Topic by G-Rad 2017-11-22 17:58:21

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I am a Sonar X3 user and have been since before I lost my vision, however, recently, Cakewalk has decided they are going to terminate Sonar altogether, and there will no longer be much, if any, support for their product.   My setup used a physical control surface plugin that was created to allow sapi5 to be intercepterd and give me speech feedback with a physical controller, in my case, the Behringer X-Touch compact.

I have heard that Reaper is pretty decent, but never tried it.  I also heard that it's inferior to Sonar while the two were side by side, but that is irrelevant now,   Just was thinking that if it can do control surfaces and such, my friend and I, who worked on this together,  could migrate the software setup to work with Reaper instead of Sonar.  Another option we were looking at, or at least I was, was Sony Vegas Pro.  Just gotta find something that allows for  a physical control surface to be usable, and supports DFX, VST2 and VST3.  We will also be migrating SIBIAC to work with said software so that way GUitar Rig, Absynth, and Addictive Drums 2 will all be accessible through it.

What other software is out there you guys use?  Note that this is on the PC side of things, since neither of use have a Mac, we cannot work with it.

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Reply by Nocturnus 2017-11-22 18:03:05

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QWS on the software side of things and a roland FA06 for the hardware.  I use any number of recording/audio editing software in conjunction with one another, spanning from reaper to earlier versions of adobe audition, to sometimes goldwave if I'm just doing something on the fly, and yeah, why not, a little touch of audacity.  If I could get a piece of software that had it all in one go, I'd take it.

When life gives you oranges, demand lemons since everyone else is obviously getting them.

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Reply by daniel 2017-11-22 21:43:34

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Hi,
I also am a big fan of QWS for the midi side of things, but depending on how much audio work  you're going to do I highly, highly recommend reaper. Besides the email list if you have any questions about it, there's also a new wiki that's activly being worked on:
https://reaperaccessibility.com/index.php/Main_Page
And the listinfo page for the mailing list:
http://bluegrasspals.com/mailman/listinfo/rwp
Shame to hear about sonar, as someone who's used it on and off with the jaws scripts it will be missed.
Let me know if you have any particular reaper questions that I might be able to help with, or ask on the list as there are folks on there who know way more than I do.
HTH,

Daniel

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Reply by BlindJedi 2017-11-23 00:33:22

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i use reaper, but on the mac. I also use garage band and audacity. Well not really, but I did when I was getting started with audio editing. If you want a site with reaper guides a good one is audio.pizza. Its mainly for the mac, though.Does anybody know if qws is available for the mac, and if so, how much it is? I'll get it on pc if not, just would prefer it on the mac since that's where I do pretty much all my audio editing stuff.

I am the blind jedi, I use the force to see. I am the only blind jedi.

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Reply by G-Rad 2017-11-23 01:17:18

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Just know that whatever we decide to work with, I will let you know.  The main thing is  we want to make sure that the physical control surface will let me control the DAW like I desire.    I know about he Reaper Accessibility, and I'd like to get this to work in parallel with it, so taht way  the control mixer surface is right there with you as well.  We actually programmed this setup to work with any game controller you connect to hte PC as well.  I've actually used an Xbox 360 controller to wirelessly control the DAW from a different room in the house, haha.

My Solo album, "A Life Seen Through Broken Eyes", available now:
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My YouTube Channel

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Reply by gamesmaster 2017-11-23 03:27:16

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Reaper is confusing
It doesn't even have effects

Pics or it didn’t happen

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Reply by BlindJedi 2017-11-23 03:34:26

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Yeah, i'm not sure how I feel about reaper, gonna keep using it for now until I buy pro tools.

I am the blind jedi, I use the force to see. I am the only blind jedi.

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Reply by musicalman 2017-11-23 10:38:39

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gamesmaster wrote:

Reaper is confusing
It doesn't even have effects

I assume that you find Reaper so confusing that you couldn't find the effects, and thus that is why you have made such an inaccurate statement. Have you installed Osara? If not, I highly recommend you do so. What have you tried to do to find the effects?

Speaking of Reaper, I think that would be your best option, but I'm not that familiar with DAWs so I can't say for sure if it will do everything you need it to. I think it will if you know how, but I can't help you with specifics.

I can tell you this much: QWS isn't going to help you unless you need good midi sequencing; Reapers' midi sequencing from what I've heard anyway is fine, but if you want to do advanced stuff, QWS and Sonar are better equipped to do that, according to a friend who used to use Sonar. Reaper also has excellent support for VST and DirectX, both instruments and effects. It also has the best automation support for those effects from a blindness perspective, as Osara has an automation dialog you can use which shows every parameter and lets you change it. Envelopes and other things with automation are accessible now from what I've been told so you can have a lot of fun with that. Not sure how it works with control surfaces though. As I say, I really don't know much about Reaper or DAWs myself and am only learning a little bit here and there. So I think that is pretty much all I know at present that might help you.

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Reply by G-Rad 2017-11-24 18:31:32

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I wonder if Pro Tools is even accessible out of the box.   Any information on that? 

As for Reaper, yeah it's a very basic DAW.  *shrugs*

My Solo album, "A Life Seen Through Broken Eyes", available now:
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My YouTube Channel

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Reply by musicalman 2017-11-24 18:40:17 (edited by musicalman 2017-11-24 18:50:47)

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G-Rad,
Have you ever asked on a Reaper mailing list or forum or anything like that, about if Reaper can do the things you want? Besides Sonar, it's the most accessible actively developed option available right now so far as I'm aware. I can't comment on whether it is a very basic DAW as you put it, but you'll probably get better feedback from a group of Reaper users than you would here.

Make more of less, that way you won't make less of more!
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Reply by ManFromTheDark 2017-11-24 21:51:30

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Hi. I'm not on Reaper myself, but one of my friends recently purchased a license and another one has been using it for some years now. So, sorry for not being able to share any personal experience besides some exploration of the last completely free version of it, reallly old stuff, but it's more than obvious, that Reaper is not basic in any way. You can do midi and audio, use plugin effects and virtual instruments, thanx to Osara envelope editing and thus parameter automation is accessible. What more to ask for? Again, I don't use Reaper myself, but trust me, none of my comments come just from the top of my dome and can be backed by facts from the web or personal experiences of those users I happen to know.
Sorry, didn't exactly want to rant, just expressed my true emotion regarding calling something simply basic. Digital audio workstations can be somewhat confusing especially on first look, but it goes for sighted dudes also.

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Reply by BlindJedi 2017-11-25 02:34:55

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yes, pro tools is accessible out of the box. There are also scrips created called flo tools scrips that make it even easier. If you hve a full apple keyboard you can use the number pad, and from what I understand this is required. The scrips aren't but they make things slightly easier.

I am the blind jedi, I use the force to see. I am the only blind jedi.

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Reply by gamesmaster 2017-11-25 03:07:09

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What version of reaper is most accessible?
I used the trial of version 4 or 5with reaaccess last year

Pics or it didn’t happen

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Reply by musicalman 2017-11-25 06:56:00

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Gamesmaster, the latest version of Reaper with the latest Osara should have you covered. ReaAccess is an old plug-in and iirc hasn't been fully usable since Reaper 3. It will never be updated because Osara superceeds it.

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Reply by Jack534 2017-11-26 00:37:36

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Hey all, just wanted to come on here and say that Reaper can pretty much do anything there is. Compared to others like Fl, it is mostly capable of doing what it does. I make Hip hop beats and I can use envelopes, automation, samplers and mostly all VSTs. I do it all through Reapers midi editor, but sometimes I use an actually midi controller for melodies. Also by useing the new OCR in NVDA plugins like Omnisphere2, Xpand, Hybrid3, Nexus, ElectraX, Kontakt and a whole bunch more are almost 100 percent accessable.
Here is my latest beat I uploaded to youtube if some of you want to check it out and my channel.
http://youtu.be/66uLGCtvICs?a

Gaming is so cool.
Follow me on Twitter @TheBlindGamer2

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Reply by BlindJedi 2017-11-26 00:59:34

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@Gamesmaster, reaccess is dead. Use osara and the sws extenssions. @ the last poster, how do I access the midi editer? I'm using a mac, but i don't think that really matters too much other than control on windows is command on the mac.

I am the blind jedi, I use the force to see. I am the only blind jedi.

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Reply by Jack534 2017-11-26 01:47:27

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Not sure on the mac, but on windows it is control plus ult and E

Gaming is so cool.
Follow me on Twitter @TheBlindGamer2

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Reply by BlindJedi 2017-11-26 02:43:56

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can you draw notos in a way? Like how does it work without a controller, never actually done that lol.

I am the blind jedi, I use the force to see. I am the only blind jedi.

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Reply by G-Rad 2017-11-26 10:57:44

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If reaper can do bus strips and aux sends, then that'd be nice.   As for Pro Tools, I don't have a Mac.      I wonder if it's accessible on the PC.

My Solo album, "A Life Seen Through Broken Eyes", available now:
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My YouTube Channel

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Reply by gamesmaster 2017-11-26 11:06:04

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Pro tules is exclusive to the mac

Pics or it didn’t happen

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Reply by BlindJedi 2017-11-26 12:12:24

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In terms of accessibility yes, it is only accessible on the mac. But there is a pc version of it too, we just can't use it.

I am the blind jedi, I use the force to see. I am the only blind jedi.

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Reply by SLJ 2017-11-26 12:15:33

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Hi.
I have given Reaper a try, but I don't have the patience to learn such a complex program. I like the accessibility, all the awesome podcasts people have made about the program and everything people are doing to make Reaper accessible on Mac and Windows, but currently I find the program too complex to master. I'm using a Mac. For midi stuff, I'm currently giving Garage band a serious try. Later on I wanna buy Logic when I feel experienced enough in Garage band. If you have the patience to learn it, Reaper is an epic program...

Best regards SLJ.
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Reply by SLJ 2017-11-26 12:19:29

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gamesmaster wrote:

Reaper is confusing
It doesn't even have effects

Can you give us more details please? I'm not sure on what you mean by saying that Reaper have no effects. Please check out this podcast:
http://audio.pizza/ap018/
I look forward to hear more about what exactly you mean...

Best regards SLJ.
Feel free to contact me privately if you have something in mind. If you do so, then please send me a mail instead of using the private message on the forum, since I don't check those very often.
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Reply by BlindJedi 2017-11-26 13:50:05

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@SLJ, I am a mac user as well who is looking into music production. From what i've read on applevis, logic is far from the best option, your better off with reaper or pro tools.  I too enjoy garageband, but from what i've heard about logic, its not the same. The plug ins window is difficult to access, selecting tracks or regions is near impossible without sighted help as there is no easy way to actually move around the project or select portions of audio. Again, that is just what i've been told, logic is deffinately wurth a try, hell i'm still considering it, just know that if you are new to large scale production software logic may not be the best option. However, if you have the patients to learn, it is still possible to use logic. There is a maling list i'm part of, its LogicAccessibility or something. To learn more about it and logic in general go to blindlogic.com there's some good getting started stuff there too as well. If you have questions, applevis is always a great place to go for answers as you probably know already. Not as much on the audio production front, but still some helpful people on there who know quite a bit about what's good and what isn't in terms of accessibility.

I am the blind jedi, I use the force to see. I am the only blind jedi.

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