Can You Make Hip Hop BEATS In Reaper? (How to Organize Your Project File)

[@soundamm]

I don't understand why Reaper is so underrated, it's so flexible and customizable is crazy. I use Reaper for everything, from metal to beats to more cinematic music.

[@JSMallard]

People still sleep on it! I really need to jump into some metal production. I actually got into metal way before hip-hop.

[@FrancisthaProducer]

Been using Reaper for a min. Love it. I think since 2015 or 2016

[@shamanbeartwo3819]

Nice tips. Here are a few of my own. 1) For color coding, under SWS Extensions, there is a handy one called "Auto Color/Icon/Layout" which gives one the ability to simply type "Master" in a track's name and it becomes red. Or type guitar and the track is yellow with a guitar icon. I don't have to remember from project to project how I last color coded or open up anything to add the color. 2) Also under SWS Extensions is one called "Notes" which lets me attach a note to the project, to each track, or to every last midi item. Great when working in groups or as a checklist as in - tighten up this bass line or change that Phrygian chord to Dorian in the turnaround. 3) Screensets!!!!! A screenset lets one open up various windows, size them the way you want, and attach it to a keystroke. If I hit F7 on mine, I get my default window which is nothing but the track control panel. Another hit and the entire screen is my mixer with a big master meter. Another hit and the mixer fills half the screen along with the track control panel. Another one opens my midi control window as big as it gets with only 1 track in the TCP showing. I need a large midi control window when working with Kenny Barron chords:)) 4) My templates - I have genre specific templates set up that like you, pull up the instruments I know I am going to use - drum kit, 3-piece horn section, guitar, etc. Everything is already routed and I have a copy of Schepps Omni Channel on everything 'cause I use it more than any other plugin. The horns are already set up in Kontakt to be 70's Motown or whatever else I would want. There are region markers set up labeled Intro, Verse 1, Chorus 1, Verse 2, Chorus 2, Break, Chorus 3, Outro. I have one for 12 bar and one for 16 bar. Once I fill in these regions, I have a completed song:)) Or if I decide one night that the chorus should come before the verse, I simply drag that region and everything underneath moves with it. If its a House song, it will load with a 4x4 kick, high hat already drawn in, and a clap on 2 and 4. I can always change things but I got tired of drawing in the same midi patterns again and again and again and again... For a couple of years, I would give myself 1 hour challenges. I would set the timer for 1 hour and see how quickly I could write an entire song. Very little got written at first because I kept spending sooooo much time setting things up again. But I learned. Now, I even have a "chord progression builder" where I created a track-template compiling any chord I would use so I can just drag and drop. If I want a Bb major rootless voicing Position B, its already done for me. I just drag that midi item to the instrument track and voila - gorgeous jazz progression. None of the existing chord builders I have seen will give me inversions or Kenny Barron chords or shell chords or.... So, I made my own.

[@JSMallard]

Really nice tips! The SWS stuff is so extensive. I've seen some amazing things in there. I always wanted to set up the auto color, but have been too lazy lol. I love doing those quick challenges. Sometimes the best music comes in the shortest amount of time. That chord progression set up sounds like a good idea! For me, I might use it when I'm not worried about voice leading.

[@airriontoles43]

Been making Hip hop on reaper for years, its customization is bananas, three words, 1.Custom actions 2.Custom hotkeys 3.Custom templates. I like your set up, and since you're into sound design as well, I don't have to tell you that's where reaper really shines, the way it allows so much freedom with tracks and their routing is a gift to sound designers. Bro how many times have you made an 808 in serum, then cleaned it up with some insert fx and clever routing? Countless right? Anyways thought about doing videos making hip hop beats in reaper but you actually went and did it, hope there's more to come, I'm tired of Reaper being left out of the beat tutorial videos. Subscribed.

[@JSMallard]

True 100%! I know nothing with the amount of customization as reaper. The custom actions are insane with sound design. More to come for sure with reaper production, composition, and sound design content. Feel free to hmu if you release some reaper vids!

[@ILaxative]

@@JSMallard im trying to love reaper man..i make trap and rnb and im trying to get my snare and hi hat rolls done in reaper is so annoying.i dont draw midi as i like to play my rolls out using some kind of midi function like a note repeater or an arp effect but i cant find one in reaper anywhere. i also like to stack claps and snares in things like groove agent or battery or the drum rack in ableton..i dont know how to stack drums in reaper and have each stacked drum with its own effects on them so i can do things like flam notes

[@gabrielmiller9517]

Super helpful, thank you!

[@marianobarella3191]

Nice video! What is the theme you are using?

[@Netzerland]

Thanks for that! Can you share your template?

[@eter-nosklan4697]

Nice vid!!! how can i get that teme custom?

[@EqDior]

Whats awesome also is that you can Hide the Fx sends to only show in the mixer! Awesome vid. love looking at other producers approach in reaper.

[@granaff]

great video

[@SammarthSattvik]

hello sir can you make full reaper course for making rap beats, plss

[@AGAU1022]

I thought I was the only one! Thanks for the tips.

[@JSMallard]

Hey, glad to hear from another reaper user! It's amazing.

[@DocKaosBeats]

Reaper gang unite 😎🤣

[@beatprocess]

you have this template available bro?

[@esotericksoul7156]

but how do i make the fooolderss?

[@vlad-fz4jf]

Bruhh you need more subs! You deserve it bruh!

[@JSMallard]

True lol😂. Appreciate the support! I bet the subs will come in fast with some of the new vid ideas I'm cooking up

[@pappabear7617]

Great vid bro this is the video I was looking for

[@cameroncoffee3052]

Damn this looks professional

[@JSMallard]

Haha, i've been on that grind a bit😂. Trying to get everything really clean. I got you if you need something recorded anytime

[@JackStolz]

Thanks for the tips man! Just starting off with reaper and trying to get things moving is hard.

[@JSMallard]

Glad it helped! Once you get a workflow going, everything falls into place a bit easier. Some great channels for the more technical side of reaper are Reaper Mania and Reaper Blog. Both have amazing tips!

[@JackStolz]

@@JSMallard thanks man! I'll check those out as well!!

[@JSMallard]

New videos are up! Check back for more beat making, mixing, and composition focused videos every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! Anything y'all want me to make a video on?

[@AidanDillon789]

Really well laid out info. How did you learn about the intricacies of reaper and do you have any vid/channel recommendations that would take someone above the basics of reaper? Cause right now I can lay a few tracks, put some effects on that and the master, but that’s it. Really don’t know how to use busses and I feel like that is key for more complex projects.

[@JSMallard]

Thanks! Yeah, Reaper Mania and The Reaper Blog are great for learning about reaper from a technical perspective. Reaper Mania really breaks down reaper's functionality, while Reaper Blog is more of a showcase of workflow tips and other related content.

[@D84D]

Joshua! Wow and thank you.

[@JSMallard]

Glad you dig it!

[@rogberube6422]

Thanks for sharing, Joshua. What's your Reaper theme? :)

[@JSMallard]

This is inquasar dark matter! I'm thinking of switching soon though haha

[@chuckdug9269]

this is the stuff i need im gna make a master template looool

[@sumanneupane2830]

Bro iam trying to make my home studio And I'm still confusing which daw i have to purchase so Is reaper good to buy?

[@JSMallard]

Reaper is great! If you are on the fence, the free trial is a great way to really see if you like it. It is fully functional, so you can take that time to try things out in Reaper.

[@THEBDLOVER1]

Will you also cover cinematic music in reaper? :) Great videos btw!

[@JSMallard]

Yep! There will be a ton of videos on composition and my template

[@THEBDLOVER1]

@@JSMallard 😍

[@FornaxBeats]

Thanks for this. It seems like youtube has decided FL Studio and Ableton are the ONLY DAWs out there, especially for hiphop/ trap etc. I'm determined to do everything on Reaper. I find 808 slides difficult to get to sound like they do in FL though (I'm doing the ReaPitch envelope trick but it doesnt quite sound like the beats I'm trying to emulate). Glad to have found your channel, have subbed

[@JSMallard]

Glad you dig the video! Reaper is so slept on, and yeah those 808 glides can be difficult. If I can, i like to keep my 808's in serum, reverse them when it works, or put my reapitch envelopes on top of the actual media item. When it has the points on the item, it's sometimes easier to work with.

[@golovinguitar]

man i ve got more micro tips on reaper during that 9minutes video more than from a big number of tutorials)) great vid! but did you have any problems with the thing that everyone is working in logic or FL and u are working in another daw? for example if someone asks you to send them your beat as a project

[@JSMallard]

Glad it helped! I usually just export audio stems whenever sending files. Thankfully, it's pretty rare to transfer whole project files unless I am working in house for a company or something.

[@Michael-pj6zk]

anyone have any ideas on what to load 808 one shots into? dragging em into kontakt's sampler doesn't sound right to me. it slows down or speeds up the sample the lower and higher it gets. any thoughts?

[@JSMallard]

Hey! I use ADSR Sample Manager. It's free and has a nice ui.

[@Jeaylogo]

I use a program called Poise. Its a very familiar vsti and simple to use. I load up the wav file and assign it to a drum pad, edit the ASR to your liking and boom! If you havent used poise before try it out. Its my go to vsti for every beat I produce.

[@doswellbeats]

Dope video 🔥 how is that DAW? It looks like studio one

[@JSMallard]

Thanks! Reaper is excellent. I would say for audio editing it is the best, but studio one has it beat as far as midi workflow.

[@kelklassify]

Hello Thank you for this tutorial. You are well experienced on Reaper despite your young age and I think it's great. I subscribe and like. For the monitoring effects, I use the fx monitor to put plugins like Youlean or Izotope tonal balance and an analysis or rms plugin because this way of doing things makes that when the project bounce, these effects are not used by the cpu. I wish you success. Youth is the future and Reaper is great.

[@JSMallard]

Good idea! I’ll have to give that a go. Thanks!

[@gopolarisstudio]

How do you have your sidechain bus hooked up, good sir?

[@JSMallard]

Hey! I put everything except for drums into one folder/group. I put my compression on that folder and route my drums as the auxiliary/side chain input.

[@MyFeltMusic]

Considering REAPER inserts have a wet knob...what's the point in creating a parallel bus track?!?

[@JSMallard]

Hey! It's mostly dependent on what you want to do. In a plugin, a wet knob adjust the balance of wet and dry by a percentage almost. That means as you boost the wet signal, it's decreasing the dry. Some plugins allow you to work in parallel by having both a wet and dry knob, but most don't so you have to make a send for it. Reaper's knob does let you work in parallel that way. The real benefit to the parallel bus comes down to the end goal. Making a "parallel bus" lets me process the wet signal separately from the dry. I can crush that wet signal and eq it, then blend it with my dry signal using a fader. It's way more flexibile that way for more complicated chains. One other thing is you can run into phase cancellation without that additional processing. A lot of DAWs don't have that functionality too (the knob), so the approach of creating a send for parallel processing is way more common in mixing workflows. I can keep track of all the metering and plugins a bit easier too.

[@MyFeltMusic]

@aviz restraint it’s only stupid to people like you who don’t understand audio engineering.

[@Christ62395]

what mic do you have

[@JSMallard]

The at2020! Great budget mic. It even holds up to an extent against more mid-tier mics.

[@eklazonthebeats9002]

Genius

[@JSMallard]

Thanks so much!

[@inspectordetector2speed]

lol this was cool when I watched the first time, but then I download asdr and trying to figure out how to put a basic drum loop built/arranged out and then grouping them wasn't really explained oh so new to interacting with reaper I thought it'd click when I watch over doing it.. 🤥but it didn't

[@JSMallard]

There can definetly be a bit of a learning curve for any daw. This vid was mostly just showing what I use and not really how I use it. Just so people can see how I stay organized. For the basics of reaper I really love Reaper Mania. Really great tutorials! Once you learn how to group tracks and use midi items, you are mostly there! Then ADSR will make a lot more sense.

[@IamHappyfellow]

Hi. It is a very nice video. I love reaper like you. Is there any chance if I can get the reaper project file please?

[@JSMallard]

Thanks a lot! I might work on a project file that has stock plugins in it. At the moment, my project file is full of plugins that wouldn't load for everyone. Maybe I can go over some changes and drop a link for just the tracks with no FX

[@jmscrewhead]

Where did u get all those plugins m my man!!?

[@JSMallard]

I got a good deal on the waves bundle on sweetwater - I think it was the silver or gold. I really only use about 10% haha

[@jmscrewhead]

@@JSMallard do you have a link to it ?

[@JSMallard]

@@jmscrewhead Here you go! www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SilverBun--waves-silver-plug-in-bundle

[@reduxcompletedy2641]

Where can I download sounds for reaper for free?

[@JSMallard]

Hey! Are you trying to find samples or something like synths/vsti?

[@pappabear7617]

AT2020?

[@JSMallard]

Yep! I think it's the best budget condenser off the top of my head. Even though I have more expensive mics, the AT2020 always stays in my rotation.

[@bharath6457]

Too useful1

[@JSMallard]

Glad it helped!

[@djmac1352]

SIKK

[@JSMallard]

Thanks!!

[@djmac1352]

Please check your email

[@JonathanDiaz-sk9vj]

I love you

[@JSMallard]

Thanks, JD. Love you too😂

[@BenFly]

Yo playa this shit dope. Get with me my g.. Contact me on Insta if you tryna talk bro @_benfly

[@locutz]

you have a serious problem with content consistency bruh two videos one year apart ! Come on bruh .

[@JSMallard]

Yeah, it's only recently that I've really decided to commit. I dropped two vids this week! MWF schedule