Reaper By The Numbers: Following Kenny Gioia's Tutorial Videos

There are so many ways to resample a thing, and save live output is like the last one I’d go for, but ok I suppose. I’d imagine the MT samples are already on your machine somewhere though…
 
They're in there... somewhere. They're not accessible directly via file folders. I would have to dig deeper and I'm not comfortable with doing that, so for now it's easier to do the save live output thing. Anyways, I've got samples I can get to which sound better to begin with.

I also found this Reaper Blog on resampling with ReaSamplOmatic5000 which resamples a full track which can be split up into sections. I might try that with a MIDI drum track, but for now I'll just play around with resampling individual drum hits.

 
Last edited:
So if you make a midi item that is like a beat long, put a midi note at the beginning, then ”apply track/take effects…” you’ll end up with a one beat long audio item and don’t have to do as much menu digging and importing and trimming.

Or you could do a bunch of those midi items, select all the items, and in the render window choose selected items, and it’ll be like a batch process. Tick the box at the bottom to add the result to your project and you won’t have to import anything.

Or, if you send the audio from VSTi track to some other empty track, set that track to record: output, then hit record, it’ll do kind of the same as save live output except the audio is already in your project and doesn’t need to be imported.
 
I'll give that "apply track/take effects" a try. One thing I'm after is to take an MT cymbal and extend it's decay - they cut off too soon for my taste. Then repitch the toms. Thanks.

Or, if you send the audio from VSTi track to some other empty track, set that track to record: output, then hit record, it’ll do kind of the same as save live output except the audio is already in your project and doesn’t need to be imported.

Yeah. That's what's going on in that Resampling With ReaSamplOmatic5000 process - the whole track goes audio to a new project track - cool stuff.
 
After playing with that, it does cut out a few steps. I find, though, that MTs samples are fully extended already so I can't extend their decay times, at least not from within 5000. Double-clicking the sample in 5000 does stretch it out and reduce height but there's no audible difference. It's fun to play with.
 
Im not sure there is a great way to extend a cymbal like that.

You could try stretching the audio item by alt+left dragging the edge. The cursor will turn into hand when you’re in the right spot. With “preserve pitch…” on, it is literally resynthesis, so likely to create artifacts which will be more noticeable the further you stretch it. You might try changing the item’s resample mode to see if any are better for what you’re trying to do. With preserve pitch off, it will just pitch down, not creating those artifacts, but also maybe not being exactly what you want. I can’t say for sure if you would need to “commit” those changes to the item (easiest to just glue the thing), or if they will automatically reflect in RS5K.

But I do wonder if you might get a little closer by manipulating the volume over time. Like rather than try to stretch the tail, make it stay louder longer with like an envelope that ramps up as the wave tries to fall down. If you go too far with that, you’ll start to hear the noise/dither/quantization error in the sample, but it might buy you just enough? Again, not sure if you’d need to flatten that for RS5K.
 
I think if I was going to sample some drums, I would probably just feed my SR18 into Reaper. You have quite a few different drum kits, so there would be lots of choices, and you could mix and match from the various kits.

The thing I like with MTPDK is the included grooves. I'm not a drummer, so that saves me lots of time. I can edit things if I need some special pattern. As long as I use the right notes, I can feed the midi track to the SR18 and record the output. The drum map of MTPDK is slightly different from the Alesis, so I have to avoid some notes. The first time I tried it, I was triggering bass notes with drum hits. It really confused me!
 
. . .But I do wonder if you might get a little closer by manipulating the volume over time. Like rather than try to stretch the tail, make it stay louder longer with like an envelope that ramps up as the wave tries to fall down. . .
This seems to do the trick. I haven't put it in a mix, just listening to the sample after setting up a volume envelope it sounds like it will do what I want. I had to play around with the envelope points a bit so I wouldn't get sharp transitions. MT's crash seems to disappear too quickly after the initial attack (in a mix).

This one sounds good :

crash extension.jpg
 
Last edited:
I saw a new video pop up on Reaper's page. Kenny added this a few days ago. First, he goes over the JS Convolution Amp/Cab Modeler, which I hadn't realized was always there, buried in the JS plugins. It's got some nice names in there: Fender, Marshall and Vox. I played around with them just a little. I didn't adjust any of the parameters, I just flipped through them back and forth a few times as they were.

Then Kenny goes into the freebie amp plugins:

Guitar Rig 6
Amplitube 5 CS
Blue Cat's Free Amp
Amped Roots Free
Kuassa Amplifikation Lite

Kenny supplies their links under the video when you watch it on YouTube. These are more substantial than the included JS plugins. Not a bad lot as they go. If you've already got several amp sims these may not offer much extra, but just starting out, these are an inexpensive way to get you into the world of amp/cab sims.

 
Quickly A/B Two Tracks

I was working with several duplicates of a track and had them all going in different directions with EQ, Reverb, etc. I wanted to A/B them against the rest of the tracks, so my method of soloing each one wasn't going to work. Same with muting.

I didn't get this from one of Kenny's videos, I found it at Reaper's Forums.

Pick two tracks you want to A/B. Hit the Mute button on one of them. Then select/highlight both track controls (not Items). Now all you have to do is hit Alt-M to bounce quickly between the two.

I'd really like to do this with more than two selected tracks, but I haven't found a way to do that. Yet. . .
 
Last edited:
I don't really consider this first video about heavy bass, more like bass for heavy rock. My definition of heavy bass is more like tight, punchy and deep bass. This video does get more into bringing out the bass through midrange on small speakers.



Here's (almost) the same thing from Kenny. I posted this one here about 6 months back. I'm slipping it in here so it can be compared to the first video above. Both approaches utilize Reaper's stock plugins with decent results. Either will be different depending on your specific situation. I like Kenny's splitting technique.

 
Last edited:
8 days late and a dollar short but thought it would be a good heads up that Kenny is on Reddit

AMA is ask me anything

1694616775145.png
 
Last edited:
As long as we're sharing some tips....

In case you didn't know, if you want to A/B two effects on the same track, open your FX window, select one effect and un-select the other. Then, highlight both of them, and go back and forth by hitting Cntrl-B.
 
As long as we're sharing some tips....

In case you didn't know, if you want to A/B two effects on the same track, open your FX window, select one effect and un-select the other. Then, highlight both of them, and go back and forth by hitting Cntrl-B.
That'll come in handy because I'm always trying to hear the difference between two compressor settings and it's hard for me to catch it when I have to disable one and enable the other, disrupting the flow. Which is one thing Kenny Gioia does in his videos I wish he'd change. When he compares FX on/off on a track, he stops the playback when he switches between them. I totally lose the stream. I have to hear it on the fly for instant comparison.
 
That'll come in handy because I'm always trying to hear the difference between two compressor settings and it's hard for me to catch it when I have to disable one and enable the other, disrupting the flow. Which is one thing Kenny Gioia does in his videos I wish he'd change. When he compares FX on/off on a track, he stops the playback when he switches between them. I totally lose the stream. I have to hear it on the fly for instant comparison.
Yeah, I always had the same problem. It needs to be immediate for me, too. I got that tip from this guy: https://www.reapertips.com/
He's got a great website full of cool Reaper tips and short cuts.
 
Back
Top