ADDENDUM..2

A TIP FOR PEOPLE ANTICIPATING USEING REAPER WITH BIAB AND REALBAND (RB)
OR CURRENT REAPER USERS USEING BIAB AND RB.
(note i was one of the earliest reaper users at v0.99 when it came out.
I will use r to mean reaper in this tip.)

some background.
as any r user knows r has come a long way from its beginnings.
with tons of features. and even more in the latest version.
and of course it's human nature to want the latest version of any software.
but for me i keep on returning to the early versions around v 2.0 eg v 1.8 because they do all i want.
In fact for years I did a slew of songs using pg software biab/rb with r.
so my tip is at least try r around version 2.
I can hear you say 'is he nuts ??'. actually no.
Here's the reason.
..its lean like any r version but at the sime time offers superb editing and super fast boots up in a wink of an eye.
..fast learning cycle.
..it has lots of advanced features eg folders/flac recording/drag drop and stats on plugins used
to name a few.
..simplicity of use. I took to it like a duck to water as it reminded me of working with 2 inch tape multitracks in commercial studios BUT with lots of extra features.
..unlimited tracks
..it handles pg plugins great and vst's.
(but youll have to test your plugins; we all use different ones.)

dont get me wrong latest r versions are great but it's all a question do you need the extra features of the later r versions ?. For me, my needs are met around v 2.0 of r.
(for links to older r versions look at the bottom of the main r web page.)
In summary just check it out and see if it floats your boat.
I am currently using it on a surprisingly powerful very low dpc (see point 1 upthread) ryzen mini pc with win 11 and of course pg biab and realband. The mini pc was dirt cheap.
realband reports i can do over 200 tracks !
this combo runs day in/out with my audient interface without any problems.

…………………………………………………………………
ADDENDUM..3
talking about mini pc's here's some added info and where you can find them.
amazon or the manufacturer's site for example.
Here's some manufacturers eg…

https://www.bee-link.com/
https://store.minisforum.com/
https://www.geekompc.com/

and there are many others.
dont underestimate the power of these pc's. particularly if you are using an old clunker pc.
For example, in mine using biab rt generator it's like 'bam' and I am playing back.
I would recommend you research one with the following attributes for a few hundred bucks.
..at least 3ghz processor with a high single thread score.
(see upthread for links to stats on thread counts.)
..16 gigs ram with ability to run 2 onboard ssd's. at least one being m.2. and plenty of usb ports.
..quiete running, no noisy fan.
..no bloatware and boots into win 11 in a few secs like mine.
..and most importantly LOW DPC COUNT. and of course good warranty and you can return it if it doesnt come up to your expectations.

one thing i really like with mine is it comes with a handy little utility that displays all sorts of performance metrics of the mini pc including cpu load.
so what you might be able to do is if your daw doesnt report plugin cpu usage stats is to test a new fancy plugin noteing the global cpu stat before adding the plugin and then after the new plugin is loaded on a track in your daw. ie test if a plugin uses lots of cpu thus potentially causing problems at times.

i hope the above helps someone further.

keep making music.

om

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 03/09/24 05:04 PM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb.)