I was a Samplitude user for years but I wanted to improve the way I work on my music. Some years ago, I tried Reaper and honestly, I didn’t really like it, seeing it as a Cubase clone in a way, I didn’t like how it worked. I recorded my first album with Samplitude Pro 9 and Tracktion (which played VSTi) using Rewire. So I was using Tracktion as a synth loaded with VSTi sounds and recorded in audio through Samplitude. It worked quite well but it was not the easiest way to go. The workflow could be easily improved, using only one daw.
Last year, I tried Reaper again more seriously and my opinion about it changed because I found that I could do easily what Samplitude does and even more! By the way, I have to thank people at Reaper’s forum which are great (Reaper’s community is definitely a plus, very helpful). Trying Reaper results of the song “The Platypus” which I recorded and mixed in two or three days thanks to Reaper.
The main improvement for me with Reaper is its midi/vsti functions. I couldn’t use midi and vsti with Samplitude for a reason I still ignore. Recording midi never worked, freezing function neither. I admit that it’s not necessarily Samplitude’s fault but the fact is that I have no problem with Reaper and I’m saving a lot of time. I’m currently recording demos for my second album and I’m really impressed!
Here is a personal list of Reaper advantages (compared to my setup with Samplitude) :
- No dongle
- Free regular updates
- Midi/vstis work well
- Tempo map easily built
- Price
- Effect per item (one of my fav Samplitude’s feature)
- Reaper’s helpful community
- “Tightly coded” as says their website, only a few mb
A lof of other features could be added but it’s just what I missed and needed the most. I had to get used to Reaper’s workflow of course but I feel more comfortable with it now. It just works flawless and it’s so satisfying (and easier) to work with only one daw. I think I’ll still use Samplitude for the final steps of cd creation as Samplitude is great for assembling an album. So it would be like using best of both worlds.
