2021-02-14 02:00:48

Hi all. First, you've probably seen that I haven't posted on the forum for about 6 months, and that is because I needed time to reflect on what I said in my previous topic. For those who are interested, see my topic history, I'm too lazy to find it. The topic's name is I'm mad at this forum. The point is that I'm sorry for what I did, and I will try not to let my anger get in the way next time. Now for the main reason I created this topic.
So, today, I bought computer midi keyboard from Mason, so I could compose music. I followed the guide on how to connect it to reaper, and now I don't know how to actually play notes. Do I need to install midi instruments to play, or are there already instruments built into reaper? How do I insert new instruments into reaper? Please answer as many of my questions as possible. Thanks.

2021-02-14 02:10:01

1. Hit alt-i.

2. Arrow up until you hear insert virtual instrument on new track.

3. Hit enter.

4. Tab a bit until you get to a list.

5. Arrow down to "VSTi: ReaSynth (Cockos".

6. Hit enter.

If all went well, you should be able to play beepy noises. It's not very exciting, but it does give you an instrument to play with, I don't know what you're talking about when you said you bought something, so I don't know how you play stuff. If it doesn't work, hit alt-b and that should bring up the virtual midi keyboard, hitting keys on your computer keyboard should make beepy noises now. Hit escape to get out of that.

For instruments, you want to load what are called VST plugins. You'll probably want to post on the Reaper list to find out how to get some and how to access them. But basically, once you load one, whatever it is, and pick a sound, you play it exactly the same way as you play the beepy boopy default synthesizer that comes with Reaper.

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2021-02-14 11:25:32 (edited by bhanuponguru 2021-02-14 11:27:25)

yes. you will get only synth. you will have to download more instruments. the most drum instrument i like is mtk drum kit.
and you will get a guide on how to use it with reaper. i am assuming you setted up every thing in cmk. now, follow steps of @2 to select an instrument and use cmk to play it. if you don't wan't to use cmk, use alt b and it will pring you virtual keyboard.
so, yeah. hope this is helpfull

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2021-02-14 15:51:35

I grabbed mtk power drum kit and installed it into reaper, added the instrument ot a track but no sound is coming out of it. I read the included manual but no illumination there either as to how to get it to make noise. Other instruments I have are working fine. Is there some parameter I have to set to enable it to make sound?

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2021-02-14 16:04:20

You need to OCR it and click the skip button because it asks for a donation to unlock it. Skip gives you all the features though. It's just a nag screen you have to bypass when you launch the plugin.

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2021-02-14 16:23:34

Were you able to figur eout the drum groove and fill maker part of the interface, or is that just totally out of reach for us? I was forced to run it in 32 bit reaper so that the bridged plugin window would appear, because I can't OCR it in 64 bit reaper no amtter what I tried.

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2021-02-14 18:09:39

@keyIsFull, You can select a setting in VST compatibility that forces all plug-ins to open in new windows.
Also remember you can load a VST track with Ctrl+Insert.

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2021-02-19 07:42:50

Hi.
I'm following the steps in 2 however when I press keys I don't here anything. What am I doing wrong. I selected the synth vst.

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2021-02-19 10:58:17

1. Make sure the synth track is armed by pressing f7 when focused on it.
2. Press the applications key on the track in reaper, go down to input: midi, make sure virtual midi keyboard is set to all channels, then you should be able to use alt+b to enter midi in.
3. make sure the output device is set to whatever audio output you have

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2021-02-20 00:32:03

Yeah, what nine said. I sort of assumed you had audio set up already. For me when I insert an instrument, I can just hit keys and it all works, I don't have to mess with any settings. I'm pretty sure I've got defaults other than enabling midi and audio devices. I also don't know what you mean when you say you "hit keys", on a midi keyboard, or are you using the virtual keyboard in Reaper and hitting keyboard keys?

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2021-02-20 04:32:15

@10. I'm using the keyboard keys. I don't have a midi keyboard unfortunately.

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2021-02-20 05:01:27

You're enabling the virtual midi keyboard in Reaper? Either go into the view menu, or hit alt-b, which toggles it on and off.

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2021-02-22 08:25:46 (edited by gerech 2021-02-22 09:08:01)

@9 and @12. Unfortunately when I press alt b and use my keyboard to play I don't here anything. I already did the steps in 9.

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2021-02-22 13:40:49

how do we use the midi editor?
I don't have a midi keyboard, and finance does not allow me to buy one at the moment...

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2021-02-22 21:28:34

13:

1. Find a wav file.

2. Open Reaper.

3. Hit alt-i and pick media.

4. Find the wav file in that dialogue and hit enter on it.

5. Hit w to rewind.

6. Hit space to play.

If it doesn't play, you've got an audio issue. I kind of suspect this is your problem, because if you're loading ReaSynth and using the virtual midi keyboard, it should just work. I didn't have to do anything special after installation for it to work, it just does. So I first want to make sure you're getting audio.

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2021-02-22 21:47:24

Another really quick way to check if audio is being output correctly is to enable the metronome with Ctrl+M, start playing, and take a listen.

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2021-02-23 09:34:40

I suggested importing a wav file because it seems more reliable to me. I don't know if the new OSARA keymap uses ctrl-m for the metronome, I haven't updated yet, so when I tried it, it didn't work. For me anyway, it's shift-ctrl-m. That having been said, when I used that, I did hear the metronome when I hit space. So I guess if you don't have a wav file laying around or inserting one just takes up too much of your time, yep, the metronome works too. smile

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2021-02-23 10:59:43

@15. My wav file doesn't play. How do I fix the audio issue in reaper?

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2021-02-23 11:38:40

@khomus, Damn. Don't know where that shift went, but yeah, I meant Ctrl+Shift+m with Osera keymap.

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2021-02-23 20:13:40

18:

You probably need to go into preferences, find devices, and pick an audio device. Specifically, you probably need to pick a driver. Try WASAPI. If that doesn't work, there's also wave out or direct out I think. If you have some sort of professional interface, and I'm assuming you don't, you want to pick ASIO and then set your input and output ranges.

Again, you really probably want to get signed up on the Reaper list here.

https://groups.io/g/rwp

They're going to be able to give you a lot more help than I can at least.

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2021-02-24 04:06:23

@20 thanks. it works now. smile

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2021-02-24 18:56:46

Ah, glad it works! The thing with a DAW like Reaper is that, while it has default settings like everything else, you have to set up your devices and stuff, it doesn't autodetect things. That sounds wrong until you think about it a bit. Suppose you get a professional audio interface. You also have the sound built-in to your computer ,and a USB headset microphone. Which thing should Reaper use? You probably don't want it to try and use them all at once, particularly since pro audio has a different driver entirely, that's ASIO. It gives you lower latency, which means the time between when you hit a key on a keyboard, for example, and the instrument actually sounding.

So same thing if you have an actual midi keyboard, either a controller or one with its own sounds that you can connect to your computer. You have to tell it about that device and what you want to use, it won't just detect it automatically. Again, suppose you have my audio interface, the Behringer UMC404HD. It has a midi interface built in, they say for hooking up a control surface but it should work with anything midi, like a keyboard. But I don't use it because my Komplete Kontrol keyboard hooks up with USB. But again, let's say I run Reaper and I didn't turn it on, and Reaper tries to automatically figure out my midi interface. It would probably pick up the one in the interface and not the keyboard, because the keyboard's not powered on so it can't see it. So then if I turn the keyboard on, all my midi is going through something I'm not even using, so nothing would really work.

So yeah, just remember that for devices in particular, you have to go set stuff up usually, even if you only have one device. Hell sometimes even the built-in audio is multiple devices, I have a Synaptics headphone jack, among other things, in my laptop, and then a bunch of AMD high definition audio that the laptop thinks aren't connected. I don't even know what that's all about, because the laptop works so I haven't dug into figuring it out. And these days a lot of interfaces, consumer or pro, are USB, so you can just connect and disconnect them at will. The nice thing is that once you set stuff up, you can usually just switch between devices when you open Reaper, if that's something you need to do. Since I'm planning on using my laptop as my main machine, I now have my pro interface in Reaper. So when I go downstairs where all of the hardware is, if I've been using Reaper without it, I just switch from WASAPI to ASIO, and everything runs through my pro interface, no problem, because I've already set up that device with the ranges and stuff it wants. So I just pick the pro interface, and I'm off to the races, whatever they are.

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