Still Think Reaper is just a passing Fad?

Recording Techniques, People Skills, Gear, Recording Spaces, Computers, and DIY

Moderators: drumsound, tomb

Post Reply
Tallisman
audio school
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:23 pm
Location: Fort Smith Canada
Contact:

Post by Tallisman » Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:47 pm

I was a long-time Cubendo fanatic and product specialist at L&M. I also own and used Sonar (upto v5) PTLE upto 7.x and Live upto 6. Oll of these collect dust now as I cannot deny the Reaper.

My work flow has improved, speed and efficiency. I still miss the occasional feature from yesterdaw, but the flexibility gains I get from R are well worth it.

I have 3 suggestions for anyone thinking about trying reaper:

1. find a skin you like (it's not that hard to do :roll: ). For whatever reason looking at something familiar or appealing eases the paradigm-shift-like learning curve.

2. dump you old daw's workflow and dive into reaper. It will feel quirky at first (especially the right-click marquee schtuff)... but the returns will pay off.

3. Join the official forum and community. Great folks there eager to assist and most are friendly. Plus, it's fun to see how quickly Cockos responds to cool feature requests and the lightening-like speed most bugs are squashed.

many greetings
.tallis
it ain't no beans in ice cream. baby!

rwc
resurrected
Posts: 2333
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:21 pm
Location: Bed Stuy, Brooklyn

Post by rwc » Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:30 am

I tried reaper today for the first time. What a dump. I felt like I was recording on a computer program instead of recording on a recording machine, for the first time.
Real friends stab you in the front.

Oscar Wilde

Failed audio engineer & pro studio tech turned Component level motherboard repair store in New York

kronosonic
takin' a dinner break
Posts: 154
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 9:42 am
Location: Frozen Hellscape
Contact:

Post by kronosonic » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:37 am

rwc wrote:I tried reaper today for the first time. What a dump. I felt like I was recording on a computer program instead of recording on a recording machine, for the first time.
Weird. Considering it's a computer program. WTF did you expect?
http://myspace.com/infiniteegosavioronasis

A personal friend of the legendary Jean Pecan Hoe

rwc
resurrected
Posts: 2333
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:21 pm
Location: Bed Stuy, Brooklyn

Post by rwc » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:54 am

kronosonic wrote:
rwc wrote:I tried reaper today for the first time. What a dump. I felt like I was recording on a computer program instead of recording on a recording machine, for the first time.
Weird. Considering it's a computer program. WTF did you expect?
Something that didn't remind me of the first time I tried WINE with a video encoding program five years ago in slackware.

There isn't any quick recognizable way to even change inputs on a track I make from the main window.. logic, nuendo, and pro tools all have this simple shit worked out. they have for years. their customers, from the home recordigst to the professional studio have beat into their heads over the past 15 years what they want a professional app that caters to everyone to be. what sucks about "startup" programs is all the lame little quirks from so long ago come flying back.
Real friends stab you in the front.

Oscar Wilde

Failed audio engineer & pro studio tech turned Component level motherboard repair store in New York

joel hamilton
zen recordist
Posts: 8876
Joined: Mon May 19, 2003 12:10 pm
Location: NYC/Brooklyn
Contact:

Re: Still Think Reaper is just a passing Fad?

Post by joel hamilton » Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:49 am

leigh wrote:
roygbiv wrote:It's like having a super-duper cool-guy JH level digital board/patch bay.
JH =
"Joel Hamilton"?
"James Hetfield"?
"Jesus H."?
I hope it is James Hetfield. I bet he has AWESOME digital patch bays!

kronosonic
takin' a dinner break
Posts: 154
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 9:42 am
Location: Frozen Hellscape
Contact:

Post by kronosonic » Sat Mar 29, 2008 1:49 pm

rwc wrote:
kronosonic wrote:
rwc wrote:I tried reaper today for the first time. What a dump. I felt like I was recording on a computer program instead of recording on a recording machine, for the first time.
Weird. Considering it's a computer program. WTF did you expect?
Something that didn't remind me of the first time I tried WINE with a video encoding program five years ago in slackware.

There isn't any quick recognizable way to even change inputs on a track I make from the main window.. logic, nuendo, and pro tools all have this simple shit worked out. they have for years. their customers, from the home recordigst to the professional studio have beat into their heads over the past 15 years what they want a professional app that caters to everyone to be. what sucks about "startup" programs is all the lame little quirks from so long ago come flying back.
Luckily you had a couple of hours to figure out that Reap was not up to snuff.

Good job

Actually, I ditched Steinberg software after years of using both cubse and nuendo and after learning how reap operates (it took more than an evening of hostile intent) I, and most people who stick with it, can work somewhere between 30-50% faster.

I've noticed that as reaper gets better and better over time that reactions have gone from apathy to humor to anger. Next comes rage!

people are abandoning cubase etc. in droves but I hardly ever see anybody switch back. I wonder why? Because Reap is shitty software? Please. Just because you didn't see how to make something happen in the software doesn't mean it can't be done -- and probably faster and easier.

If you're happy with bloated, buggy, dongled, software than by all means stick with it. If you're not then try something new.
http://myspace.com/infiniteegosavioronasis

A personal friend of the legendary Jean Pecan Hoe

User avatar
b3groover
deaf.
Posts: 1977
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 4:07 pm
Location: michigan
Contact:

Post by b3groover » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:11 pm

Cat fight!
www.organissimo.org
organissimo - Dedicated (new CD)
"This shitty room is making your next hit record, bitch!"

kronosonic
takin' a dinner break
Posts: 154
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 9:42 am
Location: Frozen Hellscape
Contact:

Post by kronosonic » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:59 pm

b3groover wrote:Cat fight!
Just calling bullshit when I see it. Hard to take anybody seriously who condemns anything after a couple hours or less of futzing around.
http://myspace.com/infiniteegosavioronasis

A personal friend of the legendary Jean Pecan Hoe

rwc
resurrected
Posts: 2333
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:21 pm
Location: Bed Stuy, Brooklyn

Post by rwc » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:12 pm

kronosonic wrote:
b3groover wrote:Cat fight!
Just calling bullshit when I see it. Hard to take anybody seriously who condemns anything after a couple hours or less of futzing around.
Oh please. I'm sure this works fine once you've spent inordinate amounts of time with it, but it just seems funny to me that all the simple stuff is right up front on programs that have been around for years. I don't think it's an invalid argument that the program simply isn't mature yet. There are many functions I looked for in reaper that I was able to eventually find, that come easy after a few seconds of staring at nuendo or pro tools or logic or anything else. I expected something on the level of audacity and that's what it was.
I've noticed that as reaper gets better and better over time that reactions have gone from apathy to humor to anger. Next comes rage!
Why would you become angry over software? You shouldn't. I don't see a reason to become angry after using a new program I am not required to, much less enraged.

Don't get me wrong, I love the open source stuff, or the coded by the little guy apps. foobar2000 has spoiled me where WMP, itunes, or any player/encoder program seem like bloated junk. I prefer a PII debian router over a $50 linksys or x264 with a nice script to commercial video encoding software, but when adding certain reverb plugins causes the app to crash or I have to go through preferences off the bat just to get playback working, this tells me the program still has a ways to go.

I'm sure it'll get better as time goes on, but for now, it doesn't seem viable for a professional facility.
Real friends stab you in the front.

Oscar Wilde

Failed audio engineer & pro studio tech turned Component level motherboard repair store in New York

Resonant Serpent
studio intern
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:32 pm
Location: Knowhere, Texas
Contact:

Post by Resonant Serpent » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:06 pm

Does Reaper have automation? I looked over the site quite a bit and didn't see it mentioned. Did I miss something?

If it doesn't have automation, how can anyone take it seriously?

Resonant Serpent
studio intern
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2007 7:32 pm
Location: Knowhere, Texas
Contact:

Post by Resonant Serpent » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:45 pm

Resonant Serpent wrote:Does Reaper have automation? I looked over the site quite a bit and didn't see it mentioned. Did I miss something?

If it doesn't have automation, how can anyone take it seriously?
I downloaded the user manual and checked it out. There is indeed automation.

The only problem I really have with the program is that the midi functionality/editing is soooooo far behind what I'm used to in Sonar. So, that makes it a dealbreaker for me. Maybe it'll get better in the future, but with a commercial license price of 200.00, there are a lot of better options for just a little more cash.

My conclusion: If you need a good multitrack, then reaper should make the cut. If your in need of extensive midi functions, then look elsewhere.

My .00002

User avatar
inverseroom
on a wing and a prayer
Posts: 5031
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 8:37 am
Location: Ithaca, NY
Contact:

Post by inverseroom » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:57 am

rwc wrote:I expected something on the level of audacity and that's what it was.
That's silly. The latest Reaper is light years ahead of audacity, in every particular. And in my experience, everything I wanted was right where I expected it to be, instantly. This is after using three other DAWs for two years.

That said, I agree that it's pointless to give a crap what other people think of your favorite DAW. I'm also not sure why you seemed so eager to piss on the dude's party.

I'm not going to try and vouch for the MIDI implementation...I haven't even tried it yet and probably won't have a lot of use for it. That does seem to be the bugbear with a lot of otherwise excellent apps, though...Acid and Tracktion spring to mind.

User avatar
inverseroom
on a wing and a prayer
Posts: 5031
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 8:37 am
Location: Ithaca, NY
Contact:

Post by inverseroom » Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:10 am

BTW, the Stumm201 theme is indispensible for Reaper, IMHO. Incredibly clear and professional looking.

http://www.tmeric.com/files/stumn201_v1_01.png

User avatar
inverseroom
on a wing and a prayer
Posts: 5031
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 8:37 am
Location: Ithaca, NY
Contact:

Post by inverseroom » Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:24 am

rwc wrote:There isn't any quick recognizable way to even change inputs on a track I make from the main window.. logic, nuendo, and pro tools all have this simple shit worked out
For any potential users who may find this apparent omission problematic, there's a little I/O button on every track. How it works is, you click that. And change the input. I realize this is hugely complicated and unintuitive, but that's the price you pay when you choose to work with the little guy.

Image

joel hamilton
zen recordist
Posts: 8876
Joined: Mon May 19, 2003 12:10 pm
Location: NYC/Brooklyn
Contact:

Post by joel hamilton » Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:14 am

inverseroom wrote:
Image
Best ever.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 76 guests