Cockos Incorporated Forums - View Single Post - Using Reaper as virtual mixer for live streaming (Mac/OBS/Facebook Live)

BerkeleyBernie · 04-02-2020, 07:03 PM

Hi all,

I'm basically a Reaper newbie, recorded a couple of dozen songs using the DAW. I've run a couple of guitar/vocal Facebook Live streams using the following basic setup for audio (and a DSLR for video):

Zoom H5 as audio interface (built-in stereo condensers and/or 2 connected mics) into a MacBook running Mojave.
OBS streaming software (using Facebook Live key)

This limits control of my audio to basically the gain dials on the Zoom H5. The signal going into OBS is already merged into a single track, so no control there either. I also have a Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 which is my main audio interface. I was just experimenting with the H5 because it's a simpler quicker setup but either will work. The Focusrite certainly has better pres and I've got an LA-610 hooked up to it I can use on the vocal.

What I need is a basic mixer for EQ, panning, compression, and reverb. I was thinking about an inexpensive USB Mixer interface for simplicity. A huge shout-out to Alto Music who I called today asking for recommendations. After hearing the info above, they essentially turned down a sale and said I'd be better off running through my DAW as a virtual mixer. That's great customer service.

I'd considered this. I have BlackHole (Soundflower replacement) installed and have set up an aggregate device. I watched a couple of Kenny's videos on routing so I kinda get the idea.

I could probably trial and error this and get it to work, but any pointers for proper routing/settings setup would be helpful. Better, for instance, to set up a buss track to send to OBS instead of the master mix?

One thing where I suspect I might get hung up: a way to monitor the mix (with eq, comp, reverb, etc) with low enough latency while I'm streaming myself singing/playing? Or am I better off with the dry monitoring of the inputs straight off the audio interface?

I did see where Kenny showed how to setup up a buss track for a headphone mix, for instance.

I'd like to come up with a simple setup that I can just go to whenever I want to go live.

Thanks!

04-02-2020, 07:03 PM	#1
BerkeleyBernie Human being with feelings Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA Posts: 42	Using Reaper as virtual mixer for live streaming (Mac/OBS/Facebook Live) Hi all, I'm basically a Reaper newbie, recorded a couple of dozen songs using the DAW. I've run a couple of guitar/vocal Facebook Live streams using the following basic setup for audio (and a DSLR for video): Zoom H5 as audio interface (built-in stereo condensers and/or 2 connected mics) into a MacBook running Mojave. OBS streaming software (using Facebook Live key) This limits control of my audio to basically the gain dials on the Zoom H5. The signal going into OBS is already merged into a single track, so no control there either. I also have a Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 which is my main audio interface. I was just experimenting with the H5 because it's a simpler quicker setup but either will work. The Focusrite certainly has better pres and I've got an LA-610 hooked up to it I can use on the vocal. What I need is a basic mixer for EQ, panning, compression, and reverb. I was thinking about an inexpensive USB Mixer interface for simplicity. A huge shout-out to Alto Music who I called today asking for recommendations. After hearing the info above, they essentially turned down a sale and said I'd be better off running through my DAW as a virtual mixer. That's great customer service. I'd considered this. I have BlackHole (Soundflower replacement) installed and have set up an aggregate device. I watched a couple of Kenny's videos on routing so I kinda get the idea. I could probably trial and error this and get it to work, but any pointers for proper routing/settings setup would be helpful. Better, for instance, to set up a buss track to send to OBS instead of the master mix? One thing where I suspect I might get hung up: a way to monitor the mix (with eq, comp, reverb, etc) with low enough latency while I'm streaming myself singing/playing? Or am I better off with the dry monitoring of the inputs straight off the audio interface? I did see where Kenny showed how to setup up a buss track for a headphone mix, for instance. I'd like to come up with a simple setup that I can just go to whenever I want to go live. Thanks! Last edited by BerkeleyBernie; 04-02-2020 at 07:55 PM.