Old 07-28-2014, 06:18 AM   #1
jah242
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Default How do I remove playback reverb?

Greetings from a newbie, and apologies in advance if this question has been answered somewhere.

I've installed Reaper, and have been extremely impressed with it, however:

Playback automatically inserts a reverb-like enhancement to every track, even when no FX are being used. I've tried all the settings in playback options, tried flushing RAM by rebooting, even tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software. It sounds as if a reverb effect is stuck in the "on" position although it doesn't show up anywhere.

I'm using a brand-new MacBook Pro. Drivers for a variety of interfaces are on the machine (Metric Halo uln-8, Tascam US-144 MK-2, Roland duo-capture) They all work well, but right now I'm assessing Reaper via the system audio (i.e. no i/o devices) while I travel and notice the problem when I compare playback through iOS default vs Reaper.

Reaper sounds terrific, but not like the original file.

Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks,
John
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Old 07-28-2014, 08:29 AM   #2
jah242
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Default PS

Unlike the "global reverb" thread posted by "local guitarist", my master track and performance meter show no enabled effects. Reverb is clearly audible in every track I play back through Reaper, but if I render the track and play back in other software, the reverb disappears.

I can disable the tail that I hear after stopping playback by changing the playback FX option from 4000 ms (default?) to zero, but reverb/processing is still audible.

I am trying ProTools 11 as well as Reaper -- I don't suppose Reaper may be invisibly grabbing some ProTools plugin? (I know that's a longshot, but I'm really stumped)

Any help would be much appreciated!

John
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:11 AM   #3
darkcloud2973
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Reaper doesn't load anything like that. You might have live monitoring enabled on your interface so you are hearing a live feed from your interface and also a software monitoring feed from Reaper a few ms later at the same time. Since the software feed is buffered for few milliseconds and the monitoring feed from the interface isn't, you end up hearing a kind of slight echo. I don't know your interface so I can't be specific, but dig around in your interface control panel and try to find something referencing live monitoring and disable it.
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:22 AM   #4
jah242
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Thanks for that prompt reply. I am playing back through the MacBook Pro headphone jack using default iOS settings. If I click on the file on the desktop, it is dry. If I drag it into Reaper, it is wet even though no FX are enabled. If I render it back to the desktop and listen to the file again outside of Reaper, the rendered file is dry.

It seems to be actual processing, because I can change the duration of the tail I hear after hitting "stop" in the reaper playback options.

I have even tried reinstalling Reaper. I'm new to MAC, so pardon this question, but is there possibly a corrupted .ini type file that would stay in place even with a new installation? Any way to restore all defaults other than reinstalling?

Thanks!
J
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:23 AM   #5
darkcloud2973
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How can you change the duration of the tail?
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:29 AM   #6
bluzkat
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Check the sound card settings on your Mac... there has to be something causing it, but I really can't believe its Reaper.

Definitely a strange one!


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Old 07-28-2014, 09:41 AM   #7
toddhisattva
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Default Maybe Parallel Signal Paths

Is it reverb (with a "tail") or is it an echo (exactly the same thing just delayed)?

A straight-up echo could be parallel signal paths with different latencies. I have this in my PeeCee if I set a/the "sound card" to monitor some input using the Windows Sound Control Panel, and also have monitoring on in Reaper as well. The Reaper path usually has higher latency, but since I'm more interested in Reaper's output, I disable the hardware playthrough monitoring.

If it's a reverb that you only hear in Reaper but not with rendered output from Reaper, maybe you're sending Reaper through an audio path/driver that has reverb, different from the path you listen to the renders on. My Realtek "sound card" has a bunch of (stupid & useless) onboard effects like reverb and karaoke, maybe something on your Mac is acting the same way.

In either (or neither) case, what Reaper renders is probably what Reaper is sending to the selected audio driver (if the render dialog settings are the same depth and rate), and any reverb that isn't in the render is probably coming from something external to Reaper.

Heck, my Yamaha 5.1 amp has reverbs that my Yamaha computer speakers don't have. I turn those reverbs off too ;-)
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Old 07-28-2014, 09:50 AM   #8
jah242
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To Darkcloud:
I'm away from my computer right now (driving through the NM desert with my wife at the wheel) but there is option in playback that allows FX to continue after hitting "stop" -- can't remember the exact name of the selection.

Very strange situation... It really does seem to be a Reaper issue. The only other possibility I can think of it that I selected "default" in iOS playback options instead of "internal speaker"

Could Reaper be looping it around in some way in a driver-related internal feedback loop that sounds like reverb?

I'll check out that possibility asap and get back to you both.

Thanks for your help -- I'm really loving Reaper, and want to use it for recording desert soundscapes in the next couple of days, but need to get this figured out!

J
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Old 07-28-2014, 10:11 AM   #9
jah242
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Default Oy -- silly me

There's an option for "Monitoring FX" under the "View" menu option. I had a reverb plugin enabled there. Sorry for my ignorance, and thank you for your help!

J
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Old 07-28-2014, 11:02 AM   #10
darkcloud2973
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Glad you got it sorted!
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Old 07-28-2014, 12:03 PM   #11
Dirty Bach
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Its easy to forget about the monitor fx chain - the fx chain stays on regardless of the project you have open - don't know if there is a setting to keep it just for a particular project.
You easily forget that you have fx monitoring on. Although, a nice green bar appears in the upper right hand corner (Monitor FX) when a tab is added to a project....
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Old 07-28-2014, 02:33 PM   #12
jah242
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End note:

It really surprised me that the monitor FX enabled reverb stayed on even when I deleted and reinstalled Reaper. For newbies to both MAC and Reaper like me, can anyone explain how to restore all Reaper defaults on a MAC? Is there a settings or ini file somewhere that can be deleted and automatically regenerated with "factory defaults?"

Thanks again, everyone!
J
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