How to Make DDP Files FOR FREE in 5 EASY STEPS (Template Included)

[@JamesZhan]

Hey guys! Thank you for stopping by and watching the video! A small correction: at 05:16, the symbol after "ISRC" should be "=" not "|". So it should be "ISRC=1234567890". If you want to read a more in-depth tutorial about DDP files making and CD specifications, you can check out my blog post: tinyurl.com/makeddp You can download the REAPER DDP template there too!

[@yutokanazawa]

I was wondering about it, thanks for the info and great tutorial!

[@mariodario9033]

Yup, I tought so :) Anyway, thanks for the video tutorial !

[@katiekrawczyk3804]

omg so glad i saw this! Was scrolling for clarity - thanks for it!

[@JamesZhan]

@@katiekrawczyk3804 Glad you saw it! haha

[@katiekrawczyk3804]

@@JamesZhan YAH thanks for posting about it - another quick question: How do I credit the producer on my album - its a EDM/pop album where I wrote the chords and melodies and lyrics - but the producer did all of the instrumentation and track building so its a very notable artistic contribution and want to make sure to credit him properly - would ARRANGER= be the appropriate tag - or SONGWRITER= , or could I put PRODUCER= ?

[@AlejodelosReyes]

Hello, Independent musician here. I've -done by now like a thousand tracks in Cubase, Sonar, Soundforge bvefore, Bitwig now. Mixed (and sometimes mistered) almost all of my 12 albums. But I've never had to create a DDP project up until yesterday when I had to deliver one to a CD label. I've had no idea how to do it (actually, I've never heard about DDP before) and I was severely time-constrained. Your tutorial helped me doing it in like half an hour and deliver safely and on time to the CD printer so the albums will be ready for the albume release concert next month. Can't thank you enough!

[@JamesZhan]

So happy my video was helpful!! Appreciate the tip!

[@Willigrow]

So many mastering tutorials on KZbin, but nobody talks about preparing masters for distribution. Thanks!

[@JamesZhan]

It's an important step!

[@blademarketing]

I think there is a mistake in your MetaData example (5:17) - ISRC needs to have "=" after it and not a "|". Am I right about this?

[@erwinmagielda]

I come back to this tutorial whenever I need a DDP made. It's by far the best one you'll be able to find! Thank you James.

[@JamesZhan]

Great to hear that!

[@erwinmagielda]

@@JamesZhan could you help me understand two things, please? I'm trying to figure out if adding both UPC and EAN to album metadata will result in any sort of error, or they both can simply be there? The other thing is about the MESSAGE attribute: is it a good place to store information about the label?

[@JamesZhan]

@@erwinmagielda Yeah I don't think it would be a good idea to add two barcodes for the album. You are better off picking one. You should be able to add some brief info on the MESSAGE attribute. Keep it short though. I can't recall if there's a character limit.

[@erwinmagielda]

@@JamesZhan thank you again!

[@mathewweichel1050]

This was exactly the tutorial I needed and was presented in a clear and simple way. Thank you so much James for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@rainer3755]

man i am sending my album to manufacturer last minute and completely forgot about dpp, you're a lifesaver, thanks!

[@EvTrev11]

Thanks

[@superankan]

Fantastic tutorial, I made some DDP's with reaper before and remembered it as quite annoying so I was not too stoked about making a new master as DDP (the music I record rarely gets put on CD, more commonly Vinyl or Tape). This is a great tutorial, short guide that just works. I was gonna point out the missing = in the example in the video but I see you pinned that already. I'd like to add that reaper also can play the ddp image file so that you can actually check it proper before sending it off, just drag the IMAGE.DAT into reaper and it will show with meta data and be playable. subbed

[@duaneco]

Thanks!

[@tabido303]

Thank you so much. Such an easy way to complete the process. It really helped me out while being in a hurry. I checked it with a ddp player and everything was done correctly, the metadata was compiled perfectly.

[@RicCrouch]

This wasn’t even anything I was needing to do but I still enjoyed it and learned a lot. Great tutorial!

[@JamesZhan]

Glad to hear!

[@kaveiros75]

Thank you for one of the few truly informative and useful KZbin videos out there. Well made also, by the way! Just one question: Why when rendering do you choose "Full Speed Offline"? Isn 't it safer to go with slower speeds, even at "x1"? Because when I burn CDs to send to some third person to make the DDPs, they always tell me to burn them at "x1" speed if possible, to avoid any digital errors. Doesn 't this apply to rendering from Reaper also?

[@desertocean]

Amazing video my friend. So clear, so precise and so effective!! I'd never even heard of DDP till a few days ago when my CD manufacturer asked for the masters in DDP format and I was sitting here scratching my head, haha. Thank you so much.

[@bobbyvolkmann]

What is the best way to include a featured artist in the metada? In the title field, or in the performer field?

[@therobbdrew]

Hey! Great video. Could you tell me how to format metadata if there are multiple performers/composers on a song?

[@VikingVocals]

Absolutely brilliant tutorial. Thank you 🙌

[@failsaferecords]

Important note. If your CD manufacturer doesn't accept marker data or you don't need or want to include this stuff per track, you must at least have the # sign in the marker description otherwise reaper will ignore it and you'll get a ddp file that is one track the length of your album. The end of disc marker must have the @ sign in it as a minimum, and the start mark is the ! sign. Also you can get a free ddp very basic 'player' that will open the DDP file. That's one of the more scary things about DDP in that no one has a ddp player in their car or on their phone. it's just a scary file that could say anything, and you could send off to production with errors in it.

[@MrRAB1992]

Such a good tutorial, minimal hand holding, just all the information I needed and quickly. Thank you!

[@roknrole]

Man, this video is SO valuable! Thank you for doing this. It’s exactly what I needed right at this precise moment.

[@JamesZhan]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@haveyourself]

This video was very helpful, thank you so much.

[@worldmusic75]

Super, thank you so much. Where I get a ISRC code if the album is self produced?

[@ursosupernova]

Valeu!

[@jamessalkind]

This was so helpful. Especially with the template. Well done.

[@ermajko]

Long shot... But what's the syntax to add multiple performers? Like Featurings. Thanks

[@IIrogers]

best tutorial available today. You are a life saver, bro

[@JamesZhan]

Glad you find it helpful!

[@TheSoulshakepower]

Man you rock! Straight to the point, very pro video shooting.. What else could we dream of?! Thanks a million!

[@zaccelinder3344]

This is much appreciated brother, thank you!

[@zitruc]

Thanks a million for this perfect tutorial!

[@dystopiagently]

I can't thank you enough! This was so kind of you

[@jameskohlman301]

you did a wonderful job with this, James. Thank you!

[@joeMW284]

This is so great. Reaper just keeps delivering for me.

[@thestuffthatreally]

James thanks, this is really concise and well done.

[@smogoms]

@JamesZhan thanks for the video tutorial, a couple of questions: why there is no sound in the rendered file? ...how can i check that it is working properly?

[@stevensauls2013]

You just saved me so much money my guy 🎉

[@GracefulRevive]

Great video, thanks! I just didn't get what the marker at the beginning is for? Can you explain why it's needed?

[@MrAliensix]

Excellent! Thank you! You made two middle aged men very happy today :)

[@EvTrev11]

That was an absolutely excellent tutorial. Hell yea buddy thank you.

[@surfhermits5545]

thanks for this video. I refer to it everytime I have to make a DDP...

[@Camilobarbosatv]

James, thanks for the video!!!! Great

[@JamesZhan]

You are welcome!

[@CYGNOSIC]

Thank you for this! Cheers!

[@megancrouse]

Really great video thank you! Is there a way to add album artwork somewhere for example when someone is importing the album into iTunes library?

[@JamesZhan]

I don't think you can add album artwork in DDP files unfortunately!

[@santoclemenzi]

Added to favourites. Great tutorial!

[@joelonsdale]

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks James. Liked & Subscribed!

[@rocarius14]

man, you really are GOAT!!! Thanks again!!!

[@SebastianKomor]

Great video. Thanks.

[@theshallowsouls2047]

Question? With the markers for the tracks? so i have a 10 track album but if i put a marker at the beginning and one at the end that gives me 12 markers which surely would be read on the cd as 12 no?? Can you break it down a bit please with regards to markers. Would it be that the lazer will only read from 2 to 10 then??

[@chelidonframe]

This is pure gold, thanks for sharing!

[@JamesZhan]

My pleasure!

[@lukasdatree]

Really saved the day for me. Thanks so much James. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. Lukas

[@giorgio.dambrosio_vlog]

Hey James, you are a genius I was searching for this in all the web tks a lot

[@constantinflux]

Great tutorial! Thanks a lot! Do I have to snap each clip to full seconds? Because if I don't then adding markers doesn't snap the markers to full seconds and I have to zoom in to frames to kind of set them correctly at the beginning of each clip. Thanks.

[@spencergrady5501]

hey there James, great video here - most helpful - many thanks

[@johnnyzuidhof]

Thanks a lot James, this was very clear and helpfull!!!

[@alexabg]

Very good instructions! Thank you!

[@NNOC]

Great Job man. Thx a lot. Exactly what I searching for

[@user-zr5ge9kb7j]

Made a succesful DDP master using your tutorial, thanks so much!

[@JamesZhan]

So glad to hear that! Congrats!

[@c.fjerstad2774]

That was perfect! Thank you so much! Life saver! You have angel energy

[@samgingher]

Thanks James... brilliant tutorial. Earned my subscription in a heartbeat. Cheers!

[@eleftheriosdariotis3500]

Excellent! Thank you! Great tutorial!

[@glenesis]

Reaper works well as a two-track editor? I'm not surprised. Reaper gets a lot of love from a lot of other pro engineers in my circles. I'll try this. There are no great 2-track editors out there for any platform. I have tried every one of them. Forever, I used Bias Peak to make .sd2f files Jam Image files. I dropped in regions, named the tracks, and then I imported and and burned the images in Toast to send off for duplication. It was SO easy, and insanely accurate to use. Then, BIAS-Inc disappeared. Their ghostly website still sells Peak. They ask some ridiculous $148 price for a Peak 6 license, and they offer zero support. They're freakin nuts. Pleased to meet you! I wish every tutorial on KZbin was as short and valuable as your video is here. New sub! Thank you! Have a fantastic day!

[@schoepsms]

DSP Quattro is a two track editor and can create DDP files. It's $100 and worth the convenience.

[@glenesis]

@@schoepsms It does, and the dev has been supporting it for 30+ years. I kinda want to buy it just to support his dedication, and I'll probably buy a Reaper license, too. Jam, Toast & Peak were the bomb, though. Final mastering used to be fun for me, and now it's a pain. FWIW, Toast still kicks ass for final assembly, and if you're looking to turn in a burned CD-R to the dupe plant, Toast can't be beat. It has fades, crossfades, and supports AU plugins too. If you can work without looking at waveforms, it's great, and it does have meters. Load your track files, set your final levels, fades and gaps, lay in ISRC, UPC & Text items, and you're off to the races. Toast burns Red Book Audio. Good stuff. Not ruined yet 😂 Cheers! Pleased to meet you!

[@joeywalnuts4854]

Great Video ..Thank you.!.. How can I generate a PQ sheet for this?

[@josdurkstraful]

Thanx. Worked like a charm!

[@angelocoffen7007]

clear and v helpful

[@damianpress]

Thanks James! Life saver

[@janinipizzicato]

OMG this is amazing!!! thank you so much, this is such a lifesaver!! I've just got one question: is it important that the markers for the tracks are set perfectly on the frame-grid or can i set them in between frames, just the way i exported my masters? because some songs transition into the next, and i want those transitions to be as spot on and perfect as possible. Thanks in advance, and thanks for posting this Video in general!! Janini Pizzicato from Xenocracy

[@SayNever]

James, you rule! Fantastic video! My question is, what is the proper way to add a second COMPOSER to the metadata? Do I separate each COMPOSER by "|COMPOSER=" or ?

[@bonzodimduly]

prolly just wiht a semicolon or comma

[@LachyDoley]

Great stuff mate. Very helpful thanks.

[@JamesZhan]

You are welcome! Glad it helped!

[@AshParc]

this is such a lifesaver. everything else i saw said i needed to spend a ton of money to do this. thank you so much!!

[@JamesZhan]

This is exactly why I made this tutorial. Everyone says get HOFA DDP Maker. It does have more functionalities and it is easier, but many people might just need to do this once, and for that, Reaper is perfect for this!

[@prorecording7373]

Hi James, Life saver dude! Top!

[@NiOOfficialDOPE]

very helpful, did it for my new album, 18 songs, maybe 30-60 mins work! easy, thank you!

[@bankpain]

really grateful for this tutorial mate 🙏 really helped me out in a pinch!

[@GACLE17]

Thanks for this tutorial !!

[@cfandersonz8033]

This is so useful, thanks mate

[@wrenenova9056]

Extremely helpful!! Thank you so much

[@GuzzAndrade]

Great content! Thanks for sharing it!

[@damonworkman-l4i]

awesome! Thank you!

[@heybobby666]

Thanks for the excellent and concise tutorial!

[@GiehaCWS]

Very helpful bro! 😊

[@kotcheninkossonfanidjikass1349]

Thank you for this tutorial. It was exactly what I needed.

[@ianschiela8124]

Really helpful man great job!! 👍

[@matthieumonteil1901]

Many thanks !

[@CarlosCMajor]

Awesome Tutorial man... So easy to follow and worked perfectly. Thanks so much.

[@stoned_camembert]

Thanks a million, easy, quick and clear tutorial. Exactly what I was looking for.

[@jameskohlman301]

Excellent job, James! Thanks a lot!

[@MargueriteMontes]

You are amazing... Thank you so much.

[@Rasmatal]

Hello. Great tutorial🚀🚀. I did it step by step just like you. and it totally worked. I wanted to check before sending if everything is correct, but vlc does not open the file. any suggestions ?

[@ericlohrer8845]

Thanks a lot James !

[@ninas1958]

Thank you thank you thank you! ur the best!

[@JimDoran]

Thank you for this!

[@lashtal]

If I'm understanding correctly, HOFA optimizes for Vinyl releases and ADM's, how does Reaper stack up in this regard?

[@brian_baumbusch]

Great tutorial! I have one question for you; I notice that when you showed the sample track metadata, the order you used to input the metadata was TrackName/Performer/ISCR/Composer. Does this order matter? For example, what would happen if I input the metadata in the following order: TrackName/ISCR/Composer/Performer? Thanks!

[@haveyourself]

Your video inspired me to create a DDP. Thank you so much. I have one question: how do you check if the created DDP is working properly?

[@davidsmartmusic]

A superb tutorial presented brilliantly. Great job!

[@rukawasang1122]

You just saved my day! Thanks for instruction!

[@drutgat2]

Thanks very much. Clear, to the point, fun to watch and listen to you, and thanks for the blog ref. and for the template - very useful.

[@JamesZhan]

Glad to hear!

[@onathanricardo]

You're a HERO!😄

[@GmT0Curwen]

James, you're amazing. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@franzjames__]

Damn mate you're a hero. Most useful tutorial video I have ever used in my life.

[@pablocorbo758]

Bro, this was so helpfull, thank you so much, you win a subscriber

[@thepianopainter]

You are super great! many thanks!