Released in 2006, the first version of Reaper was the ugly duckling of DAWs. MIDI functions were best described as basic, there was no audio editor, and it had a rather poor interface aesthetic.

Subsequent versions have seen improvements on all fronts, and while there’s still no built-in audio editor, pretty much every other aspect has improved enormously. So, before we look at the new features and enhancements, let’s run over the basics for those who new to the software.

Overview

Essentially, Reaper works along much the same lines as Cubase, Logic, etc, in that it uses a horizontal track-based approach to audio and MIDI sequencing. The software has a single main screen that includes the track view at the top, with an area at the bottom where the mixer and various other windows, such as the routing matrix and performance meter, can be docked.

The track window also has its own slightly simplified version of the mixer and, here, buses can be set up using a track nesting system. All other graphical elements – such as track routing windows, plug-in interfaces, and so on – are displayed in separate floating windows.

So far, so ordinary, but Reaper has plenty of attributes that make it worth considering over more established offerings. For starters, it’s got a very light system footprint – the installers for each format are only a few megabytes, and the software can even run from a USB stick. And unlike most similar programs, Reaper loads incredibly quickly, so in just a few seconds you can go from the desktop to recording.

Another advantage of the software is its flexibility. Reaper has sophisticated audio and MIDI routing capabilities, plus its tracks can don’t have to be assigned as either audio or MIDI – a single track type handles both, making it easy to set up audio effects that output or receive MIDI data, sidechain routing and so on.

As the small installer size indicates, you don’t exactly get a huge library of sounds to work with – the included instruments, aside from the useful but basic ReaSamplomatic 5000, are simplistic at best.

The program does come with some decent effects in the form of the ReaPlugs FX suite, though, including delights like a sidechainable compressor and gate; multiband compression and EQ, each with as many bands as you like; an unlimited tap delay; and an FFT-based dynamics processor. These effects might not be packed with character, but for bread-and-butter processing, they certainly do a good job.

Also included are literally dozens and dozens of effects created with Cockos’ Jesusonic effects development environment (which comes with Reaper), enabling you to create and compile your own effects, or edit the included ones.

What’s new?

Cockos has added tons of new features to Reaper since we reviewed v2 in 123 – far too many to even list – so we’ll cover the most important here. The biggest change is that Reaper is cross-platform these days, and will run on PPC and Intel-based Macs, which increases the software’s already impressive portability. Reaper really is an app that you can take anywhere and use on practically any system.

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Cockos Reaper 3