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mlleopard
07-26-2007, 05:35 AM
I have recorded a voice track which is in a Reaper file. I go to render, fill it out and hit render. It reports that there is no output under output file and that under render status it says there is an error opening the file. I HAVE managed to make it work a couple of times but 9 times out of 10 it will not work, always with the same response...no output and error opening file. What stupid thing am I not doing? Anyone?

bigwoody
07-26-2007, 08:24 AM
Without a lot of details of your specific workflow I will try to help. When you say you record a voice and it is now a 'Reaper file' I assume you mean that it is a wav file in a reaper project. My gut is that there is a file name conflict, so first basic houskeeping. My practice is as soon as I start a new reaper project (before recording anything) I do project save as, and create a new folder for that project. This way you have a single place on your system with all the project info and all of the recorded files saved in one place.

Okay, now following my hunch of a file name conflict, an important thing to remember is that since the recorded file is in use in the reaper project, you cannot render a new file using the exact same name and file type. Specifically lets say that your voice file is voice.wav. In the Render dialog, under Output file it look something like MySongs/July26/voice.wav. If the file you recorded is called 'voice.wav' the render will fail because you are trying to replace a file that is in use. Use the browse button to change the file name, or make a new directory called 'mixdowns'. (This is what I do and append a date to the file name so I can keep track).

Two other things to to look for. First, the radio buttons for "Render entire project' and "render loop selection". If you have the render loop selected in the dialog box, but do not have a loop selection on your project, there is nothing to render.

Also right below the file name there is the choice to "render master mix" which will create a file for everything that you would hear thru the speakers, or "Render Stems" which will combine the track(s) that you have selected into a single file.

Hope this helps

mlleopard
07-26-2007, 11:04 AM
Well...you hit it right on the head. I understand now that I must change what it is being saved as. I do, by the way, as you suggest...save the file at the very beginning, but did not realize I must change it for the rendered version. It works now. I had been originally recording them as MP3 (at lease on the track it said MP3) but they were still showing up as RPP files. So I guess, for me, I should just record the track as wav then render to MP3 since they must be uploaded to a server as MP3. I appreciate your help on this. I was pulling my hair out (what's left). I'm from the old school and could cut anything with a razor blade, but the digital is new to me. Thanks for the help. Wish there was a course on this. Mitch

Also having a problem with editing. When I want to cut out something, I highlight the segment, then hit delete, or any number of right click events which says delete the highlighted part. It wants to delete the whole track not just the highlightsegment.

bigwoody
07-26-2007, 11:32 AM
Mitch, Glad I could help on the rendering. As far as cutting, go back to the razer blade concept. You must cut and item it before you remove it. So, put your curser on the first place you want to cut and hit the s key (Split) (or you can rightclick and select split item). Now go the the end point and do the same thing. Finally click on the new segment to highlight and then use the delete key or rightclick/Remove selected Item.

Another way is to draw a section in the timeline and then highlight the track(s) you are editing. Then right click and choose "cut selected area of selected items." You can do a simlar thing if you just want part of a track and to delete the rest using "Trim Items to Selected Area".

Also notice that when you split the item you can also drag the beginning/end to hide or remove the segment. Similarly if you cut a piece out that you want back, simply drag the end piece of the remaining wav to the empty space and it will appear......

As far as a course, Pipeline has made some great videos, http://www.reaper.fm/~pipeline/REAPERVideos/basics/ and overall the manual is pretty good.

There is so much to learn, but I think you are going to have a blast. Happy Reapering......

Also a note on file types. RPP files are Reaper project files. This contains all the project information as well as edits, undo log, FX used etc. Each item that is recorded is saved as a .wav. It will also have a corresponding wav.reapeaks file which is the graphical representation that shows up in the reaper edit window. When you render, the idea is to produce a single file from all of the tracks as mixed. At this point you have the choice to render to various formats depending on what you want to use the output file for, ie wav, mp3, AIFF, OGG etc. Probably stating the obvious, but early understanding of the file management will help you down the road.