Since 2004 Cockos have been offering Reaper as a viable alternative to the mainstream music making software such as Cubase or Sonar. Now in it's third incarnation can it really compete with the big names and provide a stable, professional recording environment for like $60? Yeah, pretty much.

Reaper came about because of the frustration of being beholden to a couple of high profile companies who seemed to lack connection or regard for their customer base. There seemed to be little or no response regarding bugs or stability issues and some people often felt that being charged for another upgrade to fix problems that shouldn't have existed in the first place is just not the right way to behave. Cockus wanted to bring a new philisophy to the table, an attitude to software that placed the consumer back in the centre, that was responsive, community driven and above all realistically priced. This has brought them a rather fanatical fan base who continue to evolve and improve the product and have undoubtedly had a huge impact on what we find in version 3.

You'll find all the coolest features from Cubase, Sonar and Pro Tools in Reaper 3 including things like in-line MIDI editing, folders, track icons, multiple automation lanes but it also has it's own unique features particularly in the areas of layout and workflow. The interface is completely customisable and you can create your own buttons and knobs to control any parameter. The layout is slick and intuitive and looks great.

The best thing is that you can download a 30 day fully functional trial - and it's only 4MB in size!

Reaper really taps into the same areas as the forthcoming Propellerheads Record and StudioOne from Presonus - without the baggage of a history of development that Cubase/Sonar/Pro Tools has then you have the opportunity to rethink the whole way that music software works and come up with something fresh and exciting. Reapers been doing this well for a few years now and can only get better and has a huge following pushing all the time for more good stuff. There's less and less reason not to check it out and you could find it saving you time and money in the long run. For me i dislike the reliance on a huge right-click menu and for god's sake will someone get me a pencil tool! But other than that, it's sweet :)

http://www.reaper.fm