Old 11-13-2017, 04:57 AM   #1
MixingWizard
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Hey all,

So I'm a full time live engineer currently in the process of buying a digital desk. I've been toying with the idea of going for either a GLD80 or a Waves STG-2412 computer based setup.

However, I'm not a huge fan of the LV1 software, it doesn't even come close to the flexibility Reaper has.

So what are the chances of a "Reaper Live" coming out in the near future? As I see it, all you would need is a couple of interface changes (PFL instead of a solo, permanent record arm etc,) a "sends on faders" mix window for monitoring, multitouch support and maybe some way of grouping faders into banks that can be easily switched on a controller (this probably already exists.)

It would open up a whole new market in the live sector. People are a lot less afraid of computers in a live environment these days (most digital desks are running some version of Linux/Windows anyway) and i see programs like MagicQ running straight off a battered old laptop with a DMX dongle in the lighting world.

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on the matter.

All the best,
MixingWizard
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Old 11-13-2017, 08:25 AM   #2
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I've been using Reaper for live sound since 2009. There's no special "live" version. Reaper is stable at very low latency. Configure the board however you please. Put together whatever style control surface you need (wired or remote over a wi-fi network). Run shows with ease. Bring home full multitracks from every show.
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Old 11-13-2017, 10:52 AM   #3
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I run REAPER live and its rock solid. You can get around the issues (PFL etc.) with scripts.

The pain comes with integrating hardware controlers. I tried to build one myself. And failed...

Getting a used hardware mixer is probabely more fun.
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Old 11-13-2017, 10:59 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by serr View Post
I've been using Reaper for live sound since 2009. There's no special "live" version. Reaper is stable at very low latency. Configure the board however you please. Put together whatever style control surface you need (wired or remote over a wi-fi network). Run shows with ease. Bring home full multitracks from every show.
Interesting. How do you get around show cues/scenes? For me, doing sound isn't just mixing bands, I do a lot of corporate/theatre too. I don't like the idea of having to drop audio to change scene!

What interfaces are you using? I've been trying to find something with 24-32 channels that's remote controllable.
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:01 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Urban Musiq View Post
I run REAPER live and its rock solid. You can get around the issues (PFL etc.) with scripts.

The pain comes with integrating hardware controlers. I tried to build one myself. And failed...

Getting a used hardware mixer is probabely more fun.
Yeah, I don't think I've ever had Reaper crash on me. I've had a few plugins crash but never the DAW.
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:02 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MixingWizard View Post
Interesting. How do you get around show cues/scenes? For me, doing sound isn't just mixing bands, I do a lot of corporate/theatre too. I don't like the idea of having to drop audio to change scene!
And you don't have to. Reaper can do an awful lot of things WHILE running audio - stability of audio output is #1 in Reaper. Take a look at SWS Extensions and its Snapshots and Live Config features.
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:21 AM   #7
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I am very happily using Reaper "Live" for practicing and on stage since several years.

I don't do any background tracks or loop/section playing. For me as a musician, Reaper always is in stop mode handling sounds and effects. (Of course I do some recording/mixing, ... with Reaper, as well.)

A key building block is SWS LiveConfigs for controlling the patches.

Equipment:
- A VPC-1 for Piano stuff
- an additional 61 key keyboard mostly used in combination with the breath controller
- a TEC BBC v2
- a Behringer XTouch Compact for easily controlling the sound in realtime (Motor Faders and LED rings moved by JSFX software hen swapping sounds)
- a NI Audio6 low latency USB D/A
- an embedded PC (fanless, SSD, i7, 16 Gig) built in a trunk.

(Being an "embedded" software engineer) I did a rather complex set of JSFX plugins for Reaper to handle the Midi data streams appropriately.

Reaper is a really great base for doing such things. It's not just a DAW but fully fledged versatile audio engine.

I am rather sure that by JSFX programming and using freely available add-ons, I would be able to add background tracks or loop/section playing by controlling sections in media items loaded in Reaper, but I never felt any urge to do so.

Regarding LiveConfigs I enhanced the standard documentation on same quite a bit. See -> http://www.bschnell.de/LiveConfigs_1.pdf

-Michael

Last edited by mschnell; 12-29-2018 at 02:35 AM.
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:32 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MixingWizard View Post
How do you get around show cues/scenes?
For a friend (who plays a wind controller and does not want to use a hardware controller, but insists on handling his laptop) I did a system of plugins that (among other stuff) allows for dec/inc actions for stuff like "song position / pre-programmed scenes" to change patches.

see: -> http://www.bschnell.de/patch.pdf

-Michael

Last edited by mschnell; 11-13-2017 at 11:54 AM.
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:34 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mschnell View Post
For a fried (who plays a wind controller and does not want to use a hardware controller, but insists on handling his laptop) I did a system of plugins that (among other stuff) allows for dec/inc actions for stuff like "song position" to change patches.

see: -> http://www.bschnell.de/patch.pdf

-Michael
Very nice from you and handy!
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:45 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MixingWizard View Post
What interfaces are you using? I've been trying to find something with 24-32 channels that's remote controllable.
Did you consider using two XR18 boxes ? This offers a great price/performance ratio.
I very happily use one of them for for live playing with m band and recording. I just am busy to hook it to my live system to use some knobs of the XTouch to handle mixing parameters. This will be done like this:
XTouch <-> USB-Midi <-> Reaper <-> JSFX plugins <-> PC internal Midi <-> OSCIIBot <-> EEL2 programming <-> OSC <->WLAN <-> XR18.

I don't know if/how you can aggregate two 18 channel XR18 devices to hook them to Reapers audio engine. AFAIK, that is not possible with ASIO, but supposedly with WASAPI or on a MAC.

An X32 (full or Rack) also might be a good choice. It can be extended by stage boxes for more channels. A friend of mine has such a system and I do know that he is able to remote-control it by some PC-software he wrote (independent of Reaper). He uses this for doing theater performances. So scenes etc is especially important.

-Michael

Last edited by mschnell; 11-13-2017 at 11:58 AM.
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:46 AM   #11
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Quote:
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Very nice from you and handy!
It was a reward from me to him, as he pointed me to Reaper

-Michael
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:56 AM   #12
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Reaper Live
Reaper can already do all this so the only "Feature" I request on this behalf is a dedicated forum to discuss appropriate issues,.

-Michael
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Old 01-18-2018, 11:36 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mschnell View Post
For a friend (who plays a wind controller and does not want to use a hardware controller, but insists on handling his laptop) I did a system of plugins that (among other stuff) allows for dec/inc actions for stuff like "song position / pre-programmed scenes" to change patches.

see: -> http://www.bschnell.de/patch.pdf

-Michael
Thanks for this! I'm trying to figure out how to setup reaper as part of my keyboard rig, to run soft-synths, so this may be helpful in my quest...
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Old 01-18-2018, 04:28 PM   #14
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To get the "Keyboard Rig" going, search the forums for "LiveConfigs" to find a lot of useful contributions on that behalf. (Hint to Forum admins: A dedicated Forum for Reaper Live usage woiuld be very appropriate ! )
Please come back with any questions or requests.
-Michael

Last edited by mschnell; 01-18-2018 at 10:50 PM.
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Old 12-19-2018, 12:43 PM   #15
Gil Navarro
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I’ve mixed many shows “in the box” using SAC and AMP. I’d like to try Reaper but there is one issue I don’t no how to resolve. I’d like to be able to see the comp and gate action on the mixer, I don’t want to have to open the plugin to see how hard it’s hitting. I don’t mind opening the plug to make adjustments. Is this possible?
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Old 12-19-2018, 10:57 PM   #16
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I have no idea what "SAC and AMP" is.

To ask about modifying the GUI (what is displayed where...), you might ask the experts in the "Scripting" and/or "Themes" subforums.

-Michael
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Old 12-28-2018, 11:56 PM   #17
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Sac is Software audio console ? Looks like a dedicated software mixer for live applications. Amp almost looks like a GUI designer or front end but I’m not entirely sure really. Alternatives though I guess for mixing live with software .
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Old 12-28-2018, 11:58 PM   #18
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I think they were trialing Jsfx GUI in tcp and mcp . I remember seeing a post about it somewhere .. but can’t seem to find it
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