Ableton vs REAPER

Are you involved in music production and looking for the best DAW app with samplers, drum racks and midi slicing? Learn more about Ableton vs REAPER stand-off and choose the most suitable program for your work.

Ableton is an electronic musical workstation developed open source that also provides professional sample editing tools.

The REAPER is one of the most popular and widely used computer-aided audio recording software applications. Its well-known stability and flexible feature set have made it a staple in the recording studio.

Final Verdict:

One of the most exciting features with Ableton is that I am able to view my entire session in an arrangement view. The arrangement view allows me to see exactly what I am doing in terms of arranging my tracks. I can move up or down the track, zoom in or out, switch between chords, and search for another instrument.

Ableton is the winner >

Ableton Features:

  • Improved max integration in max for Live
  • Excellent for live DJ/EDM performance
  • Fast navigation
  • Powerful automation
  • Nested track groups

What is Ableton?

ableton interface

One of the best features of Ableton is that it integrates with a wide range of other software instruments such as digital piano rollers, virtual percussion instruments, digital signal processors, classic instruments from your favorite genres, multi-track audio tracks and more.

Another advantage of the extensive MIDI and audio library of Ableton is that you will be able to recall and refer to any specific piece of music when a specific part of the set up or performance needs it.

The Ableton Launchpad also contains useful tools such as the lock & lock pick, undo command and undo function, and the cover pull down menu. You can also find a complete list of featured sounds on the Ableton website. You can even download other instruments from the Ableton website.

What is REAPER?

reaper interface

REAPER can be used for sequencing, recording, and manipulation of sound engines such as VST, RTAS, Apple Logic, Digital Performer, and Cubase. It can export files in both WAV and AIFF formats. The major selling point of REAPER is that it is the only sequencer that can edit the rhythm of an audio track from one input, which makes it extremely versatile.

There are several different versions of reaper available, and each has their own unique features as well as benefits. The original release included a software synthesis engine that allowed users to create sounds similar to what is achieved with Acid, Digital Performer, and Pro Tools.

The VST version includes a VST plugin called VST REAPER, which allows the user to drag and drop files from Reaper into other applications like Fruity Loops, Digital Stuff One, and other music software. The MIDI-over-USB MIDI mode allows the user to control Reaper using MIDI keyboard.

Comparison:

ableton logo
ABLETON
reaper logo
REAPER

Ableton & REAPER Features:

  • Comping and track linking features
  • MPE tools
  • Spectral resonator and hybrid reverb
  • Editing experience in the arrangement view
  • 1000+ plugins
  • Multi-channel audio recording
  • Fast mixing, and mastering
  • Customizable
  • Extremely light memory footprint
  • Support thousands of 3rd party effects

Ableton and REAPER Price:

STARTING PRICE $449 Free
FREE TRIAL icon icon

Cross-Platform:

WINDOWS icon icon
MAC icon icon
LINUX icon icon
iOS icon icon
ANDROID icon icon

Support:

EMAIL icon icon
LIVE SUPPORT icon icon
PHONE icon icon
CHAT SUPPORT icon icon

FixThePhoto Choice:

Ableton is more streamlined, has powerful MIDI instruments, multitrack recording support, and 1000+ plugins to put it a little ahead of the curve in this comparison.

REAPER has a powerful ReaScript scripting engine that allows you to code any enhancements you want in Python, EEL or Lua.

Contents:
SAVE UP TO 65% OFF SAVE UP TO 65% OFF