Hindenberg Journalist Pro Vs. Reaper

Recording can be a hassle at the best of times.

For all the great things you might say and do on your audio recording or how great your session was, there are 10 hours of podcast editing behind it (also see, ‘What Specs Do I Need For Podcasting And Editing?‘).

If you are a content creator who does not have a team helping you out, then all this work – both the recording and the editing – falls on your shoulders, which is not ideal.

As such, you want to know that whatever software you are using is the best it can be and that it will be something you can use daily with no problems.

There are many podcast recording software out there, but two of the best are Hindenberg Journalist Pro and Reaper.

However, which of these two software is better? Can they be easily used for what I plan to do? Today, we are going to find out.

Best Recording Software

In order to understand whether one is better than the other, we are going to look at each one individually, have a look at what makes them great and what is bad about them, before we give our opinion on which of these two is better. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Hindenberg Journalist Pro

Hindenberg Journalist Pro is a recording software that is not like the others out there.

That is not just us saying that, it is a software that was specifically designed for talking type shows, whereas almost all others have been designed for music or musically inclined individuals (also see, ‘Types Of Podcasts – Different Formats For Podcasters‘).

It started with this vision in mind as well, when the two founders ran into each other in Africa in 2008.

One of them, Nick, was frustrated by the lack of recording software designed for people who are talking to a microphone, rather than recording music.

He and the other founder, Preban – a software engineer – mocked up a prototype of this software and brought it to The Danish Broadcasting Corporation.

They loved it and immediately started using it, birthing Hindenberg.

The first thing about Hindenberg is that it is designed to be easy to use, which is a massive plus in its column.

Most audio recording software is insanely complex for what it does. If you look at Audacity (even Adobe Audition), it has so many features with almost no help in working out what they do.

While Hindenberg does also have a lot of features, it is set in a fashion similar to Microsoft Word – except it looks more stylish – as such making it easier to navigate.

The standard buttons that are all essentials are large and easy to find with handy symbols attached to them, while more advanced effects and editing features are attached to the tracks themselves.

Hindenberg Pro may also have the best recording software to enhance the audio quality of recordings with background noise.

Most decent microphones will pick up too many noises, even the sound of breathing, and many programs will not adjust the audio levels to accommodate for such sounds (also see, ‘How To Make Your Mic Sound Better‘).

However, Hindenberg Pro does this automatically, and you can even manually adjust it, so that background noise is a thing of the past.

Hindenberg Pro On Editing Podcasts

As a podcast editing software, Hindenberg offers a wide range of features that enable you to edit podcasts and more. You can record and mix multiple audio tracks, edit sound levels, add effects, transition between clips, and more.

The software also has an impressive array of audio editing tools to help you get the most out of your podcast editing experience.

Hindenberg Pro is a competitive digital audio workstation (DAW) that includes a library of royalty-free music and sound effects. It also has the ability to easily add transitions between audio clips, so you don’t have to manually adjust volumes every time.

Not only that, but it is relatively cheap, being only about $10 a month, which is not bad, or you could pay outright for perpetual access for $399, which is a lot of money, but we understand it because of the monthly option.

With all these good features, there are still some problems to consider as well.

The first is that you are recording long distance, say your other podcast host is in another city or house, then it can become tricky.

You can set the microphone through Hindenberg to record audio through ‘other applications’, but it will only record them.

As such, you will only ever get one side of the conversation.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Lots of features
• Good audio leveling
• Fairly cheap

Cons:

• Limited in some uses

Reaper

Reaper is a product from Cockos Software, a company founded in 2004 that seeks to bring a plethora of software to different people in a sustainable way.

So far, they have produced 7 different products, with one of them being the audio software Reaper.

Unlike Hindenberg, Reaper is audio recording software for any audio recording you want to do. This means it has plenty of features that you can use and customize in multiple different ways.

In fact, for its sheer range, Reaper deserves brownie points as it is one of the most customizable audio software around.

It allows for mixing, multichannel audio recording, and mastering audio files all for a very small memory footprint on your device.

It has advanced audio track restoration capabilities and powerful automation tools, including the ability to automate clip gain level, track panning and effects bypassing.

Reaper is one of the most versatile digital audio workstations available, with batch processing capabilities and support for multiple plugin formats such as VST, AU, AAX, and ReWire.

The most memory the program will use is about 25 MB which is incredibly low and considering how fast the program runs, it is a wonder they’ve managed to keep the memory down.

One of the best things about Reaper is the price for those only looking to use Reaper for personal, non-profit, or educational purposes.

The total cost in this circumstance is a one-off payment of $60, which makes a great birthday or Christmas present (also see, ‘9 Amazing Podcaster Gifts‘).

Nevertheless, we have to reach the bad points, of which there are a couple. The first is back to the price.

If you want to use Reaper to earn money, then you need to pay $225 upfront. This is okay for a big business, but for an independent musician or podcaster, that’s a lot of money in one go.

If they had a monthly option, this would not sting as much, but unfortunately, they don’t.

Another fault with Reaper is that the interface to use it is difficult to use and incredibly inflexible.

If you do something wrong in the editing process, it may take you hours to fix that little mistake, and learning to use the interface can be so frustrating in its own right.

Pros:

• Broad range of uses
• Lots of customization
• Small memory footprint
• Cheap in certain circumstances

Cons:

• Expensive in certain circumstances
• Very difficult to use

The Verdict: The Best Podcast Recording Software

Honestly, it is hard to choose between the two and say which is better. But we are going to have to give it to Hindenberg.

Even though it is more limited than Reaper, it excels at what it does, and it makes it easy for you to use.

As such, if you are making a podcast or a talk-based audio show, use Hindenberg, however, if you want to make music or a music production maybe have a look at Reaper.

Conclusion: Choosing Podcast Editing Software

Hindenberg is the better of the two recording software, because it focuses on a few things to do, and it excels at them.

Moreover, as one of the best podcast editing software, its focus on podcast editing and its wealth of features make it a great choice for anyone looking to start a podcast. 

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced podcaster, the Hindenberg podcast software is definitely worth considering.

Reaper, on the other hand, is a much more complex recording and audio editing software that can do many things.

While it is great for larger recordists, its complexity makes it tough to use for basic recording and editing. It also lacks the easy-to-use library of sound effects and royalty-free music that Hindenberg has. 

However, both have free trials, so check them out before making up your mind.