Making a click track in Reaper

[Scooterj]

Greetings. My first Newbie post here. I am using Reaper. I will record my acoustic version of Blackbird with separate tracks for guitar and vocals. I want to use a click track to keep me in time and to make everything easier to align. One choice would to be just to run the Reaper metronome while playing and then singing with probable double tracking planned for some of the vocals. BUT I suspect it is more powerful and better to create a separate dedicated click track.

Is this correct?

What is the method to make such a track?

Thanks so much

 

[DrewPeterson7]

I do one of two things -

1) Honestly, just using the Reaper click IS pretty straightforward, and it's reasonably cusomizable. That's a solid option, and if I was just doing an unaccompanied acoustic sort of thing like this, I'd probably start there.

2) Especially if the project is going to have drums anyway, though, I'll put together a scratch drum track using Superior Drummer, and try to program the main "groove" of the song as I'd want to hear it in the final recording, and track to the virtual drums.

For your needs, though, the Reaper metronome is simple, straightforward, and your easiest option, I'd think.

 

[DM60]

There are so many ways to approach this. In another DAW, I use the DAWs click. Sometimes I will use MIDI drums and a click (in case of swing or whatever. Lots of different ways to do this, you probably need to try various different ways to see what you are most comfortable with. I start with a rhythm and then figure out the BPM. That is easier for me as I can naturally be closer to the BPM.

 

[TalismanRich]

I don't like the sound of the Reaper click track. I do much better by loading up my MTPDK and putting in a minimal, repetitive drum track with the timing I want. Then I can always go back and redo the drum track if I need one.

My favorite way is to have a drum track finalized with a very rough, even incomplete vocal/guitar rhythm track. I lock in better with drums.

When I did Blackbird, I didn't bother with a click or drum track. I just played it and let the timing fall as it may. Adding vocals was the same as playing along with another person, you just don't have the visual clue of looking at them. Mine was actually done on a Zoom H4n. A friend wanted to know if the Zoom could do multitracking before she ordered one. I figured a recording of a guitar and 3 voices would be more convincing than just saying "Yeah, it does."

Blackbird

 

[Scooterj]

Thanks everybody. This was a great starter post for me because I realized that for the technical "how" answer there was a quick YouTube Video specific to Reaper which was a better place to go. But for the "why", your answers were interesting because I had not thought of a drum track to fulfill this purpose and enjoyed Rich sharing his production! Thanks.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

If it's just about the sound, @TalismanRich, then if memory serves Reaper allows you to load your own samples for the click, in place of the stock ones. I generally use drums too, but just in case.

 

[TalismanRich]

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't heard that before.

I've already got a quickie set up for MTPDK that I like. Just change the tempo to what I want and go. The drum sound is "comfortable" sounding to me.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Yeah, I get that - honestly, my default Reaper project has an instance of Superior already loaded with a simple 4/4 rock beat waiting in it, for pretty much the same reasons.