As you visit the respective forums, remember where you are when you are reading. If you are riding the Reaper range, you won't hear a discouraging word. Same for Sonar, Protools, Real Band.... it's like trying to explain to a Grateful Dead fan why their music sucks once the drugs wear off. Talking to diehard fans about something is not the right place to get unbiased, objective reviews. Read reviews from people who have no agenda.

Real Band does almost everything any Digital Audio Workstation (I hate getting newer people lost in the acronym desert - I still call them "sequencers" - I see no need to care about being "industry hip, groovy or cool") does, PLUS it composes. No other software that is considered to be in the deeper end of the sequencer gene pool is going to compose. Garage Band, and now some new piano thing, but none of them do what Real Band does.

Write your first song with Real Band. Then write your first song with Reaper. And that is a trick question because Reaper will not "write" your first song. You have to play all the tracks in, assign the MIDI channels for drum machines, etc....

I changed to Real Band after doing it the hard way for a long time. The ONLY downside to Real Band is that Real Band is ruining me for playing. The software plays better than I ever have or ever will. I have created guitar solos with the Real Tracks that the very good guitar players from my old band say "Wow. Who is that?"

Beat Real Band up some before you move away from it.


(edited to correct AWFUL spelling mistakes)

I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.

1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.