# My experience with Reaper



## rudi (May 6, 2019)

The following is a short summary of my experience with Reaper...

I have used Cubase since the days of the Atari, mainly for pop/rock type music and basic song arrangements, but I have always wanted to dabble in orchestral / cinematic / media type music.

After some research I came across this forum, and was floored by how good the compositions and mock-ups sounded. I tried to make my own attempts sound better, but found that that I needed better sounds, easy realtime control, and much more practice...

I was looking at various ways of using articulations (expression maps, control surfaces etc.) when I came across something called Reaticulate http://reaticulate.com/ which looked extremely impressive. Later I found out that it was developed by @tack of this very forum )... and that it ran on a DAW I had never heard of before called Reaper.

So I decided to try it out....

*My First impressions*

My initial impressions were rather mixed... the software was very compact and launched really quickly. It was easy to setup in terms of ASIO and MIDI.

Based on my first impressions, I didn't have any great expectations of Reaper, or how it would measure-up to what I thought of as more "professional" packages. Most of that was down to its interface that looked very... basic, dated, and amateurish...

If this sounds superficial, it's not, because first impressions do matter, and when you work day in and out with any software package, things like GUI, colours, fonts, ergonomics etc. count for a lot!

Nevertheless, I decided to carry on, mainly because of Reaticulate, and its generous trial period (60 days).

The other major obstacle was getting to grip with a whole new set of commands and terminology - basically that feeling of being lost when switching to a new programme.

Most of my questions boiled down to: "how do I?" for the most basic of stuff.

There were also plenty of terms that were new to me: actions, regions, items, how to create MIDI tracks vs Audio tracks... and huge menus filled with hundreds of commands. There was so much to take in, wrapped in an unfamiliar interface.

*What I like*

Here are my thoughts after the 60 days evaluation period (I bought the personal license in case you wondered )

- incredibly customisable, from the GUI itself to the menus, and custom actions.

- after a bit of research I found you can theme Reaper extensively. I switched to a more Logic like skin, which I upgraded to a more elaborate one for a small donation. I have been extremely happy with it (see screenshot in post below) 

- I love creating my own menus, placing the actions I use the most often at the very top; creating custom sets of actions; creating / editing toolbars; and the easy way you can create and manage screen setups.

- the very fast loading times make it easier to start writing music.

- it is incredibly flexible (a huge amount of choice). One example is how tracks can contain different items such as MIDI and Audio) or be used as sends or aux.

- ditto routing... the interface do do so is a bit... crowded!

- it's very easy and direct to save and load templates, be they single tracks, groups of tracks, FXs, FX chains, even entire projects.

- I love the ease of creating folders per project -- just tick a box in the save dialogue box.

- there is a nice collection of basic but useful built-in FXs... and the chance to roll your own if you like programming!

- the VST/VSTi integration (I only use VST) is very nice. I haven't encountered any problem.

- having automation lanes underneath the tracks and being able to add them and edit them is done very easily.

- the piano roll MIDI editor is nice and includes lanes for Velocity and CC... it also has a basic Score view which I need to explore more.

- it is very easy to automate controls via MIDI.

- I also like the "save project as a new version" facility.

- there is wealth of further options to discover!

*Things that baffled me at first...*

- recorded items be they MIDI or Audio are treated the same way and can co-exist on the same track... once you get used to the idea, it actually makes sense.

- recorded items are set to 'loop' by default - if you try to extend them they repeat instead of just enlarging the item. It was easy to change the default.

- there are literally thousands of actions (built-in commands). I spent hours trying to find certain commands not knowing what they were actually called: is it under next, left, start.. is it called delete or remove... etc.

- when adding a new VSTi it would create automation lanes for every single control when adjusting them.... until I found the "Toggle auto add envelopes when tweaking in write mode" command and switched the default off.

- the overwhelming number of ways in which you can customise Reaper... it is a strength but you can easily end-up going down endless rabbit holes trying "one more thing". But it incredibly powerful and satisfying when you managed to find your "ideal" solution (see example below).

- one thing that puzzled me for a while was trying to record CCs as automation lanes as opposed to CC MIDI data in the MIDI editor. I tried several setups but always ended-up with both. After a lot of searching I found someone had written a small MIDI plugin that stopped the CC data being recorded as part of the MIDI track, leaving me with nice automation lanes to record to or edit to my heart's content.

- the sheer number of extensions... it's easy to feel swamped!

*Conclusions*

So, is Reaper the be all and end all of DAWs? Of course not - each DAW has its strengths and ways of working which will suit different types of users.

In my case I found it a good fit for my evolving way of working. I love being to gradually customise it to my exact requirements... even if it can take time to find out how to do so.

I am looking forward to making Reaper my main writing tool.


[content edited for typos and clarity]


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## robgb (May 6, 2019)

Good review. Reaper doesn't have to look basic or ugly, by the way. There are hundreds of themes available that might inspire you more.


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## rudi (May 6, 2019)

Thanks Rob, I have only just scratched the surface so far. I am looking forward to exploring Reaper more and using it extensively and also explore Reaticulate!

I have been using a theme from someone called Blankfile which I really like https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=187971


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## DANIELE (May 7, 2019)

And there's more to come.

An advice for you, try sws extension, it adds A LOT to Reaper, really!!

I can't think of me using another DAW actually, when I start using Reaper I felt lost but when I understood it I felt so much freedom and accomplishment. I customized it so much...


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## kitekrazy (May 8, 2019)

I've had a license ever since it came out. From a financial view it's the most affordable DAW out there. I think I will have to pay for an upgrade when Reaper 6 comes out. I can slap it on every machine I own. With the Cubase crossgrade I'm debating on whether to spend $155 on a DAW or spend more time in Reaper. I for one am a fan of bland GUIs. There are far more resources on learning it now.


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## rudi (May 9, 2019)

DANIELE said:


> And there's more to come.
> 
> An advice for you, try sws extension, it adds A LOT to Reaper, really!!
> 
> I can't think of me using another DAW actually, when I start using Reaper I felt lost but when I understood it I felt so much freedom and accomplishment. I customized it so much...



I have been dipping my toes into SWS... the theme I use recommended using it 
Like you I felt lost when trying Reaper out, but now I love how light it is on resources, and how it can be customised to fit your own workflow!


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## rudi (May 9, 2019)

kitekrazy said:


> I've had a license ever since it came out. From a financial view it's the most affordable DAW out there. I think I will have to pay for an upgrade when Reaper 6 comes out. I can slap it on every machine I own. With the Cubase crossgrade I'm debating on whether to spend $155 on a DAW or spend more time in Reaper. I for one am a fan of bland GUIs. There are far more resources on learning it now.



The personal license is indeed very, very affordable and generous in terms of versions. Although that is a very nice plus point, to me what makes Reaper attractive is how much you can personalise it, and make it fit your own way of working.


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## DANIELE (May 9, 2019)

I like to shape the software I use to my needs as much as possible and Reaper is excellent in this, I keep customizing it while I progress in my usage of it.

Every time an improvement of my workflow comes to my mind I know that I can do it with Reaper in some way.

Plus they keep fixing bugs and add new features during the license lifetime.


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## Bansaw (May 9, 2019)

I know what you mean about the theme. The way the interface looks matters to me.
There are lots of good themes. My current fav which I am using is the Solaris_LCS_Grayv.2.5.
Really nice.


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## halfwalk (May 13, 2019)

The scripting community is amazing as well. Just the other day I made a request for a MIDI JSFX on the Reaper forum, and within 36 hours some generous user created it for me from scratch, and politely refused my offer monetary compensation, to boot. And this prolific enthusiasm seems to be pretty common within that subsection of their forum. 

ReaPack can be overwhelming, but there are some scripts I consider essential (besides Reaticulate, obviously) such as Julian Sader's MIDI editor scripts that add lots of clever functionality to the piano roll editor.

The WT Imperial theme is lovely eye candy as well. Though tbh, after trying nearly every theme in the stash over the last ten years or so, I always come back to the (slightly tweaked) default theme. It's clean and gets out of the way.


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## Mornats (May 13, 2019)

I think I'm the only person who prefers the look of Reaper over Cubase. I get why people think Reaper looks old, basic and dated but to me Cubase looks exactly the same! Anyway, that aside, Reaper is my main DAW and I love it. 

I've toyed with moving to Cubase for its midi editing capabilities but I need to check out some of the scripts available for Reaper that add to its midi features. I'm actually stumped as to how to get them working right now but I just need to sit down and work it out.

Nice overview of Reaper by the way.


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## robgb (May 13, 2019)

Mornats said:


> I think I'm the only person who prefers the look of Reaper over Cubase.


I hate the look of Cubase.


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## halfwalk (May 13, 2019)

robgb said:


> I hate the look of Cubase.


Reaper can be as ugly as you want


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## KallumS (May 13, 2019)

halfwalk said:


> img



She's a thing of beauty.


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## Bansaw (May 13, 2019)

halfwalk said:


> ReaPack can be overwhelming, but there are some scripts I consider essential (besides Reaticulate, obviously) such as Julian Sader's MIDI editor scripts that add lots of clever functionality to the piano roll editor.


@halfwalk I was interested in your comments of Piano Roll scripts but couldn't find it on the Reaper stash. Are they part of the SWS extension?


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## halfwalk (May 13, 2019)

Bansaw said:


> @halfwalk I was interested in your comments of Piano Roll scripts but couldn't find it on the Reaper stash. Are they part of the SWS extension?



You need the ReaPack extension, which gives you access to various repositories of scripts and other resources. From there, you can install the scripts I was referencing (the first several posts of this thread contain instructions and demonstrations). Specifically, I use some of the "mouse editing" ones.

There are also some other scripts I enjoy like MIDI Ex Machina, some Kawa scripts ("select bottom/top note near" is handy, or similarly, "assign channel by chord tones" is useful for quickly splitting voices out after sketching with an ensemble patch if that's your jam), and Lokasenna's Theory Helper.


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## Fredeke (May 13, 2019)

Does anyone have a theme to recommend, that would not change the way I use Reaper but would look a little better than te default one, without clutter the screen ?

I like how in the default theme things are only as big as they need to be, but all that grey is a tad depressing in the long run.


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## Rasmus Hartvig (May 14, 2019)

I like this one very much. I've modified a few things in mine but even out of the box it's a very nice and pleasant theme.


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## MOMA (May 14, 2019)

I started out with Reaper about two years ago. I went from Cubase and I can tell you I was lost. This was a sea of alternatives and new functionalities I´ve never seen before. I would say it takes about a year of learning, rebuilding and refining before your into it. By now I have "built" my own DAW that works perfectly to my liking, knowing that when ever I run into some new problem or need a new command – there is always a way. Today I work with the excellent protools theme with a blond background to the tracks. I can colour every track and get icons and colour in the mixer, the way I like it to navigate. And the stretch, the midi, the multitrack editing – so many things that speed up your workflow. Yesterday I installed the latest updates. For free. 65 bucks in total. Insane really.

MOMA


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## Bansaw (May 14, 2019)

Fredeke said:


> Does anyone have a theme to recommend, that would not change the way I use Reaper but would look a little better than te default one, without clutter the screen ?


I really like the new Solaris_LCS_Gray*v.2.5* theme. It is gray but classy & uncluttered, and you can autocolor the tracks based on how you name them, so it can be as subtly colorful as you like.


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## rudi (May 14, 2019)

More experiences...

I had to go back into Cubase Pro 9.5 to do some housekeeping yesterday... 
I was looking for the pan law setting and it took a google search to find it...
which made me realise how good it is n REAPER that:

- all the settings except for Project settings are in the same place

- and... there is a search option so you can find them instead of having to scroll through dozens of settings and sub-settings

- I also love the fact I can save separate configurations to my computer when I am experimenting with layouts and shortcuts... and go back to previous configs if I needed to. In Cubase I was always worried about messing something up when tinkering with settings.


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## MOMA (May 15, 2019)

Fredeke said:


> Does anyone have a theme to recommend, that would not change the way I use Reaper but would look a little better than te default one, without clutter the screen ?
> 
> I like how in the default theme things are only as big as they need to be, but all that grey is a tad depressing in the long run.



Preferences differs, and I know there are many very competent musician that go for the dark style of themes. But I do prefer a brighter environment. I do like to colour my mixer for a faster navigation and workflow. I do like a bright background to my tracks when I cut, stretch or set envelopes. An I would say that the protools theme with bright background is the most clean, solid and clear space to work in – for me that is. You can find it on the Reaper forum.

MOMA


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## DANIELE (May 15, 2019)

Fredeke said:


> Does anyone have a theme to recommend, that would not change the way I use Reaper but would look a little better than te default one, without clutter the screen ?
> 
> I like how in the default theme things are only as big as they need to be, but all that grey is a tad depressing in the long run.



I like the commala ones, pretty the same of the default one but better colors. I used the dark one and modified to my needs.

Look also at the V6 one, from what I've seen it seems pretty good so far. Maybe it will be the first time I'll use the default theme.


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## TomislavEP (May 15, 2019)

I must say that switching from Pro Tools to REAPER as a main DAW was a game-changing step for me personally, though my main motive was increasing costs of Pro Tools updates after the introduction of yearly subscription plans, which were more and more difficult for me to follow. The ethic of Cockos in that respect is certainly much more fair toward end-users with limited means and not only the big players.

However, other than that, I find REAPER superior to PT in many ways. The most obvious one is it's "blank sheet" concept - the possibility of customization, not only in terms of appearance is simply staggering. The second one is its rapid development cycle. If you are hoping to get a certain feature that could improve your personal workflow, chances are you'll get it in REAPER sooner than in other DAW programs out there. Finally, REAPER is a program with quite a small footprint which make it a solid platform for engines like Kontakt, Reaktor, Guitar Rig etc.


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## Fredeke (May 16, 2019)

MOMA said:


> Preferences differs, and I know there are many very competent musician that go for the dark style of themes. But I do prefer a brighter environment. I do like to colour my mixer for a faster navigation and workflow. I do like a bright background to my tracks when I cut, stretch or set envelopes. An I would say that the protools theme with bright background is the most clean, solid and clear space to work in – for me that is. You can find it on the Reaper forum.
> 
> MOMA


What's great is that I can very easily switch themes (without even restarting the program!) to match colors with my mood or the mood of the song I am making. Swell!


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## Fredeke (May 17, 2019)

DANIELE said:


> I like the commala ones, pretty the same of the default one but better colors. I used the dark one and modified to my needs.
> 
> Look also at the V6 one, from what I've seen it seems pretty good so far. Maybe it will be the first time I'll use the default theme.


Those look very nice, and there a great choice of colors and variants 

I just realized I can even switch themes while the song is playing, without even a glitch ! Perfect for matching visual atmosphere to song.

@rudi I too used Cubase on Atari ST a lot... Did several albums with Cubase 2.0 (no audio, only MIDI) and it was a dream. Cubase was a real game changer in the sequencer world. It was first, I think, to introduce the virtual tape layout. Sequencers before that (like Steinberg Pro24, or the hardware Roland MC-500) were prehistoric in comparison (MC-500 lovers, fire at me now!)

Then I saw Cubase VST on PC, and its next installments, and I just wanted to rip my eyes off. Definitely too much flash and clutter.
I used to use ProTools 5 (or was it 6) on Mac OS9 and _that_ was great. But now Reaper is my man.

I never saw the Atari Falcon version of Cubase (Cubase Audio), which came between the ST and the PC versions. But back when it was released, it seemed fantastic: at last it could record audio, so no need for expensive and clunky tape synchronisation anymore ! It was limited to 8 tracks, but which home studio had more than an analog 8-tracks anyway ? (As for big studios, they could afford the early ProTools)

The Atari Falcon had an onboard DSP, for whatever it was worth, but I doubt it had 8 inputs, so I suppose you could only record 2 tracks at a time - which would have been ok for me at the time. But it didn't sell well because, by the time, newly affordable PCs were pulling the rug under Atari, Commodore, and everybody else except Apple's feet.

Ah, memory lane...


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## Hasici (May 22, 2019)

And I did the opposite, just purchased Cubase 10 PRO...it is right now probably the best deal in a long time with the 50% on top of cross-grade deal. The PRO can be had for $170USD (or $255 CAD) + $35 for dongle if you have any of those crossgrade legitimate products. And not tax which is cool. It makes it the cheapest big boys DAW.

But for sure personal license for reaper is a gift. The 5 already have spectrum editing which is awesome and few other things that even big editors still lack. I am very easy to forgive any issues or idiosyncrasies with reaper. Much less with other DAWs.


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## rudi (May 26, 2019)

Fredeke said:


> @rudi I too used Cubase on Atari ST a lot... Did several albums with Cubase 2.0 (no audio, only MIDI) and it was a dream. Cubase was a real game changer in the sequencer world. It was first, I think, to introduce the virtual tape layout. Sequencers before that (like Steinberg Pro24, or the hardware Roland MC-500) were prehistoric in comparison (MC-500 lovers, fire at me now!)
> 
> Then I saw Cubase VST on PC, and its next installments, and I just wanted to rip my eyes off. Definitely too much flash and clutter.
> I used to use ProTools 5 (or was it 6) on Mac OS9 and _that_ was great. But now Reaper is my man.
> ...



@Fredeke, yes, bringing back some (good) memories. I actually owned a Falcon 030 with MultiTOS, and MiNT, and Cubase. It was a great machine well ahead of its time, super efficient, with a great display and lots of ports, including MIDI. I never did use the audio side of it, only some keyboards and some early expanders. I have some fond memories of my ST1040 too, and dabbling with GFA Basic!

Like you I had a "yeuch" moment when Cubase migrated to PCs - it seemed like a retrograde step at the time, but eventually the hardware and Windows advanced to a degree that was hard to imagine back then.

I also owned a Yamaha CX5M computer which seemed fantastic too, with its built-in FM chip.


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## rudi (May 26, 2019)

Hasici said:


> And I did the opposite, just purchased Cubase 10 PRO...it is right now probably the best deal in a long time with the 50% on top of cross-grade deal. The PRO can be had for $170USD (or $255 CAD) + $35 for dongle if you have any of those crossgrade legitimate products. And not tax which is cool. It makes it the cheapest big boys DAW.



Cubase is a great programme indeed. I looked at upgrading from 9.5 Pro to 10 Pro, but didn't find anything compelling for my use of it  I also think I've been experienced Cubase fatigue... from the very early version through decades of upgrades. 

I love how quickly Reaper loads, the flexible interface, and the way you can customise it so thoroughly and extensively. It's helped to streamline my workflow a huge deal!

Let us know how you get on!!!


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## Michelob (May 26, 2019)

Hi everyone,

Reaper user here, since 2011 when I started music for a living (composing, recording and music editing with this DAW). I was previously using Cubase and Logic Audio (in another life around the 90s).

Previous posts in the current thread talked about SWS and Reapack (community interactive scripts pack), but I'm not sure their web links were notified. Just in case some new users would read this, here they are :

http://www.sws-extension.org/

https://reapack.com/

Just install Reaper, then SWS and Reapack. Huge stock of complex custom actions in your hands.

Oh, and about the theme, after having tried some of them (like the somptuous WT_Imperial), I systematically went back to my real favourite : Default 5 Dark Extended.

Bye

Michel


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## Fredeke (May 28, 2019)

rudi said:


> @Fredeke, yes, bringing back some (good) memories. I actually owned a Falcon 030 with MultiTOS, and MiNT, and Cubase. It was a great machine well ahead of its time, super efficient, with a great display and lots of ports, including MIDI. I never did use the audio side of it, only some keyboards and some early expanders. I have some fond memories of my ST1040 too, and dabbling with GFA Basic!
> 
> Like you I had a "yeuch" moment when Cubase migrated to PCs - it seemed like a retrograde step at the time, but eventually the hardware and Windows advanced to a degree that was hard to imagine back then.
> 
> I also owned a Yamaha CX5M computer which seemed fantastic too, with its built-in FM chip.



Never heard of the Yamaha CX5M computer... Was it aimed at musicians, like the Atari - or was it more like the C64: not aimed at musicians originally, but appropriated by them because it sounded great? 
What kind of software did you use on it? FM trackers?

I too coded many big projects in GfA . I miss that language, and could never find an equivalent on PC (and the GfA port to PC is so different I don't recognize the language). I once coded a whole beep-tracker in GfA - one of my proudest pieces of code, however it had a slight optimization problem that made it hardly usable 

I've been trying coding in C a few times, but it's too low-level for me. I just can't bring myself to think in terms of pointers (and end up crashing the app and blowing up my whole city block in the process more often than not), and rigid variable types annoy me, because I favor intuitiveness over efficiency (hence the unusable tracker :-/ ). The closer language to GfA in feel I could find is PHP, but its range of applications is much narrower. KSP is a joke, though there's little way around it. I haven't tried HISE yet, which uses javascript, which leans more towards being a real language. And the LUA book has been gathering dust for about a year now...

Apparently you've sampled a great deal of the Atari product line! Did you know of the 260ST ? It was an early model, coming before the 520 and 1040, with no ROM (system had to be booted from a floppy)! Then I went to a dual ROM Mega ST, with the overpriced tiny hard disk, making it at last feel like pro gear.

Indeed, the Falcon looked like an amazing computer! Motorola CPUs were so much better! Too bad the market didn't give the later Atari, Motorola, or Commodore (for that matter), a chance. I got a MegaSTE for cheap in the early 2000s, but traded it for a 2nd-hand ProTools TDM (not cheap, but you couldn't beat the performance). It now lies in a friend's "computer museum", and at least gets some love there.

For the ST, I remember purchasing the amazing Steinberg's MIDEX+, a cartridge that, in addition to allow multiple dongles to be plugged in at once (a mere convenience, but still), had 4 additional MIDI outs, 2 additional MIDI in, and an SMPTE LTC interface. The additional MIDI ports were great and quite indispensable to my setup, but the timecode interface was hm... how to put it? Let's just say it was 10 times cheaper than a pro sync unit, and its reliability somehow matched that. That's the main reason I recorded few audio tracks along my MIDI compositions. It just didn't work well.


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## rudi (Jun 7, 2019)

@Fredeke

The Falcon was great, but also a rare beast, and quite expensive at the time.

I hadn't heard about the 260ST. You are right about the Motorola architecture - so much better than Intel at the time. I remember being horrified the first time I tried to add some keyboard hooks into Windows to read keyboard shift, control, alt states... it was a nightmate compared to TOS (that was so elegant and efficient).

The Yamaha CX5M was the result of something called MSX. It was the product of an alliance between MS (I think) providing the operating system and MSX Basic, and several Japanese manufacturers providing the hardware -- which each one specialising in a specific area. Yamaha's had a built-in expansion containing a 4op FM chip... at the time it felt revolutionary, especially in view of the cost of regular FM keyboards. It came with a basic GUI editor, and also a basic sequencer. I had the CX5M II. It was a good looking, solid unit, but the accessories were prohibitively expensive.

After getting my first PC (which wasn't good for music stuff at all), I discovered Turbo Pascal for MS-DOS. That was the start of my programming career (in finance, not music, but it paid for my expensive hobby), which was a fantastic programme. I never looked back and really enjoyed working in IT.

I am now entering a stage of my life where I can try to maybe earn some money from my musical hobby. I am learning a lot, and hopefully getting better at it  Virtual instruments and orchestration is a very different discipline from playing in bands!!


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## Fredeke (Nov 19, 2019)

rudi said:


> @Fredeke
> 
> The Falcon was great, but also a rare beast, and quite expensive at the time.
> 
> ...



Ah yes, I remember seeing some MSX demoed in computer stores, and remember thinking they sounded great. Was it the same setup as in a SoundBlaster 16 soundcard? There was a great DOS tracker for it, but I never actually programmed sounds into it - FM was too exotic and I didn't know its basic principles at the time.

I wish you luck with your musical endeavours.


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## DANIELE (Nov 22, 2019)

And finally V6 is inbound.


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