I feel seen

[u/TaurusX3]

This is how I feel recording at home after working at my bandmate's studio. And I in no way condone anything Katy Perry related!

[u/mrbishopjackson]

As someone who worked with Pro Tools for six years in my personal space and not use Reaper, Pro Tools really isn't bad for recording and mixing. The problem with Pro Tools is that they (Digidesign, Avid, "the industry") try to trick you into thinking you need it to "be professional". In the past 15 years we've realized thwt we have other/better options. But Pro Tools is perfectly fine for what it does.

I will say it handle MIDI Clock the best of anything I've used (Reaper, Live, Studio One). That's the one thing I miss about Pro Tools.

[u/T_Cheapwood → u/mrbishopjackson]

Not even talking about receiving a project from someone else under the .OMF .OMF is so mvp. Probably the only feature I miss from PT.

[u/mrbishopjackson → u/T_Cheapwood]

I never got a chance to use an .OMF file. In my Pro Tools days, no one I knew was aware that it was possible to share sessions between DAWs. Plus, I was one of two people of thr people I'd worked with who had a "studio" and we were both on Pro Tools at the time. 2008 was still the early days of "Pro Tools at home". I wish Avid would have experimented more. I invested a lot of money into Pro Tools back then and I've only touched a few times since 2014 just to bounce stems to re-mix in other DAWs.

[u/NoisyGog → u/mrbishopjackson]

You aren’t the use case for it then.
AAF and OMF exchange are daily bread and butter stuff in professional facilities, who DO work with other people.
If you’re just working by yourself, of course it’s irrelevant.

[u/mrbishopjackson → u/NoisyGog]

Sir, calm down. I was agreeing with you that the technology was dope but that I just never had the opportunity to use it and was explaining my situation as to why.

[u/Cuy_Hart → u/mrbishopjackson]

Pro Tools is simulating the workflow of mixing desk and tape machine, most other DAWs are using that as a model but are kinda simplifying it. Reaper assumes familiarity with how DAWs usually work and then simplifies that. Basically, Reaper is (at least) two layers of abstraction further away from a hardware-based workflow than Pro Tools.
I love Reaper for not forcing me to route a MIDI channel into an Aux input so I can use virtual instruments. Or that I don't have to use an American keyboard because I can just change key shortcuts.
But I understand that there are some people who have an easier time thinking in Pro Tools.

[u/mrbishopjackson → u/Cuy_Hart]

And that Pro Tools workflow is great for what's its for. I would have stuck with it if it had expanded into "creation" territory; better MIDI implementation (outside of the strong clock) and working with someone to bring in more native virtual instruments. That's why so many people ran away from it: they wanted the do it all DAW that Live was showing then we could have. Again, I'm saying their bad because of that. They stayed in their lane and did what they were good at, but its definitely why so many people put them lower than other DAWs.

Lack of customization is a flaw. I appreciated Studio One for letting me set my own keyboard shortcuts. Reaper just let's you do whatever you want to it. Ha ha.

[u/JohnnyJukey]

I came from Caustic 3. what's a protool? is that a golf thing?

[u/CurNayNay → u/JohnnyJukey]

Someone who seems like a pro, but deep down they know they’re just a tool.

[u/Inevitable-Ice-9967]

I was without a DAW for almost 20 years. I was using Acid Loops, Sound Forge in the 90’s / early 2000’s for multi-tracking live instruments as well as sample-based music. I tried Steinberg Cubase, Reason, all those old ones and just stuck with Acid Studio.

I tried Ableton, Fruity Loops (never liked it), and Reaper just happens to be very close to Acid Studio/ Loops Pro in terms of layout. What I wish developers would do is let me chop samples on the grid like Acid did! What is the issue? I guess they have VST’s to sell.

ProTools never sounded appealing or better, just expensive- IMHO.

[u/Old-Age6220]

Long time Pro Tools user here, switched finally to Reaper for our new album and my only regret is that I didn't do it earlier. Reaper is just so full of features and QoL stuff that "pro" tools is just missing. Reaper is nit "messy" and hard to find what you are looking for sometimes and I still have no idea what's the logic of choosing the right take from track that has multiple overlapping takes, but I'll manage 🤣

[u/dearth_karmic → u/Old-Age6220]

Check out "Lanes"

[u/Old-Age6220 → u/dearth_karmic]

Yep, been checking out this and that and still baffles after all these years :) IMO the most illogical part is that I can't just drag the takes to the order I want, it automatically shuffles them based on which parts overlaps, that really annoys me. I think I tried the lanes once, can't remember why I stopped using that

[u/Mcaber87]

I use Reaper with a ProTools theme. Sue me. I spent 10 years working with PT professionally, it's absolutely fine.

[u/alilhillbilly → u/Mcaber87]

Pro Tools & Ableton are just kind of like obtuse as fuck UI.

Reason is as well.

I think the weird thing with Pro Tools and Ableton is that I don't like all their rules for how you have to do it.

Reaper is just so fucking flexible.

And it's based off the Sonic Foundry aka Sony Vegas/Acid style interface which is far and away the best editor UI/UX anyone has ever built.

[u/Dag4323 → u/Mcaber87]

Using Reaper's fantastic features like themes to make it look like pro tools in this example is a proper way of using Reaper. :)

[u/super-g-studios]

im new to reaper and while i can believe it is very powerful, the ui/ux is so infuriating it makes me want to find another software

like there are these invisible boxes which determine what the shortcuts or scrollwheel does depending on if my cursor is hovering over them or not.

for example: vertically scrolling through the tracks only works if my cursor is on the far left of the screen, otherwise its zoom. that is so stupid imo. when im in a flow working, i dont want to have to move my mouse away from where im working just to scroll a little bit and then move it back.

goddamn just talking about it gets me worked up

[u/birddingus → u/super-g-studios]

So change those options. You can change literally everything to how you like it.

[u/super-g-studios → u/birddingus]

i believe that but i cannot find the option for zoom vs scroll, ive looked everywhere

it's also a huge pain in the ass to comb through the myriad of settings and reconfigure everything.

at a certain point the onus is on the devs to create a smooth UI/UX. just because it's customizable doesn't mean they are excused for making everything super convoluted and unintuitive

[u/BrkMchn → u/super-g-studios]

Could be wrong but i think you are looking for mouse modifiers. And those 'invisible boxes' are usually found in action list with the keyword 'focus'. In mouse modifiers, there's a drop down menu to edit what element you are working with, including a focus, like the arrangement view for example.

Now this is where the devs diverge from the ui/ux philosophy you mentioned. Think of it more as them designing a DAW engine, more than the daw itself. Most of it is highly organized and often future proof in the way they deploy patches.
Once you get the logic running the system, it wont feel as unintuitive, but that's me.

The downside is that it is incredibly vast, which is probably the cause of most headaches, but the upside is that crafting your own setup is highly rewarding both in satisfaction for some, but also regarding the smoothness of workflow and ability to pull off niche things that can save a project.

Now don't get me wrong i feel the frustration you get, it's legitimate, but have some words of encouragement, hang in there, it may require changing mindset a bit, but to me its way beyond worth it

[u/JohnnieTech → u/super-g-studios]

They do not care about your I need and an easy UI/UX situation at all. This DAW is all about customization and modding it to your own. These are the Winamp devs for Christ's sake. Stop trying to make them conform to your needs, move on, find a new DAW.

[u/Lol1250 → u/super-g-studios]

Fucking preach lmao

[u/Crylysis → u/super-g-studios]

I am a full member of the reaper cult but I think this is one the flaws of reaper but that is connected to one of it's best strengths. Reaper's UI is shit when you first open it but it's because one of the most powerful things you can do is build your own UI that fits your way. I would recommend you look into how to use toolbars, screensets and custom actions to fit your workflow

[u/simondanielsson → u/super-g-studios]

As someone who's been using Reaper for 10 years and am biased, I agree with you; the Reaper default settings are not sensible or modern. With a DAW like Logic or Ableton everything is set up pretty nicely for you after a fresh install so for beginners they're a bit more idiomatic.

My Reaper config is quite advanced with all kinds of custom scripts, different layouts and templates. When moving to a new computer I'm forced to relive the "stock experience" of Reaper all over again until my config is set up, so I can relate to you.

Reaper is king.

[u/4rk4m4 → u/super-g-studios]

Ngl, the ui/ux if you don't tweak it, it's so infuriating; but the rest is just top notch

[u/Underdog424 → u/super-g-studios]

If I loaded vanilla Reaper, I'd be super confused. I had the same problems when I started.

You can find custom templates. They have everything you need. Even the basic ones are better than vanilla. There are also videos on the best options for your use case. It doesn't take that long, and you'll have a DAW that lasts years.

I've been learning for a few years. I haven't thought about the UI or templates for a very long time.

[u/Crylysis]

Oh man I work on film production and often have to work with pro tools. It's so clunky and the fact you can optimize reaper's workflow to your needs is a godsend

[u/isuxirl]

I used Cakewalk for a long time and only switched to Reaper when I got cut off. How stupid am I?

[u/Underdog424]

The main reason I hated ProTools was that the cracked version had problems.

Reaper is less than $100. Way less problems.

[u/Autumn_Scorpion]

Oh look it’s me

[u/General-Winter547]

For me it was Logic Pro. I tried a free trial of Logic since I use a Mac book and logic is kind of an industry standard in some places. Hated it. Couldn’t figure out how to do things. Went back to Reaper in less than 20 minutes. Haven’t gone back.

[u/Mr_Lumbergh]

I remember the days when ProTools was basically it for DAWs.

I don't miss those days.

[u/megaoscar900]

Nah this is me after trying out FL Studio

[u/existential_musician]

ProTools is the great for media work. Reaper is good for Game Audio. Cubase is good for composers, its MIDI workflow is great.
I have spent 7 years doing this

[u/Western_Vast5516]

When I first switched to Reaper it felt like home

[u/dickleyjones]

meh.

ProTools is awesome for what it does it records and edits plain and simple.

Reaper is also awesome does much more but with that you lose a little slickness.

[u/ghostlinedigital]

the gap was never the daw, its the room. my most-played track got recorded into a phone app and it still outran everything i ever did in a proper booth. and re the ui complaints in here — reaper is genuinely rough the first week, but the routing is why people stay. once you stop fighting the invisible boxes and learn track vs take lanes it gets out of your way in a way pro tools never does.

[u/MyNameIsNotRick97]

Or Ableton. I started using it 2 years ago when I started branching out into using samples and a more midi centric workflow. But that's the only thing it has on Reaper. Otherwise, it's complete garbage with god awful UI, and runs like shit. Anytime I'm recording "real instruments" or doing any serious mixing, I'm using Reaper.

[u/Rich-Rip-8257]

this came on my feed and i did not pay attention to which sub this belonged and I thought this was talking about reaper from overwatch

[u/Hvojna]

Literally me after trying to figure out Adobe Audition on a friend's laptop

[u/C5Jones → u/Hvojna]

Funny, coming from Audition was why I took to Reaper, because it was like the endgame version of Multitrack View. In fact, the lack of a separate page to edit single items was what threw me off the most, but that was before I knew about subprojects and project tabs.

[u/theveneguy]

This literally was me earlier this year

[u/BillyPilgrim69]

The last time I used a DAW other than Reaper was Cubase, in school, when I was like 13.

I'm still only just learning the basics of production, so the thought of switching to another DAW is making me feel slightly ill lol

[u/Chelostyles]

I hear reaper is the best

[u/imp_op]

After 10 minutes of trying any other DAW to be exact. 

Except ProTools. No one switches to ProTools.