Quote:
Originally Posted by Musical
Hi guys,
I'm just wondering when, if ever, you would shut down your computer, or Reaper to connect new instruments or mikes. Is it ok to leave everything running and just pull the faders down? I'm just wondering if plugging stuff in can cause power spikes or something harmful to any part of the hardware or software chain.
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I'm not sure if you are asking about inserting new instrument plugins in Reaper or plugging physical cables from a physical instrument into your audio interface.
The 2nd thing (physical connections):
You generally want to turn an input level down to minimum before plugging in an instrument. This makes it the most gentle for that input and well within what it's designed for.
If you have a mixing/monitoring system live (like Reaper DAW or maybe the cuemix mixer in your audio interface), be mindful not to amplify that 'click' and crank it through your speakers! Hit mute on that channel or turn down your monitor volume.
No reason to restart anything (which would likely produce stronger clicks and pops that patching an input anyway if you had monitors turned up).
If you mean the first thing (inserting a new instrument plugin), you'll just have to test it to see if that plugin behaves being inserted live. Very likely it would be fine. I run live sound with Reaper as my mixer from time to time. I can insert various plugins on the fly and you don't hear a peep. Experiment at home. Don't try it untested in front of an audience.
Heh, if you needed to restart the computer before inserting a new plugin, I'd consider such a system DOA. If Reaper is crashing after inserting some plugin to the point you need to restart the computer, that plugin is just buggy!