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Old 04-03-2013, 04:43 PM   #1
1992guitars
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Default Absolute Beginner (switching Over from AKAI DPS24) -- How Do I Select Audio???

Hey guys,

My name's Sean & I'm a guitar player. By love and by trade (thankfully). I've spent the past twenty years of my life with the instrument in my hands and just never took home recording very seriously until a couple months ago. I just always figured that would be best left to engineers who'd studied audio like I've studied the guitar, amplifiers, touch, tone, etc. etc. etc.

But long story made short, I'm recording a guitar album and just wasn't getting the best performances during the allotted studio time, where the clock was running and the bill was piling up, and ---- among other things --- was greatly influenced by the life and work of Chet Atkins, who of course was was one the earliest home recordists!!! (along with Les Paul). So I thought, "if Chet could do it, so can I..."

For the past seven or eight years I've been using the long discontinued AKAI DPS24 24-track recorder. I must be the only person in the entire history of humankind who ever got one of those, was overwhelmed by the learning curve, and surrendered to using it as a very basic home scratchpad for songwriting, guitar parts, etc., but I did learn to use it that much all those years ago.

Fast forward to 2013 and the AKAI is up and running again. Spent a lot of time learning how to get better sounds, treating a small area of my apartment to record in (which was as significant as a microphone or pre upgrade --- the difference some OC703 made was staggering), and rocking and rolling again on the AKAI.

But here's the bottom line.

At some point I have to switch over to a computer-based system and I'm already living in the past. Which brings me here...

An engineer friend told me about Reaper a couple of years back, and I've been looking into what I'll need to make the transition. Still don't even have an interface, but....

I did the free trial download 20 days ago, thinking that I COULD begin learning how to use the software, and import audio and start doing some basic editing. Just learning the ropes.

Trouble is, I'm such a beginner that (and here's the really embarrassing question)...

I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SELECT AREAS OF AUDIO!!! [one of the great old Chet jokes was: "Dad, when I grow up I wanna be a guitar player." "Well, son, you can't have it both ways..."]

So I have the waveform there on the screen and I can move my mouse and click and select, and I see the grids on the screen, but I'm (as of yet) just not able to select the exact area of audio I want to copy, or paste, or cut, or move.

At some point I'll dive into the tutorial and know there must be a lot to read up on here in the forums too.

But in kid-terms...absolute beginner terms....

How would I go about selecting audio to copy or move or cut or paste, etc., so that I can start working with basic editing like splicing takes together, dropping in an alternate lick, etc. etc. etc.

I've gotten pretty good at editing on the AKAI, where it's as simple as Copy, Paste, Insert, Cut, Erase (marked by an can't miss IN or OUT button).

But again, I can feel the shift taking place and don't want to wait to have to learn all this two more years from now.

I'm beginning the process and Reaper looks like a good place to start. Of course it's only a matter of time before I'll want to invest in a good interface and begin the process of recording with Reaper too, but I'm not there just yet. The AKAI's what I'm familiar with right now and am on a deadline for completing this record.

Any help or links to additional resources would be greatly appreciated,

Most sincerely,

Sean
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Old 04-03-2013, 06:17 PM   #2
AfterlifE
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1992guitars View Post







I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SELECT AREAS OF AUDIO!!! [one of the great old Chet jokes was: "Dad, when I grow up I wanna be a guitar player." "Well, son, you can't have it both ways..."]

So I have the waveform there on the screen and I can move my mouse and click and select, and I see the grids on the screen, but I'm (as of yet) just not able to select the exact area of audio I want to copy, or paste, or cut, or move.
You just said it, copy and paste.
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Old 04-03-2013, 06:23 PM   #3
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The copy and Paste function work in conjunction with the time selection.

So make a time selection. Select the item. Copy. Paste.

If you want to move it or delete it, you will need to make splits in the item.
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Old 04-03-2013, 07:14 PM   #4
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PLEASE... download the free PDF User Guide and spend just a little time with it.

you'll find it on the same pages from which you dl'd reaper trial.
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Old 04-05-2013, 02:30 AM   #5
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Your post is quite long.
Thanks for your work.
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Old 07-28-2013, 10:29 PM   #6
hornman
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Default New to computer recording

My situation is just like yours except my recorder is a Tascam 2488neo 24 track. I'm old school and love the machine. The problem is that my productions have gotten too large and I end up bouncing tracks all over the place. I've purchased a new computer that I'm going to use exclusively for music production and I've narrowed down the interface that I want to purchase (Presonus 44VSL). It comes with it's own software and the upgrade is expensive. Then I find out about Reaper. I do a little research and decide that this is the way that I want to go. I downloaded the free software and have been checking it out for a couple of days. I have to tell you, I've never felt so ignorant in my whole life. It's going to take me a long time to figure this thing out well enough to make any kind of decent music. Oh well, such is life. Whatever it takes, it will be done.
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Old 07-29-2013, 01:27 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1992guitars View Post
Hey guys,


So I have the waveform there on the screen and I can move my mouse and click and select, and I see the grids on the screen, but I'm (as of yet) just not able to select the exact area of audio I want to copy, or paste, or cut, or move.
Hi Sean. You are very welcome and please stick around to give us the benefit of your experience... I was just wondering if there was another question hidden in that quote - "the exact area". I believe that "snapping to grid"lines is ON by default so if you want an exact selection you probably need to turn it off (that would be the funny magnet at the top left). Also have you sussed out how to zoom in on the waveform? That helps too.

Sorry if this is too basic for you but as a guitar player I can plead ignorance...

BTW can we hear any of your work? I loved the Chet Atkins's quote too!
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Old 07-29-2013, 09:16 AM   #8
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Sean,

Do yourself a favor and download the User Guide (as mentioned previously) and also...

Check out the Reaper tutorials on Groove3, these will really help get you going! They are excellent.

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

And welcome to Reaperville.

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Old 07-29-2013, 09:30 AM   #9
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Welcome.

Split a track. Put the cursor where you want to split, select the track and hit "S" on your computer keyboard.

Copy. Select and control C
Paste. Control V

If you right click and drag on the timeline you'll create a region to select and copy from.

Right click everywhere for addition menus. (Everywhere!)

Google some videos, there's plenty of free ones.
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Old 07-29-2013, 09:42 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dea-man View Post
Right click everywhere for addition menus. (Everywhere!)

Google some videos, there's plenty of free ones.
These two points cannot be stressed enough.

Reaper is one of the most robust apps when it comes to right click context menus. You'll find things you never knew existed just by experimenting with right clicking.

There are a TON of free videos out there on Reaper ranging from just starting to pro level stuff. Google and YouTube are your best friends for those. It's how I got started with Reaper myself, then I picked up a few paid tutorials from Groove3.com and have never looked back.

Welcome aboard. You'll enjoy what you can do with Reaper and home recording.
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Old 07-29-2013, 09:48 AM   #11
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The Groove 3 videos will rock your Reaper world!
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