How I Punch and Roll for Long Form Recording

[@BoothJunkie]

This technique definitely takes some practice, so be patient. Once you get the keystrokes memorized and into your muscle memory, it can become very fast and second nature. It's not quite as fast as "Click and Go" in some circumstances, but editing while you record makes the QA review really convenient. Hope this helps!

[@mattgilmore1971]

Is Reaper only available on Mac? Or is it available on Windows too?

[@mchasal]

@@mattgilmore1971 Both Mac & Windows downloads here: www.reaper.fm/download.php Also experimental Linux builds.

[@IAmClearAsCrystal]

Yes sirrrrrrr!!! Gosh thank you

[@mattgilmore1971]

@@mchasal Thanks for the info.

[@thebackyardbrewer5611]

Do you recommend reaper over other software for voiceovers? I current either used a zoom H4n or i used audition on a desktop as i have to adobe suite already. Is reaper worth getting over adobe?

[@carlostorresvo]

I do it a little bit different. Go to ACTIONS, activate Toggle Pre-Roll. This enables Reaper to pre-play a few seconds everytime I make a mistake and press Record again. Just place the cursor exactly where you want it to start recording again. By default it comes with 10 seconds pre-roll, but I changed it to 5 seconds (Go to Preferences) which is more than enough for me to prepare and get the right cadence and tone.

[@natejpc]

This is crucial. This has probably swayed me to get Reaper now.

[@WantedHerocom]

@@natejpc Same.

[@sterlingboyns4883]

@Carlos Torres how did you change it to 5 seconds? Where do I go when I click Preferences?

[@sterlingboyns4883]

Can I change the pre-roll to say, 2 or 3 seconds (instead of 5) when I P&R?

[@muzikmanproductions3525]

@@sterlingboyns4883 Go to Options, Metronome/Pre-roll settings

[@johnyang799]

Got here years ago for microphone comparison. But now I just like listening to your voice. Calms me down.

[@amandajstar]

Heh heh heh. I guess he's successful for a reason. Myself -- I can't get arrested, as the saying is : )

[@twoweeksout]

Ayee Booth Junkie’s back!! You helped me get my recording equipment together for my covers, thank you!!

[@JohnSmith-lu4yb]

Very cool my guy

[@travislpatterson]

A new Booth Junkie video - my day just got better!

[@FunnyGamerTim]

Never found an unhelpful video from Mike. Always a pleasure.

[@richmerchant8104]

Finally! Booth Junkie back in action. Not believing your busy excuse. That savage tan does not look like that of a sun-starved VA. Thanks for a great lesson. Timing is perfect for me as I'm just uploading samples.

[@Nyctonaut]

Wow, this is really helpful. I just started my channel just under 4 months ago and I'm learning with each video. I had listened to the No sleep podcast for a long long time and when I went to search your name on KZbin found your channel. Subbed. And now I'm learning sooo much about how to do these voiceover so much smoother. I just got Reaper I was just using Audacity because it's been around since I was young and I knew the name from recording music. This technique is going to help me get my recordings done so much faster. I was already doing something similar to this but I was making the tracks further apart and stitching then together after. This is a much better idea!

[@wlonkery]

I love this as much as anything for the demonstration of what merits a retake; there's a lot of good insight into what a beginner might not even notice needs improving!

[@theresaweiss424]

Thank you for all of your videos. They are the most clear and concise videos on youtube.

[@DesmondM]

Thanks for the insight into your workflow, Mike. I appreciate the use of single buttons for operation too. For audiobooks I use a custom action in Reaper mapped to "E"; this pre-rolls 3 seconds back from where the play head is placed and begins recording at that point. A similar action mapped to "P" for time-selection punch in.

[@pugtom7114]

The king has returned

[@AlDano]

You are still doing it the hard way. I've been using punch and roll for years in Reaper. There is a setting (I think under the playback or recording settings) where you can change beats and bars to seconds. It is called pre roll. You can add to your record hot key. It allows you to listen to three or for or whatever seconds of playback. You put your cursor right at the point you want to punch. Press record. It plays back the last few seconds and automatically starts recording at the cursor. It makes it seamless. I have a hot key for this and a hot key for playback with no pre roll.

[@BoothJunkie]

I hear you, and I used to do it that way, but it's waiting through those couple of second of preroll on every. single. lead-in that made me impatient. because sometime you just don't need to have three or four seconds of lead in. Also, me hitting the record button on the fly means I can be really imprecise setting my lead-in point, I just need to be somewhere before the mistake. So, for me, this way ended up being much faster and more reliable than a fixed pre-roll. .

[@RussellKeleher]

@@BoothJunkie Ah. I had the same question. Thanks for your answer.

[@SleepyTimeTales]

I started doing this a couple of weeks ago and it's a game changer for my editing. Thanks so much!

[@brickflix4949]

Mmm, that's good stuff! This technique really speeds recordings up! You may not realize it but when you stop, delete the recording and then start again: you can spend an hour instead of minutes trying to complete a five minute recording all because of the time you're wasting replacing audio that you already recorded! Great tips, Mike!

[@JosephAlanMeador]

This video adds SO much value for Reaper users, and in general for long form work, thank you very much! It's worth noting that Ableton Live does a nice job out the gate for this technique.

[@steprockmedia]

Thanks for sharing behind the curtain. And everyone thinks it's so glamorous!!! PS for Audition users: This over-record / punch and roll type arrangement is default. If you have your cursor where you want it it will keep on recording. OR you can highlight a section and it will just record in that spot - of course your timing will need to be bang on right!

[@erikacalvert9481]

Thank you thank you thank you soooooo much for sharing your knowledge with us! I just booked my first audiobook with ACX and halfway through this marathon I discovered this video which has made the process so much faster!! Very grateful!

[@danes2747]

THANK YOU for this tutorial, Mike!!! I enjoy all your reviews and tips and am so glad you made another about Reaper. Please do more Reaper for Voice Over related content. IMHO no-one does them better!!!

[@wilddoktor]

Thanks so much for always sharing the good stuff; I've learned so much from you over the last couple years! The more I think about this technique, the more it makes sense! I've lately settled on "good take / bad take" shortcuts that I found somewhere on youtube. I get to the end of a section that went well and press the "good take" shortcut (g), which stops the recording, goes to the end (as a failsafe), then pre rolls 3 seconds. At which point it's recording, so I can continue on from there. If the section didn't go well, I hit the "bad take" shortcut (b), and it erases the current item, goes to the end of the last item, and pre rolls. Your way seems a bit simpler, and maybe even less stressful. I'm gonna give it a go tonight after work!

[@Laneth]

I cannot believe I have had this video in my watch later list for so long and am only *NOW* watching it! Even with knowing how I could alter/add keybindings or mappings, I had no idea what "punch-and-roll" truly was. Oh, what a game changer this will be! I wonder if there is a way to "rewind" the playhead by a set length of time with a keybinding? With longer-form narration on my horizon, I am SO keen to implement and practice this to build up that muscle memory / workflow instinct! Thanks, as always Mike. You're an absolute legend!

[@RollingStonesPhoto]

Love it, Mike! Definitely took a few minutes practice, but I can already see how this will speeds up editing and production. Thanks so much.

[@connorwolf5816]

I do audiobook recording and I quite often just record in one session and then edit after each chapter. I will say, the main reason for this is because I never felt comfortable using punch and roll. Thanks for the video, I will absolutely be doing this next time; it seems like it would save SO much time!

[@airwolf1337]

Thank you for sharing those handy tipps and tricks! Your videos are always very good and they encourage me the optimize my setup. You and Podcastage showed me that not the most expensive mic is one you need, but the one which fits your voice best, is. Thats why you like the e100 so much :)

[@johnheiser2604]

Loved it Mike. In my previous radio life recording on 15 inches per second Motorola tape decks we did exactly the same thing but it was known as a drop edit. Happy days.

[@SteveBlizin]

Excellent Tutorial, Mike! Thanks!

[@rogberube6422]

Thanks for this video, Mike. A clear, well done, and useful tutorial.

[@krisgee9553]

You the man Mike! I'm trying to up my production game for lectures and this will help a lot.

[@aviatrix1947.8]

Fabulous! It's great to have you back. I'm a VO newbie, and I found you a few weeks ago. Your VO tutorials have been very helpful for me getting my gear set up and learning to use Reaper. I'm a long-time Mac user and keystrokes are familiar and comfortable. The punch and roll technique will make recording and editing SOOO much easier! Thanks for being your terrific, helpful self!

[@paulsbackyardstuff]

Thank you so much, Mike. I've just started doing long form recording daily over the past month. Great timing.

[@narratorjamesvo]

Thanks Mike for another fantastic video. I truly appreciate it!

[@insanejughead]

YEEEEEEESSSSSSS! This is the very topic I was hoping you'd release next!

[@bparkpark1764]

Missed your vids man. Keep them coming.

[@sharppodcast8594]

Thanks Mike - you made my weekend! Steve

[@02mb]

Great, from start to finish. Thanks for sharing!

[@nicholibaldron8171]

Please add this video to the "Using Reaper for VOICEOVER" playlist. :) Thanks for the all the great lessons.

[@realCKarl]

Your Reaper videos helped me a lot. I would love to see more videos like that. =)

[@jrodriguez315]

Fantastic! Thanks so much. I recently got a notification from Reaper that my "lifetime" license expired and I need to upgrade. Not sure what happened, I thought it was a lifetime license! Anyway, thanks so much for this excellent tutorial.

[@convert2010]

Awesome! Brother I am learning so much and I want to thank you.

[@ДобрыйЁжик-л6н]

Thank you for new video! You best!

[@UGA.D]

Fantastic video. I'm recently involved with the narration presentations for high school kids beginning a stint with remote learning. While I don't use Reaper, I can apply your lesson to my workflow. Thank you!

[@getstew]

Very Clever! Thank you!

[@buymoviepostersinc8726]

He's back

[@IAmClearAsCrystal]

You always come through

[@d35er]

I wish I knew this several months ago :-) Thanks Mike - VERY helpful.

[@murraystechtime8530]

Great video, my 60 days was up about a year ago so I think I need to save up my $60 to get Reaper. I just went back to Audacity (at that time) and watching this makes me want to use Reaper again... Stay safe and keep well, see you next time...

[@Salisbury2015]

Wow, I got a lot of helpful info from this one, thank you! I'm going to try this in Audition to see how it works there. Also, thanks for linking to the dog clicker video. Think I might try that, too!

[@13Cubed]

Very helpful! Another suggestion, if I may: can you please show us how you use FCPX (or whatever your NLE of choice is) to record voiceover directly into the timeline (showing mistakes being edited as you go)?

[@maximilianogarzon1078]

very interesting. I personally like the CLick and Go best for audiobook recordings. I think the fluidity is much higher and less time is spent in the booth. my work method consists of 15 minutes in the booth. then 15-20 minutes editing outside. this time out of the booth editing is refreshing for my voice and mind. Greetings from Colombia

[@GeorgeTheTech]

Nice and simple technique! Make sure you have a very quiet keyboard for this method and press the keys gently, or you might hear the keyboard in the punch in. If you have trouble with this, setup "pre-roll" for a couple seconds so the software rolls some of the audio before the punch-in point and then engages record for you.

[@enado18]

I like how Reaper tracks where punches happened and lets you slide things around. Very cool. The interface also seems very responsive, makes me wonder if it’s time to upgrade my computer or try Reaper too!

[@deleteduser8507]

#NOTIFICATIONSQAUD BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VID FOREVER! SO HAPPY OMG

[@BoothJunkie]

Thank you random youtube watcher.

[@COPiX]

Congrats on 100k

[@dearhorse085]

master at work

[@offcenterconcepthaus]

Good to see you back! (Could you check your twitter feed - question - maybe an episode idea on calibrating studio monitors)

[@TheDeedeeFiles]

Cool video man

[@baconboots5286]

Now I wish wikipedia would hire you to just read all of their articles. So nice listening I was genuinely sad when it ended XD

[@ctroutwi]

I use the Razer Tartarus Chroma gamepad (non-mechnical)... this has 3 rows of 5 buttons, plus a trigger switch (which I use for pause/play) etc.. between that and Reapers ability to map just about every function/process to a keystroke, you can pretty much do one handed punch and roll editing in Reaper on the fly.. Now, I've never been the greatest with long reads, I stumble easily... so, I combine punch and roll with a clicker... this helps me get through full paragraphs or scenes so I keep my momentum and tone of my voice (especially when dialogue is concerned.)

[@blcsuperdave]

Very cool. Thanks. I switched to Reaper from your suggestion... and although I felt clumsy at first, after a coupe of weeks I decided I didn't want to go back to Audition. Thanks for suggesting it -- now my workflow is pretty slick. I am clicker guy by the way. I will try punch and roll tonight just to get a feel for it.

[@BoothJunkie]

It'll take some practice, but I think it's worth it. I just finished a 30+ hour long-form project and this technique helped keep me sane.

[@amiet4012]

woah you r back !

[@Boutsik]

Question: I want to use REAPER but I don't understand how to have the computer (which tends to have the fan come on) outside the booth and control it from inside the booth? (and when I say BOOTH i mean closet, of course). What computer do you have REAPER on that you can keep inside the booth? Or is there a way to have a SIDECAR version on an ipad in the booth and control it with a bluetooth keyboard? I'm confused...

[@isaacvegamusic3274]

I keep my laptop outside the booth. Inside my booth I have my monitors, USB keyboard, wireless USB mouse, and mic interface running to a powered USB hub that goes into the USB port on my laptop.

[@kossler]

Congrats on 100k subs!!!!

[@BoothJunkie]

Thank you!!!

[@kossler]

@@BoothJunkie I'd love to see you cover some Gefell microphones in the future. They don't receive a lot of coverage and I'd argue they can go blow for blow with Neumann.

[@weedeeohguy]

Hey Mike! welcome back. My have dog clicker. My like. Learned a ton from your videos. Thanks.

[@SusheelChandradhas]

Thanks a ton, Mike. I'll have to figure out how to do this in Adobe Audition. Should be rather simple.

[@stuartwrigglesworth9339]

You are good i use reaper it is the best for me.Just going to start voice over i am watching you get get tips.

[@tonywilding9137]

Thanks for this Mike, I would maybe add setting the pre-roll function so the last few seconds are replayed just prior to the cursor position (marking where the mistake begins). The Daw S1 artist for instance can be configured to play the last X amount of settings (I chose 5 seconds).

[@muzikmanproductions3525]

Where do you choose 5 seconds? I saw Metronome/Pre-roll settings under Options but it shows I can change how many measures for music stuff.

[@tonywilding9137]

@@muzikmanproductions3525 ​ @Muzikman Productions No longer use Presonus Artist One and cannot remember myself. Look for a channel by Don Baarns - one of the Artist setup videos covers pre-roll.

[@peterschmidt9942]

Mike, when you were talking about mapping keys in reaper, that's only if the computers in the room with you. You can also buy keyboard encoders that just plug into a USB port. I use them a lot when I'm building arcade machines. If you look for J-PAC there's a few different types. It also comes with keyboard mapping software and you can add several key strokes to one switch. You can map dedicated buttons to whatever keystrokes you like.

[@Thomas_Speck]

First of all many thanks for the many tips I have already drawn from your videos. I am also a voice actor (German, podcasts and small Audiobooks) with a little less experience than you - I use a microphone from Micparts DIY microphone kits that I built myself. It emulates the legendary AKG C414 - the kit is the T12 of Micparts. I can't send it to you for review (I live in europe and need it) but since you are at home in USA you should check it out - the sound is phenomenal! I love it.

[@EmerHeatley]

Hi @BoothJunkie thanks for this video, it's so helpful! I wanted to ask whether it's possible to record initially in 'takes' setup, rectifying mistakes using the 'click and go' method, then switch to 'tape' setup so go back an edit the same project?

[@fernf]

Thank you!!

[@carlostorresvo]

I find there is no other way around Long formats than punch and roll. Tried the dog clicker for audiobooks and it was a headache. I only use the clicker for shorter recordings. I also think that the clicker makes you less conscious of your mistakes and one tend to make more. With punch and roll as you are obligated to pause, you can take a few seconds to rehearse your tripped word and nail it when hitting record again .

[@joetowers4804]

Hello Mike and others! Been following your channel for a while; great content and I always learn something from your videos. Have you seen the Stream Deck by Elgato? Seems to be a super handy, kind of expensive tool for content creators, more explicitly for streamers. In short, it's a shortcut master board. Now, it is kind of expensive, so I found out about an app that essentially does the same thing (and wirelessly): Touch Portal. You can even configure it so that a button has two states, so you can have a record button that changes state when it's on or off (so it not only does the action, but looks the part as well). It´s possible to map the transport controls along with other shortcuts. Since Reaper is a customizable monster of a DAW, I think the Stream Deck or Touch Portal would interest you and other voice over artists along with Reaper.

[@TheTimeProphet]

Been listening to you for ages and you have a great voice. I haven't been able to make a booth because of problems, but I do use a Shure SM58 mic and I have followed your noise gate vids, and compression which helps a lot. I have found out something strange. I really hate my own voice, and now I have made 2 youtube videos now, and it is strange other people seem to like my voice, but I don't LOL

[@claysculptress]

Great info! Which one of your videos has the clicker method?

[@jwr6656]

Great video, Mike! But there is another way that I use P&R in REAPER for my Audiobook work, incorporating a pre-roll that I can turn on and off with a key stroke. And another way to make corrections within already recorded material is with Time Selection Auto Punch, which I leave on as my default Record Mode. I also have those things mapped on my ShuttlePRO2 Controller. So my left hand is on my controller and my right hand is on my mouse and I barely have to look or touch my keyboard at all.

[@rdgs]

NICE!

[@stuartwrigglesworth9339]

Amazing

[@asdafafsafda]

Have you done military training voice overs? Or like the Professional Development guide for the air force? I SWEAR i've heard that voice before when you were reading the wiki article.

[@mypersonalphotosite]

Wow 101k. Fantastic!!!

[@Sciencegrinds]

Fascinating! How did you put everything on the video acreen? Wikipedia, your hand on the keyboard, the recording/editing screen AND a headshot of your doing the narrating! Wow!

[@johnnyb357]

Awesome video. Thank you Mike! What mic were you using? It’s nice to know what mic your using in your arsenal when it’s not the TLM or the 416. Love it all man thank you again!

[@shaunlama6772]

Can u tell me if u recommend CAD e100 se. I know CAD e 100s is good but what about e100se version. How much is it worth to pay for it? Thanks

[@andreastalberger803]

Can you remember which Reaper version you did use at this time? Actual Reaper versions have some other behave about transport with play/stop/pause.

[@tristonrussell]

Great video as always. Dog clicker for me every time! An idea for ya Mike, what about testing face masks as pop-shield?!?!? 🤓

[@TalesByMax]

Tried using Punch and Roll today and it's leaving behind the echo of the previous recording just under the new recording. I noticed that wasn't happening in your recording. Only happens when I'm monitoring my track media while recording over it. If I just Monitor Input it doesn't show up, but if I can't hear what I'm recording over, I can't know where I'm punching in. 🙁

[@sterlingboyns4883]

Can I change the pre-roll to say, 2 or 3 seconds (instead of 5) when I P&R?

[@DavidMagadan33]

I want to start using punch and roll but how my booth is set up, I can't see my monitor. Any suggestions?

[@Aleziss]

do you happend to do recording sessions over multiple days ? I ask this because I am currently trying to make a youtube video and my voice always sound different even though I did not change anything on the preamp or processing. Sometime it looks I am closer to the mic, some other time farther (which change the tonality) but even my voice changes as I had to do another take another day, you can hear that it is still me but it sounds like I am using a totally different mic with a different preamp but it is always the same equipment set the same way. How are you able to sound always the same throughout all of your takes and over a long project ? Oh and another thing, it does not seems to happend to you but after I have done my recording, I found mouth noises on the recording and I was NEVER able to punch over the previous and have the same sounding voice... I hate when I hear mouth noises while I am talking... how do you cope with that ?

[@toddmorgan2584]

are you rewinding the curser with your off screen hand?

[@stuartwrigglesworth9339]

I need to join a course on voice over what do you recommend guys ?

[@ProsodyVO]

Great video! But I have to say I prefer the click and roll way as this way seems like editing twice.

[@jessicacaruso8099]

Is there any way to set this up to a gaming mouse instead of the keyboard?

[@michelem7786]

Does anyone know if Reaper could also be used for mixing & editing music tracks (some effects)? I used to use Ableton for music mixing (DJ) *YEARS* ago and am now moving into some voiceover production. Ableton is powerful and complex.... Does Reaper even have 10 of the production features for music (incase I want to frolic with mashing tracks)?

[@JairajSinghPatil]

what pop filter are you using?

[@amandajstar]

This is great! But this is the question I have for those that keep their laptop and interface outside the booth: how do you quickly remove bad takes? What happens to punch and roll? In the first place, I want to see what's going on; in the second place, I'd have to unzip my booth-to-go and then open the closet door (the booth takes up the entire walk-in closet). Not going to happen!

[@talesbyscreenlight]

I'm doing my first Audiobook and after finding out low long it takes to edit after a 2 hour Click n' Go session. My problem is trying to do it while standing to record. I reeeally need your invest in a laptop.

[@AntoineBandele]

His audio is always so clean. How!? He seems so far from the microphone.

[@aerob1033]

He works in a well-treated vocal booth with low room noise. Having a golden voice always helps too!

[@eliteshadowproductions8547]

his gain is probably pretty high

[@jasoniwanko2923]

probably thousands upon thousands of hours of practice. Also there are multiple ways to adjust the volume. The best tip I got is record with a low input, and adjust it later with the master volume. It's probably why he has one ear that doesn't have the headphones on. That way he can actually hear himself while doing it live. Because what we're hearing is the end result of his vocals being boosted through the mix.

[@Sajin688]

Alot of it is how you speak into the mic, some people feel they need the microphone in the back of their throat, another reason is his gain is appropriately set, some people put their preamp gain to high and their input volume to low.

[@zeitakulobusta]

Properly treated, quiet space. The right mic. Gain etc properly set. Good delivery plus knowing what you're talking about. Proper post- processing.

[@justnotg00d]

I cannot tell how many times you press and which key. You stop recording, but the head continues advancing, then you press more keys which I do not have a clue what you pressed. . . . So, after experimenting a little. I press the Play key/button to hear what I recorded before, then as it gets to the spot I want to replace, then I have to press the Record key/button. To stop recording, then press Record and then press Play/Stop to stop playing???

[@jwk6343]

how do you make 'tape mode' the default setting?

[@ireallyreallyreallylikethisimg]

Best setup for Ableton?