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Old 12-16-2011, 08:34 PM   #1
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Default Why Is Reaper Never Mentioned As A Top Notch DAW Like Pro Tools, Cubase, Sonar??

I love Reaper! I've been with Cubase and Sonar before. But for some strange reason, you never hear Reaper listed as suggested DAWs in other books, websites, etc. You ALWAYS hear about Cubase, Sonar, Logic, Pro Tools, Reason, and so on. Yet never Reaper. Sure, on this forum it is, but did you ever check out other recording forums? Some do, but it's like a minor reference.

Reaper has been around for a decade or so. Why the lack of acknowlegement?? Obviously, competitors won't do so but there are tons of audio recording books out there that never mention Reaper at all (by authors who aren't connected with any corporate system).

Is it because they are TOO cheap for the cost of such a great program? All the ones recommended by others are 10 times more expensive!! Sometimes, if you under-price the competition too much, people tend to think you have a basic, entry-level program with very few features. But I know this is not so with Reaper. It has them all beat in my opinion.

Everyone in life is out to make a profit. Isn't Reaper? I'm SO GLAD it's this reasonable, but how can they grow and continue to lose millions of dollars by not being in the ballpark with the others? What would they lose if they charged more? Nothing, because other lower-priced DAWs suck and people would know it; therefore, they would get the business anyway.

Then again, maybe soon down the road Reaper WILL charge $500 for a fully functional program if they figure this out. I HOPE NOT!! I love Reaper but you do have to wonder why they aren't acknowleged after all these years...

Mike

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Old 12-16-2011, 09:02 PM   #2
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No good option for a fully integrated control surface.
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Old 12-16-2011, 09:08 PM   #3
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Huh?? You lost me there. What do you mean by no good option??

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Old 12-16-2011, 09:12 PM   #4
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Is it because they are TOO cheap for the cost of such a great program?
It's because they think it's free!

Pro studios are slaves to customers expectations. A studio I've used, which specialises in film work, was perfectly happy with Nuendo, which is no toy, but, with great reluctance, they dumped it in favour of Pro Tools, because Pro Tools is what their corporate customers expected them to use.
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Old 12-16-2011, 09:19 PM   #5
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It's because they think it's free!

Pro studios are slaves to customers expectations. A studio I've used, which specialises in film work, was perfectly happy with Nuendo, which is no toy, but, with great reluctance, they dumped it in favour of Pro Tools, because Pro Tools is what their corporate customers expected them to use.
Advertising $$$ is a huge reason, I suspect. Ad campaigns in SOS, Mix, EQ etc etc generate a lot of attention, and when you are beat over the head monthly with the same ads, same reviews of the same manufacturers, you get disconnected from other options.

SOS has a Reaper section, that says a lot for a young DAW.

It will spread, remember pro tools is 20 years old, Cubase is about the same and even Logic et al have been around since the mid to late 90's.

Give it time I would say. Once the pro studios embrace it, it will spread like wildfire.
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Old 12-16-2011, 09:23 PM   #6
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What southpaw said. I think that Cockos doesn't do any sort of marketing bs, and I love that. And here we all are using it anyway. I think that anyone who visits recording forums knows about Reaper by word of mouth.
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Old 12-16-2011, 09:24 PM   #7
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FWIW, Sonar is rarely mentioned as well...

Reapers main distribution method is the internet; sure it comes on CM magazines and other sources, but you can't go into a music store. I believe many users of DAW software wouldn't check the internet first but go to a store and talk to the sales people, who would recommend something they sell.


Also some of the default settings in Reaper are enough to drive casual new users away quickly...
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Old 12-16-2011, 09:26 PM   #8
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I hope so, Southpaw!! It sucks that advetising big wigs control what people know (or what they want them to know). I just hope Reaper stays reasonable AFTER the word gets out how great a program it truly is. You know, there are two things that make the world go round: money and lies (ha-ha). But I hope Reaper keeps growing profit-wise by volume and leaves prices fair.

I also might ad: It's the BEST forum for support and feedback of any recording forum I've ever been in (by a major long shot). I'm sure you would agree.

Mike

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Old 12-16-2011, 09:31 PM   #9
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Hey, Eyes, I hear you. I'm still a newbie but I'm learning a lot. You know what? I never found Reaper's default settings intimidating at all. It's GREAT when a program has a lot of default settings just to have something to start with during the learning curve. As you know, it's so easy in Reaper to change any default settings anywhere, anytime.

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Old 12-16-2011, 09:35 PM   #10
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Reaper has been around for a decade or so. Why the lack of acknowlegement?? Obviously, competitors won't do so but there are tons of audio recording books out there that never mention Reaper at all (by authors who aren't connected with any corporate system).
I suppose it's just ignorance. I own x1 pro, studio one v2, and ableton live. I use Reaper almost exclusively because it does what I want and doesn't get in the way.

x1 pro - hated it... I bought it for matrix view hoping to rid myself of ableton dependency. It's a complete hog... bloated, slow and buggy as hell.

studio one v2 - it's ok, but it's not as customizable as I'd wish. I dislike their take system. But their fx channel is a cool feature. I use it only for mastering now.

Ableton - horrible for mixing, but the session view is just so cool. I love it for creating and exploring new ideas.

When all is said and done I spend >90% of my time with Reaper. It just works and is customizable so I can do anything I need to do. It's lightweight, has built in bit-bridge support, auto mute, auto save, rewire (for the few times I use Reason), reroute, skins, and anything can be mapped to a hotkey.

The one thing I wish it had is session/matrix view.

One day... and my life will be complete.
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Old 12-16-2011, 09:56 PM   #11
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Thanks, Clickonce, for the info. You know, this forum is so kind with so many people willing to share their thoughts, advice, etc. I mean it is way more informative than just the user manual. (No offense to Geoffrey Francis, who is great and I use his "Reaper Power! The Comprehensive Guide" all the time).

Yet, it would take a 2,000 page book to include all the great info provided here in this forum. Hey! There's an idea! Maybe someone should produce a multi-volume work just on the thousands of comments on this forum, in various categories, themes, etc. Sure, it's here to see anyway online, but nobody wants to print all this stuff out for a hardcopy, right?? (ha-ha).

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Old 12-16-2011, 10:11 PM   #12
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Because...Reaper is speaking for itself. Others need endorsement from..xyz. Paid or else.

And Reaper started in 2006. So far from a decade yet.

Having said that I will also add, you have not done your homework properly before posting. SOS(the only respected magazine in this genre IMHO..) is mentioning Reaper in many accounts (Not Paid ones). The FAMOUS 'Mix Rescue' Articles were written using Reaper and Reaper was at least reviewed twice.

But anyway why we need some so-called professionals to say what is good for me...

In my work scene I need to use Nuendo, Pro-Tools, Logic for different clients time to time. But when I don't have any compulsion, I fire-up Reaper for anything. That's my preference...

And pricing, Reaper has received it's respect and reputation for many reasons. Pricing is one of the major factors. It discourages PIRACY big-time.(can't imagine, some morons wasting time to crack Reaper Licensing which is a unexpiring un-crippled trial version)


And last but not the least..when there is a small team of developers, they can afford to reflect WISDOM in decision making.

...

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Old 12-16-2011, 10:21 PM   #13
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If Justin had a huge ego it would be plastered in magazines and websites everywhere about him being the creator of Winamp and how much AOL paid him to acquire the rights to Winamp and blah blah blah.

I still surprises me, the amount of long time musicians that have never heard of REAPER. I turn my friends onto it all the time. They've all been recording with other DAWS and have been on the Internet for years, but they have still never heard of REAPER.

Most of them think it is some kind of experimental piece of software because they haven't seen it listed with Cubase, Sonar, Pro Tools etc., when they go shopping for a DAW.
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Old 12-16-2011, 10:39 PM   #14
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Most of them think it is some kind of experimental piece of software because they haven't seen it listed with Cubase, Sonar, Pro Tools etc., when they go shopping for a DAW.
And why should we care of these people? They will follow in 10 years, also ok. The difference is they learn later. The art is learning quickly and being one of the first in a new, interesting field.
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Old 12-16-2011, 10:45 PM   #15
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Switching DAWs is not something to take lightly. REAPER is still new but is evolving so quickly at times it's hard to keep up. At least these changes don't cost us anything each year.

For me, I tried REAPER in 2007, hated it. I tried again in 2008, hated it. 2009, hated it. 2010, hey! this think is pretty sweet!

Ever since I've been doing my best to get people to give it a go. I really feel it's the best DAW in the world right now.

Old posts from the blog:
Computer Music gives 4.5/5 stars to REAPER 4
Tech Radar vote REAPER number 1
Why your music dealer is not going to recommend REAPER
REAPER voted MusicRadar Users' most favourite
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Old 12-16-2011, 10:51 PM   #16
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The one thing I wish it had is session/matrix view.
It has, the item and takes structure: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov1...-tech-1110.htm
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Old 12-17-2011, 12:55 AM   #17
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The truth is, it is mentioned as a top notch DAW by people in the know. People who make a living with DAW software know all about Reaper, most likely because of how easy it is to route audio and its stability. Unfortunately. most people use PT because most people use PT, just like most people use MS Office because most people use MS Office. It doesn't make PT or MS Office better than all else, it just makes them the standards.

Samplitude is a top notch DAW that never gets any attention. Reaper is probably already better known and used than Samplitude is.

Lastly, I think Reaper is marketed perfectly. Reaper is more better off with a smaller core group of serious DAW users than it is by becoming an industry standard. Being an industry standard means it will have to become bloatware like the others and lose its advantages. ProTools, Cubase and the other big name DAWs were not ruined by the small group of professionals that used them in the studio, but rather by the millions of users who wanted them to have everything imaginable inside. I say Reaper should be the "independent" DAW and stay away from trying to be the "be all, end all" DAW.
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Old 12-17-2011, 05:08 AM   #18
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Advertising $$$ is a huge reason, I suspect.
Quite so.

Check out how often in audio mags you see a glowing review of a product with a full page ad not so far away .....
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Old 12-17-2011, 06:26 AM   #19
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'Never' mentioned doesn't seem very accurate to me, but I take your point.

Dunno; perhaps some manufacturers get their impressions of DAW market share from their retailers, which traditionally has probably been a fair method for accessing that information. Like many other online-based products, however, Reaper has very little presence in the bricks'n'mortar retail market, which is only one of the reasons you could suggest how out of touch those places are.

The question of celebrity endorsement is a simple one, from my perspective. It is a system with such widespread corruption (oh god, like you would not believe) that its impossible for the end user to know whether any endorsement or 'casual interview mention' is authentic. Unauthentic endorsement is, I would guess, still much the minority taking the market as a whole, but for some companies it would be majority of their marketing message, and its very effective; users love to swap stories of the 'pr0s' that they think use the same stuff as them. It makes the whoile practice effective but essentially meaningless to the degree where engaging with it is just ...lame. Who uses Reaper is their own private information, which is a very good thing ...perhaps some very impressive people and organisations use Reaper, but that should have no impact whatsoever on any single user deciding if Reaper is appropriate for them. That decision should be made solely on the basis of the trial and how well Reaper might 'fit' for them. That way, everyone who comes to Reaper will do so for honest, accurate and transparent reasons.
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Old 12-17-2011, 06:40 AM   #20
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I saw on Youtube a number of tutorials Fabfilter made for their plugins and mixing/mastering in general. All done in Reaper. Many of the videos NI have done recently for their own products (things like Damage are not theirs) show off Reaper.

That sort of 'indirect endorsement' is likely to catch the eye of Reapers target audience more than a 'pr0' going on about it.
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Old 12-17-2011, 08:06 AM   #21
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Is it because they are TOO cheap for the cost of such a great program? All the ones recommended by others are 10 times more expensive!! Sometimes, if you under-price the competition too much, people tend to think you have a basic, entry-level program with very few features. But I know this is not so with Reaper. It has them all beat in my opinion.
Reaper is affordable but in my opinion the full license pricing is quite well in line with what you get when compared to competition. Discounted license is a real bargain.

599 Pro Tools
500 Cubase
499 Samplitude
495 Digital Performer
399 Studio One Professional
399 Reason
337 Ableton Live
225 Reaper
200 Logic Pro
199 Sonar Studio
199 FL Studio Producer Edition
199 Orion
199 Studio One Producer
60 Reaper Discounted license
50 Zynewave Podium
0 Ardour


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Old 12-17-2011, 09:03 AM   #22
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If it's not in a package on the shelf, there's no downline to profit from it, from distributors to retailers to advertisers.

A consumerist society doesn't like stuff like that in such an integrated marketplace. Just look at all the hands that Cubase or ProTools passes through in being made and also in being distributed and sold. Everyone wins.

Reaper formula = download. Record. Pay. Record some more.

The consumer happily wins! Retailers lose in such a transaction - except to supply 3rd party software, also available online.

Just my opinion.
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Old 12-17-2011, 09:16 AM   #23
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It just takes time, that's all. It's only 6 years old in a market segment that's 30+ years old.

There's no other real reason really. As time passes it will become more and more universally recognized like all of them. It's had reviews in many of the major mags I think, so I doubt anyone subscribing to those mags hasn't heard of it.

Directly asking for Mix to review it - if it hasn't been fully reviewed there already - wouldn't be the worst thing in the world... and (imo) showing up at NAMM with a slick booth and demo schedule wouldn't hurt either... probably would could sell a bunch of licenses right on the floor there.

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Old 12-17-2011, 09:21 AM   #24
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It just takes time, that's all. It's only 6 years old in a market segment that's 30+ years old.

There's no other real reason really. As time passes it will become more and more universally recognized like all of them.
My point was that, even if given time, it's doubtful that your friendly Sweetwater or other sales rep is going to say anytime soon: "Hey, why don't we forget my commission and I'll just hook you up with Reaper, okay?"

There are many older, established things that don't sell well. Except water of course, cause they figured out how to put it on a shelf.
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Old 12-17-2011, 09:30 AM   #25
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My point was that, even if given time, it's doubtful that your friendly Sweetwater or other sales rep is going to say anytime soon: "Hey, why don't we forget my commission and I'll just hook you up with Reaper, okay?"
Well, yeah. That would be like the Benz salesman telling you to drive up the street and have a look at BMW's.

My point was that additional exposure for some of the others is an "intentional investment", and not just with costly magazine ads. Again, go to NAMM, get a booth and a big screen, run some demos, wow some people, more exposure. It might cost a few grand but that's the "investment" part.

You wouldn't expect that you'd get the same levels of exposure without actually paying for it do you? You can make the greatest widget in the world but people that don't know about it don't know about it.

It's not something that has to be passed on to users, the cost. It's an investment in exposure... which should pay off in more sales.
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Old 12-17-2011, 10:10 AM   #26
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'Never' mentioned doesn't seem very accurate to me, but I take your point.

Dunno; perhaps some manufacturers get their impressions of DAW market share from their retailers, which traditionally has probably been a fair method for accessing that information. Like many other online-based products, however, Reaper has very little presence in the bricks'n'mortar retail market, which is only one of the reasons you could suggest how out of touch those places are.

The question of celebrity endorsement is a simple one, from my perspective. It is a system with such widespread corruption (oh god, like you would not believe) that its impossible for the end user to know whether any endorsement or 'casual interview mention' is authentic. Unauthentic endorsement is, I would guess, still much the minority taking the market as a whole, but for some companies it would be majority of their marketing message, and its very effective; users love to swap stories of the 'pr0s' that they think use the same stuff as them. It makes the whoile practice effective but essentially meaningless to the degree where engaging with it is just ...lame. Who uses Reaper is their own private information, which is a very good thing ...perhaps some very impressive people and organisations use Reaper, but that should have no impact whatsoever on any single user deciding if Reaper is appropriate for them. That decision should be made solely on the basis of the trial and how well Reaper might 'fit' for them. That way, everyone who comes to Reaper will do so for honest, accurate and transparent reasons.

Great post. And just add to that - all what you say leads young or seasoned people who choose a daw to ask "what do others use". Now in our societies a whole lot of musicians use cracked software (another topic, sure, but it's a fact) - and so those newcomers think "if so many use a cracked Cubase" (or Logic or XYZ) it IS good.
I am sure that adds to the party. Many do use software without paying, and so they learn "Cubase is the best" or whatever.

Surely Reaper (for whatever reason, lol) would be cracked too (my, what would you say). But it surely is not the number 1 choice of people.

So, like White Tie said - people who use Reaper got it recommended from those who love using it, or tried it themselves. And Reaper IS used a lot. Maybe a few musicians don't like to talk much about what they use.
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Old 12-17-2011, 11:56 AM   #27
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'Never' mentioned doesn't seem very accurate to me, but I take your point.

Dunno; perhaps some manufacturers get their impressions of DAW market share from their retailers, which traditionally has probably been a fair method for accessing that information. Like many other online-based products, however, Reaper has very little presence in the bricks'n'mortar retail market, which is only one of the reasons you could suggest how out of touch those places are.

The question of celebrity endorsement is a simple one, from my perspective. It is a system with such widespread corruption (oh god, like you would not believe) that its impossible for the end user to know whether any endorsement or 'casual interview mention' is authentic. Unauthentic endorsement is, I would guess, still much the minority taking the market as a whole, but for some companies it would be majority of their marketing message, and its very effective; users love to swap stories of the 'pr0s' that they think use the same stuff as them. It makes the whoile practice effective but essentially meaningless to the degree where engaging with it is just ...lame. Who uses Reaper is their own private information, which is a very good thing ...perhaps some very impressive people and organisations use Reaper, but that should have no impact whatsoever on any single user deciding if Reaper is appropriate for them. That decision should be made solely on the basis of the trial and how well Reaper might 'fit' for them. That way, everyone who comes to Reaper will do so for honest, accurate and transparent reasons.
Celebrity endorsement doesn't mean so much to me after talking to world class bassist Jeff Berlin at a guitar show. I asked him what kind of bass he was playing because the logo was covered by a piece of electricians tape. He said it was built by Peavey. I asked what was up with the tape covering the logo and he said it was because Peavey wouldn't pay him to play it.

Now he plays a signature Jeff Berlin bass by Dean guitars. I guess he found someone who would pay him. (So that tells me that all things being equal, an endorsement doesn't mean that much.)

Based on what I've seen, the endorsement of software could be as corrupt as it gets.
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Old 12-17-2011, 12:58 PM   #28
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Everyone in life is out to make a profit. Isn't Reaper? I'm SO GLAD it's this reasonable, but how can they grow and continue to lose millions of dollars by not being in the ballpark with the others? What would they lose if they charged more? Nothing, because other lower-priced DAWs suck and people would know it; therefore, they would get the business anyway.
Simple answer is no, they're not obsessing about profit.

"Cockos Incorporated was founded in 2004, beginning an effort to build quality software that would benefit people throughout the world.

Our goal is to develop software sustainably while preventing profit rationale from forcing engineering compromises. By doing so, we can keep our product visions intact, giving maximum benefit to our users.

We lovingly craft the software that we would want to use."
http://www.cockos.com/index.php

IMO this is one of the greatest things about Reaper and makes Cockos a benchmark for where businesses should aim to be. Profit should follow from quality. Too often quality is an accidental by-product of profit.

Seems to me that Cakewalk are hemoraging customers at the moment and as I see it it's because they're chasing exactly what you're talking about and in the process they've had to dumb down their software to a point where unless that workflow works for you it's going to be a real pain to use.

The idea that other people's endorsement of something I use is going to make it any better (if it already works for me) just seems a bit weird.

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Old 12-17-2011, 02:56 PM   #29
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I think a few people are missing another side to this.

Quote:
Originally Posted by White Tie View Post
Who uses Reaper is their own private information, which is a very good thing ...perhaps some very impressive people and organisations use Reaper, but that should have no impact whatsoever on any single user deciding if Reaper is appropriate for them. That decision should be made solely on the basis of the trial and how well Reaper might 'fit' for them. That way, everyone who comes to Reaper will do so for honest, accurate and transparent reasons.
While this is nice in theory, i never would have even TRIED Reaper if it weren't for my friend Kenny (who made some tutorial vids about it) recommending it to me. And as said above by Eyes, some of the defaults are so frustrating for a new user that if it weren't for Kenny's vote of confidence in the app, i probably wouldn't have stuck it out and spent the better part of a week customizing Reaper to suit me BEFORE deciding if i even liked it and it "fit" for me. (yes it did and i purchased a commercial license..)

Sure, this is different to trying something based off a "celebrity" endorsement.. but is it THAT different?

There are many other times i've tried a product because someone proficient in their field used the product and while i personally didn't know them, i trusted their ability and judgement reflected in their work. Granted it's harder to know it that situation if the person actually uses the product for their work, but ultimately i know i will decide based on my own opinions of using it so i'm just looking for a filter on choices to minimize wasting my time. This isn't about choosing what's "cool" because so-and-so uses it.

I sincerely think you've mixed two points there. People may choose to STAY with Reaper for "honest, accurate, and transparent" reasons. What makes them aware of the product and gives them confidence to even try it can be very different and that's okay.

--

Also, apart from compatibility the other reason people will gravitate to the popular choices is for the 'local support network' of engineers in their area. I still spend countless hours helping colleagues/friends out with Pro Tools because not everyone wants to spend their free time reading forums and would plainly rather talk to friends in real life who they trust more. There are languages for each product when it comes to "talking shop" (especially when it's in depth), and the greater the number of fluent speakers around you, the stronger your ability becomes to speak the language. I know of many people who have chosen certain products because of me and others around them they could rely on to help them out. And i've done the same for certain things. It's a practical decision based on resources available to you.

Again, just pointing out another side.
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Old 12-17-2011, 03:25 PM   #30
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Reaper will not be in the same league as the big name DAWs anytime soon. Mainly because of business models and marketing. I don't think Cockos are interested in taking this path, which is good in my opinion.

Notice that all of the big "guys":

a) Come from much larger companies.

b) They have official (or officially endorsed) training and support, including phone support, usually in many parts of the world.

That's no small thing, when you run a business and get into trouble, it may not be your cup of tea to troubleshoot the problem through e-mails or an internet forum.

Plus, you want to be sure that you will find a lot of 3rd party training material. Reaper has gotten some of that recently, but still very little compared to the big DAWs.

c) They, almost all of them, put out hardware as well, which leverages their software. Or bundle their software with 3rd party hardware.

d) They work with artists to sponsor their software. Very important as well.

e) Being an 'industry standard' is important, and the seat's been taken. Would you rather be a certified expert in Reaper? Or perhaps in Pro Tools/Cubase/Logic? Unless you run your own business, the latter will provide you with much better work opportunities.
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Old 12-17-2011, 05:20 PM   #31
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Reaper was created to get people to post on this forum. It's really that simple.
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Old 12-17-2011, 05:32 PM   #32
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Reaper will not be in the same league as the big name DAWs anytime soon. Mainly because of business models and marketing. I don't think Cockos are interested in taking this path, which is good in my opinion.

Notice that all of the big "guys":

a) Come from much larger companies.

b) They have official (or officially endorsed) training and support, including phone support, usually in many parts of the world.

That's no small thing, when you run a business and get into trouble, it may not be your cup of tea to troubleshoot the problem through e-mails or an internet forum.

Plus, you want to be sure that you will find a lot of 3rd party training material. Reaper has gotten some of that recently, but still very little compared to the big DAWs.

c) They, almost all of them, put out hardware as well, which leverages their software. Or bundle their software with 3rd party hardware.

d) They work with artists to sponsor their software. Very important as well.

e) Being an 'industry standard' is important, and the seat's been taken. Would you rather be a certified expert in Reaper? Or perhaps in Pro Tools/Cubase/Logic? Unless you run your own business, the latter will provide you with much better work opportunities.
While that is true, many of those suggestions would require a lot of money to persue, which would require raising the cost of Reaper to generate the initial revenue required to initiate the program. Then one would have to consider if the programs would generate enough revenue to justify the initial commitment. I don't doubt Cockos would have already looked into this and made a decision based on their business plan.


I do not doubt for one moment that if Cockos made a real effort to improve the GUI, user interaction, default settings (come on guys, some of these are utterly horrible for general use, think about a new user coming to the software and how they would feel) and working on behaviour problems that make no sense to the average user - like the current area selection compared to other DAWs or the midi issues, they would generate a lot more business. Though I am also sure at some point the decisions made would suit their business plan and how they want to move forward with Reaper.
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Old 12-17-2011, 06:43 PM   #33
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Cockos doesn't spend trillions on advertising. That said, customers from every major DAW are abandoning their software for Reaper. That says a lot.
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Old 12-18-2011, 04:00 AM   #34
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Advertising $$$ is a huge reason, I suspect. Ad campaigns in SOS, Mix, EQ etc etc generate a lot of attention, and when you are beat over the head monthly with the same ads, same reviews of the same manufacturers, you get disconnected from other options.
This is our world!

As soon as Reaper spends more on advertising that updates I'm outta here!
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Old 12-18-2011, 04:31 AM   #35
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I love Reaper! I've been with Cubase and Sonar before. But for some strange reason, you never hear Reaper listed as suggested DAWs in other books, websites, etc. You ALWAYS hear about Cubase, Sonar, Logic, Pro Tools, Reason, and so on. Yet never Reaper. Sure, on this forum it is, but did you ever check out other recording forums? Some do, but it's like a minor reference.

Reaper has been around for a decade or so. Why the lack of acknowlegement?? Obviously, competitors won't do so but there are tons of audio recording books out there that never mention Reaper at all (by authors who aren't connected with any corporate system).

Is it because they are TOO cheap for the cost of such a great program? All the ones recommended by others are 10 times more expensive!! Sometimes, if you under-price the competition too much, people tend to think you have a basic, entry-level program with very few features. But I know this is not so with Reaper. It has them all beat in my opinion.

Everyone in life is out to make a profit. Isn't Reaper? I'm SO GLAD it's this reasonable, but how can they grow and continue to lose millions of dollars by not being in the ballpark with the others? What would they lose if they charged more? Nothing, because other lower-priced DAWs suck and people would know it; therefore, they would get the business anyway.

Then again, maybe soon down the road Reaper WILL charge $500 for a fully functional program if they figure this out. I HOPE NOT!! I love Reaper but you do have to wonder why they aren't acknowleged after all these years...

Mike
Mike, the proper question SHOULD be, why is Reaper treated with such reverence? It's only a few years old as a real app and yet it has a massive following. For example, Sound on Sound magazine has a regular tutorial article and frequent references to it by staff who use Reaper. There are numerous other older DAWs that have bigger backing but never get a look in.

Some of the well known apps you mention were around before PCs! They were MIDI sequencers; audio workstations in THOSE days cost the price of a row of houses! Hard disk drives were the size of washing machines and held less than freebie usb 'drives' do now.
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Old 12-18-2011, 06:41 AM   #36
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... why is Reaper treated with such reverence? It's only a few years old as a real app and yet it has a massive following.
Reaper is what it is because of Justin, its his baby.

Check this: Justin Frankel.


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Old 12-18-2011, 07:55 AM   #37
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Pro Tools is the Bose of DAWs

The product is far from stellar but the advertising made it a cultural status symbol brand. Plus PT locked so many in with huge hardware purchases and like others have said it's scary to switch. (Which is why most people stay with Windows. Having said that Windows 7 is nice.)

The only way Reaper goes mainstream is to take PT on - head on. Switch a couple big names, advertise that and offer to help some studios make the switch. Challenge them to take a test drive and help the first few mitigate their costs for advertising purposes.
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Old 12-18-2011, 08:08 AM   #38
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Reaper was created to get people to post on this forum. It's really that simple.
Shhhhhhhh


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Old 12-18-2011, 09:07 AM   #39
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What you never should forget: ProTools is the adult-daw, while reaper gets now his first pubic-hairs. But I am looking forward to version 5.
If the development rising like from version 2 to 4 it will become a damn hot DAW which kicks into PT and Cubendos (ond others) ass.
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Old 12-18-2011, 09:12 AM   #40
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Yup, never mentioned: http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/...d-today-489062
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