REAPER started as an experiment in creating a more efficient audio engine, and REAPER's efficient 64-bit end-to-end audio processing remains its strongest and most central feature.
REAPER's audio cuts no corners. The audio signal path is 64-bit from input to output, for maximum resolution and headroom. Hundreds of tracks of audio can be mixed down with no measurable loss of resolution.

(Third-party plug-ins that only support 32-bit audio may temporarily reduce the signal bandwidth, but any processing done afterwards will still occur at 64 bits.)
The remarkable efficiency of REAPER's audio processing means that your projects can support more plug-ins, more edits, more automation, more of everything. You don't need an overclocked, water-cooled CPU, or dedicated DSP cards, to record and edit real projects with high track counts.

Unlike many other DAWs, REAPER was designed around CPU load balancing, so if you do have a fast multiprocessor system, REAPER will get the most out of it.
Like Tape On Steroids
REAPER is a tuned machine for manipulating and recording audio. You can use REAPER like a classic studio tape deck, punching in and out to record on any track, enabling and switching inputs on the fly, without stopping playback. You can even use REAPER's varispeed control to simulate recording at slower or faster tape speeds.


Tons of Gear, One Small Box
REAPER provides a complete virtual studio environment, with unlimited routing and effects. You can keep the signal path as simple and linear as you want, or you can cable together psychotic spaghetti bowls of virtual effects, wired external hardware, or any mix of both.


Appetite for Destruction
Unlike a classic studio tape deck, any recording, edit, or action you can perform in REAPER is completely non-destructive. You can let the transport loop and record take after take after take, or punch in surgical edits and keep punching until it's right.

Or, if that take you recorded three hours ago was better, you can use the nearly unlimited multilevel undo to get it back.


Edit This
You can split, move, slip, stretch, shift, and rejoin audio items seamlessly, and configure auto-crossfades and auto-overlaps when splitting media. The level and accuracy of integrated editing is extreme.

Not enough for you? Want to use a dedicated destructive sample editor? REAPER integrates easily and smoothly with external editors, allowing multiple editors to be seamlessly launched from the arrange view with a click of the mouse.


Format Flexibility
  • Drag and drop to import any supported media format
  • Freely mix source audio of any format and sample rate with no offline conversion necessary
  • Full support, including rendering, of multichannel (greater-than-stereo) audio formats
  • Source audio containing tempo or beat slice location information is automatically imported at project tempo, spaced properly, and pinned to beat locations
  • Record, glue, and render directly to any supported format
Recording and Routing
  • Any track can record audio or MIDI input, or record that track's processed audio or MIDI output
  • Tracks can have as many as 64 individually routable channels for easy support of multi-out virtual instruments, parallel FX processing, sidechaining, and submixes
  • Any track can function as a track, bus, or bus folder - any signal can be sent anywhere else
  • Unlimited parallel sends to other tracks or hardware outputs
  • Sends can be fully configured: audio, MIDI, before or after FX and track controls, volume/pan/phase
Advanced Options
  • Built in pitch shifting using user-selectable algorithms, including Elastique 2 Pro
  • Configurable automatic pitch correction when time stretching
  • Optionally bounce mixed output live to disk, for those "I need to be recording this!" moments
  • Automatic gapless file switching to avoid 2GB/4GB filesystem limits
  • Very high quality native dither and noise shaping algorithms for the best possible final render