michael diemer
I like Reaper, I've been using it for the past year and a half, doing symphonic stuff (yeah it can do that). Then I remembered I had Studio 8.5, so I reinstalled it (my Producer 8.5 didn't work right for some reason). So now I'm able to compare the two. My workflow is definitely faster in Sonar.
 
What I miss the most is, being able to click on icons for the various views, and they come up as whole page views. So much easier than the docking views in Reaper. (Although it wouldn't surprise me if you could make Reaper do that, as it's infinitely customizable. But not everyone is good at that).

I bet you could do a quick set of custom actions bound to buttons and/or context menus to handle that.

BobF

michael diemer
I like Reaper, I've been using it for the past year and a half, doing symphonic stuff (yeah it can do that). Then I remembered I had Studio 8.5, so I reinstalled it (my Producer 8.5 didn't work right for some reason). So now I'm able to compare the two. My workflow is definitely faster in Sonar.
 
What I miss the most is, being able to click on icons for the various views, and they come up as whole page views. So much easier than the docking views in Reaper. (Although it wouldn't surprise me if you could make Reaper do that, as it's infinitely customizable. But not everyone is good at that).

I bet you could do a quick set of custom actions bound to buttons and/or context menus to handle that.

You can setup screensets in REAPER too, although I've never used them. Looks like <Ctrl+E> brings up a panel where you can set or select a screenset.  The thing that keeps me using REAPER, and NOT going back to Sonar is being able to run my projects start to finish at 64 samples latency, even with more than 100 plugins. I've tracked guitar through Guitar Rig on 26 track projects with 100 FX at the *very end* of the project, and REAPER is still running low enough latency to play through Guitar Rig that late in the game. No silly increasing buffers or latency at the end of the project so it won't crap out and have pops, clicks, or complete stalls.

A dedicated smart tool would be nice. I know you can do a lot of customizing and set up tool bars to kind of get around it. But something simple like the mute/erase tool in SONAR would help a lot. I've done some basic mixes and projects with REAPER while learning it at the same time and it's good to know ARA is coming. But I really would like a smart tool....even Pro Tools has that.
 
 

Metaclass
I switched to RReaper. You know, Its alsoms thw ONLY Daew that can do what SONAR did : to record over the same track, with previous recorded audio, an dbe able to also listen to ausio previous recorded, same time you do now recording as a "dubbing/ overlay". I was very surprised to find that onsly Reaper had this feature. And thats something I would NEVER compromize. I  a MUSt feature for me as a singer , guitarist :) and its developpend and driven by enthusiasts, Not Big Buck industry - overrated "thieves" ;)

Can someone confirm this? He is referring to Sound on Sound recording mode in Sonar. For me, it's the only thing missing in Studio One.

Thanks for the tips, Bob, and user formerly known as Glenn. I'll keep them in mind.

Marshall

Metaclass
I switched to RReaper. You know, Its alsoms thw ONLY Daew that can do what SONAR did : to record over the same track, with previous recorded audio, an dbe able to also listen to ausio previous recorded, same time you do now recording as a "dubbing/ overlay". I was very surprised to find that onsly Reaper had this feature. And thats something I would NEVER compromize. I  a MUSt feature for me as a singer , guitarist :) and its developpend and driven by enthusiasts, Not Big Buck industry - overrated "thieves" ;)

Can someone confirm this? He is referring to Sound on Sound recording mode in Sonar. For me, it's the only thing missing in Studio One.

You can record "sound-on-sound" with both audio and MIDI in REAPER. It's the default behavior I have setup in my startup template. If I record a track with Superior Drummer 2 from my keyboard, I can then record again on the same track and add more drum parts, hearing both as I lay down the new.
 
If you have take looping happening though, with both audio or MIDI, you only hear the current part you are laying down, because you want to hear the current take, and not 10 previous ones while using the take system.  I don't really use takes myself, but I do frequently lay multiple MIDI or audio parts down on the same track, and they will all play, but be individual clips that can each be modified in a lot of different ways if you want.
 
For instance, if you laid a MIDI drum part down that was straight hihat, you could quantize it, but not quantize the next clip which might be kick and snare. Same way with audio clips, except you might be putting an effect on one clip that will not be present on any of the other audio clips on the same track. I use that a lot for adding a special effect that I want to be isolated to one item out of many that are all on one track.

What is really missing in Reaper is "Turning it on for the first time and knowing how to use it".
 
Most DAWs are more intuitive but once you dig into Reaper you will find, what I believe, is the most powerful DAW in the market.  But it takes a certain type of person to dig Reaper.
 
Let me put it this way:
 
Reaper is to most DAWs
as
PC Gaming is to XBox, Playstation, Switch, etc.
 
Obviously there is a big market for those gaming consoles - just turn 'em on, plug in your cartridge, and you are ready to go.  But PC gamers are enthusiasts who run systems that are much more complicated that outperform the consoles.
 
I see many comments on the other threads that Reaper cannot do this or that, but in fact those folks have not figured out how to make Reaper do what they want.   You can create custom actions/interfaces that will let you create a workflow that no other DAW can supply.  But you have to be an enthusiast, you have to enjoy creating something that is going to be unique to your needs.  And that is the beauty and power of Reaper.

But you have to be an enthusiast, you have to enjoy creating something that is going to be unique to your needs.  And that is the beauty and power of Reaper.

 
As someone who is "just getting aquainted with" Reaper - that sounds exatly right.
It's kind of like linux in that you know it can probably do what you want it to - you just have to figure out *how*
 
I'm not afraid to tweak, and mess around - but hopefully, after I get it set up (just the way I like it) I can just "forget it" and worry about recording guitar parts etc
 

jbraner

But you have to be an enthusiast, you have to enjoy creating something that is going to be unique to your needs.  And that is the beauty and power of Reaper.

 
As someone who is "just getting aquainted with" Reaper - that sounds exatly right.
It's kind of like linux in that you know it can probably do what you want it to - you just have to figure out *how*
 
I'm not afraid to tweak, and mess around - but hopefully, after I get it set up (just the way I like it) I can just "forget it" and worry about recording guitar parts etc
 

Don't be shy about asking questions on REAPER's forum. I did when I first started using it. One of the first things I remember asking was "how can I record on the same track and not kill what was previously recorded". I write and record at the same time, so I'll work up a bit on bass or guitar, and record it, not knowing what comes next. Then I like to punch into record on the same track, but a measure or two before the spot where the new part will go, so that when the transition happens, it sounds natural like I played through the section, rather than punched in dead on the money where that section begins. In essence, I record overlapping clips on the same track and the default behavior was to overwrite, which I didn't want, so I asked on the forum and instantly got the answer I needed to make it work like I was used to working in Sonar. My default startup template is setup so that both audio and MIDI can be recorded with overlapping clips, which I still need today.

Oh, I've been asking away!
 
I've been playing around finding a theme that I like, and tweaking it a little, and then playing with layouts and screensets - to get a comfortable environment.
It doesn't have to be like SONAR - but I'm just trying to get to know where everything is.
 
I've got a sore head, so I'm ready to go back to SONAR for a little while and just play music.
 
Then I'll come back to Reaper, and work on it a little more.