Searching for the Right Home Recording Software

[jasonwick]

I'm loving the reaper now for the last 6 months or so

 

[IK Obi]

Reaper is an amazing DAW. You won't regret it and the support available in their little community is amazing!

 

[grimtraveller]

Ever notice that Reaper users seem to promote the software like they're salesmen working for commissions? (probably guilt for low price).

That's cuttingly cynical. If you find something that you like and someone else asks for advice on the subject, you'll recommend what has worked well for you. I remember when our car spontaneously combusted, three people (one of them beforehand, now that I recall) in totally independent circumstances ~they don't know each other~ recommended getting a Honda. None of them had Hondas but they knew it was the dog's bollocks. We got one. Three years later, we still have it, it runs like a dream and in the same situation, I'd recommend one if someone asked.

It seems like any software is a personal decision that should be based on your own opinion through your own testing of demo versions. Opinions are truly like the places we poop from.

Opinions are only like arseholes in the sense that...........we all have one. As long as one recognizes that an opinion is precisely that and not an impositional dictat, then they can be, especially on a forum in which so much experience is shared and so many opinions are sought, rather useful in helping one make up one's mind. I don't think there are too many people that just pluck opinions out of the air. I'd contend that most people have travelled some in order to reach the opinions they hold, even when they turn out to be wrong.

All of the top contenders in the DAW software market have very close to equal abilities

Agreed. Proof of this is simple ~ just listen to a cross section of the music that the contributors on this site make and then look into what programmes they use to make it. You'll find breadth.

It really comes down to what works for you through working with the software lite or trial versions. If you don't have the time to try each of them, then you will not have the time that it takes to really comprehend any of them completely.

If only one recording software existed, we all that want to record would eventually find a way to get it to work and eventually get merry with it. There's an interesting split here between those that have only ever used one programme/DAW/mode of recording and those that have used lots. Given that any one programme may well take a very long time to fully get to total grips with, I'd guess that more than not will not experiment with them all.

Once you learn the workflow of one product, you will most likely never leave it.

I'm not sure about this. If you ignore for a moment those that haven't or won't experiment with lots of different packages, those that do constitute a large number. And it's quite clear from what they say ( a few even in this thread) that many have departed a programme they knew the workflow of. Not to mention those of us that began with analog reel to reels or 4 track portastudios......Actually, one word you could possibly ascribe to many home recorders is 'versatile'.

But in reality you will go with what your cool friend tells you is the best.................

His first name is probably Grim.

Traveller or Reaper ?

 

[tscoolberth]

Sounds like messing around with Ableton Live Lite that I got free with my fender amp is a waste of time. Do you think it is true that Reaper is way less demanding on a computer's CPU and RAM than Ableton. I've just started messing around with this stuff and I have a somewhat older but still highly functional PC that I may dedicate to music. It has 2 GIGS RAM, a 2.53 mhz processer and plenty of empty storage ... but I think I noticed already that Ableton taxes it pretty good.

Just wanting some input before I waste my time learning software that won't work out later.

Money invested so far in recording equipment: $0.00.

 

[spackler]

Thanks so far II

Again, really appreciating all the insight so far.

 

[diggy_dude]

Do you think it is true that Reaper is way less demanding on a computer's CPU and RAM than Ableton.

I know for a fact that it is.

Anyone who doesn't understand why people are excited about a $40 program that's just as good as a $500 program has obviously never tried it.

 

[chris in indy]

I know for a fact that it is.

Anyone who doesn't understand why people are excited about a $40 program that's just as good as a $500 program has obviously never tried it.

He's quite right, I would vote for Reaper also, because I've tried it and it is a great little program. I just happen to be on-board the Sonar train, and have been for more than a decade. Once you learn the program, there is no going back.

It's not so much the tools as you suspect. It's more about talent and dedication.