Funny thing is...I haven’t used enough DAWs to really have a preference!
I’ve only used Audacity up until now. Actually, that probably still meets all my current needs.
But, like I said, now that I’ve got a chance to use a more scaled-up DAW, I figured I’d give it give it a whirl!
What do you prefer with Reaper?
I haven’t played with Audacity in a decade. When I was playing around with it, it was still pretty primitive...much like Reaper was at the time. The difference that I saw at the time was that Reaper was developing quickly, and attentively. I remember having a couple of questions addressed by Justin(the developer) on their forum....problems were solved and addressed quickly. To me, this was an amazing thing. Like a guitar nerd building cheap but amazing quality guitars, and following up personally to verify satisfaction, and addressing any shortcomings. A certain strap maker(new to this place) comes to mind as having a, seemingly, similar model.
That‘s a big part of my Reaper preference. Another is the fact that they offer the “full version” to try/sample for free....all features open, and fully functional. There is no “LE” version that has watermarks(like some video software I’ve tried), or limitations of access to function(like some audio software/plugins I’ve tried). Their simple approach is; try it...if you like it, buy an appropriate license and support the growth of the platform. In 2006 to 2009, this was pretty forward thinking...no “dongles”...no “cracks” needed...go ahead and try it.
When I was first learning my way around software based DAW programs, I was using standalone recorders as my main, reliable, system of recording...I might toss a few tracks into one or another DAW program to mess around. Of all the programs I sampled, Reaper made the most sense to me. I was able to figure out the routing, the pan laws, the rendering, everything that I felt I needed from a software DAW was accessible to me in a logical(to me) package. I started at around version 0.86...by version 4.xx my XP machine was taken offline, but remained fully functional. I was happily running that version for years before I finally updated my studio computer, and my Reaper version(and license...they last for two full versions...I bought a ver. 1 license, and a ver. 3, when I went back after the new computer, they were at ver. 6 - I liked some of the new features, like native spectral editing, so I purchased an appropriate license).
So, I guess the reason behind my choice of Reaper is that I can use it pretty intuitively, and reliably figure out how to accomplish every DAW oriented audio task that I’ve come across for the last 10+ years.
If Cubase fits that description for you...enjoy it to the fullest!
Really nice mixer Smitty but above my skill level.
