Wanting to learn everything I can about reaper

fromthedepths · 05-09-2015, 07:22 AM

Wanting to fully immerse myself in reaper and learn as much as possible . Have seen the instructional videos and I was wondering if there is more material in the videos than the guide?i know there is no easy button with this , just trying to find out what's the easiest way to shorten the learning curve. Thanks

synkrotron · 05-09-2015, 07:36 AM

What I find, with tools like Reaper that has quite a large tool set, it's better to learn as you go along. You may find that you don't need to learn about every tool in the box.

But, then again, I'm lazy and have always just jumped straight in there, whether it's setting up a new TV or learning how to fly a jet (joking about the jet of course...)

I've found the user guide available for download covers most things. Then there are the video's of Kenny Gioia are a fantastic additional resource.

http://www.kennymania.com/free-videos/

chas51 · 05-09-2015, 07:43 AM

I got an all access pass to Groove3.

http://www.groove3.com/str/reaper-training-videos/

foxAsteria · 05-09-2015, 10:34 AM

The more you experiment, the more context you will have for understanding the details of different techniques. Tutorials lend themselves to rigid workflow; experimentation fosters creative problem solving. There are so many ways to approach any one problem in Reaper. Try them all.

Personally, my technique was to keep the User Guide open while messing about and search keywords any time I came across something I didn't understand. But I had years of experience in other DAWs before coming here so maybe that won't work for you.

Still, spend time experimenting with projects you are not attached to. Can't emphasize that enough.

stereolost · 05-09-2015, 02:32 PM

6 weeks ago i've opened Reaper for the first time and decided that i'm gonna customize it 100% the way i like. User Guide was my on the road book, this forum was my Facebook, subscribed to all the channels i could find on YouTube.

Rearranged all menus, made tons of shortcuts, used all toolbars, renamed all plugins, made templates.
The problem was that i customized in the style of "i think i'll need this button here" and "i'll use this shortcut a lot" and "these modifiers seem very logical and rememberable for this action"... and when i was nearing the end, i've began actually arranging and mixing music... many of these presumptions failed: in the workflow i found myself leaning to other modifier keys, getting lost in my own menus. I've found that all my Waves and UAD plugins i've been renaming, have a buggy GUI in vst format, and i'm better with AU

..all the custom FX folders i've made i for some reason i don't like using.
Afterwards, learning more about SWS extensions i've found much better replacements for the macros i've been making.

So my advice for you would be to start working right away and whenever you have this thought "i use this action a lot" - make a button or a hotkey. Watch yourself - which menus do you search these envelopes for? Place them there. "What the heck are all these options here?" - find out and if you can't think of a use for them, hide 'em.

And in you have a little money and not so much time, Kenny's videos on Groove3 will save you time in comparison to watching hundreds of non-systemized vids on YouTube.
Reaper Blog is a good one too.

OPI · 05-09-2015, 02:38 PM

http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2015...sic-producers/

Not specifically for reaper/ But damn useful

foxAsteria · 05-09-2015, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stereolost

6 weeks ago i've opened Reaper for the first time and decided that i'm gonna customize it 100% the way i like.

It only took you 6 weeks to do that??! I'm still tweaking my setup regularly after 5 years! Maybe it's because when I got here we were missing so many of the awesome features that we now have? Or maybe I'm just never satisfied...

Iain · 05-09-2015, 02:54 PM

My advice - be patient, learn a little every day. There's loads of Reaper features that I don't use. When I need a feature, I'll look in the manual or check out Kenny's videos.

stereolost · 05-09-2015, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

It only took you 6 weeks to do that??! I'm still tweaking my setup regularly after 5 years! Maybe it's because when I got here we were missing so many of the awesome features that we now have? Or maybe I'm just never satisfied...

No, of course i'm not done

Actually i've scrapped most menus and toolbars and now updating them as i go and really need something. And not being able to script and walter, i'm somewhat limited in what i can do myself.

foxAsteria · 05-09-2015, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stereolost

No, of course i'm not done

Actually i've scrapped most menus and toolbars and now updating them as i go and really need something. And not being able to script and walter, i'm somewhat limited in what i can do myself.

Walter is actually not too difficult (still took me 5 years to attempt it). Only took me a day or two of messing around and reading White Tie's guide to get things the way I wanted them. Scripting is quite another story. Not well documented at all. You basically have to know some programming already, going in to that.

thequietroom · 05-09-2015, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stereolost

6 weeks ago i've opened Reaper for the first time and decided that i'm gonna customize it 100% the way i like. User Guide was my on the road book, this forum was my Facebook, subscribed to all the channels i could find on YouTube.

Rearranged all menus, made tons of shortcuts, used all toolbars, renamed all plugins, made templates.
The problem was that i customized in the style of "i think i'll need this button here" and "i'll use this shortcut a lot" and "these modifiers seem very logical and rememberable for this action"... and when i was nearing the end, i've began actually arranging and mixing music... many of these presumptions failed: in the workflow i found myself leaning to other modifier keys, getting lost in my own menus. I've found that all my Waves and UAD plugins i've been renaming, have a buggy GUI in vst format, and i'm better with AU

..all the custom FX folders i've made i for some reason i don't like using.
Afterwards, learning more about SWS extensions i've found much better replacements for the macros i've been making.

So my advice for you would be to start working right away and whenever you have this thought "i use this action a lot" - make a button or a hotkey. Watch yourself - which menus do you search these envelopes for? Place them there. "What the heck are all these options here?" - find out and if you can't think of a use for them, hide 'em.

And in you have a little money and not so much time, Kenny's videos on Groove3 will save you time in comparison to watching hundreds of non-systemized vids on YouTube.
Reaper Blog is a good one too.

I did the same thing.. Although i did learn a lotabout customization through it all

nicholas · 05-09-2015, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iain

My advice - be patient, learn a little every day. There's loads of Reaper features that I don't use. When I need a feature, I'll look in the manual or check out Kenny's videos.

Best advice possible, I'd say (emphasis mine).

joelsampson · 05-09-2015, 07:28 PM

Buy a PRINTED copy of the manual. The PDF is nice to look stuff up, but it's nice to highlight and markup the hard copy.

rvman · 05-10-2015, 04:40 AM

In addition to what has already been suggested, just USE it.

When I'm learning a new DAW, I import an mp3 and just start messing with functions. Cut,copy,paste,rearrange,add effects,automate,etc.

Get comfortable with the basics then get to recording. You'll learn by doing.

fromthedepths · 05-10-2015, 11:01 AM

Thanks for all your advice .