Reaper Sounds Like Crap?

exilemetaldude

New Member
Hi guys,

I'm trying to make the switch to Reaper from Sonar, so for a test run I'm making a new recording of a song I already did in Sonar. Trouble is, the tone playback from Reaper sounds horrible, fuzzy and very muddy. I switch back to the Sonar recording and it's clear and crisp. It's an ambient clean guitar sound; the distorted guitars sound super similar so I'm not sure if there's a difference on those and I just can't hear it, but the clean sounds much worse and I haven't made any changes to firmware or the preset.

I searched for some Reaper threads on here but it didn't seem like there was a resolution. Both projects in both softwares are at 44100.
 
So you imported the Sonar .wav clips from a project into Reaper?
What about the other way around - does something recorded in Reaper sound funny when imported to Sonar?
 
Are you using the Axe-Fx II as your interface? It's locked at 48K. Sonar might be converting on the fly, like many other DAWs. Maybe Reaper does not???
 
I use StudioOne, Pro Tools, Cubase and Reaper daily.. there is absolutely no differencell in fidelity/quality between them. It sounds like your having a sample rate issue..which is strange because reaper converts on the fly.
 
Never experienced such a thing with Reaper in about 10 years.
Reaper does convert on the fly - a feature that I make use of all the time.
I would still check your Reaper preferences and the project settings.

preferences -> audio -> device -> request sample rate (off by default, but you might try something else)

file -> project settings -> sample rate (also off by default)

Post a clip of something you recorded on Reaper that sounds bad... could help us diagnose the problem.
 
Hello, I have had the same issue with Reaper, try several updates, spent hours in the menus both of Reaper and the Axe. Never found the cause of the crappy sound, went to Tracktion 5 then 6 (free) which worked right away. If you find the root cause, I am interested.
 
What is your sound card?
I use the Axe as a soundcard with Win10 tablet and Reaper.
If I choose the wrong asio driver, sounds like crap.
 
Hey, sorry for the delay (computer network port died).

Here are some clips.

First, the SONAR clip which sounds exactly as the patch and direct from the Axe also sounds (amazing)


And here's the Reaper clip.. which sounds far muddier and more distorted.


For my ears the difference is huge. I'm pretty sure there's simply something setup wrong, but I can't be sure to know what it is because it seemed to setup/work without too much work (same in SONAR) but the difference in sound is just not acceptable.
 
The reaper clip sounds as if cab modeling has been changed or turned off altogether. It sounds brighter—not muddier or more distorted.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys.

The reaper clip sounds as if cab modeling has been changed or turned off altogether. It sounds brighter—not muddier or more distorted.

I can double check that this is the case, but the preset sounds fine to me when I'm just playing and I don't believe I've made any changes to it between these two recordings.

Something I just thought of - I did move between these recordings, is it possible that different USB ports could produce a different sound result? I use USB in from Axe to PC for my recordings.
 
i have used pro tools, reaper, and studio one and I can't tell a difference. The threads about one sounding better than another is bogus. has to be a config issue. make sure if you are recording usb that the project is actually set to 48k. try that and let us know if that isn't the problem.
 
I believe Moke nailed it. You need to make sure you've specified the reaper track to be stereo. If I recall, you do this by specifying the stereo input for the Axe. I think sonar does this a little more automatically, but I forget. Once you have the stereo track recording correctly, you should have the "hi-fi" sound you're expecting from reaper.
 
Sorry to dig up an old thread, but actually I have the exact same problem (thought it might be better to write here than open a new thread). In my case, the sound difference between the actual wave file and what REAPER plays is exactly the same as in the previous post by exilemetaldude. I'm recording with no effects present, so it doesn't depend on any plugin configurations. I also record in mono, so changing REAPER track to stereo would not really make sense.

I was only wondering - has anyone found (or happen to know) a solution to this?


EDIT:
It seems to be (at least in my case) a problem with media device (under Options -> Preferences -> Audio -> Device). After changing between WASAPI, Wave Out and Asio4All I noticed that in each case it sounded slightly differently. The solution that seems to be working is increasing Asio4All buffer size - this increases the sound quality by a great amount. Perhaps this problem doesn't occur if you have a powerful computer and/or native ASIO drivers, but I thought it may be useful to post this solution if someone with an obsolete laptop like me comes across this issue.
 
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Hi guys,

I'm trying to make the switch to Reaper from Sonar, so for a test run I'm making a new recording of a song I already did in Sonar. Trouble is, the tone playback from Reaper sounds horrible, fuzzy and very muddy. I switch back to the Sonar recording and it's clear and crisp. It's an ambient clean guitar sound; the distorted guitars sound super similar so I'm not sure if there's a difference on those and I just can't hear it, but the clean sounds much worse and I haven't made any changes to firmware or the preset.

I searched for some Reaper threads on here but it didn't seem like there was a resolution. Both projects in both softwares are at 44100.

I have a similar issue, but the sound is great....on the computer. But when I post it to my FB page it sounds like CRAP! My computer mic sounds better! WTH!?
 
I have a similar issue, but the sound is great....on the computer. But when I post it to my FB page it sounds like CRAP! My computer mic sounds better! WTH!?

I heard a rumour that FB and SoundCloud compress the audio file which may affect how it sounds compared to your version at home on the PC. Could be that (or it could be an urban myth :) )
 
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