Should I try reaper?

[inverseroom]

I've been using Tracktion for a while, and like it a lot...I've had a lot of good things to say about it here.

But its lack of traditional bussing really bugs me, and I want a mixer-lookin' mixer. I wonder if I should try Reaper--there are a few big proponents of it here, right?

Two questions for the reaperists--does it have multi-core support? And does it work with the Frontier Tranzport?

[RefD]

Two questions for the reaperists--does it have multi-core support? And does it work with the Frontier Tranzport?

dunno (tho probably) and yes, it works very will with the Tranzport.

[Electricide]

IR, did you ever get into using the racks? I've barely even scratched that surface.

[kronosonic]

yes, I use it with a quad core and the load balancing is perfect.

Reap just kicks ass in so many ways. It will take a while to learn but it is very flexible and pretty deep once you start poking around under the hood.

[inverseroom]

IR, did you ever get into using the racks? I've barely even scratched that surface.

Nah, I've never opened them. I just use it like a tape machine, then apply basic effects to things during mixing.

The fact is, all I need is a very, very basic DAW. I don't use MIDI really...I only use a few softsynths...I automate very few parameters and almost never effect parameters. But I really want to be able to put effects on a bus without having to create a new track...and I don't like the filter system on tracktion...those weird wedges. The relative volume among tracks is visually obscure--it's just these horizontal lines on the filter wedge. They aren't next to each other, so you can't tell at a glance, say, what tracks are turned up highest, or how the guitar compares to the vocal. With faders and meters on each track, you can actually SEE where everything is and what it's doing.

How versatile is the bussing on Reaper?

[RefD]

*is suddenly glad he didn't buy Tracktion*

[getreel]

I was torn between Tracktion and Reaper, but I ended up liking Sonar the best of all! It has a Mixer view and a track view that you can toggle between or get two monitors and have one on each. I love that it has the Synth Rack and it will automatically create separate tracks for each output from a soft synth when you add it to the Synth Rack. I tried out Tracktion 2 and 3, Reaper, Nuendo(which I have used sometimes when I still had a 2" machine), Acid, and Sonar. Sonar over time won me over though at first I thought it the least likely one for me to like.

[inverseroom]

*is suddenly glad he didn't buy Tracktion*

It's not bad at all, I like it! It's just...

I dunno...I've been through energyXT, Acid 6, Tracktion....I feel like I oughta just stop pining. But if something out there will suit me better, then I ought to use it, right?

[pixeltarian]

I love tracktion.

nothing has a better balance between simplicity and power on a PC. I heard DP is very nice, but I don't have a mac so that's not an option. The auto time adjustment for mics is unbeatable.

as far as using the bus goes, I'm not sure what you mean. it uses the same send/return format as a traditional bus - is there some behind the scenes thing you're talking about?

what do you want (be very specific) out of a DAW that tracktion doesn't provide?

I also use pro tools, but it's messy and needlessly complex in comparison. I've used protools, cubase, acid, live, project 5, sonar, and reaper, but I always go back to traction because it's intuitive and simple, yet powerful and full featured.

the way I use a bus might be different than what you want to use it for though, are you just referring to routing tracks through the same "effects" bus, or something more complex?

the rack is, in my opinion, much better than using a bus because it provides you with a better visual representation of the signal flow and makes things that would be very complex, extremely simple (in other words: fast!).

Honestly pro tools crashes I'd say 85% of the time when I open it up. It just doesn't seem to be able to handle moving/adding/deleted plugins while playing. I just HATE having to stop playback in order to route things - it's just a big time waster.

not that it applies to tracktion or reaper, I just an fumed at the moment because I once again lost 3 hours of mixing (and very much liking the results) to protools' inability to be as stable as every other daw seems to be.

if you're used to tracktion, I would just learn how to use the rack well and forget about anything else. I wouldn't say I'm a blind fanboy of tracktion - it's just that it's honestly the only program I can rely on completely and not worry one bit about stability, performance, or crazy learning curves.

[roygbiv]

'c'mon Inverseroom man - Drink teh Reaper CoolAid!

Seriously though, It's free to try, and $40 if you want to buy it. Waddya got to lose?

You will dig the simplicity AND power under the hood. It is conceptually very much like a mixer. It also does MIDI, but I've never even bothered with that.

The routing is very, very powerful and pretty easy to use once you figure out the work flow. Kind of like having a digital patchbay. (example - this morning I figured out how to route 16 channels out of my two Aardvark Aark24 cards into a mixer, and bring two channels back in to record the mix. Took less than 10 minutes, and only took that long 'cause I'm kinda slow).

It also comes with a lot of effects, some of which are quite nice (and free!). One of the latest additions should be right up your ally - ReaInsert. Makes it simple to route out to a hardware unit/effect, then back in on any track. Can't wait to try it myself. You can read about it here on the most excellent Reaper forum (note - the Justin guy giving answers in the link below is THE guy who owns/codes Reaper - not bad to have the main developer answer your questions, no? Wonder if Digidesign's CEO does that? hmm).

Sorry to be such a fanboy, but it's been the best $40 I've spent on music stuff, bar none.

http://www.cockos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6177

[inverseroom]

what do you want (be very specific) out of a DAW that tracktion doesn't provide?

It's all visual and ergonomic, period. I don't like the workflow. Everything else is superb. Honestly, while mixing, I really dislike the vol/pan filters, that's the #1 thing. And #2 is that a bus "track" is indistinguishable from an audio "track." And #3 is the folder tracks ought to be great but are wonky--they ought to act like busses, and don't, and they ought to be great for drum edits but always seem to fuck up somehow, with the slices showing up in the wrong places, and stuff getting accidentally deselected, and so on.

Ultimately, I find T3 perfect for tracking and irritating for editing and mixing.

It's a shame, because energyXT2 is probably the absolute perfect DAW for me, in terms of the interface. And I already own it. But it has really disappointed me in terms of bugginess, unfinished elements, and a focus on MIDI instead of audio recording. I had very high hopes for it and just got sick of waiting for it to work right.

So anyway, maybe I will buy reaper and try mixing with it and see how I like it. It's so damned cheap. And a few of the skins are hugely visually satisfying to me. And I am already using the VST versions of the ReaPlugs...ReaComp is just great, one of the best comps out there and hardly anybody seems to know about it. And I like trying out new things, so it will be fun, one way or another!

Also I appreciate the Sonar rec, getreel, but it seems like every time I try out one of the "major" DAWs, everything gets fucked up...folders, permissions, etc...hanging splash screens, overly complicated GUIs...I'm definitely sticking with one of the lean, mean, "indie" DAWs.

[inverseroom]

Oh and ReaInsert...YES, I definitely want that.

[pixeltarian]

well shoot man, I like the volume/pan mixers. you know why? because I don't have to switch back and forth or open and close a mixer window! that's crappy workflow if you ask me. tracktion has it all right in front of you.

I think perhaps tracktion is just the best for the type of recording I do. I don't get into mixing and producing a lot. I just record 1 or two tracks at a time and do my editing right then. Then I just keep tweaking things until it sounds right. I just play around I guess. If I was mixing someone else's stuff and it was super serious I might want to use something else...

I kind of wonder why no one uses Live as their main daw solution. it seems pretty capable...

what do you want (be very specific) out of a DAW that tracktion doesn't provide?

It's all visual and ergonomic, period. I don't like the workflow. Everything else is superb. Honestly, while mixing, I really dislike the vol/pan filters, that's the #1 thing. And #2 is that a bus "track" is indistinguishable from an audio "track." And #3 is the folder tracks ought to be great but are wonky--they ought to act like busses, and don't, and they ought to be great for drum edits but always seem to fuck up somehow, with the slices showing up in the wrong places, and stuff getting accidentally deselected, and so on.

Ultimately, I find T3 perfect for tracking and irritating for editing and mixing.

It's a shame, because energyXT2 is probably the absolute perfect DAW for me, in terms of the interface. And I already own it. But it has really disappointed me in terms of bugginess, unfinished elements, and a focus on MIDI instead of audio recording. I had very high hopes for it and just got sick of waiting for it to work right.

So anyway, maybe I will buy reaper and try mixing with it and see how I like it. It's so damned cheap. And a few of the skins are hugely visually satisfying to me. And I am already using the VST versions of the ReaPlugs...ReaComp is just great, one of the best comps out there and hardly anybody seems to know about it. And I like trying out new things, so it will be fun, one way or another!

Also I appreciate the Sonar rec, getreel, but it seems like every time I try out one of the "major" DAWs, everything gets fucked up...folders, permissions, etc...hanging splash screens, overly complicated GUIs...I'm definitely sticking with one of the lean, mean, "indie" DAWs.

[Electricide]

IR, did you ever get into using the racks? I've barely even scratched that surface.

Nah, I've never opened them. I just use it like a tape machine, then apply basic effects to things during mixing.
...I automate very few parameters and almost never effect parameters. But I really want to be able to put effects on a bus without having to create a new track

RACKS! you set it up once and save it as a plugin. You can run the original signal straight to the master bus, and at the same time route it parallel to a plug-in. then you can put volume filters on each path, at any point. etc etc.

then when you want reverb, just drag that rack where you'd drag a plugin, and all the routing, and the plugins within the rack, are automatically set up.
You can even set up different racks to slap on the master buss.

If you're talking about running several tracks as an aux to a reverb, well you'll have to set up a new track as a return in ANY software you choose.

[tateeskew]

inverse.
seriously check out sawstudio.
the basic version is only 300 bucks and it's work flow is completely like you are using a tape machine and console.

it's "indie" in that it only has one developer who has been at this shit for years and the application is stupid stable.

i've heard people save they don't like the way it looks, but i think these skins look great:

http://www.thessvideos.com/skins/hooloo ... oovool.jpg
http://www.thessvideos.com/skins/pipenite/pipenitel.jpg

anyway, just another idea. you can grab the demo and play with it.

i've been using reaper a little bit for my weekly song experiment since i'm putting limitations on myself gear/sofware-wise, and it's not bad at all. i think they are doing a great job. i only wish justin had spent time writing code for ardour instead.