Cockos Customer Support

[ivansc]

(grin) YA THINK????!!!???

I just hope these knobheads enjoy reading the stuff they stir up - right up to the point where they realise we were onto them right from the start.

Me? I quite ejoy trolls up to a point. Only if they get really persistent that it gets boring.

[ivansc]

Originally Posted by G-Sun

Come on.
Not everyone checks their forum-posts every day

Ah, sweet innocence of youth.

Or maybe the majority of us are just cynical old basstids....

[strachupl]

The Legend is telling that there is so much spam here that OP is still reading it 😁

[EvilDragon]

Originally Posted by ivansc

Or maybe the majority of us are just cynical old basstids....

This.

Just because somebody doesn't reply in the following 24 hours doesn't make him a troll.

[Dr Bob]

Of course not - he has to spend some time crawling out from under the bridge first :-)

[gofer]

I don't like this witch-hunt behavior at all. If anyone in this thread tried to stir something up it wasn't the OP as far as I can see. Even if he never gets back here (which I would totally understand now that he's been branded troll), all I see in the opening post is a valid question posed in a friendly tone.

Reminds me of another DAW forum I used to roam where it turned out to be a fashion to flock together and call out people with low post count at the slightest occasion. I hated that behavior. Told them who are the actual trolls in my humble opinion and left the building for good.

[ivansc]

gofer - I thought people were reacting to cutnpaste rather than the OP, whose initial post seemed perfectly OK to me.

But I suppose you are right assuming you choose to interpret the blather as a witch hunt, as you put it, rather than a little gentle leg-pulling which was the impression I got.
But there ya go - you of course have a right to interpret this stuff any way you like and react accordingly.

Does this mean you will be leaving us?

[Eliot Mayer]

Thanks to everyone who responded to me about Reaper support.

I haven't read them all yet, but in response to the "lolilol1975" comment, "The guy hasn't responded so far. Methink we're having a troll here.", I am a real person. My name is Eliot Mayer and I live in Belmont, MA, USA. I hope that if you look at my photo on my web page www.w1mj.com, or my folk-rock garage band page www.chameleons.org, you won't think I'm a troll.

I didn't respond earlier because I am 62 years old, still work full time, and don't have much energy for my music hobby during the work week. So I didn't get back to this forum until today (Saturday).

I will read through the comments, watch some of the suggested videos, and post a more specific question about punch recording if I still have to.

Last comment: One response said that sellers of $60 products can't afford to provide direct customer support. I have found otherwise. I haven't recorded for a while, but at one point I emailed Cakewalk a question about their "cheap DAW", Music Creator ($35), and they responded. Also got responses on the $17 Power Mixer.

[DrKev]

Welcome to the forum Mr Mayer.

I though it was originally responding to Cutnpaste too, who unfairly slammed the forum and members. The OP is clearly not trolling asking a legit question, though some seem to have missed that in the sidetrack on old folks internet habits back in the goodle days, which it must be said doesn't give the best impression.

[martifingers]

Welcome Mr Mayer. I, for one, hope you stay with the Reaper community. And not just cos I like folk-rock too!

[Dr Bob]

Welcome Eliot - I'm much older - was replying (tongue in cheek) to cutnpaste!

This forum is great - most questions DO get answered by people who know. If there is a problem that doesn't seem to be resolved, then the devs do come in. They also monitor the threads too - don't how they do that really, but they do jump in when you least expect it.

As has been pointed out, the training videos, most free, are great. Also, lots of youtube vids about reaper too - many very good and often address an issue or technique.

Just ask, and you will get an answer. Of course, like all open forums, we do get a fair number of "trolls" - so glad to see you're not one of them :-)

dB

[Glennbo]

Originally Posted by Eliot Mayer

Last comment: One response said that sellers of $60 products can't afford to provide direct customer support. I have found otherwise. I haven't recorded for a while, but at one point I emailed Cakewalk a question about their "cheap DAW", Music Creator ($35), and they responded. Also got responses on the $17 Power Mixer.

I only see one post that mentions a $60 price point, and that was my post in response to someone dissing the combined knowledge of the folks in this forum.

I was also comparing apples to apples in that the functionality of the $60 price tag of Reaper with the $500 price of Cake's most similarly capable software.

I ran Cakewalk when Greg Hendershot was still writing the code, and later when it became Sonar, and even called on the phone once and got to talk to someone in tech support. That was then, but this is now, and those days are over. I have friends on the inside and heard they are farming out tech support to paid users, which is no better (actually less better) than getting help in their forum. There was a thread just a couple weeks ago asking if their tech support even exists at all any more, and the official answer was "paraphrasing" not so much.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/Does-Cakew...-m3675530.aspx

[Susan G]

Hi-

I have no complaints at all with how Cockos handles REAPER support. Like Glenn, I started using Cakewalk in the early DOS days of Greg Hendershott and IIRC, I might have contacted them once or twice via email for support and again, IIRC, I got a quick response. In the early days of SONAR, I might have called them once. Fine, but my experience with submitting support tickets and waiting for a response from SONAR over the last several years was frustrating, to say the least.

Whenever I've had a problem with REAPER or even a non-REAPER-related issue, the members of this forum have always stepped up and tried their best to help, more often than not with excellent results.

The developers have also stepped in to help me several times, not just generally, but by specifically requesting files from me that exhibit the problem I'm experiencing. In each case, they resolved the problem.

I've also had pretty much the opposite TS experience where the staff is I'm sure doing their best, but basically reading off a script when they clearly haven't read about my problem. THAT is what I call a frustrating TS experience.

-Susan

[lolilol1975]

Originally Posted by Eliot Mayer

Thanks to everyone who responded to me about Reaper support.

I haven't read them all yet, but in response to the "lolilol1975" comment, "The guy hasn't responded so far. Methink we're having a troll here.", I am a real person. My name is Eliot Mayer and I live in Belmont, MA, USA. I hope that if you look at my photo on my web page www.w1mj.com, or my folk-rock garage band page www.chameleons.org, you won't think I'm a troll.

I didn't respond earlier because I am 62 years old, still work full time, and don't have much energy for my music hobby during the work week. So I didn't get back to this forum until today (Saturday).

I will read through the comments, watch some of the suggested videos, and post a more specific question about punch recording if I still have to.

Last comment: One response said that sellers of $60 products can't afford to provide direct customer support. I have found otherwise. I haven't recorded for a while, but at one point I emailed Cakewalk a question about their "cheap DAW", Music Creator ($35), and they responded. Also got responses on the $17 Power Mixer.

Alright, let me apologize for this. We have regular cases of trolling and they sometimes come in series, so we tend to be somewhat paranoid after a while. Anyway, my comment was uncalled for.

As for your last comment: Cakewalk is a somewhat larger company compared to Cockos (although probably not a big company by any means) and they have several products so they have a support for their range of products. Music Creator is only the smallest of them.

[ivansc]

Not sure if we were the first, but as a former member of the 1973-1977 band Chameleon, WELCOME! (grin)

Funnily enough I too was a Sonar user - still have a fairly current version of Sonar Pro on my machine but it doesnt get used much apart from on old projects.
If you check out Cakewalks history & current ownership you will see that they have been part of a significantly larger company than Cocks (2 guys) for a log time, plus the majority of their customers aren't using the $35 intro program, I suspect.

Hopefully you will get used to the somewhat idiosyncratic way Cockos do stuff and DO check out those free videos.
Kenny Gioia in particular does incredible work & is active on the forum when he isn't too busy in the studio.

[Dr Bob]

HEHE - the band I worked with in 1972-1974 was also called Chameleon, singular, here in the UK! We were a progrock band in the style of the Canterbury sound of Caravan and the like - we played support to Caravan on two occasions.

Just popped an old cassette recording of a "practice" session on SC - warts 'n' all! It's a few minutes of a 10 minute long track, which also featured vocals, drum and organ solos.

For those of you who dare, here is the track!

https://soundcloud.com/doctorbob/notalgia

dB

[ivansc]

That was why I specified the years were were operating! LOTS of chameleon bands around in that era...

We were a quartet - 3 Brits and a Canadian eventually, playing country rock & making fairly decent headway till the advent of punk. Used to do the old Hope & Anchor Greyhound Nashville Rooms Camden Lock circuit and the occasional college tour. We were with Albion Management, who were a couple of nice guys.
Often wonder what happened to them.

[Dr Bob]

We were around York, UK. 5 guys, drum, bass, guitar, organ and vocalist - and me doing sound, electronics etc.

Were about to be signed up, things were arranged, but we decided to go our own ways (too risky a business we thought, even though we would have loved to do it) - 3 undergrads and 2 postgrads at the time.

Drummer and bassist continued to work around London as a session duo - did quite well I believe.

dB

[Time Waster]

Originally Posted by Eliot Mayer

I will read through the comments, watch some of the suggested videos, and post a more specific question about punch recording if I still have to.

Hi Eliot Mayer, post the question anyway and let's test this out!

[Alleyoop]

Originally Posted by Kenny Gioia

You old!!!

And so am I for knowing what the heck you're talking about.

I'd be very surprised if either of you are older than me, but unless it means something like what my wife sometimes says to me,(you're full of it!), then I don't know what you're talking about.
Kenny Gioia there are many nights when I've watched more of your tutorial videos than I had intended to,and I think to myself, 'man, that guy is brilliant, I would love to shake his hand', so consider this a handshake!
I believe this is on topic because, as a newbie, I can tell any other newbie that you could do a lot worse than immerse yourself in Kenny's tutorials. I purchased a Groove3 package on special which included 'Mixing In Reel Time'. It's really looooooong and early in the piece I wondered whether it was in my interests to see it through, but I'm so glad I persevered, there are some excellent tips along the way, and a few times I've been back to review segments I'd already watched earlier. I've watched other YouTube tutorials as well of course and these have definitely greatly accelerated my knowledge of Reaper.
Still on topic, this thread has thrown up some useful information too, thanks guys.
Persevere Elliott.

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by Eliot Mayer

I will read through the comments, watch some of the suggested videos, and post a more specific question about punch recording if I still have to.

It's your call of course but please understand that if you feel the instructions in the User Guide are wrong I really do need some details from you if I'm to be able to fix it. Cheers!

[morgon]

Originally Posted by ivansc

(grin) YA THINK????!!!???

I just hope these knobheads enjoy reading the stuff they stir up - right up to the point where they realise we were onto them right from the start.

Me? I quite ejoy trolls up to a point. Only if they get really persistent that it gets boring.

Originally Posted by ivansc

Ah, sweet innocence of youth.

Or maybe the majority of us are just cynical old basstids....

Yep, and as a long time Reaper forum identity once advised me in a PM "put a leash on it"

[ivansc]

Did they mean the bass player with the grateful dead?

I seem to recall he was pretty cool back in the day....

[ivansc]

Originally Posted by Alleyoop

I'd be very surprised if either of you are older than me
Persevere Elliott.

Born on 6th June 1944. Right in time for the beginning of the end of the 1939-1945 war.

[Archimedes]

Originally Posted by ivansc

Born on 6th June 1944. Right in time for the beginning of the end of the 1939-1945 war.

Yup. That's old.

[Alleyoop]

Originally Posted by ivansc

Born on 6th June 1944. Right in time for the beginning of the end of the 1939-1945 war.

OK,I concede, 1949 .

[Dr Bob]

Me too ... just 1950 ... still rationing though and my dad didn't see me until I was 2 yrs old - clearing the Suez canal etc, Suez Crisis and then the Greek earthquake relief -

He was on HMS Enteprise (Lt. Comm) and got a DSC for on "engagement" ... my wife's a trek fan, so it all makes sense.

dB

[Geoff Waddington]

Ok, I'll, go for the trifecta (tricast) 1951.

[Archimedes]

1955

Same year they opened Disneyland, and grew up a couple of miles away.

Guess I'm not that old afterall, compared to y'all.

[ivansc]

But all us wartime babies got to experience the sheer unadulterated delight of the end of sweet rationing!

I was pretty lucky though - my uncle Vic was in the navy and a serious body builder, so he used to save up HIS sweet ration and give it to me and his son Roger when he got shore leave - Roger and his mum were living with us at the time.

Haven't seen him since they all moved to New Zealand donkeys years ago but many fond memories of the early 50s with him.

[peter5992]

Originally Posted by Eliot Mayer

Thanks to everyone who responded to me about Reaper support.

I haven't read them all yet, but in response to the "lolilol1975" comment, "The guy hasn't responded so far. Methink we're having a troll here.", I am a real person. My name is Eliot Mayer and I live in Belmont, MA, USA. I hope that if you look at my photo on my web page www.w1mj.com, or my folk-rock garage band page www.chameleons.org, you won't think I'm a troll.

I didn't respond earlier because I am 62 years old, still work full time, and don't have much energy for my music hobby during the work week. So I didn't get back to this forum until today (Saturday).

I will read through the comments, watch some of the suggested videos, and post a more specific question about punch recording if I still have to.

Last comment: One response said that sellers of $60 products can't afford to provide direct customer support. I have found otherwise. I haven't recorded for a while, but at one point I emailed Cakewalk a question about their "cheap DAW", Music Creator ($35), and they responded. Also got responses on the $17 Power Mixer.

Hi Eliot:

Welcome to Reaper. There's no official customer support (than for licensing issues), but if you post here or in the "how to" subforum you'll get a response within the hour.

Despite the somewhat snarky comments from some people the community is really very helpful with anything from punch recording to orchestral templates to live recording to set up for houses of workshop, which hardware does or doesn't work (most everything does), recommendations for monitors, and so on.

Aside from pricing issues, the user base is just too great to offer customer support - there are hundreds of thousands of people using it (wild guess), and the development team is less than 6 people in total. They'd drown in the support requests. It's just the way it is.

(Actually, way back when, there was support for commercial license users, but that's long abandoned).

[Philbo King]

Then there is this recent news from Cakewalk regarding future support. It appears cakewalk is no more.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/m/tm.aspx?m=3687511

[G-Sun]

Eliot,
as you can see, the Reaper forum often gives you more support than you can handle,
and then some noise

[Geoff Waddington]

Originally Posted by G-Sun

Eliot,
as you can see, the Reaper forum often gives you more support than you can handle,
and then some noise

Amen to that !!

And welcome Eliot, ask away !!

[Paul99]

Dzjee, what a bunch of "oldies" here! And I thought I was old...only 62 which makes me a youngster here.....

[Mavriq]

I'm I old now? I see a bunch of you responding about cakewalk "back in the day" and now I feel old. :P

I too used it in the "early days". I quit for a few years then got back into it when Sonar was just appearing. I remember how poorly it worked. Crashed every time you blinked. Support blamed it on midi port/computer/software etc. Gave up and never did end up using Sonar.

Sad really. Used to be such a great product and cutting edge.

As for Reaper support, I find the forums great and questions get answered correctly and quickly. In addition many questions have "several answers". If you call other DAW's tech support you'll only get one answered. Here you get several ways to do the same thing. You pick which works with your workflow the best.

And for learning, by far Kenny's tut's are the best resource compared to ANY DAW out there. Period. Nothing is even close, at least for free. And he keeps adding.

[pipelineaudio]

And for you new guys around here, if you ever bristled at the tagline "REAPER - The official DAW of the AARP"....well now you know

But its a badge of honor!

[Judders]

Originally Posted by lolilol1975

The guy hasn't responded so far. Methink we're having a troll here. Just like with the "reaper audio engine" thread.

I think some people need their troll detector recalibrated, they're a bit oversensitive

I think the audio engine guy was too embarrassed to come back, or their teacher managed to weasel out of being so wrong.

[zappazapper]

FWIW, I'm a complete idiot who routinely asks annoying, inane questions that I could have easily found answers for by doing a brief search, and sometimes I have a really bad attitude when I do it...

...and this forum has always come through for me...

this is better than any paid tech support department because everybody here either uses the program or is trying to figure out how to use the program... and yes, sometimes you'll get multiple different and completely unrelated answers to the same question, but i consider that an advantage, because (apparently) there's more than one way to skin a cat, and maybe some 18 year old REAPER fanboy has figured out a better way to skin those cats than some guy who had the best resume... or maybe you'll just find the way that's better for how you work...

i consider this forum to be symbiotic to the REAPER program itself... when i open REAPER, I open a browser page with the forum directory ready to go on my second screen, because i know i'll be here multiple times before i'm done, because REAPER is so powerful and there's no way to know it all... everybody on here is a sort of mini-expert on something, and no matter how small or large your problem is, you'll get an answer, even if that answer is that you're nuts...

[ivansc]

Pipe - and the next question is, of course, "How many of you young whipper snappers are still gigging/recording seriously?"

I know you and I are....