Reaper is a highly flexible and powerful DAW that comes with a solid set of stock plugins. While it’s well known for being lightweight and customizable, Reaper’s built-in effects are more than capable of handling professional-level mixing. Additionally, Reaper supports third-party plugins, so if you're looking to expand your arsenal, there are plenty of great options. Below are some of the best stock Reaper plugins for mixing, along with a few third-party suggestions to elevate your mix.
Best Stock Reaper Plugins for Mixing
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ReaEQ (Equalizer)
- Purpose: EQ
- Overview: ReaEQ is a powerful and flexible 8-band parametric equalizer. It offers precise control over the frequency spectrum and supports both high- and low-pass filters as well as bell-shaped EQ curves.
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Why It’s Great:
- Highly customizable with linear phase mode.
- Easy-to-use interface for surgical cuts or broad tonal shaping.
- Ability to adjust Q-factor and frequency points smoothly.
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ReaComp (Compressor)
- Purpose: Compression
- Overview: ReaComp is a very transparent compressor, allowing you to apply dynamic range control without altering the character of the sound too much.
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Why It’s Great:
- Fast and efficient for transparent compression.
- Includes sidechain support for ducking effects.
- Adjustable attack, release, ratio, and knee for fine control.
- Offers excellent value for a stock plugin with few artifacts.
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ReaDelay (Delay)
- Purpose: Delay/Effects
- Overview: ReaDelay offers a variety of delay types, from classic tape delay to more modern styles. It includes a built-in feedback network that allows for more creative sound design.
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Why It’s Great:
- Very flexible with multiple delay taps (can be used for creating multi-tap delays).
- Fine-grain control over delay time, feedback, and modulation.
- Easy to sync to tempo with adjustable host synchronization.
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ReaVerb (Reverb)
- Purpose: Reverb
- Overview: ReaVerb is a highly customizable convolution reverb plugin, capable of recreating real-world spaces using impulse responses (IRs). It can also work as an algorithmic reverb for more creative uses.
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Why It’s Great:
- Offers realistic reverbs using high-quality impulse responses.
- Capable of loading custom IRs, giving you access to a wide variety of spaces.
- Includes parameters like early reflections, damping, and decay time.
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ReaTune (Pitch Correction)
- Purpose: Pitch correction/Auto-tune
- Overview: ReaTune is Reaper’s answer to pitch correction. It provides both manual and automatic pitch correction modes, allowing you to fine-tune individual notes or use more traditional auto-tune effects.
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Why It’s Great:
- Accurate pitch correction with low CPU usage.
- Can be used for subtle pitch adjustments or extreme auto-tune effects.
- Great for vocals or any melodic instrument.
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ReaGate (Noise Gate)
- Purpose: Noise Gate
- Overview: ReaGate is an easy-to-use noise gate that can help eliminate unwanted background noise or provide more precise control over dynamics in your tracks.
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Why It’s Great:
- Extremely flexible with adjustable threshold, attack, release, and hold times.
- Can be used for side-chain gating effects in drum buses or other dynamic arrangements.
- The interface is clean and simple to understand.
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ReaFIR (Dynamic EQ/Spectral Editing)
- Purpose: Spectral EQ and Dynamic EQ
- Overview: ReaFIR is a versatile tool that can be used as a dynamic EQ, notch filter, or noise reduction tool. It works by analyzing incoming audio and applying EQ or filtering based on frequency content.
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Why It’s Great:
- Dynamic EQ allows for frequency-based compression or expansion, which is useful for complex mixes.
- Great for de-essing, removing unwanted resonances, or performing spectral compression.
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ReaXcomp (Multiband Compressor)
- Purpose: Multiband Compression
- Overview: ReaXcomp is a flexible multiband compressor that allows for precise control over specific frequency ranges. It splits the audio into multiple frequency bands and compresses them individually.
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Why It’s Great:
- Perfect for controlling specific elements of a mix (e.g., tightening the low end, controlling sibilance in the highs).
- Includes all the standard multiband compressor features such as attack, release, threshold, and ratio.
- Very low CPU usage and a simple interface.
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JS: Plate Reverb
- Purpose: Plate Reverb
- Overview: A simple but effective plate reverb with the characteristic metallic reverb sound.
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Why It’s Great:
- Perfect for vocals or drums when you want a smooth but dense reverb.
- Adjustable room size and decay time, making it versatile for different genres.
Best Third-Party Plugins for Mixing in Reaper
While Reaper’s stock plugins are solid, you may want to add some third-party tools to further enhance your mixing capabilities. Here are some of the best third-party options:
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FabFilter Pro-Q 3
- Purpose: Equalizer
- Why It’s Great: FabFilter’s Pro-Q 3 is often considered one of the best EQs out there. It features a dynamic EQ, spectrum analyzer, and the ability to do mid/side processing. It’s also incredibly intuitive, with an easy drag-and-drop interface.
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Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor
- Purpose: Bus Compression
- Why It’s Great: The SSL G-Master Buss Compressor is a legend in the mixing world, offering smooth and gluey compression for bus tracks. It’s perfect for gluing elements of a mix together, especially on drums and the mix bus.
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Soundtoys Decapitator
- Purpose: Saturation/Distortion
- Why It’s Great: A go-to plugin for adding harmonic saturation and character to individual tracks or groups. It has a wide range of distortion options, from subtle warmth to heavy overdrive.
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Valhalla Room
- Purpose: Reverb
- Why It’s Great: Valhalla Room offers high-quality reverb algorithms with a focus on algorithmic reverbsthat sound smooth and natural. It’s perfect for adding atmospheric depth and can be used on everything from vocals to entire mixes.
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iZotope Ozone 10
- Purpose: Mastering
- Why It’s Great: If you want to get into mastering, Ozone is a fantastic all-in-one suite for finishing your tracks. With tools like EQ, multiband compression, stereo imaging, and maximization, it can help you polish a track to perfection.
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Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack (VMR)
- Purpose: Channel Strip/Compression
- Why It’s Great: VMR provides a collection of high-end analog gear emulations in one plugin. It's great for adding warmth and character to individual tracks or buses, with features like EQ, compression, and saturation.
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Tokyo Dawn Labs TDR Kotelnikov
- Purpose: Compression
- Why It’s Great: TDR Kotelnikov is a transparent compressor with an excellent low CPU usage. It’s great for mastering and subtle dynamic control, offering precise adjustments to the attack and release.
Conclusion
Reaper’s stock plugins provide a solid foundation for mixing, with ReaEQ, ReaComp, and ReaVerb standing out as the primary tools for EQ, compression, and reverb. For those looking to expand their options, third-party plugins like FabFilter Pro-Q 3, Soundtoys Decapitator, and iZotope Ozone 10 offer additional flexibility and creative possibilities.
Whether you choose to stick with the stock plugins or explore third-party options, Reaper provides a flexible and powerful environment for mixing, and with the right tools, you can achieve professional-sounding mixes.
By the Stealify Team!
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