Reaper

Here are my notes to use Reaper

Settings

The non-default settings I like:

Activate Reset meter peak on play/seek to keep the max volume fresh. Otherwise you have to click the indicator to reset the peak value.

Avoid dangling project and ensure audio stems are saved in the right place:

Project -> Prompt to save on new project [x]

Better default send:

Project -> Track/Send Defaults -> Send gain -18db -> Send midi by default [ ]

Assign midi controller, press ? to see action list

:> Transport play (not play/stop because that requires the button to stay pressed)
[] Transport stop
<- Markers: Go to previous marker/project start
-> Markers: Go to next marker/project end
C-<left> Move edit cursor back one measure
C-<right> Move edit cursor forward one measure

Use Find shortcut to find the action of an existing key

Disable auto fading on cut:

Project -> Item Fade Defaults -> Untick all the “Fade-in/fade-out”

Navigate arrange view with middle click:

Editing Behavior -> Mouse Modifier:
- Context: Arrange view
- middle drag
- Default action set to Hand scroll

Center zoom on mouse position (instead of play cursor):

Appearance -> Zoom/Scroll/Offset -> Horizontal zoom center: Mouse cursor

Untick to disable Tiny fade in on playback start

Bind (e.g. to z) Toggle solo for selected tracks, to quickly solo the current track, whatever the current view.

Add $project- to recorded filenames.

Shortcuts like op1

Here is my attempt to control Reaper like an OP-1

KEY 9 32 40073 0		 # Main : Ctrl+Space : OVERRIDE DEFAULT : Transport: Play/pause
KEY 176 7 40157 0		 # Main : MIDI Chan 1 CC 7 : Markers: Insert marker at current position
KEY 1 77 40157 0		 # Main : M : OVERRIDE DEFAULT : Markers: Insert marker at current position
KEY 176 15 40172 0		 # Main : MIDI Chan 1 CC 15 : Markers: Go to previous marker/project start
KEY 0 91 40172 0		 # Main : [ : OVERRIDE DEFAULT : Markers: Go to previous marker/project start
KEY 176 16 40173 0		 # Main : MIDI Chan 1 CC 16 : Markers: Go to next marker/project end
KEY 0 93 40173 0		 # Main : ] : OVERRIDE DEFAULT : Markers: Go to next marker/project end
KEY 1 81 40625 0		 # Main : Q : Time selection: Set start point
KEY 1 69 40626 0		 # Main : E : OVERRIDE DEFAULT : Time selection: Set end point
KEY 9 32807 41042 0		 # Main : Ctrl+Right : OVERRIDE DEFAULT : Move edit cursor forward one measure
KEY 9 32805 41043 0		 # Main : Ctrl+Left : OVERRIDE DEFAULT : Move edit cursor back one measure

Solo in front

Click Options and then Solo in front Add an icon to the toolbar:

Match item or track loudness with SWS

select items
show actions list
SWS/BR: Normalize loudness of selected items/tracks
pick items (the clip) or tracks (the mixer)
set lufs to -14 for spotify

Setup volume envelop Adjusting Envelope Segments in REAPER

Press v to display the volume envelop.

Create segment

Make a timeselection and use ctrl+shift+mouse drag to make a segment.

To do this manually:

Create 4 points to make a segment using shift+mouse.
Move the middle segment to adjust the volume

Or use the insert 4 points at time selection action.

Adjust the curve

alt+mouse drag

Move curve horizontally

ctrl + alt + mouse drag

Find BPM

insert tempo marker in the timeline shiftc, for example at position 5
in TCP, change tracks timebase to time
change source properties: check ignore project tempo
ctrl drag the mark to match transient

Move items on one axis only

ctrl+shift

Midi note too early

When recording midi sequence through extenal synth with the miniFuse, the audio latency is negative (recording starts a few ms after the audio play first midi).

In Preferences -> Audio -> Recording, untick Use audio driver reported latency, then adjust recording manually.

Free impulse response

For ReaVerb, use Big Gee’s Lexicon 480L, like Large Room, or Small Plate (which is bigger :)

Automatic Gain Riding

Use loudness meter plugin to write LUFS-M env
Move automation to track envelop
Tweaks envelop params to inverse

Master FX by Kenny Gioia

ReaEQ (e.g. shelft +1db)
JS 1175 (e.g. -10db threshold, 3db gain, 140 atk, 180 release)
ReaXComp (e.g. ratio 4/1, check program dependent release, link the thresholdm -10db threshold)
ReaLimit
JS Loudness Meter (to check LUFS-I for max -8)

JS 1175 by Kenny Gioia

Start with attack > 200
Lower threshold to get a -6db compression

Example settings:

For snare: a(260).r(240)
For kick: longer release
For hat: shorter release
For drum buss: fast release, but 60% mix

Mono kick drum (remove low from side)

TODO: figure out how to make this work

Encoder
Eq (disconnect in1 out1), low shelf -6db at 160Hz
Decoder

Reset a measure after bridge

Here is the trick

Insert a new marker when a new verse begin by right clicking on the ruler: insert tempo/time signature marker.
Copy the position (because it will be adjusted to the closest measure), untick Set tempo and tick Set time signature.
Then tick Allow a partial measure before this marker, paste the position and add the marker.

This looks like this:

Run VST with yabridge

This one is tricky in my fedora/bubblewrap setup: the upstream release needs a custom wine, and the COPR is too complicated. So here is how I setup yabridge with nix:

Pull yabridge with: nix shell nixpkgs/94073c2546d20efc0ae206b41fc0b775f1e06dab#yabridge nixpkgs/94073c2546d20efc0ae206b41fc0b775f1e06dab#yabridgectl nixpkgs/94073c2546d20efc0ae206b41fc0b775f1e06dab#carla
Get the wine path with: grep wine $(which yabridgectl)
Run VSTs installer with wine.
Convert VST’s .dll to .so with yabridge using these commands:

# Ensure yabridge can find its lib, otherwise it may fail with: can't find the "libyabridge-vst.so"
$ mkdir -p ~/.local/share/yabridge && cp $(dirname $(which yabridge-host.exe))/* $(dirname $(which yabridge-host.exe))/../lib/* ~/.local/share/yabridge/
$ yabridgectl add ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Steinberg/VSTPlugins/
$ yabridgectl add ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Common\ Files/VST3/
$ yabridgectl sync
$ ls .vst3/yabridge/
Snapback.dll  Snapback.so

Validate a plugin works with carla. Somehow, yabridge can’t be in the PATH, so start it like that: PATH=/bin $(which carla) The UI might freeze with this error in the debug log [Wine STDERR] 010c:err:wgl:X11DRV_WineGL_InitOpenglInfo couldn't initialize OpenGL, expect problems. In that case you need nixGL:

nix shell --override-input nixpkgs nixpkgs/94073c2546d20efc0ae206b41fc0b775f1e06dab --impure github:nix-community/nixGL
PATH=/bin $(which nixGL) $(which carla)

That’s it, run reaper with nixGL too.

sample&hold modulation

Copy this script: https://stash.reaper.fm/v/28057/parameter%20sample%20and%20hold

desc:Parameter Sample & Hold
//  Use MIDI Learn, Parameter Modulation, or whatever else to move
.. the Input slider
.. Use Parameter Modulation to Link your desired VST parameter to
// the Output slider
// Both time sliders add, and their total reads on slider4

slider1:0<0,100>Input
slider2:0<0,1200,1>S&H time (ms)
slider3:1<0,8,1>S&H time (quarter notes)
slider4:<0,12000> total S&H time (read only)
slider5:0<0,200,1>smoothing time(ms)
slider6:0<0,100,0.1>Output

@init
bpos=0;


@slider
  beat = slider3 * 60 * srate;
  ms_samples = slider2 * srate /1000;
  slider5 == 0 ?
  coeff = 0 :
  coeff = exp(-1/(slider5/1000*srate));
  input = slider1;

@block
  beat_samples = beat/tempo;
  total_samples = beat_samples + ms_samples;
  slider4 = total_samples * 1000 / srate ;

@sample
  bpos == 0 ? hold_level = input;
  output = output * coeff + hold_level * (1 - coeff);
  slider6 = output;
  bpos = (bpos + 1) % total_samples;

spl0=spl0;
spl1=spl1;

Move the input fader (so that it’s the last used parameter), then click the param button and Parameter Modulation.
Click enable parameter modulation and use a LFO to modulate the S&H input, for example like this:

The output fader of the s&h plugin should move randomly

Then move the parameter to be modulated, for example the transient decay, click the param button and tick Link from MIDI or FX parameter to grab the S&H output like this:

That way, the parameter is getting a new random value according to the S&H script.