Originally Posted by gunku (Cockos Confederated (Reaper) Forums)*
“I have tested both Mixcraft and Reaper. Little confused as which one to buy?
Any inputs suggestions much appreciated. Mixcraft is slight easier to learn I think. But I like Reaper too.
And also after I downloaded the latest version of reaper the windows Wave RT sound option doesn’t work.
thanks for your valuable inputs”
GET THEM BOTH!
I have them both, and I recommend getting them both. Considering the cost you can’t really go wrong**. And you can use most of the VST plugins interchangeably, e.g. you can use Mixcraft’s Messiah in Reaper if you want.
REAPER:
Reaper was great to just install and get some free VSTI plugins working quickly a couple of years ago. I followed the instructions from Computer Music Special #44 and it helped me get started, even though I had no idea how to install or even use a VST at the time.
I need to watch some more Reaper videos to really hone my skills, and check out those SWS extensions I recently discovered. Groove 3 do some videos on this. Well worth a look I think. I did figure out how to get Sampletank working with Reaper – That’s one instance playing multiple instruments and midi tracks – very cool indeed. You can play a whole midi song with just one instance of Sampletank, of Miroslav Philharmonik or similar.
Here’s a video I did on explaining how:
LATENCY AND ASIO DRIVERS
I have had some issues with Reaper and latency. I use a Focusrite Saffire USB 6 with it and it’s fine. It doesn’t seem to work quite so well with ASIO4ALL. Having a decent audio interface means you don’t need to use the Wave RT driver. I hate latency!
MIDI EDITING AND FILE CONVERSION: I am more comfortable with the midi editing in Reason 6.5, to be honest. I use Reason more than Reaper and Mixcraft, but will still use them for certain tasks. You can use Reaper to batch convert Rex 2 files to wavs. That was handy to discover.
http://www.howtoprogramdrums.com/how-to-convert-rx2-to-wav-convert-rex-files-to-wav-files/
MIXCRAFT:
I have enjoyed using Mixcraft. I started with Version 5.0 and got a free upgrade to Version 6.0 and then bought the Pro Studio 6.0 version at a reduced price. I like the way you can easily build layered and split keyboards using multiple VST plugins and save the result. My sons have used it for voice acting work and converting/rendering Midi files into wavs. I don’t think it is as deep as Reaper, but it ships with a ton of really nice synths (like Messiah) and other studio bits and pieces. There are some very cheap purchasing options now to get you started and various bundle sizes to suit your pocket – starting at $20!
Incidentally, for more details on what exactly comes with Mixcraft, check out this (affiliate) sales page I created: http://www.howtoprogramdrums.com/recommended/acoustica-mixcraft-6/
Ths plugins on their own would cost more to buy than they do with the bundled DAW.
I would value your feedback on the sales page, especially if you find it useful.
Cheers!
*Original Thread:
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?p=1083746#post1083746
**Reaper is currently $60 for a restricted licence, Mixcraft starts at $20 for a trial. See my sales page for more details.
You can also buy these from Amazon.co.uk (Please note these are Affiliate Links).
Mixcraft Pro Studio 6 Complete Audio Production Suite (Acoustica)