NOTE: WHILE REAPER CAN BE EVALUATED WITH FULL FEATURES AND NO EXPIRATION, YOU ARE OBLIGED TO PURCHASE A COPY. THE OLDER VERSIONS APPEAR TO BE AVAILABLE FOR FREE.
Features:
- Portable - supports running from USB keys or other removable media
- 64 bit audio engine
- Excellent low-latency performance
- Stunning multiprocessor performance
- Direct multi-track recording to many formats including WAV/BWF/W64, AIFF, WavPack, FLAC, OGG, and MIDI.
- Extremely flexible routing
- Supports a wide range of hardware (nearly any audio interface, outboard hardware, many control surfaces)
- Support for VST, VSTi, DX, DXi effects
- ReaPlugs: high quality 64 bit effect suite
- Tightly coded - installer is just over 3MB
- and more...
- Editing features
- Tool-less mouse interface -- spend less time clicking
- Drag and drop files to instantly import them into a project
- Support for mixing any combination of file type/samplerate/bit depth on each track
- Easily split, move, and resize items
- Each item has easily manipulated fades and volume
- Tab to transient support
- Configurable and editable automatic crossfading of overlapping items
- Per-item pitch shift and time stretch
- Arbitrary item grouping
- Markers and envelopes can be moved in logical sync with editing operations
- Ripple editing - moving/deletion of items can optionally affect later items
- Multiple tempos and time signatures per project
- Ability to define and edit project via regions
- Automation envelopes
I have been using reaper for a few months, payed $60 australian dollars for my 'non commercial' licence.
In my humble opinion it is the best VSTi and VST FX host around. I have used herman seibs VST host, and still like it as a patch editor/librarian.
The audio routing is phenomenal coming as I did from various versions of logic, much more flexible. REAPER also gives you complete control of the rendering process which I don't believe any other application does.
On the helpful forum there have often been criticisms of the midi editing capabilities, and Feature Requests for various things found in cubase, logic or sonar. Coming from logic was a shock as I made heavy use of all the logic editors, and now had only piano roll or event edit. The major midi playing card that REAPER gives you is VST and JS midi FX, this is gives you the power to make limitless non-destructive editing in real time, which is very much the philosophy of REAPER.
I have been using REAPER for more than 8 builds now, and I will stay as long as the program remains healthy.
