.

[fr8_trane]

I've got a basic version of Cubase (SE maybe?) that is several years old and I was considering upgrading to a newer version for a couple hundred bucks.

Would Reaper be a better option even without cost being a factor?

thanks,

Reaper is free to try and completely uncrippled. Download the latest version and the manual and start recording and see how it works for you.

There are ALOT of ex-cubase users over at the reaper forum. I would pick their brains for more info.

[alivegy]

I was going to upgrade cubase LE to a more feature rich version of cubase, but didn't once I found reaper. It's constantly being updated and as I'm fairly new to recording I've yet to be limited by the software.

[strata189]

Been using it to track and mix for about 6 mo. It's very deep and improving at such a rate it's hard to keep up! Great forum and documentation, responsive devs. What's not to like?:D

Randall

[jzucker]

Yeah...know. Reaper is pretty amazing, and that's not amazing for the price, but amazing period.
And I'm saying this with Sequoia a my main platform and Nuendo as a secondary.

Wow...This is probably the biggest endorsement I've seen for the program. I evaluated it a year ago and liked it but it didn't seem to have all the features of Sonar Producer but maybe now's a good time to take another look at it. Now if someone would do a shareware music notation software package better than finale or sibelius...