Automatic Gain (Vocal) Riding in REAPER

[@monsterswhosleep]

Anyone watching this by the date of this comment: loudness meter has since been updated; it's now easier & has different output options. If you follow Kenny's tutorial here, and then use the "all (inverted)" setting instead of simply "on" in the plugin's option panel, it will automatically invert the volume output for you, instead of doing that through the automation item properties. Then all you have to do is adjust the amplitude and baseline for the automation item. Hope this saves you some time. :)

[@mrslickbeats]

Thanks! defo saved me a bit of time

[@monsterswhosleep]

@@mrslickbeats no problem my bro. Happy to help. :)

[@officialDSaro]

Legend

[@reaganharder1480]

To further save some time from here, once you have it set up, save it as a default preset and it'll load in all set up whenever you load the plugin. And if you have the "Automatically add envelopes when tweaking" setting on, you don't even need to arm any envelopes, just set the automation mode to write, play the track, and it builds your envelope.

[@monsterswhosleep]

@@reaganharder1480 yesss bro good thinking. 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@sillypsybin]

I sure wish there was an updated tutorial on this. I know some folks here have tried to explain how to set this up with the newer Loudness Meter plugin in the comments below, and thank you for that, but It's not totally clear to me how to get this going. Definitely not the same as having Kenny explain it, which is always incredibly clear, concise and 100% reliable.

[@shaihulud4515]

This actually saved me money - I wanted to buy a plugin for this purpose the next days; now I don't need it anymore! Thanks, Kenny! Anyways: "ALT on the PC, OPTION on the Mac" should be a shirt (yeah, it's just the nerd in me...) :)

[@REAPERMania]

They're coming along with another KZbin channel

[@EngrossingEnigma]

Yeah irk I love how you give both key commands for Mac and pc.

[@ThalamusGhipopotamus]

Sonic Anomaly Vola - free!

[@r0bzmusic777]

@@ThalamusGhipopotamus do you think doing it with the sonic anomaly is better than manually ?

[@ThalamusGhipopotamus]

@@r0bzmusic777 It all depends on the specific situation. In most cases, a plugin is enough for me.

[@RealSiViX]

This is not gain automation, this is volume automation. Gain occurs pre-fader, volume occurs post-fader. Slap a VU meter on the channel being automated and toggle the automation on and off, you'll see it makes zero difference to the VU meter because you're automating volume, not gain. Do everything you're doing the same way, but at 3:18 while you're setting it back to read, also tick the box for "Volume Pre-FX", that will give you a gain envelope that you can drag your automation onto *thumbs up*

[@longlemusic21]

Agree

[@degeneriert]

To all the guys complaining that the same work could also be achieved using a compressor, well, you might be right, but the point is: This video teaches us a lot about envelopes and automation, especially that you can also generate automation curves from invisible internal fx parameters and not only from tweakable sliders and knobs and that it's always worth the effort to look at all the automation parameters offered by the plugins you use.

[@RealSiViX]

What they fail to realize is that yes, the same work can be achieved by compressors BUT it's done at the cost of dynamics/distortion, gain automation is done because it is non-destructive and also leads to better results and less destruction / loss of dynamics when you finally do add compression as the compressor is working with more leveled peaks, it also means you are less likely to need serial compression to tame those peaks saving time and focus.

[@JoshWiniberg]

Exactly. I use PowAir for these purposes but I learned a hell of a lot about Reaper in the process of watching this, and I'm sure I'll be able to put it to use for something completely different!

[@jmjeffries2]

@@RealSiViX the dynamics is what we are trying to reduce here. That's the whole point: to reduce the dynamic range. This is compression. It's a manually, slow compression. Which is really helpful before sending the signal to an effect that is more in line with what we think of as a "real compressor," but let's not split hairs. We are adjusting the output amplitude over time based on changes to the input amplitude in order to decrease the amount of change. That's dynamic compression. It's slow and subtle and manually tweakable, but it is compression.

[@RealSiViX]

​@@jmjeffries2 - I mean, you say, "let's not split hairs", but yet, here you are, splitting hairs... My point was more leaning towards the fact that running every track through a compressor for gain automation is prone to introducing distortion whereas proper gain-staging is not. Plus the fact that compression occurs post-fader whereas proper gain-staging occurs pre-fader (something this video gets VERY wrong as this is volume automation, not gain automation) where a 24-bit file that was recorded too hot can have it's gain reduced to below 0db and have it's dynamics properly restored whereas running that same 24-bit file through a compressor will not remove that distortion and is in fact, likely to make it worse. Just DON'T gain stage with compressors.

[@RealSiViX]

And just a heads-up for anybody reading this thread who would like to know the CORRECT way to gain stage in Reaper: Do everything the video shows the exact same way, but at 3:18 while you're setting it back to read, also tick the box for "Volume Pre-FX", this will give you a gain envelope that you can drag your automation onto instead of dragging it onto the volume envelope...

[@iamwhatyouknowmefor]

You gotta love the "I hope you've learned something" in the end of each video. Yes. Yes, sir, I have.

[@EqDior]

Man I can't stress how much I love Reaper. It literally has a solution for everything

[@timeltdme4355]

it's modularity allows for that

[@Mevzuderin]

i swear i saw it today on another video and when i came from home i thought " let me look for how this is done in reaper" and i see you uploaded this video 1 hour ago... u are the best kenny baba!

[@josedicaro]

You the man, no more need for 3rd party plugs this way. I'm deeply grateful for your tuts Kenny, so many things I learn

[@fatcatsound]

Reason #52 I need to quit dragging my feet and switch over to Reaper. Fantastic job, Kenny, as usual.

[@MrAlFuture]

Brilliant! Thanks, Kenny! Yet again you've both shown us one of the reasons reaper is so great *and* a creative use of that greatness :)

[@ДенисМамсуров]

Это отличная, гениальная идея! Спасибо, Кенни

[@The_Absurdistt]

Kenny, over the years you have literally saved and redirected my life with your wonderful videos. Thank you............... thank you.

[@indeependenter]

GJ, Kenny! Thx, will try to use this method in voice over projects. I think "volume pre-fx envelope" much better then just "volume envelope" with gain rider, because the waveform will visually change. "Volume envelope" will be useful for pre-fader sends to verbs etc.

[@MercyNoMore]

This is fantastic. Reaper never ceases to amaze. Thanks Kenny!

[@Mariosyjp]

What a great time and money saver!! Who needs the vocal rider when you have Kenny!

[@joeyshoelace]

Love how I stumbled on this as I was thinking about getting Vocal Rider. You saved me some money! Thanks!

[@elmolewis9123]

The quick recap at the end was a really nice touch. Thanks so much for doing these videos.

[@t3seractoband]

Greetings, I was looking for how to explain to some students, who are not many, how to do this automation without falling into third-party plugins in a traditional way. Thank you, you have a new subscriber, I will see what I can as long as I have time. Yours videos, thanks for sharing,,

[@MarkBragg]

Amazing thanks for that, and thanks for uploading the script. If I was a coder I’d build on that: do all the copying and editing, create the automation item, reverse it and estimate the baseline, set it to 25% Level, and shift it xx milliseconds to the left. Call THAT your starting point. Thanks again this is great

[@TheMaxisExtreme]

Incredible! I have been looking for a smooth way to do this for ages! You are my hero, sir!

[@MCAlvesPortugal]

Great tip. Cool song 🔥😎

[@musicwitharijit]

You are such a fantastic teacher… very few people can actually read the minds of the students and deliver accurately to how can perceive the thoughts… thanks a ton …

[@Jan-S-Simonsen]

Thanks once more Kenny. Great song too by the way.

[@helmanfrow]

Variations on a theme. I love it.

[@mariosmichail]

Brilliant! Excellent!!! Once again, we learned something and we are gonna use it! Thanks Kenny! For everything! PS: It would be awesome if Cockos Team would implement it in future Reaper editions as a stock plugin!

[@composercode]

For some reason, my Vocal Rider plugin wasn't writing properly to my vocal track envelope and I was so frustrated I was about to cry. Sure enough, Kenny G has a solution that's totally awesome and totally free. You are a gift, my friend.

[@svornotten]

I am really just starting to look under the hood in Reaper after about a year of casual use. The best advice I can give to novices is watch the tutorials BEFORE you run out and buy a plug in. This program has a ton of firepower and Kenny's tutorials on well laid out. Thank you Kenny, and Happy New Year!

[@reaganharder1480]

A lot of the firepower is hiding in the midst of the vast expanse of customizability, so yep, definitely worth looking up tutorials for how to do a thing before dropping money on a plugin to do that thing.

[@Justin_the_Analog_IC_architect]

I cannot begin to tell you how useful this is! Thanks so much Kenny!!!

[@AlanFasick]

Wow -- I love learning how to do things I never even knew you could do and ended up thinking about all of the possibilities... excellent video as usual!

[@andreasfranzmann9634]

This is so awesome! I would probably move the envelope to the "Pre-Fader" Volume Envelope for even more flexibility. This way I can control how much the signal is affected by a compressor and leaves the Volume unaffected for general loudness control. Reaper is such a joy. Kenny is such a Master. Thank you!

[@REAPERMania]

So many fun ways to use it.

[@RobWearsNiceHats]

@@REAPERMania Kenny I came to this after watching a vid from 2017 where you actually do use Pre-Fader volume while demoing how to draw the automation curve manually. Is there any reason you chose volume on this demo in particular? I guess because we can see that fader control responding in real time?

[@mioszkarpowicz3012]

This is such a neat and flexible way for vocal riding in reaper! Thanks for showing it!

[@foxdelta69]

Thanks Kenny :) I was considering buying a vocal rider so this saved me quite a few quid! As always, your tutorials are so educational and easy to follow. Fine work my good man, fine work :)

[@TheSpeenort]

If it wasn't for you, Kenny, Reaper would only be as good as Pro Tools and all the other second class DAW's.

[@TheSpeenort]

@L_ A_ What other DAW's have someone like Kenny Gioia behind them?

[@Bastanien]

@L_ A_ Do you think anyone could hear a quality difference in a blind test between mixes using identical settings in different DAWs?

[@marcelruja]

Awesome 😁👍

[@TheSpeenort]

@@Bastanien Maybe not but it's a lot easier to use with Kenny's tutorials.

[@Bastanien]

@@TheSpeenort Oh I was replying to L_ A_

[@lucasfamily4670]

By far by far by far the absolute best audio production channel I’ve ever come across. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 😂😂😂🙏

[@tatuorchband8435]

Hi Kenny, I had some trouble opening the Item Properties. Just in case someone stumbled in the same issue: Right click on the automation Item(Volume) then select: "Automation items" and "Insert new automation item". Now you can see the volume label. The rest is on the video. Thanks for the video. Great tutorial as always!!

[@TheRealFieryBiscuits]

If your envelope baseline is not in the middle like Kenny's, go to Preferences > Editing Behaviour > Envelope Display & change the volume envelope range to -inf..+24dB. Mine was set to -inf...+6dB which made getting the boosts correct pretty tricky. Hope that helps someone!

[@wademosher]

You've been knocking it out of the park lately, Kenny! This is invaluable. I'll be trying this on my current project. Even at 25-50%, it should make volume automation a lot less tedious, especially with the bad mic technique singers. This would also work well with lead instruments.

[@RPMCreations-xj3kc]

Late to the party, but absolutely brilliant, Kenny! Great stuff as always. 'using Reaper since version 3+ and never knew this was possible. Saves countless hours of 'insert point'.

[@bernardussamuel8445]

I am really surprised for thisPowerful reaper plugin. Thanks alot!

[@BlackFrostt]

Are you kidding me? what am i gonna do with my Waves Vocal rider now? I just tried this for normalizing all sorts if audio tracks and it's amazing. I even used it on the pre FX trim. That boosted the noise floor but it was easily controllable with some minor adjustments. Then a round of RX cleaned it up completely. It took me 20 mins to mix a 2 min video. That's half than my normal time. Thanks Kenny. I wish I thought of using it this way. Better late than never.

[@Skylarka]

Wow this is a game changer that can speed up vocal processing workflow dramatically. Great tutorial, Kenny!!

[@LEAVEtheLIGHTon]

I love this video ,just great thanks Kenny

[@braunhausmedia]

I love that song.

[@protyay]

There's also a fantastic script by EEL called Envelope based Compressor v2(available in Reapack) that can write the effect of compression directly as volume automation. Highly recommended and very accurate!

[@end_evr]

Been waiting for this one! Thanks Kenny! Nice to see your mug for the first time, also 😆😇

[@weaktearecords]

This is frigging cool. Thanks Kenny for again showing us how to use Reaper instead of just buying a plugin. It's awesome to know how this stuff works. Thanks!

[@RygarGuitar]

Kenny you're the MacGuyver of Reaper. Thank you.

[@robertopistolesi2735]

This spares so much time, thank you!!!!

[@atmadsen]

Holy shit. Every time I watch one of your vids, I chop another 20 percent off my workaround time! This is a great solution.

[@Wayne_Robinson]

Very cool! It's an infinitely tweakable compressor!

[@ДенисЛогинов-й2э]

Found what to be surprised at? See my comment outside and you will see a way that is many times more effective.

[@KudjoTwum]

This REAPER automation feature is a great time saver and more accurate than any method.

[@_ldm_3501]

Thank you. This is exactly what I needed to know.

[@acklin83]

Never a day I don‘t learn something new from you! Thx, Uncle Kenny 😁

[@halimdrummer777]

KENNY YOU BEAUTIFUL✨❤✨❤thanks🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@ThePilate30]

Incredible, I'm done buying 3rd party plug-ins, A) I have too many already B) Reaper has everything already, you just need the know how. Great job!

[@urasam2]

Every time I think I've seen the best Kenny video, I come across a better one

[@gregnewberry4813]

Wow! Thanks for the video Kenny! Cute song... I'll be humming this all day...

[@non-continuum]

Incredibly useful! Love it. Well done Kenny!

[@Oddbrother]

Thank you for doing this guide and introducing me to Stash and JS FXes.

[@TatzMaven]

Can this be an another way to level out vocals pre fader? More like a dynamic processing to level out vocals out befor hitting a compressor?

[@IDDQDSound]

You can just drag the automation item to the pre fx volume envelope on your track.

[@REAPERMania]

Yes and Yes!!!

[@dagamusik]

Amazing trick! Also possible using the parameter modulation option

[@tfmc3389]

As usual.... Kenny does it again! I always add your videos to my collection so I can access them whenever I have a question or need some help with a project. How about a short one using JS Chorus, with lots of voices? Needed something like that for crowd simulation. Thanx again Kenny! Keep them coming! I also wanted to add that I purchased Reaper because of your tutorials! Make sure you let them know that!

[@ДенисМамсуров]

Thanks Kenny! this is a brilliant idea!

[@EuropaMan]

☑ What can I say. Just what I've always said. You are a genius! Great video again. Very useful. Thank you Kenny. Excellent pop song too. Stay safe.

[@jcleivaamoros]

Thank you for opening the secrets of Reaper to us!

[@radiogigguidewithgreggo943]

Hello, Kenny. I love your videos now that you are in them.

[@JScottAudio]

Good thing I only spent $29.00 on the "other " plug-in a few years ago. This is easier to use...gives you a good visual of what's happening. I love it. Reaper just keeps getting better and better.

[@fatchulanjaza2433]

I'm vibing with this song!

[@rocketman374]

Holy crap, I don't think I've ever seen your face before! Lol. Thanks for another awesome video! 🤘

[@audiowavesmusicstudio]

Nice intro and nice to see you kenny 😀 Thanks for your tutorials ❤️

[@aepoc66]

Oh my god this is going to save so much time! Thanks Kenny!

[@munckbeats]

Kenny my mind is blown. Immensely helpful, thank you

[@gonzalodiazgallardo9540]

I love the new intro. Its like a new Opening season

[@bend9023]

Love you Ken..at the coal face since the early days..videos like this; unlocking these tricks in reaper make be feel proud because i want that reassurance that there's so much more under the hood in the software.

[@paulhilber1481]

WOW! This is great! Kenny, you rock! Thank you so much for all this shared knowledge! So glad i switched to Reaper...

[@juanchis.investigadorsonoro]

This s such a great idea my only BUT is that this is happening after the fader, I'll look around it to make it work before it too. Thanks so much Kenny.

[@Satnamtaro]

Hello. Maybe you can copy it to volume prefx envelope instead？

[@1coreys]

Might want to update this video, as I was able to figure it out, but some of the items and menus have changed, like in the loudness meter... when you activate the envelope writing, you can select "All (inverted)" and it writes the envelope already inverted like a vocal rider would function.

[@edsterling5258]

Brilliant! Amazing automation. Next level stuff. Just wow.

[@UnclePojer]

Thank you, Kenny!

[@imbalon]

If we have a hero who make JS Rider for live performance. Just one plug without other strange manipulations. Something like Waves vocal rider but with LUFS metering. It can be unbeatable!

[@creativecraving]

Straight to the point! I learned so much!

[@monta-cabeca]

This plugin greatly streamlined my workflow. Thanks Kenny for the explanation.

[@REAPERMania]

Great to hear!

[@julesandmusic]

Man it's so cool to see your face, after learning all I know from you now I know there's a friendly face for the awesome voice

[@joeheukerott9186]

This is truly amazing! Who woulda thunk it? Thanks so much.

[@julianc.227]

Thank you Kenny, this was awesome. Great job on the channel.

[@helmanfrow]

Kenny, that intro slaps. PUN INTENDED. 😁

[@rudolfbaethge282]

Fantastic, very useful tool

[@ESTUDIOSSR]

The vocal ride of waves plugin makes it.

[@tracyblair3064]

WOW! WOW! WOW! Thanks Kenny!

[@tmartin9024]

Awesome tips, Kenny, especially your refinements... another Waves plugin get archived for posterity.

[@DanUpdegraff]

This will be a nice time saver. I won't have to manually create automation lines (Volume Pre-FX) for very dynamic tracks so compressors don't have to do all the work of taming the peaks.

[@crissabater7698]

Truly fantastic! Thanks so much Kenny! :-)

[@basbakker]

Very nice! After your last video about the meter I was just thinking to do this 😀

[@HernandoCruz]

Brillante

[@jorgeh84]

AMAZING!!!! !Just this feature leaves PT 5 laps behind reaper

[@shortcakeone]

Wonderful lessons. Thank you very much. It would be interesting to see how you work on the project from start to finish. I think it was super instructive

[@MoreMeRecording]

Dayyyyyum, this is great! Thanks again, bro! Oh, and what a cool lil pop diddy! Hooky :D

[@Cantor.Onival]

Kenny, indisputably you are the Best! 👏👏👏👏

[@podespault]

Just amazing