Ya think after you’ve been around a while, you kinda know what’s out there…the equipment, the coaches, the agents, the producers, the software, the hardware.
Sometimes a mic or pre-amp comes across my radar that I missed before. but for the most part when people talk about dis ‘n’ dat pertaining to voice-acting, I’ve at least heard of it.
Big mistake. There’s always something new.
In past years and months, I’ve linked to prodigious lists of DAW’s (digital audio workstations).
25 FREE DIGITAL AUDIO EDITORS YOU SHOULD KNOW
But the other day, hanging around an AudioBook narators’ forum, I heard of a new one…one that met approval from the narrators, ’cause it had special features that made punch ‘n’ roll a cinch.
For freelancers like us, Reaper offers a personal single-use license for $60. Not bad for a software package with this many features.
From their website:
- Record audio from multiple inputs simultaneously
- Layer recorded tracks and takes over previous recordings
- Edit recordings in almost any imaginable way
- Hundreds of audio processing effects included, or choose from thousands of third-party effects
- All editing and effects are completely non-destructive
- REAPER works with almost any hardware and can be used in combination with a vast universe of other software and plug-ins.
- Drag and drop to import, arrange, and render
- Freely mix audio, MIDI, video, still image media on any track
- Easily move, split, glue, resize, trim, loop, time stretch, pitch shift, fade, crossfade, slip, snap to grid, without switching tools
- Intuitive zoom, scroll, scrub, jog, tab to audio transient, MIDI navigation
- Simple and powerful nested folder system allows group editing, routing, bussing, all in one step
- Full automation recording, playback, and editing support for track controls and plug-ins
- Easily manage tempo, time signature, and varispeed changes
- Separate audio or MIDI into freely arrangeable takes and lanes for easy comping
- Easily copy or move regions, to quickly try out alternate arrangements
This DAW is not new on the scene, apparently (grrr). The screen is customizable, and the software comes with full documentation and help files, resource guides, and manual. The current version was just released in August 2012.
I’ve only just downloaded and installed it. The only glitch: the automated installation process failed to return an email to me with my license number. I’ve already emailed support. 🙂
If you’ve used Reaper before, can you give us a quick word about it’s pros and cons?
CourVO
