96For a bound printed copy of the latest version of this User Guide

(printed in B&W) go to LULU.com

Up and Running:

A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

Version 7.81

September 2026

This guide will be updated regularly as the software itself is further improved and developed.

Check for updates and other information at

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/

This document has been produced, compiled and rendered to PDF format using the

wonderful LibreOffice Writer software.

For more information about LibreOffice go to https://www.libreoffice.org/

How to Use This Guide

REAPER is a complex program and there is no single obvious or easy way or order to present all of the

information contained in this guide. If you need more information about any topic than appears on any particular

page, try searching! The PDF edition is bookmarked, and your PDF reader includes a

Find

feature on

its toolbar. Also, both the PDF and printed editions include an index.

Note: The What’s New In This Edition summary can now be found on Page 13.

Not to be republished or replicated in whole or in part in any format, including electronic format,

without my expressed permission.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

ReaRead: REAPER books and training manuals printed and spiral bound are now available from

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/glazfolk

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide

The essential and definitive guide to recording, editing and mixing with REAPER. Fully updated for each dot

version. Includes sample project files and step by step examples to help you learn how to use many

features of REAPER. Includes special sections on routing and audio channel splitting, as well as numerous

examples of how to use and apply many of the supplied FX plug-ins.

Up and Running

is not only a comprehensive guide to using REAPER, it's also full of an amazing amount of

information on audio recording and engineering. I simply cannot recommend it enough!" - Justin Frankel

(COCKOS Inc and REAPER Developer).

ReaMix: Breaking the Barriers with REAPER

This book does much more than just teach you how to use basic tools (such as volume, panning, EQ, gates,

compressors, delay, reverb etc.) to get an OK mix. It also guides you thru the relationships – some simple,

some complex – that exist between the dimensions of sound and the dimensions of space to transform your

OK mixes into great mixes. Although not light on theory, it has a definite practical emphasis, with links to

archives containing some 40 or so project files, with step by step examples to help you put your knowledge

into practice.

"Wow! So much good stuff - from mindbending advanced techniques to solid sensible advice. This guide

should have a positive effect on just about anybody interested in mixing (and especially those using

REAPER)!" - Justin Frankel, Cockos Inc, developer of REAPER.

REAPER Web Resources

The REAPER project is a live, dynamic and ongoing one. Be sure to check these web sites often:

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ The REAPER Home Page

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/download.php The REAPER Downloads Page

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/about.php REAPER Features summary

http://www.cockos.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20 The REAPER Forums

http://www.cockos.com/wiki/ The REAPER Wiki

Sample Project Files

These are available for download from http://www.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/REAPER_User_Guide

The links are case sensitive. After unzipping the files, follow the instructions in README.txt to install. The media

files are in .MP3 format. Some of the examples outlined in this book require recording further tracks in MP3

format. In order to be able to do this, you will need to have an MP3 encoder installed in your REAPER program

directory. The Lame encoder included in the REAPER install package will by default be installed there.

Acknowledgements

Much thanks goes out to the many people who have assisted with or contributed to the production of this guide

over the last dozen years or so. There are so many of you that that if I was to attempt to list names I’d be sure

to miss some out! Thank you very much – you know who you are!

Disclaimer

This document is intended to introduce you to REAPER and to assist you in learning and understanding how to

use this software. It is not, nor is it intended to serve as, a 100% comprehensive encyclopaedic repository of

every detail, every aspect or every application of all of REAPER’s many, many features.

This User Guide is not intended to serve as a comprehensive generic and universal guide to the world of digital

audio. If you feel you need a better understanding of the meaning of terms like bit, byte, amplitude, fast fourier

transformation (FFT), and so on, you can post your questions on the REAPER forums, or find your answers by

searching the internet.

Contents

1 Setting Up and Getting Started...........................................................................................15

1.1 Downloading REAPER.................................................................................................................. 15

1.2 Installing REAPER on a MacOS..................................................................................................... 15

1.3 Installing REAPER on a Windows PC.............................................................................................15

1.4 The Install Options (Windows only)..............................................................................................16

1.5 REAPER’s Default Settings and Preferences...................................................................................16

1.6 REAPER Software Updates........................................................................................................... 17

1.7 Starting REAPER......................................................................................................................... 17

1.8 REAPER Startup Tips................................................................................................................... 17

1.9 REAPER Selections, Controls and Commands.................................................................................17

1.10 The REAPER Screen................................................................................................................... 18

1.11 Introducing the Master Track.....................................................................................................19

1.12 Introducing the Track and Track Controls....................................................................................19

1.13 Arrange View and Mixer View.....................................................................................................20

1.14 Track, Master Track and Mixer Panels: Tips and Layouts..............................................................20

1.15 Setting Up For Audio................................................................................................................. 21

1.16 Input Aliasing............................................................................................................................ 22

1.17 Output Aliasing......................................................................................................................... 22

1.18 Setting Up For MIDI.................................................................................................................. 23

1.19 VST, CLAP and LV2 Plug-ins....................................................................................................... 24

1.20 REAPER’s Installed Folders and File Location...............................................................................25

1.21 Localization and Language Packs................................................................................................ 27

1.22 Backing Up Settings................................................................................................................... 27

1.23 Running REAPER on a Flash Drive.............................................................................................. 27

1.24 REAPER Start Menu Options (Windows only)...............................................................................28

1.25 REAPER File Types.................................................................................................................... 29

1.26 Ruler Display Options................................................................................................................ 29

1.27 Adjusting Font Size.................................................................................................................... 29

1.28 User License Information........................................................................................................... 30

1.29 Pops and Clicks......................................................................................................................... 30

1.30 Uninstalling REAPER.................................................................................................................. 30

1.31 Relative Paths........................................................................................................................... 30

2 REAPER Project Basics........................................................................................................31

2.1 Opening an Existing Project......................................................................................................... 31

2.2 Project Settings........................................................................................................................... 32

2.3 The Transport Bar....................................................................................................................... 34

2.4 Using the Track Controls.............................................................................................................. 35

2.5 Pan Law and Pan Mode............................................................................................................... 36

2.6 Navigation and Zooming.............................................................................................................. 36

2.7 The Visual Track Spacer.............................................................................................................. 38

2.8 Directing Audio and MIDI Output.................................................................................................. 38

2.9 Using the Navigator..................................................................................................................... 38

2.10 Track FX Basics......................................................................................................................... 39

2.11 Using the Supplied FX Presets....................................................................................................40

2.12 Controlling Track FX.................................................................................................................. 40

2.13 FX Window and Keyboard Shortcuts............................................................................................ 42

2.14 Using an FX Bus........................................................................................................................ 43

2.15 Managing the Play Cursor.......................................................................................................... 44

2.16 Analyzing FX Performance.......................................................................................................... 45

2.17 Time Selections and Time Loops.................................................................................................46

2.18 Managing Time and Loop Selections...........................................................................................46

2.19 Navigating by Jumping.............................................................................................................. 47

2.20 Time and Loop Selections and the Transport Bar.........................................................................48

2.21 REAPER Routing Essentials......................................................................................................... 48

2.22 Showing Sends in the Track Panel.............................................................................................. 49

2.23 The Routing Matrix.................................................................................................................... 49

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2.24 Managing Tracks....................................................................................................................... 50

2.25 Keeping a Window on Top......................................................................................................... 51

2.26 The Track Wiring View............................................................................................................... 51

2.27 Docking and Floating................................................................................................................. 53

2.28 The Undo History Window.......................................................................................................... 53

2.29 Multiple Project Tabs................................................................................................................. 54

2.30 Item Names, Buttons and Icons.................................................................................................55

2.31 Online and Offline Media Items.................................................................................................. 55

2.32 Advanced Track Settings............................................................................................................ 55

2.33 Reset REAPER to Factory Defaults..............................................................................................55

2.34 The Big Clock Plus..................................................................................................................... 55

3 Recording Audio and MIDI.................................................................................................57

3.1 Creating a New Project................................................................................................................ 57

3.2 Setting Media Project Options...................................................................................................... 58

3.3 Saving the Project File................................................................................................................. 58

3.4 Creating and Naming Tracks........................................................................................................ 59

3.5 To Prepare and Record One Track................................................................................................ 59

3.6 To Prepare and Record Multiple Tracks.........................................................................................60

3.7 Auto Arming Tracks..................................................................................................................... 61

3.8 Using the Metronome.................................................................................................................. 61

3.9 Recording Stereo Tracks.............................................................................................................. 62

3.10 Multi-Channel Recording............................................................................................................ 62

3.11 Track Templates....................................................................................................................... 63

3.12 Importing an Existing Project..................................................................................................... 63

3.13 Project Templates..................................................................................................................... 63

3.14 Layered Recording..................................................................................................................... 64

3.15 Overdubbing and Punch Recording.............................................................................................64

3.16 Non-Destructive Punch Recording...............................................................................................65

3.17 Destructive Punch Recording......................................................................................................66

3.18 Fades and Crossfades................................................................................................................ 66

3.19 Recording Multiple Takes........................................................................................................... 66

3.20 Displaying Multiple Takes........................................................................................................... 67

3.21 Using Color Coded Takes........................................................................................................... 67

3.22 Working With Multiple Takes......................................................................................................68

3.23 Overlapping Items..................................................................................................................... 68

3.24 Recording Multiple Additional Items............................................................................................69

3.25 Recording with Empty Events..................................................................................................... 69

3.26 Recording with Input FX Plug-ins................................................................................................70

3.27 Input Monitoring without Recording............................................................................................70

3.28 Preserve PDC Delayed Monitoring in Recorded Items...................................................................70

3.29 Recording a Track’s Output........................................................................................................ 71

3.30 Recording FX Bus Output........................................................................................................... 71

3.31 Recording MIDI......................................................................................................................... 71

3.32 Other MIDI Recording Modes.....................................................................................................73

3.33 Recording With a Virtual Instrument...........................................................................................73

3.34 Using Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth.....................................................................................74

3.35 Looped Overdubbing and Looped Time Selection Recording..........................................................74

3.36 Recording with External Hardware FX.........................................................................................75

3.37 Preference Settings for Recording...............................................................................................76

3.38 Track Preferences for Recording.................................................................................................77

3.39 Other Track Recording Settings..................................................................................................77

3.40 REAPER Audio Recording Checklist.............................................................................................78

3.41 Recording MIDI From Keyboard Checklist....................................................................................78

3.42 Recording an Internet Audio Stream...........................................................................................79

3.43 Converting Audio Media Item Format..........................................................................................79

3.44 Recording Live Windows Output................................................................................................. 80

4 Managing Media: The Media Explorer.................................................................................81

4.1 Introduction and Overview........................................................................................................... 81

4.2 Media Explorer Basics.................................................................................................................. 82

4.3 File Management......................................................................................................................... 83

4.4 Working With Metadata............................................................................................................... 84

4.5 Creating and Using Databases...................................................................................................... 84

4.6 Media Item Preview..................................................................................................................... 85

4.7 Inserting Audio Files, Samples and FX...........................................................................................87

4.8 Import Media File Types.............................................................................................................. 90

4.9 Importing REAPER Project Files.................................................................................................... 90

4.10 Previewing and Importing MIDI Files.......................................................................................... 90

4.11 Media Explorer Options and Other Actions...................................................................................91

4.12 REX and Similar File Support......................................................................................................92

5 Project Arrangement Basics...............................................................................................93

5.1 Managing Tracks......................................................................................................................... 93

5.2 Track Control Modifiers................................................................................................................ 94

5.3 Mute/Solo In Front...................................................................................................................... 95

5.4 Auto-Naming Multiple Tracks........................................................................................................ 95

5.5 Searching the Preferences Settings...............................................................................................95

5.6 Track Colors............................................................................................................................... 96

5.7 Track Icons................................................................................................................................ 96

5.8 Track Meter Options.................................................................................................................... 96

5.9 Track Layouts............................................................................................................................. 97

5.10 Displaying Grid Lines................................................................................................................. 97

5.11 Headphone Monitoring and Headphone Mixing............................................................................97

5.12 Understanding Sends, Buses, Submixes and Folders.....................................................................98

5.13 Track Folder Essentials.............................................................................................................. 99

5.14 Track and Track Parameter Grouping.......................................................................................... 102

5.15 Temporary Track Grouping without the Grouping Matrix...............................................................106

5.16 VCA Grouping........................................................................................................................... 107

5.17 Track Group Management from the Track Panel..........................................................................108

5.18 The Track Group Manager.......................................................................................................... 109

5.19 The Main Toolbar...................................................................................................................... 109

5.20 Track Panel and Mixer Panel Layout Options................................................................................110

6 Managing Track and Item FX............................................................................................111

6.1 Grouping FX in Folders................................................................................................................ 111

6.2 Using Boolean Search Filters........................................................................................................ 112

6.3 FX Browser Options..................................................................................................................... 113

6.4 Item Take FX.............................................................................................................................. 113

6.5 Managing FX: Tips and Tricks....................................................................................................... 114

6.6 Controlling FX from the TCP......................................................................................................... 115

6.7 Managing FX Parameters............................................................................................................. 115

6.8 Serial vs Parallel FX Chains.......................................................................................................... 116

6.9 Duplicate Plug-in Priorities........................................................................................................... 116

6.10 Advanced Plug-in Defaults.......................................................................................................... 117

6.11 Advanced Floated FX Window Options........................................................................................117

6.12 Embedding FX GUI in TCP or MCP..............................................................................................118

6.13 Hardware Output FX Monitoring................................................................................................. 118

6.14 Optimizing FX Performance........................................................................................................ 118

6.15 Plug-in Delay Compensation....................................................................................................... 118

6.16 Opening a File in Recovery Mode................................................................................................ 119

6.17 Freezing and Unfreezing Tracks.................................................................................................. 119

6.18 The JS Analysis Loudness Meter.................................................................................................120

6.19 VST and VST3 FX Compatibility Settings......................................................................................120

6.20 Missing Items............................................................................................................................ 121

6.21 Installing Extra JS Plug-ins......................................................................................................... 121

6.22 ReaEffects User Guide Supplement.............................................................................................121

6.23 Audio Signal Flow Chart: Master Track........................................................................................121

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6.24 Audio Signal Flow Chart: Tracks and Folders................................................................................122

7 Managing and Editing Media Items..................................................................................123

7.1 Using an External Editor.............................................................................................................. 123

7.2 Editing Media Items in REAPER.................................................................................................... 123

7.3 Power Editing with Mouse Modifier Overrides................................................................................126

7.4 Auto Trim/Split Items.................................................................................................................. 128

7.5 Media Item Editing with Track Group Items...................................................................................128

7.6 Simple Item Grouping.................................................................................................................. 133

7.7 Storing and Recalling Item Groups...............................................................................................133

7.8 Media Item Properties................................................................................................................. 134

7.9 Media Item Appearance Preferences.............................................................................................135

7.10 Editing Behavior Preferences...................................................................................................... 136

7.11 Overlapping Media Items...........................................................................................................136

7.12 Separating Loop Selection from Time Selection............................................................................136

7.13 Slip Editing............................................................................................................................... 136

7.14 Insert Space in Selection............................................................................................................ 137

7.15 Trim Behind When Editing.......................................................................................................... 137

7.16 Changing a Media Item’s Timebase.............................................................................................137

7.17 Creating and Copying Items in Pencil Mode.................................................................................138

7.18 Propagating Items..................................................................................................................... 138

7.19 Implode Items To One Track...................................................................................................... 139

7.20 Ripple Editing............................................................................................................................ 139

7.21 Trim to Selected Area................................................................................................................ 140

7.22 Item Mute and Solo Actions....................................................................................................... 140

7.23 Displaying the Item Ruler........................................................................................................... 141

7.24 Take Media Source.................................................................................................................... 141

7.25 Normalizing Items..................................................................................................................... 141

7.26 Snapping with Combined Snap/Grid Settings...............................................................................141

7.27 Separate Snap and Grid Settings................................................................................................142

7.28 Free Item Positioning................................................................................................................. 142

7.29 The Nudge/Set Items Window.................................................................................................... 143

7.30 Item Channel Mode and Channel Mapping...................................................................................144

7.31 Adjusting Media Item Fades....................................................................................................... 144

7.32 Crossfades and the Crossfade Editor...........................................................................................145

7.33 Glue Selected Items.................................................................................................................. 148

7.34 Coloring Individual Items........................................................................................................... 148

7.35 Customising Mouse Modifiers.....................................................................................................148

7.36 Dynamic Splitting - Remove Silent Passages................................................................................150

7.37 Item Peak Display Basics........................................................................................................... 152

7.38 Normal Peaks and Spectral Peaks: Display Basics.........................................................................152

7.39 Spectrogram View and Spectral Editing.......................................................................................155

7.40 Loudness Unit Full Scale Modes (LUFS).......................................................................................156

7.41 Sample Editing.......................................................................................................................... 157

7.42 Spectral Repair.......................................................................................................................... 158

7.43 The Pop and Click Remover........................................................................................................ 158

7.44 The Color Picker........................................................................................................................ 159

8 Managing, Comping and Editing Takes.............................................................................161

8.1 Using Item FX with Individual Takes............................................................................................. 161

8.2 Exploding Takes to Multiple Tracks...............................................................................................161

8.3 Crossfades with Takes................................................................................................................. 162

8.4 Exploding Takes in Place.............................................................................................................. 162

8.5 Play All Takes............................................................................................................................. 162

8.6 Editing and Comping Multiple Takes and Multiple Tracks................................................................162

8.7 Take Menu Command Summary................................................................................................... 164

8.8 Propagating Takes...................................................................................................................... 165

8.9 More Take Commands and Actions............................................................................................... 165

8.10 Item Take Markers.................................................................................................................... 166

8.11 Comping with Ranked Take Markers...........................................................................................167

8.12 Fixed Media Item Lanes............................................................................................................. 169

9 Tempo Based Production, Loops, Markers and Regions...................................................175

9.1 Creating Loops............................................................................................................................ 175

9.2 Creating and Navigating with Project Markers................................................................................176

9.3 Time Selection Start/End Markers................................................................................................. 177

9.4 Snapping to Markers................................................................................................................... 177

9.5 Removing Markers...................................................................................................................... 178

9.6 Show/Hide Regions/Markers in Grid.............................................................................................. 178

9.7 Marker Actions............................................................................................................................ 178

9.8 Creating and Using Regions......................................................................................................... 179

9.9 The Region/Marker Manager........................................................................................................ 180

9.10 Regions and Markers: Ruler Lanes.............................................................................................. 181

9.11 Custom Ruler Region Lanes........................................................................................................ 181

9.12 Project Building with Regions.....................................................................................................182

9.13 More About Ruler Lanes............................................................................................................. 183

9.14 Markers and Media Cues............................................................................................................ 184

9.15 Changing the Project Timebase.................................................................................................. 184

9.16 Tempo Based Music Production.................................................................................................. 185

9.17 Embedding Transient Information when Rendering......................................................................187

9.18 Quantizing Items....................................................................................................................... 188

9.19 Dynamic Splitting...................................................................................................................... 188

9.20 Ruler Display Options................................................................................................................ 191

10 Pitch and Time Manipulation..........................................................................................193

10.1 Changing the Project Play Rate................................................................................................... 193

10.2 Changing Pitch for Individual Media Items...................................................................................193

10.3 Using the ReaPitch Plug-in......................................................................................................... 194

10.4 Using ReaPitch with Multiple Tracks............................................................................................195

10.5 Time Stretching......................................................................................................................... 195

10.6 Pitch Correction with ReaTune.................................................................................................... 196

10.7 Stretch Markers......................................................................................................................... 196

10.8 Time Signature/Tempo Changes and Markers..............................................................................199

10.9 Timeline Display: Negative Timecodes........................................................................................200

10.10 Playback Time Offset with Routing............................................................................................200

10.11 Audio Jogging and Scrubbing...................................................................................................201

10.12 REAPER Integration with ARA................................................................................................... 201

10.13 Phase Alignment...................................................................................................................... 204

11 The Mixer and The Master..............................................................................................205

11.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 205

11.2 Alternative Mixer Layouts........................................................................................................... 207

11.3 Tweaking the Mixer Display........................................................................................................ 207

11.4 Managing Parent/Child Tracks.................................................................................................... 208

11.5 Working with FX in the Mixer...................................................................................................... 209

11.6 Working with Sends in the Mixer................................................................................................. 210

11.7 VU Meters on Multichannel Tracks..............................................................................................211

11.8 Track Control Functions............................................................................................................. 212

11.9 Stereo Panning and Dual Panning...............................................................................................212

11.10 Master Track Options and Settings............................................................................................ 214

11.11 Master Hardware Outputs........................................................................................................215

11.12 Master Track Channels............................................................................................................. 215

11.13 Solo Buses.............................................................................................................................. 216

11.14 Using FX Slots......................................................................................................................... 216

12 Managing The Overall Project.........................................................................................219

12.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 219

12.2 Project Timebase, Time Signature and Related Settings................................................................219

12.3 Crop to Selection and Remove Contents of Selection....................................................................219

12.4 Project Lock Settings................................................................................................................. 220

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12.5 The Theme Development Tweaker.............................................................................................221

12.6 The Project Media/FX Bay.......................................................................................................... 221

12.7 The Track Manager................................................................................................................... 226

12.8 Track View Screen Sets.............................................................................................................. 228

12.9 Windows Screensets.................................................................................................................. 229

12.10 Auto Saving Screen Sets.......................................................................................................... 230

12.11 Creating a Text Track.............................................................................................................. 230

12.12 Item Selection Sets.................................................................................................................. 231

12.13 Track, Mixer, Transport and Envelope Layouts...........................................................................231

12.14 Moving Track Panel Position.....................................................................................................232

12.15 Play/Stop Cursor Options......................................................................................................... 232

12.16 SWS Extensions....................................................................................................................... 232

12.17 Using FX Parameter MIDI Learn................................................................................................ 232

12.18 Track Templates Revisited........................................................................................................ 233

12.19 Track Control Panel and Menu Bar Help.....................................................................................234

12.20 Associating Rendered WAV Files with Source Project Files...........................................................234

12.21 Multiple Project Backup Versions............................................................................................... 234

12.22 Using Multiple Dockers............................................................................................................. 234

12.23 Saving New Project Versions....................................................................................................236

12.24 Projects and Subprojects..........................................................................................................236

12.25 Working with Multiple Instances of REAPER...............................................................................240

13 Working with MIDI Items...............................................................................................241

13.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 241

13.2 Monitoring an External Synthesizer.............................................................................................241

13.3 Using Track Controls with MIDI..................................................................................................241

13.4 Controlling MIDI Data Sends...................................................................................................... 241

13.5 Configuring and Accessing the MIDI Editor..................................................................................242

13.6 The MIDI Editor Window............................................................................................................ 242

13.7 Control Change Messages.......................................................................................................... 245

13.8 Control Change Basics............................................................................................................... 246

13.9 MIDI Editor CC Lanes................................................................................................................ 247

13.10 MIDI CC Lanes: Tips & Tricks................................................................................................... 249

13.11 Navigating the MIDI Editor Main Window..................................................................................250

13.12 Basic Note Selection and Manipulation.......................................................................................250

13.13 Loop/Time Selections and Smart Editing....................................................................................251

13.14 The MIDI Editor Menus............................................................................................................ 251

13.15 Note Creating and Editing........................................................................................................ 256

13.16 Using the Keyboard................................................................................................................. 257

13.17 Transposing Notes................................................................................................................... 258

13.18 General MIDI Program Patches.................................................................................................258

13.19 MIDI Preview Scrub................................................................................................................. 258

13.20 F3 - The Panic Button..............................................................................................................258

13.21 M0IDI Editor Modes and Views................................................................................................. 259

13.22 Arrange View MIDI Processing Options......................................................................................260

13.23 Quantizing MIDI Data0............................................................................................................ 261

13.24 Input Quantization................................................................................................................... 262

13.25 Humanize Notes...................................................................................................................... 263

13.26 Step Recording........................................................................................................................ 263

13.27 Working with Multiple MID0I Tracks and/or Items (Overview).....................................................264

13.28 Managing Multiple MIDI Tracks and Items.................................................................................265

13.29 Optimizing MIDI Editor Workflow.............................................................................................. 266

13.30 Editing Multiple MIDI Items...................................................................................................... 266

13.31 MIDI Editor Mouse Modifiers..................................................................................................... 267

13.32 MIDI Editor Actions.................................................................................................................. 267

13.33 MIDI Output Direct to an External Synth...................................................................................269

13.34 In-Line MIDI Editing................................................................................................................ 270

13.35 Copying MIDI Items in Arrange View......................................................................................... 270

13.36 Joining MIDI Items.................................................................................................................. 271

13.37 Audio Items and MIDI Items: Essential Editing Differences.........................................................271

13.38 MIDI Preferences Settings........................................................................................................ 272

13.39 Exporting Project MIDI............................................................................................................. 272

13.40 MIDI Routing, MIDI Buses and ReWire......................................................................................272

13.41 ReaControlMIDI....................................................................................................................... 273

13.42 Some MIDI Plug-ins................................................................................................................. 273

13.43 MIDI Controlled Pitch Shift with ReaVoice..................................................................................274

13.44 The Scale Finder...................................................................................................................... 275

13.45 MIDI Item Source Properties.................................................................................................... 276

13.46 Feedback Routing with MIDI Tracks..........................................................................................276

13.47 Working with Piano Roll Synced to Project Arrange View.............................................................276

13.48 Sequencer Megababy............................................................................................................... 276

13.49 Using MIDI CC Messages to Control FX Presets..........................................................................278

13.50 Custom MIDI Note and CC Names............................................................................................ 279

13.51 Recording and Routing thru MIDI Channels...............................................................................279

13.52 Retroactive MIDI Recording...................................................................................................... 280

14 Music Notation and REAPER's Notation Editor...............................................................281

14.1 A Brief Introduction to Notation.................................................................................................. 281

14.2 REAPER's Notation Editor: a First Look........................................................................................282

14.3 Opening MIDI Items in the Notation Editor..................................................................................284

14.4 REAPER's Notation Editor: A Closer Look.....................................................................................284

14.5 Notation Editor View Options...................................................................................................... 285

14.6 Basic Note Selection and MIDI Editor Tasks.................................................................................286

14.7 Notation Editor Specific Tasks and Functions...............................................................................287

14.8 Working with Notes and Note Selections.....................................................................................294

14.9 Editing Notation Events in Other Views.......................................................................................298

14.10 Exporting MusicXML and PDF Files............................................................................................298

14.11 XML Import............................................................................................................................. 298

14.12 Making a Notation Editor Toolbar.............................................................................................. 298

15 Customization: Actions, Mouse Modifiers, Menus and More..........................................299

15.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 299

15.2 REAPER Actions Essentials......................................................................................................... 299

15.3 The Action List Editor Environment............................................................................................. 299

15.4 The Actions List Context Menu................................................................................................... 302

15.5 Creating a New Keyboard Shortcut.............................................................................................302

15.6 Global Shortcut Overrides.......................................................................................................... 303

15.7 Removing a Shortcut or Changing a Key Assignment....................................................................303

15.8 Action List Sections.................................................................................................................... 304

15.9 Deprecated Actions................................................................................................................... 305

15.10 Keyboard Shortcuts for Recording............................................................................................. 305

15.11 Keyboard Shortcuts for the MIDI Editor.....................................................................................305

15.12 Keyboard Shortcuts for FX and FX Chains..................................................................................306

15.13 Assigning Actions to the Mousewheel........................................................................................306

15.14 Exporting and Importing Key Maps...........................................................................................307

15.15 Creating Custom Action Macros................................................................................................307

15.16 Importing and Loading Scripts.................................................................................................. 308

15.17 Introducing ReaPack................................................................................................................ 308

15.18 Meta Actions........................................................................................................................... 309

15.19 Mouse Modifiers...................................................................................................................... 309

15.20 TCP and MCP Mousewheel Modifiers.........................................................................................311

15.21 Saving and Restoring Mouse Modifier Settings...........................................................................311

15.22 MIDI Editor Mouse Modifiers..................................................................................................... 311

15.23 Customizing the REAPER Menus............................................................................................... 313

15.24 Customizing the REAPER Toolbars............................................................................................315

15.25 Additional Custom Toolbars...................................................................................................... 318

15.26 Toolbar Display Options........................................................................................................... 319

15.27 Smart Tools and Armed Actions................................................................................................ 319

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15.28 The Toolbar Docker................................................................................................................. 320

15.29 Toolbar Appearance Preferences............................................................................................... 320

15.30 Using a Control Device with REAPER.........................................................................................321

15.31 Controlling REAPER with a Web Browser Interface.....................................................................323

15.32 Customizing Track Panel Area Width......................................................................................... 324

15.33 Reset VU Meter Peaks.............................................................................................................. 324

15.34 The Theme Adjuster (Overview)...............................................................................................324

16 REAPER Plug-ins in Action..............................................................................................325

16.1 What Are Plug-ins?.................................................................................................................... 325

16.2 Five Types of Plug-in................................................................................................................. 325

16.3 Adjusting Plug-in Parameter Controls..........................................................................................325

16.4 Sound Shaping Effects: ReaEQ...................................................................................................326

16.5 Time Based Effects: Delay.......................................................................................................... 327

16.6 Analytical Plug-ins: the Frequency Spectrum Analyzer Meter.........................................................328

16.7 The JS Master Limiter and ReaLimit............................................................................................328

16.8 Using FX Presets....................................................................................................................... 329

16.9 Volume Control with Compression: ReaComp..............................................................................329

16.10 Volume Control with a Noise Gate.............................................................................................331

16.11 Time Based Effects: ReaVerb.................................................................................................... 331

16.12 Noise Reduction with ReaFir..................................................................................................... 333

16.13 Multiband Compression with ReaXComp....................................................................................334

16.14 ReaLimit: The Brickwall Limiter.................................................................................................335

16.15 ReaTune Revisited................................................................................................................... 336

16.16 JS Plug-Ins and ReaPack: an Overview......................................................................................336

16.17 Summary Examples of JS Plug-In Categories.............................................................................337

16.18 Bridging and VST Plug-in Run Mode..........................................................................................337

16.19 Controlling FX Parameters on the Fly.........................................................................................338

16.20 Sending FX Output to a Different Track.....................................................................................338

16.21 Third Party Plug-in Presets....................................................................................................... 338

16.22 FX and FX Chain Options.......................................................................................................... 338

17 More Routing Examples..................................................................................................339

17.1 Understanding REAPER’s Channel Routing...................................................................................339

17.2 The Track Routing Button.......................................................................................................... 339

17.3 Send and Receive Types............................................................................................................ 339

17.4 Pin Connectors and Channel Mapping.........................................................................................339

17.5 Sidechaining and Audio Ducking.................................................................................................340

17.6 FX Containers and Parallel FX Processing.....................................................................................341

17.7 Multi-mono/Multi-stereo FX........................................................................................................344

17.8 Sending FX Output to Another Track...........................................................................................345

17.9 Other Channel Routing/Mixing Plug-ins (Overview)......................................................................345

17.10 Further VSTi Signal Routing...................................................................................................... 345

17.11 Round-Robin Multisampling...................................................................................................... 346

17.12 ReaSamplomatic and ReaDrums...............................................................................................346

17.13 REAPER’s Routing Interface...................................................................................................... 348

17.14 Surround Panning with ReaSurround and ReaSurroundPan.........................................................349

17.15 Routing to/from Other Applications with ReWire.........................................................................353

17.16 MIDI Routing and MIDI Buses.................................................................................................. 354

17.17 Multichannel Parent-Child Relationships.....................................................................................356

17.18 Multi Output VSTi Plug-ins........................................................................................................ 357

17.19 Pre-receive Sends and Multichannel Routing..............................................................................358

18 Automation – Envelopes and More.................................................................................359

18.1 Understanding Automation......................................................................................................... 359

18.2 The Track Envelopes Window..................................................................................................... 359

18.3 Automation Envelope Methods................................................................................................... 360

18.4 Available Track and Send Envelopes...........................................................................................360

18.5 Writing Automation................................................................................................................... 360

18.6 Envelope Points Options............................................................................................................ 361

18.7 Writing Mute Automation........................................................................................................... 362

18.8 Automation Modes.................................................................................................................... 362

18.9 Latch Preview Mode.................................................................................................................. 363

18.10 Global Automation Override...................................................................................................... 364

18.11 Envelope Panel and Track Menu Controls..................................................................................364

18.12 The Track Envelopes Window Revisited.....................................................................................364

18.13 The Envelope Manager............................................................................................................ 366

18.14 Manually Editing Envelopes...................................................................................................... 367

18.15 Using the Mouse with Envelopes............................................................................................... 368

18.16 Managing Automation Envelope Display....................................................................................368

18.17 Envelope Shapes..................................................................................................................... 369

18.18 Envelope Edit Mouse Modifiers.................................................................................................. 369

18.19 The Envelope Panel Controls.................................................................................................... 370

18.20 Managing and Manipulating Envelopes......................................................................................370

18.21 Envelope Preferences0............................................................................................................. 372

18.22 Using an Envelopes Toolbar..................................................................................................... 372

18.23 Moving and Copying Envelopes with Items................................................................................372

18.24 Copying Points From One Envelope to Another..........................................................................373

18.25 Automation with Trim Volume Envelopes...................................................................................373

18.26 Locking Envelopes................................................................................................................... 373

18.27 Automation with Grouped Track Parameters..............................................................................374

18.28 Automation of FX Parameters................................................................................................... 374

18.29 Automation of Container FX Parameters....................................................................................374

18.30 FX Automation: Learn Mode..................................................................................................... 375

18.31 Automating a VST with MIDI CC Messages................................................................................375

18.32 Automating FX Parameters on the Fly.......................................................................................375

18.33 Automation with Item Take and Take FX Parameters..................................................................375

18.34 Automation with Hardware Output Sends..................................................................................376

18.35 Automating the Metronome......................................................................................................377

18.36 Tempo/Time Signature and Play Speed Envelopes......................................................................377

18.37 More Envelope Tips................................................................................................................. 378

18.38 Razor Editing with Automation Envelopes..................................................................................378

18.39 Automation with Hardware Output Sends..................................................................................380

18.40 Automation Items.................................................................................................................... 380

18.41 Automation and Envelope Tips..................................................................................................384

19 Parameter Modulation....................................................................................................387

19.1 The Concept............................................................................................................................. 387

19.2 The Interface............................................................................................................................ 387

19.3 Defining a Parameter for Modulation........................................................................................... 387

19.4 Defining a Parameter for Modification.........................................................................................389

19.5 Parameter Modulation with Audio Control....................................................................................390

19.6 Using an LFO Shape with Parameter Modulation..........................................................................391

19.7 Using Parameter Modulation for Dynamic Compression................................................................392

19.8 Bypass Mode............................................................................................................................ 392

19.9 Parameter Modulation Under Parameter Control..........................................................................393

19.10 Using Parameter Modulation with an Envelope...........................................................................393

19.11 Parameter Modulation under Sidechain Audio Control.................................................................394

19.12 Using MIDI Links for Parameter Modulation...............................................................................395

19.13 Further Applications................................................................................................................. 397

19.14 Managing FX Parameters in the Project Bay...............................................................................397

20 Using REAPER with Video...............................................................................................399

20.1 Simple Video Editing.................................................................................................................. 399

20.2 Video Effects............................................................................................................................. 401

20.3 Working with Multiple Video Tracks.............................................................................................402

20.4 Video Processor Parameter Controls............................................................................................ 406

20.5 Supplied Video Effects Presets.................................................................................................... 406

20.6 Video CPU Load........................................................................................................................ 406

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

20.7 Understanding Video Formats.....................................................................................................407

20.8 REAPER Video Processing Tips...................................................................................................407

20.9 REAPER Video Settings and Preferences......................................................................................408

20.10 Video Workflow Tips................................................................................................................ 409

20.11 Making a Home Music Video on a Budget..................................................................................410

21 Exporting Files, Mixing Down and Rendering.................................................................411

21.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 411

21.2 Consolidating and Exporting.......................................................................................................412

21.3 Rendering A Project................................................................................................................... 413

21.4 Dry Run Render Stats and Options.............................................................................................. 416

21.5 Render to File: Source Options................................................................................................... 417

21.6 Project Rendering Examples.......................................................................................................417

21.7 Rendering a Finished Song......................................................................................................... 418

21.8 Rendering a Group of Tracks to a Single Track............................................................................418

21.9 Queued File Rendering.............................................................................................................. 418

21.10 Rendering Regions................................................................................................................... 419

21.11 Batch File/Item Converter........................................................................................................ 421

21.12 Burning an Audio CD with REAPER............................................................................................422

21.13 Saving Live Output to Disk....................................................................................................... 424

21.14 Surround Rendering................................................................................................................. 425

21.15 Rendering a Video Project........................................................................................................ 425

21.16 Stem Rendering Media Items....................................................................................................426

22 REAPER's Preferences and Other Settings.....................................................................427

22.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 427

22.2 General Preferences.................................................................................................................. 427

22.3 Main Project Preferences............................................................................................................ 429

22.4 Audio Configuration and Settings................................................................................................ 432

22.5 Audio Glitches and Related Issues..............................................................................................433

22.6 Audio Preferences..................................................................................................................... 434

22.7 Appearance Preferences............................................................................................................ 437

22.8 Editing Behavior Preferences...................................................................................................... 442

22.9 Media Preferences.................................................................................................................... 446

22.10 Plug-ins Preferences................................................................................................................ 448

22.11 Project and File Management................................................................................................... 450

22.12 Customizing the Performance Meter..........................................................................................451

22.13 Customizing Undo History Behavior........................................................................................... 451

22.14 Custom UI Tweaks (PC)........................................................................................................... 452

22.15 Custom UI Tweaks (Mac).........................................................................................................452

23 U7sing REAPER with Other Applications and Devices (Overview).................................455

23.1 Introducing ReaRoute (PC Only).................................................................................................455

23.2 Setting Up Applications for ReaRoute.......................................................................................... 455

23.3 S7ending Audio from REAPER to Another Application...................................................................455

23.4 Sending Audio From Another DAW App to REAPER......................................................................456

23.5 Using REAPER With a Synth Workstation.....................................................................................456

23.6 Syncing to an External Device....................................................................................................456

23.7 Generating and Sending Timecode..............................................................................................457

23.8 REAPER as Client to MIDI Sequencer Software............................................................................457

23.9 ReaScript.................................................................................................................................. 458

Index....................................................................................................................................459

For a spiral bound printed copy of the latest version of this User Guide 
(printed in B&W) go to LULU.com
What's New In This Edition ….
The table below summarizes the 
main
  feature changes introduced in the most recent REAPER updates. It may include  
features that were previously undocumented, but not bug fixes, performance improvements and minor changes. See 
the official REAPER changelog for full details (Help, Changelog).
Main Changes in 7.74 (June 2026)
File, Open: option to open file in read only mode.................................................................Page 31
Sample editing: various performance improvements.............................................................Page 156
Multi mono and multi stereo FX..........................................................................................Page 338
Main Changes in 7.75 (June 2026)
Navigator: now displays envelope lanes and virtual spacers..................................................Page 38
Sample edits: additional menu options................................................................................Page 156
Sample edits: spectral repair...............................................................................................Page 157
Track FX: using and managing FX slots...............................................................................Page 215
Preferences: whether to limit TCP spacer height to track size...............................................Page 433
Preferences: option to auto zoom to time selection when running sample edit actions...........Page 438
Main Changes in 7.77 (July 2026)
Sample edits: actions added to delete all sample edits...............................................................Page 156
FX slots: enabling/disabling this feature from context menus......................................................Page 215
Main Changes in 7.78 (July 2026)
Paths: relative paths supported................................................................................................Page 30
Spectral repair: repairing audio in spectogram view...................................................................Page 157
Ruler lanes: up to 48 ruler lanes permitted................................................................................Page 181
Mixer: options to mute send for all/selected tracks added to context menus.................................Page 209
Mixer: options to bypass FX slot for selected tracks/all tracks......................................................Page 215
Routing: pre receive sends and multichannel routing..................................................................Page 316
Preferences: Appearance Media Items pref to use faster/less precise item background display......Page 437
Main Changes in 7.79 (August 2026)
Importing files: various seamless changes to simplify/improve tempo-matching behavior ......Pages 87-90
FX slots: various assignable actions to manage mixer/tcp FX slots.........................................Page 215
Actions: actions added to calculate loudness of selected tracks via dry run rende..................Page 414
Preferences: Plug-ins, Extensions page added.....................................................................Page 449
Mac only: option to disable retina drawing for arrange view.................................................Page 437
Main Changes in 7.80 (September 2026)
Item editing: direct sample editing enabled.........................................................................Page 157
Item editing: pop and click remover....................................................................................Page 157
Main Changes in 7.81 (October 2026)
MIDI input: options to dedicate specific channels for control messages on separate devices...Page 23
Fades/crosssfades: various customization improvements......................................................Page 145
Peaks display normal + spect’gm settings: option for peaks overlap spect’gm opacity............Page 153
Colors: new custom color picker..........................................................................................Page 159
Preferences: option to customize fade/crossfade default shapes...........................................Page 432
Preferences: option to hide curve handles when curve is too small........................................Page 440
For detailed list of all changes, go to Help, Changelog.
13

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

How To Search This PDF Guide

This document is optimised for use with PDF-Xchange Editor, Adobe or Foxit. Internal document hyperlinks are

available: click on the hyperlink to jump straight to that part of the document, then use Alt Left-Arrow to return to

where you were.

Most PDF readers allow you to search this (and other) PDF documents. My personal preference is for PDF-

Xchange Editor, which has remarkably powerful and flexible search options. For users of Adobe, detailed

instructions can be found here: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/searching-pdfs.html

That page includes various further links, including one to Advanced Search Options, including:

Press Ctrl F to open a simple search window which enables you to find a word or exact phrase. For example,

type reacomp and press enter to find the first occurrence of reacomp. Two arrows will be displayed to enable

you to move thru the document to the next or previous occurrence. This is not case sensitive.

Similarly, you could search for automation envelopes or Ctrl Alt R to find either of those phrases. Simple

search, however will only find exact matches. For example, a search for track color would find track color or

track colors or track coloring, but not color track

That's where advanced search comes in handy. Press Ctrl Shift F

to open the

Advanced Search

Window (shown on

the far right). This

will find and list in

its context every

instance of your

search string. An

example – after

searching for

reaverb

- is shown

here (immediate

right). Thus, you

are able to jump

straight to any one

of them.

Advanced Search

has many more

features than can

be detailed here:

indeed, the link at the start of this section leads to what is virtually a

manual in its own right! However, in overview, click on Show more

options or (depending on which Adobe version you are using) Use

advanced search options (at foot of window) to enable a whole

assortment of options, including.

 Match any of the words. For example, type color tint to find all occurrence of color or tint, and their

derivatives (e.g. colors, tinting).

 Whole words only to exclude derivatives (e.g. to find reaverb but not reaverbate), and Case

sensitive to force case sensitivity.

 Match exact word or phrase, for example to find frequency spectrum only when both words occur

together.

Other supported features include boolean searches, although for this feature to be available you need to select

the directory where your PDF is stored (rather than Current Document) from the Look In drop down. To learn

more about these and other features, including Search preferences, follow the link at the start of this section.

Note: With REAPER's rapid rate of development, this edition may not be 100% up to date. For a full list of new

and recent features, choose the Help, Changelog command from the REAPER menu. To check for the latest

versions of both REAPER and this User Guide, go to http://www.cockos.com/reaper/download.php

Setting Up and Getting Started

1 Setting Up and Getting Started

1.1 Downloading REAPER

To download REAPER, visit the download page http://www.cockos.com/reaper/download.php. Read the on-

screen information carefully (especially about 32 bit and 64-bit) and be sure to select the correct version for your

computer. If you keep the program for more than 60 days then you must purchase a license. To purchase your

REAPER license, go to http://www.cockos.com/reaper/purchase.php

After downloading you will need to install the program. There are differences in the installation process for

MacOS (Mac) and for Windows (PC).

1.2 Installing REAPER on a MacOS

To install REAPER on a Mac (MacOS) follow this procedure.

1. Double-click on the REAPER disk image (.dmg) file to open

it.

2. If you agree to accept the licence conditions, click on

Agree to open this file.

3. Drag and drop the REAPER icon (shown right) into your

Applications folder.

To pin REAPER to the dock, simply drag and drop the REAPER

icon from the Applications folder on to the Dock. We strongly

recommend that you should also, under System Preferences,

ensure that for your Mouse right click is enabled as a

secondary button.

1.3 Installing REAPER on a Windows PC

To install REAPER on a PC with

Windows you should follow this

sequence:

1. In Windows Explorer, find

the install file. The file

name includes the current

version number, e.g.

reaper70-install.exe.

2. Double click on this file to

start the install program.

3. Click the I Agree button to

accept the conditions and

continue.

4. For a normal install, accept

the default folder offered to

you (but see note below) -

for example, C:\Program

Files\REAPER (x64).

5. If you need to, enable the

Portable install option

(see note below), then click

Next.

6. Select which elements you wish to install (if in doubt accept the default settings - see also section 1.4

below) and click on Install.

7. Wait while the program installs. When prompted, click on Close to close the Install program. You will be

asked if you wish to run the program now: in this case, choose No.

8. Follow any other on-screen instructions.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

Note: If installing REAPER for the first time, or if you wish to replace an existing installed version of REAPER

with this one, you should accept the default destination folder and not enable portable install. If you wish to

install this alongside an existing installed version (such as 7.xx), then change the destination directory (e.g. to \

REAPER7) and enable portable install. Existing settings and preferences will be preserved separately.

For more information about portable instals, see Relative Paths.

Tip: If you choose not to install some of the REAPER program elements or options, you can later change your

mind by simply running the install program again.

1.4 The Install Options (Windows only)

The Install screen lets you decide which REAPER elements you choose to install and which ones you prefer not to

install. Listed below is a summary of your main options. By default, most of them are enabled.

Item Explanation

Required files

These are the files that

REAPER needs in order to

perform effectively. You have

no choice but to install these.

A number of optional

functions are also available

(shown right and explained

below).

Make sure the boxes of any

that you require are ticked,

and that those you don’t want are unticked..

Optional Functionality ReWire

ReaRoute ASIO driver

These options enable REAPER's various advanced routing capabilities, such as

controlling the passing of audio/MIDI material between REAPER and other

programs. If you choose not to install these, you can reinstall REAPER to add

them at any time in the future.

Configure Windows to save REAPER crash dumps. This option causes

diagnostic information to be saved in the event of REAPER crashing. By default

this option is set to off.

Desktop Icon Leaving this option selected ensures that a REAPER shortcut icon will be placed

on your Windows desktop.

Start Menu Shortcuts Leave this option ticked for REAPER to be added to your Windows Start Menu.

Associate with RPP

Files

Ticking this option will enable you to open REAPER with any of your REAPER

Project files direct from Windows Explorer or any desktop shortcut that you

might create for your projects.

1.5 REAPER’s Default Settings and Preferences

Throughout this guide you will find frequent references to various preferences and settings that help determine

REAPER’s behavior.

● If you are installing REAPER on your computer for the first time, the default settings and preferences

described throughout this document will be applied.

● If you are installing REAPER over the top of, and replacing, an earlier version of REAPER, your existing

settings and preferences will be ported across to the new installation.

For example, for a brand new installation of REAPER 7, the REAPER 7 default color theme will be selected.

However, if you are installing it over an earlier version, such as REAPER 6.xx, then your previously selected

theme will be applied. You could change this using the Themes command from the Options menu.

Setting Up and Getting Started

1.6 REAPER Software Updates

REAPER is updated frequently with bug fixes, new features and other enhancements. You can check for updates

at any time by visiting http://www.reaper.fm/ Simply download and install. There is no need to first

uninstall any previous version. Existing preferences and settings will automatically be carried over.

Tip: An option is available under Options,

Preferences, General (Startup Settings) to have

REAPER automatically check for updates each time the

program is started. By default, this option is enabled. If

you do not wish to be notified whenever a new version is available, you can disable it.

1.7 Starting REAPER

To start REAPER, just double click on the REAPER desktop icon. You might also wish to

consider creating a keyboard shortcut for this. For Windows users, this is done using the

Shortcut tab of the icon's Properties dialog box. Right-click over the icon to display this.

Tip: If REAPER fails to open but instead returns an error message then this is most likely because of an issue

with a third party plug-in. Try opening it using either of the methods described below (section 1.8).

1.8 REAPER Startup Tips

By default, REAPER opens with the last used project. As you will see in Chapter 22 (Preferences, General), you

can disable this behavior. Also, you can use hot keys when starting REAPER to override the default behavior:

Action Booster Key(s)

Open REAPER without loading last project. Shift (while starting REAPER)

Open REAPER without loading any default project template. Ctrl Shift (while starting REAPER)

Open REAPER without scanning new/updated VST plugins. Ctrl (while starting REAPER).

1.9 REAPER Selections, Controls and Commands

Working in REAPER involves making selections and giving commands. For example, to copy a single item you

would select the item (usually using your mouse) and then give the command for REAPER to copy it. Other

times, you will use commands that affect the whole project file without any selection. For example, you might

wish to save all your work. In that case, there would be no need to select anything – you would only need to

give the necessary command. There are four main methods commonly used to give commands in REAPER:

Method Comment

The Main Menu As with other applications, this is accessed by the mouse or keyboard.

Context Menus Click your right mouse button over an item or area of the screen to display a context

menu relevant to where you have clicked.

Toolbars Click your mouse on any toolbar button for its command to be executed.

Keyboard

Shortcuts

Many commands and actions can be accessed by keyboard shortcuts. You can also

assign your own shortcuts to other commands and actions. Chapter 15 explains this.

In some cases, different modifier keys are used for the PC and for the Mac. The

examples used throughout this guide are PC (Windows) shortcuts. Mac users should refer

to the summary table of similarities and differences shown below:

PC (Windows) Key

Shift

Control (Ctrl)

Alt

Windows

Mac (MacOS) Key Equivalent

Shift

Command (Cmd)

Option

Control

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

1.10 The REAPER Screen

The screen shots shown throughout this book mostly use the REAPER 7 default theme.

When you start REAPER, it displays a screen similar to that shown below. The table below the illustration

introduces briefly each of the main screen elements.

Note: You can adjust the boundary between the arrange view and the track panel so as to

allocate screen space between the two as you wish. Hover the mouse over the border between

the track panel and arrange view to display a horizontal double-headed arrow across a light

blue vertical line. You can then drag the boundary left or right as you wish.

Element Explanation

The Menu Bar This displays the Main Menu near the top as a row of commands – File, Edit,

View, Insert, Item, Track and so on. As in other Mac and Windows applications,

the menu is used to give commands.

The Main Toolbar Just below the menu are two rows of buttons. This is the REAPER Main Toolbar.

You can hover your mouse over any button to obtain a tooltip (see example, left).

Some of the tools might appear animated. Don't worry about this for now. The

various icons are introduced and explained throughout this guide as they are

needed, and summarized at the end of Chapter 5. In Chapter 15 you will be shown

how you can customize this toolbar and/or create your own toolbars.

The Master Track

This is where the audio output of your track mix is processed before being sent to

your headphones and/or speakers.

The Track Control

Panel (TCP)

This area displays and manages the behavior of your audio and MIDI tracks - in

the example above, the project does nob yet include any tracks. Clicking on the +

sign (in the circle) will add a track.

The TCP Toolbar

This is the + sign enclosed in a circle, just below the main toolbar. Click on this to

add a new track to your project. Right click for a menu of other options.

Setting Up and Getting Started

Element Explanation

The Arrange Area:

Main Window

To the right of the TCP, this contains a track's media items (audio and/or MIDI

and/or video).

The Transport Bar

This is used to control recording and playback – for example, to start and stop

recording. We'll look at this in detail in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.

Don’t be surprised if your screen doesn’t look exactly the same as that shown. The REAPER screen can be

customized to suit your individual needs. All this will be explained as we go along!

1.11 Introducing the Master Track

The functions of the track master can appear overwhelming. Experienced hands will find this information useful:

for others, everything mentioned in this section will be explored and explained in detail later in this User Guide.

To show the master track in arrange view, choose the

command View, Master Track or press Ctrl Alt M. This

will toggle display of the master track. As its name implies,

the master track controls the output of your mix to

speakers, headphones, etc.

The functions of the volume, mute and solo controls are

self-explanatory. The route button opens a window where

you can individually control the volume and panning of the

signal sent to different paired outputs – for example, to

studio monitors and to headphones.

You can add a FX chain and control panning. As well as

simple left/right pan, right click on the pan pot for other options, e.g. to specify a pan mode and/or pan law. The

trim button gives you access to REAPER’s envelope manager, where you can automate changes to, for example,

volume, panning and various FX parameters. Finally, the Mono/Stereo button lets you specify mono or stereo

output, with various options available for mono. All these issues will be explained in detail throughout this guide.

By default the master track is pinned to the top, and will remain there even as you scroll down through a project.

1.12 Introducing the Track and Track Controls

Tracks are created by clicking on the + sign in the track

panel, or by double-clicking in the empty space that

surrounds it.. Right click for an option to add several tracks.

Shown here are REAPER's default track controls and layout.

The exact appearance may vary according to factors such

as the track height and the track control panel width.

By default, some of the available controls might not

be visible in the TCP when you first start REAPER.

This is because some controls are only needed (and

therefore only displayed) when you are preparing to record

or recording. We'll get to these in Chapter3.

The function of most of these controls is self-explanatory,

although some (such as mute and solo) can be assigned subtle variations, as you will see shortly.

Double click in the track name area to enter a name.

The record arm button is used when you nwish to record on to that track.

The track routing button opens a window for routing track output to other tracks (such as perhaps an FX bus).

The FX Chain can be opened to add FX plug-ins (such as EQ or delay) to a track. The trim button opens the

envelope manager where you can add automation for controls such as volume and pan, and for FX parameters.

The pan button adjusts the balance between left and right speakers. Phase control is used to invert phase.

Note: By default, the volume and pan controls work with audio items, not MIDI. To change this for any track(s),

choose MIDI track controls, Link track volume/pan to all MIDI channels from the right-click menu.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

1.13 Arrange View and Mixer View

As you become more used to working with REAPER you will need to understan d the basics of the relationship

between arrange view

(which we have already

examined) and mixer

view. Ctrl M toggles

display of the mixer. An

overview of REAPER's

mixer view is shown

here (right).

The mixer duplicates all

of the functionality of

the track panel as well

as providing a number

of additional features.

As its name implies,

arrange view is

generally the preferred

way of working when

you are building your

project – laying down

and recording tracks,

adding FX, etc.

Mixer view is at its most

useful, also as its name

implies, whenyou have

substantially finished building your project and are ready to mix it down to produce a finished project. You don't

need to know a lot about it when you are starting out. We'll explore it in detail in Chapter11.

That said, note that if you do open the mixer then

some controls will by default not be shown in the

track panel. (as shown here). These include the

routing button and the pan button. This brings us to

our next topic ...

1.14 Track, Master Track and Mixer Panels: Tips and Layouts

REAPER includes a theme adjuster module which (amongst many other things) can be used to customize your

track and mixer panel layouts. It comes with three pre-defined layouts – A, B and C - for each of these.

The default layout for the mixer is A, as shown above. The default layout for track panels is A when the mixer is

displayed, B when the mixer is closed. Layout B shows all controls. To summarize:

To do this … You can do this ...

Toggle display of master track Press Ctrl Alt M.

Toggle pin master track to top Right click over master, choose Pin tracks to top of arrange view.

Toggle pin any track to top Right click on track panel, choose Pin tracks to top of arrange view.

Insert a new track Double click in empty track panel area or empty mixer view area.

Delete an existing track Select track in panel in arrange or mixer view. Press Delete.

Toggle display of mixer Press Ctrl M.

Select a track panel layout From menu choose Options, Layouts, Track Panel, then A, B, or C

Select a mixer panel layout From menu choose Options, Layouts, Mixer Panel, then A, B, or C

Setting Up and Getting Started

1.15 Setting Up For Audio

Before you can record or play anything you will need to set up your audio preferences. This is needed to tell

REAPER which audio device(s) you have, and how you wish to use them. There are differences in how you

should do this for a Mac under MacOS and a PC under Windows. It is also advisable to disable System Sounds.

For MacOS users, this is done in System Preferences. Windows users should use the Control Panel.

Even if you work exclusively with MIDI, you will need to set up audio to enable (for example) metronome

sounds and to use synths to play back your MIDI material.

1.15.1 Setting Up For Audio (PC Windows)

To set up your Audio

Device, first choose

Options, Preferences

from REAPER's Main Menu,

then under Audio select

Device.

If using the PC's internal

sound card, get to know its

control software (opened

from the Windows Control

Panel). This can prevent

previously recorded

material from being mixed

back in and re-recorded

with new material when

new tracks are overlaid. If

your sound card includes

its own ASIO drivers then

these are usually

preferred. On the Audio

Device Preferences screen,

you should set the

following options:

Item Comment

Audio System The other items on this screen will vary with the audio system selected. Choose ASIO

and ASIO drivers if they are available for your sound card or Firewire or USB device.

Otherwise, WASAPI or WaveOut will usually give better performance than will the

Direct Sound setting: you might need to set WASAPI to Exclusive mode.

Enable Inputs This option needs to be turned on (ticked) if you wish to use REAPER for recording.

Input Range If your device has multiple inputs (up to 512), specify the first and last that you want to

be available. In this example, eight inputs are available, allowing up to eight

microphones or lines (in any combination) to be used simultaneously for recording.

Output Range If your device has multiple outputs (up to 512), specify the first and last that you wish to

be available. Usually, your MASTER bus will direct output to a single pair of outputs, but

you can use the others also if you wish.

Request sample

rate/block size

Tick these to set sample rate and block size for your audio device here (generally

preferred), or leave these blank if you wish to use your sound card's own control

software to set these. If unsure, start with 44100 and 512.

ASIO

Configuration

If your sound card/audio device uses ASIO drivers, then clicking this button will give you

direct access to the control software for your sound card/audio device.

Audio Thread

Priority

Assigning a higher priority will ensure that audio threads will be processed ahead of

other threads (e.g. graphics).

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

1.15.2 Setting Up For Audio (MacOS)

Audio devices on the MacOS are set up and selected in the MacOS Audio MIDI Setup. Make sure you have first

downloaded and installed the latest Mac updates You should also check your Audio Device in REAPER. To do

this, start REAPER and choose the Options, Preferences command from REAPER's Main Menu, then under

Audio select Device from the list of headers in the column on the left.

In the first example shown

below, a USB Saffire device

(a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40)

has been installed. Saffire

has therefore been selected

so as to ensure that this

device is used for both

input and output. You can

(as shown here) set the

sample rate and block size

(which helps determine

latency) here, or you can independently open the device's own control panel and set them there. If unsure, set

these at 44100 and 512 to begin with.

If using the Mac's internal sound card, you need to prevent existing material being mixed back into, and re-

recorded with, any tracks that are

added later.

To do this, you will need an

aggregate device. Open the OS X

Audio MIDI Setup then click on

the + in the bottom left corner of

the window to create such a device.

Add to this aggregate device the

built in input and built in output as

shown here. If you wish to rename

it, double click on the text Aggregate Device.

Next, in REAPER's Audio, Device

preferences screen, select your aggregate

device and Apply your changes. You will

now be able to use your headphones with

the computer's audio out socket and your

microphone with its audio in socket. Using

an aggregate device can also resolve

routing issues which can arise if using built-in inputs and outputs.

1.16 Input Aliasing

REAPER supports Input Aliasing. This is the ability to give your own names to your audio inputs. It can be

used to shorten the long names that the system will often give to these inputs, especially when your device

supports multiple inputs. An example of the use of this feature might be to change names like Analog In 1

Delta 1010 (1), Analog In 2 Delta 1010 (1) and so on to just Mic/Line 1, Mic/Line 2, etc.

Input Aliasing is accessed from the Audio Preferences screen. Select Input Channel Name

Aliasing/Remapping. The method is similar to that used for output aliasing – see section below.

1.17 Output Aliasing

REAPER also supports Output Aliasing. This enables you to give names to your audio outputs, names that

make sense to you. This is especially useful if your sound card or other audio device provides multiple outputs.

For example, one pair of outputs might be connected to your control room monitors, another to studio monitors,

and a third pair to a multi-output headphone monitor. By default, your outputs will have names something like

those shown here (below right). Clearly, these names are not very useful to you.

Assigning aliases to outputs can ensure that whenever you see them listed (e.g, when specifying the output to

be used by your Master) your own names will be displayed, instead of the hardware device output numbers.

Setting Up and Getting Started

Example

To create output aliases:

1. Choose the Options, Preferences command.

2. Display the Audio page. In the section Channel Naming/

Mapping tick the option Output Channel Name

Aliasing/Remapping.

3. Click on the Edit Names/Map button.

4. Double-click in the Aliased Names column on each item in

turn to edit them, then click on OK to return to the Output Channel Alias/Mapping window.

5. Click on OK to return to the Preferences dialog box, then OK to close the dialog box.

Your specified names will be automatically used throughout REAPER. The topic of assigning outputs to tracks will

be covered later, beginning with Chapter 2.

1.18 Setting Up For MIDI

To use MIDI, you need to enable your MIDI devices. Many PCI sound cards and USB audio devices include MIDI

input and output ports (for use, for example, with a MIDI Keyboard). For beginners you should be able to simply

enable the devices and accept the default settings. Other options are available for more advanced users.

MIDI Input

Choose Options, Preferences from the

Main Menu, then Audio, MIDI Inputs.

You can select in turn each of your MIDI

Input devices, right-click over its name,

then choose Enable input for track

record input. You can double-click on any input device name to display its Configure MIDI Input settings

(see below right). This enables you to assign your own name (or alias) for the device, or to specify your

advanced timestamp options (if required). You can also Enable input for control messages if you wish to use

the device as a MIDI controller – see also Chapter 15.

Where several devices are present (input or output) you can click on any column header (Device, Mode or ID) to

sort the device list in that order. If the device list includes

items no longer present right click over its name and choose

the option to Ignore device.

To assign your own name or to specify a time offset for any

MIDI Input or Output device, double click over the device

name in the MIDI input devices list.

Enable input for all MIDI inputs lets you specify an input

channel when recording MIDI.

To use a Control Surface, such as a Presonus Faderport, with

REAPER, you should double-click on its name to open the

dialog box shown here, then choose Enable input for

control messages. If you are working with several devices

you can thus ensure that any device’s input will always be

received on its own specified channel. The use of Control

Devices will be explained later in this guide, notably in

Chapters 12 and 15.

Reset: Near the foot of the MIDI Input Devices preferences

window there is the options for Reset all MIDI devices.

Loopback: The Add virtual MIDI button includes an option

to Add loopback MIDI device. This allows a device to

receive the MIDI of the matching output, with a delay of one audio block. This option is best avoided by

beginners.

If you wish to use a joystick with REAPER you should click on the Add virtual MIDI button on the MIDI input

devices screen, then Add joystick MIDI, then select the device name and processing script. You can also

specify whether you wish to use it for Virtual MIDI Keyboard input an/or as a MIDI control/learn device.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

MIDI Output

Choose Options, Preferences from the

Main Menu, then display the MIDI

Outputs screen (under Audio). You can

select in turn each of your MIDI Input

devices, right-click over its name, then

choose Enable Output. You can double-

click on any input device name to display its Configure MIDI

Output settings (right).You can assign a name (or alias) for the

device, or specify your advanced timestamp options (if required).

Experienced users might wish to note that these options are also

available on the context menu that is displayed by right-clicking

on the device (shown below).

This screen also presents several checkbox options: Restrict

MIDI output to one thread, and options to determine how and

when to Reset. Leave these at their default settings.

Other Audio Preferences.

Other Audio Preference

screens including

Buffering, Playback

and Recording will be

dealt with later in this User Guide, particularly in Chapter 22. For now

leave these settings at their defaults: you can change them later if the

need arises. Clicking on OK will close the Preferences box and cause

your settings to be remembered.

This section has covered the general issues involved in setting up your

system for working with MIDI. For project specific settings and options,

see Chapter 2. In particular, if you are working primarily with MIDI

material you may wish to change the default project timebase setting.

This too is explained in Chapter 2.

1.19 VST, CLAP and LV2 Plug-ins

There’s one further Preferences screen you will probably want to visit

before you get started – VST Plug-ins. REAPER has several pages of Plug-in Preference screens, but most can

(at first at least) be left to their default settings. However, if you have a collection of VST and/or VSTi Plug-ins

(including VST3), REAPER needs to be told where to find them. Note that VST3 plug-ins should be kept in

directories separate from other plug-ins.

Choose Options, Preferences , then select VST in the Plug-ins section. You can use the Edit path list…

button to locate your plug-ins. This offers you a number of options. Add system VST paths will detect and

select those directories used by default for installing many plug-ins. You can also use the Add path... option to

identify and add other folders. You can leave most other settings as they are (at least for now).

MacOS uses two “built in” folders for installing shared plug-ins. These are Library/Audio/Plug-Ins and

Users/<your account>/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins. REAPER will scan these by default: you should, however,

check that they are

automatically listed as

your VST plug-in paths.

If not, you should add

them.

By default, REAPER will

scan the specified

directories to look for

new plug-ins each time

it starts up. You can

disable this by turning off the option Scan new/updated plug-ins on startup.

Setting Up and Getting Started

Windows by default uses C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3, but if your VST plug-ins are spread across

several folders it might not be able to locate all of these for you. In this case you may need to use the Add path

... option several times, each time selecting one of your folders. Use the OK button in the Browse for folder

window each time after selecting the folder name. Clicking the Re-scan button in the above window will then

make the contents of your VST and VSTi folder(s) available immediately. REAPER will also scan any subfolders.

Re-scan… button will also check for any listed plug-ins that failed to scan earlier.

REAPER will automatically scan your VST folders each time the program is launched. You can also return to this

screen at any time and add more VST folders later. Specify the extra location(s) of your VST plug-ins, then Re-

scan then Apply then OK to close this screen and cause your new settings to be remembered. You can find

more information about the various VST Preferences settings and options in Chapter 22.

VST and VST3: important note: REAPER scans for VST plug-ins according to your directory list, from left to

right. If a VST3 plugin is named even slightly differently from its VST version, both will be installed. If both are

named identically, only the last one found will be installed. Consider making your VST3 directory last in the list.

Of special use to Linux users, REAPER will also automatically scan for LV2 plug-ins, and install any that it finds.

Various options for managing LV2 plugins are available on the Options, Preferences, Plug-ins, LV2/CLAP page.

REAPER also supports Clever Audio Plugin format (CLAP) plug-ins. Options for scanning and installing these are

also available on the LV2/CLAP preferences page.

1.20 REAPER’s Installed Folders and File Location

The locations to which REAPER's various resources are installed will depend on whether you are using OS X or

Windows, and

even then which

version: for

example,

Windows 11

behaves

differently from 7.

To identify where

the various files

are located,

choose Show

REAPER

resource path in

explorer/ finder

from the Options

menu.

Shown here is an example of the OSX Finder path. The Windows Explorer display is similar. Several of these files

will be referenced elsewhere in this guide. Meanwhile, you might find the following table helpful:

REAPER’s Installed Folders and File Locations

The Registry

(Windows only)

Windows users note: REAPER does

not

store any install data, settings or

preferences in your Windows Registry. Windows will set up an item for

REAPER under HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE, Software but it contains no data

other than keeping a record of your file movements in Registry areas such

as its MUICache and creating file associations, so that you can open .RPP

files (for example, in Windows Explorer) by double-clicking on them.

The REAPER Install

Directory – MacOS

MacOS installs REAPER to its Applications folder. Copy any PDF files (such

as this User Guide) that you want to be able to access from REAPER's Help

Menu to:

/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/REAPER

With some versions (e.g. Lion) you may need to hold down the Options key

while displaying the Go menu to make this path accessible.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

REAPER’s Installed Folders and File Locations

The REAPER Install

Directory - Windows

By default, REAPER on Windows installs to C:\Program Files\REAPER

Copy into this directory any PDF files (such as this User Guide) that you

want to be able to access from REAPER's Help Menu.

Some of the optional install items are held in sub-folders of C:\Program

Files\REAPER. These include the COCKOS ReaPlug VST plug-ins and (if

installed) the SWS Extensions. Anything stored in this directory is accessible

to all users of REAPER on this computer.

Most REAPER features (such as configuration files and custom settings) are

placed into an Applications Data or AppData folder. The location of this will

depend upon which version of Windows you are using.

The Application Data/

Support Directory

To access the REAPER AppData or Application Support folder, choose

Options, Show REAPER resource path... from REAPER's main menu.

Some of the main items you can expect to find there are listed below.

Sub Directories You should find that you have a number of sub-directories here, such as:

Color Themes

Configurations

Cursors

Data

Effects

FXChains

KeyMaps

MenuSets

Plug-ins

Presets

Project Bays

ProjectTemplates

QueuedRenders

Scripts

TrackTemplates

User Plugins

Many of these are self-explanatory, especially those which contain the

various files and items that you can create yourself as an aid to managing

your REAPER projects. For example, any FX Chains that you create will be

stored on the FXChains sub-directory. Custom menu and toolbar data is

stored in the MenuSets sub-directory, and so on.

Topics such as creating FX Chains and Custom Menus are covered

elsewhere in this user guide.

Information held in the Data directory includes track icons and toolbar

icons. The Effects folder is where your JS effects are stored.

preset-vst-

plugname

.ini

For each VST plug-in, a separate file is used to store any presets that you

have created or imported.

REAPER.ini

This includes all of your Options, Preferences settings, information about

your last screen layout, and your recently used projects history.

reaper-dxplug-ins.ini

reaper-vstplug-ins.ini

These files store information about your installed plug-ins.

reaper-reginfo.dat

reaper-reginfo.ini

Store your product registration data

reaper-recentfx.ini

This file stores a list of your recently used FX: this list is used to produce the

Recently Used FX submenu that is available in the Mixer.

screensets.ini

This file stores details of your windows screen sets. Note that track screen

sets are stored with the relevant .RPP file.

Specify Default Paths for

Saving new projects,

Recording and Rendering

(see also Chapter 3 and

Chapter 22).

You can use the General, Paths page of your Options, Preferences to

specify default paths saving new projects and for your recorded media

items. For recorded media, however, any path specified in your Project

Settings will take precedence over this.

You can also specify default paths for your waveform peak files and for

project rendering.

Setting Up and Getting Started

There’s one more thing that might interest you here. All of the settings, preferences and custom files are text

files. Any of them can be opened and modified using a text editor such as Notepad. This even applies to

REAPER’s project files, with .RPP extension. Of course, most probably you will never need to do this, and if you

do, you should always take a copy first, just in case of any errors or accidents. However, you should never try

to use a text editing program to open, view or edit any file ending in .app, .dmg, .exe or .dll

1.21 Localization and Language Packs

You can select a language pack for REAPER to use for its menus, dialog boxes, tool tips, and so on. The default

language is U.S. English. Language packs are managed from the General page of REAPER's Preferences.

To see what language packs are available, and to download any, click on the link Download language packs

(see below). This will take you to a URL where you can follow the links (including to REAPER Stash) to find your

language. After downloading, close the

Preferences window and use the

command Options, Show REAPER

resource path in Explorer/Finder to

display REAPER's resource folders. Next,

drag and drop the downloaded file(s)

into the LangPack folder.

To select a language pack other than

U.S. English, select from the drop down

list (right) and click on OK. You will need to restart REAPER for the language to take effect.

1.22 Backing Up Settings

In this chapter you have been introduced to some of REAPER's settings and preferences. As you progress, you

will find many more. You can back up these settings and preferences at any time. This can be a good precaution

to take against system failure, and can also be used to ensure identical REAPER installations on two or more

machines. The procedure for doing this is explained in REAPER’s General Settings (Chapter 22) in the categories

Import Configuration and Export Configuration. Don't be concerned if you do not yet understand the meaning of

many of the options. Just keep it in mind that this facility is always available.

If uncertain about what to back up, it can be a sensible precaution to backup all your configuration settings from

time to time, each time to a new ReaperConfig.zip file. How often you should do this really depends on how

often you make changes to any of your settings, and how important those changes are to you. Remember to

keep a copy of your ReaperConfig.zip files off line, for example on an external drive or a USB flash drive.

1.23 Running REAPER on

a Flash Drive

You can install REAPER on a USB

flash device, or other external drive.

This ensures, for example, that if

you are going to be away from

home or your normal workplace,

you can take your USB Stick (or

external drive) with you, plug it in

to a computer, and away you go.

Before you can install REAPER on a

flash drive, it makes sense to first

install it on your hard drive. When

you then install REAPER to an

external device in this way, all your

settings, preferences etc. are also

migrated.

The install method is different for

MacOS and Windows users.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

MacOS

1. Insert the flash drive into a USB port. Create a new folder on this flash drive, e.g. REAPER4. In this folder

create an empty text file called reaper.ini

2. Open the Mac folder containing the REAPER disk image (.dmg) file: this will most likely be Downloads.

3. Double click on this file to open it. Drag and drop the REAPER icon to the new folder on the flash drive.

4. Be patient. There is a large number of files to be transferred. This can take 10 minutes or more.

Windows

1. Insert your external device into an available USB port on your PC. Note its drive letter (e.g. E:, F:. G:, H:.

I:. etc.). This will depend how many internal hard drives, disk partitions, external hard drives, DVD

burners, etc. you have already installed.

2. Double click on the REAPER install file to start the install process.

3. Click on I Agree to accept the license agreement. The Choose Install Location window will be displayed.

4. Enable the option for Portable install.

5. Click on Browse. Select your flash drive and click on Make New Folder. Name the folder (e.g. REAPER)

and press Enter.

6. On returning to the screen shown here, work your way thru the installation process in the normal way.

7. Wait while the various files are installed. There are a lot of files and this might take quite a few minutes.

1.24 REAPER Start Menu Options (Windows only)

Normally to start REAPER you can simply double-click on your Windows desktop shortcut. This will cause REAPER

to be started in accordance with your existing preferences and settings. However, for times when you do not

wish to do this, you should also be aware of other options available from the Windows Start menu.

Click on the Start button, then All Programs then REAPER (or REAPER x64, as appropriate) to be presented

with a flyout menu of choices:

Menu Command Explanation

Install REAPER to USB key This can be used to install REAPER to a Flash drive or similar device.

However, the method described earlier in this Chapter is simpler!

REAPER Starts REAPER normally, with last project.

REAPER (create new project) Starts REAPER with a new project file.

REAPER (reset configuration to

factory defaults)

Starts REAPER and resets all settings, options and preferences to factory

defaults. Use this with caution!

REAPER (ReWire client mode) Opens REAPER as a ReWire client. This is beyond the scope of this User

Guide, but is discussed in overview towards the end of Chapter 17.

REAPER (show audio

configuration on startup)

Starts REAPER with the Audio settings Preferences page.

REAPER EULA Displays License information.

Uninstall REAPER Uninstalls REAPER. If you need to uninstall REAPER for any reason, you

should always use this method.

Whatsnew.txt Opens the text file displaying a history of new features and changes

introduced in each version of REAPER.

Setting Up and Getting Started

1.25 REAPER File Types

Like any other program, REAPER creates a series of files that it uses to store your work. Some of the main file

types and their purposes are described in the table below, along with other useful information.

File Type Example Explanation

.RPP

REAPER Project File

Alone.RPP

This file is the core of your project. It holds all the

information about your tracks, your media and their

settings. .RPP files are stored in text format.

.RPP-bak

Project Backup File

Alone.RPP-bak

When you save an existing project file, the previous version

is saved with the .RPP-bak extension. You can recover a

project from its previous state by opening the backup file.

Note: Sooner or later you should familiarise yourself with REAPER’s project backup options (see section

22.3.1 of this guide) for managing and organising your backup files.

.RPP-UNDO

Undo History File

Alone.RPP-UNDO

This file type will be created if the option to save undo

history with your project files is enabled in the Undo

Settings section of the General section in your Options,

Preferences window. See Chapter 2 for more information.

.reapeaks

REAPER Peaks File

Vox.wav.reapeaks

Contain the information necessary to enable REAPER to

draw the waveforms etc. on your media items.

.reapindex

REAPER Peaks File

Vox.wav.reapindex

These files contain index information about your individual

media items.

1.26 Ruler Display Options

You can choose which units of measurement you prefer to use from the

Arrange View context menu. Right click your mouse over the ruler and

choose from any of the options at the bottom of the menu, shown here.

The default setting is Measures.Beats.

Minutes.Seconds Seconds

Minutes.Seconds (minimal) Samples

Measures.Beats Hours.Minutes.Seconds.Frames

Measures.Beats (minimaal) Absolute Frames

Measures.Fractions Secondary time unit

1.27 Adjusting Font Size

New users are advised to proceed with caution here!

For the most part this chapter is not the ideal place to be discussing advanced topics. However, there is one that

can be so important for the visually impaired as to merit consideration right up front.

Go to Options, Preferences, General and click on the button Advanced UI/system tweaks…

Look for the text Font size adjustment for

theme/arrange/ruler. The default setting is 1.0.

You can change this: for example, a value of 1.1 will

increase font size for these elements by 10% when

you click OK and close this window. This can make it easier to read, for example the track panel, ruler and

transport bar.

If you make a mistake or change your mind the Restore to defaults button will get you out of jail!

You can learn more about Advanced UI/System tweaks in section 22.14

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

1.28 User License Information

By default, REAPER's title bar will display license information such as the registered user’s name. This can be

changed on the Purchase tab of the window that is opened by the Help, About REAPER command.

Alternately, you can set your display to full screen mode – this is toggled on and off in Windows by pressing

F11, in OS/X by Cmd F11.

1.29 Pops and Clicks

You're nearly ready to start making music with REAPER! Before you do, though, you should take a few moments

to read this section, which deals with the not uncommon problem of unwanted pops and clicks being heard when

you play back your music. This is a computer issue rather than a REAPER specific issue, and is generally less

likely to occur with a Mac than with a PC.

If you encounter unwanted pops and clicks when you play back a song in REAPER, then most probably all it

means is that your audio device settings are not right for your computer. As a quick fix, try adjusting the block

size (Preferences, Audio, Device), starting at 128 and working up thru, 256, 512, 768 or 1024 to find the

lowest setting for your system at which you can play back your music without any pops or clicks getting in the

way. If you do encounter this problem, you should also read Chapter 22 to learn more about this topic.

1.30 Uninstalling REAPER

There is no need to uninstall your current version of REAPER before installing a new one. Your existing

installation will automatically be upgraded from the new installation. However, should you wish to uninstall

REAPER for any reason, MacOS users should simply drag the REAPER icon into Trash and then remove the folder

~/Library/Application Support/REAPER. Windows users should follow this procedure:

1. Click on the Windows Start button, then All Programs, then REAPER then Uninstall REAPER.

2. When the REAPER Uninstall Wizard is displayed, click on Uninstall.

3. When the uninstall process is finished, click on Close.

4. When prompted, choose Yes if you wish to see which files have been left on your Hard Drive, otherwise

choose No.

Tip: If you are likely to be reinstalling REAPER at some later date, do not remove these files. This will ensure

that yor previous settings and preferences will be recalled when it is reinstalled.

1.31 Relative Paths

This section is recommended for users who might be new to REAPER but are experienced Windows or Mac

users.

REAPER’s Preferences (Options, Preferences) enable you to customize many aspects of REAPER’;s appearance

and behavior. These are referenced at several places in this document, and detailed in their own chapter

(Chapter 22). The General, Paths page lets you specify default locations for saving new projects, recording,

and more.

For example, the wildcard $project can be used to ensure that a project will be saved in a directory or

subdirectory bearing the same name as the project. This can be especially useful when you are working with a

portable installation.

Suppose that you're using a portable instal: if you create a new project and haven't saved it yet, and want to

have any recorded media to go to <portable path>/Recordings, you'd set Default recording path, when

project is unsaved and no recording path is configured to Recordings

For a comprehensive listing of available wildcards, choose the File, Render command then click on the

Wildcards button.

You can exit the Render dialog without rendering the file.

REAPER Project Basics

2 REAPER Project Basics

In this chapter you will be shown the basic essentials of working with a project file in REAPER.

Track Panel and Mixer Panel Layouts. By default, REAPER uses Layout A for both panels. With this layout,

when the mixer is open, some track panel controls are not visible: when it is closed, all track controls are visible

2.1 Opening an Existing Project

To open an existing REAPER Project File, use the File, Open Project command, or the keyboard shortcut

Ctrl O. There is an option to open the file as Read only. You will need to navigate to the appropriate folder to

find your project. Recently used projects can be opened using the File, Recent Projects command. This

displays a list of up to the last 100 recently used project files. You can then select any file from that list.

The General page of your Options, Preferences window offers a number of options. At this stage there

should be no need for you to dig deeply into these, but be aware that they are there. In particular, you can:

● Select a language

other than English

● Manage Export and

Import configs, to

copy REAPER prefs

and settings between

computers.

● Startup settings.

Options are to open

the Last project

tabs (projects open

when REAPER was

closed), or a New

project or to Prompt

every time.

● Specify whether to

Automatically

check for new

versions of REAPER

on startup.

● Whether to Create a

new project tab for

projects opened from

explorer/finder.

● Whether to Show splash screen on startup and if so, whether to Skip the animation.

● Whether to Check for multiple instances of REAPER on startup. If enabled this will prevent you from

opening another instance of REAPER when one is already open.

● Determine number of files shown on the Recent project list and what to display (e.g. file name only, file

name and path, with options which include Clear recent list and Remove missing projects from list).

● Whether to warn you when REAPER’s memory usage reaches a specified level.

● Option to Prevent OS screensaver from blanking when audio is active or when rendering.

● Optionally, format to use when auto-increment file names ii enabled. Also to Ensure auto-incremented

filenames have higher number than all similarly named files.

● There is an option to Treat _ and – as interchangeable when auto-incrementing.

● Option to automatically Unload projects in background when quitting.

Notice too the command Continuous scrolling on REAPER’s main Options menu. If disabled (the default), the

play cursor will scroll from left to right during playback. If enabled, this cursor will find and then remain

stationary in the center of the arrange window during playback, while the media items scroll across the screen.

The examples used throughout this guide use the project file All Through The Night.RPP. This can be

downloaded from www.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/REAPER_User_Guide.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

2.2 Project Settings

Project settings can be varied for individual projects. Use the File, Project Settings command, or by pressing

Alt Enter. The five pages of settings are- Project Settings, Media, Video, Advanced and Notes.

Project Settings: Project Settings

● Project Sample Rate: e.g., 44100

Hz (CD standard) 48000 Hz (DVD)

● Option to force the time signature to

beats or whole samples.

● Project beats per minute, time

signature and beat basis.

● Whether timebase affects MIDI

items and/or automation items,

● Timebase setting for items/

envelopes, markers and for tempo/

time siig: Time, Beats (position,

length rate) or Beats (position only).

● Project start time and measure

(includes option to Base ruler

spacing on measure 1). Leave

these at their defaults.

● There is an option to Base ruler

markings off any specified start

measure. The default is the first.

● Playback and render resample

mode – from Lowest (point

sampling) thru Medium (64 Sinc) to

Extreme HQ (768 HQ Sinc).

● Default modes and parameter

to be used for pitch shifting and

stretch markers See Chapter 10.

Project Settings: Media

These include:

● Paths (primary and secondary) to

store media files, as a sub-folder of

the project folder. If left blank, the

project file folder will be used.

● Option to use or over-ride the

global preference for copy media

on import. Media items can be

copied to the project file folder.

● Recording format - typically WAV

or MP3, but there are others , e.g.

AIFF, DDP, FLAC, OGG Vorbis Video

(GIF) and WavPack. Each HAS its

own set of options and settings.

● Settings and specifications for

chosen recording format – e.g. for

WAV files this includes Bit Depth.

● Whether to include markers and/or regions and whether to embed the project tempo.

● Preferred media formats when FX are applied, or items are glued or frozen, and when media items are

rendered. Also, default media format for project and regions. You have the same range of formats,

options and settings as you have for recording format.

REAPER Project Basics

Project Settings: Advanced

● Item Mix Behavior. See right. Determines behavior when one

media item is placed on top of another.

● Track mixing depth. If unsure, leave at the default setting.

● Allow feedback in routing. Be careful.

See end of Chapter 3

● Auto-bypass FX that report tail

length or have autotail set ...

● … threshold. Establishes dB floor

below which a FX where this option

has been enabled should be bypassed.

● The option to synchronize project

with an external device timecode.

● Rewire client settings. These are

shown below right.

● There are options to limit project

length and recording time, also to

set the default state for Preserve

pitch when changing rate.

● Option to prevent bezier envelope

segments being affected by

surrounding non-bezier points.

● Smooth abrupt

volume/pan/width envelope

changes: applies square envelope

points less abruptly.

● Default number of track channels

and parent send channels for new

projects (up to 128).

● Specifying a track default pan law . The pan law determines how relative track volume behaves when a

track is panned more to one side or the other.

● Gain compensation boost can be enabled or disabled.

This is discussed in more depth later in Chapter 2.

● Default track pan mode. You have choice of pan modes,

some mono, some stereo. See Chapter 11.

● Project load FX options: Use the dropdoiwn to choose

Bring FX online after load (default), With FX offline, or

Bring FX online after load

Project Settings: Video: Explained in Chapter 20.

The Project Timebase Settings

The project timebase determines REAPER’s behavior when project tempo changes. Get this right

before

you

record or import any items. The default is Beats (position, length, rate) for items/envelopes/markers and

Beats for tempo/time sig envelopes. See the menu command Help then Project timebase help.

You can over-ride the project timebase setting for individual tracks: select the track(s) and choose Track

timebase from the track control panel context menu: or select an item then press F2 to display the Item

Properties dialog box.

Project Settings: Notes

Notes and comments can be included with your project file. Options include automatic word wrap and automatic

display of notes each time the project is opened. By default, word wrap is turned on for new projects. Text saved

as the Title or Author can be used with the $title or $author wildcards as metadata when rendering.

Save as default project settings: click this button if you wish to save all your project settings as defaults for

new projects: options can be changed for individual projects.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

2.3 The Transport Bar

If the Transport Bar is not visible in your REAPER window, use the View, Transport command to display it, or

use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl Alt T. The Transport Bar appears docked just below arrange view, or, as shown

here, as a floating window (undocked) inside REAPER. The main Transport Controls are shown here, though

your exact layout

might not be identical.

The four standard

transport buttons are

Go to Start, Go to

End, Record and

Play. After these

come Toggle Repeat

loop, Stop and

Pause. The Stop

button stops playback

and returns the play cursor to the position it was in when playback started. The Pause button pauses playback

without moving the play cursor.

If the material being played is too long for all of it to be displayed at once then the display will scroll as

necessary, provided that Options, Automatically display view during playback is enabled.

The Record button starts and stops recording, without stopping playback. Clicking on the Stop button when

recording will stop both playback and recording. The Toggle Repeat button turns on and off the option for any

looped time selection to be played over and over again during playback.

The Global Automation Override feature will be explained in Chapter 18. Further to the left of this the current

time selection is shown (start position, end position and length).

The current play cursor position is also shown: in the above example this is 7.1.00/0:12.000. Above this and

in the center is the playback status (Playing, Paused or Stopped). Notice also edit boxes that show the project

Tempo (BPM) and Time Signature values. To change the value of either box click in the box and type the

new value. Depending on your mouse preferences (Chapter 22), you can also use your mousewheel to adjust

this. The beat basis (quarter note, eighth note, etc)) is displayed above the tempo, and can be changed at the

current cursor position from the menu that is displayed by right clicking in this area.

Finally (in the above layout) is the playback rate. This can be made faster or slower by adjusting the fader

knob. If adjusted, this knob is colored green. Double-clicking resets the rate to 1.0. You can also hover your

mouse over the box and use your mousewheel to increase (up) or decrease (down) the value.

Three other useful transport control keys are Ctrl Left (go back a little), Ctrl Right (go forward a little) and Alt

Space (play, skipping loop selection.

Right clicking over the Transport Bar displays a context menu. This may seem slightly intimidating at first. We'll

get to the more advanced stuff in Chapter 10, but for now just notice that there are menu options available to:

 Select your preferred time display format.

 Dock or Undock the transport in the Main

Window. You can choose the main docker or

any of four other positions – Below arrange

view, Above ruler, Bottom of main window

or Top of main window.

 Flash transport status as yellow if a possible

audio under-run is detected.

Note: The transport bar appearancecan be modified using the theme adjuster, for example to hide any

controls surplus to your requirements. See Chapter 15.

Scrubbing

The top of the edit cursor is marked by an upside down triangle. You can grab this with your

mouse and drag to move the edit cursor without affecting playback. Depending on your

preferences settings, you may need to hold down the Shift key. If you do this when the project

is not playing, it will “scrub” your audio -see Chapter 10 of this User Guide.

REAPER Project Basics
2.4 Using the Track Controls
Basics
First, make sure that you are using REAPER’s default theme – to do this choose Options, Themes, Default.
As things stand, when you play back a project the same sound comes out equally from both speakers. That’s 
because no adjustments have been made to any track's Volume or Pan controls. 
Which faders are visible in the track panel is determined by your 
chosen track layout: in these examples, the default Layout A has 
been used: with the mixer closed, all controls are visible.
If, despite this, some controls are still not visible, you might need 
to enlarge your track panel. Hover the mouse over the panel’s 
right edge and left drag out to the right.
Clicking on a track’s Route button reveals that by default all 
output goes to the Master via parent channels 1/2. If this is not so, adjust the track settings accordingly and 
check that your audio device output settings are correct.
The first rotary fader shown here adjusts a track’s 
volume. With some layouts, this is shown as a 
horizontal fader. The other rotary adjusts the 
panning, sending the signal more to the left or 
the right as preferred. If you see a second pan 
control, ignore it for now. This is used with some 
pan modes to control stereo width, a more 
advanced concept covered in Chapter 11. To 
adjust any horizontal, vertical or rotary faders in REAPER, you can:
 Left click-drag faders in the direction required, releasing the mouse when finished. For rotary faders, drag 
up to rotate clockwise, down for anti-clockwise. Hold Ctrl while doing this for more subtle adjustments.
 Hover your mouse over the fader, use the Scroll Wheel to adjust the level down/up. To enable this 
feature, go to Options, Preferences, Editing Behavior, Mouse and deselect Ignore mousewheel 
on track panel faders and on all faders. See also mouse behavior preferences in Chapter 22.
Metering
By default, a track's VU meter shows the signal after being adjusted by the volume fader. If you wish 
instead to show the pre-fader level, choose from the Options menu Pre-fader track metering. There is  
an option in Preferences, Appearance, Track Meters for all track meters to display pre fader levels. 
Routing
Clicking on the Route control opens the routing dialog box (shown top right of page). You can enter values as 
dB for volume (e.g. -6) and as percentages for pan (e.g., 25R for 25% right) and width directly into this box.
By default, volume and pan controls apply to a track's audio output. If you want to use these to control its 
MIDI signal, right-click on the track n umber in the TCP, then choose MIDI track controls, then Link track 
volume pan to all MIDI channels from the context menu.
Tip: To audition possible changes, hold down the Alt key while dragging the fader with the mouse. When you 
release the mouse, it will then return to its original position.
Tip: To work with more than one track, hold down Ctrl while clicking in the Track control panel on each track 
number required. Then release Ctrl. Any fader or other movement will be applied to all selected tracks.
Mute/Solo
The two buttons on the right of each track’s control panel have these functions:
Mute Toggles Mute on/off for selected track(s) Note: Both the Mute and Solo controls can also 
be used with modifier keys such as Alt and Ctrl for 
various functions. See Chapter 5 for details.
Solo
Toggles Solo on/off selected track(s)
By default, Solo causes the output of both the track and any sends to be heard. This is 
known as Solo in place. Thus, a soloed in place track with a send to a reverb track will 
play with the reverb. To hear only the track without its sends, hold the Alt key while 
soloing the track. The phase control button can be used to invert phase.
35

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

2.5 Pan Law and Pan Mode

When two channels are mixed the result is louder if both are panned

dead center than if they are each panned to the extreme left and

right. Pan laws enable you to compensate for this. You can choose a

default pan law for new tracks in your advanced project settings.

Right-click on the pan control to choose a pan mode (see right).

Pan modes are explained more fully in Chapter 11 when we look at

stereo panning. In brief, however, you have a number of options –

Stereo balance/mono pan is the default (see Project Settings).

This is equivalent to the mode used in versions before REAPER 4.

You can change the pan law for individual tracks. Right-clicking over

a track’s pan fader opens a window with an option to Override

default track pan law. Selecting from the list (in a range 0.0 dB to

-6.0 dB) or type in your own value. A negative setting causes the

signal at the center to be attenuated as panning increases.

The Gain compensation (boost pans) option if enabled causes

the signal's audio strength to be boosted as it is panned further away

from the center. The -3 dB and -6 dB settings correspond exactly to equal power and equal gain respectively.

The pan law dropdown options are sine taper, linear taper and hybrid taper. The default is hybrid taper. With

linear taper the overall sound increases as you pan towards the center. Non-linear tapers seek to compensate for

this. There is morel information about pan laws here: https://samplecraze.com/tutorials/the-pan-law/

2.6 Navigation and Zooming

Mac users: remember you should substitute Cmd for Ctrl and Opt for Alt when using booster keys.

Navigating within the Track Control Panel (TCP)

The following keyboard shortcuts can be used to navigate within the Track Control Panel:

Function Keystroke Function Keystroke

Go to next track. Ctrl Alt Down Go to previous track. Ctrl Alt Up

Adjusting Panel Width with Mouse

To adjust the width of the track panel area, hover your mouse over the vertical border separating

the TCP from the main area. The cursor changes to a horizontal double headed arrow. Drag the

border left or right to decrease/increase track panel width and release the button when the desired

track control panel width is reached. Double-clicking on this vertical border will toggle track panel

visibility on and off.

Adjusting Track Height with Mouse

Function Action

Adjust height of single track Click/drag up/down on lower track boundary

Adjust height of selected tracks Alt + click/drag up/down on lower track boundary

Adjust height of all tracks. Ctrl + click/drag up/down on any lower track boundary

Adjust height of all tracks. Click/drag up/down between + and – on vertical scrollbar

Toggling Track Height with Keyboard or Mouse

Function Keystroke

Minimise height of all tracks: if already minimised,

restore to most recent previous height.

` (this is the key immediately to the left of 1,

usually directly above the Tab key).

Maximise height of all tracks: if already

maximised, restore to previous height.

~ (on most keyboards, this is the Shift key in

combination with the ` key).

Increase height of selected tracks, minimise

others. Repeat to restore previous track height.

! (on most keyboards, this is the Shift key in

combination with the 1 key).

Minimise all tracks. @ (on most keyboards, Shift with the 2 key).

REAPER Project Basics

Function Keystroke

Increase/decrease height of all tracks Ctrl click on +/- at foot of vertical scrollbar.

Toggle height of all tracks between minimised,

normal and maximised.

Double click mouse on vertical scroll bar.

Make selected track(s) unaffected by track height

adjustment and vertical zoom shortcut keys.

Use Lock track height command on track

right-click context menu.

Lock/unlock track controls (volume, pan, etc.)

including the FX chain.

Use Lock track controls command on track

right-click context menu.

Zooming In and Out from the Main Menu or with Keyboard Shortcuts

Several zoom actions are available on the View, Zoom menu. Keyboard shortcuts are available as follows:

Function Keystroke

Zoom in/out (horizontally) + (plus) or up arrow/ - (minus) or down arrow

Zoom to time selection Ctrl Num Pad +

Zoom to selected media item(s) (No default shortcut)

All tracks to same height and size up Page Up

All tracks to same height and size down Page Down

Toggle track heights to minimum `

Toggle track heights to maximum ~

Expand selected track, minimize others !

Minimize all tracks @

Scrolling with the Keyboard

The following keyboard shortcuts can be used for scrolling within a project:

Function Keystrokes Function Keystrokes

Scroll View down Alt Down Scroll View left Alt Left

Scroll View up Alt Up Scroll View right Alt Right

Zooming and Scrolling with the Mousewheel

The mousewheel can also be used for zooming in and out when you are navigating a project file:

Behavior Modifier Key for Mousewheel

Horizontal Zoom (no modifier)

Zoom management options (e.g. set zoom center, max zoom level), are

set in your Preferences, Appearance, Zoom/Scroll/Offset (Chapter 22).

REAPER remembers zoom/scroll activity: the Actions List includes

assignable zoom options, e.g. to restore previous zoom level or

restore previous zoom/scroll position, and to restore next zoom

level or restore next zoom/scroll position.

Vertical Zoom Ctrl

Horizontal Scroll Alt

Vertical Scroll Ctrl Alt

You can change any default keyboard and mousewheel assignments. For example, you could use just the

Down and Up arrows (without Ctrl Alt) to go to the next or previous track, or the mousewheel without a

modifier to scroll rather than zoom. Mouse modifiers are covered in Chapter 15.

Tip: Making and using a zoom/navigate toolbar. Zooming and navigating are much used activities. You

can make your own Zoom/Navigate custom toolbar. Creating custom toolbars is explained in Chapter

15.Keyboard Shortcut and Mouse Defaults

The command Help, Keybindings and Mouse Modifiers (Shift+F1) will open your web browser with a list of

REAPER's mouse modifiers and keyboard shortcuts. As you will see in Chapter 15, you can also define your own

mouse modifiers, keyboard shortcuts and action keys, so as better to suit your own workflow.

Tip: REAPER makes extensive use of context menus, which also show keyboard shortcuts. These are accessed

by clicking the right mouse button. For example, for commands relevant to the track panel, right click over the

track panel. For a media item. Right click over that item … and so on.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

2.7 The Visual Track Spacer

REAPER’s visual track spacer can be used to insert a spacer

between any tracks, as required. This can help0 identifying in a

project tracks which belong together, or simply to prevent

screen clutter. A simple example is shown here.

Shown left are a vocal track and two guitar tracks. A spacer has

been inserted above the first and after the second guitar track

to visually separate them from the other tracks.

Default track spacer height is 16 pixels: you can change this

value in your Options, Preferences, Appearance settings.

Spacing is added in arrange view by right clicking over a track’s track panel

and choosing Virtual spacer from the context menu. Options are to add a

spacer before or after the track, or both, or to remove existing spacers.

To add a spacer after or before a number of adjacent tracks, simply select

all of the required tracks and right click over any one of their track panels:

choose Virtual spacer from the menu, then make your selection as before.

Note that if multiple tracks are

selected, the space will be

added before the first track in the selection, or after the last track,

or both, depending on your menu selection.

A quick and easy way of adding or removing spacers between

tracks is within the track manager. The track manager is covered

in detail in Chapter 12.

For now, note that spacers can be added above any track or tracks.

Simply click in the Spacer column for each track where you require

spacing to be added: click again to remove the spacer (see above left).

If you are moving a track or track selection up or down the track order, you

can drop the track below a spacer to place it after the spacer, above a spacer

to place it before the spacer, or in the middle of a spacer (as shown here) to

show spacers both above and below it.

To move a spacer from one track to another, use Left drag up or down. To

copy a spacer from one track to another, use Ctrl left drag up or down.

2.8 Directing Audio and MIDI Output

Audio output will by default go from your master to the first available pair of outputs on your soundcard (usually

outputs 1 and 2), and only to this pair. If your sound card has multiple pairs of outputs and you wish to change

this, you can do so via the Routing Matrix (View, Routing Matrix or Alt R).

MIDI Output can be directed to an external hardware or virtual synth (such as Microsoft GS Wavetable) or to a

VSTi Instrument plug-in. For the former. Open the track’s routing window and select the required synth from the

MIDI Hardware Output drop down list. Alternately, to use an instrument plug-in, insert the required VSTi in the

track’s FX chain. This will usually be the first item in the chain.

2.9 Using the Navigator

The REAPER Navigator shows an overview of your

project. It can be zoomed in or out to display a

selected area area of your project.

To display the Navigator, choose the View,

Navigator command. Use Ctrl Alt V to toggle the

Navigator display on and off.

You can also use the Navigator to scroll thru your

project. Simply position the mouse over the box

within the navigator window that represents the on-screen area of your project. Then hold down the left mouse

REAPER Project Basics

button, and click and drag to scroll the display. Release the mouse button when finished. The navigator will

display media items, envelope lanes and visual spacers. Other ways of using the Navigator are:

Activity Method Activity Method

Define area to display Right drag Zoom in/out tracks only Alt right drag

Reposition display area. Left click Zoom in/out time only Ctrl right drag

Move display area. Left drag Move play area and cursor Ctrl left click

Note also that the mousewheel can be use to scroll and/or zoom as in workspace itself.

2.10 Track FX Basics

FX can be used with

REAPER, for purposes

such as EQ, compression,

chorus, reverb and more.

Track FX (JS, VST, VST3

and DX, VSTi , VST3i and

DXi, and, for Mac users,

AU) can be added to

tracks and media items

from the FX browser or by

directly inserting them into

the track or item FX

Chain. Media item FX are

explained in Chapter 6.

Many FX plug-ins are

supplied with REAPER, including Jesusonic and Cockos effects. We'll examine many of these later in this User

Guide, especially in Chapters 6 and 16. For now, let's just focus on some general aspects of how audio FX fit in

to the REAPER scheme of things. To access any of these FX, simply follow these procedures:

FX can be added to any track or item FX directly from the main FX Browser window. Each track and item also

has its own FX window: these are most suitable for managing the individual FX parameters and the FX chain

itself, although FX can also be added to individual track and item FX from within this window.

From the FX browser… You can do this …

Open the FX Browser Choose View, FX Browser command or press Shift F.

Add FX to a track or item Drag and drop FX from FX Browser to track panel or mixer panel or item.

Add FX with preset Right click on FX name, choose Add with preset from menu.

Add several FX to a track or

item

Use Ctrl left click to build selection. Drag and drop selection from FX

Browser window to track panel or mixer panel or item.

Add one or more FX to a

number of tracks or items

Select the tracks (track panel) or items (arrange view). Select the FX.

Right click over any selected FX, choose Add to selected tracks or Add

to active takes of selected items.

Rename the FX Right click on FX name, choose Rename FX… from menu.

Create keyboard shortcut Right click on FX name, choose Create shortcut … from menu. This

shortcut can now be used to insert that FX into any track or media item.

Set default preset for FX Right-click on FX name, choose Set default preset and select a preset

from the list.

Insert previously saved FX

chain in a track or item.

In FX Browser, select Chains in left hand panel. Drag and drop required

chain to track panel or mixer panel or item.

Create new track and add FX Drag FX from FX browser window to empty area of track panel.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

From the FX browser… You can do this …

Dock FX Browser Right click on title bar, choose Dock FX browser in docker To undock,

right-click on browser tab and deselect Dock FX browser in docker.

Advanced technical default

options

More advanced technical options are documented in the section

Advanced plug-in defaults.

From a track FX window... You can do this …

Open a track’s FX window Click on track’s FX button. If no FX chain already exists for this track, click

on Add button.

Add FX to track FX chain Double-click on the required FX in FX browser window.

Add several FX Use Ctrl click to build selection, then click on FX browser Add button.

Set FX to bypass (toggle) In the FX chain, click on the FX name, press Ctrl B.

Set FX to offline (toggle) In the FX chain, click on the FX name, press Ctrl Alt B. Unlike bypassed

FX, offline FX will consume no CPU.

Note: Any plug-in added to an FX chain will then be displayed in the FX Browser's Recently Used FX folder.

2.11 Using the Supplied FX Presets

To get started you might wish to explore some of the presets that come

with these plug-ins. For example, Cockos ReaDelay includes presets which

you can try with your various tracks. Simply display the drop down list and

select the item that you want (example shown right).

Most of the Rea plug-ins include presets, which you can explore for yourself.

Of course, you can also make any adjustments and changes to these that

you like, in order to customize them more precisely to your own needs.

To set any FX preset as the default for that FX

1. Select the required preset from the drop down list.

2. Click on the + button to the right of the list and choose Save preset as default from the menu.

3. Type your own name for the preset and click on OK.

To download more presets, go to http://stash.reaper.fm/ and follow the link to FX Preset Libraries.

To import downloaded presets into REAPER, follow this sequence:

1. Insert an instance of the plug-in into any track.

2. Click on the + button (next to the Param button in the FX Chain window).

3. Choose Import Preset Library.

4. Navigate to and select the required .RPL file then click on Open (or, to insert

several files, use Ctrl click to build your list before clicking on Open.)

To select a preset when loading an FX

1. Open the track FX window and click on the Add button.

2. Select required category (e.g. Cockos) and required FX (e.g. ReaEQ).

3. Right click on the FX and choose Add to… from the context menu.

4. In the FX window, click on the + button then select the required preset.

2.12 Controlling Track FX

REAPER provides you with a number of tools to help you manage your Track FX. For example, you can:

 Change the order in which they are applied.

 Copy or move any FX from one track to another.

 Save (and retrieve) any sequence of FX as a chain that can be easily inserted into other tracks.

 Bypass individual FX or an entire FX chain.

 Specify a default set of FX to be automatically inserted into new tracks for your project.

REAPER Project Basics

In order to do this … You need to do this …

Dock the FX Chain Choose the FX, Dock FX Window in Docker command.

Adjust the values for track FX

parameters

Drag with the mouse, or scroll mouse wheel over, the parameter control

fader. For fine adjustments, hold Ctrl key while you do this, or click once

on the control and use up/down keys on keyboard.

Adjust the wet/dry mix of any FX Select the plug-in in the FX

chain, then use the mouse to

adjust the small rotary control

next to the UI button. 0% (completely dry) to 100% (completely wet).

Change the FX Order Drag and drop FX name up or down within the track FX window.

Float an FX window Right-click on FX button in TCP and select the FX, or ...

Double-click on the FX name in the FX Chain window (toggles). The title

bar of the floated window will display the track name, the FX name, and

its place in the track FX chain. For example: VST: ReaEQ, Track 1

“Vocal” [2/3],i.e. the 2nd FX in a chain of 3.

Advanced floated FX window

options

For more advanced floated FX window options, see the section

Advanced Floated FX Window Options.

Keep FX/Add FX window on top Click on the pin symbol at right of title bar.

Close a floating FX window Double-click on FX window title bar.

Copy an FX (or FX selection) from

one track to another.

Ctrl drag the FX from to the track panel to another track. To copy

automation envelopes with the FX, use Shift Ctrl drag.

Move an FX (or FX selection) from

one track to another.

Hold down Alt, drag the FX from the source track FX window and drop

on the track panel for any other track.

Rename an FX Instance Select the FX name in the FX Chain and press F2, or right-click and

choose Rename FX instance from the context menu.

Bypass an FX (toggle) Click either the FX check box next to the FX name in the FX chain or the

check box in the top right corner of the FX window.

Set an FX offline (toggle) Ctrl Click either the FX check box next to the FX name in the FX chain

or the check box in the top right corner of the FX window.

Replace one FX with another,

preserving any existing routing

configuration

In Track FX window,

either

click on Add to display FX browser. Select

required FX, then Alt left drag to Track FX window and drop over the

FX to be replaced,

… Select the FX in the FX chain and press Ctrl R. In the Replace FX

window (now displayed) double-click on the replacement FX.

Make the current track FX the

default for new tracks

Within the Track FX window, choose FX, Save Chain as default for

new tracks.

Open an FX from track panel Right click on FX button, then left click on the required FX name.

Remove an FX from a track Select FX in the track FX chain then click on the Remove button.

Remove all FX from a track Hold Alt while clicking on the track’s FX button in the TCP.

Search for an FX Enter text in the Filter List at the bottom of the FX window.

Save the current sequence of Track

FX as a chain

In the Track FX window, choose the FX, Save FX Chain command. FX

parameter settings are saved with the chain.

Insert additional FX within an

existing FX chain

Drag and drop the required FX from the FX window to the required

position in the FX chain.

Save selected track FX as a chain Select the names of the FX to be included in the chain (use Ctrl Click),

then choose FX, Save Selected FX as Chain.

Retrieve a previously saved FX

Chain (from FX menu)

Within Track FX window, choose FX, Add FX Chain or within the TCP

right-click over the FX button and select Add FX Chain from the menu.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

In order to do this … You need to do this …

Retrieve a previously saved FX

Chain (from Media Explorer))

Drag and drop the chain from Media Explorer window: hold Alt key while

dragging to replace existing FX.

Save track FX as the default chain

for new tracks

From the Track FX menu, choose FX then Save chain as default for

new tracks.

Override default FX load options

when opening project file

In Open Project dialog (File, Open project) optionally select Open

with FX offline (recovery mode), or Bring FX online after load, or

neither of these (default).

See also Advanced page of Project Settings.

Load your default FX Chain In Track FX window, click on Add then choose FX, Load Default Track

Chain command.

Access the FX Preferences settings Within the Track FX window, choose the Options, FX Plug-in Settings

command. These are discussed in Chapter 22.

Bypass all FX for a track In the Track Control Panel, click on the FX

Enable/Disable toggle button. Click again

to reverse this.

Turns red in bypass

mode.

Bypass all FX (all tracks) Hold Ctrl while clicking on FX

Enable/Disable toggle button.

2.13 FX Window and Keyboard Shortcuts

The FX window includes various keyboard shortcuts, such as Down and Up to select next/previous FX in chain

and command shortcuts (such as Ctrl S to Save FX chain...).

You might prefer to instead use arrange view shortcuts

even when you are working in the FX window, so that

(for example) Ctrl S can still be used to save the

project file and the Down and Up arrows to zoom

out/in horizontally. In this case, you should enable the

menu option Ignore FX chain keyboard shortcuts

(send to main window).

Example

In this example, we will create a default FX chain consisting of ReaEQ and ReaComp, both set to bypass mode.

1. Open any project file and add a new track at the end. We will use this track to create our FX chain.

2. Click on the FX button for this track to open the FX Window. In the first (left) column of the Add FX

window, click on Cockos.

3. Select in turn, first ReaEQ (Cockos) and then ReaComp (Cockos). In each case, either use the OK

button to add the plug-in to the track FX chain, or drag and drop them into the chain.

4. Make sure that both these FX are unticked – this sets them to bypass.

5. Right click over one of the FX and from the context menu, choose FX Chain, Save all FX as default

for new tracks.

6. Close the FX window. You can now exit REAPER. There is no need to save changes to the project file.

7. Re-open REAPER, open any project file and insert a new track anywhere you wish.

8. Open the FX window for your new tracks. You should see that the two plug-ins, ReaEQ and ReaComp

have already been inserted into this FX bin, in bypass mode.

Tip 1: If you wish to make changes to the contents of your default FX chain, simply repeat the process

described above, this time with the changed set of plug-ins, or (to remove it) with no plug-ins at all.

Tip 2: If you hold down the Ctrl Shift keys when opening a project file, the file will be opened with its FX off

line. This can be useful if you need to conserve CPU, or if there is a plug-in which might be causing problems.

Tip 3: If you switch the FX to bypass mode before saving your FX chain, then the FX chain will be saved in

bypass mode. This means that the FX in your new tracks will not require any CPU usage until such time as you

open the FX window and enable them.

REAPER Project Basics

2.14 Using an FX Bus

If you have used other DAW software, or an analog (tape) recording and mixing desk, you are probably already

familiar with the concept of a Bus. The exact meaning of the term can have several variations, but most

commonly (and in this example), a Bus is used to enable a number of tracks to share the same resource (such as

perhaps Reverb or Chorus FX).

This saves on valuable computer resources such as CPU. For example, instead of requiring multiple instances of

the same FX in perhaps three or four tracks or more, by using a Bus you can ensure that only one instance of

the FX is required. Note that when you use a Bus in this way:

 The output of each track is still directed to the Master.

 In addition, a copy of the signal from each track is directed to the FX Bus.

 At some stage, the output of the FX Bus is then mixed back in with the original signal. Typically (and in the

example shown here) this is achieved by directing the output of the FX Bus to the Master, although other

more complex routing arrangements are also possible.

The Bus track can be inserted wherever you like. In this example, we will place it just after the last track. This

example uses the sample project file All

Through The Night.RPP. Open this file, then

save a copy to a new name such as All

Through The Night with Bus.RPP before

embarking on this example.

We are now going to create an FX Bus and

insert into that bus a Chorus effect. We will

then ensure that both of our guitar tracks use

the chorus.

REAPER differs from many DAWs in that it

makes no inherent distinction between a Bus and a Track. The difference is determined solely by how you use it.

For a more pleasing sound, you might wish to pan the guitar tracks have been panned somewhat to the left and

right respectively.

To Create the Bus and add the FX to it:

● Select track 4 (in the Track Control Panel).

● To insert a new track either choose the Track, Insert New Track command, or press Ctrl T or double

click in the vacant track control panel area beneath the last track.

● To name this new track, click in the area where the name is to go, type FX Bus then press Enter.

● To insert the Chorus FX into this bus, click on the bus’s FX button. From the list of plug-in types, select

JS, then in the list of plug-ins double click on JS: Chorus (Guitar chorus). Close the FX window.

To Create Sends from the two guitar tracks to the Bus:

● To select the two guitar tracks in the TCP, click on the panel for Gtr Body, then Ctrl click on the panel for

Gtr Neck. Right-click over the ROUTE button for either of these tracks.

● From the context menu, choose Sends then Track 5: FX Bus.

For every send there is an equivalent receive, and vice versa. For example, if you now open the Routing window

for Track 5 (click on the track's ROUTE button) you will see that it has a receive from each guitar track. You'll

learn more about REAPER's routing later in this chapter (Routing Essentials) as well as in Chapters 5 and 17.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

You might have noticed a Media playback offset option. This allows you to compensate for possible latency

introduced by third party VST instruments. For now you can ignore this: it will be explained in Chapter 10.

Making Adjustments

When you now play the song, you’ll probably find that there’s more chorus on the guitar tracks than you would

like. There are four main ways to adjust this. Experiment until you find what gives you the results you want:

1. Adjust the chorus FX parameters. In this case, you could lower the amount of Wet signal in the mix.

2. Adjust the levels of one or both of the receives in the FX bus routing window.

3. Display the routing window for either guitar track and adjust the send levels for that track.

4. Adjust output volume fader for the track called FX Bus.

Speed Tips

In Order To Do This ... Do This

Toggle on/off send from track to

Master

Hold Alt while clicking on ROUTE button. Works with single track or

multiple track selection.

Create a quick send on the fly

from one track to another.

In TCP or MCP, drag and drop from send track ROUTE button to

receive track’s. See Chapter 11 for a the full range of options.

Send output of track or selection

of tracks direct to any hardware

output.

Select track(s). Right-click on ROUTE button and select Audio

Hardware Output or MIDI output (as required) then choose from the

sub-menu. This is independent of the track's master send status.

2.15 Managing the Play Cursor

By default, when a project is playing, pressing

Stop (or Spacebar) will stop playback and

return the play cursor to its previous starting

position. Pressing Pause (or Enter) will pause

playback at the current play cursor position.

You can also specify that the play cursor should be moved when you click on the Time Ruler, an empty area of

any track and/or in the empty area below tracks. These three options can be enabled/disabled in your Seek

playback when clicked. (Options, Preferences, Audio, Seeking settings).

REAPER Project Basics

2.16 Analyzing FX Performance

FX plug-ins can impose a heavy load on your computer’s CPU. To help

you overcome this, you can use the Performance Meter to closely

monitor your FX in the following ways:

● You can check how much CPU is being used by the FX in your

various tracks and in the master.

● You can disable and enable FX chains for individual tracks,

quickly, easily and conveniently, all together in one place.

● You can toggle on and off the mute status for your tracks, again

all in one convenient place.

To display the Performance Meter, press Ctrl Alt P, or use the View,

Performance Meter command.

Example

In the example shown (right), the Master track with 3 plug-ins is using

0.05% and the Vocals, with four plug-ins, is using 0.23%. Media items

on this track are using a further 0.01%.

If any track shows an unexpectedly high reading examine the track FX f

to help identify the reason for this. To open a track FX chain, double

click on the track name or number in the Performance Meter window.

This feature is useful if a project has many tracks. You can use the

Performance Meter window to browse your project file, checking it track

by track, without having to scroll or navigate thru Track View. You can also toggle FX Bypass for any track,

selection of tracks, or all tracks in the Track View or Mixer View. The table below summarises these options.

In order to do this … In Mixer or Track View, do this …

Toggle FX Bypass On/Off for that track. Click the FX Bypass button for any track.

Toggle FX Bypass On/Off for all tracks in

the selection.

Select a number of tracks (Ctrl Click) then click the FX

Bypass button for any track in the selection.

Toggle FX Bypass On/Off for all tracks. Hold Ctrl key while clicking any track’s FX Bypass button.

The first of the performance meter’s two right click menus is accessed by right clicking in the track list area.

In order to do this … In the Performance Meter window do this …

Open FX Window for that track. Right click on track name, choose Show FX Dialog.

Toggle FX Bypass On/Off. Right click on track name, choose Toggle FX Bypass.

Toggle track mute for that track. Right click over any track, choose Toggle Track Mute.

Show in/hide from Performance

Meter (PM) list tracks with no FX.

Right click on any track, enable/disable Show track FX when

empty.

Show hide in PM master track/

monitoring when these have no FX.

Right click on a track, enable/disable Show master FX when

empty and/or Show monitoring FX when empty.

The other menu selects what you want shown or not shown in the window. Most options are enabled by default.

Right click anywhere in the main Performance Meter area to display this. For example, you can choose to display

(or not) the CPU graph, Real time CPU on the graph, CPU use, Real time longest block processing

time, Disk use, RAM use, Video load, FX and media item CPU use, and more.

You can also use this menu to move the window to the docker.

Tip: You can select several tracks – using Ctrl Click – then right click over any of their track numbers in the

Performance Meter to Toggle FX bypass and/or Track Mute status for all tracks in the selection.

Note: You’ll find more information about the REAPER Performance Meter in Chapter 22 of this guide.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

2.17 Time Selections and Time Loops

You might need to work on just a part of your project for a while. To do this, first check the Options menu to

see if Loop Points Linked to Time Selection is enabled. If it is, then making a time selection and defining a

loop are the same thing. If not, then making a time selection and defining a loop become two different things.

Either way, to define a loop area click and drag along the timeline. The start and end of the loop are marked by

two small equilateral triangular indents.

 Stop the playback at or near the point where you want your loop to begin (or click your mouse in the

background area) to move the Edit Cursor there.

 Place your mouse over the Timeline (above the first track), then click/drag along it, releasing the mouse to

define the area to be looped. This is shown here. The start and

end of the loop are marked by two small triangles.

If when you

attempt this the selection snaps outwards to define a larger

area than you want, then REAPER has snapping enabled.

Snapping will be discussed in detail in Chapter 7: The shortcut

keys Alt S toggle snapping on and off.

Tip: To set the loop selection to match a media item, hold Ctrl while you double click on that item.

To set the time selection to match a media item, hold Shift while you double-click on the item.

Now when you play the project, provided that the loop (toggle repeat) button on the transport bar is engaged, it

will replay over again the area selected for your Loop. If loop points are linked to

time selection, the start time, finish time and duration of the selection are also

shown on the Transport Bar. Pressing the R key toggles this repeat function on

and off. There is also the option (under Options, Preferences on the Playback

page) to stop playback at the end of a loop when the repeat function is disabled.

To change the area defined as your loop, repeat the

original procedure. To clear the loop altogether, without

defining a new one, press the Escape key.

If loop points are not linked to time selection, you can

define a time selection by

clicking and dragging in the space underneath or between the media items, in

the arrange view background area.

Note that when you mark a time selection, a tooltip pops up which shows the

start position, end position and length of your selection.

Right clicking on the Timeline then gives you a menu of commands which you

can apply to a time selection, including Zoom Selection. You can use this menu to change the units used on

the timeline – for example, Minutes:Seconds, Measures:Beats, Measures:Beats ,

Measures.Beats

(minimal), Measures.Beats (minimal). Measures.Fractions, Seconds, Samples,

Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Frames or Absolute Frames. You can also specify as a secondary time unit

Minutes:Seconds, Seconds, Samples, Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Frames or Absolute Frames.

The other commands on this menu will be discussed elsewhere in this User Guide, as the need arises. These are

features that you are likely to find useful when editing your files. Incidentally, to zoom out of a time selection

and restore a whole project length to view, press Ctrl PgDown.

There's more about loops and time selections elsewhere in this guide, e.g. Chapter 9.

2.18 Managing Time and Loop Selections

In the previous section you learnt how to click and drag within an empty area of the track view to define a time

selection. This may or may not also change the loop selection, depending on your Options, Loop points

linked to time selection setting. As you progress thru this User Guide, you will see that time selection plays an

important role in REAPER, for example when it comes to editing your media items. You’ll probably find at first

that it’s too easy to perhaps select too large an area, or to miss part of the area that you intended to select.

To modify a loop selection using the mouse, hover the mouse over the edge at the start or finish of the loop

selection on the timeline, then click and drag left or right. Dragging left from the start of the selected area

extends the selection left, dragging right shortens it. Dragging right from the finish of the selected area extends

it to the right, dragging left shortens it. Holding Ctrl while you do this cause any snap settings to be ignored.

REAPER Project Basics

To move a loop selection, hold the mouse over the selected area on the time line, then hold down Shift while

clicking and dragging the mouse left or right.

You can also modify a time selection by first clicking then

scrolling the mousewheel over the Selection area of the

Transport Bar. Scroll over the start area to adjust start time,

end area to adjust end time, or over the length of selection

area to move the entire selection. If you wish, you can enter actual times in the start and end time boxes. There

are also several keyboard shortcuts you can use for managing Time Selections, summarised below. If loop

points are linked to the time selection, then the loop area will also be modified.

Function Keystroke

Nudge Entire Time Selection left a little. , (comma)

Nudge Entire Time Selection right a little. . (period or full stop)

Extend Time Selection to left by nudging left edge left a little. Ctrl ,

Shrink Time Selection from right by nudging right edge left a little. Ctrl Alt ,

Extend Time Selection from left by nudging right edge right a little. Ctrl Alt .

Move Time Selection left by time selection length. Shift ,

Move Time Selection right by time selection length. Shift .

Copy portions of selected media items in Time Selection. Ctrl Shift C

Remove (Unselect) Time Selection. Esc

Zoom to Time Selection. Ctrl PageUp

Zoom back to Project. Ctrl PageDown

If you wish, you can use the keyboard rather than the mouse to manage your time selections. First you need to

position the cursor at either the start or the end of the loop, then use one of these:

Function Keystroke

Drag cursor to the left and create time selection. Shift Left Arrow

Drag cursor to the right and create time selection. Shift Right Arrow

Tip:

If your cursor will not stay exactly where you wish when creating a selection, make sure snapping is off.

2.19 Navigating by Jumping

You can jump to any point on the timeline using the View, Go

To, Jump To command or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl J. In

typing the place to jump to you should use the same format as

the timeline. In the example used here, the timeline displays

Measures and below it Minutes and Seconds. You could

therefore use either format, e.g. 33.1 or 1:04.

To jump to an absolute position in a project, simply enter the

required position as in the example shown.

To jump forward or back relative to the current cursor position,

enter a + or – followed by a value – e.g. -2.0

To jump to a specific time in an item, type I followed by the

time, e.g. i0:30

If you are using markers and/or regions, you can jump to any

maker or region – e.g., typing M1 will cause it to jump to

marker 1, R2 to jump to the start of region 2, and so on. Markers and regions are explored in Chapter 9.

Tip: Another easy way to open the Jump to dialog box is to double-click on the time on the transport bar.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

2.20 Time and Loop Selections and the Transport Bar

There are two special ways in which the transport bar can be used with a loop selection or a time selection.

In order to do this ... … you should do this

Repeatedly play the selection

over and over

Make the loop selection, make sure Repeat is enabled (next to Record

on the Transport Bar), with the cursor inside the loop press Space.

Play back project skipping

over time selection

Make the required time selection and position the play cursor anywhere

before the start of that selection. Press Alt Space.

2.21 REAPER Routing Essentials

Routing directs media output (audio and/or MIDI) to

another track in addition to (not instead of) the track itself.

Routing can be simple or complex – and anything in

between. This section explains basic routing concepts. More

complex options will be covered later in this chapter, also in Chapter 5 , Chapter 17, and elsewhere.

Each track panel includes a

Routing Button. Hover the

mouse over this button to

display a tool tip listing any

sends and/or receives

associated with that track.

Clicking the button opens the

track’s routing window. To

close the routing window,

Escape, or click on the X in

the top right corner of the

window, or click anywhere

outside the window.

Routing window display

depends on project structure and DAW hardware setup (e.g. audio devices, MIDI devices). Depending on the

nature of your project, your display should be

similar

to that shown here, but not necessarily identical. Note:

● Master send channels: these direct the track’s output to the Master. In most cases you will want to

direct the output of channels 1-2 directly to the Master, as shown for Track 1 (above).

● Parent channels - The example shown above directs audio to the master

via channels 1 and 2 (stereo): this is the default. If you wish to send a

mono signal to the master, select 1 from the first drop down, then a single

channel from the parent channels drop down (e.g. channel 1 or 2 only).

● Sends – In the FX Bus example earlier in this chapter you created sends.

A track's output can be routed via a send from any track to any other

track(s) or to a new track This will be covered in more detail later.

● Audio Hardware Outputs – as well as (or instead of) directing output to

your Master Bus, you can direct output of any track directly to hardware outputs on your audio device. If

this device has multiple outputs, this can be useful, for

example, for creating a headphone mix, or a series of

separate headphone mixes.

● MIDI Hardware Output – Directs MIDI output to an

external device.

● Receives – For every send (source) track there will be

a receive (destination) track.

● Playback time offset – Can be used to compensate

for any latency that might be created (for example) by a third party VST instrument. See also Chapter 10.

Notice (above) that a send includes volume and pan faders, and options to send audio or MIDI output, or both.

REAPER Project Basics

When you create a new project, by default the output of each new track is routed to the Master and from there

to the output of your sound card. REAPER’s routing capabilities go beyond this. In the example below a trackhas

both a send and a receive. You will be shown how to do this later in this User Guide, starting at Chapter 5.

The early chapters of this User

Guide will take you thru basic

track routing. After mastering

these, you will find more complex

examples in the later chapters,

especially in Chapter 17.

Note: Sends and Receives can

be any of three types - Post

Fader (Post Pan), Pre-Fader

(Post FX) and Pre Fader (Pre

FX). The differences will be

discussed in Chapter 17.

The default is Post-Fader (Post

Pan), but you can change this in

Options, Preferences,

Project, Track/Send Defaults.

See also the section

Using Search Filters for

advanced options.

Type text string (e.g. bass) in the filter box (left of the list/details dropdown) to

filter file display. Boolean search (AND, OR, NOT) is supported, e.g.:

kick OR snare: for file names that include either

kick

snare

such as

Pop_Dance_Snare 02.wav, Pop_Dance_Kick 05.wav

urban AND kick: for file names including both

kick

and

urban

such as Urban_Kick

01.wav, Urban_pop_Kick 03.wav but not Kick.wav

Use ^, $ and quotes to match start/end/whole word – e.g. ^bass, bass$, “bass“.

Delete the text string to remove the filter.

Right click on filter box for a field list to limit search to selected field(s).

Managing Media: The Media Explorer

In order to do this … Do this ….

Fav / Mark (toggle)

Double click in either of these columns to label a file as Fav or Mark.

Restrict file

information display

options

The Show menu toggles on or off what the media explorer will display:

All files (otherwise only media files such as .wav. ,mp3. .mid are shown)

Folders and/or File extensions even when file type displayed

Leading path or Full paths in databases and searches

Toolbar and/or Media information box

Path dropdown box and/or Shortcut list

Vertical layout (toggle navigation panel above rather than left of files list)

Restrict search

options

The Search submenu (Options menu) toggles customization features on/off:

Search fields (make searchable any or all of: File name, Leading path, Title,

Artist, Album, Year, Genre, Comment. Description, BPM, Key, Custom tags).

Folder searches (any/all of Search in metadata, Search in subfolders, Include

matching folders). Read file metadata is another option.

Include matching folders (shows sub-folder names in search results)

Whether to Update searches only when the ENTER key is pressed.

Add to shortcuts list

Right click on folder name in main panel, choose Add to shortcut list.

Change date format

Right-click on any column header, choose Set date/time format ...

Other Options,

Search toggles

Update search only when Enter key is pressed

Clear search when browsing to new folder or database

Navigate thru

browsing history

Open browsing history dropdown: all folders and directories visited during your

current session will be listed. Additionally, the buttons located to the left of this

dropdown can be used to move back and forwards thru your browsing history.

Show/hide media

information box

Use the second toolbar icon, or the Show, Media information box command. –

typically shows length, sample rate, etc. Right click for a context menu.

Manage toolbar

Use toolbar context menu commands to Open or Switch to a different toolbar, or

Position toolbar (in media ex, float, dock or close) or Customize it.

4.3 File Management

File management in media explorer appears similar to Explorer or Finder, but with several enhancements.

In order to do this … Do this ….

Copy a file from one

folder to another

Ctrl left drag the file from the file list (right hand panel) to destination folder in

the left hand panel,

or …

Right click on file name, choose Copy. Select destination

folder in left panel, right click in right panel and choose Paste.

Copy file into media

explorer

Ctrl Alt left drag file from arrange view into media explorer main area. Renders

item to a new file, applying any item FX etc..

Rename a file Right click on file, choose Rename from menu. Type new name, press Enter.

Delete file Right-click on file name, then choose Delete then OK to send to recycle bin.

Show file properties Right click on file name, choose Show media source properties from menu.

Mark file as favorite Right click on file name (media or non-media), Set as favorite.

Show file list in

Explorer or Finder

Right click on any file name in list, choose Show in explorer/finder. (Windows

Explorer or Mac Finder).

Working with non

media files

Enable Try to open non media files (Options, Default action menu): double

clicking on files such as .jpg,.doc will then if possible cause them to be opened.

Cause them to open

actions list

Show action list (Media Explorer menu) opens the media explorer actions list,

in order to run other actions and/or assign keyboard shortcuts. See section 4.11 .

Customize menu For example, to add actions to the media explorer menu, choose Options,

Customize menus. See Chapter 15 for more about menu customization.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

4.4 Working With Metadata

Metadata is information about your files that can be embedded within the files. Categories of metadata

recognised by REAPER’s media explorer include Title, Artist, Album, Date, Genre, Comment, Description, BPM

and Key, as well as Custom Tags. Custom tags can be used for other information that you might wish to include.

Metadata can be added to both media and non media files.

Before looking more closely at how the media explorer handles metadata, there are some basic issues that you

should understand. These are:

● Existing metadata already embedded in files that you purchase and/or download will be displayed in media

explorer provided, of course, that you have made those columns visible.

● You can sort, search and filter the list of files displayed using the contents of any metadata field, provided

these are enabled in your Options, Search options. There is also an option to Group favorites on top.

● Within media explorer you can add metadata to most kinds of audio files, including .WAV, .MP3, .OGG.

and .FLAC.

● Metadata that you add to any files in media explorer, including your own recorded material, will be

displayed in media explorer and can be used for searching etc., but by default will not be embedded in the

files. You do, however, have an option to write the metadata into the file so that it will then be embedded.

● Some metadata fields will be displayed in popular music software (such as Windows Media Player and

Groove Music) and portable MP3 players and will be displayed as the music is played. Typically, these will

include Title, Artist and Album.

In order to do this … Do this ….

Enter/Edit metadata

in a single file

Double-click in the required column (e.g. Title) for that file, type the metadata and

press Enter.

Enter/Edit metadata

in several files.

Make file selection in the main panel file list. Right click over any file in selection,

choose Edit metadata tag then select required field (e.g. Artist), type the text

and press Enter.

Restore metadata to

last saved state

Select file or files. Right-click over any selected file, choose Re-read metadata

from media files.

Embed metadata in

a single file or

several files

Select file or files. Right-click over any selected file, choose Write edited

metadata to files.

4.5 Creating and Using Databases

You can create your own databases to manage your samples and media files. This lets you display together files

that have a common theme but might be stored in different folders. A database can contain a selection of files,

entire directories, or both. Think of databases as being for file reference and retrieval rather than storage.

Individual files can be referenced from more than one database. For example, you could create a database called

“Drums Various” for all your drum samples. You could also create separate databases each for toms, snare, kick,

etc. Databases are set up and managed using right-click context menus in the left-hand Shortcuts panel.

In order to do this … Do this ….

Create a new empty database Right-click over empty area in left (shortcuts) panel. Choose Create new

database... from menu. Type name, press Enter.

Add file(s) to database Select file(s) in media explorer's main window, then drag and drop to the

database name in the shortcuts panel. Note that the same file(s) can be

added to more than one database if you wish.

Mark files as favorites

(toggle)

Select item, double-click in Fav column to mark. By default, this is the first

column in the folder/file display area. Repeat this to unmark. One use for

this is to be able sort file display to show favorites first.

Managing Media: The Media Explorer

In order to do this … Do this ….

Add folder (directory) with

contents to database

EITHER …

Select database in Shortcuts column. Right-click over its name

and choose Add path to database … from menu. Navigate to required

folder, select it and click on OK. Repeat this to add more folders.

OR...

Drag and drop folder from windows explorer or mac finder, or media

explorer's main window on to the database name in the shortcuts panel.

Change shortcut name of

folder in database

Right-click on folder name in shortcut panel, choose Rename shortcut...

Does not change folder name on hard disk.

Create a new database from a

folder

In right hand panel, right-click on folder, choose Make database from

folder. By default, the database will take the folder name, prefixed DB:

and will be included in the list in the left panel.

Change order in which

databases are listed in

shortcuts panel

Drag and drop database name up or down.

Remove a folder contents

from database

Select database in Shortcuts column. Right-click over its name and choose

Remove path from database... from menu. From the flyout list, select

the folder that you want removed.

Remove item(s) from

database

Select item(s) in media explorer window. Right-click over selection, choose

Remove items from database.

Change database name Select database in Shortcuts column. Use Rename database... command

on context menu. Does

not

erase items from disk.

Update database contents to

reflect changes in folder

contents

Select database in Shortcuts column. From context menu use Scan

database for new files to find and add new files, Remove missing files

from database to remove deleted files.

Remove a database Right-click on database in Shortcuts column, choose Remove database.

Media explorer databases can be included in your export configuration settings (Options, Preferences,

General): see also Chapter 22.

4.6 Media Item Preview

Usually you will want to audition items before inserting them into a project. The media explorer allows you to do

this. The Auto play option (on the toolbar) can be used to ensure that by default an item is automatically played

when you select it. You also have a number of options available which determine exactly how the preview

feature will behave. Also, as you will see in the section that follows this one, you have a great number of options

for determining just how items are inserted into your project.

Use the Media Information tool (on Media Explorer toolbar) to toggle display of the media information box.

Also, identify the main playback controls. The Transport Bar buttons (L to R) are Rewind/Home, Play, Pause,

Stop and Toggle Repeat. The horizontal fader (far right) adjusts the volume of playback. Now make yourself

familiar with the following features:

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

In order to do this … Do this ….

Select a file to audition Use the Explorer Panel to select directory or database. Use the keyboard

up/down arrow keys to move thru file list.

Preview an .RPP file Enable Preview REAPER.RPP projects in Options menu. Select .RPP file within

media explorer. You can also enable Do not auto-render .RPP proxy.

Select a preview panel

display option

Use Display preview position options on Display menu – e.g. beats using

embedded tempo, whole or fractional beats or seconds.

Audition a file: play and stop Select file in main panel. To start, click Play button in preview panel, or press the

right arrow key or spacebar on your computer keyboard. To stop, click on the Stop

button in the preview panel, or press the left arrow key or spacebar.

Restart playback from most

recent start point

Press Play on Media Explorer transport bar while media is playing.

Return to start of current

item/media file and play

Click first button on Media Explorer transport bar.

Calculate/show loudness

stats for item

Choose Calculate peak volume and loudness (LUFS-1) for media from the

item right click context menu.

Play item as a loop Enable the toggle repeat button on the preview toolbar.

Preview with start on bar

enabled

Enable Start on bar (on toolbar). Optionally, enable When start on bar

enabled, wait for next bar to start preview (Options menu)

Audition only a portion of a

file

Make time selection and use spacebar to start/stop. Drag and drop from either end

of selection to extend/shorten it.

Zoom in/out of waveform Scroll mousewheel up/down.

Scroll zoomed waveform Shift drag left/right, or Shift mousewheel up/down.

Adjust height of peaks

display

Hover mouse over top of display area to show mouse cursor as a double-headed

arrow. Drag up or down.

Play all files in sequence

(needs repeat to be off)

Select Auto advance to next file after preview from the Options menu.

Press Spacebar.

Auto audition selected file Enable the Auto play tick box.

Synchronize to current

project

Enabling Start on bar will ensure that in auditioning the item during project

playback, the item playback will be co-ordinated so as to start on a bar.

Audition item within current

project

Click on the Routing button and enable Play thru … selected track.

Insert a new track into your project. Kep it selected. Playback will be thru this track

– you can experiment with volume, panning, track FX, etc..

Use fades when stopping or

switching preview

The Options menu has an option Fade in Fade Out Settings. The fade length

(in milliseconds), can be set for Fade in on play, Fade out on stop and/or Fade

on pause/unpause,s

Tempo match (use toolbar to

toggle and choose options)

With this on, the tempo of the selected item is matched to that of the project.

Other options include Tempo match half and Tempo match double.

Modify volume Use Options menu to Apply preview volume to inserted media.

Pitch/Rate rotaries and

Volume fader

Use these to make adjustments while auditioning, or type values in edit boxes next

to the controls. The Detect pitch toolbar button displays the pitch in the preview

window when auditioning. Enable Options, Apply preview pitch rate to

inserted media items to apply pitch when inserting a media item.

Normalized volume options The Options menu includes Normalize preview volume [to -0 dB or -12 LU] if

peak volume has been calculated, and Apply normalized volume to

inserted media items. See also Media Explorer Actions.

Managing Media: The Media Explorer

In order to do this … Do this ….

Pitch and rate options Right click on either the pitch or the rate control knob for a context menu of

options, also available from the Media Explorer Options menu:

Preserve pitch when tempo-matching or changing play-rate (toggle)

Reset pitch and rate when changing media (toggle)

Pitch shift knob behavior (options are Continuous, Cents, Quarter tones,

Semitones)

Pitch shift knob range (options are +/- 2, 6 or 12 semitones).

4.7 Inserting Audio Files, Samples and FX

Note: With REAPER v 7.79 various background changes were made to simplify and improve tempo matching

behavior when importing files. These are for the most part seamless and do not impact on user actions or

behavior. These are outlined in the official 7.79 changelog.

Selected media items can be inserted into the current project either from the media explorer's toolbar, or from

the main window by right-clicking on the file name and choosing one of the options (see below). These are:

Insert into project (on currently selected track, at current cursor position).

Insert at time selection (stretch/loop to fit) (if a time selection is currently active).

Insert on a new track (at current cursor position).

Insert into sample player (on new track, or reusing existing sample player).

Insert in selected item (as new take, replacing media source,

or replace media source -stretch/loop to fit: when replacing

source media only the active take will be stretched).

As a shortcut, you can specify one of these options (or something

else) as your default behavior, then apply that to a selected item by

double-clicking or pressing Enter.

You can set your default behavior preference using the Options,

Default action (double-click or enter key) command. This

menu is shown here (right). The default settings are to Insert

media on selected track (media items) or (for .RPP files) Open

projects in new tab. We’ll get to .RPP files shortly.

To disable this shortcut altogether, choose Do nothing. To assign

your own shortcuts to any command, go to the media explorer

section of the actions list: right-click over the Media Explorer title

bar and choose Show action list from the context menu.

Some of these options appear might self-explanatory. For example, Insert on a new track creates a new track

and inserts the selected item there, at the current cursor position. Alternatively, we could just drag and drop.

Sounds simple? Not always, because we might need to ensure that the item we are inserting syncs with our

other instruments. Let’s look at how to use the media explorer to our best advantage in this and other situations.

Example 1 – Insert at time selection

Here we have inserted a synth

sample and looped it as shown. We

wish to add some strings. We find

a sample that we like, but it needs

to be synchronized with the synth.

We make a time selection equal to

the first instance of our synth. We

set Tempo match on and then

Insert at time selection

(stretch/loop to fit). The new

track syncs with the existing

material and can itself be looped.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

Example 2 - Insert in selected media items (Replace media source)

We have inserted a series of empty media

items to mark where we want a hat to go .

We select all the media items, choose a

sample, and with tempo match on choose

Insert in selected media items, Replace

media source (stretch/loop to fit).

This command could be used to replace one

sample throughout a song with another.

Example 3– Replace source media using drag and drop

1. Select the item in media explorer.

2. Hold Ctrl Alt while you drag and drop to the

media item whose source is to be replaced.

Make sure that the start position of the item to

be inserted does not occur before the start

position of the existing item.

3. The dialog box shown here will pop up. You can

choose Insert new media item that

overlaps target media item, Add source

media as new take in target media item,

Replace target media with source media

or (if there is more than one instance of the

item) Replace all x occurrences of the

target media with source media.

4. Specify your preference as to whether to

Adjust target media item length to fit

source media, Stretch source media to fit target media item, or Loop source media to fit target

media.

When media is dragged into a project, media explorer settings to preserve pitch when changing rate or tempo-

matching will be respected.

Example 4 – Inserting an item as a new take

In this example, after inserting one sample into a track, a second has

been inserted using Insert in selected media items (Insert as new

take).

This item can now be looped, copied, pasted, split, etc just like any

other and any desired permutation of the takes can be selected (as

shown, for example, below).

Example 5 – Inserting an item as new track immediately above an existing track

You can drag and drop a media item to insert it on a new track which will be created above an existing one. The

Options, Preferences, Media option to Allow drag import to insert tracks needs to have been enabled.

Drag and drop the item so that the mouse is hovered in arrange view on and

near to the top of the existing item above which you wish to insert it, and at

the position in the timeline where you want it inserted.

A tooltip Insert track will be displayed. Release the mouse, and the item will

be inserted on a new track immediately above the track containing the existing item.

Managing Media: The Media Explorer

Example 6 – Insert an item into sample player

Selecting a sample and then choosing Insert into sample player (insert sample player on new track) will

cause a new track to be created with ReaSamplomatic5000 inserted into its FX chain, pre loaded with the

selected sample.

To replace the sample with another simply select the track, select the required replacement sample and choose

Insert into sample player (reuse active sample player).

The Options menu includes several options for Assign MIDI when inserting into a sampler. These are:

Assign detected pitch

Assign MIDI note C4 (60) and increment if new track …

Assign MIDI channel and increment if new track and

Do not assign pitch, note or channel (the default)

Example 7 – Inserting an automation item

Automation items can be previewed in, and inserted into projects from, the Media Explorer in the same way as

other media items, and with the same appropriate options. See also Chapter 18 for more information.

Example 8– Insert part of a media item into a project

1. In the preview window select the portion of the waveform.

2. Right click over the selected portion and choose one of the

items from the context menu.

3. The item can be loop enabled or disabled. It can be

inserted at a time selection, on a new track, or as a new

take on a selected item. Also, a portion can be dragged

and dropped into the project, in which case your default

settings will be applied.

Note: The Options menu allows you to Enable looping when inserting selected portion of items.

Example 9 - Insert multiple media item into a project

1. Use Ctrl click to build your selection.

2. Right-click over the selection and choose from the menu.

3. Alternatively, drag and drop the selection into the project. Unless you have changed the default setting,

you will be prompted to select whether you want the items inserted on one or separate tracks.

Note: The Media page in REAPER’s Preferences includes a default setting when inserting multiple items:

Insert in one track (advancing time) – each is placed one after the other.

Insert across tracks – each item is placed in a separate track, all starting together.

Decide automatically – if files are of the same length (file size) they will be placed in separate tracks,

otherwise they will be inserted sequentially in the same track.

Prompt user – you will be prompted each time to specify your preference.

If in doubt, set this to Prompt User. Other useful options include whether or not imported media items should

be copied to the project media directory. See Chapter 22 for more details. Note also that the action list includes

options to set media item start, end or both to match source media.

Example 10– Insert multichannel audio files

Multichannel audio files are imported into REAPER in exactly the same way as any other item. An example of

such a file (in this case six channels) is shown here.

You can split such a file into its individual channels, to produce one track per channel. This allows for each

channel to be edited independently of the others. To do this, right-click on the item and choose Item

processing, Explode multichannel audio or MIDI items to new one channel items.

Example 11 – Inserting an FX chain into a track or item.

Make sure that the option (Show menu) to Show all files is enabled.

To add the FX to any existing chain, drag and drop any FX chain to the track panel, or onto any media item to

insert the chain into that item.

Hold Alt while dragging to replace existing FX with the chain.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

Example 12 – Importing tracks from an audio CD

To import material from an audio CD :

1. Insert the audio CD into your PC CD drive.

2. Display media explorer, select My Computer in the left

panel, then double-click in the main panel on the letter

representing CD drive. Its contents will be listed.

3. To play (preview) any track from the CD, right click over it

and choose Preview from the menu.

4. To insert a CD track into your project as a media item, in

media explorer’s main panel right click over that track and

choose one of the other commands from the menu. Each of these commands works as explained earlier.

Note: By default, fade settings as specified in Preferences, Project, Item Fade Defaults are applied to all

imported media items. You can disable this option on the Item Fade Defaults settings page.

4.8 Import Media File Types

Media files of any of the following types can be imported into REAPER in any of the following formats.

AIFF (.AIF, .AIFF)

AVI Video (.AVI)

CAF (.CAF, .CAFF)

CD Audio (.CDA)

DDP (.DAT)

FLAC (.FLAC)

GIF (.GIF)

MIDI (.MID)

MIDI Karaoke (.KAR)

MIDI System Exclusive Message

(.SYX)

MPEG Video (.MG, .MPEG)

LCF Capture Video (.LCF)

MKV Video (.MKV)

MPEG Audio (,MP2, .MP3)

MusicXML (.XML, .MUSICXML, .MXL)

OGG Opus (.OPUS)

OGG Vorbis (.OGG, .MOGG)

PCM Audio (.PCM .L, .R)

Quicktime (.MOV, .QT, .M4V, .MP4)

Recycle (.RX2, .REX, .RCY)

RAW audio (.RAW)

Sound Designer II (.SD2)

WAV (.WAV, .W64, .BWF)

WAVPACK (.WV)

WebM (.WebM)

WMV/WMA Video (.WMA, .WMV)

Matroska Audio Container files (.MKA) also supported ifif the encoder is found.

4.9 Importing REAPER Project Files

The media explorer allows you to either open an

existing .RPP project on a new project tab, or to insert it

into the currently active project.

In the latter case, REAPER renders the file thru its

master and insert the rendered item into your project on

a new track. You can insert the entire file, or whatever

time selection you choose to make in the preview panel.

Unless you disable these options on the Options menu, when inserting the file REAPER will apply all relevant

media explorer options, such as whether to tempo match and any pitch and/or play rate adjustments.

4.10 Previewing and Importing MIDI Files

A MIDI file selected in the Media Explorer can be played back either through a dedicated track named Media

Explorer Preview, or through another selected track. In either case, the playback track will need a virtual

instrument in its FX chain. To preview a MIDI file in media explorer and import it into a project:

1. Add a new track and insert a virtual instrument or synthesizer into that track's FX chain. If you wish, name

the track Media Explorer Preview, otherwise you need to keep this track selected.

2. In media explorer, click the Route button and select Play through first track named “Media Explorer

Preview” or first selected track.

3. Select any MIDI file in the media explorer and preview it in the normal way. If you wish, you can also select

any part of a MIDI file before importing, by dragging within the displayed MIDI event preview.

4. Right-click over the file name or selected portion to choose one of the insert options, or just drag and drop.

You can also import MIDI files by dragging and dropping from Windows Explorer, or use the Insert,

Media file... command.

Unless you disable these options on the Options menu, any adjustments made to pitch in media explorer

preview will cause the notes to be transposed when the file is imported into REAPER.

Managing Media: The Media Explorer

MIDI File Types

The two main types of MIDI file are Type 0 and Type 1. REAPER recognises both.

Type 1 MIDI

With Type 0, all MIDI events and data are stored in one track, but individual channel data is retained. A single

track Type 0 MIDI file can contain up to 16 channels of data on the one track.

Type 1 files can contain any number of tracks, with each track containing data on one or more channels. Type 1

is more suited than Type 0 to larger arrangements.

When you import a type 1 multitrack MIDI file into REAPER, you are asked if you wish to Expand the MIDI

tracks to new REAPER tracks and if you wish to Import MIDI tempo map. If you enable this option and

click on OK, you will then be presented with options for Multichannel items on a single track or Single

channel items on multiple tracks.

Type 0 MIDI

When you import the type 0 MIDI file into your project you are simply asked whether you wish to place a

Multichannel item on a single track or Single channel items on multiple tracks.

4.11 Media Explorer Options and Other Actions

Here is a summary of the commands that appear on the Media Explorer Options menu. Many are self-explanatory:

others are described in the main body of this chapter.

Command/Action Options/Description

Default action (double

click or Enter)

Insert media (on selected track, new track or sample player) or Open

project (in current tab, new tab, or sample player), Start preview, Do

nothing, or Attempt to open non-media files.

Search Specify searchable fields: option to update search only when Enter is pressed.

When start on bar enabled, wait for next measure to start preview – self-explanatory.

When selecting media … Auto-play selected media, Stop preview and display waveform peaks

for selected media, or Continue preview of previously selected media.

Display preview in fractional seconds – self explanatory.

Auto-advance to next file after preview (requires repeat off) – self-explanatory.

Preview .RPP projects – toggle on/off: self explanatory.

Do not auto-render

REAPER.RPP proxy

Suppresses project tab preference.

Auto-stop preview when dragging media – self-explanatory.

Auto-stop preview when inserting media – self-explanatory.

Enable looping when inserting selected position of media – self-explanatory.

Apply preview pitch/rate to inserted media item – self-explanatory.

Apply preview volume to inserted media item – self explanatory.

Normalize preview volume if peak volume has been calculated – self-explanatory

Apply normalized volume to inserted media item – self-explanatory.

Detect pitch (toolbar

toggle button)

Detects pitch during preview, and displays it on the right hand side of the

preview window.

Quick render part of

media item in open

project

Make time selection on timeline (above project). Select the media item,

then Ctrl Alt Drag into media explorer main window.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

REAPER’s Actions List includes many options pertinent to the Media Explorer but not included in the REAPER menus.

To access these, choose Actions, Show actions list… from REAPER’s main menu, and select Media Explorer from

the Section drop down list. Here are some examples:

For Browser Navigation:

Go to next folder in history Go to previous folder in history

Go to next shortcut in list Go to previous shortcut in list

Go to parent folder Go to shortcut [1 thru 20]

Browser display options

Show all files / Show supported media only Clear all temporary marks

Search: search in metadata, various fields Reread metadata from media

Use vertical layout (toggle) Actions to sort file list by columns (File , Date, etc.)

Actions to load column order presets 1 to 10.

Loudness/peak volume calculate options

Calculate loudness stats for media dry run render

Calculate peak volume and loudness (LUFS-I) for media/all media

Calculate peak volume and loudness (LUFS-I) for media (force recalculation)

Displays results for selected items in Loudness column in Media Explorer window)

Preview actions

Auto set temporary mark when previewing file Fast forward a little bit / Rewind a little bit

Preview random file in current folder/database Display fractional seconds (toggle)

Zoom to selection / Zoom out full Reset preview pitch

Reverse preview playback / Play (cancel reverse playback)

Adjust pitch by [+ or – 1 cent or semitone]

Media/file/database management actions

Insert into project (loop disabled) Calculate peak volume for media

Edit: rename file Remove missing files from database/all databases

Scan database for new files / Scan all databases for new files

File: Delete options: no recycle / Recycle / Recycle, no confirm /Delete immediately – no recycle, no confirm

More general information about the Actions List (including how to assign keyboard shortcuts) can be found in the

Customization chapter of this user guide.

4.12 REX and Similar File Support

REAPER facilitates working with files that consist of sets of groove slices, such as REX files. These are created in

and exported from programs such as Recycle, to be used in the creation of tempo based music. You can import

these files into REAPER either using the Insert, Media command or by dragging and dropping from the Media

Explorer. When you do this, they will automatically position themselves according to the current tempo.

Once you have imported your files into REAPER, you can manipulate and use them in exactly the same ways as

you can use other media items that have had dynamic splitting applied within REAPER. For example, imported

REX slices can be made to keep their beat location even if the project tempo is changed.

In your Preferences settings, under Media, Import, there are a number of options for how these files are to be

treated. There are several options for interpreting embedded slice information, or you can choose Always

prompt. There are also options to determine how Slice tails are handled. Similarly, you can specify how media

with embedded tempo information is to be handled. Refer to the information in Chapter 21 more details.

The Action list also includes a useful action Item: explode REX item into beat slices. This can be assigned its own

shortcut key if you wish.

Project Arrangement Basics

5 Project Arrangement Basics

5.1 Managing Tracks

In Section 2, we introduced basic REAPER track management

features, such as Volume, Panning, Mute and Solo. This section

will explore these features in more depth and introduce others,

e.g. moving and removing tracks,’ track folders and track

grouping.

Many of the relevant commands and actions are available from

the menu that is displayed when you right click over any track

number (see right). Ctrl Z can be used to undo your last action,

as described in more detail in Chapter 2.

PC or Mac?

Booster keys are used frequently throughout this User Guide.

Booster keys on the macOS are not the same as they are in

Windows (PC). This user guide references PC (Windows) booster

keys. For OS users, please refer to the table in Chapter 1,

Selections, Controls and Commands for a table of booster key

equivalents.

Tip: Before continuing, you might wish to open the project file

All Through The Night.RPP and save it to a new name, e.g.

All Through The Night EDITS.RPP. You can use this file to

experiment with some of the ideas presented in this section.

Basic Track Management

A number of techniques can be used for carrying out these

various track management tasks.

To do this … You should do this ...

Move a track up or

down the track order

Click inside the track panel, then drag up or down the track list, releasing the mouse

just inside the destination panel. Media items are moved with the track.

Move two or more

adjacent tracks up or

down

Click in first track panel as above, then hold Shift while clicking likewise on the

track number(s) of the last track to be selected. Then click and drag up or down.

Again. all media items are moved with the tracks.

Delete a track Click on or around the track number, the press Delete, or right click and choose

Remove tracks. All media items are removed with the track.

Delete two or more

tracks

Use Ctrl click to make your selection, then press Delete, or right click and choose

Remove tracks. Media items are removed with the tracks.

Copy a track as the next

track

Right click on panel, choose Duplicate track. Media items are duplicated with the

track. For several tracks, select all required tracks first.

Copy a track to a

specified location

Click on the track number. Press Ctrl C. Move to the required location then press

Ctrl V. All media items are duplicated with the tracks. To do this with more than

one track, select all required tracks first.

Pin track(s) to the top

of arrange view (toggle)

Select track panel(s) for required tracks. Right click over any track panel in

selection. Choose Pin tracks to top of arrange view from menu.

Display the Master in

Track View

Right click anywhere in the Track Control Panel area, below the last track. Choose

Show master track, or use the keys Ctrl Alt M to toggle.

Make the Track Control

Panel wider/narrower

Click and drag right/left on the boundary between the TCP and the arrange area. As

the TCP becomes narrower, some controls may disappear from view.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

5.2 Track Control Modifiers

The Volume, Pan, Mute and Solo controls were introduced in Chapter 2. As well as pan, a Width control will

be shown shown if you select the stereo pan or dual pan mode - see Chapter 11.

By default, volume and pan faders control audio output. To use them

instead for MIDI data for any track(s), right-click over the track number

and choose MIDI track controls then one of the Link track

volume/pan to MIDI options from the menu (see Chapter 13).

Volume and Pan Controls

Modifier Key with Volume Fader or Pan Rotary

Alt When mouse is released, fader returns to its original position.

Ctrl Shift With more than one track selected, only the current track is affected.

Ctrl Allows more precise control of fader level.

Double click Reset to zero (fader) or center (rotary).

Mute and Solo Controls

Modifier Key with Mute Button with Solo Button

Shift When more than one track is selected,

only the current track is toggled.

When more than one track is selected, only

the current track is toggled.

Ctrl Clears all mutes. Clears all solos.

Alt Unmutes selected track(s), mutes others. Solo selected tracks, excluding any sends.

Ctrl Alt Mutes selected track(s), unmutes others. Solo exclusive: Solos selected track(s),

unsolos all others.

Ctrl Shift Not applicable

Toggles

Solo Defeat

mode. The track(s) will

still be heard even when another track or

track selection is soloed exclusive.

Note: When a track is muted, a small red M icon is shown in its VU meter. A !S icon indicates

that the track is not being heard because another track or tracks is or are soloed.

Solo vs Solo in place

Clicking a track’s solo button engages solo in place: as well as the track, the output of any sends from that

track (e.g. to a reverb bus) will also be heard. Alt click on the solo button of an already soloed track toggles

between this state and plain solo, when only the track will be heard, without any sends.

The Mute and Solo control context menus

The options shown above are also available by

right-clicking over the Mute and Solo buttons

respectively. These context menus are shown

on the right. They can be applied to an

individual track or to a selection of tracks.

Bulk Track Mute/Solo

To mute or solo a range of tracks, click and

drag in the TCP from the button of the first

track to the same button on the last track, then release the mouse. Repeat this action to reverse this.

Track Control Panel Modifiers

By default, the following mouse modifiers can be used with the track control panel itself:

Double-click Select all media items on track.

Shift double-click Add all media items on track to selection.

Ctrl double-click Toggle selection of all media items on track.

Project Arrangement Basics

Sends and Receives

Right clicking over the volume fader of any track or folder will open

a window displaying volume and pan faders not only for the track

itself but also for any sends and receives associated with that

track. An example is shown here.

Right clicking over the Pan fader opens a window which can be

used to change that track's pan law. This subject was discussed in

Chapter 2.

Tip: By default, double-clicking on a track number in the track

control panel will cause all media items in that track to be selected.

You can change this behavior if you wish on the Mouse Modifiers

page of your Preferences. For more information about

customizing mouse modifiers, see Chapter 15.

5.3 Mute/Solo In Front

Mute settings include the option to

automatically mute tracks when their volume

exceeds a specified level.

Solo in front lets you to hear the other tracks

quietly in the background when one track or a

track selection is soloed. This is toggled on and

off by the Options, Solo In Front command.

These options are set on the Options,

Preferences, Audio, Mute/Solo settings

page. This setting (in the example shown it is

set at 18dB) determines by how much the

background mix is

reduced

. This means that the

higher the setting the quieter will be the

background mix.

5.4 Auto-Naming Multiple Tracks

In one action you can create and automatically name any number of tracks,

(either after the last touched track or at the end of the project) that serve a

common purpose – for example, a number of backing vocal or percussion

tracks. Use the Insert,

Multiple tracks...

command.

In this example shown, we

are creating three Backing

Vocals tracks at the end of the track list. These will be

automatically named B Vox 1, B Vox 2 and B Vox 3.

5.5 Searching the Preferences Settings

You have already

come across a

number of REAPER’s

preferences settings.

For example, we

have looked at some

of the preferences

settings for Audio

Devices, MIDI Devices, Recording and Projects. The more you work with REAPER, the more you will realise how

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

very many preferences settings there are, so many that it can sometimes be difficult to remember where to go

for a particular setting.

To help you there is a text box and a Find button near the bottom of the Preferences window. You can enter

any word or phrase in the box, click on Find and the first occurrence of that word or phrase will be shown. Each

time you click the Find button the next occurrence of that word or phrase will be shown. The item will be

displayed with a colored highlight. In the example shown here, a search for sends has turned up some

information about various options for setting the default parameters for track sends when they are created.

5.6 Track Colors

Windows users can also use the Windows color picker for making “on the fly” changes to track colors. To do this,

simply select the track (or tracks) in the Track Control Panel, then right click, choose the Track Color command,

then use any of these commands from the submenu.

Command Effect

Set tracks to custom color… Opens the Color Picker dialog for you to choose a color for the

track panel and track media items.

Set tracks to random colors Sets media items for each track in the selection to a different

randomly chosen color.

Set tracks to one random color Sets media items for all selected tracks to a randomly chosen color.

Set tracks to default color Restores track color to the default for the current color theme.

5.7 Track Icons

To add icons to tracks you can drag your own .PNG or .JPG files from Windows Explorer and drop them on to

any track control panel, or right click over the track number and choose Track Icon then Set track icon... from

the track menu to use any of those supplied with REAPER. This opens the Load Image Resource dialog box.

You can view the icons as thumbnails, tiles, or a list. Make your selection and click on Open.

Shown left is a project with track icons. Icons are saved

with track templates. To display icons in the Mixer, choose

Show Track Icons in Mixer from its context menu. To

remove icons from any track or selection of tracks, first

select the tracks (in either the TCP or MCP) then right-click

over any track icon and choose Remove Track Icon from

the menu. Additional track icon sets can be downloaded

from the REAPER stash, at stash.reaper.fm

5.8 Track Meter Options

The track control panel and track meter

context menus include track meter display

options which can be applied to a single

track, or to a track selection. See also

Master track options and settings:

Stereo peaks – separate loudness peaks

for each channel.

Multichannel peaks – separate peaks for

each of more thasn two channels.

Stereo RMS – individual root mean

squared loudness of each stereo channel

Combined RMS – the combined RMS loudness of all audio channels

LUFS-M – Loudness Units Full Scale (momentary)

LUFS-S - Loudness Units Full Scale (short sampled), maximum or current

LUFS measures first two channels only

Display gain reduction for plug-ins that support it.

Your Preferences, Appearance, Track Meter settings includes various other options which help determine track

meter behavior, including oner for track meters to display pre fader levels.

Project Arrangement Basics
5.9 Track Layouts
The theme adjuster will be explained in Chapter 11. Meanwhile, in arrange view you 
can select and apply any of the default layouts available for the track panel, master 
track panel, mixer panel, master mixer panel, envelope panel or transport bar.
Any of the three layouts A, B or C as defined in the theme adjuster can be applied to 
selected track at either “normal” size, or larger (150% or 200%) or smaller (75% or 
50%). Note that depending on your graphics card, some scaling options might not 
be available. To do this, simply:
1. Make your track selection in the Track Control Panel. Use Ctrl A to select all 
tracks in the project.
2. From REAPER’s main menu, choose the command Options, Layouts , Track 
Panel to display a list of available options (see right).
3. Click on the option of your choice. 
To restore the global default layout to a track or selection of tracks, choose Global 
Layout Default from this same menu.
To choose a layout from a different theme (e.g. REAPER 6),  use the Options, 
Themes command to select a theme. Note that some Track Layout options might 
not be available.
5.10 Displaying Grid Lines
REAPER offers a number of options for 
displaying grid lines Grid settings and spacing 
are defined in the Snap/grid settings 
window: choose Options, Snap grid, Snap/
grid settings from the main menu or 
press Alt L. Spacing options are shown 
above: other settings will be explained in 
the sections dealing with Snapping with 
Snap/Grid Settings.
Grid lines are toggled on/off using the toolbar Grid button, or the 
Options, Snap/grid, Show grid command, or the shortcut Alt G. Grid 
line display options can be found in the Appearance page of your 
Preferences (above right). 
Grid and marker lines can be displayed over, thru, or under media 
items in any permutation. In the example shown here, grid lines go 
under and marker lines over the media items.
You also have an option to set the grid line spacing to frame or measure rather than to a fraction of a beat. 
Frame can be useful when working with video 
media. (Frame rate is set in Project Settings, see 
Chapter 2). If measure is selected, the grid setting 
will be determined by the time signature.
Later in this guide (Chapter 7), you will be shown 
how to use grid settings to automatically snap 
various objects and items into position.
5.11 Headphone Monitoring and Headphone Mixing
Most would agree that when mixing it is better to use the monitors (speakers) in your studio or control room. 
However, you may wish also to use headphones from time to time, perhaps for those occasions when you need 
to focus in detail on a particular track or media item. Assuming that you have a PCI sound card or other audio 
device (Firewire or USB) which supports multiple outputs, here’s a neat little trick.
1. Assign Output Aliases to your outputs, as explained in Chapter 1. 
2. Display the Routing Matrix. Assign the output from the Master to the Control Room speakers.
3. Put on your headphones.
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4. As you play the song, click on the

appropriate cells on the routing

matrix to also direct any particular

track on which you wish to focus to

your headphones. You can change

from track to track, or add as many

or as few as you want at any time.

In the example above, the entire mix (from

the Master) is being heard through the

Main Speakers, but only track 1 Vox is

also being heard through the headphones.

Remember you can right click over this grid cell to display the controls

for this send (such as Volume). This can be useful when a musician

who wants to particularly hear only some tracks when recording.

When you are mixing down, you might not wish to see all of the

available routing information available – it can get quite complex. You

might wish to keep the routing matrix display as simple as possible for

the job in hand. For example, if you are focussed purely on mixing,

you might not need to see all the various input assignments.

Right clicking over the background area lets you customize its display.

In the example shown here, by unchecking Show audio hardware

as sources we have simplified the display. If you have installed

ReaRoute, consider also disabling the options to Show ReaRoute as

destinations and Show ReaRoute as sources.

Creating a Headphone Mix

Provided your sound card includes at least two pairs of outputs, we

can make the process of headphone monitoring easier and more

flexible by creating a headphone mix. This is how it is done.

1. Connect your Headphones to your Headphone Amp. Assign the Headphone Amp to one pair of outputs.

2. Create a new track and name it Headphone Mix.

3. Create sends to this track for any and all tracks that you want to be able to monitor thru your headphone

mix. If you wish to include all tracks in the headphone mix, open that track’s routing window, and choose

Add receives from all tracks from the receives drop down list.

4. Choose the Options, Preferences command, select the heading General then click on the Advanced

UI/System tweaks … button. Enable Allow track envelope/routing windows to stay open.

5. Click OK then OK again to close the Preferences window.

6. Select your Headphone Mix track. Open the Routing Window. Add an Audio Hardware Output to

the paired outputs connected to your Headphone Amp. Disable the Master/Parent Send for this track.

7. You can now use the Pan and Volume faders for your receives, together with the Mute buttons, to control

your headphone mix.

5.12 Understanding Sends, Buses, Submixes and Folders

You have already seen that each of the tracks in your projects has

its audio output routed by default to the master, and that from here

the audio signal is directed to your preferred output device or

devices, such as speakers or headphones. The signal flow that

occurs here within REAPER can be represented by the first diagram

on the right, which shows a simple project with just three tracks.

In Chapter2 you were shown how to use a track as an effects bus,

for example to add the same reverb effect to a number of tracks.

The signal flow for this arrangement can be represented by the

second flow chart (below right).

Project Arrangement Basics

Each track’s send carries a signal to the bus track which applies the effect, and then sends the processed (wet)

signal on to the Master. As long as the Send Master/Parent option

remains enabled, the dry signal for each track is also sent directly to

the master. Here it is finally mixed together with the “wet” signal

from the bus before being directed to your speakers and/or

headphones.

These two examples use routing arrangements that you would find in

most DAW programs. However, we are now about to enter territory

where REAPER may be substantially different from other software

that you may have used before. This concerns how you can create

and use submixes.

With most programs, to create a submix (perhaps for drum tracks or

vocal harmonies) you will need to create a bus, add sends from each

track that is to be included in the submix, and then disable the direct

sends to the master from each of these tracks.

You can use this method in REAPER.

Holding Alt while clicking on a track's

ROUTE button toggles on and off the

direct send to the master. If output to

the master is enabled the first of the

stripes on the ROUTE button is colored.

If disabled, it is gray. This distinction is shown here. In the first track,

the output from the track to the master is enabled, in the second

track, it has been disabled.

However, a smarter and potentially more powerful way of creating a

submix is to use folders (sometimes called track folders). We'll look at

how this is done shortly.

A folder track is created initially in the same way as any other

track. You then tell REAPER to treat this as a folder track - and

essentially that's it. You now have your submix (as shown here

on the right). Direct output to the master from the individual

“child” tracks within the folder is automatically disabled. Instead,

they are passed thru the folder. You should not manually disable

the master/parent send for child tracks within a folder, or their

output will no longer go to the folder track.

Anything that you do to the folder will be done to the entire

submix. For example, if you adjust the volume up or down, the

volume of the submix will be adjusted up or down. If you add an

effect such as a compressor to the folder then that effect will be

applied to the submix.

Before we see exactly how a folder and its child tracks are set up, there's one more scenario to consider. Even

when you have a folder which contains a submix of other tracks, you can still use buses for the folder itself or for

individual tracks inside the folder (see right). In this case our folder (submix) still consists of the same three

tracks as before. In addition, however, a send has been created from the folder to an FX bus, perhaps to add

reverb to the submix. We'll see an example of this soon.

There are three types of send – Post-Fader (Post Pan), Pre-Fader (Post FX) and Pre FX. These are

explained in Chapter 17 and illustrated by the flow charts at the end of Chapter 6. For the time being, accept the

default option, Post-Fader (Post Pan).

5.13 Track Folder Essentials

When a number of tracks are collected into a folder, you will probably want to use both the individual track

controls and the folder controls. For example, you can use the Volume controls for individual tracks within a

folder to set the volume levels for the different tracks relative to each other. You can then use the Volume

control for the folder itself to control the overall combined volume level of the tracks in that folder. In fact, you

can use all of the folder track controls (mute, solo, etc.) to manage tracks within the folder.

Up and Running: A REAPER User Guide v 7.81

The example shown (below right) shows that a folder called Guitars has been added to our All Through the

Night project. This folder contains the two guitar tracks. The faint peaks that you will see in the folder's lane in

arrange view represent the combined contents of

the folder's child tracks.

This can be disabled on your Preferences,

Appearance, Peaks/Waveforms page. Identify

the little icons that you can see below the track

number of each item in the track control panel.

These are used to determine a track's folder status. Identify each of these three states:

● An ordinary top level track (the default). The icon shows a faint image

of a folder. Hover the mouse over this image and it changes to a+ sign.

● A folder track. This is displayed as in the Guitars track above, as a

stronger image of a folder. Hover the mouse over this image for a

tooltip (above right).

● The last track in a folder. A folder icon is shown and the track is nested.

Hover over this icon and it displays a tooltip (right).

If you need to restore a folder to being a normal track, click on the folder control

icon as many or as few times as are required to cycle thru the various options

until you see the one that you want.

You can click on this icon to set a track's status. Let's look at an example.

Example (Optional)

Open the file All Through The Night and save it as All Through the Night FOLDER.

Select track 1 and press Ctrl T to add a track below this, as track 2. Name this track Guitars. Click on the

track’s + button once to make this track a folder. Click on the Gtr Neck track’s + button twice to make it the last

track in the folder. Save the file.

Note: For child tracks enclosed within a folder – as in the above example – the parent will be not the master but

the folder track. Their output will by default be directed to the parent (folder) track (where, for example, FX can

be applied) and from the folder track to the master.

5.13.1 Drag and Drop Folder Management

Another way of creating folders is by dragging and dropping. You identify which track is to be the folder, which

are to be its children, then select and drag and drop the children into the folder.

This method can be tricky unless you are precise in your mouse movements. You might recall that in Section

2.28 Managing Tracks we saw that dragging

and dropping track panels up or down the track

display can move them and park them in a new

position. This time, however, that’s not what we

want.

The trick is to drop the tracks inside the zone used for creating folders. The exact area and size of this drop zone

will vary with track height and track width: as a guide, think of it as occupying roughly the vertical middle of the

track panel. You’ll know when you’re there because the mouse cursor will display a folder (as shown above left)

rather than a hand (as shown above right). Here’s an example.

Tracks 3 and 4 have been selected and are to be to be

dragged up to Track 1, which is to be their folder

container track.

As they are dragged up, shown left the mouse displays a

hand because the cursor is too far below the vertical

center. This would just move the tracks up the order but

would not place them in a folder. We need to be in the

drop zone, closer to the center, as shown in the second

picture (above right). Notice the mouse cursor is now

shown as a folder.

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From this position we release the mouse, and the two guitar tracks are now placed inside a new folder, with

Track 1 as the containing folder track (as shown below).

Note: You can start your drag and drop from any part of the track

panel (apart, of course, from the controls themselves), but to place the

tracks into a folder you must move the mouse cursor to the folder drop

zone before releasing it.

Notice the small down pointing arrow just above the track number of

the folder track (in this case Track 1). By default, this can be used to

toggle the display of child tracks in the folder between normal (as

shown by default), minimized and collapsed. Shown below is the same folder with its child tracks collapsed.

In Preferences, Appearance, Track

Control Panel there is an option to include

hidden in the cycle options (see right). This

allows you to hide child tracks altogether.

If you prefer not to use the above method for drag and drop there are other options

available. You can go to Options, Preferences, Editing Behavior, Mouse and select one of the three other

options available, including holding Shift while you drag and drop.

Simple drag and drop will still move tracks: holding Shift while doing so will create a folder and place adjacent

tracks into it without any need to find the folder drop zone.

5.13.2 Context Menu Folder Options

Another option for moving tracks into folders can be found on

the track panel context menu. The panel’s context menu

includes a Move to folder command that will place a

selection of tracks into a new or existing folder.

First, select the tracks that you wish to move into a folder, then from the right click context menu choose Move

tracks to folder. You can then select from the list of existing folders or choose New folder track to insert the

tracks into a new as yet unnamed folder, immediately above the first track in the selection.

You can then name the folder track by double-clicking in its name area.

5.13.3 Routing Matrix Display

Notice how folders and their child tracks (as well as any track colors) are

displayed when when you view the routing matrix. Child track names are

indented within the folder tracks

names, and the square box

beside the folder name can be

used to hide or display child

tracks in the matrix, as required.

The letter F in the first column indicates that the track is contained within a

folder. In the example shown, the one folder contains two child tracks.

Note also that hovering the mouse over any send graphic will display a

tooltip with information about that send (above right).

5.13.4 Hidden Child Tracks

The Actions List includes an action Track, Move all media items to new hidden child track. As its wording

implies, this will convert a selected track into a folder and move all media items currently on that track to a new

child track within that folder. Note that:

 The child track itself will be hidden, although its waveforms and peaks will be “ghosted” on the folder track.

 Hidden tracks can be displayed by clicking in the TCP column in the Track Manager.

 All settings on the original track (e.g. volume, pan, FX chain) will remain on what is now the folder track.

This process can be reversed by selecting the folder track and running the action Track: Move all media items

from all hidden child tracks.

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5.13.5 Nested Folders

REAPER allows you to nest folders within folders, to as many levels as you like. This feature is probably more

suited to relatively experienced DAW users than it is to newcomers.

To create a nested folder, first create an empty track

within an existing top level folder, then use the folder

control icon to make that track into a folder. Because the

track is itself contained within an existing top level folder, it

will automatically be made into a second level folder.

Shown here is an example. Notice that:

 There is a top level folder called Instruments which

holds two sub-folders (Guitars and Percussion).

 Both second level folders contain child tracks.

Any action taken on a folder will effect its entire contents.

For example, if in this case you were to mute the

Instruments folder, then the Guitars and Percussion folders

and their child tracks would also be muted.

REAPER does not limit you two levels of folders. You can have more if you like.

5.14 Track and Track Parameter Grouping

Note: As well as conventional grouping, REAPER supports VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) grouping. To help

avoid confusion, VCA grouping will be considered as a separate topic later in this chapter.

By using track and parameter grouping you are able to define relationships between different tracks and their

controls so that when you make a change to one control in the group, changes are also made to other tracks.

The nature of these relationships can vary from being quite simple to rather complex. Here are some examples.

● You might have two tracks that you wish to keep at a constant volume relative to each other. In this

case, you could ensure that whenever one is faded up or down then so is the other.

● You might have two tracks that need to be panned opposite each other. In this case, you can ensure

that when one is panned in one direction, the other is automatically panned in the other.

● You might have two or more tracks that you wish to be always soled or muted together.

In a moment, we'll work thru some examples. There are two main

ways to create and manage your groups. This can be done either

using the Track Control Panel or the Track Grouping Matrix.

Here is an overview of both methods.

Method 1 uses the Grouping dialog box (shown right), which can be

accessed from the Track Control Panel, the Mixer Control Panel:

● In the TCP or MCP, select the tracks whose parameters you

wish to group. Right-click over any track number in the group

and choose Track grouping then Track grouping

parameters from the menu (or press Shift G).

● When the Grouping window is displayed (see right) specify

those parameters that you want to group. Optionally, you can

change the group name from its default, which will be Group

1, Group 2, etc. Click on Close when finished.

● Make sure that the option Track grouping enabled on the

TCP or MCP menu is selected (ticked).

You can use this same method later to make changes to your

grouped parameter definitions.

This interface might appear strange at first. For this reason, it may

be easier, especially at first, to use the second method. Method 2

uses the Track Grouping Matrix.

The track grouping matrix, which can be docked, can manage up to

128 groups. To display this, choose the View, Track Grouping

Matrix command, or press Ctrl Alt G. We can create a special project file for our examples. You can then group

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any selection of tracks that you like: in this example, we will be working with the two guitar tracks enclosed

within the track folder. Note that you do not need to place tracks in a folder in order to be able to group them.

First, you should note that track grouping globally is turned on and off using the Track, Track grouping

enabled command. When this is ticked, grouping is enabled. This command can be used to temporarily disable

track grouping without the need for you to redefine or modify your groups.

5.14.1 Basic Track Grouping

Example

Open the sample file All Through The Night FOLDER. Save it

as All Through The Night GROUPS1. Use the View,

Grouping Matrix command to display the matrix..

Each column except the first represents a control that can be

grouped - volume, pan, mute, solo, etc. Each row represents a

project track. Clicking inside the grid defines the tracks and

parameters to be linked. In this example:

● The volume controls of the two guitar tracks are linked.

Raising or lowering either volume control will automatically

do the same to the other.

● The mute controls are linked. Muting either guitar track will

automatically mute both.

● The pan controls are also linked – but note that for one of these tracks the pan reverse option is also

enabled. This ensures that when one of these is panned, the other is be panned in the opposite direction!

Notes:

1. The TCP shows colored ribbons for

grouped parameters (see right). The

Appearance, Track Control Panel

preferences page includes an option to

change this to edge lines or none.

2. To temporarily over-ride the grouping, hold Shift while adjusting the parameter of any one group member.

3. You can right click on any track name in the matrix to open the track grouping window for that track.

4. Notice the first Grouping Matrix column, headed Media/Razor Edits. This is a more complex topic and deals

with matters such as the group editing of media items within a track group or across several groups. This will be

explained in Chapter 7, Managing and Editing Media Items. The Track Group Manager, accessed by a

button located above the matrix, will also be discussed and explained in that context.

5.14.2 Track Grouping Matrix Basic Controls

In order to do this …

Using the Track Grouping Matrix

Display Help window Click on the ? Button (top left corner of window).

Define the tracks in a new group Display the Track Grouping Matrix. Select at least one

parameter (such as Pan) for each track in the group.

Adjust all linked faders for a group In Mixer or Track Arrange view, adjust the fader for any

one track in the group.

Adjust the fader for only one track in a

group containing linked faders

In Mixer or Track Arrange view, hold Shift while adjusting

the single fader.

Define a pan or volume relationship as

reverse for a track within a group

In the track row, click on the intersection cell for Pan

Reverse or Volume Reverse.

Change an existing toggle parameter

relationship (such as Solo, Mute or

Record Arm) into a reverse one

In Mixer view, hold Shift while clicking on the appropriate

button (such as Solo or Mute) for the individual track. Use

Shift again to restore the positive relationship.

Display grouping window settings for an

individual track

Right click over the track name in the track grouping

matrix.

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In order to do this …

Using the Track Grouping Matrix

Link more parameters for tracks in an

existing group

Click on the intersection cells where the required

parameter column meets the track rows.

Add another track to an existing group Click on intersection cell where the required parameter

column meets the row for the track that is being added.

Remove a track from an existing group Click once, twice or three times on the appropriate

intersection cell until it shows blank. If more than one

parameter is linked, do this for each parameter.

Enable/Disable group Click in the group's Enable/Disable box.

Select all tracks in a group Click on the group name.

Ensure automation mode of follow tracks

automatically follows that of lead

Use the Automation Mode column of for tracks in the

group.

Fine tune behavior of groups which share

common tracks.

Use the Flag: Do not lead when following settings to

ensure, for example, that a track which is a lead in group 1

and a follow in group 2 will not act as a lead in group 1

when being a follow in group 2.

Note: By default, all 64 possible groups are enabled. If this leads to screen clutter, consider

disabling those that you are not using by unchecking the box shown here.

5.14.3 Lead and Follow Group Relationships

Each parameter that is included in a grouped relationship can take one of three states – Lead/Follow (the

default), Lead only, or Follow only. The different ways in which this affects that parameter's behavior are:

● A Lead/Follow item can control other Lead/Follow and Follow only items, but not Lead only items. It can

itself be controlled by other Lead/Follow and Lead only items. This is the default type, indicated in the

matrix by solid black.

● A Lead only item can control other Lead/Follow and Follow only items, but not Lead only items. It

cannot be controlled by any other item. This is represented in the matrix by the letter L.

● A Follow only item cannot control any other item, but can itself be controlled by Lead/Follow items and

Lead only items. This is represented in the matrix by the letter F.

In the previous exercise, all items within our group had Lead/Follow status. This meant, for example, that when

you adjusted the panning or the volume on either of the two guitar tracks, the equivalent parameter on the

other guitar track would move according to the defined relationship. This happened regardless of which of the

two tracks you used to make the adjustment. Let's now look at some different scenarios.

Example

This example illustrates a relatively simple case of how track

parameters can be flexibly linked. Again, use the file All

Through The Night GROUPS1.

The Guitars folder and the Bouzouki track solo controls have

been linked, Guitar as lead, the Bouzouki as follow.

Click twice on the Guitars/Solo cell to set it to lead, three times

on the Bouzouki/Solo to set it to follow only. A fourth click

would clear the cell altogethr.

You will now find that if you solo the Guitars folder, the

Bazouki track will also be soloed.

If you unsolo this and then solo the Bouzouki track, however,

you will hear only the Bouzouki track.

Save the file as All Through The Night GROUPS 1A.

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5.14.4 Track Grouping Window

The Track Grouping window displays all group information about the various parameters for any selected track or

selection of tracks. Most commonly (and most usefully) it makes sense to use it with individual tracks, one track

at a time. Again, this will be more readily understood if you work thru an example.

Example

Open the project file All Through The Night GROUPS1A.RPP. Select the Gtr Neck track in the TCP. Either

right-click over the track number and choose Track Grouping Parameters … from the context menu, or press

Shift G. This causes the Grouping window for the selected track to be displayed (see below left).

In the TCP, select the Bouzouki track. The display in the Grouping window changes (above right), to show the

currently grouped parameters for the bouzouki. In this dialog box, click and select Mute Lead. This is confirmed

by the display in the track grouping matrix.

You can define up to 128 groups in a project file. The actions list includes actions to select all tracks in any of

these groups. In the example below, a second group has been added, to help when adjusting the balance

between the volume of the vocal track and the various instruments.

Note: The first of the two check boxes above the matrix allows you to toggle on (above left) or off (right) the

option to Show group details. The second allows you to show or hide the Group flags columns.

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5.14.5 Track Grouping Window Basic Controls

In order to do this … Using the Track Control Panel

Define the tracks in a new group

Select the tracks in the Track Control Panel, press Shift

G then select at least one parameter.

Name a group

Press Shift G, select the required group number and

click on Rename.

Adjust all linked faders for a group

Adjust the fader for any one track in the group.

Adjust the fader for only one track in a

group containing linked faders

Hold Shift while adjusting the single fader.

Define a pan or volume relationship as

reverse for a track within a group

Select track in the TCP and press Shift G. Click on

Reverse Volume or Reverse Pan as required.

Change an existing toggle parameter

relationship (such as Solo, Mute or Record

Arm) into a reverse one

Hold Shift while clicking on the appropriate button

(such as Solo or Mute) for the individual track.

Link more parameters for tracks in an

existing group

Open the Grouping dialog box for the group and select

the required parameters.

Reset a track's volume, pan or width to its

default value and adjust settings for other

group members accordingly

Double-click on the volume, pan or width value

displayed in the track panel.

Add another track to an existing group

Select the track in the Track Control Panel and press

Shift G. Display the drop down group list and select the

required group. Select the required parameters.

Remove a track from an existing group

Select the track in the TCP and press Shift G

Unselect all selected items except Group enabled

Enable/Disable group

Press Shift G, select the group from the drop down list

then click in the Group enabled box.

Tip: When playing back a song, you may from time to time wish to reset your VU Peaks without needing to stop

and restart playback. To clear one peak, simply click on the peak number shown at the right hand end of the VU

meter in the TCP or top of the VU in the MCP. To clear all peaks, hold down the Control key while you do this.

5.15 Temporary Track Grouping without the Grouping Matrix

You can make any selection you wish of any number of tracks (in the TCP or MCP), and as long as they all

remain selected you can operate their track controls as a temporary group. All will act as Lead/Follow.

In order to do this … Do this ...

Define and link any number of

contiguous tracks in a temporary group

Click in TCP of first track to be selected. Shift-click on last

track to be included in the selection.

Define and link any number of non

contiguous tracks in a temporary group

Click in TCP on first track to be selected. Ctrl click one by

one on each other track to be included in the selection.

Adjust a TCP control for all tracks in

temporary group (e.g. Volume, Mute)

Adjust fader or rotary (Volume, Pan) or just click (e.g. Mute,

Solo) for any one track in the group.

Adjust control for only one track

without deselecting the group

Hold Shift while you adjust fader or rotary (Volume, Pan) or

just click (e.g. Mute, Solo) for any one track in the group.

Unlink and ungroup tracks in a

temporary group

Click in TCP of any one track.

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5.16 VCA Grouping

VCAs (Voltage Controlled Amplifiers) predate digital audio. By analogy, VCAs in REAPER are a form of track

grouping which allows tracks to be followers within a group to a single track lead. VCA follow tracks will have

their volume dBs added to that of the VCA lead track: thus, the process is additive. With conventional grouping,

nothing is added, the tracks are simply linked.

VCA groups can be set up and managed using the same track

grouping matrix as in 5.16. The basic set up procedure is:

1. Add a new track at the end of your project and give it a

suitable name, such as VCA Control. Ordinarily, this track

should contain no media items.

2. Display the track grouping matrix for this track and select a

currently unused group. Name this group VCA.

3. Set the VCA status in this group for your VCA Control track

to L (for lead).

4. Set the VCA status in this group for any tracks that you

want it to control to F (for Follow).

Example

Open the file All Through The Night.RPP and save it as All

Through The Night VCA.RPP.

Pan the first guitar track 35% left and the other 35% right. Add a

new track (Track 5) and name it VCA Control.

Display the track grouping matrix (Ctrl Alt G). Make sure that the

other tracks are in the same order as shown here, below right.

Right-click over the text Group “n” to open the Grouping dialog

box (above). Click the Rename button, then type VCA, then on

OK, then Close the dialog box.

Set up this group as shown (right), so that track 5 is your VCA lead track

and tracks 2, 3 and 4 are VCA follow tracks.

Play the song. As you raise the volume fader on the VCA control track, the

three instrument tracks will each become louder. As you turn down the

volume on track 5, the instruments will become quieter.

Notice that the VU meter levels on the follow instrument tracks will change.

The adjusted volume of these tracks (added to that of any audio produced

by any items in VCA control track itself) is sent to the lead. Thus, the lead's

VU meter levels change as the VCA control track fader is adjusted.

Now let's try something different. Make sure that the pan law for all tracks is set to Stereo balance/mono

pan. This is done by right clicking over the track's pan control and selecting from the pan law drop down list.

Click on the Bouzouki/VCA matrix cell to remove it from the group. Now play the song again. As you do so,

adjust the pan setting on the VCA control track. You will find that the panning of the three instrument tracks will

each be adjusted accordingly. Save the file.

VCA Grouping Parameters

This table summarizes the VCA track grouping matrix options and parameters:

Parameter Comment

Volume Adjust the volume fader on the VCA lead to adjust the volume of all follow tracks in the VCA

group. Note that the follow track faders themselves will not be moved.

Pan Provided either Stereo balance/mono pan or Stereo pan has been selected as the pan law,

changing the panning on the VCA lead will cause the panning of all follow tracks in the group to

be changed. The pan faders on the follow tracks, however will not be moved.

Pre FX Follow If the track grouping matrix option Flag: VCA pre-FX follow is selected for any VCA follow track,

then the signal volume will be adjusted before it is fed into the that track's FX chain.

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Parameter Comment

Automation Volume, pan and width changes on follow tracks can be automated by adding envelopes to the VCA

control track. The envelopes will be applied to all follow tracks in the group. Follow tracks may also

have their own automation envelopes. Chapter 18 includes more about envelopes.

Mute A mute envelope can be added to the VCA lead. This envelope will be applied to all VCA follow tracks

in the group. Automation envelopes are explained in Chapter 18.

Note: Defining a track as a VCA lead causes that track's volume and pan faders to control volume and panning

on all of its follow tracks. Keep in mind that a VCA control track is

not

a track folder or submix. No audio passes

thru a VCA lead/control track. It would make no sense to add audio FX directly to a VCA control track.

VCA with Automation Envelopes

Conventional automation does not work well with ordinary

groups. For example, a volume or pan envelope on a group

lead track will, on playback, adjust the volume or pan

settings on that one track only, not on its follows.

With VCA grouping an envelope on a VCA control track will

be applied to the summed total of its follow tracks. You can

have separate automation envelopes on both the VCA lead

and any of the follow tracks within the group. Shown here is

the same project as in the previous example, with the same

groups as before, and with volume envelopes added to the VCA control track and one of the follow tracks

(Bouzouki). The summed levels of both follow and lead envelopes will, on playback, be sent to the lead.

VCA with Overlapping Groups

Conventional grouping does not fully allow for overlapping group membership. For example, tracks 1 to 3 volume

faders could be grouped as leads and follows in one group, tracks 4 to 6 in a second group, but you could not

have another group to control volume faders on, say, tracks 1 and 6 only.

VCA grouping makes this possible. You could create two ordinary groups – one each for volume control on tracks

1 to 3 and 4 to 6. You could then create a VCA group (Lead) to control volume on tracks 1 and 6 only (Follows).

Chaining: this is when a track is a VCA lead in one group and a follow in another VCA group:.

Tip: Pressing Alt Shift G will toggle on and off item and track media grouping. This can be useful if you want to

temporarily disable track grouping, then later re-enable it.anaging Groups from the Track Panel.

5.17 Track Group Management from the Track Panel

The Track Grouping command (track panel context

menu) provides options for managing track grouping,

First select the panels of the tracks that you wish to

group, then display this menu and choose Track

grouping enable/ With the track panels still selected

use Track grouping parameters… to open the

grouping parameters box. Here, for example, you can

link volume (lead/follow) and/or pan (lead/follow).

An important feature in this menu is the ability to

Create new media/razor editing group for

selected tracks and to subsequently Remove

selected tracks from all track media/razor

editing groups. There are also options to:

Automatically group all/selected tracks for media/razor editing.

Automatically group folder/child tracks for media/razor editing

Automatically group folder/sibling tracks for media/razor editing.

Razor editing and its many benefits are explained in detail in Chapter 7.

This menu can also be used to access the Track Group Manager.

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5.18 The Track Group Manager

This can be opened from the main View

menu or from the track group management

context menu. The radio buttons in the top

right corner allow you to use it to work with

all groups, only groups in use, or only

media/razor edit groups. Here, tracks in

individual groups can be displayed or

hidden in the TCP and//or the MCP.

Most of the columns are self-explanatory:

for example, double-click on any row in the

Name column to name or rename a group.

Double-click on a header (such as Name) to

sort by that group.

In addition, a series of check boxes allow you to specify which groups you want included for media/razor

editing.

5.19 The Main Toolbar

REAPER's default toolbar is located near

the top left corner of the screen. The

various tools and their functions are

introduced throughout this guide as

required. The icons might appear

different if you are using a theme other

than REAPER’s default.

You can edit this toolbar, for example

adding more tools for other commands

and actions. You can also create

additional toolbars of your own. This

topic is covered in Chapter 15.

New Project: Ctrl N

Open Project: Ctrl O

Save Project: Ctrl S

Project Settings: Alt Enter

Undo: Ctrl Z to undo last action

Right click to view undo history

Redo: Ctrl Shift Z to redo last action

Right click to view undo history

Metronome: no default shortcut:

Left click to toggle on/off, Right click for settings

Marquee Selection: On/Off

Auto Crossfade: Alt X to toggle on/off

Item Grouping: Alt Shift G to toggle on/off

Right click for menu

Ripple Editing: Alt P to cycle between disabled, per

track and all tracks.

Right click for menu. Options include

Ripple edit all

affect s tempo map

and

Ripple edit all affects envelopes on all tracks

Envelopes, move points with media items:

Left click to toggle on/off

Right click for menu of Envelope points, Automation

items and Razor edits options.

Grid Lines Options: Alt G to toggle on off

Right click for settings dialog

Snap: Alt S to toggle on/off: Right click for settings

Locking: L to toggle on off. Right click for settings

Razor Edit: On/Off

Note 1: Right-clicking on some of these tools (e.g. Ripple Editing, Item Grouping, Snap Options, Envelope

Options) offer more functionality – such as a sub-menu, or a dialog box.

Note 2: The two icons flagged with an asterisk (*) - Marquee selection and Razor edit - are mutually exclusive.

They determine how mouse modifiers will behave in each of these contexts.

5.19.1 Animated Toolbar Icons

Some toolbar icons are animated by default. Many icons, including toggle icons and those that you add yourself,

can be animated. The main exceptions are tools that simply execute a command, such as New Project. The item

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grouping and move envelope points with media items tool are animated by default. Toolbar animation is

managed in the Customize menus/toolbars dialog (see Customizing REAPER Toolbars).

1. Right click over the toolbar background area and choose Customize toolbar … from the menu. This will

open the Customize menus/toolbar dialog with Main toolbar selected.

2. In the first column, right-click on the name of the tool that you wish to

modify. From the context menu choose Highlight with animation

based on toggle state.

3. Choose an option from the displayed submenu of options.

4. Click the Apply button. When finished, click on OK.

Animation submenu options

Do not animate, Animate if toggle state enabled, Animate if toggle

state disabled: these three options are self-explanatory and mutually

exclusive. Select whichever you require.

Highlight animation or Armed animation: you can select either one of these visual effects, or one of the

blink options Slow blink or Fast blink: these cause the selected tool to blink, or flash, between two color

states. In the default theme these are red and green.

5.19.2 The Main Toolbar: Context Menu

Right-click over the background area of the main toolbar to open a context menu.

(right). These commands enable you, amongst other things, to edit and customize

your toolbars. This topic is covered in Chapter 15.

For now, however, notice the command Vertical alignment. This allows you the

options of aligning your toolbar (within its dedicated area) top, center or bottom.

5.20 Track Panel and Mixer Panel Layout Options

REAPER’s default theme offers you a choice of several track and mixer layouts. There are six main areas of

interest – the track panel, the master track panel, the mixer panel, the master mixer panel, the transport panel

and the envelope panel. This section will introduce you to track layout options.

Later in this user guide you’ll be introduced to the Theme Adjuster which you can use to customize these

layouts to suit your individual preferences. By default, REAPER selects Layout A for the track panel. This layout:

 Potentially shows all track controls when the mixer is closed (but see next point).

 Shows the Record input and Input controls only when the Record button is armed.

 Shows only a limited selection of track controls when the mixer is open

Layout B shows all track controls on all tracks if

there is sufficient room.

Layout C shows the controls as shown here,

together with a larger VU meter.

To select a layout for all tracks first make sure no tracks are selected: to select a layout for particular tracks, first

select the track(s) as required. Then, from the menu choose Options, Layouts, Track Panel then A, B, or C,

or, to restore default layouts choose Default layout.

Note that for the Master Track Panel only option A is available, the default.

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6 Managing Track and Item FX

We have already covered the basic techniques involved in using effects on your REAPER tracks. We are now

going to look at some of the options available to help manage and use your FX more effectively. We'll be looking

in more detail at how you use some of the more important individual effects later (Chapter 16): in this section

we're mainly concerned with the broader issues of managing and organising plug-ins.

6.1 Grouping FX in Folders

REAPER automatically groups your FX in

various ways – by type (VSTi, VST, JS, etc.),

by category (Analyzer, Dynamics, EQ, etc.)

and by developers (e.g. Melda, Voxengo,

Wave Arts). In addition, you can create your

own group folders.

FX can be grouped as you wish. For example,

you might wish to create a folder called

Chorus/Delay/Reverb to display these plug-

ins together. You can create as many folders

as you wish, and the same plug-in can be

placed in more than one folder.

The use of smart folders can make this job

easier (by automatically adding plug-ins to

your folders for you). You can also drag and drop selected FX into your folders. The table below summarizes how

to work with folders.

In order to do this … You need to do this ...

Expand/collapse folder

contents list

Use the +/- button to the left of top level folder names.

Add a new folder Right click over Folders (see above) and choose Add folder. Type a name in the

Create New Folder text edit box and click OK.

Add a new smart folder Right click over Folders (see above) and choose Add folder. Type a name in the

Create New

Folder text edit

box. Type your filter

in the Filter text edit

box. OR and NOT

can be used as

keywords. An

example is shown

here.

For more about

filters, see Using Search Filters.

Add FX to a folder

(including smart folders)

Drag and drop from FX list in right-hand pane. Ctrl click can be used to build a

selection.

Display folder contents Click on folder name in left hand pane.

Add FX to track or item Double click on FX name in right-hand pane.

Change order in which

folders are listed

Drag and drop folder name up or down, or select and use Ctrl Up and Ctrl

Down.

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6.2 Using Boolean Search Filters
Search filters can be used to help find exactly what you are looking 
for. In this case, you can filter the FX list to show only those items 
which include a specified string, such as verb or eq. The techniques 
explained in this section can also be used elsewhere in REAPER 
where filtering is available – for example, the media explorer, the 
track manager, the actions list, the region/marker manager, the 
project bay, envelope color overrides and the theme development 
tweaker.
By entering a text string in the Filter list text box in the bottom left 
corner of the Add FX window (also known as the FX browser), 
you can display a list of those list items which match your criteria. 
Before doing this, you can select either All Plugins from the list of plugin folders, or any particular folder if you 
wish to restrict your search to that folder. In the example shown above, we have applied the text string 
chorus
 
as a filter, in order to see what chorus plug-ins we have available. The search string is not case sensitive.
You can search for more than one string within the same names. For example:
eq stereo 
will find all plugins with both 
eq
 and 
stereo
 anywhere in their name, regardless of the order in 
which they appear. 
eq  AND  stereo
 would produce exactly the same results.
Remember, you can rename individual plug-ins.  This might make your searches more useful.
The filter also supports other Boolean search terms notably OR and NOT, and the use of parentheses, e.g.:
comp OR lim
  finds and lists all plugins with 
comp
 or 
lim
 in their name.
eq ( cockos OR melda ) 
 finds all Cockos and Melda plug-ins with 
eq
 in their name. You must leave a space 
both before and after the parentheses.
cockos ( eq OR comp )
  finds all Cockos plug-ins with 
eq
 or 
comp
 in their name.
blue cat NOT ( flange OR phase ) 
  finds and lists all Blue Cat plug-ins except those with 
flange
 or 
phase
 in 
their name. 
( chorus OR delay ) NOT ( DX: OR JS: ) 
 finds all effects with 
chorus 
or 
delay 
in their name except Direct 
X and JS ones.
There are some additional techniques that you can use to make your searches more finely tuned.
Enclosing a search string in quotes will find only those plug-ins where the text is matched exactly. For example:
“sony noise” 
 would find Sony Noise Gate but not Sony Express FX Noise Gate. Likewise “
reaverb”
 would 
find ReaVerb but not ReaVerbate.
Typing a space immediately after the opening quotes mark will limit the search to those items where the 
specified string is at the very beginning of a word. For example:
“ volu”
 will find plug-ins which include the word 
volume 
but not 
convolution
..
Similarly, typing a space at the end of the string will only find those items where one of the words in the FX 
name ends with that string.
Starting a search string with ^ will find only those items whose name begins with the specified string, and using 
a $ at the end of a string will find only those names that end with that string.
For example, when working in the media explorer, using 
^blues
 as a filter would list only those items whose 
names begin with 
blues
.
Similarly, in the track manager, a filter such as 
guitar$
 would display tracks with names such as 
lead guitar
 or 
rhythm guitar
 but not 
guitar solo
.
The Clear Filter button can be used to remove the filter and restore all plug-ins to view. 
You also have two options (on the Options menu – see below) which if enabled will ensure that your filters are 
automatically cleared for you. These are Auto clear search field on folder change and Auto clear search 
field on close. This latter option refers to closing the FX browser window, not closing REAPER.
REAPER will remember your previous filters. You can access it from the filter drop down list, by clicking on the 
down pointing arrow located on the edge right of the 
Filter list
 box.
In REAPER's Plug-ins Preferences (Chapter 22) there is an option to apply a global filter to all browser views.
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6.3 FX Browser Options

The Add FX window Options menu is shown here. Commands include:

Auto-float new FX windows. If enabled, FX will be opened and

displayed in their own separate window when they are added.

FX Plug-ins settings... Displays Options, Preferences, Plug-ins

settings page (see Chapter 22).

Remove all empty folders. Removes all empty folders.

Show in left pane list. Displays a sub-menu to select plug-in categories

to be displayed in the left pane of the FX browser window.

DX, DXi, VST, VSTi, VST3, VST3i, AU, AUi, JS, Rewire, Cockos

Instruments all virtual instruments will be listed as well as in their

native folders (VSTi, DXi, etc) if these are also selected.

Recent causes all plug-ins recently used to be displayed here, as well

as in their native folders.

VST folders causes all folders with VST plugins to be listed in the left

pane under My folders.

Categories causes plug-ins also to be displayed grouped by function (e.g. Delay, EQ, Reverb, etc.).

Developers enables plug-ins also to be grouped by developers. FX Chains will cause FX chains to be listed.

Show in FX list

In the displayed FX list you can show any Default preset (along with the FX name), FX shortcuts,

descriptions, or file names, or both for JS FX, the Video processor (see Chapter 20), and/or plug-ins whose

name begins with a #. Renaming a plug-in to begin with a # hides it in the FX browser's FX list.

Always search all FX when using search field. If enabled, all FX will be searched, even if one type or

category has been selected in the left pane.

There are also two Auto clear search field (filter) options – when you change your selected folder, and/or

when you close the FX browser. Enabling the option Auto-clear folder view on close ensures that the next

time the Add FX browser is opened All Plugins will be selected in the left panel.

6.4 Item Take FX

REAPER allows you to apply FX directly to media item takes within a track. For example, you might wish to add

reverb to just part of a track: split the media item into several items and apply the FX only where it is wanted. If

you have selected the option to display the Per take FX and No FX item icons (Options, Preferences,

Appearance, Media Item Buttons) you can click on any item take's FX button to open its FX window.

Otherwise you can select a media item and use the default keyboard shortcut Shift E.

In order to do this … You need to do this …

Add plug-in to an item's FX chain Press Shift E to open the item's FX window, or drag and drop FX

from the FX browser on to the item take, or right-click on item FX

button (if displayed).

Delete an item’s FX chain

altogether

Select the first item in the chain then hold Shift while selecting the

last item. Then press Delete.

Copy an FX or entire FX chain to

another item

Ctrl drag FX from an item's FX chain to snother item. Ctrl drag to

copy the entire FX chain. Ctrl Shift to include envelopes.

Move FX from one item to another Hold Alt while dragging and dropping the FX.

Manage item take FX Take FX windows include the same commands (toggle bypass,

toggle offline, etc.) as track FX windows. Actions are also available.

Your Appearance, Media Item Buttons preferences settings determine if and how the various buttons are

displayed for individual media items. These are covered in detail in Chapter 22, but for now just notice that

available item icons (buttons) include its lock and mute status, its FX chain, its notes and properties.

If you enable the option Draw labels above the item rather than within the item then the buttons will be

displayed (with the item name) above the item. You can, however, also specify as an exception that When

media item height is less than label height the label should be moved to inside the media item. If you

disable these options, the labels (if displayed) will always be superimposed on the media item itself.

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6.5 Managing FX: Tips and Tricks

These techniques are available when working with track and item FX, unless the track or item is locked.

In order to do this … You need to do this ...

Customize FX chain

window appearance

Options, Preferences, Plug-ins has options to Show FX list on right side of

window and/or Show FX chain buttons above FX list.

Toggle Add FX vertical/

horizontal display

Use the Options, Vertical pane configuration toggle command.

See track/item FX chain

overview

Hover mouse over track or mouse FX button, without clicking. A tooltip will

appear listing contents of the track/item FX chain.

Open FX from

track/item FX chain

Right-click on track FX button (arrange or mixer view) to display list of FX on

track/item FX chain. Left-click on required FX.

Rename an FX Right click on FX in the Add FX window, choose Rename FX … from the menu.

Replace an FX with

another

Right-click over the FX in the track or item FX chain. From the context menu

choose Replace FX … Select required FX from the list displayed and click OK.

Copy an FX from one

track/ item to another

Drag and drop the FX from the track or item FX chain to the track control panel of

the destination track, or to the destination item.

Move FX Hold Alt while dragging and dropping from source to destination track or item.

Move/Copy FX including

automation

Right click on FX name in browser left panel choose Copy or Cut selected FX

(including automation). Paste into destination track/item FX chain.

Insert multiple FX to a

track at once.

Use Ctrl click to build selection, then click OK. If you need to set (or unset) HiDPI

compatibility mode, before clicking OK, right click over any item in the selection

and choose HiDPI compatibility mode when floating windows.

Copy multiple FX to

another track/item

Use Ctrl click to make selection from the source FX chain, then drag and drop to

the destination track or item.

Add FX to track directly

from track panel.

Right-click over FX button, select FX from menu, or from one of the submenus

(e.g. Recently used, Categories).

Add FX directly from FX

browser window.

Drag and drop from the Add FX browser window directly to track panel or to

item take.

Adjust FX parameter

controls (faders, knobs)

For Cockos and JS plugins, these work in the same way as do track controls:

Drag for normal adjustment. Ctrl drag to adjust in smaller increments. Alt drag

to snap back to previous setting when mouse is released.

Create FX shortcut keys Right-click on FX name in FX browser. Choose Create shortcut from menu. To

open the Keyboard/MIDI/OSC Input. Press the required key combination on

keyboard (e.g. Ctrl Alt A) and click on OK.

Add notes to an FX

instance

Click in text edit box

above presets list.

Type your notes/

comments. For longer entries, click on the … (top right) to open a text box.

Rename FX track/item

instances

Right-click over the FX instance in track/item FX chain. Choose Rename FX

instance from menu. Type new name, press Enter.

Change default FX name Right-click over FX name in FX browser window. Choose Rename from menu.

Type new name then press Enter. Cannot be used with JS effects.

Change FX default

parameter settings

Set FX parameter values as required. Click on + button just above the FX gui.

Choose Save preset as default, type a name then press Enter.

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In order to do this … You need to do this ...
Restore original FX 
default settings
Click on down arrow (next to + button) to display preset list.  Choose Reset to 
factory default. Click on +, choose Save preset as default.
FX Wet/Dry mix and FX 
bypass
The rotary Wet/Dry mix button (to the right of the UI button) 
controls how much of the wet signal (i.e. with FX) is mixed in with 
the dry (i.e. pre FX) signal. The default is 100% wet. The checkbox 
to its immediate right can be used to bypass the FX altogether.
Force auto-bypass on 
silence
Right click on plug-in name (left column) and select this option from menu. This, 
for example, can be used to prevent a reverb tail during a silent passage. The 
silence threshold is defined in advanced project settings.
Back up FX chains and 
presets
These can be backed up and restored using the export/import configuration 
buttons in REAPER's Preferences (General settings). See Chapter 22 for more 
information about importing and exporting configuration setting
Other FX Options The FX window menu includes several advanced options dealing with PDC mode, 
oversampling, and more. These are discussed at the end of the REAPER Plug-
ins in Action chapter.
6.6 Controlling FX from the TCP
Rea plugins with their controls can be displayed in the TCP. 
Right-click over the FX name in the FX chain panel and choose 
Show embedded UI in TCP. The FX will be displayed as 
shown here, with a number of slots to its left.
Right click over any slot, select the FX from the menu, then the 
control to be displayed. This is illustrated on the right.
6.7 Managing FX Parameters
Click on the Param button then FX parameter list in any FX window for a 
range of FX parameter management option, or click on any parameter control 
in the FX window then on the Param button to open a menu (right).
Show in track controls. This adds a control knob for any parameter to both 
the Track Control Panel (TCP) and the Mixer Control Panel (MCP). 
Alternately, choose this command without first touching any control to display a 
list of parameters for this particular FX. An example (using two parameters 
from JS Chorus) is shown here (below right). To remove any of these controls, 
right-click over the control and choose Remove from list from the menu.
Show track envelope. Automation envelopes can be added for any FX 
parameters. These can be displayed in their own 
lanes. See Chapter 18.  
Parameter Modulation. This is an advanced 
topic. Parameter modulation allows you to define 
a relationship between two parameters so that 
one is controlled by the other. For example, you might want a threshold's ratio to automatically increase as the 
threshold is lowered. This topic is explained in Chapter 19.
MIDI link.  This lets you map track MIDI (not control MIDI) to the parameter. Thus, for example, you could use 
recorded MIDI CC as automation. This is explained in the chapter dealing with Parameter Modulation.
Learn. If using an external MIDI control device you can assign FX parameters to controls (such as knobs or 
faders) on that external device. This topic is covered in detail in Chapters 12 and 19.
Alias parameter. This allows you to change for the single instance the name of a parameter.
FX parameter list. This can be used to assign track controls, a track envelope, parameter modulation, MIDI 
link, Learn or an Alias name directly from the menu to any of the FX’s parameters. 
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6.8 Serial vs Parallel FX Chains

By default, the plugins in a track or item FX chain are processed in serial – that is, one

after each other. For example, if you insert both ReaEq and then ReaComp into an FX

chain, the audio is passed first through the EQ. With EQ added, it is then passed though

the compressor. This concept is illustrated on the right. This is how most often you are

likely to want to have your FX processed.

However, there may be instances when rather than processing effects in serial you wish

to process them in parallel. That is, you wish to process two or more effects (in this

example, EQ and compression) each independently of the other, with the separately EQ’d and compressed audio

then mixed back together. Using this method, you can avoid applying the compressor to the EQ’d signal.

This concept is illustrated in the second diagram on the right.

The steps required to run two effects in parallel are simple:

 Insert both of the FX into the track or item’s FX chain.

 Right click over the second of these FX and from the context menu choose

Run selected FX in parallel with previous FX.

This is illustrated in the chain shown on the left. The

two sets of lines indicate that after passing through ReaEQ the audio stream will be

processed by ReaComp in parallel with ReaDelay before

being passed on through the JS Exciter.

This technique can be used in any number of cases to

explore creative effects. For example, you could use it to apply reverb and

compression independently of each other to an instrument, or two separate

instances of compression to a vocal.

Parallel FX processing can also occur within more complex models. Consider the

third illustration shown on the right.

Here we have four FX in a chain: the audio is first processed through FX1, then FX 2

and FX 3 (and only FX 2 and FX 3) are processed in parallel. To achieve this, FX 3 (and only FX 3) needs to be

set to run in parallel to its immediately previous FX. Finally, the signals for FX2 and FX3 are merged and passed

through FX 4.

More complex models are available: more examples, including FX containers, are considered in Chapter 17.

Note: If MIDI items are being processed through midi FX in parallel which filter their own events you should

instead use the command option Run selected FX in parallel with previous FX (merge MIDI). This should

prevent MIDI data from being excluded.

6.9 Duplicate Plug-in Priorities

REAPER supports plug-ins of different types – on the PC, for example, VST2, VST3, CLAP and LV2 are supported.

In the FX browser window, you can specify your order of priorities for identical plug-ins of different types.

From the FX Browser

window, choose Options,

Duplicate plug-ins of

different types, then

whether or not to Show all

duplicates

You can also specify when

such duplicates of different

types are found which is to

be first, second, third and

fourth priorities.

This can be especially

useful, for example, if you

regularly use both VST2

and VST3 plug-ins.

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6.10 Advanced Plug-in Defaults
There are a number of options available in the Add FX browser which you can use to define default settings for 
individual plug-ins. These will automatically be applied to that plug-in instance whenever it is added to a track or 
media item.
Most of these deal with advanced technical matters: if you a relative newcomer to digital audio, you might wish 
to skip over this section.
You can access these by right-clicking over any plug-in name in the FX browser list. 
Right-click on any FX in the FX browser for a menu of options. Most of these are explained in the section Track 
FX Basics. In addition, the following options allow you to set individual plug-in defaults. 
Menu Item Submenu options
Run as The default setting is Automatic, but you can change this to any of Separate 
process, Dedicated process, Native only (prevent bridging. There is also 
an option to Embed the bridged UI.
For more information, see Bridging and VST Plug-in Run Mode.
Compatibility settings This is especially useful for plug-ins that might have known or suspected 
compatibility issues. You can enable or
Options available are Save minimal undo state, Avoid loading undo states 
where possible, Inform plug-in when track channel count changes, Hard 
reset on playback start, Hard reset on playback start, Save state as VST 
bank, Buggy plug-in compatibility mode, HiDPI compatibility mode 
when floating windows.
There is also a further sub-menu to manage Automation notifications. Options 
are Defaults (set in preferences), Ignore when plug-in window not open, 
Ignore when not from UI thread, Ignore all notifications, Process all 
notifications.
For more information about some of these options, see the section VST and VST3 
FX Compatibility Settings.
Default settings for new 
instances
Any of these options can be enabled if you wish them to be automatically applied 
whenever the particular FX is added to a track or item:
Send all keyboard input to plug-in, Show embedded UI in TCP or MCP (if 
supported), as well as a sub-menu of options for FX instance oversampling. 
Options are Up to 88.2k/96k, Up to 176.4k/192k, 352.8k/384k, or Up to 
705.6k/768k.
The section FX Chain and FX Chain Options
 
 explains oversampling.
6.11 Advanced Floated FX Window Options
The essentials of floating individual FX windows have been covered in Chapter 2: see Controlling Track FX. In 
addition, a number of more advanced options are available from a context menu (right-click on the title bar).
Menu Item Submenu options
Embed UI in TCP or MCP Where appropriate, these options will be enabled. See the section Embedding FX 
GUI in TCP or MCP.
Send all keyboard input 
to plug-in
Enabling this will ensure that keystrokes such as up and down arrows will be 
applied within the FX window rather than arrange view.
Chain/FX instance 
oversampling
This allows oversampling to be applied just to the individual FX instance, or to the 
track or item FX chain. Options are the same as in the table immediately above 
this one.
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6.12 Embedding FX GUI in TCP or MCP

You can embed the GUI of some FX (e.g. ReaEQ, ReaComp, ReaXComp, ReaSurround and ReaFir, and some JS

plugins) in the TCP/MCP, including graphical waveshapers, the spectrograph and the goniometer.

Right-click on the FX in a track’s FX chain and choose Show embedded UI in TCP or MCP. For example, you

could adjust visible ReaEQ parameters within the TCP and/

or add parameter controls, as shown here.

Tip: An FX embedded in a track’s UI can be saved as a FX

chain (from the FX window menu). Inserting that chain into

any other track will cause the FX to be automatically

embedded in that track’s UI.

6.13 Hardware Output FX Monitoring

To open the FX: Monitoring window use the View, Monitoring FX command from the main menu, or hold

Shift while clicking the FX button of the Master track. You can specify any FX for your hardware outputs. These

do not show up in renders, do not affect the metronome and are not stored in the project file. You can use this

to run analysis FX, or to compensate for the acoustic characteristics of a particular room. Within the

FX:Monitoring window, click on the Param button then Learn to assign control to an external control device.

6.14 Optimizing FX Performance

Some plug-ins can be quite greedy in their use of CPU, especially delay based FX, such as delay, chorus, and

especially reverb. REAPER provides a number of options which you can use to minimize the drain placed on your

computer resources by your plug-ins. These options can be found in the REAPER Preferences window (Ctrl P)

under the heading Audio, Buffering. This window is shown and discussed further in Chapter 22.

There is no “one size fits all” optimal group of settings. What is best for you depends on various factors,

including which processor(s) you are using and which plug-ins. Note in particular the following:

 You can try using the default settings for Media Buffering at first. You can adjust them later if needs be.

 Allow live FX multiprocessing. Try turning this on if your PC has multiprocessors.

 Anticipative FX processing. This can reduce CPU usage, but too aggressive a setting can cause pops and

crackles on playback. If working with UAD-1,for best results, both Synchronous FX and UAD-1 Synchronous

modes should be enabled. Anticipative FX should be disabled. UAD-2, however, is compatible with

Anticipative FX mode and this is recommended for best low latency performance..

Optimize buffering for low latency hardware.

If a plug-in has problems with media buffering or

anticipative FX processing, you can disable either or both

for individual tracks using the Track Performance

Options on the TCP right-click menu. Options include

enable/disable media buffering, anticipative FX, track

metering, and/or display of spectral peaks.

6.15 Plug-in Delay Compensation

By default, REAPER uses plug-in delay compensation (PDC) to ensure that the audio from your tracks remains

time aligned. This, for example, is likely to be needed when one or more FX chains includes a plug-in such as

reverb.

In most circumstances it would be unwise to alter REAPER’s default PDC settings

Nevertheless the FX chain FX menu allows you to

manage Chain PDC mode for an item or track by

setting it to Per chain compensation, Per FX

compensation or to Ignore plug-in delay.

For the master track, there is also an option to select

Hardware output compensation. This ignores the

PDC for the master track, and a) compensates for

that amount of delay when recording as if it was

interface latency, and b) delays any other hardware

outputs (from tracks, etc) by that amount so that

they are in sync .

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The performance improvement will be more significant at smaller blocksizes, and more significant with more

delay to be compensated (without any master-track PDC, then it would have no effect).

An option to add or disable PDC is also available from the

in/

out button context menu of individual plug-ins.

Adjustments can compensate for any latency caused by a plug-in. The latency for any track is displayed in the

bottom left corner of its FX chain window. The track media is read in advance, so as to be heard at the correct

time, but input monitoring is delayed.

If you find that PDC is creating problems (for examples, dropouts or excessive latency) then it can be disabled

for any plug-in from the pin connector button (shown above labelled “2 in+ out”) context menu. Note too that

PDC is disabled when feedback routing is employed.

6.16 Opening a File in Recovery Mode

Any computer program will crash given the right (or wrong?) circumstances. This can be because of a problem

with some third party plug-in. If this

happens, you should enable the option to

Open with FX offline (recovery mode)

when re-opening the file from the File,

Open project dialog box (see right).

This will open the file with all FX set offline.

By reintroducing them online one at a time, you should be able to identify which one is causing the problem. To

then fix the problem you should remove this plug-in and replace it with another of equivalent functionality.

Another method is to hold down Alt while you open a file from the File, Recent projects menu.

6.17 Freezing and Unfreezing Tracks

The Freeze tracks actions (from the track

panel right click menu Render/freeze tracks

command) freeze any track in place, replacing

its contents with a single rendered audio item.

The first action (right) produces a mono audio

item for each track frozen, the second stereo

and the third multichannel (according to the

number of track channels). If multiple tracks

are selected, each will be rendered separately.

On line FX are applied to the rendered item, as

is the content of any signals sent to the rendered channels from other tracks. MIDI data or items will be

rendered as audio. On line FX and receives are removed from the track. A MIDI item with no synth will be

rendered as silence. Where a synth is present, it is the output of the synth that will be rendered.

With frozen tracks, Unfreeze tracks will appear on the menu: this will restore the track to its state at the point

in time that it was frozen. Both the FX chain and any receives will be restored. Other points to note are:

● A track can have further FX and receives added to it after it has been frozen. In this case, if you then

freeze the track again, these FX (along with audio and or MIDI material from the new receives) will be

rendered together with the existing frozen material to another new audio item.

● Each unfreeze action will remove the previous freeze on that track and restore it to its state at the time of

that freeze action. Thus, if a track has been frozen, had more effects added and been frozen again, then

you will need to unfreeze it twice if you wish to restore it its state immediately before first being frozen.

Using the Track Manager

Freezing can also be handled using the Track Manager

(View menu). Select any track(s) from the list then

click on the Freeze button to select an option (mono,

stereo or multichannel). The number of times any

track has been frozen will be shown in the Freeze

column. An Unfreeze command will be available on

the Freeze menu when that menu is displayed with a

frozen track selected. This will include an option to

display the freeze details for that track.

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Selected FX Freeze

Other FX chain right click menu options

are to freeze a track up to its last on-line

or selected FX, as you wish - see right. In

this case, only the first three FX have

been selected. The action Freeze track

to stereo, up to last selected FX will

cause these three FX to be frozen on to

the track. These FX will be removed from

the track's FX chain. The other effects

will not be rendered to the new audio

item. If this track is later unfrozen, the

removed FX will be restored.

One useful action (accessible from REAPER's Action List window) is View: Show track freeze details. This can

be used to display freeze history and details for any frozen track. Chapter 15 explains in detail more about

actions and about how you can assign them to toolbars or to your own shortcut keys.

6.18 The JS Analysis Loudness Meter

Elsewhere in this guide you will be introduced to

various JS plug-ins. One worth looking at now is

the Loudness Meter. This can display visual

feedback about LUFS (loudness unit full scale),

RMS (root mean squared) and True Peak loudness.

Insert it into any track or master just as you would

any other plug in.

Peak: Highest actual level of the audio signal..

True peak: Highest level of the oversampled

signal. Intended to estimate the highest level the

signal could reach after resampling to any sample

rate.

LUFS: The loudness of the digital signal, after

applying filters intended to adjust for how humans

perceive different frequencies.

LUFS-M: Momentary loudness measured over a

400ms window.

LUFS-S: Short-term loudness measured over a 3 second window.

LUFS-I: Integrated loudness of the entire audio signal, beginning to end.

LRA: Loudness range, the dynamic range of the entire audio signal, measured as the statistical difference

between the lowest and highest LUFS-S measurements.

Click on the settings (question mark) symbol (bottom right) to toggle display of options/controls, including what

data to display and y-axis scaling and text size. See also Chapter 11. The various parameters can also be

automated (see Chapter 18). There is also an option for output loudness values as automation to be inverted.

The small orange symbol above the ? can be used to toggle between stereo (default) and mono analysis.

If you’re unsure as to what to display, leave the settings at their defaults.

The Actions List (see Chapter 15) includes several actions to calculate and display the loudness of the master

mix, selected tracks, and/or selected items, according to various criteria. Use the search filter calculate.

6.19 VST and VST3 FX Compatibility Settings

Various compatibility settings are available for VST FX plug-ins. These are available by clicking on the + button

in the plug-in’s window (immediately left of the Param) button and choosing Compatibility settings at the

foot of the menu that is displayed.

For example, you can Save minimal undo states if you wish, and/or Avoid loading undo states where

possible. Other options include Inform plug-in when track channel count changes, Hard reset on

playback, Save state as VST bank and Buggy plug-in compatibility mode.

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The Automation notification options let you over ride various VST preferences settings for specific plug-ins.

For VST3 plug-ins, if using sidechaining you may need to Request VST3 bus channel count to inform the

plugin how to interpret the channels REAPER is sending This is because REAPER does not have dedicated

sidechain buses. This command is available on the plug-in’s right-click In/Out menu, next to the Param button.

6.20 Missing Items

If since saving a project file you have deleted from your hard drive, or moved, any VST or other FX used in that

project, then when you next open that project REAPER will give you a message about missing items. You can still

load the project file, the FX will still be listed in the track FX chain but it will not be available. You can remove the

FX from the chain and replace it with another, or reinstall the missing FX on your computer and then insert it.

6.21 Installing Extra JS Plug-ins

More free JS plug-ins are available at stash.reaper.fm/tag/JS-Effects. To install any of these:

1. Download the effect. If the JS effect file has a .txt extension, edit the file name to remove this.

2. Copy the effect to your REAPER Application Data Effects folder. To find this choose the command

Options, Show REAPER resource path … You can place it in a sub-folder within the Effects folder.

3. Close and restart REAPER.

Some JS FX come with other files (such as data files or image files). As a rule, data files are placed in a sub-

folder in the Application Data Data folder, and other files are placed relative to the JS FX file. In most cases

where this is necessary, the JS effect developer will supply specific instructions with the effect.

6.22 ReaEffects User Guide Supplement

You will find many examples in this User Guide of the use of various COCKOS effects, especially in Chapter 16. In

addition, a free PDF ReaEffects Summary guide can be downloaded from this case sensitive URL:

https://dlz.reaper.fm/userguide/REAPEREffectsGuide2021.pdf

6.23 Audio Signal Flow Chart: Master Track

This diagram illustrates how audio signals flow thru REAPER's tracks to the master and to your output devices.

Some of the items shown in these charts (e.g. Item/Take settings) have not yet been discussed in this User

Guide. They will be covered throughout Chapter 7. This first diagram illustrates specifically the audio flow for the

Master Track.

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6.24 Audio Signal Flow Chart: Tracks and Folders

This diagram illustrates specifically the audio flow for tracks and folders.

Notes:

1. The Trim Volume envelope (not shown) comes after the Track Volume envelope and before the

Send/Hardware Out Pre Fader (Post FX).

2. The track mute button is shown more than once (near the beginning and near the end of the chain). This is

because it does not only mute at the beginning (so that for example, all media items are effectively muted), it

also mutes at the end (so that, for example, a synth in the track FX chain that is fed MIDI data via a receive

from another track is also muted).

3. If track mute and track solo buttons are both enabled, then solo overrides the mute.

4. If the Master is soloed, direct outputs to hardware from tracks/folders will not be processed.

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7 Managing and Editing Media Items
7.1 Using an External Editor
REAPER’s native media item editing features are likely to be more than capable of meeting your needs. However, 
if you prefer to use a different application for editing you can specify up to two external programs (such as 
Adobe Audition, Audacity, Wavosaur or Sound Forge) for this purpose. To do this:
1.  Choose the Options, Preferences command, then from the left column External Editors.
2.  Click on the Add button.
3.  Use the Browse buttons (see right) to 
identify and select your preferred editor(s).
4.  Click on OK, then OK to close the 4window.
Notice that you can specify different editors for 
different file types, e.g. WAV, or MP3.
To use your external wave editor:
There are two main ways you can access your 
preferred external editing program from within REAPER:
 Select the media item and press Ctrl Alt E.
 Right click over the media item. From the menu, choose either Open Items in editor then, from the sub-
menu, select either the option to open the item itself or to open a copy of the item. 
Unlike versions of REAPER earlier than 4.0, by default double-clicking on an audio media item will no longer open 
it with your primary editor. This behavior can be changed thru the Preferences, Editing Behavior, Mouse 
Modifiers page if you wish. Select the context Media item, double-click and change the behavior as you 
wish. This topic is covered in Chapter 15. If the external editor works destructively on your files then the safer 
option is to open a copy. This copy will then be inserted into your track when you save it, close the editor and 
return to REAPER. But first, take a look at some of REAPER’s item editing capabilities …
7.2 Editing Media Items in REAPER
This topic is a big one! REAPER features a comprehensive range of editing techniques for use with your media 
items and more. These techniques include (but are not limited to):
● Basic editing of media items.
● Time selection and item editing.
● Razor selection and razor editing.
● Spectral editing (covered at the end of this chapter).
Before exploring these, there are some basic concepts which you will need to understand about how REAPER’ 
behaves when editing items: we can then go on to learn the different editing techniques. For example:
● All editing in REAPER is non-destructive. Edits made to items are unique to the in project item and do not 
in any way modify the source file. You can experiment knowing that your original recorded files are safe.
● Item editing in REAPER basically consists of selecting an item, or a portion of an item (range), then doing 
something to it – such as splitting it, deleting it, copying it or moving it.
● REAPER offers you two basic ways of editing media items – Simple editing, using shortcut key 
combinations only, and smart editing, using your mouse in conjunction with various modifier keys (Alt/Opt, 
Ctrl/Cmd, etc). Some functions are common to both methods, but, as a general rule, smart editing offers 
more sophisticated options than does simple editing. This chapter will explore and explain both methods.
● Razor editing offers a greater range of options and flexibility than do the other methods. 
● Sometimes a number of steps might be required to achieve an editing task. If so, you can assign a single 
keyboard shortcut to the entire sequence. Just how to do this is covered in Chapter 15.
● To a large extent, you can customize REAPER’s editing behavior thru the editing settings and mouse 
modifiers within your Options, Preferences window. We'll get to this later in this section.
Remember that when editing you have available both the Edit, Undo command and the Undo History window 
(covered in Chapter 2). This Undo History window can be used to restore a project file to any earlier state.
Important note: automation envelopes: Automation envelopes are covered in detail in Chapter 18. For now 
note that the option Move envelope points with media items (toggled on/off by clicking on the toolbar 
envelope tool) will determine whether envelopes and their points are moved/copied with their media items. 
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7.2.1 Basic Editing: Media Items

Some, but not all, of REAPER’s basic item editing tasks use familiar standard Windows procedures. These are

mainly suited to simple tasks, such as moving or splitting media items, or joining items together. Shown below

is a summary table. Remember, for Mac OS2 users, equivalent booster keys are Cmd for Ctrl and Opt for Alt.

To do this … You need to do this …

Select media items

To select a single item, Left click. To add more items to the

selection, Ctrl left click.

To select a range of adjacent items, Left click on first item in

range, Shift left click on last.

Split item(s) at edit cursor

position

To split all items, make sure no item is selected, press S.

To split one selected item or a selection of items, press S.

Item FX will be applied to both items unless Media Preferences

option Duplicate take FX when splitting items is disabled.

Split item (s) at prior zero

crossing

Select item(s) at the approximate point in time that you want to

split. Press Alt Z.

To join split items together (heal) Select items. Choose Heal splits in items from the context menu.

To join selection of items (glue) Choose Glue from the context menu (renders to new file).

To move item(s) with contents Select item(s). Use Num Pad 4 (left), 6 (right), 2 (down), 8 (up).

To slide contents within item Select item(s). Use Num Pad 1 (left), 3 (right).

To move item but not contents Select item(s). Use Num Pad 7 (left), 0 (right).

To delete selected item(s) Press Delete or chose Remove items from context menu

To cut/paste selected item(s) Press Ctrl X. Re-position edit cursor, press Ctrl V.

To copy/paste selected item(s) Press Ctrl C. Re-position edit cursor, press Ctrl V.

To cut that part of selected

item(s) defined by time selection

Press Ctrl Shift X or choose Cut selected area of items from

context menu. Re-position edit cursor, press Ctrl V.

To copy that part of selected

item(s) defined by time selection

Press Ctrl Shift C or choose Copy selected area of items from

context menu. Re-position edit cursor, press Ctrl V.

Vertically stacking overlapping items

You might wish to crossfade overlapping media items. This can be done manually, or automatically, by enabling

the Auto Crossfade tool on the toolbar. Crossfade behavior can also be managed using the Crossfade Editor

which will be examined later in this chapter. You can Offset overlapping items vertically (Options menu).

7.2.2 REAPER's Smart Editing

REAPER's smart editing lets you do some more complex editing tasks quickly and easily. In this section, we will

look at smart editing techniques for moving, copying and deleting media items, selections of media items and

parts of media items. To use them, make sure that the option Loop Points Linked to Time Selection is

disabled. The tables below describe default behaviors: MacOS users should use Opt for Alt and Cmd for Ctrl.

Smart Editing with Media Item Selections

To do this with an item or selection of items … You need to do this …

Select a single item Click on the item.

Select several items or part of several items Make any time selection. Right drag to marquee

items, or Ctrl click for non-adjacent items.

Delete selected item or items Select item(s), press Delete.

Delete part of selected item or items Select item, make time selection. Press Ctrl Del.

Move item/items, ignore any time selection Select items and drag.

Move item/items, ignore snap and time selection Select items and Shift drag.

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To do this with an item or selection of items … You need to do this …

Copy selected portion of item or items Click on one item within time section and Ctrl

drag. Shift Ctrl drag to ignore snap.

Copy entire item or selected items (ignore time

selection)

Click on one item outside time section and Ctrl

drag. Shift Ctrl drag to ignore snap.

Move item contents (within item) Alt drag.

Adjust item pitch fine Shift Alt drag up or down.

Render item to new file Ctrl Alt drag.

Copy item, pooling MIDI source data Shift Ctrl Alt drag.

To include an entire item in a marquee selection you need only to touch it with your mouse. In

the example shown here, both media items would be included in the selection.

Tip: If you accidentally move an item, to return it to its original position choose Item

processing then Move item to source preferred position from its right-click menu.

7.2.3 Smart Editing with Razor Edits

Razor selection and razor editing take smart editing further: they allow you, for example, to

make selections of areas that can span multiple tracks/items, including non contiguous selections and even

spaces. Your selections can include entire items, portions of items, automation envelopes, automation items,

spaces before, after or between items and any combination of these – all without moving the edit or play cursor.

For more about razor editing with envelopes and automation items see Chapter 18. Meanwhile, note that unless

you want envelopes automatically always included and moved/copied/stretched/deleted with your razor edit

media selections, you should disable (on the envelope tool on the default toolbar) the option Razor edits in

media item lane affect all track envelopes.

To do this with a razor selection … You need to do this …

Create razor edit area from any

selection of media items

SeleCreatect media items. Right-click on timeline, choose

Enclose media items in razor edit from the menu.

Create razor edit area from a track

selection

Use track panel context track grouping menu. See Chapter 5.

Remove track(s) from an existing razor

edit area.

Use track panel context track grouping menu. See Chapter 5.

Create razor selection area by marquee In arrange view Alt right drag. The

selected

area is

enclosed

in broken

lines, the

mouse cursor becomes a

razor blade.

Add to existing razor selection area Shift Alt right drag.

Split area item(s) at area edges Shift left click.

Deselect one part of razor selection Alt left click.

Deselect entire razor selection Shift Alt left click.

Delete contents of selected area Shift Ctrl Alt left click.

Drag/move contents of razor selection Left drag (Shift left drag to ignore snap).

Drag/copy contents of razor selection Ctrl left drag (Shift Ctrl left drag to ignore snap).

Move/copy selected area to new track Drag (move) or Ctrl drag (copy) to below last track.

Move razor selection edges Left drag either edge (Shift left drag to ignore snap).

Stretch razor selection area Alt left drag either edge (Shift Alt left drag to ignore snap).

Render razor edit areas using the File,

Render command

See Chapter 21.4. Track and take envelopes and FX are

applied. Each razor edit area is rendered as a separate item.

Select all media items within razor edit

area

This action can be executed from the actions list, or

assigned to a mouse modifier (Razor edit area, left click).

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Razor edit mouse modifiers and actions

Razor edit mouse modifiers can be customised via Options, Preferences, Editing behavior, Mouse

modifiers. For example, modifiers can be applied to move an area in one direction (horizontal or vertical) only,

or without moving contents, or ignoring envelope type or with or without ripple editing. For Arrange view, Right

drag, an action is available to also set the time selection when selecting the razor edit area. See also the Razor

edit area, Razor edit envelope area, Razor edge and Arrange view contexts on the Mouse Modifiers

page of your Preferences. Also, REAPER’s action list includes assignable actions (to shortcut keys and/or

toolbars) and/or menus (see also sections 15.22 and 15.23). Search the Actions List. For example, one action

allows you to Create area from cursor to mouse, another to Move nearest area edge to edit cursor.

These examples show razor selections involving media items and areas only (i.e. without envelopes or

automation items). For razor selection of automation, with or without media items, Chapter 18.

In this example, Alt right drag has

been used to define an area which

includes a portion of two media items

on two different tracks.

The selected area is being moved

to the right using Left drag.

In this example, Alt right drag is used

to define a razor edit selection which

spans two media items on two tracks.

Ctrl left drag is used to copy the

entire selection as required.

A razor selection is made using Alt

right drag. A further selection is

added to it, using Shift Alt right

drag. The composite area can be

copied or moved as required.

Here Alt left drag is applied to a

selected area to stretch the area, in this

case stretching it to the right. There is

an option (Preferences, Editing

behavior) to add stretch markers if you

wish.

Here non contiguous areas are made into a one razor selection using

Shift Alt right drag. They can be moved/copied together.

Note, however, that if ripple editing is enabled it will be applied

whenever a selected area is moved or deleted.

Here a sample has been looped for an entire track: we might

wish to thin it out, removing every second occurrence. Alt right

drag defines the area. Ctrl left click inside the selection moves

the selection forward to the next instance.

Shift Ctrl Alt left click deletes its contents. Ctrl left click moves

the selection forward again, and then again. Shift Ctrl Alt left click

deletes again. Ctrl left click moves forward again … and so on.

7.3 Power Editing with Mouse Modifier Overrides

You have already encountered several of REAPER’s mouse modifiers: these are what gives you the ability to use

your mouse to perform so many tasks: for example, when razor editing – Alt right drag to make a selection,

Ctrl left drag to copy a selection, and so on. There’s a section dedicated to mouse modifiers in more detail

later in this chapter.

REAPER’s mouse modifiers have to handle so many diverse tasks beyond just razor editing that

finding your way around them can be a clumsy process. A solution to this is to be able to create

your own alternative set of modifiers all relevant to a particular task (in this case razor editing),

so that you can focus on that task alone.

By clicking on the razor edit toolbar icon (shown above) you are able to activate an alternative set of arrange

view modifiers dedicated specifically to razor editing, all using the left mouse button. The button lights up and

becomes animated. You can define the various modifiers as you wish.

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7.3.1 Power Editing with Razor Edits

There are four alternative Arrange View sets available (for different types of activity), as explained later in the

Mouse Modifiers section. Razor editing uses alternative set B. Options, Preferences, Editing Behavior,

Mouse modifiers, opens the mouse

modifiers page. From the Context list,

select Arrange view override B.

As you can see, some tasks have already

been defined – for example, left drag will

Select the razor edit area,

You can change any of the default

assignments, and/or assign tasks to those

that are currently not used. For example, to

change Shift left drag to Add to the

current selection you would do this:

1. Double click in the Behavior column in the Ctrl row. This will display a menu of tasks and commands. Click

on Select razor edit area then Add to selection.

2. Click on Apply.

Assignments can be made to

unassigned modifiers (such as

Ctrl) in the same way.

One benefit of this is that you

can now do all your razor

editing without needing to

engage the right mouse button.

To remove any of your

assignments, double click on it

in the Behavior column and

select Default action.

REAPER’s default assignments

for other contexts – such as

Razor edit area will still apply.

For example, Ctrl left drag will still move a selected razor edit area. These assignments too can be changed.

To disable the Arrange View B mouse modifiers and restore REAPER’s default assignments, simply click the razor

editing button on the task bar again. The button will cease to be illuminated or animated.

7.3.2 Power Editing with General Editing

Power editing when using marquee is even simpler than

it is for razor editing. Click on the

marquee button on the toolbar to

activate it. The button will become

illuminated and animated.

The various marquee tasks that you have been

performing with your right mouse button can now be

accomplished using the left button. Choose Options,

Preferences, Mouse Modifiers and select Arrange

view override A if you wish to change any of these.

Also as with Arrange view override B, click on the

marquee button again to deactivate it and restore

REAPER’s default assignments. The button will cease to be illuminated or animated.

Tip: Even if you prefer not to use these alternative mouse modifiers A and/or B for marquee/razor editing, you

might still find them handy. There are many other tasks you can assign them to (e.g. scrolling, scrubbing), in

which case they can be activated/deactivated from the Actions List and assigned to toolbar buttons.

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7.4 Auto Trim/Split Items

REAPER's action list contains literally hundreds

of commands and actions, many of which are

not shown on any menus. Actions are covered

in more depth in Chapter 15. Two actions

worth looking at here are Item: Auto

trim/split items (remove silence) and

Transient detection sensitivity/threshold

(adjust). These two can work together.

Actions are run by first choosing the Actions,

Show actions list command from the main

menu, then selecting the required action and

clicking Run. Note both that the Actions menu

includes an option to Show recent actions

on menu, and that within the Actions list you

can use the Filter box to help find an action.

Auto trim/split items is similar to using

dynamic splitting to remove silence, except that it supplies you with some additional options. Selecting an item

and running this action opens the dialog box shown here.

Threshold and Hysteresis control the noise gate to determine the level below which passages are removed,

and the degree of sensitivity applied – the same as with dynamic splitting. Similarly, the controls Ignore

silence..., Make non-silent clips no shorter than..., Pad

controls and Auto adjust snap... all work in the same way

as their equivalent dynamic splitting options.

The Mode drop-down has four options – Split and remove

silent areas, Split and keep silent areas, Split only

before non-silence and Split only before silence.

If working with a set of grouped items, you have the option to

Split grouped items at times of selected item splits.

You can also set the gate to be applied post-FX by enabling

the option Run signal through track FX for detection. This,

for example, could be used to avoid chopping off any delay or

reverb tails caused by track FX.

If you also run the action Transient detection

sensitivity/threshold a pair of faint horizontal lines will be

displayed to give you visual feedback on your gate settings.

Another option is Use zero crossings when splitting. This

can prevent audio clicks on playback.

7.5 Media Item Editing with Track Group Items

In Chapter 5 we looked at track grouping,

including the track grouping matrix. That

covered grouping track controls such as

volume and pan. Here we are looking at

grouping not track controls but media

items within and across the tracks, so that

an item selection can be edited together.

For example, you might want to adjust the

item volume handle for a selection of

items, or move or copy them together

across several tracks.

Track item grouping behavior can in part be managed via the item and track media grouping tool on the main

toolbar. Right-clicking over this tool displays the menu shown above.

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7.5.1 The Item and Track Media/Razor Edit Grouping Toolbar

This section requires you to have a basic working knowledge of both Track Grouping and Editing Media Items

It looks at working with sometimes complex group selections, often temporary groups. It also examines grouping

a number of items across tracks permanently so that (for example) when one item is moved they all move

together, or that razor edits can be easily applied to all group members.

You should familiarise yourself with these grouping toolbar options/commands and their meaning:

Enable item grouping and track media/razor edit grouping:

this needs to be set to on whenever you wish to group items for

any reason. Alt Shift G is a nifty way to toggle it on and off.

Selecting one item selects group: With this option on you can

select all items in a group (defined in the track grouping matrix) by clicking on any one item in the group.

Track media/razor edit grouping affects only items that start and end at the same time: This option

is on by default but can be turned off if you need to.

Automatically group all tracks for media/razor editing: With this option on, any razor editing time

selection that you make will automatically include media items in all tracks.

Automatically group selected tracks for media/razor editing: With this option on, razor edits or other

media editing activity will automatically include all currently selected tracks, including those tracks included

in any active track grouping matrix group or groups.

Track grouping matrix …: This toggle option will open the track grouping matrix if it is not already open, or

close it if it is currently open.

We’re now going to look at a relatively simple example, without yet employing either the Track Group Matrix

or another useful tool, the Track Group Manager. After that, we’ll go on to examine some of the extra benefits

available from also using these tools. The examples chosen in this section are solely for the purpose of

illustrating how these features can be used and have no other significance.

Note 1: In the examples that

follow, which specific

instruments/voices are

contained in which tracks is

not important. The examples

have been constructed solely

for the purpose of illustration.

Note 2: For convenience and

for illustration purposes, this

model uses markers and

snap to marker has been

enabled. This is not essential.

For these examples, we would need to ensure that all group toolbar toggle options except Automatically

group all tracks for media/razor editing are enabled.

Examples

For the examples that follow, make sure that Automatically group selected tracks for media/razor

editing is enabled (on the grouping tool).

In this example, we want to copy the contents of tracks 2, 6 and 8 to continue to build the song.

1. In the track control panel, we click on the track 2 media item, then repeat Control click to select each of

the media items on tracks 6 and 8 in turn. White highlights will be displayed around the track names.

2. We now simply use Ctrl left drag to drag the media item on track 2 to the right to copy them all to their

respective required positions (shown below).

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However, what if we regularly

need to need to perform

editing tasks on these three

tracks together? You don’t

want to be constantly

redefining the track selection –

especially if your project has

many tracks.

The answer lies in track

grouping. Instead of what we

have just done, we can do

this:

1. To open the Track Grouping Matrix we can press Ctrl Alt G.

2. We group tracks 2, 6 and 7 and enable Media/Razor edits in the first column of

this group. As shown here, both tracks are set to Lead/Follow (indicated by the solid

black boxes). This will ensure that we can select media items on any of these tracks

in order to edit the equivalent items on all tracks in the group.

3. Colored flags will now be displayed for each of these tracks, just inside the right

hand edge of the track panel (shown below).

4. We left click on the item on track 2 – as long as Automatically group selected

tracks for media/razor editing is enabled then the items on tracks 6 and 8 are

also selected.

5. Next we use Ctrl left drag to copy the required items.

6. We click anywhere in arrange view to clear the selection.

7. In this simple example

we have just two tracks

in our group, but

remember that this

could be a much larger

number.

8. We might now

encounter the opposite

problem from that which we had before – i.e. we might now want to make changes to one media item only,

without affecting the other items in the group. This can be done by temporarily disabling the group, in either

the Track Grouping Matrix or the Track Group Manager.

Note: Items grouped for media/razor edits will behave as follows: mouse edits to lead items will affect follow

items in the group whether or not they are selected: actions will affect only selected items.

7.5.2 The Track Group Manager

The Track Group Manager is

opened from the View

menu or from a button on

the Grouping Matrix.

It lets you manage the

groups created in the

Grouping Matrix.

Tip: If you have any

track(s) enabled for

media/razor edits in more

than one group then most

likely only one of those

groups should be enabled at any one time. Otherwise changes made to items on a track in one group could also

affect items on other groups. You should also be wary of any hidden tracks that might be included in a group:

group edits would include items on those tracks also!

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Use this… To do this ...

Filter Box (top left)

Filter list of groups, by group name, according to whatever text you input.

Clear button

Clear any current filter, makes all groups available.

Track Grouping Matrix

Click this button to open and display the Track Grouping Matrix.

All groups, Groups in

use or Media/Razor edit

groups

Determine whether to list all groups, only those currently active/enabled, or only

those where one or more tracks are active in the Media/Razor edits column.

Column

Click to set color via the color picker, set a random color, or reset color to default.

Name column

Click once to select the group: double-click to rename it.

Enabled column

Toggle group status to enabled/disabled.

TCP

Specify whether to display these tracks in the track panel in arrange view.

MCP

Specify whether to display these tracks in the mixer panel in mixer view.

Tracks

Indicate number of tracks in each group.

Grouped track list

List all tracks in a group. Double click for menu to add tracks to, or remove tracks

from, the group.

Group attributes

Lists which controls/features are enabled for the group – e.g. Volume, Pan, Mute,

Solo. Double-click to open grouping window to edit group attributes.

Automatically group

options

Toggle options to choose whether to automatically group for media/razor editing all

tracks in the project, selected tracks only or no tracks. Can be used, for example, to

temporarily group all tracks in a file.

Note: When automatically group selected tracks is enabled, clicking a media item

will change the selection only if that track is not already selected.

Options button

Display menu of toggle options to:

Select tracks in group when selecting group

Add/remove child tracks when adding/removing parent folder

Show track dropdown list nested by folders

Dock Track Group Manager window in docker

Sort group list

Double-click on any column header to sort list by that column.

Note: Changes made here are automatically carried over to the Track Grouping Matrix and vice versa.

Lead/Follow Track Group Edits

When a track group enabled for media/razor edits includes different

lead/follow relationships on different tracks then the following applies:

Changes made on items in a lead track will also be applied to the

follow tracks. Changes made to a follow track will only be applied to

items in other tracks if those tracks are also selected.

Consider this example (shown above right). Three tracks are grouped.

The positioning of the red flags shows that the first of these (at the top

of the track’s panel) is lead only while the other two (at the bottom of

the track’s panel) are follow only. If we apply, say, a fadeout to an item

in the leader track it will be applied to all three.

A fadeout applied to an item in the second or third track in the group

would, however, be applied to that one item only. However, if you first select both tracks, as shown by the white

flags on the left, you could apply the fadeout to either follower track and it would still be applied to both.

7.5.3 Groups, Items and Mouse Modifiers

Where grouped tracks have grouping enabled for media/razor edits then editing actions made to an item in any

one of those tracks will generally also be applied to appropriate items on the other group tracks. Appropriate

items are those that start and finish within the time bounds of the selected item. Here’s an example.

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Example

These two tracks have been grouped in the track grouping matrix, with grouped media/razor edits enabled.

If we select the item on track 6, only the first two of the

items on track 7 are also selected, because they are fully

enclosed within the bounds of the selected item.

Note: Locked media items within a track group will not

be included in track group edits. Lock settings enabled on

the toolbar will also restrict track group editing options.

Media Editing Mouse Modifiers

Sometimes you will want a particular mouse editing action to behave differently from normal.. Mouse modifiers

can come to your aid by using a booster key (or combination of booster keys), such as Shift or Control.

REAPER has literally hundreds of such modifiers, and many are discussed throughout this user guide. There’s a

general introduction later in this chapter. Below are listed some commonly used item editing examples. This list

is not comprehensive. You can find more at Options, Preferences, Editing Behavior, Mouse Modifiers.

Media item, left click Media item, fade/autocrossfade, left drag

(default)

Shift

Ctrl

Alt

Select item and move cursor

Add items to selection

Toggle item selection

Select item ignoring grouping

(default)

Shift

Ctrl

Ctrl Alt **

Move fade, ignoring snap

Move crossfade, ignoring snap

Move fade, no snap, ignore selection

Move fade no snap (relative edge edit)

Media item edge, left drag Media item, fade intersection, left drag

(default)

Ctrl

Alt

Move edge, relative edge edit

Move edge ignore group, selection

Stretch item

(default)

Ctrl

Alt

Move both fades

Adjust fade lengths, preserve intersection

Move fade curves horizontally/vertically

Media item, double click Media item, left drag

(default)

Shift

Ctrl

Open item preferences window

Set time selection to item

Set loop points to item

Ctrl

Alt

Ctrl Alt

Copy item

Move item contents ignoring snap

Render item to new file

Arrange view, right drag Razor edit area, left click

(default)

Shift

Shift Ctrl

Alt

Shift Alt

Marquee selected items

Marquee, add to selection

Create fixed lane comp area

Select razor edit area

Add to razor edit area

Shift

Shift Ctrl

Alt

Shift Alt

Shift Ctrl Alt

Split media items at area edges

Create fixed lane comp area

Remove one area

Remove all areas

Delete area contents

Razor edit edge, left drag Razor edit envelope area

(default)

Alt

Move edges

Stretch area contents

(default)

Ctrl

Move or tilt envelope vertically

Expand or compress envelope range

Track (background area), left drag Track (background area), left click

(default)

Shift

Select time range

Move time selection

(default)

Shift

Deselect all items, move edit cursor

Extend time selection

** Allows a fade to be applied to a selection of items whose start and/or end points do not align. With track edit

grouping this will only apply if the grouped item lines up with the start/end of the item being edited.

Note that there are many available actions and behaviors that by default are not assigned to any modifier.

Double-click in the Preferences, Mouse Modifiers behavior column for any context modifier to explore these. For

example, you can assign any booster key to the Media item, left drag context to move an item either only

horizontally or only vertically.

Track Grouping Actions

REAPER’s Actions List includes several track grouping actions which you can access via the list, or for which

you can create your own keyboard shortcuts, toolbar buttons, or menu items. Some examples are shown here:

Create new track media/razor editing group from selected tracks

Remove selected tracks from all track media/razor editing groups

Toggle all track grouping enabled

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7.6 Simple Item Grouping
You won’t always need the powerful features of media item 
editing with track group items. If your needs are relatively 
simple there is no need to set up track group relationships in 
order to group and edit items.
Provided that grouping is enabled – Options, Item and track media razor/edit grouping, Enable 
command, or Alt Shift G – items can be grouped together to facilitate working with them. For example, you can 
move them together, set them all to a common color, mute and unmute them, and so on).
Select the items and use G to add them to a group. If you prefer, you can use the Item grouping button on 
the REAPER toolbar to toggle grouping on and off. For easier group management, select any item in a group 
then right click and choose Group, Set group name or Set group color (using the color picker). The group 
name will be displayed above each item in the group.
In the example shown below, three of the six items have been grouped. For grouped items a Grouped icon will 
be displayed if this has been enabled in Preferences, Appearance, Media. Even when this preference is disabled, 
you will see a thin colored bar above and below all items that have been grouped (see right).
Further items can be 
added to a group. 
Select any item in the 
group, then press Ctrl 
G to select the entire 
group. Hold the Ctrl key while you click on those items that you wish to 
add to the group, then release Ctrl and press G. Note that U removes a 
selected item from a group. You can also use the Group commands on 
the right click item menu to manage groups.
Example
Here is a simple example. Grouping is enabled as is Selecting one item selects group on the item 
grouping menu on the item grouping tool on the main toolbar.
Here are three media items that we want to group. We select all three 
items and press G to group them.
We make some changes to one item (e.g. lower volume, mute) and 
these changes are applied to all items in the group.
To learn more about item grouping, look at the section Storing and 
recalling item groups.
Note: Grouped items will behave as follows: mouse edits to one items will affect all items in the group whether 
or not they are selected: actions will affect only selected items. 
7.7 Storing and Recalling Item Groups
Different item 
groups can be 
saved and 
recalled using the 
Item Groups 
tab of REAPER's 
Project Bay. The 
Project Bay will 
be explored in 
more detail in 
Chapter 12. To 
open it usw the 
View, Project 
Media/FX Bay 
command, and then select the Item Groups tab. To create and save multiple groups, simply use this method:
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● Open the Project Bay and select the Item Groups tab.

● In arrange view, select the items for your first group then right click over one of them and choose Group

then Group items from the menu. A group will automatically be created in the Project Bay. You can right

click over the group name and choose Rename group to give it your own name.

● Repeat this step to create subsequent groups. The example here shows a project with two item groups.

To select all items in a group, you can now right click over its group name in the project bay and choose Select

group from the menu. To remove a group, use the Delete group, keep items command on the same menu.

Tip: To adjust the volume of all items in a selected group, hold Ctrl and Alt while adjusting the item volume

button or item volume handle of any one of the items in that group.

7.8 Media Item Properties

All media items have a page of property settings which help determine the behavior of that item.

To display an item's properties, select it then press F2, or right click and choose Item Properties, or click on its

properties button (if visible). For audio (but not MIDI) items, you can also double-click on the item to do this.

The Media Item Properties box will stay open until you close it. If you leave it open, its contents will reflect the

properties of whichever item or items is/are currently selected at any time.

You don’t need to understand every one of these properties before you get started, just to know where this

information is accessed and changed. The main properties contained within this dialog box are:

 Position: can be edited to change the

position.

 Length of media item (Position and

Length: time, beats, HMSF or

samples).

 Fade In and Fade Out: you can define

both the length and the shape of these.

The setting crossfades source media at

the loop point but is limited to the

amount of source media available.

 Snap offset: Offset from the default

snap position if snapping is enabled.

 Item timebase: Defaults to project

timebase but can be changed. Options

are Track/project default. Time,

Beats (position, length, rate), Beats

(position only), and Beats (auto-

stretch at tempo changes).

 Item mix: Effectively whether to replace

or mix when an item is placed over

another. Defaults to project default.

 Loop source: whether item is a loop.

 Mute status: mute/unmute item.

 Item lock status: whether locked.

 Whether or not to apply autofades at

item start and end.

 Whether or not to play all takes (if two

or more takes exist).

 Active take file name.

 Active take name. By default this is the

file name, but you can change this.

 Pitch adjustment.

 Start in source: sets start time.

 Playback rate. For example, type x2 to double play rate of selected items.

 Whether to preserve item pitch when the playback rate is changed.

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 Adjust Volume and/or Pan: use faders or type values in edit boxes.
 Option to Normalize to LUFS, RMS, Peak or True Peak.
 Channel mode: discussed shortly.
 Whether to invert phase.
 Add or remove Take envelopes.
 Which algorithm is to be used for pitch shift and time stretch. 
 Stretch marker default fade size and preferred Mode (see below right).
 The option to use only a section of the media item. 
 Options to reverse the item.
 Display the media item source file properties.
 Choose a new file to replace the existing source file.
 Rename the source file.
 Access the Nudge/Set dialog box for this item.
 Open the Take FX Chain window for this take/item.
After making any changes, use the Apply button to apply them and leave the window open, or OK to apply 
them and close the window, or Cancel to close the window without applying changes. There is also an option 
(right-click on title bar) to Apply changes after 2 seconds of inactivity that you can enable if you wish.
Some of these options – such as Loop Source and Channel Mode (examined later in this chapter)– are also  on 
the Item Settings menu. For many of them Keyboard Shortcuts already exist or can be defined. You will be 
shown how to assign keyboard shortcuts in Chapter 15 when we examine the Actions List Editor.
Tip: To change a property (e.g. playback rate) of several items at once, simply select all of the items then, with 
one Media Properties window open, make whatever changes you require.
7.9 Media Item Appearance Preferences
Your Appearance, Media and Appearance, Media Item Buttons settings 
(Chapter 22) determine how items are displayed in arrange view. Note:
Media item labels (including pitch/playrate and gain) can be displayed, 
within (as shown here, left) or above the media item. You may also show 
the item pitch/playrate and/or the item gain (if any).
Another feature is Item volume handle. This is shown by default as a 
bar which can be dragged up/down to adjust its volume. Hover the mouse over the top edge of the item to 
display a vertical double-headed arrow (see below). To raise the level above 0.0 dB hold Shift while dragging up.
The level can be shown by a line on the top or middle of the media item, or a 
knob, or 
both.
Get to know 
the Media item buttons which can be 
displayed above the media items. These 
include the items’ locked status, its mute 
status, show FX, automation, notes and item 
properties. Buttons can be used, for example, 
to toggle an item’s mute state on and off, or to 
open its FX chain window.
A locked item cannot be moved or deleted, 
but its properties can be modified.
The Notes button opens a window. You can 
type notes or upload a picture as a background 
graphic. There are options to use word wrap, 
or display a graphic as a Centered/tiled 
image, Full height image or Stretched 
image, or not to display it at all. The window can be left open when focus is elsewhere. There is an option to 
use the Enter key to close the notes window. Multiple notes windows can be left open at the same time. 
Windows can be resized and open notes window positions will be retained when the file is saved. 
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7.10 Editing Behavior Preferences

These are displayed on the Editing Behavior page of Preferences and include whether to:

● Move edit cursor when changing time

selection, inserting media, razor editing,

or clicking in fixed lane comping areas.

● Link loop points to time selection.

● Clear loop points/time selection on

clicking in ruler or arrange area.

7.11 Overlapping Media Items

Media items can be overlapped by dragging and dropping one over the other.

Crossfades: Automatic cross fades (shown here) are enabled by enabling auto-

crossfades on the toolbar. Crossfades can also be adjusted manually and managed

using REAPER’s crossfade editor, explained later in this chapter.

Offset overlapping media items vertically: This option (Options menu) does

what it says (see right).

When showing overlapping items vertically stacked, you might wish to check out

further options in Preferences, Appearance, Zoom/Scroll/Offset.

7.12 Separating Loop Selection from Time Selection

If the setting Link loop points to time selection (on your Preferences, Editing Behavior page) is enabled then

when you make a new time selection the loop selection changes with it. The toggle command Loop points

linked to time selection on REAPER's main Options menu turns this preference on and off.

With this option disabled, you can define a loop by clicking and dragging along the timeline, and a time selection

by clicking and dragging within arrange view. You can use the Alt key while you click and drag along the

timeline to set both the time selection and the loop selection together.

Note: The Actions List (chapter 15) include actions to move or copy the contents of a time selection to the

cursor position. These are Time selection: move contents of time selection to edit cursor (moving later

items) and Time selection: copy contents of time selection to edit cursor (moving later items).

7.13 Slip Editing

You can slip-edit unwanted passages from the start or end of a media item as follows:

 Hover your mouse over the lower part of an item’s left or right edge so that the mouse

appears as a double headed horizontal arrow with a square bracket (as shown here).

 Click and drag to the right or left (as appropriate), then release the mouse.

Slip Editing Multiple Items

To slip edit several items in different tracks, select all the media items

required (for example, hold the Ctrl key while clicking in turn on each item,

or use the marquee method), then slip edit any selected item. The change

will be applied to all items in the selection (see left), relative to their

individual positions on the timeline. You can use Ctrl left drag if instead of

this if you want only one item to be edited.

You can use the Mouse Modifiers page of your Preferences to customize mouse modifiers if you wosh.. This

topic is covered in Chapter 15.

Take care when slip-editing adjacent items, especially when they are touching each other. If you click and drag

on one of the items so as to create a space between the two, then slip editing will take place in the usual way.

However, if you slip edit in such a way as to overlap the items, you will create a crossfade.

This is illustrated here, where the end of the first (further left) of the two adjacent

items has been slip-edited to the right, overlapping the other item. This behavior

can be modified in two ways. Disabling auto-crosssfade (on the toolbar) will stop

the crossfade, but both items will still be heard. Enabling Trim content behind

media items when editing (Options menu) will ensure that only the slip-

edited item (the item on top) will be heard during the overlap.

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Another technique is to use slip-editing to move the boundary between two adjacent items

(perhaps when an original item has been split). Select both items and hover your mouse over the

boundary between the items to see the symbol shown here. You can then click and drag left or

right to move the boundary.

7.14 Insert Space in Selection

The command

Insert, Empty

space at time

selection will create

a gap in your song.

Make your time

selection, then use

this command. The

space is applied to

all tracks (as shown here). Existing material is moved to the right.

7.15 Trim Behind When Editing

The toggle command Options, Trim content behind media items when editing can be used to ensure that

existing material is effectively replaced by any new material that is placed over it. To understand this feature,

let’s see what happens when you move one item onto another with “trim behind” disabled and enabled. First,

note that trim behind when editing cannot work unless auto-crossfade is disabled.

This is how REAPER behaves with trim behind disabled (the default setting). Shown here are two guitar tracks.

1. We drag and drop the item from the second track

over the top of the first.

2. If we now enable free item positioning on the track

and increase the track height, by dragging the item on

top below the original media item, we can see both the

original and the new item stored in this track.

Let's repeat this, but this time with Trim content

behind media items when editing enabled.

Steps one and two would appear to be the same as

before. But look what now happens at step 3. This time,

when we allow free item positioning and drag the new

item down, there is nothing behind it! The new

item has replaced the original.

Note that you do not have to usefree item

positioning in oder to work with “trim behind”

enabled.

Note: When razor editing, trimming behind is by default always applied when an item or part of one item is

placed over another. To change this, disable Always trim content behind razor edits on the Options menu.

7.16 Changing a Media Item’s Timebase

By default your media items will take their timebase from

your project settings. However, provided you have

enabled display of your item timebase buttons in your

preferences (Appearance, Media item buttons) you can

change this for individual media items.

Select the media item(s), then click on the item timebase

button shown above any item in your selection. Your

options are shown here – Use project timebase (the

default), time, beats (position, length, rate), beats

(position only), or beats (auto stretch at tempo

change).

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7.17 Creating and Copying Items in Pencil Mode

REAPER’s pencil mode that can be used to create new

media items or make copies of existing ones. How the

feature works is determined by your Track left drag

settings on the Mouse Modifiers page of your

Preferences window.

In Chapter 15 you will learn how to change these

settings to suit your own needs. For example, you

could assign the Shift modifier to be used to draw a

new item. For now, we will be looking at the default settings. These default settings are shown here.

By default, the following modifiers can be used when clicking and dragging in an empty area in Arrange view:

Ctrl – draws a copy of currently selected media item. Snapping will be applied if enabled.

Ctrl Shift - draws a copy of currently selected media item, will not snap.

Ctrl Alt - draws a copy of currently selected media item pooling MIDI source data with snapping (if enabled).

Shift Ctrl Alt - draws a copy of currently selected media item pooling MIDI source data, will not snap.

The illustration above is an example of this. The first of two existing media items on a track has been selected.

By holding Ctrl while clicking and dragging further along that track, a copy of that media item is made.

7.18 Propagating Items

Two media item context menu commands, Propagate item to similarly named items on track and

Propagate item to similarly named items (all tracks), can be used to copy the settings and features of one

media item to other items on the same track and which share the same item name. Let's look at two examples:

Example 1

1. In this example, we have imported a sample into our project and placed it on a new track:

2. Next we have copied it as required across the track:

3. Some time later, we decide to make some edits to the first item. These include an adjustment to the item

volume handle, some FX, and a fade out.

4. Finally, we right-click over this first item and choose Item processing, Propagate item to similarly

named items on track to copy these edits to the other items. Any instances of this item on other tracks

will not be affected.

Example 2

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1. In this next example, the original item has been copied to create several media items across two tracks.

Each track has its individual settings,

such as different panning and FX on

only one item. As well as this, the

original media item has its own FX,

volume envelope and pitch adjustment.

2. The Item processing, Propagate

item to similarly named items

command has been used copy the

features of the original item to all other

similarly named items in the project.

Tip: You can assign one name to several media items all in one go. Select all of the items, press F2 to open the

Item Properties dialog box, type the name in the take name edit box and click on OK.

7.19 Implode Items To One Track

Where you have built up a number of items

that belong together but are spread across

several tracks (as shown top right) you can

select them all, right-click over any track in the

selection and choose Item processing,

Implode items across tracks into items on

one track.

This will move them to a single track (right).

7.20 Ripple Editing

Usually, when you

delete part of a media

item, a gap is left on

the track where the

deleted item used to

be. With ripple

editing, the material

on the track is moved

over to fill that gap. This is illustrated in the three screen shots below.

This first picture (left) shows a media item selected

with a time selection highlighted.

With ripple editing off, deleting the selected area of

the selected media item has the effect shown here.

With per track ripple editing enabled, deleting the

selected area of the selected media item has the

effect shown here.

Two ripple editing options are available on the

Options menu, or by right-clicking on the ripple edit button on the default toolbar. These are Ripple edit per

track and Ripple edit all tracks. By default, both of these are off. Either one or the other (but not both at the

same time) can be turned on from this menu.

Both off: In this default mode items will not shift when you edit a track.

Ripple edit per track: With this enabled, ripple editing will be applied

when you are editing the currently selected track(s) but not to any other.

Ripple edit all tracks: If this is enabled, all tracks will be subject to

ripple editing. This means any editing you do to any of the items on any

track will also be applied to all other tracks. This can be used, for example, for deleting entire sections of songs.

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The keyboard shortcut Alt P cycles between the three ripple editing modes, as can the Ripple Editing button

on the default toolbar. The right-click menu on this button also includes the options Ripple edit all affects

tempo map and Add edge points when ripple editing or inserting time. By default both are disabled.

In this mode, markers and automation are locked to the items that they relate to, so as you move items the

associated markers and automation move too. Using this mode on multiple tracks is very useful for editing

multitrack recordings of live material - everything that belongs together stays together in sync as you edit.

For instance, if you split the item at a couple of places (so you now have three items) then delete the middle

piece, the remaining pieces join up, but unlike with a normal stereo editor, you can adjust the join by dragging

the ends of the items appropriately. If you want to move material from one place to another, you can split at the

insertion point, drag the material to the right of the

insertion out of the way, then make the insertion and

drag the displaced material to join it.

All items to the right of the dragged item will stay

together: markers and automation will also move.

Below is shown an example with ripple editing on all

tracks. Ripple Editing, all tracks is enabled. In the first

picture the silence before the music starts is selected.

The command Cut selected area of items is then

applied. The selected area is cut from all tracks, and

the remaining material is moved to the project start.

Note 1: Complications can arise if locked items are

included in the selection that is to be ripple edited. In

particular, REAPER needs to know whether the ripple editing should be applied to the locked items. The Editing

Behavior preferences page includes options for dealing with this – see Chapter 22.

Note 2: Complications can arise when ripple editing if your project includes tempo changes. To ensure that

these changes are moved with your material, right click on the ripple edit icon on the toolbar and choose Ripple

edit all affects tempo map.

Note 3: Right click the ripple edit toolbar button for a number of further options such as whether to apply ripple

editing When editing media item edges, and Whether to affect envelopes on all tracks.

Tip: Shortly we will get to using mouse modifiers to determine REAPER’s behavior when an item or item

selection is dragged. This includes applyimg any of the three ripple editing states.

7.21 Trim to Selected Area

To trim a media item or track from both the start and the finish at the same time follow this sequence:

1. Select the media item (or items).

2. Click and drag in the track background area to select the area that you want to keep.

3. Right click over a selected media item and choose Trim items to selected area.

If Ripple Editing is turned on, the area that is trimmed will also be removed from the timeline, otherwise some

empty space will be left. If your Snap/Grid Settings are set to include Media Items, then provided that

snapping is enabled, snapping will be applied when you select the area to be trimmed.

Tip: The action list includes two actions which allow you to click your edit cursor on an item, then trim the item

removing either everything before or after the cursor. These are:

Item: Trim items left of cursor, and

Item: Trim items right of cursor

For more information about the Action List see Chapter 15.

7.22 Item Mute and Solo Actions

As well as item buttons, the actions list (chapter 15) includes several actions for muting or soloing individual

items or groups of items. Any of these can be assigned to your own keyboard shortcuts or toolbars if you wish.

Item properties: Mute Item properties: Solo Item properties: Solo exclusive

Item properties: Unmute Item properties: Unsolo (solos item and unsolos any other

Item properties: Toggle mute Item properties: Toggle solo items already soloed)

Item properties: Unmute all items Item properties: Unsolo all

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7.23 Displaying the Item Ruler

You can display a ruler on individual media items by selecting the

item(s) then right-clicking and choosing Item settings, Display item

ruler, Item ruler settings from the menu. Your options are Item

time, Item H:M↓S:F. Item beats (constant time signature),

Item beats, Minimal, Source time or Source time H:M:S:F.

There is also an option to display the Item ruler settings dialog

(shown here). This, for example, allows you to specify a time signature

other than the project/source time signature if you wish.

7.24 Take Media Source

The Take media source section of the Media

Item Properties dialog box (F2) can be used to

view the properties of the currently selected take,

or to change or rename its source file. To change

the media item contents click on Choose New

File, or to rename it use the Rename File option.

Click on the Properties button for information about the source audio file or MIDI item. In the case of MIDI

items, you can also modify some properties, such as Transpose “n” semitones, Only play specified

channels, Ignore project tempo, and Chase CC/pitch/program before start offset.

7.25 Normalizing Items

Normalizing

adjusts the volume of an item (or item selection) to a

standard level. Select the item(s): from the right-click context menu

choose Item processing then Normalize items (Peak/RMS/LUFS).

You can optimize to LUFS-1, RMS-1, Peak, True Peak, LUFS_M

max or LUFS-S max, as per JS Analysis Loudness Meter options.

Normalize as if one long item raises the level of all items relative to

each other. At 0.00 dB this will be as far as is possible without clipping.

If you Normalize each item separately it can be expected to result in

a greater increase in volume for some items than for others. With

Normalize to loudest item is selected the relative volime of media items to each other will stay the same.

There is also an option to Adjust mono media items an additional -3dB.

Items can also be normalised by clicking the Normalize button inside the Item Properties dialog. Also, you are

able to normalize items or regions when rendering selected media items not through the master via the File,

Render dialog.

7.26 Snapping with Combined Snap/Grid Settings

You have already learnt (Chapter 5) how to define grid settings to determine if and how a grid is shown in

arrange view. The Snap/Grid Settings window (below) lets you ensure that various actions (including time or

loop selection) and/or items are automatically snapped into position according to your settings.

Options, Snap/Grid, Snap/Grid Settings open this dialog, or use Alt L, or right click on the toolbar Grid

button . Alt S toggles snap on and off. Grid snapping can be applied in a number of ways, including:

Swing grid: Option to use swing grid, adjusting all or only selected items when changing swing. There is also

an option to Use the same grid division in arrange view and MIDI editor.

Other options include Snap media items, selection and/or cursor to selection/markers/ cursor and/or grid,

and whether Grid snap settings follow grid visibility. Option to Snap media items to nearby media

items and options to Snap automation items and/or Razor edits to automation items or media items.

Snap to project sample rate: Items may be snapped to items samples, cursor, markers, loop points and

envelope points to snap to samples.

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Snap Distance settings enable you to be more

flexible. For example, with grid spacing at 50 pixels

and snap distance at 5 pixels, the option to Snap to

grid at any distance off, snapping to grid will occur

only within 5 pixels of any grid line. Otherwise, the

cursor will be placed wherever the mouse is clicked.

Also, snapping can be made Relative to Grid.

Note: The snap behavior of ruler markers and regions

will follow cursor snap settings.

7.27 Separate Snap and Grid Settings

The above examples use the same set of snap

parameters for grid display as is used for snapping. In

other words, the snapping would take place to the

nearest grid position. Let's now see what we can do if

we disable the option Grid snap settings follow

grid visibility.

We have also changed the minimum pixels setting

for grid line spacing, in this case to 20 pixels, whilst

still specifying (at the point where the cursor is shown

on the screen shot) a grid snap spacing of one

sixteenth beats.

This produces a less cluttered display on the screen.

Provided you have zoomed into your project

sufficiently, gridlines will be shown for every quarter

beat but snapping will take place between as well as

on the gridlines, at every sixteenth beat.

The Media items snap to option can be set to Snap

both start/end, Only snap at start/snap offset or

Mouse position dependent (i.e. at the mouse

position nearer at the time, the start or the end).

Tip: When snapping is enabled, this can be over

ridden when selecting a loop along the timeline by holding down the Ctrl key while you make the selection.

Note: The action list includes an action Item: Set snap offset for item under mouse to mouse position.

7.28 Free Item Positioning

Free item positioning enables you to move your media items around freely within a track or tracks. This

allows, for example, two or more items to play simultaneously or to overlap on the same track:

1. Select the track (or tracks) for which you wish to allow free item positioning.

2. Right click over the Track Control Panel. From the menu, choose Free item positioning.

These illustrations demonstrate an example of this. In the

first image (left) we have a Lead Vocal and a Harmony

Vocal on different tracks. We might find it convenient to

place these together on the same track.

In the second image (right) we have enabled Free Item

Positioning for the lead vocal track. Notice that there is a

small handle (shown by the mouse cursor) which can be

used to adjust the height of this media item.

In the third image (below left) the media item for the harmony vocal has been dragged and dropped into the

lead vocal track (with Shift key held down). When this track is played, both media items will play together. In

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fact, in this example, the previous harmony vocal track (now empty) can now be deleted.

Each item is independent of the other. Either or both can be muted/unmuted, have FX

added, and so on. You can use the Media Item Properties dialog box (F2) or the

right-click menu for this.

Note 1: Free item positioning can be made the default for all new tracks by enabling

it at Options, Preferences, Track/Send Defaults.

Note 2: If auto-crossfade is enabled, media items that overlap vertically will crossfade. Otherwise, the vertical

positioning of media items does not affect playback. The

preferences for item mix behavior are ignored;

items

always mix on free item positioning tracks.

Tip: As you move items around in free item positioning mode you can sometimes find that items are placed

awkwardly or untidily: this can make editing difficult. If this happens, select the items, right-click and choose

Item processing, Auto-reposition items in free item positioning mode.

7.29 The Nudge/Set Items Window

The Nudge/set items window is opened from a media

item’s right-click menu or from REAPER’s Edit menu.

In the Actions editor you can assign this action to shortcut

keys, and/or use the Menus/Toolbars editor to assign it to

a toolbar. Both the Actions List editor and the Customize

Menus/Toolbars editor are covered in Chapter 15.

This window stays open until closed. You can select any

item (or a number of items) to be nudged or moved to a

set position. The behavior respects your other settings

(e.g. snap and whether the item is loop enabled). The

main options and parameters in this window are described in the table below, moving from left to right.

Item Explanation

Action

Choose Nudge or Set to determine how REAPER will interpret the Unit information.

Nudge causes the item to be moved according to the unit specified

the amount

specified. In the example above, the item is moved 10 ms left or right (depending on

which Nudge button is clicked). Set causes the item to be moved

the position specified.

Unit Value Determines the number of units by which the item will be nudged. This information needs

to be interpreted together with the Unit Type selection. In the example shown above, the

unit type is milliseconds and the unit value is 10.

Unit Type Options include milliseconds, seconds, grid units, measures/beats, samples, frames, pixels,

item lengths, item selections and notes. If notes is selected, an additional drop down list

offering various fractions of a note (from 1/256 to whole) is also displayed.

Nudge/Set

Definition

Determines exactly

what

will be nudged or set. Your choices are:

Position Whole item: the whole item will be physically moved

Left Trim The item is trimmed from the left

Left Edge/Right Edge The left edge or right edge is moved

Contents The item itself remains static, its contents are moved within it

Duplicate Creates duplicate item(s)

Edit Cursor Moves edit cursor

Whether the movement is left or right will depend on which button is clicked. If Duplicate

and Nudge are selected, you will be able to specify number of copies.

Snap to Unit Whether to enable or disable snapping.

Nudge Left

Nudge Right

These buttons are displayed only if Nudge is selected. They determine whether to nudge

the item(s) to the left or to the right.

Get Cursor

Apply Move

These buttons are only displayed when Set is selected. Get Cursor returns the current

cursor position and writes it in the “to:” box. Apply Move moves the item according to

the various options and settings, including the position specified in the “to:” box.

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7.30 Item Channel Mode and Channel Mapping
Select Channel mode from a media item’s properties dialog to see a menu of options. These include:
 Normal: maintains or returns the stereo item to its original channel state.
 Reverse Stereo: swaps left and right channels.
 Mono (Mix L + R): combines both left and right channels into a single mono channel.
 Mono (Left): produces a single mono channel using only the output from the original left channel only.
 Mono (Right): produces a single mono channel using the output from the original right channel only.
 Mono (3-128) or Stereo (1-128): maps output to a single mono channel or paired stereo channels.
For multichannel items (see Chapter 3) you may mix down in mono or stereo to channels other than 1 and 
2.Item Channel Mapping
The Channel mode menu includes an option Open channel mapper (also in the Actions list). It allows you to 
map item output to other channels (e.g. 3/4) as well as or instead of the default channels 1/2. For example:
 For a track containing several items, to send only some of these items to 
another track (e.g.) a reverb bus. An example  is shown below.
 When mixing in a surround format such as 5.1 and you wish to send the 
output to a particular channel or channels.
Example
Suppose a track (say, track 2) contains four items, two of which need to be sent 
to a reverb bus on, say, track 5. Of course, these could be any two tracks.
1. Use the track routing window to ensure that both tracks (2 and 5) are 
assigned four channels each, i.e. channels 1-4 (see right) 
2. Select the two items in track 2 and press F2 to open their Item Properties window. Display the channel 
mode menu and choose Open channel mapper (changes take effect 
immediately). The display should appear as shown above right. By default, any media 
on each channel will go to its equivalent output – 1 to 1, 2 to 2 and so on. Here we 
want the media on channels 1 and 2 to go to both 1/2 and 3/4. We therefore change pin 
connector settings as shown here (right). This 0also adds the JS: Channel Mapper 
plug-in to each item’s FX chain: this plug-in can be used at any time to adjust any of the 
channel mapping settings (there’s more about this channel mapper in Chapter 17).
3. Finally, open the track routing window for the Reverb track and add a receive from (in 
this case) track 2 channels 3/4 to channels 1/2 on this reverb track. 
Note: If you make a mistake use the Reset button to restore default settings.
7.31 Adjusting Media Item Fades
If you select any item in a track and zoom in close enough, you will see a tiny 
fadeout curve at the end of that item. You can change both the shape and duration 
of this curve, either using the mouse, or thru the Item Properties dialog box.
1. Select the rightmost item on one or more tracks. In this example (right) two 
tracks have been selected. These items might be, but need not be, vertically aligned.
2. Hover your mouse over the vertical white line that marks the start of the fade. The mouse 
changes to display a curved shape.
3. Click and hold down the left button. Drag left to increase the 
fadeout length (see below left) then release the mouse. Notice 
that the fadeout curve is now more gradual but it keeps its shape.
4. Make sure that your media items are still selected.
5. Right-click over the vertical line that marks the start of the 
fadeout. A menu of different curves will be displayed (see right). 
You can select any of these.
Instead of using a mouse, you can use the Items Properties dialog box (press F2) and make changes there. 
Also, you can use Alt left click to delete a fade, or Ctrl left click to cycle thru the different shapes.
The Options, Preferences dialog box includes an option on the Project, Item Fade Defaults screen to specify 
default fade and crossfade length, overlap, and shape characteristics.
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In addition, the Preferences Mouse Modifiers page (shown below) gives you additional functionality by using

modifier keys with your mouse when working

with fades and crossfades. Options are

available for left click, left drag and double-

click.

For example, holding Shift while dragging the

mouse left or right will move a crossfade left

or right. Alt drag will move and stretch the

fade. Other default settings are shown above.

These actions can be used on a single media

item, or on a selection of media items, and

can be customized (see Chapter 15).

Relative vs Absolute Edge Edits

Unless defined as relative, media item fade edits work in absolute mode: this means that

within a selection, only those items whose edges align exactly along the timeline will be

affected. Actions which work in relative mode (e.g. in this context, Ctrl Alt left drag)

will be applied to all selected items, regardless of where they lie on the project timeline.

In the example shown here (right), relative edge fading is being applied to three tracks by

using Ctrl Alt left drag. All three are edited, even though their positions do not all align.

7.32 Crossfades and the Crossfade Editor

Typically, a crossfade is used to transition gradually from one

media item on a track to another. As the first item is gradually

faded down, the second is faded up.

In the example shown (right), two media items overlap each other

with a crossfade. Use Alt X or the toolbar crossfade button to toggle auto-crossfade mode on and off. When

enabled, dragging the start of one media item over the end of another (or vice versa) will automatically create a

crossfade. Default crossfade parameters (including fade and crossfade shapes) are set in the Item Fade

Defaults page of REAPER's preferences.

Various crossfade elements (such as shape, start and finish) can be edited with your mouse in much the same

way as you might edit a simple fade. Often this might be all you need to do. However, the Crossfade Editor gives

you more control over your crossfade characteristics. After selecting the items crossfade, this is opened using

the Edit, Crossfade Editor command or by double-clicking near the top of the crossfade.

On the next page you can see the crossfade editor open. The crossfade area has been selected

(by clicking anywhere on the crossfade curve). The crossfade editor displays the fade parameter

information for the selected media items.

Use a copy of your project file to experiment, until you become familiar with the many controls.

Let’s first introduce the basic, or essential, features, before examining the more advanced ones.

Crossfade Editor: Basic Controls

● The four arrows (left, right, up, down) are used to select the previous/next crossfade on the

same track, or to move to work with crossfades on the previous/next track.

● The fader units can be set to time (seconds), beats, H:M↓F, or samples. Shown overleaf it

is set to beats.

● Any of the seven shapes shown (above right) can be selected for fade out, fade in, or both

together After choosing a shape, you can use the mouse directly on the crossfaded media items.

Drag either curve left/right to adjust the fade, or at the diamond intersection to move the point

where the fades cross and thus both fades simultaneously.

● To adjust the start/end position of the crossfade, hover the mouse over its left/.right edge and

drag left or right. Placed over the item edge it will adjust only the start (left edge) or finish (right

edge) only, a shown top right. Placed between the two items it will adjust both the crossfade

start and finish simultaneously as shown bottom right.

● The position of the media items shown inside the crossfade editor window can be adjusted by

dragging them left or right.

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Crossfade Editor: Digging Deeper

Click on the Options button

to open a context menu (see

below).

You have options for Edits

to affect all selected

media items and to Allow

left and right media

items to be on different

tracks.

The next two commands –

Display combined peaks

and Apply fades to

combined peaks - add a

lane showing the effect of

applying the crossfade to the

two items.

An option box enables you to

Link fade in/fade/out

edits. This effectively locks

the center of the crossfade

in place so that as you adjust the starting position of the crossfade the end position is adjusted by an equal

amount. However, if you Lock left hand start then you can adjust the end position without the start position

changing.

The Display phase alignment option causes any phasing issue to be displayed, as shown here. The Phase

align button is used to specify whether you want phase alignment issues corrected by adjusting left item

position, left item contents, right item position or right item contents,.

Immediately above the visual display you can choose to show crossfade length (as in the example above),

fadeout (start, end or length), fadein (start,end or length) left volume or right volume. Values can also be

entered here – for example, to specify a crossfade length of 4 seconds.

From time to time you might find that your edits have

caused the crossfade to get out of sync, The Re-sync can

be used to resolve this, by Sync crossfade to media

edges, Sync fade-in to fade-out or Sync fade-out to

fade-in. Re-center will reposition your crossfade, if

necessary, to re-center it.

Other menu options are largely self-explanatory. You can

choose to use Mono peaks, to Auto-zoom to peaks

when editing, Apply fades to peaks, Auto-center

[crossfade area) after mouse edits, and/or Auto-center

continuously. Alternatively you can Allow hand scroll on

the ruler – this disables auto-centrer.

Other options are to Link pre-roll/post-roll when mouse

editing, Stop playback at end of post-roll if repeat is

disabled and/or to Restore project loop points when

closing Crossfade Editor.

The Crossfade Editor Transport Bar

Most controls here are self-explanatory. Notice the four

buttons – play, pause, stop and repeat. Also:

Preroll and Postroll: start playback of the preroll seconds

before the crossfade, and continue for the postroll period

after the crossfade.

Other options are to Solo crossfaded items, and to mute left (pre crossfade) or right (post crossfade). These

can be applied in bounds only, out of bounds only, to top lane only, or to bottom lane only.

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Snapshots and Presets

Taking Snapshots will save your crossfade settings exactly as they are at that time,

but only for the crossfade

on which you are currently working

. Use the Snapshots button to save up to four snapshots as Snapshot 1,

Snapshot 2, etc. These can be recalled from this menu.

Presets are global. Current settings can be saved (and named) from the presets button menu. Presets are

saved globally and added to this menu, able to be recalled for crossfades in this or other projects as required..

Fade/Crossfade Mouse Modifiers and Actions

Both media item fade intersection and fade/autocrossfade mouse modifiers can be defined separately for

left click, left drag and double click actions. The left drag modifiers are of particular interest.

The context Media item

fade/autocrosfade uses modifiers to

manage the intersection itself.

These can be used with fades/crossfades,

e.g., to enable or disable options such as

whether to ignore snap and/or selection/

grouping, whether to stretch items, or to

assign actions (such as adjusting the fade

curve). Other options allow fade curves to

be adjusted with the mouse.

Left click and double click modifiers can be

used to apply any of a number of additional

fade intersection or auto crossfade actions

from REAPER's Actions list.

Open the Actions list (Actions menu) and

from its Section drop down menu choose

Crossfade Editor for a complete list of

available actions.

These include actions to load presets and snapshots, change fade/crossfade shapes, to adjust curves horizontally

only or both horizontally and vertically, for managing crossfades on splits, various pre-roll and preview actions,

and actions to modify fades in various ways. Other actions allow you to mute/unmute left item or right item, or

to solo crossfaded items. See also Chapter 15.

Running the action to Calculate loudness of selected items via dry run render (optionally including take

and track FX) will cause that item’s loudness stats to be displayed. For more information about loudness analysis

see the JS Analysis Loudness Meter, and for the Actions List see Chapter 15.

Customizing Default Crossfade Shapes

REAPER’s preferences (Options, Preferences,

Project, Item fade defaults) allow you to customize

your default fade/crossfade shapes.

Click on either image to display a menu of seven

shapes plus an option to Customize fade. Use the

Curve and Curve 2 faders in the displayed dialog to

adjust the curves as you wish. Reset will restore

defaults, OK will save your changes.

Then, in the Preferences, Item fade defaults

window, click on Apply.

Fade/crossfade

properties (including

curve shapes) for

selected media

item(s) can also be

edited for selected item(s)in the Media item properties dialog – press F2.

This supports the use of two parameter fades.

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7.33 Glue Selected Items
A number of items in a track can be joined into one using the Glue items command. This creates a new media 
item: the original items are not damaged. For example, two MIDI items glued together will automatically and 
always open together in the same MIDI Editor window. Two glued audio items will now share one common set 
of item properties. Glued items can later be split, for example if you later need to adjust one or more properties 
of a portion of that item. To glue together a number of adjacent items in a track, follow this procedure:
1. Select the items to be to glued (to do this, right click and drag the mouse across the items).
2. Right click over any item in the selection and choose Glue items from the context menu.
Example
In the example below, a track is made up of three media items. Right click over the first item, then drag to the 
last item before releasing 
the mouse. This ensures 
that all items are 
selected.
Next, right click over any 
of these items and 
choose Glue items 
from the menu to join them as one.
One application for gluing items is to join several items together into a new loop source. You'll learn more about  
working with loops in Chapter 9. Another use for glue is to render an item, for example, incorporating item gain 
and item take FX into the new media item and setting the FX to bypass. When a selection of two or more items 
are glued in this way, the FX and so on will be applied to the appropriate sections of the new item.
Note 1: When MIDI items are glued, any item that includes take FX such as a VSTi synth is rendered as audio.
Note 2: Actions are available in the Actions List (see Chapter 15) to ensure that when an item is glued, its 
channels will be increased if necessary to accommodate the output of any item FX. For example, if the action 
Item: Glue items (auto increase channel count with take FX) is applied to an item with FX which use two 
channels for output, then that item will be rendered in stereo (two channels) when glued.
Tip: You can ensure that a period of silence will be added before and/or after the items that are to be glued. For 
this, there is no need to select the items. Instead, select the track and click/drag in arrange view to enclose the 
items in a time selection, including any time you require for silence before and/or after the items. Then right-
click over the time selection and choose Glue items within time selection from the menu.
7.34 Coloring Individual Items
You can change the colors of individual media items (or selections of media items) by first selecting the items 
and then displaying their context menu and choosing Item and take colors, then Set items to custom color 
or Set items to random colors or Set items to one random color.  See also Track Colors in Chapter 5.
7.35 Customising Mouse Modifiers
You have already encountered many examples of how 
REAPER uses the mouse with and without modifiers to 
perform a whole range of tasks. These have so far included 
making loop and time selections, copying and moving media 
items, slip editing media items, using item pencil mode, and 
so on. In Chapter 15, you'll learn more about how you can 
modify any of these if you wish, and even create your own. 
Meanwhile, you can find out more about the various Mouse 
Modifier default settings by browsing thru the Editing 
Behavior, Mouse Modifiers section of your REAPER 
Preferences.
From the Context list, select a topic, such as Media item left 
click, Media item left drag, Track click, Ruler click, Arrange view right-click, etc. A list of default mouse actions 
relevant to that context will be shown. Double-click on any entry in the Modifier column to assign an action to 
that modifier.
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Shown abve right are some of the default actions associated with the Media item left drag context. For

example, by default dragging a media item will move it, ignoring any time selection. Holding Ctrl as you do so

will copy it – and so on.

You can change the behavior of any modifier: select it and double-click in the behavior column for a list of

options. For double-click actions, there is also the option of choosing an action from REAPER’s Action List.

For example, you could define Shift Win to restrict item movement to vertical only when moved or copied,

and/or Ctrl Win for adjusting an item's volume, and so on. To do either of these, you would need to double-

click on the modifier in the list, then make your choice from the list of commands and actions offered.

The Context drop down list includes the following basic contexts for working with media items.

Media item (left click, left drag and double-click)

Media item bottom half (left click, left drag and double-click)

Media item edge (left drag and double-click)

Media item fade/autocrossfade (left click, left drag and double-click)

Media item fade intersection (left click, left drag and double-click)

Media item stretch marker (left drag, double-click)

Media item stretch marker rate (left drag)

Many contexts have an option associated with them: this will be displayed below the table, just above the OK

button. In the example above, you have the option whether or not to treat the label area above the item as

empty track space.

The Import/export button can be used to save or recall your mouse modifier actions, either for the currently

selected context or for all contexts.

Media Item Left Click Modifiers

Examples of default mouse behaviors when you click on a media item are:

A simple click will Select item and move edit cursor. Alt Click will select the item ignoring grouping.

Ctrl click will Toggle item selection. See also Preferences, Mouse modifiers, Media item, Left click window.

You can change or swap over any existing assignments, for example so that a simple click will just select the

media item without moving the edit cursor. You can also change any assignment to any of the available options.

To do this, just double-click in the list on the item that you wish to change, then select your preference from the

list. For more information about customizing mouse modifiers see Chapter 15.

Media Item Double-Click

Some of the default modifiers and actions for this

context are shown here (right). Of course, you can

change any of these, as you wish.

Media Item Edge Left Drag

Shown here (below right) are some of the default

mouse modifier settings that are used when clicking

and dragging on the edge of any media item(s).

Chapter 15 includes a step by step example showing how you can change any of these.

The Media Item Edge context pages also include a

checkbox option to Limit edits to source media content

for unlooped media items

Media Item Bottom Half

There are separate mouse modifier contexts available for

clicking on the bottom half of media items from those used

when clicking on the top part.

Any that modifier behavior that is not defined will

automatically follow the behavior for the top half.

Note: When the context Media item bottom half is

selected, an option is displayed to Disable targeting of

bottom part of media when take height is less than

pixels. By default this is set to 44. You will need to change this if you want to use these context actions with

media items less than 44 pixels high.

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Arrange View Alternative Mouse Modifiers

You might have noticed that there are no mouse modifiers listed for left drag in the arrange view category. This

is basically because their actions are “hard-wired” into REAPER for some core tasks, such as:

Left drag Remove any existing time selection and create new one

Ctrl Left drag Create empty media item

However, REAPER recognizes that these might not be

suitable for your particular workflow. For this reason, you

can create up to four alternative sets of arrange view

mouse modifiers – A, B, C and D.

By default:

Set A includes options suitable for use with marquee.

Set B includes options suitable for use with razor editing.

Set C can be used when fixed lane comping.

Set D includes options for making time selections.

You can, of course, change or modify any of these assignments, for example, if you prefer to use them in some

other context.

Sets A and B are usually activated/deactivated for marquee (Set A) or razor editing (Set B) from the toolbar.

Set C is usually activated/deactivated from the Fixed Menu Lanes context menu.

There are also individual actions to activate/deactivate all four sets. Probably most useful are the Toggle

arrange view override mouse modifiers {A, B, C or D, as required] on/off.

7.36 Dynamic Splitting - Remove Silent Passages

REAPER's Dynamic Splitting has applications

beyond tempo based composition, such as

to clean up a track and remove any sound

from passages that should be silent - for

example, with a vocal track, to clean up

passages between verses which might

contain breathing or shuffling sounds.

With dynamic splitting you can tell REAPER

to go thru a take and clean up all the

passages where the vocalist isn't singing

and you want the take to be silent.

To do this, first select the media item then

right click over it and choose Item

processing, Dynamic split items… . You

then need to select the required parameters

before splitting.

Each potential split point is indicated by a

colored vertical line and those areas marked

for removal are shown as darker.

Dynamic splitting will be examined in more

detail in Chapter 9, in the context of tempo

based music production, but it can also be

used as explained in the table below.

Start with settings similar to those shown

here and adjust then as necessary.

When used in this way, dynamic splitting

basically employs a noise gate to tell

REAPER how often and where to split

your media items and which areas are to

be removed.

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Dynamic Split Option Setting to Remove Silent Passages

At transients Deselect this when using dynamic splitting to remove silent passages.

When gate opens

When gate closes

You would be unlikely to select one of these options without the other. Both of

these options need to be turned on, so that REAPER can work out the beginning

and end of each passage that is to be removed.

Reduce split When using dynamic splitting for this purpose this should usually be deselected.

Min slice length This sets the shortest length for any slice. You will probably need to experiment

to get it right. Usually, this should be set to a low value. Happily, REAPER's

dynamic splitting interface gives you immediate visual feedback. You can see by

looking at the screen when your settings are right. The illustration below shows

the effect of setting this value too high. Notice that it can result in some

recorded passages also being removed

Min silence length This is another parameter that will require fine tuning. Set too high it will fail to

catch all the periods of silence,

Threshold This setting is important, but usually has a reasonable range of acceptable

values. If made too low, unwanted sounds might pass thru the noise gate. If

set too high, you risk deleting quieter passages of the recorded material. Start

around -50dB and make any necessary adjustments from there.

Hysteresis Used to adjust the level at which the gate closes relative to that at which it

opens. Setting this closer to or even above 0dB will create more splits.

Display gate threshold

in media items

If enabled, this causes faint lines to be superimposed on the selected media

items to show the threshold level.

Remove silent areas This option should be enabled. Note that when ripple editing is enabled it will

be applied as silent passages are removed.

Fade pads Enabling fade pads can ensure a smoother transition from/to silence..

Other settings Leave them as shown here.

Presets Enables you to save and later recall any combinations of settings as presets.

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Dynamic Split Option Setting to Remove Silent Passages

Action to perform Split selected items

splits only selected items.

Split selected and

grouped items. Uses

the selected item(s) to

determine where on the

timeline the split will

occur. Also splits any

other group members.

Replace stretch markers in selected items or Replace stretch markers

in selected items and add to grouped items.

A group of items is defined by selecting them and pressing G, or by choosing

Group, Group items from the media item right-click menu.

Add stretch markers to selected items, or to selected items and

grouped items: stretch markers are explained in Chapter10.

Add transient guide markers to items: causes transients guide lines

(vertical broken lines) to be added to selected item(s), without splitting themt.

7.37 Item Peak Display Basics

REAPER’s default item waveform peaks display can be adjusted according to your wishes.

Note that any changes

you make to the peak display affect only the display, not the actual volume of the item

To do this … You need to do this ...

Increase/decrease peaks height Click in arrange view, press Shift Up arrow/Shift Down arrow.

Restore any missing peaks Run action Peaks: Build any missing peaks.

Rebuild all peaks Run action Peaks: Rebuild all peaks.

Restore original peak heights Run action Peaks: Reset peaks display zoom for project.

Restore peak height for selected

items

Run either Peaks: Rebuild any missing peaks for selected

items, or Peaks: Rebuild peaks for selected items.

Note: The actions list includes several more actions related to peaks and peaks display.

7.38 Normal Peaks and Spectral Peaks: Display Basics

Audio media items in arrange view are normally displayed as waveforms only based on

dB levels. You can change this to a spectral display in which the media item is colored

according to its audio frequencies, and in particular the most dominant frequency as it

changes thru time. An example is shown here (right).

Note that it is a diagnostic tool, designed to help identify and resolve issues in your

mix. It is

not

a silver bullet, nor does is it offer an instant fix for all your problems. Nor

is it intended that your eyes should replace your ears! By viewing your waveforms as a range of colors, you

might more readily be able to identify critical frequencies, especially where your ears are already telling you that

you have a problem, or at least a decision to make.

Spectral peaks can be helpful in recognizing content. For example, the lower and upper registers of a clarinet will

show as different colors. A flute will be different again. Some other

possible uses are:

● To identify and pinpoint precisely unwanted noise (such as low

end hum), or frequency spikes that you can hear in a track, or a

particular event in a track, such as a percussion hit.

● To identify the precise location of a note (e.g. when a distorted

guitar has been recorded).

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● To check the frequency at which a track's sounds are peaking for possible conflict with other tracks, or to

identify precisely where frequencies may need to be EQ'd.

● To check (for example) bass instruments for notes that are too quiet or too loud.

You can learn more about these concepts here

www.mat.ucsb.edu/~b.sturm/MAT201A/presentations/Fri/OhnandPark.pdf:

The command Options, Peak display mode gives you eleven options for choosing how peaks are to be

displayed, a further option to Scale peaks by squqare root

(half of range is 12 dBb rather than 6 dBb), and the option

to open your Peak Display Settings. The eleven display options

are also available from within the peak display settings window

(as shown below),

Use the Options, Peak display mode, Show spectral peaks

command to turn the display of spectral peaks on and Options,

Peak display mode, Normal peaks to turn them off. Another

peaks display mode option is Spectrogram: this will be

considered in the next section.

View, Peaks Display Settings opens this window (right).

● Display mode These include Normal Peaks, Spectral

Peaks, Momentary loudness and Short term loudness.

There are also options to display various

permutations.

● In Normal peaks + spectogram mode (above

right), the Peaks Display Settings window will include

an option to determine peaks display opacity.

● There are options to (… menu) Scale peaks by sq

root and to Open peak generation and caching

sdettings.

● The Display gain slider can be used to increase or

decrease the peak height, but do not affect volume.

● In any mode except Peaks, right-click on the color

display to open a context menu. Options are available to save, load, rename

loudness view presets.

Fade non-tonal content to theme peaks color: the color of audio that is

completely tonal will be determined by the frequency: noise will be the same color as

that assigned to the normal peak. In most cases, this will

result in a blend of the two.

● In Spectrogram+peaks mode the four horizontal controls

freq log, curve, contrast, and bright can be used to

modify the display – e.g. to emphasise low frequencies,

drag the freq log fader fully to the right.

Enabling spectral peaks will roughly double peak file size.

Generating these peaks uses a lot of RAM, especially if spectral

peaks are displayed while recording. Spectral peaks can be

enabled/disabled on a per track basis via a Track performance

option (Prevent spectral peaks/spectrograms) on the right-click

TCP context menu.

Shown here (right) is an example where Normal peaks +

LUFS-M graph has been selected. Options on the Media,

Peaks Generation page of Preferences which affect

spectral peak behaviour include several options to specify in

which circumstances spectral peaks should or should not be

generated.

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Peak Display Controls

In order to use this tool effectively you will need to understand and master its various controls. For example, if

you are focussing on low end rumble you will probably want the display to focus on the lower end of the

frequency spectrum. If dealing with high end resonance, you will wish to concentrate on higher frequencies.

Here is a summary of the controls available, in many cases by clicking and dragging your mouse. Getting to grips

with them all can be a bit tricky at first … you always have the Reset to defaults option!

A media item is made up of a whole range of frequencies (as can be seen, for example, if you place, say, ReaEq

in a track's FX chain). Spectral peaks are used to identify only the most dominant frequency at any point in time.

Note that the peak display settings window imclude s sliders that allow you to fine tune both the opacity and

the zoom factor used when displaying the peaks.

The Frequency Range (20hz to 10khz)

The display is divided into seven frequency bands. To adjust how the frequency range is divided between

these bands, click and drag the mouse left or right on the border between any two bands. Dragging right

helps you focus on higher frequencies, left on lower ones.

To adjust all colors used in the display, click and drag left or right over the color display.

To adjust only low colors, click and drag on left edge of color display.

To adjust only high colors, click and drag on right edge of color display.

Double click to restore the default display.

Presets (right click on graphic display area or click the … button)

The Save spectral view and Load spectral view commands allow you to save and recall up to ten

configurations as presets. The first five of these can also be loaded using actions (and therefore can be added

to custom toolbars and/or menus, and/or be assigned keyboard shortcuts.)

Spectrogram + Peaks Mode

In spectrogram + peaks mode, media items are displayed as both peaks and

spectograms, as shown on the right.

Spectral Peaks Mode

In spectral peaks mode, media item waveforms are colored dynamically

according to the dominant frequency.

By default, the color spectrum occupies the whole frequency range. You

can change this, for example, to use the entire color range for each

individual octave: this can help focus on smaller variations in frequency.

As an example, both of these images (below left) depict the same media

item. The first (top) example uses Set range to full spectrum. The

second example uses Set range to full spectrum every octave.

These options are available on the right-click menu above right) as well as a Reverse spectrum option.

Monetary Loudness and Short Term Loudness Modes

Loudness modes (LUFS-M and LUFS-S) are a more advanced topic, explained in the last section of this chapter.

Spectrogram Mode

In this mode, media items are displayed as a spectrogram. You can use for spectral editing. The display faders

(freq log, curve, contrast and bright) are useful here, especially the freq log control. Here is an example:

Shown here is the same media item with freq log

set to 0.0 (left), 5.0 (center) and 10.0 (right). Notice

that in the third image, the lower frequencies take

up about half the area of the display.

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7.39 Spectrogram View and Spectral Editing

Spectrogram view shows you a visual representation of all of an item's sound frequencies as they vary through

time, unlike spectral peaks which display only the dominant frequency .

Spectrogram view can be turned on globally either by choosing Show spectrogram from the Options, Peaks

display mode menu, or by selecting Spectrogram from the Peaks Display Settings window. This window

will be examined in more detail shortly. Using this global option can, however, be resource intensive. You might

wish to consider leaving this off, instead turning the option on only for media items as required, by choosing

Spectral edits, Show spectrogram from the media item's right-click context menu.

Spectral editing allows you to make edits to selected frequencies within an item, for example to remove

breathing sounds or sibilance, whilst leaving other frequencies intact. Shortly, we'll look an example of how this

can work in practise: first, a summary of its basics.

Defining an area within a media item for spectral editing.

Make a time selection, then right click on the item and from

the menu choose Spectral edits, Add spectral edits to

item. A box will be drawn around the selected area of the

item, as shown on the right. Click on the edge of a spectral

edit item (or on the shaded bar that runs left to right across

its center) to make its rotary controls visible.

Drag the edges of the box left or right to increase or decrease the time selection. Drag up or down from the top

or bottom to increase or decrease the frequency range. This can be done from the sides or the corners. An

example of this is shown above left.

Holding down Ctrl over any part of an edit item's top or bottom edge changes the

mouse cursor into a pencil. You can then make freehand

changes to the item area by clicking and dragging. An example

of this is shown on the right.

Holding Alt over any part of an item's edge changes the mouse

cursor to an X. You can use this (by dragging) to remove any

freehand drawn edges, replacing them automatically with a straight line (or lines).

Drag from the center of the item in any direction to move the selected area up or down

(change frequency range) and/or left or right (change time selection).

Let's now look at the eight rotary controls that operate on the selected area, located around

the box. Moving clockwise from the 12 o’clock position, these are:

High frequency fade: fades up or down the high frequencies. Works in conjunction with

the Spectral region gain knob.

Spectral region gain: fades up or down the gain level for the selected region.

The next two knobs together act as a compressor on the selected area: threshold (left) and ratio (right)

Moving threshold down to the left of the 12 o'clock position changes it into an expander.

The next two knobs act as a gate on the selected area: threshold (left) and floor (right). Below that, the

Spectral region fade out knob lets you control the rate at which the spectral edit item settings are faded out.

At the bottom is the Low frequency Fade: the knob at 9 o’clock controls the rate of spectral edit fade in.

All buttons: Right-click over any button (or on the center bar) for a menu of options (below right) which include

Delete spectral edit (removes the spectral edit box, does not delete media).

Bypass spectral edit and Solo spectral edit (for comparison). A submenu selects FFT size.

There is also an option in the Peak Display Settings to view both the peaks and the spectrogram, in parallel.

Note: Spectral display is pre track FX but post take settings. For example, it reflects changes in pitch from the

Item Properties dialog box or from a take pitch envelope, but not from a VST plug-in such as ReaPitch.

Example

This picture (left) shows the vocal at the end of a line that ends with a “T” sound. The

rightmost small shaded area represents an unpleasant “TT” where the singer has not let go of

the word. If we mute or remove the whole area, we will create a hole. The trick is to find and

remove only the unwanted part.

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First, add a spectral edit to

the problem area.

Now adjust area and lower

gain until it sounds right.

Introduce fades to both time

and frequency selections.

Throughout this

process, we make use

of the Bypass spectral

edit and Solo spectral

edit options during

playback, for

comparison purposes.

Stereo and Multichannel Items

When a spectral edit is added to a stereo or multichannel item

separate edit items are added to every channel, each with its own set

of controls. By default, changes made to one will be made to all.

However, the context menu allows you to select a single channel,

thereby leaving the item only on that channel. You can then right-click

again (shown right) and copy this item to all or any other channel.

Tp: Glue items will make your edits permanent and remove the

spectral editing box. Glueing creates a new media file but does not

remove the original file from your hard drive.

Tip: Spectrogram display can be enabled/disabled on a per track basis using the Track performance

options, Prevent spectral peaks/spectrograms option on the right-click TCP context menu.

Peaks Display Options and Actions

Options, Peaks display mode main menu options include:

Show normal peaks Show spectrogram

Show spectral peaks Show spectrogram and peaks

Show loudness peaks ** Scale peaks by square root (toggle)

Show loudness graph ** Rectify peaks (shown right) %%

%% Rectify peaks limits display to the top half of the waveform – handy if you have limited track height.

** Loudness graph and Loudness peaks options are covered in the next section. Note that the Actions List

includes many actions for peaks management: any of these can be assigned to toolbars, menus or shortcut keys.

Of special interest are a series of Toggle actions which can be used as a quick and easy way of switching

between display options – spectral peaks, spectrogram, spectrogram and peaks, rectify peaks, etc.

Spectral Edits: Mouse Modifiers, Preferences and other speed tips

You can use mouse modifiers (Options, Preferences) to define either or both of the actions Add spectral edits

to one/all channels to the left drag context for either Media item or Media item bottom half. Another speed tip

is that the shortcut Ctrl click on edits will allow multiple edits to be selected. Additionally, the actions list

includes numerous spectral editing actions that can be assigned to keyboard shortcuts.

REAPER’s preferences include a page Editing Behavior, Spectral Edits. You can specify default values for:

Fade-in (%, 0 default), Fade-out (%, 0), Low frequency fade (%, 0), High frequency fade (%, 0),

Gain (dB, 0), Compression (dB, 0), Compression ratio (:1. 1.0), Gate threshold (dB, -inf),

Gate floor (dB, -inf)

There are also options to Solo new spectral edits and specify a Default FFT size for take processors.

7.40 Loudness Unit Full Scale Modes (LUFS)

Unlike simple peaks, LUFS takes into account psycho acoustics rather than decibels alone. Thus, LFMS can reflect

more accurately how the listener will perceive the audio volume.

LUFS-S reports changes in loudness over very short time spans whereas LUFS-M reports a running average

through time, thus producing a smoother curve. Both options are available from the Options, Peaks display

mode menu and within the Options, Peaks display mode, Peaks display settings dialog.

The first illustration (left) displays LUFS-S measurement,

so that the graphical display responds quickly to rapid

changes in volume. The second illustration displays LUFS-

M measurement: such changes are largely evened out.

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Peaks Display Settings LUFS-M and LUFS-S

Display zoom (dB): adjusts height of peaks.

Display mode: selects one of the six available display modes, including LUFS-M and LUFS-S. Includes options

to show graph.

Opacity (color peaks only): adjusts opacity of the peaks.

The frequency range contains seven bands – a baseline, and six others, A to F. For each band you can specify its

color and:

- for bands A to E, the LU value at which the band starts.

- an LU value (sets the rate at which you transition into it (not for baseline, which is assigned an offset

LU value).

- whether or not that band is enabled.

You can save up to 10 presets for each view. There are

options to Discard recent edits, Reset loudness view to

default and Reset display preview window zoom/scroll.

REAPER’s Preferences, Appearance settings allow you to

enable tooltips displaying peak and loudness values above

waveforms. Presets can be managed from the … button menu,

along with an option to Open peaks generation and

caching settings in your preferences.

For spectral peaks the hue is based on the

dominant frequency and the saturation is

based on the signal’s tonality. The more

significant the dominant frequency is relative

to the whole signal, the more saturated will be the color.

Something very noisy will be close to a shade of grey: similarly

a sine wave will be a more deeply saturated color.

Get to know the Audio peak/waveform appearance page of

REAPER’s preferences. Options include:

Whether to display peaks, in which circumstances and in how much detail.

Whether to display MIDI cc lanes in arrange view, and if so how to present them.

Whether to display high resolution spectogram when zoomed in, and if so to what specifications..

Whether to tint media waveform peaks and/or media item, background, and to what specifications.

7.41 Sample Editing

Direct sample editing allows you to use your mouse as a pencil to draw edits

on to your audio items, as shown below. To access sample editing, select

the item and zoom right in to sample level. To enable this feature, select the

toggle command Take, Take sample edits from the context menu: your

mouse becomes a pencil which you can use to draw in

edits by dragging. Right click for a context menu which

includes:

Delete sample edit (or use Alt left drag)

Set sample value to zero (or use Shift Alt left

drag)

Delete sample edits in time selection

Set sample values in time selection to:

Zero, A straight line or An interpolated

curve

Spectral repair sample values in time

selection: see next section.

Scale sample values in time selection (to any

value between 0% and 200%)

Clear all sample edits

Bypass sample edits

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Zooming out again will automatically disable sample editing.

REAPER’s editing behavior preferences include an option to Automatically zoom to time selection when

running sample edits.

Check out the actions list for various actions which can be assigned to keyboard shortcuts. These include actions

to delete all sample edits, optionally for all channels.

7.42 Spectral Repair

Spectral repair can be useful, for example, for fixing pops and clicks present in a recording. It works by analyzing

the audio before and after the time selection and fixing the problem by adjusting the audio segment based on

the surrounding audio.

In spectogram view make your time selection and from the context menu choose Spectral edits, Spectral

repair samples in time selection. This opens the dialog shown here.

The Bias L/R slider determines whether content before or after the time selection is weighted more when

synthesizing.

The other faders adjust the values for scale, balance, DC and fade. In brief, their functions are:

Gain: This adjusts the width/range of the algorithm's influence across the frequency bands. Higher values

provide more detailed frequency precision, while lower values offer better time resolution.

Balance: This determines whether the resynthesized audio matches the surrounding audio perfectly (in terms

of amplitude and frequency) or if it relies more heavily on the original signal.

DC/Fade: These apply a fade-in or fade-out to the

boundary between the processed selection and the original

audio to avoid pops, clicks, or phase cancellation during the

edit.

Consider an example. We have detected unwanted noise on

an item. First, select the item in spectogram view (Options,

Peak display mode, Spectogram). The noise is clearly

visible, as shown (right).

We can make a time selection to select the offending area and then with the item still selected choose the

command Spectral edits, Spectral repair samples in time

selection.

This alone might be enough to fix the problem (right), but if

necessary you can adjust the parameters as required to get an

improved result.

The actions list includes several spectral repair actions, able to

be used when working in pencil sample edit mode.

7.43 The Pop and Click Remover

Pops and clicks can occur when recording if your buffer size (Options,

Preferences, Audio, Device, Request block size) is set too low,

thus making your computer work too hard when processing an audio

stream. A workable solution is to increase the buffer size as necessary,

e.g. to 128, 256 or 512. Note though that an increased buffer size will

increase latency.

Pops and clicks on your recordings can be removed using REAPER’s pop

and click remover. The process is:

1. Select the media item and choose the Edit, Repair Pops/Click command. This will open the Repair

Pops/Clicks dialog (shown below). The various options are explained below.

2. If you wish to specify detection settings (such as sensitivity) other than the defaults, click your mouse

on the Detection settings button. This will open the Pop/Click Detection Settings dialog. Again,

the various options are explained below.

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3. If you wish to specify repair settings other than the defaults, click on the Repair settings button. This

opens the Sample Edit Repair dialog. This is the same dialog as that used in the spectral repair

process shown above (section 7.41).

The Pop/Click Detection Settings dialog

sensitivity: the higher the sensitivity, the more clicks

will be detected.

frequency cutoff: clicks with a primary frequency

below this level will be ignored.

floor: clicks below this dB level will be ignored .

media item selection check box: if checked, then at

the end of the currently selected media item, the next

item will be selected and the process continued.

The Repair Pops/Clicks dialog

width: when a click is detected, a repair this wide is

created.

preview fader: when a click is detected, this is the

preview time that is played back on either side.

zoom: zoom in to the detected click.

preview button: preview the click, with the repair

applied if any.

repair: apply the repair.

previous/next: find the previous/next click.

The Sample Edit Repair dialog

This is explained in a section before this one, Spectral Repair.

Method

1. Select the media item that you wish to work on and position the play cursor at the start. If you wish,

use the Options, Peaks display mode command to choose a display mode (e.g. spectogram). Do

not

play the item!

2. With the item still selected, choose Repair pops/clicks from the main Edit menu.

3. Click on the Detection settings button to open the Pop/Click Detection Settings window, and

make any adjustments that you wish.

4. With the item still selected. Click on Next in the Repair Pops/Clicks window. The play cursor will

advance to the first pop/click that it finds.

5. Optionally, click on the Repair settings button to open the Sample Edit Repair dialog and make any

adjustments to the settings that you want.

6. In the Repair Pops/Clicks dialog click on Preview to audition the audio with the repair settings

applied. This enables you to tweak the various settings if you wish until you are satisfied.

7. When you are satisfied, click on the Repair button. Otherwise, adjust the Sample Edit Repair

parameters as required.

8. Click on Next (Repair Pops/Clicks dialog) to move on to the next pop/click detected.

Tip:

If you are unsure about this process, perhaps when using it for the first time, take a copy of the media item and

practice on that.

7.44 The Color Picker

You will encounter the color picker when using any of REAPER’s color options, such as coloring media items, the

track panel, or item notes, or using the theme adjustment tweaker. It opens up for you an extraordinary range

of color options which allow you to personalize REAPER’s appearance.

The color picker by default lets you use REAPER’s color palette to make your color choices. If you wish you can

choose instead to use any one of fourteen other color schemes available from the Palette drop down. If you do

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this, then dragging the bottom border of the dialog box down (to make it larger) will allow you to display both

palettes. This will give you further choices.

The HSV drop down list (defaulting to H+SV) lets you choose from five color models –

H+SV (Hue+Saturation+Value), V+HS, R+GB (Red+Green+Blue), G+BR, and B+RG. The

color display in the main palette will change with your selection. The fascinating science

behind color modeling is beyond the scope of this documentation: you do not need to

understand it in order to be able to choose your preferred colors.

Click on any of the 16 or (if you have chosen to display a second palette) 32 small color

squares to change the display in the main palette. Clicking anywhere on the vertical color

bar (immediately left of the main palette will also change the main palette display.

With auto-apply enabled, you are able preview your color choices in real time by right-clicking over any location

in the main palette area or any of the 16 smaller color boxes displayed in each selected palette.

The chosen color will be saved to your selected panels//tracks/items, etc. only when you choose OK. Choosing

Cancel will close the dialog without applying any changes.

User Defined Palettes

In all probability, many users will

find that all the options they need,

and more, are available from the

eleven pre-defined palettes that are

available.

However, if you do need to create a

user defined palette then follow this

simple method.

Select a user palette (User 1 to

User 4) from the Palette drop

down list.

As you scroll across the main

palette area, shift-click to add

any selected color to your

palette.

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8 Managing, Comping and Editing Takes
In Chapter 3 we saw how to create multiple takes when recording. In particular, make sure you are familiar with 
the sections that cover Displaying multiple takes, Using Color Coded Takes and Working With Multiple Takes. 
Editing techniques covered in Chapter 7 can be applied to editing a project with multiple takes.  You have two 
main methods at your disposal. You can:
 Explode all takes to new ordinary tracks. You can then work on and edit each track separately and (if 
you wish) join them all back to a single track when you have finished, 
or
 Explode all takes in place to fixed media item lanes. Fixed media item lanes will be considered from 
section 8.12 onwards.
 Work on and edit the various takes all within the single track on which they were recorded. We'll get to 
this method later in this section.
Unless stated otherwise, the examples in this section assume that you have free item positioning and fixed item 
lanes disabled for your tracks, and in preferences (Project, Track/Send Defaults). This is the REAPER default. 
Note: Most of the images shown in this chapter use the REAPER 5 color theme: the instructions, however, are 
exactly the same regardless of which theme you are using.
8.1 Using Item FX with Individual Takes
In Chapter 7 you learnt how FX can be added to individual media items. Where multiple takes exist on a track, 
each take can be assigned its own FX and FX chain. You can insert separate FX plug-ins into individual takes, as 
shown in the example here. Select the required take, then press Shift E to open the take add FX window.
If you have enabled the options Display media item take name and 
Draw labels above the item (both under Preferences, Appearance, 
Media), then any FX chain for the currently selected take will be included 
in the information displayed. In the example shown on the right, Take 2 is 
currently active: the FX names displayed are those FX assigned to Take 2. 
If you wish, you can insert the same FX into each take and apply different 
parameter settings for each one.
8.2 Exploding Takes to Multiple Tracks
We'll start by looking at the first of these two methods. Let’s suppose that we have recorded three takes of a 
vocal track. We can right click over the item and use the Take, Explode all takes to new tracks command.
This command creates (in this case) 
three extra as yet unnamed tracks – 
the original track with its three 
takes is still intact. Now suppose 
that after auditioning we have 
decided which parts we want to use 
from each take. In the next 
illustration, we have edited the various takes to leave only the portion of each take that we wish to keep. This 
has been done using various 
editing techniques that have been 
covered in Chapter 7.
Finally, we select the various items 
from tracks 3 and 4 and use the 
Num Lock 8 key to move them up 
to track 2. Track 1 is now muted 
and could of course be hidden. 
Tracks 3 and 4 could be deleted.
You could now select all of the items 
in track 2 and use the Glue Items 
command to bind them together as 
one media item. Note that the 
original muted track with the three takes on it is still available. This makes it easy at some later time for us to 
change our mind about what to include in the vocal track if we wish.
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Note: If you are using the REAPER 6 color theme default layout, the mute button is

located on the top right corner of the track panel, as shown here.

8.3 Crossfades with Takes

If you intend to arrange your media items so that

they overlap, then you should first decide whether or

not you want REAPER to add a crossfade. This feature is turned on and off using the

Auto Crossfade button on the main toolbar (or the keyboard shortcut, Alt X).

The curves of crossfades can be edited. You can extend the crossfade in either direction

by dragging the vertical fade bars. If you hold Shift while doing this, you can move the

crossfade itself left or right to a new position. Right-clicking over the crossfade reveals a

menu of different crossfade shape options (see left). Using these techniques can ensure

that an otherwise abrupt edit is made into a gradual transition at the best edit point.

Various options are available to you for customizing mouse behavior when crossfade

editing. These can be selected from the Editing Behavior, Mouse Modifiers page of your

Preferences – see also Chapter 15. An example of this shown here. For more advanced

crossfade editing, you might wish to use the Crossfade Editor (see Chapter 7)

8.4 Exploding Takes in Place

Another option is to use the Take, Explode all takes (in place) command. This has the effect of merging all

takes on the track into a single lane. Here's an example of when you might wish to do this. The track shown

here includes three lead vocal takes. You have made your selection of the best parts of each take. These have

had their individual item

properties (such as volume)

adjusted to give you the

sound that you want.

By exploding all takes in

place, the selected items are

placed over the other takes

in a single lane.

8.5 Play All Takes

Here's a really interesting trick you can do with takes. Shown here is a vocal track with an overdubbed vocal

harmony for just a short part. Both takes at that point have had individual pan and volume envelopes added, and

some delay and perhaps pitch shift FX to the second take's FX chain.

After selecting both these media items, right-click over either one of them and choose Item settings then Play

all takes. We can thus have our complete vocal and harmony mix on one single track! This setting is also

available from within the Item Properties window.

8.6 Editing and Comping Multiple Takes and Multiple Tracks

You don't need to explode takes to multiple tracks in order to manage them. In this section we'll see some of the

ways in which you can manage your takes all within a single track. In overview, this essentially consists of

selecting the best parts of each take and comping them together into a single take of your preferred selections.

Slice and Dice

When you choose the Option to Show all takes (when room) there is a neat technique known as

slice and

dice

that helps you combine the best of each take together, to play as one track. To do this, you simply Split the

track in as many places (and at the exact points) that you think appropriate, then select from each slice your

preferred section. The different methods that you can use for splitting are explained in Chapter 7.

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A clever trick is to make all of the items that together make up a complete set of preferred takes a different color

from the others. To do this, first choose your takes and select all of the media items (use marquee to do this),

then choose from the right-click menu Item and take colors, then Set active take to custom color (via the

Color Picker) or Set active take to one random color. These commands are also available from the media

item right-click context menu. An example of how this can be used is shown below.

Suppose that one of these takes consists of

an overdub of just a small portion of the

song. The option to Display empty takes

(Options, Take behavior menu) can be

enabled to ensure that your takes are

displayed more clearly. An empty part of a take (such as exist in Take 2 here) cannot be selected unless you

enable Allow selecting empty takes

(Options, Take behavior menu).

Note 1: If you prefer not to see the empty

takes, you can hide them by disabling

Display empty takes (Options, Take

behavior menu).

Note 2: When using “slice and dice” with MIDI takes, you should disable the option Allow trim of MIDI items

(Preferences, Media, MIDI), especially if you will need to adjust split positions.

Composite Take (Comp) Sets

Any sliced and diced item (as shown above),

or selection of such items (as shown right)

can be saved as a composite take (comp),

and recalled later if required. You can create

and save multiple comps for such items.

You can save multiple comp sets for

individual tracks (as shown above) and for multiple tracks (as shown right), where two tracks have been sliced

and diced differently.

With all media items in this set selected (use marquee), you can right-click over the selection and choose

Comps then Save as new comp from the context menu. You will be prompted for a name: this will be added

to the Comps menu and can be used to recall this comp. This makes it easier for you to compare different take

combinations.

Saved comp sets can be applied by selecting the media items (all takes) of the relevant tracks in arrange view,

then right c licking over the selection and choosing Comps then the comp name from the context menu. Here is

a summary of the commands on the Comps sub-menu.

Command Explanation

Save as new comp Saves your current selection of takes on all currently selected tracks as

a new comp set. You will be prompted for a name.

Rename active comp Lets you change the name of current active comp set.

Remove active comp Deletes selected comp set and removes it from the Comps menu. Does

not remove any takes or media items from the project itself.

Crop list to active comp Removes other comp sets from comps menu list.

Move active comp to the top Moves all items in take selection to the top of its track. This action

respects both item grouping and undo.

Comp names

Your comps will be listed at the end of the

Comps menu (see example right). Choosing

any of these will cause that set of takes to

be selected.

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In this example, we have created a second comp

set and colored it green. We can now switch

between comp sets at will.

Below right, with our preferred comp set selected

we use the command Move active comp to top.

Don't forget also that by pressing Ctrl L you can

toggle the display of vertically stacked takes on

and off, as shown below.

Tip: When you slice and dice lanes in this way,

you can use the Num Pad keys 1 and 3 to slide

items left or right if their timing is slightly out of

sync. The exact amount by which these keys will

slide your selected media item(s) will depend on

how closely you are zoomed in or out.

In the earlier stages of post production you might

want to use comp sets for individual tracks rather

than for groups of tracks. This gives you a more

flexibility in “mixing and matching” your various tracks together. Note also that comps are preserved when items

are split. Moreover, as your mix progresses towards its completion, you may find that it more advantageous to

save comped sets for whole selections of tracks, so that they can be recalled and used together.

Take Behavior Options

Note the three take behavior toggle

options on the Options menu. These

are mostly self-explanatory:

Display empty takes, Allow

selecting empty takes and Select takes for all selected items when clicking takes. Disabling this last

option allows you to work with takes on individual tracks within a track selection without losing the selection.

8.7 Take Menu Command Summary

The table below summarizes other Take menu management commands that are available to you:

Command (Shortcut) Explanation

Next take (T) Makes next take the active take for all selected media items.

Previous take (Shift T) Makes previous take the active take for all selected media items.

Delete active take (X) Deletes currently selected take on all currently selected media items.

Crop to active take (Alt Shift T) Removes all non-active takes from currently selected media items.

Duplicate active take Adds a copy of the active take to the item as a new take.

Lock to active take (toggle) Locks the current active take selection. When locked, a take cannot

be changed unless this toggle is used to unlock it.

Show FX chain for active take Opens FX browser to allow you to add FX to the active take.

Remove FX for active take Removes FX previously added to a take's FX chain.

Take envelopes... Opens a window from which you

can choose to add a volume, pan,

mute and/or pitch, and/or any

take FX parameter automation

envelope. (see Chapter 18)

Take markers See section later in this chapter.

Explode all takes to new tracks Copies each take to a new track.

Explode all takes in place Places takes on top of each other, so that all will play at once.

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Command (Shortcut) Explanation

Explode all takes (in order) Places selected takes on the same track in sequence.

This command turns this …. into this:

Implode items across tracks

into takes:

Copies all selected items to a single track as a series of takes. This

command turns this ….……..… into this:

Implode items on same track

into takes:

Moves all selected items to the same start time as a series of takes

on the same track. This command turns this …. into this:

Paste to takes in items Pastes previously selected and cut or copied takes into selected

tracks as a new item.

There are also additional actions, not shown on the menu, that are available in the Actions List.

8.8 Propagating Takes

In Chapter 7 you were shown how to copy a media item's properties and characteristics to all similar media items

on the same track or on all tracks. The same principle can be applied to takes, using either of the Item

processing commands Propagate take to similarly named active takes on track or Propagate take to

similarly named active takes (all tracks). Here is an example.

In this example, three takes of a media item have been split into three sections. All takes share the same name

(Vox.mp3). FX have been added to the active take for the first section, as have an envelope and a fade out. By

choosing Item processing, Propagate take to similarly named active takes on track from the context

menu, we ensure that these features are copied to the other active takes on this track:

Notice that although the envelope is copied, the envelope points are not.

8.9 More Take Commands and Actions

The Items context menu includes six commands which create a new take from an existing item. The first four of

these all involve applying track effects to an existing media item: the first three create a new audio take and the

fourth creates a new MIDI take. The table below summarizes these commands.

Command Explanation

Render items as new take Renders the existing media item as a new take. Any MIDI items

with take FX (such as VSTi) will be rendered as audio.

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Command Explanation

Reverse items as new take Adds a new take to the media item with the content reversed.

Here's an example. Starting with this … we end up with this:

Apply track/take FX to items as new

take - creates a new stereo take for the

selected item.

Apply track/take FX to items as new

take (mono output) – creates a new

mono take for the selected item.

Apply track/take FX to items as new

take (multichannel output) – creates

a new take for the selected item, with

the same number of channels as are

defined in the track's routing window.

Apply track/take FX to items as new

take (MIDI output) – creates a new

MIDI take on selected MIDI item.

One use for these commands is to

free up CPU if your system is

becoming stressed. Consider an

example of a track with some FX in

its FX chain, say EQ and a

compressor:

After applying track FX (mono output), we have a new take with

the FX applied to it. The original FX

chain can now be set to bypass:

This reduces CPU overload, and

opens up creative options- e.g. you

can select Play all takes then use

pan and volume envelopes to vary

their placement and relative volume throughout the song.

8.10 Item Take Markers

REAPER supports project markers and take markers. Project markers are explained in Chapter 9. Take markers

are attached not to a point in time on the project timeline but to a specified location within a specific media item.

Thus, by using take markers you are easily be able to identify and jump to any marked point in any item or take.

If the media item is moved, the marker is moved with it. If the item is modified (e.g., by changes to its playback

rate or by stretching) then the marker position will be adjusted accordingly. To create a take marker:

●

Position the mouse cursor and select the media item or take: the play/edit cursor

should automatically jump to the required position. Choose Take markers,

Add/edit take marker at cursor (from either the main Item menu or the

media item right click context menu).

● In the Edit Take Marker dialog type a name and either set the color of your

choice or accept the default.

● Click on OK. The take marker will be displayed on the media item itself (as shown above).

In order to do this …

… you should do this.

Turn on/off snapping to

markers

Enable/disable snap to selection/markers/cursor in the snap dialog. Snap on

also requires that snap to media items be enabled.

Add a take marker to an

item

Follow the instructions above (from first bullet point).

If the item has multiple takes, select the required take before doing this.

Add take marker during

playback or recording *

Run the action Item: Quick add take marker at play position or edit

cursor. Double-click to edit it later if you wish to add a name.

Move a take marker Position mouse cursor over the diamond shaped mark then left click and drag.

Copy a take marker Use Ctrl left drag.

Edit a take marker Double-click on the diamond shaped mark (e.g. to change its name or color).

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In order to do this …

… you should do this.

Delete take marker * Alt click on marker,

Select take marker, then choose Delete take

marker at cursor or Delete take markers in time selection or Delete

take markers in item from Take markers menu.

Jump to take marker Press Ctrl J to open Jump to dialog. Type the letter k followed by an

apostrophe and the marker name to jump to a specified take marker. E.g. to

go to a take marker called

glitch

, you would type k’glitch in the jump to box.

Up-rank or Down-rank take

markers.

See Comping with Take Markers to see how take markers (including up-

ranked and down-ranked take markers) can be used as an aid to comping.

Move play cursor to next/

previous item take marker

Use actions in Action list. These can be assigned to keyboard shortcuts if you

wish. For other relevant actions search or

take marker

in the Actions List.

Tip 1: The Region/Marker Manager (Chapter 9) provides an environment where you are able to manage

your take markers – for example to edit or delete them, rename them, reposition them, change color, and so on.

Tip 2: The media item take marker section of your mouse modifiers enables you to customize take marker

behavior for left drag, left click and double click.

8.11 Comping with Ranked Take Markers

Ranked take markers can assist you in exploring and evaluating your options when comping, whether you are

using legacy takes or fixed media lanes. The example that follows uses legacy takes, but these techniques can

also be adapted to apply when working with fixed media lanes. (With fixed media lanes you will need to enable

Allow editing source media while comping from the right-click Comping menu.)

Take markers added to sections of each take can be up-

ranked (yellow face) or down-ranked (red face). This

can assist you in identifying where to slice and dice your

takes and in removing unwanted segments.

Note the section of the Take Markers context menu

shown on the right. These commands can be used to

add and work with up/down ranked take markers.

You might find it rather clumsy to work with the mouse

both to move around the mouse cursor and use right-

click context menus at the same time.

For this reason, you should familiarise yourself with

some of the keyboard shortcuts that are available

perform many of these tasks. Some examples of these

are listed below. You might also wish to add some of

your own to suit your own workflow.

Before we start, make sure that you are familiar with basic item take marker management techniques as outlined

earlier in this chapter. These include snapping to, moving and deleting take markers.

Examples of Default (**) and Suggested (##) Keyboard Shortcuts

Split item at edit or play cursor ** S Insert marker at current position ** M

Go to next take ** T Go to previous take Shift T

Up-rank take marker at play position or edit cursor ## Num + (see Tip 1 below)

Down-rank take marker at play position or edit cursor ## Num - (see Tip 1 below)

Delete take marker at mouse position ## K

Split items(s) at time selection or razor edit Shift S **

Tip 1 After assigning Num + and Num - you can still zoom in/out horizontally using the up and down arrows.

Tip 2: Consider keeping the Region/Marker Manager open as a secondary option when editing take markers.

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Example

There is no “one size fits all” method of working with take markers. This example

outlines one possible approach to help you to understand some possibilities. It

shows a simple item with three takes. We can split it into segments then use take

markers to evaluate and ultimately select a preferred take in each segment.

1. We can split the item into segments adding a marker at each split. This makes

it easier to navigate accurately and quickly between segments. Pressing the

marker number key (e.g. 1, 2, or W to return to the beginning) will navigate us

to any required marker position.

2. We can select the first segment and press Home (or W) to move the cursor to

the start position. Pressing T will cycle through the takes for auditioning. Pressing

Num + will add an up-rank (yellow) marker at the current position. Pressing

Num - will add a down-rank (red) marker. For any we especially like, repeating

Num + will add an additional happy face marker, up to five.

3. We repeat this process for the other

segments. At any time we can go back and use

Alt click to remove unwanted markers or. We

can also add up-rank/down-rank take markers

anywhere else that we need to, not only at the

markers. Eventually we might end up with

something similar to that shown here (above right).

4. We can select the whole item and use the Take Markers context menu

command This track, Delete takes that are down-ranked to remove those

takes that we definitely do not like (as shown left).

After further auditioning we can delete any unwanted up-ranked take markers

so as to leave only one marker per segment. Then Take Markers, This track,

Delete takes that are not up-ranked will leave us with only the best take in

each segment (as shown left).

A Different Approach

Another approach is to define the take markers first and split the items

afterwards.

In this case, the three up-ranked markers have each been added individually

by making a time selection, selecting the required take and then choosing

from the Take markers context menu Add up-ranked marker at time

selection.

The Take markers context menu command This track, Split items at

take markers (all takes) will now split the item as shown on the right.

Take markers, This track, Delete takes that are not up-ranked can

now be applied to this item. Pressing Ctrl L will now cause your preferred

takes to be displayed in a single lane.

Note:

Up/down-ranked take markers added in this way can be lengthened or shortened by picking up the end with

your mouse and dragging to the right or left.

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8.12 Fixed Media Item Lanes
This section requires an understanding of REAPER’s recording techniques, including layered recording (see 
sections 3.1 to 3.5 and 3.14. Some understanding of REAPER’s legacy takes system is also recommended.
Media item lanes offer you a way of working that goes beyond the limitations of REAPER’s basic track structure.
By default, media items will fill the entire vertical space of 
the track on which they are recorded. If the media items 
overlap, they are auto-arranged vertically based on your 
media item properties settings. Media items that overlap 
interact during playback according to the project 
settings (Project settings, Advanced, Item mix 
behavior), preferences settings (Preferences, Project, 
Item fade defaults, Preferences, Project, 
Track/Send Defaults (shown right), and Preferences, 
Appearance, Zoom/Scroll/ Offset), track settings, 
and/or media item properties for item mix behavior 
(shown above right). If media item and project settings 
differ from each other, media item settings will apply.
With free item positioning you can freely position and resize media items within the vertical space of the track. 
However, this feature is not designed with project building in mind. Fixed media item lanes offer you various 
tools and techniques for building projects. They can be used to record, layer, edit, manage and comp material. 
They are effectively tracks within tracks, up to 256 lanes within a single track:. REAPER then gives you multiple 
options to treat these tracks individually, linked by comping, or in other ways related.
To give you some idea of where we’re eventually going here is a relatively simple example::
Look at the above illustration. Notice:
 The track shown comprises three lanes, labeled in a lanes panel (top to bottom) C1, 1 and 2. 
 Lanes 1 and 2 are two takes of the same tune. Lane C1 is a work in progress comp of the best parts of 
lanes 1 and 2.
 To the right of the track panel a new section has been added: this shows a labeled button for each lane 
(in this example, three buttons) as well as housing its own right-click context menu. Those options whose 
initial defaults are determined by your preferences settings can here be over-ridden for individual projects.
8.12.1 Recording and Layering Media Items -Example
We can begin by working through a relatively straightforward example, to help understand the basics, then go 
on to consider more powerful and complex models.
1. Make sure that the following conditions are set on your Options menu:
Record mode normal
Offset overlapping media items vertically
Overlapping recording behavior then either Add lanes or (if you prefer) Add lanes (layer new 
lanes). This latter option should only be chosen if you wish to play the new material along with any 
existing lanes.
2. Create a new, empty project file (Ctrl N). Add a track and either (using an instrument of your choice) 
record a tune for about a minute, or import an existing media file. 
3. Insert a new track after your recorded track. Expand its height to be similar to that shown above.
4. Now record, one at a time, two takes of a second instrument, to go with your first track, 
both on the 
same track, one over the top of the other
. When finished, disarm the record button.
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Your arrange view display should

now be something like this (right).

There’s a lot to see here, including

those buttons, so let’s make sure we

understand what’s happened.

Two separate media items have been

recorded and are displayed in lanes

one above the other. By default, only

one item will play back: there are options to change this, for example, to play a selection of lanes, or all lanes.

They each exhibit all the properties of any media item, for example:

 You can double click on any item to access and edit its media properties, such as pitch, pan, etc.

 Keep in mind that Options, Preferences, Appearance, Media will allow you, for example, to add a volume

knob or FX button to items: you can then add FX and FX parameter envelopes.

 You can split items and edit individual segments independently of each other.

 Check out your Fixed Lane Default options at Preferences, Project, Track/Send Defaults). These include

small or big lanes, whether to show/play only one lane, hide lane buttons, for media items in higher

numbered lanes to mask playback of lower numbered lanes, to allow editing source media while comping,

to create comp areas for new recording while comping.

8.12.2 Managing and Editing Items

Right click over (or just below) either of the buttons to display a context menu. Note that

this includes a set of three playback commands – Play only (selected) lane, Toggle

playing lane and Play all lanes. Where there are multiple lanes, you can select any

number of lanes to be played back by Ctrl click on the lane names.

When layering, the tricks and techniques described below are at your disposal.

Menu option/Mouse option Comments

Select playback lane(s) from

Click on a lane’s button/ Right click in lanes panel, select Play only

lane, Toggle playing lane or Play all lanes from menu.

Select lanes to play

Click on first lane’s button then use Ctrl click to build selection.

Select items

Selects all media items in currently selected lane.

Duplicate items to new lane

Copies all media items in currently selected lane into a new lane. Use

this, for example, if you have “dry” recorded material and you want to

experiment with editing and/or using FX,

Recording, Record into lane

Recording, Record into first

available lane

Recording, Layer new lanes

Select lane for recording and choose

Recording, Record into lane from menu. A

red dot will be displayed. Can be used, for

example, for overdub recording (shown here).

You can also enable Play only this lane.

If Record into first available lane is disabled, a new lane will be

created for every recording.

If Layer new lanes is enabled new lanes will play alongside any lanes

already playing: otherwise only the new lane will be played.

Toggle a track’s fixed item

lane status on/off

Right click over the track’s control panel and use the toggle command

Fixed item lanes on the context menu.

Change selected lane when

height is in collapsed state

Click on Up/Down arrows on the single displayed

track button.

Add empty lane at bottom

Adds lane as last lane in track. Media items can be dragged from

elsewhere and dropped inside this lane.

Delete, Auto delete empty

lanes at bottom of track

Will remove any unwanted empty lanes at bottom of track.

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Menu option/Mouse option Comments

Insert new empty lane above

this lane

Inserts an empty lane as specified. Use drag and drop to insert

previously recorded media items into this lane.

This could be a reference track to be played with new recorded items.

You can use Record into an existing lane to record into it.

Insert a media item into a

new lane.

Drag and drop item into the striped parking

area located below the last lane.

Rename lane

By default lanes are named in sequence – 1,2, 3 etc. To rename any

lane, double-click on the lane name, type the name and click OK.

Media item playback option

Option for Media items in higher numbered lanes to mask

playback of lower lanes.

Delete lanes (with submenu). Options to Delete lanes (inc media items), Delete all other lanes,

Delete all lanes with no media items, Delete lanes (inc media)

that are not playing, Delete lanes (inc media) with no comp

areas and Delete all lanes (inc media items).

Item colors (with submenu) Set all items that share the same media source to the same

random color or Set items in all lanes to one color per lane.

Manage lane display options

Disable/enable fixed lanes

Right-click on lane collapse button for

toggle options for Big/small lanes, to

Show/play only one lane (Shift

click), to Hide fixed lane buttons (Alt

click) and to Disable fixed lanes

(hide non-playing lanes).

Manage ripple edit options

(on toolbar)

Right click ripple edit tool on toolbar: turn on/off Ripple edit affects

each track lane separately.

8.12.3 Comping with Media Item Lanes

Using your mouse you can quickly and easily build a comp (or comps) from your media item lanes. One

important difference between this and REAPER’s legacy comping system is that

the material is

comped into new items

. Your original items are not modified in any way.

To turn comping on in a new lane, from the lane panel’s context menu choose Comping,

Comp into new empty lane. A new lane will be inserted above the existing lanes. Shown

here, it is labeled C1 – Rename lane from the context menu lets you change this.

To toggle comping on/off in an existing lane, double-click on the required lane button.

It’s a good practice to finish any edits on your source media items before you begin comping. Comping, Allow

editing source media while comping can be toggled on/off from the context menu. Even with this option

turned off you will still be able to perform edits on the contents of comped lanes.

Use left drag to define areas to be comped. Shown here an area has been

selected from each of the two media lanes. They do not meet up. To fix this,

simply drag the border on either of the two areas towards the other, as shown

below left. You can then if you wish drag this border either left or right to adjust

the relative comp areas, as shown below right.

The vertical yellow marker lines in comp lanes can

be used to adjust the borders between segments.

Note that comping actions copy the comped

segments as new media items. The items in comp

lanes can be edited (e.g. by adding FX or fades)

without affecting the original media in the source

lanes in any way. Below is a summary table of various comping tasks, commands and actions.

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Context menu command Items in Comp Lane - Comments

Split comp area here Splits comp area at current cursor position.

Delete comp area Deletes comp area under mouse cursor and removes media from comp.

Delete comp area but not

media items

Removes comp area but leaves media item in place.

Delete comp area edge Removes edge line between two comp areas in same lane.

Add comp area at time

selection

Adds a comp area matching current time selection.

Track panel context menu Comments

Fixed item lanes Toggles fixed item lanes status on/off.

Panel context menu Comments (see also Managing Comp Lanes, below)

Comping, Delete comp

area inc source media

Removes all comp areas from selected lane along with the actual media.

Comping, Turn off

comping

Turns comping off. To turn it back on, use one of the Comp into …

commands explained below.

REAPER Options menu Comments

Offset overlapping items

vertically

Can be toggled off if you wish to show cross-faded comped material

overlapping.

Snap/grid, Snap/grid

settings

Toggle options to Snap media items to media items in other fixed

lanes and Snap fixed lane comp area to media items.

Tip: Working with comp lanes can involve a lot of mouse movements, and especially dragging. It can be quite

tricky at first, and you might find that you slip up from time to time! A handy tip is to keep your Undo History

window open so that if you do get into strife you can easily go back to your last known safe spot.

8.12.4 Managing Multiple Comp Lanes

To add additional comp lanes, from the context menu choose Comp into a new empty lane. You can drag

and drop this new lane up or down the lane order.

To make a copy of a currently active comp lane for further editing either use

the context menu command Comping, Comp into a new empty lane,

automatically creating comp area. Note that this command prioritises

higher numbered lanes over lower numbered lanes.

These commands, as well as Comping, Comp into new copy of this lane and Comping, Comp into this

lane, are also available on the track panel’s right click context menu.

When you have multiple comping lanes to change which one is active Shift Ctrl click over the lane button.

To make an empty media lane into a comp lane, Double click on its panel button.

There is also a menu option Comping, Refresh comp areas with no matching media in comping lanes.

When working with multiple lanes which include material you might need to prioritise lanes. The context menu

toggle option Media items in higher numbered lanes mask playback of lower lanes can be useful here.

This can be turned on by default in your Project, Track/Send Defaults preferences settings.

See Mouse Modifiers for Power Users for a full list of relevant mouse modifiers.

Mouse Gestures in Comp Lanes and Media Lanes

By default you can edit media items in comp lanes in the same way as other media items. To make this possible

without interfering with your comping, you will see that comp lanes are horizontally divided into two areas.

When the comp lane is selected the larger upper area behaves like any normal track. You can make time

selections, edit media items and so on by using your mouse in this area. The smaller lower area can be used for

comping – for example, to drag and move comp borders.

You can make a time selection in the upper area, then right click in the lower area within that selection and Add

comp area at time selection. This inserts two yellow marker lines and creates an area that you can fill later.

This will not apply to your media lanes if you have Allow editing source media while comping disabled.

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8.12.5 Editing Media Items

Ideally you’ll want to finish media item edits before comping. However, you might need

to make edits to one or more of your items after you have begun comping.

In this case, you can enable editing using the context menu toggle command Comping,

Allow editing of source media while comping. The display changes, as shown on

the right. The top half of each source lane is where you make your edits. The bottom

half highlights your comped segments, as shown here (right).

Your editing can include fades and/or crossfades. Any fades/crossfades applied to media

in the source media lanes will also be applied in the comp lane. However, the fades in

the comp lane can be edited independently if you wish, as shown here (below right).

Double-click in the crossfade area if you want to access the crossfade editor.

It is possible that in making your edits your source item could now get out of sync with your your comp lane.

Happily, the area of the source lane that was originally copied to the comping lane will remain

highlighted: clicking there is one way to restore the original comp area and remove whatever

edits were made in that lane.

Another option is to use re-comping: choose Comping, Copy edited media items to new

lane and re-comp (Shift left click) from the comp area context menu. This will preserve

comp lane edits by moving them to a new source lane and creating a new comp area so that the edits are copied

right back to the comp lane. Thus, the edits become a new source lane alternative which is available for you to

use while comping.

Other options are Copy all edited media items to new lane and re-comp, Copy edited media items

back to source lane and re-comp and for unsynced media items Discard media item edits and recomp

from source lane.

When you have finished editing, remember to disable Allow editing of source media while comping.

8.12.6 Sealing the Deal

So … you’ve finished editing and comping your media items, what now? You might

wish to protect your comps from any accidental damage. You have a number of

options. For example, two possibilities are:

 Right-click on the comp lane’s control button and choose Show only lane

from the context menu. This will collapse the track as shown here.

Marquee all items in the comp lane, press F2 to open the Media Item Properties window. Select

Lock then OK. From the track panel context menu disable Fixed Item Lanes for this track. ..or...

 Marquee all items in the comp lane then Ctrl drag and drop to copy to a new track.

With all items still selected, press F2 to open the Media Item Properties window.

Select Lock then OK.

Use the Track Manager to mute and hide your original track.

8.12.7 Converting Takes to Lanes

Existing tracks that using REAPER’s legacy takes system can be converted to fixed item lanes. Select the track,

from the right click menu choose either Fixed item lanes or Fixed item lanes (convert takes to lanes).

Thus this …

Becomes this ...

Then, after turning on

Comping, Comp into new

empty lane.

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8.12.8 Preferences and Options

REAPER’s Appearance, Track Control Panel preferences include an option to specify default behavior for the

fixed lane collapse button, to toggle between showing one or many lanes, and displaying lanes as big or small.

Project, Track/Send Defaults includes an option to make fixed item lanes the default for new tracks. Other

default options include small or big lanes, show/play only one lane, hide lane buttons, allow editing of source

media while comping, record into first available lane, create comp areas for new recording while comping.

Assignable Actions for Power Users

The actions list includes numerous fixed lane

comp area actions which can be assigned to

keyboard shortcuts, or toolbar buttons, or as

mouse modifiers. For more details of options, see the Actions List (Actions, Show actions list).

Add comp area for lane under mouse

Move comp area up/down

Set loop points

(inc with half or one second preroll/postroll)

Split comp area

Split media items

Move comp area

Razor edit: create comp area

Copy comp lane items

Delete comp areas

Play only most recent playing lane

Move items down to next available lane

Delete lanes

Turn comping on/off

Explode takes on selected tracks to fixed lanes

Set various options for all fixed lane tracks

Make all lanes big or small

Show only one lane or all lanes.

New recording adds lanes

New recording adds lanes in layers

New recording does not add lanes

Mouse Modifiers for Power Users

Fixed lane comp area – Left drag

Default action Move comp area.

Shift Move comp area ignoring snap.

Ctrl Copy both comp area & media item.

Shift Ctrl Dito, together ignoring snap.

Alt Move comp area and media items.

Shift Alt Move comp area & media items, no snap.

Shift Ctrl Alt Move comp area and a

Fixed lane comp area – Left click

Default action Move comp area to lane under mouse.

Shift Comping, Copy edited media items to

new lane and re-comp

Alt Delete comp area including media item.

Shift Alt Heal comp area with previous adjacent

comp area in same lane.

Ctrl Alt Delete comp area but not media item.

Shift Ctrl Alt Extend comp area to next comp area or

end of media.

Fixed lane comp area – Double click

Shift Set loop points to comp area.

Ctrl Extend comp area to next comp area

or end of media.

Fixed lane header button – Left click

Default Play only this lane.

Ctrl Toggle playing this lane.

Alt Play only this lane while mouse button

is pressed.

Fixed lane header button – Double click

Default action Comp into lane.

Shift Select items in lane.

Ctrl Toggle playing this lane.

Shift Ctrl Insert lane.

Alt Delete lane (including media items).

Fixed lane comping preferences:

The Editing behavior, Fixed lane comping section of preferences includes options to manage some of the

potentially trickier parts of aspects of fixed lane comping behavior.

Further explanations and help messages are included on that page.

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Tempo Based Production, Loops, Markers and Regions

9 Tempo Based Production, Loops, Markers and Regions

Note: Many of the arrange view illustrations used in this chapter use earlier REAPER default themes and color

schemes. The information and instructions, however, are still accurate and correct for REAPER 7.

9.1 Creating Loops

Any audio, MIDI or click source Item can be

looped. Indeed, by default REAPER media

items are loop enabled. You can disable this

for individual items in the Media Item

Properties dialog box, or globally (for MIDI

and imported items) on the Project, Item

Loop Defaults page of your Preferences.

The loop point is defined by the duration of the source media. If you insert an item that is four bars long, it will

loop every 4 bars, if it is 8 bars, it will loop every 8 bars, etc. Note that in the following examples, if you are

using beats for your timebase, the item must be an exact number of beats in length, or it will not loop in sync. If

necessary, adjust the playback rate (Media Properties) while preserving pitch, then glue the item to do this.

To Loop an entire Item:

1. Hover the mouse over the edge of an

Item until the Cursor changes to a

double-headed arrow (see right).

2. Drag the Cursor to extend the Item.

Each loop point will be indicated by a

notch in the item edges.

3. The length, start time and end time of the looped item will be displayed as you drag the edge of the loop.

Cropping and Looping:

If you wish to loop only part of an item, then one method is to

first crop and glue the item.

1. Make sure snapping is enabled. Hover the mouse over the

edge of the Item until the Cursor changes to a double-

headed arrow. Click and drag the mouse in on the item to

make it shorter, so that you are left with only that part of

the item that you want to use as the basis of the loop.

Release the mouse button.

2. Right click over the item and choose Glue items.

3. Now drag the Cursor to extend the Item. Each loop point

will again be indicated by a notch in the edges of the

item. Extend the loop as required.

Changing Playback Rate:

There may be times when you will wish to

change an item's playback rate, for

example to keep it in sync. Taking the

same example as above, you would first

display the Item Properties box, and most

probably make sure that Preserve pitch

when changing rate was selected. You

could then change the Playback rate (for

example, to 2.0). This would have the

effect shown here. The original item

(looped) as shown above has had its

playback rate modified (right).

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Creating a Loop from a Time Selection

Another way of creating a loop from only part of an item is to select the

required item, highlight the required part of it as a time selection, right

click, choose Copy loop of selected area of items, remove the original,

then paste in the loop in its place. This is shown here:

1. Select first the source item, then select the area to be

looped (see above). Either press Ctrl Alt L or right click

and choose Copy loop of selected area of item.

2. Select the track and position to which you want the

item copied.

3. Press Ctrl V to paste in the area to be looped.

4. Drag the cursor from the edge of the item as before to

create the loop.

9.2 Creating and Navigating with Project Markers

Project Markers are like bookmarks. They can help you when you are navigating, arranging and editing your

projects. T can be inserted at the current Edit Cursor position, whether or not the project is being played.

Action Shortcut Effect

Insert, Marker command M Inserts numbered Marker at present position.

Insert, Marker ( prompt for

name) command

Shift M Inserts numbered Marker at present position and opens

dialog which prompts for a marker name.

Other options include Set color... to color the marker

via the Color picker.

Right click mouse over marker Displays menu to Edit Marker or Remove Marker.

Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Default Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts for creating and navigating with markers are:

To do this ... Mouse/Keystroke

Go to marker 1 thru 10. 1

thru 0

on main keyboard, not Num Pad.

Move marker 1 thru 10 to cursor position, or create

new marker if no marker of that number exists.

Ctrl 1

thru

Ctrl 9

and

Ctrl 0

Go to next marker/ project end or previous marker/

project start.

] or [

To jump to any marker. Ctrl J opens Jump To dialog. Type m and marker

name or number – e.g. m2 to jump to marker 2.

Jump to marker using the Transport Bar. Right click on Transport Bar then Jump to

marker

Open Edit marker dialog (e.g. to add or change

marker name or change marker color).

Shift double-click on marker number. Type a

new name, or click on Set color.

Make loop selection in REAPER's main arrange view or

in the MIDI Editor piano roll view.

Double-click on ruler between two markers

Select area between the two markers. Double click on timeline between markers

Move a marker. Click and drag marker along timeline

Remove a marker. Alt Click on marker

Example

This example illustrates the use of markers. Before you begin, on the Options menu, enable the option Loop

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Tempo Based Production, Loops, Markers and Regions

points linked to time selection.

1. Open the sample file All Through The Night.RPP and immediately save it as All Through The Night

MARKERS.RPP

2. Play the song, pausing playback immediately before where

the vocal starts. Press Shift M. When prompted, type as

the name Verse 1 Start and press Enter

3. At the end of the first verse, press Shift M again, name this

marker Verse 1 End and press Enter.

4. Create similar markers for the start and finish of Verse 2 and

Verse 3. If you are displaying the ruler in minutes and

seconds these will be at or around 0:57, 1:35, 1:43 and

2:31. Save the file.

5. Press 1 on your keyboard (not the numeric keypad). Notice the edit cursor jumps to the start of Verse 1.

6. Press 2. Notice it jumps to the end of Verse 2.

7. Double click on the timeline ruler (not the markers row) between markers 2 and 3. Notice that this area is

now looped and will play repeatedly.

8. Right click over the timeline and choose Zoom selection. You could now do any close editing work

required for this selection.

9. Press Esc to clear the selection, then Ctrl PgDn to restore the whole project to view. Save the file.

Note: Do not use the names =START or =END when naming ordinary markers. These names should be used

only when creating special markers which can be used to denote the start and end of a project. This information

will be used by REAPER when rendering an entire project to audio media (see also Chapter 21).

9.3 Time Selection Start/End Markers

REAPER treats the start and end of any current time selection as

floating markers. The shortcut keys for Go to next marker and Go

to previous marker are ] and [. These will also find the start or end

of the current time selection and move the play cursor there.

You can also right-click over the Go to start button and enable the

option Use transport home/end for markers. The Go to start and Go to end buttons will now find the

previous/next marker or start/end of a time selection when one is current.

9.4 Snapping to Markers

You might wish to ensure that when you are

making a time selection, the boundaries of the

selection will automatically snap to nearby

markers at the start and/or end of the time

selection (if any such markers are present).

Consider the portion of the Snap/Grid

Settings shown on the right. Notice that

snapping has been enabled, with a snap distance of 10 pixels defined.

With snapping

disabled

, it can be quite difficult to

make a selection which starts or ends exactly at

a marker. When you attempt to make such a

selection, you might end up with the selection

shown in the first of the screen shots below.

Notice that the end of the selection doesn't quite

match the marker.

However, in the second example shown, with

snapping

enabled

and the settings shown above,

if you drag the selection to within 10 pixels of the marker position, the selection will automatically snap to the

marker when you release the mouse. Notice the effect of making exactly the same selection with the above snap

settings disabled (left) and enabled (right).

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Example

In the first screen shot (below), a project contains two markers, at the start and at the end of the project.

Suppose that you wish to reposition Marker 2. Simply position the edit cursor there and then press Ctrl 2.

Now let us suppose that you want to create Marker 4 at the end of the song, reserving Marker 3 for a position

as yet unspecified. You can position the edit cursor at the end of the song and press Ctrl 4.

9.5 Removing Markers

There are two main methods of removing unwanted markers.

To remove a single marker

Position the mouse over the marker “flag” and hold down the Alt

key while you click the left button. Alternatively, right-click over the

marker flag and choose Remove Marker from the context menu.

To remove a series of markers

Define a time selection that includes all of the markers that you

wish to remove. Right click over the space just above the marker

“flags” within the time selection, and choose Remove all markers

from time selection from the context menu.

9.6 Show/Hide Regions/Markers in Grid

You can choose whether or not to show project region/marker lines

and/or time signature changes on the grid by enabling or disabling the

relevant preferences. These can be found on the Options,

Preferences, Appearance, Ruler Grid settings page.

If your project does not include any time signature or tempo changes, you can gain a little more screen real

estate by choosing Ruler display, Hide tempo/time signature area if project has no time signature/

tempo changes from the arrange view context menu.

9.7 Marker Actions

The Actions List Editor includes actions to help manage markers. These include Markers: Delete marker near

cursor and Markers: Renumber all markers in timeline order. Chapter 15 explains in detail more about

actions and about how you can assign them to toolbars or to your own shortcut keys.

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9.8 Creating and Using Regions

Regions essentially take the idea of markers one step further. You can create regions for your projects, making it

easy to identify, select and work with different passages of a song.

To do this ... Mouse/Keystrokes/Command

Create a new region from time selection. Shift R or right click, Create Region from Selection

Create a region from two existing markers. Enable Loop points linked to time selection.

Double-click on timeline below the markers. Right-click,

choose Create region from selection from menu.

Create a new region by drawing on ruler Use Alt Left drag on ruler.

To change name or other properties of the region. Shift Double click on region icon, type name.

To specify a color for a region. Shift Double click on region icon then Set color to

open the color picker.

Adjust region start/finish point. Left drag on region edge.

To copy selected region(s) with contents. Ctrl left drag with mouse.

To copy a region without copying its contents. Ctrl Alt left drag with mouse.

To move selected region(s) with contents. Left drag with mouse.

To move region(s) without moving contents. Alt left drag with mouse.

Remove a region. Alt Click on region icon.

Render an individual region. Right-click over region name, from context menu

choose Render region ...

Example of working with Regions

1. Make sure that the Option for Loop points linked to time selection is enabled.

2. In the file All Through The

Night MARKERS.RPP, double

click on the timeline between

the first two markers to select

the area.

3. Right click over the timeline,

between the markers, and

choose Create Region from

Selection.

4. Hold Shift while you double-

click on the new region’s icon to display the Edit Region dialog. Type Verse 1 and press Enter.

5. Double click on the timeline between markers three and four to select this area.

Press Shift R to define a region. Right click over the icon for this region, choose

Edit Region, type Verse 2 and press Enter.

6. Repeat this process using the area between markers five and six to create a

Verse 3 region. Keep this region selected.

7. Press Ctrl with the + on the Numeric Pad to zoom in on that region.

8. Press Ctrl PgDn to restore the whole project to the screen.

9. Press Esc to remove the current selection. Save this file.

Many actions are available (in the Actions List editor) to help you create and manage regions. These include

Markers: Insert region from time selection and Markers: Insert region from selected items as well as

Regions: Go to next region after current region finishes playing.

Also, Region left drag and Marker/region edge actions can be customised/edited via your Preferences,

Mouse modifiers page. Chapter 15 explains in detail more about actions and how to assign them to toolbars or

to your own shortcut keys, and about mouse modifiers.

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9.9 The Region/Marker Manager

View, Region/Marker

Manager opens this window,

for managing regions and

markers (including take

markers).

This organises markers and

regions using its buttons,

controls and Options menu,

including access to the Render

Matrix menu for rendering.