Hi, I’ve recently come across this video showing some cool Reaper scripts for sound design. I can imagine these being useful for my sound design workflow, especailly the nvk_Create and LKC Variator but ideally I would like to stay in Nuendo, my DAW of choice. Hence, was wondering if these are possible in Cubendo?
He should speak a lot faster. 
And find a better Internet connection…
man… it did not understand a thing first time i viewed this video, after 5 or 6 times i got it.
cool ideas, but man, this “modern” fast edit video style for social media…
maybe i am just getting old
no…
(also; yes)
I hate these superspeed videos simply because they make the viewer feel it is the presenter making all this (it’s a language trick!). ‘so cool’
on topic:
The scripts in reaper are very powerful but only if you want to only use Reaper. I can randomise stuff and make ‘blocks’ in Nuendo (grouping anyone?) quite easily. It’s just a matter of making use of the PLE and Macros.
I personally use soundminer (for sfx database management and it’s Radium sampler) and most of the things for these demonstrated variations I do in Radium. I can load files with regions that auto trigger (round robin style) and I can have effects on all layers. I can export to Nuendo in 8 channels (stereo) and have them properly named according to UCS.
Yes I do need to think about some things so it is not as instantaneous, but hell where is the fun in instantaneous (wink wink AI)!
Yes Soundminer is more expensive but also brings a lot more than reaper scripts can summon (at least at the moment).
My position: Steinberg can build this and maybe should but I’m not waiting for it. And I’m definitely not crossing the border into Reaper land. Tried it a couple times but no.
Thank you so much for your reply! I found it really helpful, will definitely have to look more into PLE and soundminer capabilities. I love Nuendo but I’ve been seeing a lot of people singing praises about Reaper and I think I kind of started getting FOMO. As you stated that you’ve tried Reaper a couple of times before, are there any things in particular that Reaper can’t do that Nuendo can? Just curious what are some unique Nuendo features that Reaper can’t do, especially becuase I see a lot of people market Reaper as a “everything is possible” DAW
Specifically for sound design or in general?
Both really 
Pulling from memory; no AAF support, no ADR, no re-conform. I’m sure there are more things (and maybe some of those have been added since I last checked).
And if for mixing, No Atmost mixing capabilites and control room feature. I don’t think MIDI capabilities are that great. But some of these scripts like auto loop is interesting, but I doubt its that great for more complex loops. Sound weaver from Boom I think has a similar randomizer tool that might be interesting to use alongside Nuendo/Cubase - haven’t really tried it yet.
You can kinda replace Variator
with Randomizer
Though of course I would like to have a lot more features in the Randomizer plugin! I hope it gets an upgrade one day. I’d even pay for the Pro version)))))
Yeah me too,
I especially would know a little bit more detail and be able to get finer controls.
For example i’d like to be able to set the pitch + and - maximum variations (two separate controls) . Sometimes I want random pitch but only up or down…
And clip package. I think this one of the best features for sound design in nuendo.
Then stay in Nuendo! And then add Reaper to your set of tools to take advantage of what it does well!
The fallacy of comparing one DAW to another for specific features or workflows is the idea that you can only have one of them or that you should only have one of them. Or that their features are mutually exclusive for you. They are not. You do not need to “switch.” You can have them all, and they work together great. Even better than ever, now that DAWproject is starting to be implemented (coming soon Nuendo 14).
Again, you can use BOTH Nuendo and Reaper, and use them for what they are good at. If you are a professional sound designer, then TBH, you should use the tools that get the job done. And Nuendo will get some jobs done better/faster than other DAWs, and Reaper will get some other jobs done better/faster than other DAWs. And some other DAWs will do some other neat and amazing things. Use what you must. Don’t hold back. They are more affordable than ever.
IMO, the strengths of Reaper for sound design come from four primary areas:
1 - Subprojects, which allow you to nest projects within projects within projects, so you can create complex audio sound design assets that are abstracted as many levels deep as you want to go. It’s a deceptively simple and genius feature of Reaper. Perfect for sound design. I love it.
2 - Proper click and drag ripple editing. Makes editing complex multitrack sound design elements (and plenty of other kinds of projects) a breeze. I hope one day Steinberg adds this to Cubase/Nuendo. They already added it to Wavelab.
3 - Item FX and FX containers… just great for sound design in every way. Very flexible in Reaper. Can be replicated by other means though.
4 - The most powerful of all, which is the infinitely deep scripting capability, that goes all the way down to DSP if you want to. This is what makes all those scripts you talk about possible. It is a messy, inconsistent world though IMO, but the learning curve might be worth it to you.
For all four of those reasons, I still keep Reaper around, but by no means do I exclusively use Reaper… in fact I use it less and less now. I generally dislike Reaper’s interface and quite messy, overly complex design (IMO), and I far prefer Nuendo/Cubase. However, I use what I have to use to get the job done.
The tool should serve the master, not the other way around. Use what you have to use.
Now item 3 above can easily be replicated with DOP and/or of course using a plugin routing/chainer tool like DDMF’s Metaplugin (which is awesome BTW), and item 4 may or may not be approximated and surpassed by other tools out there, no time to explain the other options out there… there are MANY ways to get to the same destination. But items 1 and 2 (subprojects and proper ripple editing) are what actually keep Reaper installed on my machines. So it’s really only two things that make me use Reaper. I can get to my destination with other tools with better workflows. YMMV.
Comparatively, in Nuendo (and Cubase), I love the workflows in a musical context, which are vastly superior, as well as the general post features, which are of course vastly superior (too many features to list), and as of v14 (coming soon to Nuendo), I love the modulators especially. Bravo to Steinberg for this. Cubase/Nuendo also have a brilliant workflow with the Sample Track that seamlessly can bump up to HALion and some of their other plugins for further sound design magic. FYI having HALion for sound design in Nuendo is a MUST IMO. The workflow is very good IMO.
Of course there are times when I want a truly modular workflow for sound design and I have tons of other tools for that… most obviously, Bitwig, which is a joy to use when it comes to modular stuff, especially with you start tapping into The Grid. There are other DAWs/apps/plugins out there that are also fantastic tools for sound design, but Bitwig should be on any sound designer’s list to evaluate.
Anyway, there are times when Reaper is indeed great for a sound design project (along with all their chaotic zoo-like inconsistent scripting insanity), but then I’ll need Nuendo for so many things… and then I’ll want to create something in Bitwig that the other two can’t do.
So the idea that one DAW is the “best” or the “way to go” or “the right choice” or “something to consider switching to” or that you have just a binary choice, is ALL really a big fallacy. Just use ALL THREE for what they are great at. That’s exactly what I do. YMMV. Good luck. Have fun! Be creative!
