Sequencer Snobbery!!!

[Jfin]

Ive used Cubase for many years (SX3) but never really got on too well - After the Reaper Article in SOS (A good few issues back) I tried it - bought a licence and absolutely adore it today, everything works like a dream! Unlike Cubase!. My point is this, A couple of weeks back a band came to me to ask about my services etc. they asked if i use Pro Tools? i said no I use a little Gem of a Sequencer called Reaper -Immediately their face lost all expression! I tried to educate him with the reasons i choose Reaper over other Sequencers but to be honest i sensed he realy didnt know what i was talking about and as far as he was concerned if you dont use Cubase or Pro Tools your not really that serious about recording. This was a band looking for their first Demo CD to secure a few more gigs. I have a friend who uses Cubase and no matter how many times i try to show him how Brilliant Reaper is he wont even consider it, He's still on Cubase SX3!!)

What is it that PRo-Tools or Cubase can do that Reaper Cant

Reaper:

a. Cheap as chips (€60 for non cemmercial licence)
b. Great GUI
c. So easy to use
d. Bug free
e. Most of the features of the more expensive Sequencers (that ill ever require)
f. A helpfull Forum
g. Completely MOD firendly.

Etc etc.

[jammy jamz]

its human nature, i think, to be wary of things that don't cost alot of money..

its sad, really, because, REAPER, is, bar none, the best, most worth the money piece of software, i've ever spent money on.

i was guilty of it myself, concerning the secondary schools i had to choose from. the provincial community college was 1/3 the price i paid to go to a privately owned college, and, hindsight being 20/20, was by far the better deal, with better job prospects and everything.

the 21st century and its economy, is a wild one, thats for sure..

does an apple taste better because it cost 1 dollar more then the other apples?

i dont think so..but, i will always wonder..

pacem

[onesecondglance]

sequencers are just tools. there's nothing wrong with using REAPER if that's what you like, nor Cubase if that's what you prefer.

there is such a thing as inverse snobbery. Pro Tools and Cubase have areas where they are better than REAPER. as do all other DAWs. they each have their strengths and weaknesses - that's why there's more than one on the market.

[tex]

If anyone's really that ignorant maybe you don't need them mucking about in your studio. These days even guys in the darkest dungeons know what software does what.

[Mowens800]

Don't tell them what you use in future. Let the work you have done previously speak for itself.

[Guest]

Arrange with Mike Senior that the next band you record using Cubase can get a profile-raising Mix Rescue in SoS (That's not a slight on your abilities). I suggest it only because you can say, with as straight a face as possible:

"Yes, this really skilled guy will add that extra 10% of magic...using Reaper"

Reaper is a marvellous piece of kit. The only realistic issue to be raised is the dominance of PT in the pro studio world, where a DAW session may one day end up. These guys do not sound like they appreciate that point.

[Jfin]

sequencers are just tools. there's nothing wrong with using REAPER if that's what you like, nor Cubase if that's what you prefer.

there is such a thing as inverse snobbery. Pro Tools and Cubase have areas where they are better than REAPER. as do all other DAWs. they each have their strengths and weaknesses - that's why there's more than one on the market.

OK, Reaper doesnt have a Wave Editor. But in what other areas is it Stronger? Genuinley interested!

[Jfin]

sequencers are just tools. there's nothing wrong with using REAPER if that's what you like, nor Cubase if that's what you prefer.

there is such a thing as inverse snobbery. Pro Tools and Cubase have areas where they are better than REAPER. as do all other DAWs. they each have their strengths and weaknesses - that's why there's more than one on the market.

OK, Reaper doesnt have a Wave Editor. But in what other areas is it Stronger? Genuinley interested!

Sorry i Meant to say what are Reapers weak points

[Jfin]

Arrange with Mike Senior that the next band you record using Cubase can get a profile-raising Mix Rescue in SoS (That's not a slight on your abilities). I suggest it only because you can say, with as straight a face as possible:

"Yes, this really skilled guy will add that extra 10% of magic...using Reaper"

Reaper is a marvellous piece of kit. The only realistic issue to be raised is the dominance of PT in the pro studio world, where a DAW session may one day end up. These guys do not sound like they appreciate that point.

I like it!! I was delighted to see Mike Senior using Reaper, Couldnt wait to show my mate the front cover with Reaper plastered across!!

[Jfin]

Don't tell them what you use in future. Let the work you have done previously speak for itself.

Thats the thing - i offered to give him a CD of my recordings....Never heard from him again!

[Jfin]

does an apple taste better because it cost 1 dollar more then the other apples?

i dont think so..but, i will always wonder..

pacem

Yep 100% Agree and guilty myself! In the hardware world definately in most cases pay more = Get more and lasts longer, Software world seems to be less and less the case these days (VST's are good example)

[johnny h]

Ive used Cubase for many years (SX3) but never really got on too well - After the Reaper Article in SOS (A good few issues back) I tried it - bought a licence and absolutely adore it today, everything works like a dream! Unlike Cubase!. My point is this, A couple of weeks back a band came to me to ask about my services etc. they asked if i use Pro Tools? i said no I use a little Gem of a Sequencer called Reaper -Immediately their face lost all expression! I tried to educate him with the reasons i choose Reaper over other Sequencers but to be honest i sensed he realy didnt know what i was talking about and as far as he was concerned if you dont use Cubase or Pro Tools your not really that serious about recording. This was a band looking for their first Demo CD to secure a few more gigs. I have a friend who uses Cubase and no matter how many times i try to show him how Brilliant Reaper is he wont even consider it, He's still on Cubase SX3!!)

What is it that PRo-Tools or Cubase can do that Reaper Cant

Reaper:

a. Cheap as chips (€60 for non cemmercial licence)
b. Great GUI
c. So easy to use
d. Bug free
e. Most of the features of the more expensive Sequencers (that ill ever require)
f. A helpfull Forum
g. Completely MOD firendly.

Etc etc.

Yeah but the preachy tone of reaper fans is a bit off-putting. I don't care whether other people use the sequencers I use or not, really.

[Rockrooms]

Give them two quotes, one if they want you to use pro tools and one for Reaper. If they want to know why the Reaper quote is cheaper then you can start to explain.

For me offline render speed is a life saver. Pro Tools may well do this these days, but even so, factor in the cost of a Pro Tools Rig (and by that I mean the real thing, not the LE version) and then see if they have a serious budget.

Frankly I suspect you may well have had a lucky escape. I lose track of the amount of times people say something sounds better, or worse, when I've not actually done anything to affect a mix or track.

- Joe -
Rockrooms Studio

[Stan]

hi Jfin, perhaps you should not have called it a 'sequencer'.

[Remeniz]

My point is this, A couple of weeks back a band came to me to ask about my services etc. they asked if i use Pro Tools? i said no I use a little Gem of a Sequencer called Reaper -Immediately their face lost all expression!

Seriously there's no need to validate why you use Reaper to us here or anyone else that knows their DAW software including a 'band' of some kind because we know how bloody good Reaper is.

Personally I wouldn't be that bothered cause this "band" walked away due to the software you use, nothing else.

It makes the said "'band'" either wet behind the ears, arrogant or plain ignorant.

Cheers.

[robinv]

A couple of weeks back a band came to me to ask about my services etc. they asked if i use Pro Tools?

You should have said "yeah of course mate, all my tools are professional, like init"

[jammy jamz]

haahaha some gems of replys in this thread..

but, my favorite is when i explain to people how to download REAPER.

"go to cockos.com.... etc..." thats when i like to watch thier faces..

so great.

but, i have to agree, if they're put off with what DAW you use, or dont use, i imagine, they might be a little hard to work with.. like it doesnt occur to them how much money you have invested in cables alone, let alone microphones, and etc etc etc..

some guy balked at my price of SIXTY DOLLARS for four hours the other day...to track two folk songs with just 1 accoustic gtr, and 1 or 2 voices..with a quick mix to send him on his way with....

sixty bucks is too much, he said.. i told him to go somewhere else, or learn to track it himself..

[Martin Walker]

Of course Reaper has such good skinning features that you could probably make it look rather like Pro Tools if needed

Martin

[onesecondglance]

OK, Reaper doesnt have a Wave Editor. But in what other areas is it Stronger / weaker? Genuinley interested!

well, for a start it doesn't have a score editor for MIDI. that's a definite gap for me. and that's the thing. for you that's probably not important. for thousands others too. but for me and a fair few others, it's enough to make Cubase or Logic or something else the right choice other than REAPER. you could probably find a thousand other little things like that which are the reasons other people don't use it.

i do use REAPER and have done for about two years now. i used to follow the development quite closely, but in the end i just find i have better workflow in Cubase. i've been using that for around 14 years now so that's not surprising. nor is it REAPER's "fault".

Seriously there's no need to validate why you use Reaper to us here or anyone else that knows their DAW software including a 'band' of some kind because we know how bloody good Reaper is.

precisely. REAPER's great. but it's not for everyone. and the fervent hype that gets spread around doesn't actually endear either the app or the REAPER community to a fair number of people.

as for the band themselves... they're probably only asking for "Pro Tools" because the trademark has almost become genericised. "Pro Tools" is digital recording to a great deal of people outside engineers. just tell them that you do have Pro Tools next time and they'd most likely be none the wiser.

[tex]

just tell them that you do have Pro Tools next time and they'd most likely be none the wiser.

Nice idea but in all probability it wouldn't work because the guy that asked for PT has probably tried PT LE and wants to tell the "engineer" how to use it...

[MadManDan]

Not being able quite yet to afford Logic, I've been messing with Reaper, and I gotta say, I love it. Only one problem, at some point I project using it to work with Orthodox Jewish musicians, and well,,, it's called reaper,,, with a big sickle icon... LOL I actually worry about these things, though not too much.

BTW Tex your signature has me LOL. So perfect for this forum

[Combo]

OK, Reaper doesnt have a Wave Editor. But in what other areas is it Stronger? Genuinley interested!

Last time I looked it didn't have anything as powerful as the logical editor for editing midi. Which wouldn't bother me if I didn't use Cubase for writing tunes.

[onesecondglance]

just tell them that you do have Pro Tools next time and they'd most likely be none the wiser.

Nice idea but in all probability it wouldn't work because the guy that asked for PT has probably tried PT LE and wants to tell the "engineer" how to use it...

[Jfin]

A couple of weeks back a band came to me to ask about my services etc. they asked if i use Pro Tools?

You should have said "yeah of course mate, all my tools are professional, like init"

Haha.... i love it!

[Jfin]

some guy balked at my price of SIXTY DOLLARS for four hours the other day...to track two folk songs with just 1 accoustic gtr, and 1 or 2 voices..with a quick mix to send him on his way with....

sixty bucks is too much, he said.. i told him to go somewhere else, or learn to track it himself..

I had a similar experiance €100 for 8 hours full band recording 4 tracks. A brickies labourer wouldnt get out of bed for that kind of money - and they didnt need to spend thousands on recording gear!!

A studio close to me is offering a full days recording + guaranteed gigs in most pubs and clubs (they have most of the contracts) for €300 - how can i compete with that?