6
2006
REAPER: Freeware Audio Recorder Editor
Recently, I stumbled upon a link to an audio recording/editing application called REAPER. There was very little information available, except that REAPER is freeware and a young, but active project. Most of us are probably familiar with Audacity, the open source pro audio tool. I’m often asked for tips on podcasting and for folks on a budget, I offer Audacity as the basic solution for recording/editing.
This evening I decided to download and poke around in REAPER (Rapid Environment for Audio Prototyping and Efficient Recording). Since I’m on a laptop at the moment, with no real means of recording, I took the rather cheesy sample tracks that were already laid out on the editing board and tweaked and toyed with them. The main window is reminiscent of Adobe Audition and for anyone used to working with editors, you’ll be comfortable. Dropping down the menus and perusing the interface leads me to believe that this light app is rather full-featured. How this little jewel pans out in the long run is another question altogether. Let’s just say I didn’t get a chance to perform a benchmark study. 
In most cases, I try to steer clear of what I consider “obscure” applications—as in this case: few sources on the Net are using or reviewing REAPER and the main website is not very enticing. Part of the reason for this could simply be REAPER’s infancy, but I still don’t advise using beta applications unless you are ready for potential issues. With that (disclaimer) said, REAPER could be just the tool you need if you are into podcasting or multi-track recording and don’t find Audacity pleasing (for whatever reason).
One additional note: REAPER is freeware for now, but it’s in the beta stage of development. At version 1.0, the developers intend to convert to shareware which could include a nominal fee.
Technorati Tags: audio, editing, recording, reaper, freeware, beta
REAPER: Freeware Audio Recorder Editor
Originally from David Russell by