The Reaper Q&A Thread

[SunkLo]

Just looked up some automation stuff lately actually because I'm getting near the mix stage of a big track.
I know you can hit the Env button on a track and choose a parameter to be visible and also laid over the track lane itself, shift click to add points, ctrl click to draw freehand. I was quite sure you could make curved lines but forgot how and was looking at different videos and stuff and none of them seemed to mention anything other than the curve presets. Was a bit worried for a while but realized you just have to alt-drag the curve
Not sure about editing automation from within clips but you can set the automation in the lanes to lock to the clips so it's the same I guess.

[victoryaloy]

yeah.. the envelope screen is beautiful.. i remember the first time i laid eyes on it!!

Is there any type of envelope for the pitch/mod wheels??
its one of the things thats been bothering me.. it seems like the only way to do it would be if you can assign an envelope to the mod/wheel of the synth you're using.. not threw midi.. if that makes sense.. because if you use midi for it you get stuck with the gay ass little bars.. like in the pic in my last post! which isn't very convenient.. at all! I mainly use massive so I don't thing there is pitchbend/mod wheel programmable envelopes.. if i worded that right! lol

[freakah]

yeah.. the envelope screen is beautiful.. i remember the first time i laid eyes on it!!

Is there any type of envelope for the pitch/mod wheels??
its one of the things thats been bothering me.. it seems like the only way to do it would be if you can assign an envelope to the mod/wheel of the synth you're using.. not threw midi.. if that makes sense.. because if you use midi for it you get stuck with the gay ass little bars.. like in the pic in my last post! which isn't very convenient.. at all! I mainly use massive so I don't thing there is pitchbend/mod wheel programmable envelopes.. if i worded that right! lol

I was after this the other day - search for a plug called ReaControlMIDI - it should be already installed, just plonk that in before your synth and automate the pitch/velocity or whatever control on that in the standard automation way and bingo it works!!

[victoryaloy]

I was after this the other day - search for a plug called ReaControlMIDI - it should be already installed, just plonk that in before your synth and automate the pitch/velocity or whatever control on that in the standard automation way and bingo it works!!

SWEET!!!! I'll try this out!!
Thank you!

[SunkLo]

Yet another example of the incredibly useful utility plugins that come with Reaper. I've got a million compressors but there's not many midi automater plugins that I know of. Utility plugs ftw.
You can also use the JS plugin IX/MIDI Tool II for velocity scaling. Awesome for if you want a drummer to slowly play softer or louder without having to manually edit velocity over several clips.

[victoryaloy]

nice.. I'll have to start digging into the utility plugs a little more

[alphacat]

Question:

Can't seem to find this in the Reaper wiki or any other online resources...

Is there a way to easily replace a bunch of ,wav files in a track lane with a different .wav file while keeping the placement, rate, etc. of the original .wav? I.e. replacing all of the sounds with a new one without having to click each one individually and go into Media Item Properties > Source > Choose New File?

I'd basically like to select a bunch of 'em and replace them all at once with the same new sound but can't seem to find a way to do so.

Thanks!

[futures_untold]

I don't know, but you could try doing two things.

First, select all the items you want to replace then press F2 for the item properties window. Use the method you described. The reason I say this is that for some things like the timestretch algorithm, selecting multiple items prior to pressing F2 will change the mode for all the selected items.

In theory this would work for any music software. Try simply renaming your new file to the same as the old file (and rename the old file to something different). When Reaper next loads the project, it will load the files as usual although they will in fact be the new files.

[alphacat]

I don't know, but you could try doing two things.

First, select all the items you want to replace then press F2 for the item properties window. Use the method you described. The reason I say this is that for some things like the timestretch algorithm, selecting multiple items prior to pressing F2 will change the mode for all the selected items.

In theory this would work for any music software. Try simply renaming your new file to the same as the old file (and rename the old file to something different). When Reaper next loads the project, it will load the files as usual although they will in fact be the new files.

Did the group select/F2 already - the 'Source' stuff disappears when multiple items are selected, and it only shows up when you're viewing one item's properties.

However, the renaming trick is a good one - I shoulda thought of that! I'll give it a go now. Thankya kindly...

[press]

I don't know, but you could try doing two things.

First, select all the items you want to replace then press F2 for the item properties window. Use the method you described. The reason I say this is that for some things like the timestretch algorithm, selecting multiple items prior to pressing F2 will change the mode for all the selected items.

In theory this would work for any music software. Try simply renaming your new file to the same as the old file (and rename the old file to something different). When Reaper next loads the project, it will load the files as usual although they will in fact be the new files.

Did the group select/F2 already - the 'Source' stuff disappears when multiple items are selected, and it only shows up when you're viewing one item's properties.

However, the renaming trick is a good one - I shoulda thought of that! I'll give it a go now. Thankya kindly...

did you try the f2 thing on just one of the items and see if it changes them all? (if possible the first one you made copies of in the sequencer) because each instance of that one item will have the same source file so perhaps it will only let you change one at at a time in the menu but will change the source for each that had/have the old/ same original source. i dunno havent tried it myself.

and i swear i saw in one of the last two updates what i thought was this type of function, but i dont always immediatly comprehend the explinations of all the updates.

[alphacat]

did you try the f2 thing on just one of the items and see if it changes them all? (if possible the first one you made copies of in the sequencer) because each instance of that one item will have the same source file so perhaps it will only let you change one at at a time in the menu but will change the source for each that had/have the old/ same original source. i dunno havent tried it myself.

and i swear i saw in one of the last two updates what i thought was this type of function, but i dont always immediatly comprehend the explinations of all the updates.

I did, and it only changed the item selected and not all of 'em, regardless of the position of that selected item.

And yeah... I thought that'd been addressed too, but if so it's sure not the most obvious thing in the world.

[press]

did you try the f2 thing on just one of the items and see if it changes them all? (if possible the first one you made copies of in the sequencer) because each instance of that one item will have the same source file so perhaps it will only let you change one at at a time in the menu but will change the source for each that had/have the old/ same original source. i dunno havent tried it myself.

and i swear i saw in one of the last two updates what i thought was this type of function, but i dont always immediatly comprehend the explinations of all the updates.

I did, and it only changed the item selected and not all of 'em, regardless of the position of that selected item.

And yeah... I thought that'd been addressed too, but if so it's sure not the most obvious thing in the world.

well shucks i dunno, if you get it sorted let us know. i can really see the advantage of it, like if im doing drumz in audio and need to try a new snare etc.

[futures_untold]

Have you asked on the Reaper forums? Those peeps know Reaper backwards and are usually good at getting to the bottom of tech issues too!

[slyman]

does it say "September 28, 2010 more...
Bugfixes for a Birthday, Bro " for anyone else at the top of reapers site? i just thought it was weird cuz yesterday was my birthday and im like how does it kno??? lol

[alphacat]

Attention all you slack-asses that haven't bought your copy of Reaper yet:

There's a temporary price reduction!

Now there's no excuse to donate some cash to continue development on the best DAW for the price that has ever existed...

Hello my friends,

We are currently expecting to release REAPER 4 sometime near the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011.

The normal price and terms of REAPER licenses will not change from version 3 to version 4:

* If you bought a license during the REAPER 3 series, REAPER 4 will be a free upgrade, and you will continue to get free upgrades through version 4.99.
* If you have never bought a REAPER license, a new REAPER 4 license will be $60 (note: about £25)/$225, and will include free upgrades through version 5.99. (See here for an explanation of the difference between the two license prices.)

We also have a couple of new prices to announce, to make sure everyone feels like they are getting a fair deal, regardless of when they choose to purchase REAPER:

* Effective immediately, new licenses for REAPER 3 will be $40/$150. The license will include free upgrades through version 4.99. The reason for this discount is to offer a fair price during the last part of the REAPER 3 cycle.
* If you bought a license during the REAPER 2 series, you will be able to buy a REAPER 4 license for $50, after REAPER 4 is released. The terms will be identical to a new version 4 license, and include free upgrades through version 5.99. (The $50 price applies to commercial REAPER 2 license holders as well.) The reason for this discount is to say thank you.

In summary, you can:

* Buy a new REAPER 3 license now for $40/150. Includes free upgrades through 4.99.
* Upgrade a REAPER 3 license to REAPER 4 for free, after REAPER 4 is released. Includes free upgrades through 4.99.
* Buy a new REAPER 4 license for $60/225, after REAPER 4 is released. Includes free upgrades through 5.99.
* Upgrade a REAPER 2 license to REAPER 4 for $50, after REAPER 4 is released. Includes free upgrades through 5.99.


Thanks as always for supporting REAPER!

[GRAYSKALE]

Been looking into Reaper alot recently - look sthe tits to be fair and at such a low price it'd be rude not to really! Can anyone attest to the quality of onboard FX bundle with the package?

[futures_untold]

Been looking into Reaper alot recently - look sthe tits to be fair and at such a low price it'd be rude not to really! Can anyone attest to the quality of onboard FX bundle with the package?

The on board effects (called Reaplugs) are generally excellent. There is also the JS plugin format which provides hundreds more plugins upon install. Although I don't use any of the JS plugins, some of them are great. Furthermore, you can write your own JS plugins (or alter existing ones) by opening the JS file in a text editor.

Some of the Reaplugs (which use the VST format) are the very best of their kind amongst the VST plugins available. These include the gate, the multiband compressor/expander, the delay and the parametric eq.

Several are amazing considering the price of comercial alternatives, such as the pitch correction tool which performs the same duties as Autotune.

While functional, a few of them could do with updating, the synth and sampler in particular.

There are several Reaplugs that I don't like personally, like both the reverbs. I have no use (or misunderstand) the FIR plugins, so I can't comment on those.

Overall, I would say that the quality is present in the Reaplugs suite. For the plugins that don't suit your preferences, there are still plenty of alternatives availble in the plugin world. My own approach has been to use several of the stock Reaper plugins while using 3rd party plugins to expand my collection to cover my preferences and needs.

Why not try them out by downloading the plugin suite (which can be downloaded separately from Reaper). You'll find the Reaplugs suite for download at http://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/index.php

[spectrum1]

why can i not copy like 4 bars with the automation intact?
whenever i select the bars i want to copy, the automation fucks up on both the original bars and the new pasted ones
its so simple in cubase and FL :/ anyone help
would like reaper if it wasnt so difficult to figure out basic stuff like this

[futures_untold]

why can i not copy like 4 bars with the automation intact?
whenever i select the bars i want to copy, the automation fucks up on both the original bars and the new pasted ones
its so simple in cubase and FL :/ anyone help
would like reaper if it wasnt so difficult to figure out basic stuff like this

It can, and it is simpler than FL and Cubase on my setup. You need to customise the way Reaper handles automation envelopes to your preferences.

The way in which Reaper handles automation envelopes can be fine tuned to your preferences. There are several ways of doing this.

The first is to look in the preferences dialogue (Alt-P) under the section titled (you guessed it) 'Envelopes'. You can customise the appearance of envelopes at the bottom of the 'Appearance' section of the preferences window.

Next up, and more importantly, there are several editing behaviour options which are not assigned by default. You need to assign them to a toolbar or keyboard shortcut to be able to use them. To assign keyboard shortcuts, press 'Shift-?' or go to the Actions menu and select 'Show Actions'.

Type the following actions into the filter field entry box:

1> Options: Add enevelope point when moving items. assign it to anything you like. This should solve your problem.
2> Options: Envelope points move with media items. (I think by default this is assigned to a toolbar button which you'll find on the top left of the screen. It looks like a financial bar graph, although hovering the mouse over each button will reveal its function.)

Let us know whether this solves things.

Patrick

[slyman]

so i finally got monitors and an audio interface and idk if this is reaper or just that its not possible. is it possible to say have a hardware synth hooked up and put vst effects on it and have them on in real time rather than when im recording only? like the db meter only does anything when im recording.