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Old 11-11-2017, 03:14 PM   #1
Ideosound
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Default Who is using a Wacom with Reaper?

Searching “Wacom” in the forum brings up very little regarding Wacom tablets and Reaper. I made the switch about 6 months ago due to too much rsi / wrist pain from mousing. Does anyone else use one? I only have one small issue with it that I was wanting to pin down with any fellow users out there.
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Old 11-12-2017, 01:57 PM   #2
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I use a windows tablet with a stylus, especially for notation editor, although it could use some optimization but I'm getting used to it. I'm planning to upgrade to a bigger pen input screen (when my work space is ready)
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Old 11-12-2017, 02:15 PM   #3
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I think Kenny is or was for a while.
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Old 11-12-2017, 04:34 PM   #4
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I’ve been using wacom for years. For design, digital imaging or any visual related work which involves a lot of drawing gestures.

REAPER is more fun using a mouse. A normal mouse with buttons and scrolwheel.
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Old 11-12-2017, 06:42 PM   #5
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Still using a Wacom for graphics stuff. Had a period there where I forced myself to use it for DAWs (not yet Reaper) and it didn't take. Too much picking up and putting down the stylus for one thing : /
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Old 11-13-2017, 05:17 AM   #6
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Thanks for all of your input. I ended up trying a Wacom in the first place from watching Stimming using a Cintiq, but its quite old now. Still a good watch and of course Reaper is a lot more configurable than Cubase which is his DAW.

https://youtu.be/_qCoMYk1NbE

I tried various ergonomic mice but sent them all back as there was always something that I didn't like about the various designs on the market. I settled on the Intuos Pro Medium. The only thing I miss from a mouse is the mouse wheel, but I've got zoom shortcuts and a scrub cursor setup on the Faderport for that. You can use the jog wheel also. Overall the Wacom is a lot better for me personally, my wrists aren't nearly as bad, even when I'd swap mousing hands to try and even the workload.

The only thing I find a bit strange is when using reaper in the main arrangement area, it doesn't register every click (pen nib tap) which is a little annoying to move the cursor to the click point. All other features of reaper like clicking buttons all work correctly. If I click directly over the time ruler section just above the main arrange, it registers every click so something is stopping it from receiving when using it just in the main arrange area. Its not the end of the world but its annoying that is isn't quite getting all of the clicks. I've been using the right click setup on my pen button to get around this problem which saves having to move up to the time ruler area just to move cursor. Double clicks work all the time in the arrange area. Its working fine in Ableton Live.

I asked Justin about it with this response:

Question: Sorry to ask Reaper question... in the arrange area, clicking with a Wacom pen to move cursor doesn’t always register single (left) clicks. Do you have any idea why? It always registers when clicking on the time / ruler area above without fail. I find this odd. Ive tried all different Pen settings, no luck. Thanks [permalink]
Asked by NGF (213.205.252.x) on November 11 2017, 9:45pm

Reply on November 11 2017, 11:44pm:
If I had to guess it would be because the arrange area has scrollbars, the Wacom driver probably looks at it and decides to handle things differently.
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Old 11-13-2017, 05:27 AM   #7
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I also had a problem of clicks not registering, especially when I tried to move inputs to another note but I found a workaround to just double click the note (delete it) and insert a new one in the right place.
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Old 02-13-2018, 02:54 PM   #8
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Just as an update, I've moved to a new mac with High Sierra (from El Capitan before). The Wacom pen click does now register every left click in the arrangement area in Reaper (to click to move cursor). I think it was some issue with El Capitan.
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Old 03-14-2019, 05:42 PM   #9
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I was just looking at the Intuos pro, which actually has scrolling and navigation similar to that of an iPad (you can do it with your hands)
To me that seems like a huge step forward from pen only control.

I have never used one myself, but surely that would make it much more usable in a DAW context. it also has a programmable scroll wheel and 8 programmable buttons.

Might be worth looking into a bit further.
Anyone have experience with this particular one?
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Old 03-19-2019, 03:53 AM   #10
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I use a small intuos pro since a few years, it has replaced my mouse, but there is a big learning curve. Buttons and ring, customization is great, but the touch part is not as smooth as a trackpad, so i use to scroll with the pen.
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Old 03-19-2019, 04:14 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jrengmusic View Post
I’ve been using wacom for years. For design, digital imaging or any visual related work which involves a lot of drawing gestures.

REAPER is more fun using a mouse. A normal mouse with buttons and scrolwheel.
Why there is also radial menu, and with a tablet/pen this could work very well. Hold a button and the menu would appear, then continuing with the pen. I would suggest putting the toolbar vertically to the left for example for easy access for the left hand, pen on right hand. Buttons you can have additionally, but on mechanical qwerty.

Last edited by TonE; 03-19-2019 at 04:56 AM.
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Old 10-28-2020, 10:21 PM   #12
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I tried using a wacom with REAPER today...not really able to double click correctly on automation lines, but some of the rest seemed ok!
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Old 11-04-2020, 04:24 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pipelineaudio View Post
I tried using a wacom with REAPER today...not really able to double click correctly on automation lines, but some of the rest seemed ok!
Hold the shift key down before you click once on the automation line and it will add a point. A lot of the Wacom issues can normally be avoided using clever tricks. I also wrote a blog about my experience here for anyone interested in using one.

https://ideosound.com/Blog

I use my Wacom every day almost with Reaper and Mac OS. Absolutely changed my workflow. I still use a Contour mouse for more normal tasks like email etc just to give a break and spread the workload across both wrists.
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Old 11-04-2020, 05:44 AM   #14
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Isn't the rocker switch on the pen configurable for right-click and double-click?
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Old 11-04-2020, 05:48 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark Fader View Post
Isn't the rocker switch on the pen configurable for right-click and double-click?
Yes you can configure the rocker switch to trigger those actions and more. I have mine to trigger right click on the top switch click but I actually prefer a double click using a button on the Wacom tablet itself.
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Old 11-04-2020, 11:36 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ideosound View Post
I also wrote a blog about my experience here for anyone interested in using one.

https://ideosound.com/Blog
Also a Wacom user here, thanks for that article.

I use it in combination with a mouse (right hand pen, left hand mouse, I'm right handed), pen for cursor positioning, mouse just for left-/-middle/-right click + scrollwheel, because I feel I easily loose position using the rocker switch on the pen (might be a matter of practice though).
Got the idea from here:
http://www.claytowne.com/beats-diggi...ffice-workers/

Feels very nice this way.
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Old 11-04-2020, 12:42 PM   #17
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or on a normal qwerty, especially if mechanical qwerty? will check your blog post, thanks for sharing.

UPDATE: Just saw contour has a special mouse, but probably they have again no proper drivers for linux, as was in the case of contour shuttlexpress. I had more feature for it while using in windows, after switching to linux I could not use it as properly with various software, as contour has no driver/customization software for linux, you have to do all yourself, using various tricks. I will never buy anything from Contour again, as a linux user.

Last edited by TonE; 11-04-2020 at 12:51 PM.
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Old 11-04-2020, 12:54 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nofish View Post
Also a Wacom user here, thanks for that article.

I use it in combination with a mouse (right hand pen, left hand mouse, I'm right handed), pen for cursor positioning, mouse just for left-/-middle/-right click + scrollwheel, because I feel I easily loose position using the rocker switch on the pen (might be a matter of practice though).
Got the idea from here:
http://www.claytowne.com/beats-diggi...ffice-workers/

Feels very nice this way.
I have my kensington expert trackball mouse also on the left, on the right there is a normal mouse as well (Razor Deathadder), but alternatively a pen can be used there, will try more, after reading both linked articles.
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Old 11-04-2020, 01:48 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nofish View Post
I feel I easily loose position using the rocker switch on the pen (might be a matter of practice though).
Defo gets easier with time and then it feels totally normal. It did take me a few months of constant use until I really started using it and enjoying the switch in my workflow.
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Old 11-04-2020, 01:53 PM   #20
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I don't use one anymore (trackpad now) but one tip you should definitely consider is changing the size of the usable surface.

Depending on the size of the tablet, you don't want to be moving your hand to jump from side to side on your screen.

I usually adjusted it in the software so I was only using about 1/4th the tablet to represent the whole screen. This way you can reach everything without moving your hand. Just rotating your wrist.

Good luck.
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Old 11-04-2020, 01:57 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny Gioia View Post
I don't use one anymore (trackpad now) but one tip you should definitely consider is changing the size of the usable surface.

Depending on the size of the tablet, you don't want to be moving your hand to jump from side to side on your screen.

I usually adjusted it in the software so I was only using about 1/4th the tablet to represent the whole screen. This way you can reach everything without moving your hand. Just rotating your wrist.

Good luck.
Yeah this is something I found helped a lot! it's really worthwhile going through all the preferences in the Wacom drivers.
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Old 11-04-2020, 01:59 PM   #22
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for nofish: just use another key on the left side of your qwerty, could be the solution, for splitting the work between both hands. right hand only for pointing to target with the pen, left hand for triggering various actions, on the left side of your qwerty typically, same strategy as used for various games. If you have a special gaming qwerty you could use those buttons, another idea might be getting another numpad qwerty, placing it on the left side of your tablet, if you do not need all the other keys, for a certain workflow scenario at least. This would be my favourite style. From left to right something like:
one fader controller + contour shuttlexpress like big knob + numpad qwerty (should be mechanical* for good quality feeling of keys and this will be your main instrument anyway), all these to be used with left hand + tablet (with pen on right hand)

Then you would have on the left:
- one big fader
- one big knob
- one mechanical numpad qwerty

On the right:
- graphics tablet (xp pen deco 3 or newer models, or similar)
- with its pen (and two rocker keys, if you need)

My recommendation use for the rocker keys:
- put your thumb on the right click rocker key
- the front key could be used for radial menu as well, plus a key on the numpad, as you would use this very often I guess


* thinking of something like this: https://www.amazon.de/Mechanical-Num.../dp/B07FVDQBXN

Last edited by TonE; 11-04-2020 at 04:36 PM.
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Old 11-04-2020, 02:02 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenny Gioia View Post
I don't use one anymore (trackpad now) but one tip you should definitely consider is changing the size of the usable surface.

Depending on the size of the tablet, you don't want to be moving your hand to jump from side to side on your screen.

I usually adjusted it in the software so I was only using about 1/4th the tablet to represent the whole screen. This way you can reach everything without moving your hand. Just rotating your wrist.

Good luck.
You should always mention which tablet model exactly, as there are so many models plus sizes. Even smaller sizes would make sense in your case then, no need to buy a big one, then using 1/4 of it later.
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Old 11-04-2020, 02:15 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herrmann View Post
I use a small intuos pro since a few years, it has replaced my mouse, but there is a big learning curve. Buttons and ring, customization is great, but the touch part is not as smooth as a trackpad, so i use to scroll with the pen.
I don't really use the trackpad either, in fact, I switched it off since I found with the latest Wacom driver and Reaper, I was getting odd zooming in when I didn't want it in my projects. I realised it was to do with the trackpad gestures, they were triggering an unwanted zoom whilst using the pen on the surface of the tablet during normal use (to drag my arrangement around using Reaper's hand tool and clicking the pen button to trigger it). I have the Intuos Pro Medium. Think the large model would be too big.
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Old 11-04-2020, 02:59 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by TonE View Post
You should always mention which tablet model exactly, as there are so many models plus sizes. Even smaller sizes would make sense in your case then, no need to buy a big one, then using 1/4 of it later.
Yeah. I always bought (I think I had three of them) the smallest size available. Bigger ones are for drawing. Not using to replace your mouse.
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Old 11-04-2020, 04:32 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by Kenny Gioia View Post
Yeah. I always bought (I think I had three of them) the smallest size available. Bigger ones are for drawing. Not using to replace your mouse.
Ah, now I got it, so even from the small one you took 1/4th of its size, then it gets quite small it means.

Most advanced pen and left hand qwerty users seem to be those.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgU4FaiGM1I

Last edited by TonE; 11-04-2020 at 04:56 PM.
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Old 03-03-2022, 03:27 AM   #27
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I have a XP-Pen ( https://www.xp-pen.com ) drawing pad with I use instead of a mouse. It works fine, but using a pen for this application does not feel right and the switching backwards and forwards to the keyboard is a pain.
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Old 03-03-2022, 04:29 AM   #28
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the switching backwards and forwards to the keyboard is a pain.
Don't really understand this, having a mouse and keyboard is really no different from using a pen and keyboard. One hand stays on the keyboard for shortcuts and the other on either pen/mouse.
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Old 03-03-2022, 09:03 AM   #29
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Don't really understand this, having a mouse and keyboard is really no different from using a pen and keyboard. One hand stays on the keyboard for shortcuts and the other on either pen/mouse.
I've found the difference is that when using mouse, it stays where you leave it, both on the screen and on the table, and when typing you have both hands free. With the pen, you need to always aim when returning from the keyboard back to the tablet and the cursor is always moving when you use it, kinda restless. When typing, you have a hand partially blocked by the pen (unless you drop the pen).

Also, for me, the tablet had too few extra buttons, now I have a mouse with 7 EXTRA buttons.

(tablet: Wacom Intuous Art, size M? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/...en_1180864.jpg
mouse: Corsair Nightsword https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Catego.../CH-9306011-NA )
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Old 03-12-2022, 07:51 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by bFooz View Post
I've found the difference is that when using mouse, it stays where you leave it, both on the screen and on the table, and when typing you have both hands free. With the pen, you need to always aim when returning from the keyboard back to the tablet and the cursor is always moving when you use it, kinda restless. When typing, you have a hand partially blocked by the pen (unless you drop the pen).

Also, for me, the tablet had too few extra buttons, now I have a mouse with 7 EXTRA buttons.

(tablet: Wacom Intuous Art, size M? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/...en_1180864.jpg
mouse: Corsair Nightsword https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Catego.../CH-9306011-NA )
Ah yeah for typing I get you now. If I'm typing something small like a track name, I can kind of balance the pen between index finger and thumb and hold it on the side so I can still type. Takes some practice but it is workable at least for me. If I'm doing typing for a longer amount of time I will just drop the pen in the holder. That is probably the only downside for me.
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