Foreword

This HTML version of the Reaper manual was made possible by the generosity of Geoff Francis. Geoff authors the Reaper manual and has given express permission for conversion into HTML for use by screen reader users.

All images have been removed from this version of the manual. Wording, however, has not been altered. There are therefore numerous references to non-existent images. While the manual is highly visually oriented, there is still a great deal of useful information for blind users of Reaper.

Readers should be aware that some references to keyboard commands are not correct when OSARA is being used. It is therefore important to confirm the current keyboard command list by pressing shift-F1 from within Reaper.

Andrew Downie

Up and Running:

A REAPER User Guide v 5.32

Version 5.32

December 2016/January 2017

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/

1 Setting Up and Getting Started

1.1 Downloading REAPER

To download REAPER, visit the download page. 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 OS X (Mac) and for Windows (PC).

1.2 Installing REAPER on an OS X Mac

To install REAPER on a Mac (OS X) 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.
4. If you also want to install ReaMote, drag this icon too into your Applications folder. If you choose not to do this, you can do so later.

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. reaper50-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.
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.

Note: If you are installing REAPER for the first time, or if you wish to replace an earlier 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 earlier 5.xx version, change the default directory (e.g. to \REAPER5) and enable portable install. This will ensure that your earlier 5.xx settings and preferences will be preserved separately.

Tip: If you choose not to install any 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.

1.5 Enabling MP3 Recording

If you are intending to record and/or mix down your recordings in, or convert other recorded material to, MP3 format, you will need to install an MP3 encoder. A suitable encoder is LAME, which is available free of charge. This can be obtained from any of many web sites, including http://aegiscorp.free.fr/lame/. Once there, make sure that you select the right download for your system and your version of REAPER:

Windows 64-bit systems lame_enc64.dll

Windows 32 bit systems libmp3lame.dll

OSX 64-bit systems libmp3lame_osx64.zip

OSX 32 bit systems libmp3lame_osx32.zip

Note that if you are using a 32 bit version of REAPER even on a 64-bit computer, you should download the 32 bit encoder, not the 64-bit one.

After downloading, Mac users should unzip the file and then drag the dynamic library file (named something like libmp3lame.dylib) into their REAPER application launch folder.

Windows users should copy the file into their REAPER Program directory, which by default will be C:\Program Files\REAPER. It can also be copied to other applications that may need it (e.g. Audacity).

1.6 REAPER Software Updates

REAPER is updated frequently and regularly, with bug fixes, new features and other enhancements. You can check for updates at any time by visiting this Reaper page. Simply download and install. There is no need to first uninstall any previous version. Existing preferences and settings will automatically be carried over.

Tip: REAPER is frequently updated. An option is available under Options, Preferences, General (Startup Settings) to have REAPER automatically check for updates each time the program is started (provided of course that you are on-line at the time). 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.

1.8 REAPER Startup Tips

By default, REAPER opens with the last used project. As you will see in Chapter 22 (under Preferences, General), you can change this behavior if you wish. In addition, you can use hot keys when starting REAPER to override the default settings.

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:

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 this summary table of similarities and differences:

1.10 The REAPER Screen

REAPER allows you to select from a number of different color themes. The screen shots used in this book mostly use the REAPER 4 default theme. If you are using any other theme, you might therefore notice some visual differences. If this causes you any difficulties, consider switching to the default theme. In some cases modifications have been made to enhance clarity when gryscale printing.

When you start REAPER, it displays a screen similar (but not necessarily identical) to that shown below. The example shows a very simple project file that has been opened. The table below the illustration introduces briefly each of the main screen elements.

Don’t be surprised if your screen doesn’t look quite the same as this, or even if it looks a lot different. The REAPER screen can be customized to suit your individual needs. We’ll be covering this in Chapter 2.

1.11 The Track and Track Controls

If you've used other DAW software before you'll probably want to get to grips with REAPER's track controls as soon as possible.

This illustration shows the most commonly used of these. The exact position of some of them will vary with track control panel width. You can hover your mouse over any control for a tooltip. In most cases you click on a control to use it (for example, click on Mute button to toggle mute status of any track, click and drag on Volume control to adjust the volume level), and right click on a control for a menu of commands, options and/or settings.

If some of these controls are not visible, you may need to increase the track panel width or height. Hover your mouse over the right or lower panel boundary so that your mouse cursor becomes a double headed arrow, then click-drag to the right or downwards.

Depending on your track layout, the volume control may be a rotary control (as shown above) or a horizontal fader. Also, you might see a rotary width control next to the pan control (as shown, right): if so, ignore it for now. We'll get to it in later chapters. In fact, all of these controls will be explained further as you work thru this guide.

1.12 Setting Up For Audio

Before you can record or play anything, there are a few setup options that have to be specified. This section covers setting up audio. This is where you 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 OS X and a PC under Windows

In addition, it is also advisable to disable System Sounds. For OS X users, this is done in System Preferences. Windows users should use the Control Panel.

1.12.1 Setting Up For Audio (PC Windows)

To set up your Audio Device, first choose the Options, Preferences command from REAPER's Main Menu, then under Audio select Device from the list on the left.

If on the other hand you plan to use the PC's internal sound card, you should familiarize yourself with its control software (usually opened from the Windows Control Panel). This is especially important to prevent previously recorded material from being mixed back in, and re-recorded with, new material when more tracks are later overlaid. You should also consider using ASIO4ALL drivers, which are available free of charge. For more information, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Stream_Input/Output

On the Audio Device Preferences screen, you should set the following options:

1.12.2 Setting Up For Audio (Mac OS X)

Audio devices on the OS X are set up and selected in the OS X 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 you wish to use the Mac's internal sound card, you may need to take steps to prevent existing material being mixed back into, and re-recorded with, additional tracks when they 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 other routing issues which can arise when using built-in inputs and outputs.

1.13 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.

1.14 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 (above right). Clearly, these names are not very useful to you.

By assigning aliases to these outputs, you can ensure that whenever you need to list them (for example, when determining the destination of the output from your Master) your own names will be displayed, instead of the hardware device names.

Example

To create output aliases:

1. Choose the Options, Preferences command.
2. Display the Audio page and in the section labelled Channel Naming/Mapping make sure you have ticked the option Output Channel Name Aliasing.
3. Click on the Edit Names/Map button for this item.
4. Double-click in the Aliased Names column on each item in turn to edit them. In each case, after typing your preferred alias, click on OK to return to the Output Channel Alias/Mapping window.
5. Click on OK to close this window and return to the Preferences dialog box.
6. Click on OK to close the dialog box.

Your specified names should now automatically be used throughout REAPER. The topic of actually assigning outputs to tracks will be covered later, beginning with Chapter 2.

1.15 Setting Up For MIDI

If you intend to use MIDI at all, you should enable your MIDI devices. Many PCI sound cards, Firewire and USB audio devices include a MIDI input and output port (for use, for example, with a MIDI Keyboard). Choose Options, Preferences from the Main Menu, then display the MIDI Devices screen under Audio. You can select in turn each of the listed MIDI Input and Output devices, right-click over its name, then choose Enable 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.

To assign your own name or to specify a time offset for any MIDI Input or Output device, right click over the device name and choose Configure Output from the context menu. If you have a joystick that you wish to use with REAPER you should click on the Add joystick MIDI button then select the device name and processing mode. You can also specify whether you wish to use it for Virtual MIDI Keyboard input an/or as a MIDI control/learn device.

If you wish to use a Control Surface, such as a Behringer BCF2000 or BCR2000, with REAPER, then you should set its input mode to Control Only. The use of Control Devices will be explained later in this guide, notably in Chapters 12 and 15.

Reset Options

Towards the bottom of the MIDI Devices preferences window there are options for Reset by (all-notes-off and/or pitch/sustain, and Reset on (play and/or stop/stopped seek). These affect only hardware devices.

Other Audio Preferences

You can see that there are other Audio Preference screens that we have not yet examined, including Buffering, Playback and Recording. These will be dealt with later in this User Guide, particularly in Chapter 22. When getting started, you should be able to just leave these settings at their defaults, only returning to change them later if you find that you wish or you need to do so. When finished, clicking on OK will, of course, 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.

1.16 Enabling VST Plug-ins

There’s one further Preferences screen you will probably want to visit before you get started – VST Plug-ins. As with Audio Preferences, REAPER has several pages of Plug-in Preference screens, but these 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 a directory or directories separate from other plug-ins.

Choose the Options, Preferences command, then select VST under the Plug-ins section. You can use the Auto-detect button to locate your plug-ins, but if they are spread across several directories REAPER might not find them all. In this case, you can click on the Add button to specify the location(s) of the folder(s) where your other VST plug-ins are stored. You can leave most other settings as they are (at least for now).

OS X 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.

Windows does not locate any such folders for you. You will need to identify and specify where your VST plug-ins have been installed. If your VST plug-ins are spread across more than one folder (this is not unusual), you will need to use the Add button 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.

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 your directories for VST plug-ins according to your list, from left to right. If it finds two or more with identical names, it will select the last one that it finds. If a VST3 plugin is named even slightly differently from its VST equivalent, both versions will be installed and made available within REAPER. However, if both are named identically, only the last one found will be installed. For this reason, it can make sense to place your VST3 directory last in the list (as shown in the example above).

1.17 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 7 behaves differently from XP. 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 information in the following table helpful:

REAPER’s Installed Folders and File Locations

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

1.18 Localization and Language Packs

Selecting a language pack causes REAPER to use that language 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.

1.19 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 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.

1.20 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 OS X and Windows users.

OS X

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. Double click on this file to open it. Drag and drop the REAPER icon to the new folder on the flash drive.
3. 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.

1.21 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 to be presented with a flyout menu of choices:

1.22 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.

1.23 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 the sound of 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.

1.24 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, OS X 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 your previous settings and preferences will be recalled when it is reinstalled.

2 REAPER Project Basics

2.1 Section Overview

In this chapter you will be taught the essential basics about working with a project file in REAPER. Topics include opening and closing files, navigating the REAPER environment, working with tracks and audio effects, and more. Most of the topics introduced here will be covered in greater depth and detail later in this guide.

2.2 Opening an Existing Project

To open an existing REAPER Project File, use the File, Open Project command, or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl O. As with other Windows Apps, you will need to navigate to the appropriate folder to find your project. Recently used projects can more easily be opened using the File, Recent Projects command. This causes a list of up to the last 100 recently used project files to be displayed. You can then select any file from that list.

The General page of your Options, Preferences window offers a number of options. In particular, you can:

Manage your Undo preferences.

Specify whether or not you want the most recently used file automatically loaded when REAPER is started. Choose the Last active project option for this. Other startup options are explained in Chapter 22.

Specify whether you want to Automatically Check for New Versions of REAPER on Startup.

Determine the number of files displayed on the Recent project list.

Other General Preferences settings are discussed and explained in Chapter 22.

Notice too the toggle command Continuous scrolling on the 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. It might help you to keep that project open while using this documentation. Take a copy of this file and work with that. You will then be able to experiment freely without fear of damaging any of your own important projects.

2.3 Project Settings

REAPER project settings can be defined to meet the requirements of individual projects. The Project Settings dialog box is accessed by choosing the File, Project Settings command, or by using the keyboard shortcut Alt Enter. The dialog box has five pages of settings - Project Settings, Media, Video, Advanced and Notes. If in doubt, leave most settings at their default values, at least until you understand better what they are and how they work.

Project Settings: Project Settings

These include:

Project Sample Rate: for example, 44100 Hz (CD standard) or 48000 Hz (DVD standard).

Option to force the time signature to beats or whole samples.

Project beats per minute and time signature.

Method for setting the timebase for items/envelopes markers and for tempo/time sig - essentially you have a choice of Time, Beats (position, length rate) or Beats (position only). See notes below.

Project start time and measure. Leave these at their defaults for now. In Chapter 12 you'll see when, why and how to change them.

Playback and render resample mode – from Lowest (point sampling) thru Medium (64 Sinc) to Extreme HQ (768 HQ Sinc).

Default mode and parameter to be used for pitch shifting. See Chapter 10.

Project Settings: Media

These include:

Paths (primary and secondary) to store media files. For example, if you specify “Audio” then your media will be stored in a folder called Audio, as a sub-folder of the project folder. If left blank, REAPER will use the same folder as the project file.

Recording format - typically WAV or MP3, but there are others , e.g. AIFF, DDP, FLAC, OGG Vorbis Video (GIF) and WavPack. Each of these comes with its own set of options and settings.

Settings and specifications for chosen recording format – e.g. for WAV files this includes Bit Depth.

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.

Project Settings: Advanced

Item Mix Behavior. Determines how REAPER should behave when one media item is placed directly on top of another. The options are for Enclosed Items to Replace enclosing items, Items always to be mixed, or for the newer item to always replace the older item.

Track mixing depth. If unsure, leave at the default setting.

The option to allow feedback in routing. Feedback routing can be useful for some advanced mixing activities, but can be dangerous for audio equipment. If you are in any doubt, do not select this option.

The option to synchronize the project with the timecode of an external device.

The option to limit project length and recording time.

Specifying a default pan law for your tracks. The pan law determines how the relative volume of a track behaves when that track is panned more or less to one side or the other. Gain compensation boost can be enabled or disabled. Pan laws are discussed in more depth later in Chapter 2. Meanwhile, if you are unfamiliar with how pan laws work, leave these at their default settings.

Default track pan mode. You have choice of pan modes, some mono, some stereo. See Chapter 11.

Project Settings: Video: These are explained in Chapter 20.

The Project Timebase Settings

The project timebase controls how media items, envelopes and project markers behave when the project tempo changes. When possible, get your project timebase settings right before you record or import any items. The default settings are Beats (position, length, rate) for items/envelopes/markers and Beats for tempo/time sig envelopes. For more information about the timebase, open the Actions list (from REAPER's main menu) and run the action Project settings: timebase help. For more about the Actions List, see Chapter 15.

It's worth also noting that you can still over-ride the project timebase setting for individual tracks within your project. To do this, select the track(s) and choose Track timebase from the track control panel context menu. To do this for an individual item, select the item then press F2 to display the Item Properties dialog box.

Project Settings: Notes

This very handy section lets you enter any notes and comments that you would like to be included with your project file. You can specify that the notes should automatically be displayed each time the project is opened.

Tip: You can save all these settings as the defaults to be used for future new projects. Of course, for any individual projects you can over-write your defaults.

2.4 Directing Audio 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).

Your available hardware outputs are displayed along the top of the grid. Here you can select and/or deselect any of the available outputs.

2.5 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 to do this. The Transport Bar might appear as shown here, as a floating window (undocked) inside REAPER, or it might be docked just below arrange view. At this stage, the exact position of the Transport Bar is not important. The main Transport Controls are shown below, though your exact layout might not be identical: whether docked or not, the controls will appear in a single row if the window is wide enough.

The first five transport buttons are fairly standard – Go to Start, Go to End, Stop, Play, 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.

The Record button starts and stops recording, without stopping playback. Clicking on the Stop button when recording is taking place will both stop 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. To the right of this the current time selection is shown (start position, end position and length). Working with and managing time selections is a theme that will recur throughout this User Guide.

The current play cursor position is also shown: in the above example this is 29.2.54/0:56.722. Next to this is the playback status (Playing, Paused or Stopped). Next are 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. Finally (in the above layout) is the playback rate. This can be made faster or slower by adjusting the horizontal fader. If adjusted, the fader background 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.

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 while you do this. If you do this when the project is not playing, it will have the effect of “scrubbing” your audio.

This topic is covered in more detail in Chapter 5 of this User Guide.

2.6 Track Controls

Basics

If you play All Through The Night.RPP you will notice that the same sound is coming out of both speakers and that the different instruments and vocals are all competing with each other for the same acoustic space. That’s because no adjustments have been made to any track's Volume or Pan controls. The exact position of these faders varies with factors like width and height of the your control panel and which of the available track layouts is in use.

The rotary fader shown here is used to adjust a track’s volume. With some layouts, this will be shown as a horizontal fader. The rotary not far to its right 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: this is a more advanced concept, primarily used for folders and tracks with stereo media files. This will be covered in Chapter 11. For now, we will be working with just the one pan control. In any event, to adjust any horizontal, vertical or rotary faders in REAPER, you can:

Click and hold down the left mouse button over the fader, then drag 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 will show the level of the signal after being adjusted by the volume fader. If you wish, you can instead show the pre-fader level by choosing from the Options menu the command Pre-fader track metering.

Routing

Right-clicking on the volume control opens the routing dialog box (shown right). 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, the 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 number 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 to the right of the width control fader on each track’s control panel have these functions:

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.

By default, track Solo causes the track itself and the output of any sends originating from that track to be played. If you wish to hear only the track without these sends, hold the Alt key while soloing the track. Notice that your track controls also include a phase control button. This can be used to reverse track polarity.

2.7 Pan Law and Pan Mode

You can also change the pan law for individual tracks. Right-clicking over a track’s pan fader opens a window where you can select 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 can be enabled to cause the signal's audio strength to instead be boosted as it is panned.

Another option