In 2004 Cockos Incorporated introduced a new build of software in the form of the REAPER Digital Audio Workstation. Along side the new product launch came the Cockos Inc. stoic pledge ..’to build quality software that would benefit people throughout the world’.  Such altruism – reflected in the resplendent quality of the product and its unbelievably low pricing structure – has held steadfast and guided REAPER into its current incarnation of version 4.

What is it?: In meaning, REAPER is an acronym for: Rapid Environment for Audio Prototyping and Efficient Recording.  It is coded by a small group of dedicated engineers who have created and launched many fine products and technologies including Gnutella, Shoutcast and Winamp.  In layman producer terms what you get is an install of a remarkable audio production software which provides a streamlined audio production workflow without limits.  The REAPER installer is a complete and self-contained executive with an ultra-lite digital footprint the size of which is less than 6MB (Windows install. OS X Install between = 7 & 11MB).  REAPER contains no loop or sample libraries, no crippled evaluation versions of other software, no arbitrary hardware or software restrictions and absolutely no invasive copy protection system.  What is included; are over a dozen top-quality 64-bit ReaPlugs, the celebrated Elastique 2 real-time pitch shifting engine, full REX support, and literally hundreds of user-programmable effects.  REAPER installs as Windows 32/64Bit – OS X 32/64Bit and OS X PPC.

The Calling: The appeal of REAPER is immediate because it is designed to let you work quickly and creatively while addressing the primary core value of what a DAW is all about – a Digital Audio Workstation.   REAPER is a complete multitrack audio and MIDI recording, editing, processing, mixing, and mastering environment.  REAPER is not an over sensationalised product founded on the supa marketing hype of  fruitless plugins and processing gimics – Piece of Cake anyone?  Comparitively speaking, the most impressive thing about REAPER is its openess and honesty and the fact that it is simply so much better!  Why?  For lots of reasons – I found the CPU usage in REAPER a total gift of joy.  There was a drastic reduction in the CPU demand using REAPER when compared to the CPU readings in other DAWs.  REAPER also provides a huge amount of freedom and control through an open flexibility which provides a myriad of options for customisation of all menus and visual parameters.  Such unprecedented flexibility means the end user ultimately owns the working environment and production workflow.  This, instead of tolerating a regime of fixed methods and inflexible processes enforced through other third party DAWs, lets you shape the software as you need it to work to best suit your production processes and demands.  I also like the idea that any track can be an audio track, a midi track or a bus and that any track channel can be sent or routed anywhere else.   Creating ‘Sends’ and ‘Sidechaining’ in REAPER is as simple as dragging from one track to another and dragging a send from the source track to the target track respectively.

Making the Arrangment:  Building an arrangement by importing media and creating tracks is easy in REAPER as it freely supports the use of drag and drop to import media ‘items’ into the track view.  Once created, tracks can be easily managed through REAPER’s nested folder system which allows group editing, routing and bussing in a simple click of a folder icon.  All tracks fully support automation recording, playback, and editing support for track controls and VST(i) plug-ins.  It should be noted that media items are not restricted to audio, they can also include MIDI, Video and still images.
As an  editing application REAPER is a fast and powerful with an editing feature set capable of everything necessary, including:  Split, glue, resize, trim, loop, time stretch, pitch shift, fade, crossfade, slip edit, snap to grid, without switching tools!  To highlight a specific feature favourite here would have include the ‘Glue’ feature. This option performs a fast render of all individually selected media items in a track and replaces those items with one unified media event, perfect for consolidating loops, phrases and sections at warp speed.
Regions:  Sections of an arrangement can be mapped out in the time-line and dragged into new positions to create alternative arrangements using Regions.  A Region is created by performing a click & drag across the time-line and using the Shift+R shortcut.  They can be edited and renamed by holding Shift & double clicking on the Region header.  Grabbing hold of a Region’s header reveals a handle which allows the Region to dragged into a new position on the time-line effectively re-ordering the arrangement.  A great way to audition the alternatives.
Tempo Markers: in REAPER areanother cool and highly effective arrangment/arranging feature.  Tempo Markers (Time signature/Tempo markers) using Shift+C can be inserted at defined structural points in the arrangement.  When editing Tempo Markers you can change the time signature,  the BPM and program REAPER to accellerate or slow the music down over any selected period of time.  The process known as Varispeed in REAPER is an extremely powerful feature that introduces a tremendous amount of musical shape and dynamic to an arrangement.  This is without question a distinguishable high-end feature and one that escapes the attention of many profiled DAWs out there.
Navigation: Version 4 has included upgrades to the navigation feature set in REAPER.  The mouse modifiers for zoom reduces the necessity of key sequences.  In essence, using mouse modifiers to control all zoom and navigation in REAPER means no more Ctrl+?? shortcuts or Page Up/Page Down e.t.c.   The mouse scroll wheel is now King and can be customised to zoom in by making a selection – then hold and drag upwards to zoom out.  Holding the scroll wheel and dragging either direction scrolls through the track view.  In combination with the most basic of key modifiers – Ctrl/Shift/Alt – the mouse wheel wil provide zoom vertically/ horizontally.  It makes for a very slick transition between different zoom views and the smoothest of workflows when navigating an arrangement.

If you are looking for a fully fledged DAW with a whole bunch of fresh VST(i) synths to help  inspire you through a writers block – you wont find it here.  With REAPER you have to bring your own VST(i)/VST’s to the party which will be fully supported up to 64Bit inclusive.  What you will find, however, is a first class DAW in the truest sense, one that is very stable, incredibly fast, intuitive and with a powerful editing feature set comparable to and beyond other high-end DAWs which apply to both audio and MIDI.  One that provides a phenomenal amount of customisation necessary to create your perfect DAW environment. Its all in there.

The REAPER user community is awash with producers/coders/developers all willing to share workflow enhancers, tips & tricks and video tutorials on how to get the most from REAPER to suit.  Once the customisations are made the workflow is second to none.
———————-
A fully functional no restrictions version of REAPER is available for download
(same link as below).
Cockos Inc. offer two licenses, depending on how you use REAPER.$225:  full commercial license.
$60:   discounted license.Read the pricing details here.
Purchasing a license now includes upgrades through REAPER 5.99.
Brought to you courtesy of Soundwrx Digital