[RWP] Reaper vs. ProTools?

[Scott Chesworth]

Hey Jes,

Lots to reply to here, most of which will be subjective. Let's do them
one by one:

Reaper on the Mac actually is fairly accessible. There are a few
stumbling blocks and some tricks to learn (as with most if not all
DAWs at present), but it's further along than a lot of people seem to
realise. A chap who goes by The Oreo Monster can and probably will
tell you more, but take a poke around what he's put together so far at
www.reaperacc.es if you're interested in getting into it on the Mac
side.

The pros and cons of Reaper vs Pro Tools is is a can of worms that I'm
reluctant to crack open here, but I don't know how many other people
on this list are splitting their time equally between those two DAWs
so I guess I should take a stab at an answer. Purely in terms of the
DAWs themselves, their approach is what separates them more than
what's achievable in each, because the playing field is pretty level
in terms of what's achievable. Reaper is ridiculously lightweight
compared to almost anything else out there. It's also a lot more
customisable than most DAWs, is probably the best choice of DAW to
take around with you from computer to computer at the moment, the
development is pretty rapid and the user base is pretty rabid. It's
biggest downfall is probably a lack of software instruments, but if
you're a mixing/mastering type dude who doesn't require a lot of soft
synths or you've already got a bunch of licenses that you're bringing
with you from some other platform and you like the way Reaper
approaches stuff, there's no reason not to be a Reaper user. Will you
find it in commercial studios for hire? No, but that doesn't mean it's
not a good DAW. Is it going to be everywhere in 5-10 years time? No,
but again, that doesn't mean it's not a good DAW. Pro Tools is pretty
much the polar opposite in that it's a bit of a beast in terms of size
and system resources (though version 11 slimmed down a lot), it comes
with a bunch of good stuff in terms of stock plugins and instruments,
and it's still the industry standard in terms of the amount of studios
that use it, with Logic chasing hot on it's heels nowadays.
Development is slow, painfully so once you've seen the pace that
Reaper evolves at. Talking in terms of accessibility, I've honestly
been really impressed with the overhaul Avid gave Pro Tools in version
11. The learning curve is fairly steep, but that's the same for anyone
who's learning to be a Pro Tools user. I wouldn't say accessibility
adds much to that learning curve if you're already a competent
VoiceOver user. On both sides of the fence, documentation specific to
accessibility is practically non-existent, but support is out there
via mailing lists and a few series of podcasts. The last thing I'll
say here might get a few people hot under the collar, and that's if
you're thinking of switching to Pro Tools specifically to get a job as
an engineer in a studio, save your time and money, because A) jobs for
resident engineers are few and far between nowadays, B) whether you
like it or not, you're at several disadvantages in that environment as
the blind dude, and C) that isn't gonna get any less the case as time
marches on. If you want to make music your business, the trick is to
find a niche where you can be efficient and self-sufficient. Honestly,
the people I see getting the most work nowadays are the ones who
strike an even balance between being productivity machines and can
still be comfortable relaxing with musicians. It's more about people
skills nowadays than ever before, because the price of entry is so low
and there's so much idiot-proof software out there that Joe Public
really can make a passable record in his bedroom. That doesn't mean
Joe Public has a niche that he's really, really efficient in, and
that's when people start paying properly, when they're paying for
time. In a nutshell, find a DAW that you feel comfortable with, then
forget about the DAW war and concentrate on getting hella efficient at
whatever you intend to do for money without being loud about it.

As for your ReaAccess questions, the current holding page and this
list are both run on a hosting plan that I pay for. I wish I had the
time and energy to do more to keep ReaAccess alive, but as it stands,
that's about the size of my contribution. This list will be around
indefinitely until ReaAccess is rendered useless, or until something
better comes along to replace it.

Woo, longest post ever in the history of this list I think! Hope some
of it helps.

Scott

On 5/12/14, Jes <jessmith at samobile.net> wrote:
> Okay, guys, I'm probably going to start a big controversy right about
> now, and you'll forgive me, but I have to know this.
> Besides the fact that Reaper on the Mac is not accessible, and proTools
> is, What are the advantages of Reaper over  ProTools? I am really
> getting interested in going into the music business for real, not just
> as a hobby, and I'm just wondering the pros and cons of each
> environment. Is Reaper going to kill ProTools one day and become the
> industry leader?
>
> Also, I have a question about the reaaccess.com website. If Ivan isn't
> around anymore, how is the sight still running? and how much longer
> might it be around? Is this list run off of freelists or something like
> that?
>
>
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