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Can't Imagine Why People Say Reaper isn't Beautiful

Im guessing many will find it garish (it has some customization available), but my favorite daw is, to me, also the best looking: Waveform.

Many daws seem to borrow from FL and Tracktion.

Waveform is elegantly designed to get out of your way, too. Click to set an input on the left. Drag a synth or set an output on a track on the right. Make music in the middle from the input to the output. Easy.

That said, I export tracks and mix in Mixbus32c. But mixing in Waveform has come a long way (from next to nothing).
 
There are some nice skins. But the beauty is superficial. It's all the ugly dialog boxes that kill it. It probably isn't so bad within the context of Windows, as it suits the general Windows U.I. However, on a Mac the difference is quite jarring.
 
I honestly love the simplistic look of Reaper. It doesn't overwhelm me. There are many DAWs that have too much going on as soon as you load them up, imo.
 
I love the way my Reaper looks

reaper.jpg

But no amount of customization will get rid of those horrendous windows (FX browser, sample browser). They should really improve this to make the software easier on the eyes. Because let's be honest, at this point Reaper themes are just lipstick on a pig.

I got the trial approx one week ago and I'm really curious about skinning it. Is there a skin library somewhere? I like the look of what you have here ...
 
I got the trial approx one week ago and I'm really curious about skinning it. Is there a skin library somewhere? I like the look of what you have here ...

There's the reaper stash. I'm using a modified version of the Hydra theme, I can upload it if you want to use it. :grin:
 
Reaper is perfect for people, who have time to customize it to their needs...
As someone who works with other people; Reaper doesnt work...cause no one is using it...
So my daws Midi and Audio are limited to the ones, others are using...
In my case... Nuendo,Protools Ultimate,and sometimes Logic...
 
There's the reaper stash. I'm using a modified version of the Hydra theme, I can upload it if you want to use it. :grin:
Would absolutely love it if you were able to upload. I only ask because I get about 3hrs a week to do music, and doing that + learning Reaper (there's a bit of a learning curve) means I am struggling to hunt for these things by myself, so any help appreciated!
 
Here's the link for the theme :grin:



EDIT: New improved version with a few fixes.

And here's the icon I'm using, it fits the theme very well



Just right click on the desktop shortcut and change the icon in the properties.
 
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Genuine answer to the thread's title:

-Most people saying that are responding to a non-skinned Reaper, or go through the process of trying to make Reaper something they like and give up halfway when they see just how much work it is.

-The dialogue and plugin windows are ugly as sin and no other DAW comes remotely close to how bad they look. Unfortunately skinning doesn't do anything to remedy this, as far as I know.

That said, I've gone through the process outlined in my first point several times and, totally, Reaper can look great. Its functionality is incredible, and I even kinda like the ugly plugin windows in a sort of "it's endearingly rough around the edges" kinda way, due in part to the fact that its aesthetic (or lack of one) is consistent with the vibe of an app that you can heavily customize and script. It's a programmer's DAW for sure. Which I dig.

It is, if nothing else, absolutely not slick and polished, even when skinned. Lots of rough edges sort of like the Windows 7/XP stuff below the Windows 10 surface.
 
I'm still in admiration for the routing flexibility everything can go anywhere... former Logic, now Cubase user.
 
Me neither. While REAPER always had a utilitarian look to it, in the last two major versions they've (IMO) accomplished a fine balance between form and function. Especially in REAPER 6; I find that it blends almost perfectly with the majority of plugins that I use on a daily basis (Komplete, IZotope, Valhalla, etc).

BTW, personally, I was never too keen about GUI's that graphically emulate the real hardware. This is most apparent in some plugins, but Pro Tools, which I've used for years before switching to REAPER, also somewhat follows this recipe. I prefer the streamlined and clean look of the abovementioned software instead.
 
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