Amazing

Pros: - super cheap licenses ($60 for personal $225 for commercial which is only necessary if you make 20k+ yearly off of the music you produce with Reaper) - super customizable and compatible with Windows, Apple, AND Linux. - has all the industry standard features that any producer would need, just doesn't come with all the pretty plugins that other DAWs come with. - can look a lot better than it does stock if you're willing to spend 5-15 minutes installing a theme (check out ReaperTips) - super low CPU useage, barely takes up any storage on your hard drive, and has very low latency, so it can run on older computers just fine.

Cons: - does not come with actual instrument plugins - can be difficult to learn because of how much customization is possible

Preferred Settings + Usage:

LINUX friendly! LOVE IT!

The only other DAW i've used is audacity, but I like this. definitely a learning curve as to setting it up and learning a flow and streamlining actions, but the online community is strong for this. Kenny Gioia (reaper mania) on youtube is a massive help. Use this a few times a month, and they always do updates. there are also quite a few free plug ins online. Im happy with it! LINUX friendly!

From Gear Setup

Great DAW

Price & Licensing Affordable: A full license is much cheaper than most major DAWs. Generous trial: Unlimited 60-day evaluation, fully functional with no restrictions.

Performance Lightweight: The installer is under 20MB, and it runs fast even on older computers. Efficient CPU/RAM usage: Handles big projects without hogging resources. Portable: Can run from a USB stick — no installation needed.

Customization Highly customizable UI: Themes, layouts, toolbars, colors, and even menus can be tailored. Scripting & extensions: Users can write scripts (Lua, Python, EEL) or use community add-ons like SWS to extend functionality. Flexible workflow: Almost every shortcut, mouse modifier, and action is remappable.

Audio & MIDI Features Unlimited tracks/routing: Audio, MIDI, and buses are all just “tracks,” making routing very powerful. Track templates: Save complex setups and recall instantly. Extensive plugin support: VST2, VST3, AU (macOS), JSFX scripting for custom plugins. Built-in tools: Stretch markers, pitch shifting, spectral editing, and detailed automation. MIDI editing: While not as fancy as some DAWs (like Cubase), it’s powerful, scriptable, and constantly improving.

Stability & Updates Rock-solid stability: Rarely crashes, even with heavy projects. Fast updates: Developers push frequent bug fixes and new features (often weekly). Tiny download: Updates are a few MB and install in seconds.

Community & Ecosystem Huge community: Active forums, tons of tutorials, scripts, and free resources. JSFX & ReaPlugs: A large library of free plugins, many surprisingly powerful. Third-party themes: You can make REAPER look like Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton, etc.

Flexibility of Use Works for music production, film scoring, sound design, podcasting, live performance, and even mastering. Popular with people who like to tinker and optimize their workflow rather than being locked into one style.

Bottom line: REAPER is the most customizable, lightweight, and cost-effective DAW out there. It’s not always the most “out-of-the-box polished” compared to Logic or Ableton, but if you’re willing to tweak it, it can become the most powerful DAW for your needs.

Great DAW

It is very good choice for recording live instruments. I mean it is very lightweight and customisable DAW, but its MIDI functionality lacks usability and comfort in usage. It is unintuitive in interface, so its not a good beginner choice, but it is probably the best free DAW. Also, it has very small stock base, so it might be difficult to just learn it without using other plugins. Still the best free DAW tho

Reaper is the best

Reaper is a relatively simple and intuitive DAW, but light and very good, it has become my main DAW.

Gold standard of DAW software. Don't waste your money on overpriced DAWs, get Reaper.

I've been using Reaper since November 2018 to phase out Audacity that I've been using prior to this. And oh boy, is this DAW a game-changer. It is a fully-featured DAW that comes with everything you need and more. You get a user-friendly interface that allows you to instantly route your audio signals however you want, not to mention the fact that you can even customize the skin of Reaper DAW to make it look like the DAW of your dreams. I didn't even need to use any sort of tutorial videos to get myself started with recording music! I just plugged in my audio interface and I recorded away. It's so easy to use that even a bass player will understand how to use this DAW.

Reaper also comes with its own included ReaPlugs Suite, which comes with a huge load of useful VSTs that I still use to this day - mastering limiters, EQ, ReaPitch, saturation, and so much more!

Other DAW software will charge you over $230+ for the features you're looking for in Reaper's personal license version that only costs USD$60. Don't waste your money if you care about getting the job done, get Reaper DAW for your studio production platform. You won't be disappointed.

From Gear Setup

pretty cool for linux

takes some setting up overall, and every time you use it. you can get very tech with this, i want simple. i use linux so there are not many options. i chose this for the real time fx editing. its pretty good.

Powerful, Full-featured, Extensible, Very Reasonably Priced

Reaper is the whole toolkit. Being such, there is a pretty steep learning curve, but as you get in the swing of things, you'll find it's malleable UI and flexible workflow well worth the effort. Constant updates assure that Reaper remains state-of-the-art and rapidly overcomes discovered faults. I was a former Cubase user, but found their cost structure unjustifiable once I discovered Reaper - never looked back, no regrets over the last 10 years. Highly, HIGHLY recommended!

Reaper is the best

What I love about reaper is how simple and clean it can be. I see videos and stuff of people using other DAWs and there are so many windows, colors, graphs, and everything else open that I’m astonished they can even get a sense of what’s going on. Reaper is cheap, clean, and simple. And it has a ton of great stuff built into it should you choose to explore. I had never used a DAW previously and while the learning curve was a bit steep, a few YouTube watches and I was up and going. I’ve recorded and produced over 20 albums between my Silent Caesar and Hound Of Durango projects using reaper exclusively and all from the comfort of my bedroom studio. Check out the free version if you doubt me! Awesome stuff.

Amazing and customizable DAW without limits, but just basic if you dont use the community expansions.

Nothing you can´t do in this DAW For 60 USD you got a very Professional DAW (for recording and editing), very beginner friendly. Just hit record and start.

In my opinion its the most flexible DAW, if you start reaper the first time, its like a clean and classic DAW. But with the Community expansion behind reaper you can shape reaper perfectly to fits your workflow. That means you can transform reaper to an electronic music daw, or if you want, you can transform reaper to a mixing and Mastering Daw too. But without extensions it's just a basic Recording daw with midi compatibility.

i would recommand Reaper if you... ... want a customizable DAW without limits. ... want a professional DAW (recording, mixing & mastering) ... are a tinker ... want to use Hardware Synths ... want a "sky is the limit - daw" ... are a beginner, and want to grow up with your DAW

i wouldn´t recommend Reaper if you... ... looking for a cheap electronic music DAW (its just 60 USD but you have to buy synths, drumsamplers, samples, ect...too) ... want a all-in-one Daw (Reaper just have FX plugins, No Synths, and a simple Sampler) ... looking for highend features (like intigrated chord tracks) ... want to make live music. (doesn´t mean you can´t do it with reaper) ... if you want to do many collabs with other electronic music producer

This is my experience and opinion with Reaper. A unique and great DAW.