The only problem I have with reaper is that theres dosn't seem to be an easy way to apply effects permanently. Or distructive editing as it's commonly called. Can anyone solve this? The only way I can think of is by opening the file in an external editor (Sony soundforge) then doing it that way, but then you have to program the effect all over again. Sorry it's late and I'm tired!
Doesn't stem rendering sort of do that?.
4.12 Stem Rendering
Stem Rendering is a technique that can be applied to ease your CPU load if it becomes (or is in danger of
becoming) overloaded. The item is rendered to a new track, whilst the original track remains but is automatically
muted and the FX bin is bypassed.
This offers you the convenience that if you later wish to change the FX in a stem rendered track, you can delete
the rendered track, unmute the original, and unbypass its effects. This is how it works:
1. In the Track Control Pane area, right-click over the track number.
2. From the menu, choose Render selected tracks to stem tracks (and mute/bypass originals)
Stem rendering has a similar effect to a process known in some other DAW software as freezing tracks.
Note that the track that is produced by Stem Rendering will normally by default be a stereo track. If you prefer a
mono track:
1. Right click over the rendered media item.
2. From the menu, choose Item Settings, Item Channel Mode: Mono (Downmix).
With Stem Rendering, all track settings (such as Volume and Pan) are written to the rendered track. If you only
wish to freeze the track FX without doing this, you should consider using Apply FX to Item as New Take
instead. This is covered later in this section.