Looking for a new multitrack recording software...

I've been using ACID pro 4 for multitrack, multi-take recording and mixing since it came out 8 years ago. According to its own manual, it was never really intended for this function. But it worked well enough for my purposes, so I flat out stopped looking. 8 years later, the old beast is showing it's age. Long story short, it's time to put ACID Pro 4 out to pasture. The problem is, Sonic Foundry doesn't make ACID anymore. As far as I'm concerned, that means my product is now obsolete and unsupported. Sony ACID will have to compete on its own merits. So I'm looking for a new Multi-track recording software that IS geared towards my specific work. Reaper came up in one discussion, but the guy said it like a complete insult. "Even Reaper would probably do what you need". In context, it was sort of like if you said to a classical painter "you could probably just use Crayons". There was a sort of biased contempt in his tone. That's the same attitude these guys have towards FLStudio, which I've used for somewhere around 10 years for composing orchestral music. If these guys dislike reaper so much, maybe it's right up my alley. On the other hand, there's a lot of cheap garbage out there. So here I am in the showroom asking, of all the choices available to me, Why should I choose Reaper? I'll even give you a head start and tell you my specific use case: I'm strictly interested in recording, editing, and mixing audio. Guitar, vocals, various other instruments stuck out here in the real world that I want to stuff into my computer. Obviously I need to be able to hear the tracks I've laid down while I'm recording new tracks. I need to be able to use tons and tons of channels. I need to be able to split takes, and correct timing issues. I could really use a way to do multiple takes in a row without fiddling with the mouse a bunch. I need to be able to zoom in to the sample level, for delicate wave surgery and wave matched cross fades. I've come in with an open mind, Sell me the product.

From your requirements, it will do everything you need (except sample level wave editing - people that need that here use an external editor which can be integrated to reaper). The only issues will be whether you get along with the take system (which I do, but others have gripes). *edit* oh, and it's definitely a no bloat, lean and stable piece of software. It's the only thing I trust completely to record live shows, and it' s extremely cpu friendly so you can use as many tracks as you need with enormous routing ability.

Hi Dr. Avery...I recommend Reaper for audio recording because it is intuitive. The manual is well written. I saw the DVD tutorial and it is jam packed full of pointers. The forum has many people offering solid advice. Definitely download it and dive in and use it. Don't forget to download the manual. I'm not a fanboy and I use various DAWs on both Win and Mac. I like Reaper because for tracking audio and overdubbing, it's just comfy.

I recommend REAPER because it is very capable, and it is non-invasive on your computer system (indeed, as has been said, you can tun it from a USB memory stick). I like the business ethos of the company - it allows you to try out the software completely uncrippled so that you are sure of what you are paying for. Load it up and try it out. THen if you have any problems, you'll find the best bit of REAPER -this online community... >

Relax, Doc. This won't hurt a bit. R'Mad

You can also just use the Portable install which will only use one folder of your choice. Everything it uses goes into that directory.:)

I started my DAW experience years ago with Acid Pro 2. I loved it- it was simple, straightforward. I used it like a multitrack, even though it was never intended that way. After my experience with Acid Pro 5, I switched to Cubase. Now I'm solely using Reaper. Try it, You'll like it. ;)

Pretty much all DAW software does what you want. The advantages to Reaper are it's extremely lean and mean, very customizable, and you can do macros and stuff that other DAWs can't. Oh, and there are a lot of helpful people here. If you don't need more samples and synths with your DAW, it's a no brainer to try Reaper for 30 days.

I really dont know why you should choose Reaper. But I know why I did: - Other DAWs poor reliability and overprice; - Consistent design; - Excelent CPU performance; - No trash to take up my HD space; - Great editor; - Clean and production oriented UI; - Flexibility to choose how things will work to suit your needs; - Excelent performance when tracking; - These forums; - Constant updates and bugfixes; - No false advertising; - Great price.

i went from acid music 2.0 to acid pro 3.0, then 4.0, then sony acid 5.0, and then reaper. never looked back.