8 Tracks in Zoom R16....what do do next...

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stevem5000

New member
I just got a Zoom R16....recorded a band this weekend....I have 8 tracks and about 20 songs total....
Is tracks the right word to describe I have one track for guitar....another for bass...another track for singer...etc.etc...

Never done this before.....so....what do I do next...???

Do I pull out all the songs...???....probably about 20 songs total...
Then mix the individual songs...???

Or do I mix the entire recording...about 2 hrs worth....
Then render it to stereo...
Then break out the songs...???

And please correct me if I'm not using the right terms...

How do I handle this...???

Many thanks...
 
First, you are going in the right direction with your questions. I would put them all in to your DAW, import them in and then start working the mix. After that, depending on how you want to distribute will probably help you figure out how you want to render it.

Most likely you will want to split up the songs. Then create a collection. If on CD or digital, it gives the listener and option to skip, go to their favorite, etc.

But I think just getting them all in and starting to tweak them is a good first step.
 
I have Reaper as a DAW....played with it a little bit....don't really know how to use it....but that's all part of the learning process....

But I understand the R16 can also be used to mix the sound into the PC.....Do you know how to do that...???
If I plug the R16 into the USB port on my PC.....start the R16....will it then create a file based on how I do the mix....using the sliders...???
 
I like doing things in the box, but there are some that need to feel the sliders. But I do think you have more control inside the DAW.

When you lug in the zoom, you should be able to see it on your PC as a storage device. Copy those over to a folder and then open the DAW and drag them in. I know there is a learning curve, but this will allow you to get the mix, enhance and boost the volume and bring out the best in the sound.

The mxing takes usually longer than the recording, just settle in, don't get in a hurry and start mixing. Post a few songs up in the clinic and we can help you start walking this through as you learn.

Just to remind you, this isn't as easy as many think, it takes time. That is why the good ones make really good money.
 
It's a steep learning curve. Push through and take the time to learn it. Once you get over that hump, you can really devote your time to the creative side.

I haven't used the Zoom interfaces before, but if I did I would copy all the audio tracks over to the computer and load them into Reaper, do the mixing there. I would not bother trying to mix on the zoom if I could use Reaper.

If I understand you correctly, you hit record, played 20 songs then hit stop. If that were the case, I would mix the entire thing first, then break them down into individual songs. I did something similar where I recorded and entire 4-set gig. At first I split out each song and mixed them separately, but it didn't come out great. There were a lot of inconsistencies between each song when nothing really changed during the recording. So I went back and started over. I mixed the entire show as one recording then split the songs out to individual songs (MP3s in my case).

my thoughts, hope this helps.
 
Regarding whether to split it up first or mix it first, I'd say that depends on whether you want this to be a "live album" or just a bunch of singles. If it's going to be presented as a collection, or even as a continuous audio experience, mix it all in one project.

In that case you'll probably want to do a fair bit of preparation that will be much easier in a computer than in a standalone recorder. For example, I would go through and even out the levels from song to song using clip gain first. Then I might put different compressors or eq on certain tracks on different songs.
 
Boulderguy....now you're getting ahead of me....
First challange is getting it open in Reaper....

And if any one has experience with Reaper......please say so...
 
I have the R24, and I use it for recording. Same thing... 8 tracks. However, I don't use the Zooms faders for mixing. I do it all on screen. First thing I do is pull the SD card and dump them all down to the computer, saving the SD card for backup.

Highlight all 8 tracks. pull them into Reaper as individual tracks. and away you go. They should all be in wav format, and its' a drag and drop proposition. Just specify you want them as individual tracks. Everything should line up and you should immediately be able to hit the play button, adjust levels and get an idea of what your recording sounds like.


From there, its just like any other recording in Reaper. Adjust EQ, add reverb if you want, mix them down and render the songs individually. If your recordings are relatively consistent, once you get a good mix setting, you should be able to just highlight a selection and render the selected area.

It will take some practice, but once you get the hang of it, things will move quickly.

I believe there are driver files on Zooms website if you really want to use the faders.

Good luck.
 
^^^^^^^TalismanRich has the right idea. I use the R16 as an audio interface and a control surface with Reaper. It’s an excellent unit.....but the user manual is not clear and lacks detail. Go to YouTube and look for videos on the Zoom. There’s lots of them and you can learn how to transfer your tracks to Reaper easily. Basically....the R16 is used as a storage device when you want to do the transfer. If you spend some time online learning the basics........it will all become clear for you. Good luck and post some of your results for us when you can.
 
Thanks Mickster...
I have the tracks in Reaper now....gonna start playing with them...
I've gone thru a number of YouTube videos on both the Zoom and Reaper and it seems like I
never find what I'm looking for.....like the videos are too advanced for me....
And I feel that my questions are really quite simple....therefore the answer should be simple....

Actually....I've learned quite a bit just from you guys in this post....

Man thanks....
 
You'll get there. Don't worry. Keep at it. It'll all make sense little by little. Now that you have your tracks in Reaper......lots of people here have lots of experience with Reaper.
 
Everyone....Thanks for following up....appreciate your time....
Question.....
I have my audio files in Reaper....I did NOT create a new project....I just opened Reaper and drag/drop the files....

Now....as I am making mixing adjustments...I assume Reaper is creating a temp file somewhere......and when I do my Save....I should be able to do a Save As which will allow me to
give the file a name....rather than saving over my original un-mixed file....

Do I have this correct...???

Should I start over and create a Project and I guess it will let me give it a name....

Comments appreciated...
 
There are a couple of approaches, and I've used both, depending on the nature of the material.

If all the songs have been recorded in the one session and are fundamentally the same, then you can leave them all in the project, and mix them all as if they are one song. I've done this, for example, with a choir. The settings would not vary between songs.You can then render the whole lot as a single 'song', then split it up afterwards, or render each separately (which is what I do).

If there are significant differences between song, and each requires a slightly different treatment, it's better to split them up into individual songs and mix each separately, then render separately.

Given the learning curve you face, it is probably easier to mix in the box, rather than adding the complexity of coupling the zoom to Reaper. I'd save that step till later.
 
The changes you make in a Reaper mix are nondestructive. The source files don't change. You can always open up the same files in a new project and mix them differently if you want. Or you can save with a new name and do a completely different mix of the same source files. Even cutting and deleting parts of clips inside Reaper doesn't change the files themselves, it just changes what parts are played in the project.
 
I ALWAYS pull the wav files to a new directory on the hard drive first! I never work from the SD card. When you start working in Reaper, it will use the wav files, but also build what are called ReaPEAK files. Basically these are the "pictures" of the wav files that you see on the screen.

I have a directory called Reaper Media. In that directory are the various project directories that I'm working on, and in those directories are the wave files, ReaPeak files and the RPP files which are the Reaper project files that tie everything together. Attached is a directory from a project a couple of years back. You can see the wave files from the Zoom, each one is 1.4GB in size. I have a couple of songs visible, Arnie's set and Kzoo Shuffle. You can see the mixed down files as well as the RPP files. While the two projects have entirely different settings, they use the exact same wave file without alteration. The RPP has all of the changes that you make embedded in the file.

You can mix down separate sections of the file and save them as different RPP files, while using the same audio files. That's a nice feature. I don't know if other DAWs work the same way.
 

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Yes, copy the files to the computer. Ideally, use a separate drive from the system drive.

I make a folder for each project and put the audio files for that project there. I also save the project files in the same folder.
 
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