http://www.reaper.fm/download.php

I have Sonar X1/X2.  I have Ableton 8/9 and Reason 7.
 
Don't need no mo' stinkin DAWs.
 
TOOO MUCH TO LEARN!!!!!!!!!!
 
Reaper looks nice though and the list of bug fixes is quite nice.

I'm currently using 6 DAW's....

Always good to know what the other guys have and how to use it...
never know when you may be called upon to do something with it...

Reaper is my 2nd DAW.. although I don't use it much, compared to X2, I bought it just for one feature. It can rewire to both 32 / 64 bits apps. I used it to rewire to Vocoloids (32bits) successfully.

Since I own 4, I'll pick this up.
 
Still not 100% sold on Reaper. #1 Fav feature.... tracks/buses are one in the same.

Looks like they finally worked on the midi editor...
"support for 14-bit CC messages in piano roll and event list"
that is a nice add-on

Just FYI....Reaper 4.51 has already hit...

http://www.reaper.fm/download.php

Hmmm... tempted to give Reaper another try, but I'm kinda like MachineClaw, I don't need it and I don't know if I'm up for learning another DAW.  But then again maybe Cakewalk has kept me in long enough because I'm too lazy to learn a new way of doing things.

for $60 for a license it's got a lot of features and gets updated regularly.  Good starter DAW.  I didn't mean to knock it.

Machine,
 
Maybe more than a starter DAW.
 
I use two softwares to get work done, Sonar and Reaper. Regressed back to Sonar 8.5.3.
 
There are midi functions that are superior in Sonar and functions like notation that Reaper does not have. Everyone here knows how to fire up Sonar, but not necessarily aware of what Reaper offers that Sonar cannot.
 
I'm not a fanboy of either, just a hobby guy objectively looking at the features needed in my workflow, and my setup means **** to a tree to the next guy, so mileage may vary...
 
The Reaper advantage kicks in for keyboard players.
 
Greatest respect for the developers and forum warriors for each DAW. Some severely bright souls carrying on the battle in both realms.
 
My objective and isolated opinion...  Reaper is a bit more stable against crashes but not immune. Also, gone are the days when the dev would personally dive into your feature request and fix things for you. Had to happen as a few cultists turn into a flood of users.
Reaper is progressing rapidly, but the devs march to their own drummer. Irritating and deep bugs are there for years without fix or acknowlegement. In some ways no better than here.
 
For the keyboardist, the ability to chain synths and route the midi flow is way beyond Sonar. We've asked for this for years in Sonar, falling on deaf ears.
 
The structure of vst/vsti browser banks is refreshing and way advanced over Sonar, as well as no limitation on the number of plugs used by those of us functioning in excess.
 
Learning curve is steep, but worth the time to comprehend what the program is doing.
 
$60 is cheap for a license and masks the fact that this level of functionality cannot be gotten elsewhere for any price. Still looking, but for me, the combination of Sonar and Reaper cover it all.
 
The Reaper guys are on the same moral hi ground as Sonar, not punishing their users with dongles and other activation ****. Takes a couple minutes to download the Reaper DAW and (with a bit of struggle) personally evluate what the hype is about. Keyboard players will not be let down.
 
http://www.reaper.fm/
 
Blessings on the devs and forum members for both killer DAW's.
 
John