What do you think of Reaper?

DKRecords

New member
I am considering trying out Reaper for a bit. I am currently using Cubase for recording, and I was curious what your opinions of Reaper are as far as features, ease of use, capabilities, quality, software bugs etc. compared to other programs such as Cubase and ProTools.
 
It's a free trial, so I'd say to just download it and start using it. Nothing to lose!

I find it easier to set up and get a project going than in either Cubase or Pro Tools. Not that I've used PT very much at all, but I did use different versions of Cubase for a few years. Reaper is fully featured, endlessly customizable, and updated frequently to fix bugs and add new features. And a full personal license costs substantially less than Cubase or PT. I think it's a no-brainer for a home studio to use Reaper.
 
Hard for many on this board to say anything bad about Reaper. Might not be the choice of most, but I have not read anything bad about it. I have it and use it some, but since I money invested in another DAW, I feel compelled to use something else.
 
Maybe Reaper lacks something that I would get from the DAWs costing five or ten times as much, but if so I'm blissfully ignorant of what that is.
 
I've used Reaper for years now. Does everything I need to do, recording mostly acoustic stuff. We just produced a CD with it. It is nearly infinitely customizable, and there are loads of resources available free online. Solid performer in my book. For $60 you won't do better.
 
Reaper gets a lot of love here and for good reason; generous demo mode, intuitive and well supported. Plus, I think people like the fact that it started out as a grass-roots project from one guy.

But, it's not a whole lot cheaper than some other DAWs. As an example, Cubase Elements is $99 while Reaper is $60. I don't know what the differences are between the two, but Cubase started out as a midi editor and it retains a large suite of editing tools.
 
I'm strongly in the Reaper camp. I started on Logic, and switched to Reaper (around 2009 or 2010) when I was working on a collaborative project with someone who was using Reaper.

I've never looked back.
 
Awesome! Thanks for the replies. $60 seems hard to beat for a DAW. I am pretty used to the user interface and workflow of Cubase though. Is Reaper's interface pretty intuitive and easy to use? I have downloaded a trial version of it to experiment with.
 
I have downloaded a trial version of it to experiment with.
The 'trial version' IS the full version. Once you 'experiment' with it you'll learn it.

Once you learn it you won't give it up. So you might as well just pay for it in short order.

I have protools and reaper. I prefer PT, but like reaper well enough to not want to give it up. So i bought it. :D
 
The one thing Reaper lacks is the ready-to-rock VSTis that most more expensive DAWs tend to include. If you need MIDI instruments, you have to find them separately. There are plenty of good freeware instruments out there, and you can spend some of the money you saved on paid plugs if you want/need.

Aside from that, the answer is always Reaper by a mile in my book.
 
I've found reaper to be a pretty good compromise between the F/OSS "you can do whatever you want*" and the mac/pc "just make it work" attitudes.

It's got a lot of functionality by default and it all "just works". It's also very extensible with VSTis (and even a home-rolled FX engine) if you want to get deep into the reeds.

* But you might need to build it yourself.
 
It's also very extensible...(and even a home-rolled FX engine) if you want to get deep into the reeds.
Extensible and customizable! JS programming for realtime effects, Lua and EEL scripting for more complex offline processes, custom actions which can be bound to hot keys or mouse modifiers or MIDI messages or custom toolbar buttons, customizable menus and toolbars, custom themes and layouts... It's kind of crazy.

I haven't gotten too far into most of it. I do write JS plugs to fill needs or desires, but the other stuff hasn't really come up much. The layout and workflow are fine for most things right out of the box, but for example I did set up my live machine so that when I hit the spacebar to stop recording, it also saves the project right away.
 
I tried Reaper yesterday. It is no doubt a good piece of software, but I have Cubase, Audition and Sound Forge, plus one other freebie. I'm sure it's good, but I won't be changing. Much is simply they use different titles for common functions, hide them in odd places, and once you find them - it does it. The help system seems pretty good actually taking you to the right menu. So I can see why people like it, but it doesn;t seem to do anything my existing software, which I know well, can't do. As your only editor/DAW it probably works - I simply don't like it very much.
 
Much is simply they use different titles for common functions, hide them in odd places...
This is valid, but it's true for about any type of software. It's the reason I still use Corel PhotoPaint rather than the industry standard Photoshop or the free Gimp. But then remember that thing about customization? ;)

The help system seems pretty good actually taking you to the right menu.
And anything that can be done from a menu can be done from the Action List which is always just a ? away. :)

...but it doesn;t seem to do anything my existing software, which I know well, can't do.
I'm not so sure about this. It may be true that it doesn't do anything you need or want that your other software can't do, and that's fine for you. As far as I know Cubase doesn't have a built in engine for writing your own realtime audio and MIDI and video(!!!) effects. In fact I think Reaper's video capabilities are currently a ways beyond what Cubase can do. When it comes to audio/MIDI routing, and parameter automation/modulation, I don't think there are many other DAWs out there that even come close.
 
I'm strongly in the Reaper camp. I started on Logic, and switched to Reaper (around 2009 or 2010) when I was working on a collaborative project with someone who was using Reaper.

I've never looked back.
I love hearing stuff like this about Reaper. I bought it 'cause I knew I'm on a shot leash' with Sonar- 8.5. I'll need to get up to speed with Reaper, but ..just been lazyand hanging on as long as it (that) lasts.
 
The only DAW I have ever used at home is Reaper. I have been in studios with Cubase/Pro Tools and they don't do anything I need that Reaper doesn't. Also, have you compared the prices. No brain required. Just being very familiar with a piece of software or equipment and other stuff is different doesn't mean that the learning isn't worth the effort - IMO.

NeilE
 
As a sound tech for live bands I got hooked on recording some of the acts I work for live (alesis HD24 recorder and later presonus 24.4.2 studiolive) I originally started out with audacity and quickly moved up to Samplitude. During that time I had also ( through friends) used sound forge, PT and several others but was always satisfied with Samplitude. I came across Reaper and downloaded it and had it on my computer for quite a while before really getting serious about learning it, but once I did I knew this was "The One". IMHO the two best parts of the program are 1) it treats recording midi the same way it treats audio...no "special" hoops to jump through to get good results and 2) you can customize the menus to put any function in a menu in the order you want it or group several functions together to create a new function that can be accomplished in a single key stroke or added to a menu or tool bar. My work flow is easily three times faster with Reaper than any other DAW I've used.
 
Sounds interesting - not quite sure what what this would do? What's it for?
I mean...what are you looking for? Reaper comes with a bunch of JS plugs that do various things - utilities, effects, weird things - and there are a bunch more user written plugs on the stash that you can download. One of the coolest parts about it is that you can edit existing JS plugs like if it's close, but you want this one little thing changed, you just do it. Also, when you want some special thing that nobody else would ever care about, you just write it and then it's there.
 
Back
Top