Top products from r/Reaper

So as another 29yo musician figuring out reaper over the past few weeks. Definitely watch tutorials, how to's, and basic use videos from youtube and stuff posted here. You'll learn way more from doing that faster than you will from poking around. Most of the time i just google something like "Reddit Render Midi track in reaper" and i'll get a link to this sub with a video.

Definitely get an audio interface, i'll help tremendously with overall sound and latency. I think something with two channels will work well for you. You'll most likely only be recording one instrument at a time if you're doing this solo but the option of the second channel will let you record an acoustic performance if you ever want to. I have no brand loyalty so here's a few options, you can do research on them as you see fit or search some out yourself:

UMC202HD , Scarlett 2i2 , AudioBox USB 2x2

Or if you need to be more budget friendly, this guy is a great bang for you buck, however it is only one channel:

Behringer UM2

If you dont have any 1/4" headphones, pick up a 1/4" male to 3.5mm female adapter as well so you can monitor your sound and for playback through the interface. You can find these at bestbuy or somewhere local pretty easily.

You'll want to look at some 3rd party VSTs for effects instead of your phone. I'm currently in the process of trying different free things out, so i don't have too many suggestions unfortunately, but maybe some other people can chime in with their favorites. I'd watch youtube tutorials to learn how to setup and use these. two I could recommend so far are:

MT Power Drumkit 2 - Simple drum VST that allows you to pick from a select of beats in different styles, then once you import them into reaper you can change the beat with the MIDI editor as you see fit. Watch some youtube tutorials on it to get going using it.

AmpliTube Custom Shop - Comes with a few amp, cab, and effect options that should get you going with some guitar sounds. You can also get the demo version of AmpliTube Full and it will run for 30 min, then you have to close and reopen it for it to work again (seems to be a common setup for demo versions of VSTs), but you can get a good bit in 30min if you know what you want going in.

I teach music production as a side job and from what I have learned, the hardest (in terms of most confusing, not time consuming) yet most important part of getting into music production, is to fully understand the DAW itself.

So don't give up, there are tons of others who have been in your situation.

Personally, I usually approach two things: signal flow and user interface. You'll want to fully understand what gets send where and how to find that place in your software.

You'll want to have a basic understanding of what MIDI data is and what the difference between MIDI, an analog audio signal and a digital audio signal is.

Oversimplifying a little bit MIDI is a data protocol that sends information - usually information like notes being played, at what velocity etc. or controller data (MIDI CC). This data is not to be confused with an audio signal. The Akai keyboard for example uses the MIDI protocol to communicate with Reaper.

Now since MIDI does not contain any audio, but you want to make music, there is something needed to make an audio signal out of the MIDI data you can play on the Akai keyboard. For this, you can use any soft- or hardware synth, sampler etc. These programs/hardware will use the incomming MIDI data to trigger oscillators or play a sample - usually at a certain pitch, depending on the MIDI note's data.

It looks like you already figured some of this out, but didn't quite understand how it worked. Now, the software synthesizers work exactly how you imagined: They are loaded into Reaper as Plugins (usually in VST-format, but can be JS, AU, or other). For this to work, you'll have to tell Reaper where to find them. So I suggest you install them into a common folder and tell Reaper where to find that. (Options->Preferences->Plugins->VST->Add folder via "Open", than "Rescan".)

The octapad can output both, MIDI and audio. Now it really depends on what you want to get from it. Do you want to sounds from the octapad? Or do you just want to use it as a controller to trigger some sampler plugin in Reaper? Depending on that, you'll either need a MIDI to USB interface or a audio to USB interface. There are also interfaces that do both, audio and MIDI. And also interfaces with more fancy features like

• multiple inputs (audio for synth/mics/guitar or MIDI),
  
• (multiple) outputs (to attach speakers to)
  
• zero-latency monitoring
  
• phantom power for condenser mics
  
• better pre-amps for less noise when recording
  
• etc.
  
  Your computer probably even has an audio interface built in without you ever having thought about that. It'll probably not have many features, will not support phantom power, will have not gain adjustment for incoming signals etc, but it could work with your octapad if it has a line-in.
  
  I'm happy to help, but your questions are very vague. Just try to tinker. Experiment, create basic rhythms, work with audio and with MIDI, explore ever feature of Reaper, bit after bit, and you'll soon feel much more comfortable. Getting comfortable is the most important step, since you'll want Reaper to be your laboratory, your tools, an empty canvas. At that point, you'll be able to truly focus on the music. So take your time :)

Ok, after messing around it seems easy enough for a midi controller, but looks like I might be out of luck mapping it to my arrow keys.

I did see the Novation, [but I was also looking at this.]
(https://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-High-Performance-Portable-Controller/dp/B00XJE3W7C/ref=pd_sbs_267_7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WSBA8PEJ4JK3QQVM9BGQ)

Think that'd be too much? I would love to have 3 knobs per channel completely free to assign a band's freq, gain, and bandwidth at the same time. Would I be able to achieve the same thing with the Novation? Would the higher price be worth it for quality?

EDIT: Sorry to ask another question, but do you know if it's possible to save presets for the knobs in the Novation so I could switch between controlling EQ, comp, and pan without remapping? Is it possible to use multiple columns to control FX parameters for one track? Used to live mixers so the possibilities are kinda hitting me.

Recording studio under $150

First of all, buy everything in this video. It’s literally the cheapest way to get started unless someone is giving you everything. The interface allows for real vocals, guitar, and bass. I’m not trying to be a dick cause it’s awesome that you are diving into this, but you’re midi guitar and bass sound like trash and it’ll never be as good as the real thing.

Next, get better at making your drums sound more human. There are tutorials on YouTube about making them sound less robotic. I’m all about recording cheaply, and I use the same program as you in Reaper. I’m not the best, but my demos have improved greatly. Adjusting velocity, less fills, pull your drums back in the mix, use loops that complement the song, etc. you can setup MT so that every drum element is its own track. Tweak til satisfied and then run them to a master bus.

Finally, subscribe to this guy, watch, and profit.
awesome Kenny ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq297H7Ca98HlB5mVFHGSsQ)

Bonus stuff:
XM8500

Solo

Katana 50

The best way to do this would be to get a headphone amp, such as the Behringer MA400. You would also need a cord that combines two 1/4 inch outputs into one stereo output. Something like this.

Then you route your normal Master Out through one set of outputs (to your speakers), and the other set of outs to your new MA400. Your artist would then be able to use their own headphones and plug into the MA400.

There are several benefits from a setup like this. First of all, the MA400 allows the artist to monitor themselves with zero latency since the input from the mic is heard before it is processed by Reaper. Secondly, you can enable the web interface which allows the artist to customize his/her own monitor mix with their mobile phone or tablet. It would take a bit of configuring on your part, but it's very easy - check out this video to see how it's done.

I currently use this exact setup and it works perfectly. The artist can control their own headphone mix while monitoring with zero latency. The MA400 even passes phantom straight through in case you ever get an interface that has phantom power.

Not sure what kind of mic you have - if it's USB then this is all a no-go.

yeah, you should be able to use the DAW eq, and cut the high and high-mid levels til the hum/hiss goes away a bit, then record. then after the track is recorded, take and put the highs and high-mids up again. that might do the trick.
however, an easier way to do this is to get a DI box that has a ground switch on it. the grounding in those DI boxes can really help to kill hum by creating a reverse feedback loop of the hum that will cancel out the original hum, without affecting the sound of the mic itself. so you would go mic-> DI box-> interface. you can get one pretty cheap on amazon. like 20-30 bucks for a decent one. there are other devices that can also help you out. here are some of them:

DI box:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CCSWQA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
....

in-line hum killer:
https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-GLT-255-Female-Ground-Stopper/dp/B00FC4YPL4/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAjwwvfrBRBIEiwA2nFiPYLmaB4BVKR6rNWVzM6W-E3Bqtg5P3KDDo648AMCk-n5ct-CQRdroBoCTrMQAvD_BwE&hvadid=345591872771&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9003283&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t2&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1374900578903071298&hvtargid=kwd-300662784413&hydadcr=29836_10192790&keywords=hosa+glt-255&qid=1568587585&s=gateway&sr=8-1
...

hum stopper box:
https://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PRO-PHE400-Eliminator-2-Channel-Outputs/dp/B00BARTW42/ref=asc_df_B00BARTW42/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312305907549&hvpos=1o16&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3250323847603544719&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003283&hvtargid=pla-406164115673&psc=1



and heres some sites to read as well:

http://recordinghacks.com/2013/02/18/fixing-microphone-hum/

...

https://www.techhive.com/article/3063590/how-to-get-rid-of-hum-and-eliminate-other-noises-from-your-audio-and-video-systems.html


good luck!

It's as easy as looking at Focusrite's website for supported chipsets and finding a card with one they support.

I've played this game before, it really isn't that bad. There's even a bunch of positive reviews on Amazon from people using that FireWire card with the Saffire Pro 40.

Just to elaborate a bit:

I'd really suggest getting a dedicated audio interface, as that's the proper way to solve this issue.

Here are 3 options, in order of cost:

• Some people use ASIO4ALL which will let you use your normal soundcard in low latency. In my experience (haven't used it in over a decade) it doesn't work very well, but it may do the trick for you.
  
• A cheap interface like the Behringer UCA222 may fix the issue for you. It's $30 and is very basic. I can't attest to its quality, as i haven't personally used it.
  
• If you can afford $110, the Scarlett Solo is a great little interface, and it also will give you a couple of inputs for mics/instruments/etc. I can personally vouch for the Scarlett line.

specifically, here is one example: https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-HD400-BEHRINGER-MICROHD/dp/B000KUD2G4/ref=sr_1_10?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1520458356&sr=1-10&keywords=hum+eliminator
but there are tons of other options you can look into.
People seem to have good success with these.
I believe they have different versions, and this one isn't one that has the lift/ground switch i spoke of.

I've experienced this issue as well - my workaround is using this headphone amp that I have ($24 on amazon, link below) in between my interface and the headphones, and it provides an extra level of gain, which gets me right in the sweet zone

Behringer Microamp HA400 Ultra-Compact 4-Channel Stereo Headphone Amplifier
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KIPT30/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_qJR5CbD2RMWYB

>connected with USB

Are they going through some sort of hub? You could try home-running them into your system. For simultaneous USB devices you may need to create an aggregate device on your system. That'll look different on Mac and Windows.

But honestly, you'd be better off buying a cheap interface with a decent mic.

​

I second what he said. Talk boxes are really hard to do right as a plugin, and I have yet to see a good one. And if you don't want to go the DIY route for a talkbox, you can find one somewhat cheaply. I ended up buying this talkbox used for around $70, and it has served me pretty well

I bought this book: http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Beginners-Geoffrey-Francis/dp/1598638815

It covers pretty much all of the basics, comes with some project tracks on a disc, project 'assignments', and uses Reaper as the example DAW. It's been very helpful.

> Side note: any recommendations for sound cards?

Typically the "soundcard" for a DAW is not going to be a soundcard really. The standard is a USB (or maybe firewire) audio interface. These are designed to take input from musical instruments and microphones. You need to find out how many and what types of inputs your user is going to need. The USB audio interface does a lot of the signal processing too, which is why your PC doesn't need to be as burly.

I think most "bedroom studios" can get away with a 2 in 2 out audio interface like a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 but definitely talk to your user and find out how many things they need to record at once. Your user may already have a particular audio interface in mind.

Depends on your price range. I started with a Behringer UCA222 then upgraded via a Steinberg UR-22 which broke after a while. Now I'm using a Behringer UMC404HD which has lasted well so far. You could go for the smaller version, which is surprisingly cheap, if you don't plan on recording many instruments at the same time.

People say good things about the Focusrite Scarlett series as well. I've never used one but they are a little bit more pricey than the Behringers so I always end up with one of them instead.

So are you suggest a splitter like this?
I will eventually get a proper interface, but I'm trying to find a quick fix for the moment.

Advice for you, man. get a cheap midi controller. You don't need it to make anything, but it saves a lot of time. I'd suggest this.

He sent me this:

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC202HD-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00QHURUBE/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_267_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=1MXAW195PRGK7Z52MS3A

This is probably because of HDCP. You might be able to get it to work using an HDCP-compliant splitter like this one to strip the HDCP protections from the signal.

This sort of thing?

it appears to have three phono outs so i could i use this to output three instruments each to a different speaker?

but it says 6 channels, so how do you get six individual streams of sound out of it if there aren't six outputs?

M-Audio UNO https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00007JRBM/ref=cm\_sw\_r\_cp\_apa\_XnR7BbYECRTK8

I'm glad you haven't had any issues. I have one unit connected to the computer with this TI card I installed last year. The other unit is chained to the primary unit by optical cable. The secondary unit is set as the clock at 44.1 kHz, the primary unit is set to sync via ADAT (all done through Saffire MixControl).

There are two modes of failure: when a project or application (Reaper or Adobe Premiere in my case) opens at any sample rate other than 44.1 kHz, the units stop making noise. This can usually, but not always, be corrected by setting the program to use 44.1 and allowing the program to resample from higher sample rates.

The second is more elusive. If either of the units loses power while the computer is turned on the default Windows audio driver steps in, as expected, but when the units are powered back on Windows doesn't allow the units to make noise even if the Focusrite drivers are selected as primary. If I switch back to the Windows audio driver, I can make noise through the built in headphone jack, but no amount of toggling will bring noise back through the Pro 40s. I don't know exactly how to fix this, but it's some combination of turning the units off, turning the computer off, turning the units on, turning the computer back on one at a time, and crossing my fingers that this will be the time it works.

Barring these two small issues I've got no complaints about the units.