ReaperQuickstart

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Revision as of 06:02, 24 February 2007

Main Page > REAPER Documentation

Quick Start

Ready to jump right in and start making music? The info on this page will get you going quickly. One great way to learn Reaper quickly is to read the Keyboard Control section of Preferences (Ctrl-P). Reading this section will give you insight into just how flexible and powerful Reaper is. Can't find what you're looking for in Reaper? Try Right Clicking on everything! You'll be surprised at the power hidden just below the surface!

First Time

Audio Recording Newbies may want to visit the Newbie FAQ first!

When you launch REAPER for the first time, it will open the Brad Sucks demo project automatically. From there, you can press the Play button in the Transport and experiment to learn basic REAPER functionalities. If you need to open the Brad Sucks project again, it is usually installed in the "C:\Program files\REAPER\BradSucks_MakingMeNervous" folder.

Audio Devices

One of the first things you'll want to do with Reaper is configure Reaper to work with your sound card(s). Open the Preferences window (Ctrl-P), and move to the Audio > Device section. Select the type of sound card you're using in the Audio System drop-down box. Most basic cards use WDM. More advanced cards often use ASIO. Read your sound card manual for specifics. A good ASIO driver that will work almost all basic systems and soundcards is the ASIO4ALL driver. It is downloadable free at [1]

Once you've selected the type of card you're using, move to the Input Device drop-down box and select the card itself. Be sure to select the Sample Format (bit depth) you want to use as well as the number of Input/Output channels your card supports and the Sample Rate you prefer. Basic cards are limited to 16-bit. More advanced cards often support 16- and 24-bit.

MIDI Devices

If your sound card supports MIDI, you'll see it listed on the MIDI Devices page of the Preferences window. Select the MIDI device(s) you wish you use, and right-click to enable them.

Recording

To record a new track:

1. Open a new Reaper project
2. Add a blank track (Ctrl-T)
3. Arm the track for recording (click the Record/Arm button on the track)
4. Select the input source (click the Select Recording Mode button on the track)
5. Arm Reaper for recording and start the Transport (click the Record button on the Transport or Ctrl-R)
6. Press the Stop button to stop recording

Importing Existing Tracks

You can add existing sound files to your Reaper project by:

1. Clicking and dragging them in. Reaper will automatically add tracks to accomodate them.
2. Inserting them using the 'Insert' menu item. Note the media item under the Insert menu is for supported sound formats and for video media as well.

Inserting and using a VSTi

Using VSTi's is simple in REAPER.

Setting VSTi preferences

• Check this page: Preferences_Plugins_VST There may be some options that pertain to you and your setup. Usually one that comes to mind are the "get plugin names" scanning options. If you have problems scanning VSTi's, disable the full name scanning REAPER does by default and see if that helps it.

Set your VST path here:

Scan for your vsti's using this button:

Inserting the VSTi into your project

1. First, insert a new track. If you already have a track selected with MIDI items on it, skip this step, obviously.
2. Second, click on the FX button.
3. The "Add FX" box will pop up. For more info on that, go to this page: Add_FX
4. Choose your VSTi

The track is now using that vsti for whatever MIDI items you have inserted on that track. If you want to be able to play your VSTi on a MIDI keyboard or other controller, Check out this article, it will help you with monitoring as well as recording your VSTi:

Recording_MIDI

Mixing

Reaper offers Track Mixers and a Main Mixer. Use either, or both, to set volume & pan, select mute & solo, and to add effects to your tracks. Reaper comes with a large assortment of built-in, high-quality effects. Add them by clicking the FX button on the track.

In Reaper, groups are called Folders. Use Folders to apply volume, pan, and effects to a group of tracks. To create a Folder:

1. Place the tracks you want to combine together in the Track Control Panel
2. Add a blank track above them (Ctrl-T). This will be the Folder track.
3. Click the Folder icon on the Folder track. The icon will change, and all tracks below the Folder track will become part of that Folder.
4. Click the Folder icon on the last track you want included in the Folder. The icon will change, and the Folder is ready to go.

Rendering

When your mix is finished, it's time to combine your individual tracks into a single, stereo file. Rendering is done by clicking File > Render. Reaper supports WAV, Ogg, AIFF, and other audio formats.

If you plan to burn your new song to CD, select "Audio CD Image (CUE/BIN)" as the output format and check "Burn CD Image after render".

Tutorial Videos

The following videos are in Flash streamable format. Make sure you have the latest Macromedia Flash player installed in order to watch them.

• Tutorial 1 - New Project
• Tutorial 2 - Audio Hardware
• Tutorial 3 - Track Recording Setup
• Tutorial 4 - Track FX Chain
• Tutorial 5 - Multichannel Routing
• Tutorial 6 - ReaGate Basics
• Tutorial 7 - ReaComp Basics
• Tutorial 8 - Using ReaComp
• Tutorial 9 - Using ReaFIR
• Tutorial 10 - Semi Automatic Drum Editing

Also, you can download all those videos in Windows Media format for offline viewing here: REAPER Tutorial Videos

Main Page > REAPER Documentation