The Reaper Q&A Thread

futures_untold · Post by **futures_untold** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 6:29 pm

I'm not sure what you're refering to exactly?

Do you mean, when your in the main sequencer view, how do you create a new 'event/block' for a wave to be recorded into? If so, you don't need to. Just click record and a new one is automatically created.

For a new midi block which you can double click to see the piano roll, ctrl-click and drag anywhere on an existing sequencer lane.

For midi control data, refer to the updated manual here ---> http://www.reaper.fm/userguide/ReaperUserGuide303C.pdf

alphacat · Post by **alphacat** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:00 pm

Sorry for not being clear-

I mean simply this (no MIDI anything right now):

If I open up a new lane for my 808 snare, for instance - and I want to draw more 808 snares where I want them on the in that lane instead of copying & pasting the first iteration of the snare within that lane - how is that done? I can't find the paintbrush/pencil/whatever tool to directly draw a .wav event into the lane.

Feel like a retard asking this kind of question when I KNOW it's in the help somewhere. It just didn't appear to me in 2 seconds, so... here I go all nööb style on yo assez.

__________________________________________
OK, separate subject now... (heh)

Nowaysj:

re: Reaper's MIDI piano roll setup - it was much easier to just get going with a plugin and a little melody in my head.

When Acid supposedly introduced VST support at first I was stoked... but the flimsy "support" wound up being totally underwhelming. Some plugs didn't work at all, some worked poorly (automation mapping, etc).

The one thing that I have been able to do easily in Reaper without any tutorials

is set up a new MIDI lane with a plug. Baddabing-baddaboom. Easy as pie. The interface is cleaner and more intuitive.

Acid's routing/setting/automation interface for MIDI channels is fucking maddening... and not being able to apply VST fx to VSTi channels directly but having to do a separate fx bus mix? Fuckdiculous!

alphacat · Post by **alphacat** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:28 pm

Yeah, exactly. Plenty of other programs support application of VST fx directly onto VSTi instrument channels, but not in Acid. It all has to be bussed down to an FX mix, which combined with the bugginess some plugs produce in Acid makes for large not-fun.

Oh, and as for the drawing .wav files directly in Reaper thing - I figured out how to use the CTRL button to get the pencil tool. Yay me!

Although for some reason, it switches to drawing a blank MIDI event in that .wav channel instead of further .wav incidents. WTF? I must be doing something even more 'tarded than usual. I blame the ganja.

Nonetheless my mind is getting made up more and more with each use: Acid is no longer gonna be my main DAW.

Anyone have links to really good-sounding tunes made by folks using Reaper, just out of curiosity? The native sound quality also seems better to me than Acid, but that could just be me.

3za · Post by **3za** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:09 am

i used reaper once about a year a go for about a hour, and just about got it to make a sound. then i never used it again untill the other day now it looks sexy its like FL Studio and Cubase had a baby. im going to give it a go again maybe for a hour again.

futures_untold · Post by **futures_untold** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:08 am

@ Alphacat

Alt-click & drag your sample to create a duplicate. It doesn't create a new copy on your hd, just a copy within the sequencer.

To loop an event, just click on the edge of the event in the direction you want to loop it in.

Reaper doesn't have 'tools' as such. For instance, if you want to split an event, position the play marker where you want to create the split, then press 'S' and it will split into two events. Select both and choose glue from the right click menu and they will become one event again. (This function doesn't have a default keybinding, although you can ssign one from the prefernces menu.)

Another thing to consider is that you can customise the 'tool bar' at the top by going to the 'options' menu > Customise Main Toolbar. Using this feature, any action possible in Reaper can be assigned to a button at the top.

alphacat · Post by **alphacat** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:44 pm

futures_untold wrote:@ Alphacat

Alt-click & drag your sample to create a duplicate. It doesn't create a new copy on your hd, just a copy within the sequencer.

Right, except it's blank: it has the track name but appended to include 'untitled MIDI item' - you can't see the waveform when this happens either, just a blank cell...

futures_untold · Post by **futures_untold** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:23 am

I think you ctrl-clicked instead of alt-clicking...

alphacat · Post by **alphacat** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 4:42 pm

futures_untold wrote:I think you ctrl-clicked instead of alt-clicking...

Aw, fuck. DAMN MY FAT FINGERS!!!

I think you're right.

So last night was over at my bruv's house, the dude I usually make tunes with - and telling him about the decision to switch to Reaper and why and all that (he's more of a hardware type compared to my software geekiness) and expressing that my only concern was A) translating unfinished Acid tracks into Reaper, and B) the learning curve necessary to get at least the same basic level of quality we've been getting from Acid. My concern was basically about the transition time.

Fired up the vaporizer and his PC...

Started fiddling around with what I do know in Reaper, showing him how to draw, insert plugs, etc...

Before you know it, we had the beginnings of TWO sweet little tunes going - totally effortlessly. So much for transition time!

__________________________

However, still got a couple things to figure out... And again bearing in mind that I haven't yet taken a serious look at any tutorials, just figuring it out as I go along right now -

What's the deal with BPM? How do I configure it so that the playback rate change is universal for all .wav files instead of just having it resize the grid?

Also, please tell me there are track envelopes I can manipulate for volume, pan, FX level & automation, that stuff?

alphacat · Post by **alphacat** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 5:45 pm

PS - Sorry for hogging this thread, but I just wanted to say this:

Reaper is making me happier than any music software has in a long time, but at the same time it makes me angry want to kick Sony square in the nuts for charging so much for a program as glitchy as Acid has been.

Hopefully Reaper puts 'em out of biz.

futures_untold · Post by **futures_untold** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:51 pm

Alphacat wrote: What's the deal with BPM? How do I configure it so that the playback rate change is universal for all .wav files instead of just having it resize the grid?

Also, please tell me there are track envelopes I can manipulate for volume, pan, FX level & automation, that stuff?

1> Timestretching in Reaper is a piece of piss.......!

Hold down the Alt button and drag either edge of your sample to stretch/compress it by the desired amount. If you have dragged the edge of a sample in either direction to loop it, alt-dragging will time stretch the entire looped section.

You can stretch multiple samples by selecting them prior to alt-dragging the edge of any of the samples.

Different timestretching algorithms are available, and can be applied on a sample by sample basis. To do this, select a sample, press F2 and select the desired algorithm from the timestretching/pitchshifting section. You can install extra algorithms by firing up the Reaper installation pack, and selecting ReaPitch + all the algorithms from the plugins selection. Reaper can be installed on top of existing versions without effecting any settings or themes etc.

To make sure the timestretch syncs to the BPM, switch on grid snapping (alt-S). To find out more auto timestretching via BPM, check this link ---> http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=36572

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reaper also has a playback speed control (the slider bar at the bottom of the sequencer window next to the BPM box). This functions exactly like the pitch control on a vinyl turntable, so when you slide it up, both the pitch and playback rate go up and vice versa. If you right click on the playback speed slider, you can select an option which preserves the pitch of your samples when you change the playback speed. This causes funky 'higher state of concience' style timestretches!

All of the above can be done on the fly whilst audio is playing! The pitch shifting is also non destructive, so you don't need to worry about fucking up your samples.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2> Click on the 'Env' button for the sequencer track in question and you will find the volume, panning and mute automation options are available to bring up. tick the box for which ever options you want, and a new automation lane will show in the sequencer.

If a new automation lane doesn't show up, it may be that you've 'collapsed' all the automation for that sequencer track to overlay the track itself instead of appearing in a separate track below it.

For each individual automation lane, left clicking the rightmost button gives you the option to overlay that parameters automation on the original sequencer track, or to use its own sub track.

A quick way of showing all your existing automation lanes is to click on the 'Env' button for the sequencer track in question, then to click on the 'Show All' button. All the active automated parameters will occupy their own automation lane underneath the sequencer track that contains the stuff being automated... (if that makes sense??

)

You can also add automation to the master channel by right clicking in an empty area of the left most window and clicking 'show master track' (Ctrl-Alt-M) You can automate the playback slider by selecting it from the 'env' list on the master sequencer track. This is separate to any tempo changes ou may have in the project...

alphacat · Post by **alphacat** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 12:49 am

futures_untold wrote:1> Timestretching in Reaper is a piece of piss.......! Hold down the Alt button and drag either edge of your sample to stretch/compress it by the desired amount. If you have dragged the edge of a sample in either direction to loop it, alt-dragging will time stretch the entire looped section.
You can stretch multiple samples by selecting them prior to alt-dragging the edge of any of the samples.

If you could see my face right now...

futures_untold wrote:...To make sure the timestretch syncs to the BPM, switch on grid snapping (alt-S). To find out more auto timestretching via BPM, check this link ---> http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=36572

My grid snapping is pretty much always on. Did I mention how much I love 1/128th quant. support (unlike Acid 6)?

Gonna peep dat thread and learn more about timestretch in Reaper. Any advice on different stretch algorithms and what uses they might have would be appreciated.

futures_untold wrote:Reaper also has a playback speed control (the slider bar at the bottom... If you right click on the playback speed slider, you can select an option which preserves the pitch of your samples when you change the playback speed.

EDIT: got BPM sorted. I'm just an idjit.

futures_untold wrote:All of the above can be done on the fly whilst audio is playing! The pitch shifting is also non destructive, so you don't need to worry about fucking up your samples.

Yet another clear advantage over Acid 6: not only was realtime manipulation like this a good way to make the program freeze or crash - when you hit 'Save' everything stopped plus certain plugins running when this happened would take a big shit and cause buffer lock!

Reaper is smooth as a silkworm's ass in every comparison here.

futures_untold wrote:2> Click on the 'Env' button for the sequencer track in question and you will find the volume, panning and mute automation options are available to bring up. tick the box for which ever options you want, and a new automation lane will show in the sequencer...

Bro - I owe you LARGE. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my silly

uestions and accelerating this early learning curve. If only I could send you some of what Northern Cali is famous for...

And big up to Cockos, makers of the amazing, faith-restoring Reaper DAW: thank you for making music making fun again for me!

futures_untold · Post by **futures_untold** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 2:26 am

Alphacat wrote:
futures_untold wrote:Reaper also has a playback speed control (the slider bar at the bottom... If you right click on the playback speed slider, you can select an option which preserves the pitch of your samples when you change the playback speed.
Saw that, used to like that function in FL when I used it a while back. However - is there any way to make the BPM, more, um, solid or universal? I just want the BPM that I enter in the BPM field to play back at whatever rate I enter; currently, the playback speed is the same if I enter 50 or 500 in the BPM field. (Sorry to be such a fucktard btw.)

I heartily suggest you invest a bit of time with Reapers manual!

The manual for v3 has been completely rewritten and I found it both easy to read and understand.

Download the latest version of Reaper and the manual from the Cockos website so you are up to date, then get reading!

Chapters you may find helpful include chapter 8, 10 and 14.24

If the manual & some experimental fiddling doesn't answer your question, I'd ask on the main Reaper forum. that said, after reading the chapters mentioned above, I automated the playrate so the samples timestretched according to the tempo. (Read those chapters!)

octy_dbh · Post by **octy_dbh** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:01 pm

is there an already licenced version you can dowload or do i have to pay the £60?

alteratively can any one refer me to a keygen that isnt virus riddled?

cheers

futures_untold · Post by **futures_untold** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:11 pm

octy_dbh wrote:is there an already licenced version you can dowload or do i have to pay the £60?

alteratively can any one refer me to a keygen that isnt virus riddled?

cheers

Reaper runs in unlimited 'demo' mode. The demo mode is the full program with no features disabled.

Pay when you've got the money, until then, just deal with the fact it has a pop up nag screen on start up.

futures_untold · Post by **futures_untold** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:54 pm

nowaysj wrote:They give the app away for free, and mofo's still want to crack it... we have a serious culture problem in the music world.

The Reaper Q&A Thread

Who is online