[Rwp] Was about to purchase Reaper, but am strongly reconsiderring.

[Scott Chesworth]

Chris wrote:
"here is the real shortened run down version again of my questions."
Scott replies:
Really? 1483 words for 3 newbie questions is the shortened version?
Holy moly, there's not enough bandwidth in the world for you to get
good at Reaper and start asking challenging stuff!

1. I don't remember which of these settings were enabled by default,
so in preferences (CTRL+P), make sure that these checkboxes are
checked:
Editing Behavior, Move edit cursor to start of time selection on time
selection change
Editing Behavior, Link loop points to time selection
Playback, Stop playback at end of loop if repeat is disabled
Now, Reaper should move the playhead to match any changes you make to
the start of time selection, and stop when it reaches the end of time
selection. One other keystroke it might be useful for you to know is
Alt+Space, which plays skipping time selection, so you can back up a
bit and audition what the cut would sound like.

Somebody else might take a stab at questions 2 and 3. The time I had
set aside for lists tonight has just been burned reading. Sorry, but I
can say with some certainty that if you're not getting answers, it's
not because of a lack of knowledge on RWP.

It might also be worth you knowing that the Reaper demo doesn't
expire. Beyond the 30 day trial, all that happens is that you get a
nag screen on start up that lasts for 5 seconds or something. Probably
no need for you to rush into buying it until you're sure it'll meet
your needs. You might be better off putting that money toward some
tutoring instead. Just a thought.

Hth

Scott

On 4/2/15, Christopher-Mark Gilland via RWP <rwp at bluegrasspals.com> wrote:
> So, after literally speaking, playing with Reaper all day to this point
> nonstop, since about 6 this morning, , and practically getting absolutely
> nowhere more than waisting an entire day of time, and wearing myself out, I
> am at two conclusions.  Either someone on this list is going to have to be
> willing to not necessarily sit here and teach me the program and all its ins
> and outs, no pun intended, but at least chat with me over phone or Skype,
> and give me a hand, or, I'm gonna probably have to ditch Reaper altogether,
> which I really really don't want to do, if I can at all prevent it!  This
> DAW looks so promising, I'd really like to give it some chance of credit,
> but it's blaintantly obvious that I am doing something dead wrong.  I posted
> some questions this morning, but no one is answerring.  I understand people
> have jobs, lives, and are busy.  I know that.  I would have been willing to
> wait and be patient for a response... I still am! willing to be patient.  My
> thing is, I'm questioning if it's just people being busy, vs. it's people
> not knowing the answer to my questions, which I hope isn't the case,
> considerring how fundemental not to mention paramount of tasks they were
> that I'm trying to accomplish.
>
> So, again, not to purposely be redundant, but here is the real shortened run
> down version again of my questions.  Some of them, I've figured out, I
> think, though I haven't tested my theories, so I'll slightly revise where
> necessary.
>
> 1.  I have a track with voice on it.  I want to select a portion of the
> audio to either delete, or somehow menipulate, be it copy/cut, add effects,
> whatever.  The bottom line, I have a portion of audio which needs to be
> selected.  I know about the selecting methods like alt+shift+left and right
> brackets to set my bounderies, I know about splitting an item into multiple
> items with the S key.  I know the difference in pausing and stopping with
> space vs. ctrl+Space.  My question is, once I have something selected on
> that one track in the project, how do I now play just! that selection of
> audio between those bounderies?  If I select a range in the timeline, then I
> hit space bar, it's playing everything, regardless.  I'm sorry, but this is
> unacceptable behavior for me 99.999% of the time.  I need to be able to hear
> isolated just! what is selected and no more.  Why?  Well?  Think about it!
> What if the right boundery is slid a little too far to the right, therefore
> giving a little bit too much audio at the end.  So the right boundery would
> need to nudge back to the left just a bit with alt+ctrl+comma.  Or say, the
> left edge needs to have ctrl+period done a few times to nudge it inward a
> bit.  This way, I get the exact selection fine tuned really tightly.  If I
> can't audition my selection without hearing anything else, then how the heck
> am I supposed to accurately do this?
>
> 2.  When I create a track with ctrl+T, call it say... voice... hit F7 to
> arm, then R to record, I'm speaking about 3 or 4 sentences in my mike, then
> hitting space to stop recording and am choosing save all.  Now, I hit W to
> go to the beginning of the project.  Again, this is dealing with a one track
> only project.  Now, I hit space bar to play.  Now, I try to read my meters
> with j for left, and k for right channels, I'm being told that my levels on
> each channel seperetly are coming in around -27DB.  Whenever I use any other
> DAW like Sonar, or ProTools, or what not, without even moving the gain dial
> at all on my interface, it says I'm coming in at -12.  Yes, I am aware of
> the windows sound mixer settings, and the input volume level under the
> device properties.  In both cases, the level was never moved from one to the
> other  when switching DAWS.  I thought that maybe it might be that things
> like ProTools are combining both channels into one meter, as some of the
> above DAWS I mentioned only have one meter, not two, so this would mean if I
> wanted -12 over all across both channels, I'd have to divide -12 by 2.
> Because half of that -12DB would be distributed to the left while the other
> half would evenly be distributed to the right.  Well, -12 divided by 2 is
> -6, says my calculator.  So, that would mean that in all actuality, each of
> the two meters should show around -6DB, if my assumption were correct.
> Well, that isn't the case.  It's showing again, around -25 to 27ish.  Then,
> when I up arrow to my karaoke track, then! read the meters, it's showing
> about -18 to -15 for both.  Why?  When I import the karaoke track on to a
> track in any other DAW, then look at the meters while playing, it's around
> 0DB.  Which makes sense, as the track has been obviously digitally mastered
> already to that 0 peek during the final mix before being released to
> consumers as myself.  So bottom line, the meters are either not reading even
> close to correctly, or, I'm just flat out retarded.  No offense by the term
> meant at all.  If you are! then, my profuse apology.  If I can't properly
> read my meters, then out the door goes Reaper, no question.  It's not open
> for debate.  That is a kill! of a deal breaker for me.  I'm not saying I'm
> not willing to try giving it another chance, but someone is gonna have to
> speak up and tell me what the hell I'm doing wrong, as this doesn't make any
> sense.  I know that from DAW to DAW things can waver a little bit in
> readouts, but come on!  Not from -12 to -20!  That's almost twice
> difference.  I could maybe see a couple! of DBFS difference, but not near!
> to that extreme.
>
> 3.  When trying to press F to open the effects chain of a track that I've
> selected with my arrow keys, I have no audio selected, as I want to apply
> across the entire track, not the whole project mind you, just that one?
> selected vocal track.  I make sure bipass is not turned on, with shift+B.  I
> start the track playing, F6 to solo up the track so I can hear it better,
> then, I'm hitting alt+P to go into the chain parameters.  Once looking at
> the list of parameters for the current plugin, let's take Rea Verb for
> example...  I go down to the first option in the list of parameters which
> set wet.  I then tab over and see a combo box which by default is saying
> -12DB for the value.  While the track is playing, I start working that combo
> box in both directions arrowing incredibly drasticly up and down.  Remember,
> no time selection has been made at all.  Absolutely nothing is happenning as
> I change the combo box in realtime.  Even if I hit OK after changing the
> combo box, doesn't matter.  I  still! hear no difference.  Let's take the JS
> parametric EQ, I think it's called.  I move to the band parameter.  The edit
> box when I then tab says something around 4000, give or take.  Obviously
> this is w'w'w'w'w'w'wayyyyyy! out of the human hearing range of HZ.  So, I
> moved this to around 100.  Then, using the slider just beyond this, I hear
> it's a left right slider.  So, I used left and right arrows to move.  This
> way I could boost or cut frequencies around 100HZ.  I was trying to notch
> them by about 2DB.  My arrow keys are not working at all with that slider.
> No percentages are being spoken as things may or may not be moving.  Yes, I
> know that ReaAccess may be getting in the way with left and right arrows.
> I'm  using JAWS 16.  I did an insert+num row 3 to pass through, then hit
> left arrow, I did this a good 30 or 40 times each direction, left, and
> right.  I heard absolutely no difference whatsoever.  I may be fairly deaf,
> but I'm not that! far gone.  Come! On!  Really?
>
> So, yeah.  Because of these querks, unless someone can help me, I'm at a
> point now where I'm literally about ready to uninstall Reaper and say, it
> was worth a try, but it lacks a ton to be desired in accessibility.  Again,
> if someone's willing to work with me to pinpoint down my issues, then great!
>  By all means, I'm in!  Let's go!  I'm certainly willing to give you all a
> chance to help me, but just know, that at least for right now, I'm very very
> much so not impressed.
>
> Chris.