The Ultimate Reaper Beginner Tutorial for Electronic Music Production

An in-depth introductory tutorial for complete beginners, showing the basics of how to make EDM and other genres of electronic music in Reaper (the best cheap DAW).
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Social media:
Twitter: Twitter.com/GabeMillerMusic
Website: GabeMillerMusic.com
Instagram: GabeMillerMusic
Soundcloud: Soundcloud.com/GabeMillerMusic1
Facebook: Facebook.com/GabeMillerMusic

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Vital is a great synth plugin to start with (for free!): vital.audio/ If you install it, it should show up in Reaper once you restart the program. If not, this might help you out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXPceYOOoJh5otksi=G0JdfWP9PoYb_v43

[@The8BitDrummer]

Thank you for the info dude! I am ultra new to the Reaper game and this got me further than anything else has! :D

[@Legit12Player]

Hello, the8bitdrummer, how are you?)

[@tictac1020]

Same! The way he explains things and demonstrates is superb.

[@jerryancel6944]

I have a huge issue with attention span and I need info coming at me at a fast pace. I think he gets right to the point and still makes it easy to follow along, especially if you already have some knowledge of daws.

[@iamstylishaf12222]

Holy shit it's you!

[@marco_oder6665]

I'm actually a Metalhead trying to record and mix my Songs, but I learned a lot form this video. You showed a few things metal producers won't show in their beginner videos. I guess sometimes it's better to think outside the box

[@GabeMillerMusic]

That's great to hear that the video was helpful! I also did do some videos on making metal... It's very electronic infused metal, and I'm not much of a guitarist, but hopefully they're pertinent. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmXReWtun9CjeaM kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnevmZeMq7ugmLM

[@tictac1020]

I've been wanting to make music for over a decade now. I play guitar (and fiddle around on everything else) but seeing my friend make stuff for years, I have been too intimidated to really jump in. There's so many moving parts and prior knowledge that so many tutorials assume you have or the curse of knowledge makes them not consider mentioning or explaining some things that a noob might not get. Your video is so clear, concise, straightforward, and well articulated. Thank you. I'm going to check out your other videos and see if I can manage to create my first shitty EDM track this weekend. I'm a metal head and ambient fan so EDM is outside of my usual range but luckily it can be very simple. Thank you again dude.

[@wodenoftheangles3339]

I've been using Reaper for rock music for years but wanted to try some EDM production.. May I say how refreshing your straight-to-the-point 'no waffle' style/demo was! Thanks for sharing your insights.

[@ErgoBytes]

What a really useful video, I don't normally comment on tutorials but the information you provided was so concise that the video is only 20 minutes long, but detailed enough that I'm going to rewatch it slowly while working through what you've shown. Fits perfectly with my learning style.

[@CrescentRollCarl]

Nice. Reaper is such an underrated DAW.

[@CrescentRollCarl]

@إسلام فانكي- islam. funky it's not. I've been involved in over 100 audiobook projects all using Reaper. Fantastic DAW for recording. Maybe you are doing something wrong. There isn't any quality problems with audio recorded into Reaper.

[@CrescentRollCarl]

@إسلام فانكي- islam. funky And his conclusion at the end is they all sounded the same. And he admitted to different mic distances at the end of the vid which accounts for the very sight difference in sound between his tests.

[@CrescentRollCarl]

@إسلام فانكي- islam. funky If that's the way you feel, that's fine. More likely a setting is wrong or you're not using the right drivers in Reaper. If you prefer Protools and want to pay the premium, more power to you.

[@vladv5126]

@Funky Music No DAWs influence the quality of the recording in of itself, they just record and play back what you're putting into them. If you're getting bad results with reaper or any DAW for that matter, it just means you're not setting up your inputs or gain staging correctly or you're not setting up the audio device in your DAW.

[@reisaki18]

@Funky Music because your record settings is at low quality change it to high quality, your machine capability is the limit.

[@kevinwarsaw1793]

@11:05 TAL Filter 2 is a great free equivalent to LFO tool. Also thanks for your content, made me get an MC-101, which in turn got me back into making music and finally learning a DAW.

[@mutton_man]

Thanks for that, that plugin really helps get that sound.

[@Brootle]

The absolute best tip in this video is the low pass filter part. That is exactly what I was looking for to get my intro going! Thank you!!!

[@maomallows]

Trying to get into Reaper. Been using FL for a while, and Reaper is a new toy for my arsenal. This is the only video that I find helpful because it's generalized and quick. It doesn't have multiple parts and only takes 20 minutes to get the important parts down. This is a legit good video for people getting into Reaper. Thank you good sir.

[@kalixzee7505]

Someone explain to me how this dude isn't famous. I was shocked when I looked down and say that you had less then 500k subs. Insanely high quality video. I'm actually going to start recommending your channel in the indie music communities that I'm apart of.

[@EllissDee4you4me]

The music industry is ruthless but also filled with dabblers. For an example, see how many amazing guitar players there are on YouTub that you’ve never heard of. To get “famous” the stars need to align. You need to have mass appeal and taste, a loyal audience, and don’t dabble with all the technical intricacies. Play songs, not sounds.

[@LuanBermudez]

excellent tutorial. simple, direct, practical to get the hands on the stuff quickly and feel producing and learning. I saw bunch of other tutorials, they are not close as this in quality, for real. Thanks a lot! And please, keep posting! I've been stucked with reaper a long time not knowing how to manage simple projects and now this is unlocking me.

[@winddealer1]

Great video and use case for beginners. Love that in Reaper all tracks are created equal. Any track to be Audio, FX, Midi, Video and more. Reaper is a very extensible system and uses LUA as a scripting language. Reaper also includes a slew of included FX, modulations controls and sound generation tools. Don't hesitate to invest time his this DAW, it's a gift that keeps on giving. Perhaps a better description would be "..the best DAW". Don't let the word "cheap" suggest that it is underpowered or weak in capabilities or support. The fact that it is affordable doesn't suggest that it is "cheap", far from it. Thank you for using and supporting this great DAW, continue your journey with it, it will pay dividends. Gratefully.

[@Александр-й7б9и]

This tutorial makes me sure coolness does not entails complexity. I knew it earlier but I just missed a visual demo of the fact. And thank you for tutorial

[@imvamps]

Bro all you said in this video it´s going to help me a lot on my journey, thank you very much, new sub!

[@pantyburp]

wow AMAZING video. Can't tell you how much more this has helped me compared to other Reaper videos. I've been dabbling with the idea of doing some EDM production for fun and already have Reaper, but I had no idea where to start and couldn't find a video to point me in the right direction to unlock the potential of this DAW. Well done explaining everything in such a simple way to understand!

[@TazzSmk]

as a long-term Reaper user, not doing EDM, just watching this out of curiosity, video is super simple and well done, thanks!

[@theblacksheep00]

Thank You! This will help A LOT WITH MY INDUSTRIAL, AGGROTECH AND DARK ELECTRONIC MUSIC!!!🤩🤩🤩

[@tijmen6947]

Have had reaper (free) for like 2.5 years for playing guitar. Never really tried to produce anything. Now im starting to mess around with midi and such. And its quite some fun

[@rollandjoeseph]

New sub! Great clear explanations..I'm new with creating electronic music and this helped alot, especially with it being in reaper! thx and look forward to learning more from your videos!

[@ewanyork]

I’m amazed how much you covered here in such a short time. Makes it all seem possible! Really, great video - thanks!

[@GearAddict90210]

The media explorer window in Reaper is great for previewing samples, they can be even adjusted to your tempo automatically. Hitting Enter will insert it into the project

[@slimpyman]

youre the only kid i came across that doesnt come off as pretentious... thanks for sharing your knowledge in a digestable way.

[@drewyagmi]

Very very helpful vid. Thanks a ton!

[@whelanbdubs]

Always a great job, Gabe. You are a good teacher.

[@Reseed]

You're a fantastic teacher, genuinely! Thanks so much

[@loopboop4205]

I've been using reacomp for ducking but the LFO plug is def gonna be something to try. Happy more people use reaper for edm

[@DMichaelReese1953]

Absolutely Fantastic video! Now you got my interest. Reaper is such a Cool DAW!

[@DMichaelReese1953]

I've been using reaper about 4 years. Lots to it but such a Bestist of all. Got ProTools on the Run. Lol

[@LS-wc6mr]

Awesome video sir...very informative! Where can i find the sample pack you mentioned? I don’t see the link in the description.

[@brwLWScctv]

Loved it, two thumbs up, thank you Gabe! New Reaper user here. Looking forward to more of your offerings. :)

[@BUCKSHOTSTV]

Man this was great! I’ve attempted reason for the last few years and I just can’t get into the groove with it. I came from an old school mpc and a synth. So reason just had me give up on making music, but I’ve been using reaper for my pro voice work for the last several months and I really love the work flow so much better than pro tools that I’ve been using since like 2004. You’ve given me hope that I can once again make music with a daw I feel comfortable with. Thank you!

[@3dmonkeybizz]

Superb video. I have been using Reason for years now. Thanks to your video here I can see that Reaper is much more my direction. Very many thanks!

[@ultimatestats4569]

This guy is a GENIUS.

[@muddhopkins]

Thanks for the video man, super new here and this really helped explain things in a way I understand. Keep o rocking dude 😎

[@xinyanyu3200]

Best Reaper beginner video ever!!

[@jerryancel6944]

I liked and subscribed. This is helpful. I want to start making remixed VG music and this helped out with a lot of questions I had for programming sounds. You aren't overly wordy either. You get to the point and it was still easy to follow along. I plan to try this out later today after work. Thank you!

[@DMichaelReese1953]

Bravo Greg!

[@by9diz8]

Underrated channel

[@elizaramsey9748]

this is great. thank you so much. I'm a good musician, but absolute novice at production. this is even advanced for me, but I can slow it and pause it .

[@weobeyjesus4565]

Helm for the win. Thanks for the tip. Surge is good too. Good video. Subscribed.

[@by9diz8]

Btw Gabe I think you forgot to add the link you mentioned at 8:49. Could you still share that one? 😃

[@Александр-й7б9и]

There is under the comment of Against the darkness. Just scroll through comments. I'm in yt mobile app now and it lacks feature of copy and paste in comment section

[@uv4l254]

Straight to the point, I love it!

[@ninnginni]

Nice tutorial but where is the link to download the plugins you are talking about in the video ?

[@pkdude5334]

this video was so helpful, thank you

[@alainsellier7751]

Great Tutorial! Thank you so much!

[@remymartincognac6974]

Awesome brother...love your videos...very helpful

[@sibillaborghi5158]

Thanks for the introduction, you explain very well!

[@MobileMiniPlayer]

Thanks for making this tutorial. Super helpful

[@alastairdonnison8164]

Ye fr this is a great video thanks, many others are way too intimidating you made it very accessible x

[@EdwardJacksonproject]

Gabe! This is really helpful, I have so many questions 👍🏿

[@TorontoTitans98]

Well laid out and informative video. I'm a rock guy and need to learn edm mixing etc.. Thanks! :)

[@chrwrd2960]

Why you dont use reaper stock limiter for mastering?

[@kiitten249]

idk if this helps to make hardcore music or not, what it did help on is on my overall knowledge of reaper, so huge thanks for the tutorial!! remember me when i make a song and it gets popular lol note: the piano roll to percussion one just screams “breakcore” to me

[@jennisonb37]

This is a really excellent video. Your communication style is very clear and articulate. Instance sub and like from me. Can't wait to view more of your stuff.

[@jennisonb37]

*instant :D

[@MrEMann]

Great content and instruction. Thank you!

[@AndresLopez-eo5rr]

Hey Gabe! I found this video and the other video about reaper very helpful! Any chance you might make a video about making a project template for dubstep in reaper with stock/ free plug-ins? Honestly would buy if you sold those lol

[@MarioPlushStudios2300]

hey what happened to the sample pack?

[@Hokkaido-Sound-Design]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@directedbymohith1396]

Thank you bro You gived me hope to use reaper

[@Sugarush]

Hey man loved the tutorial but right at the bat I don’t have helm that you want your audience to use to start the track?

[@DextersLab93]

Same here.. I have none of the virtual instruments shown in the video.

[@wonyoungjung1834]

Please more of this!!!!!!!!!

[@listenanrelax]

I forgot I was on 2x speed. The beat still sounded dope as hell. 240 bpm was vibing with my AHDH! 😂

[@jadonnunis3005]

Thanks heaps man, still pretty new to all this, defs learnt some neat tricks!

[@HankiImagery]

Good info, thank you so much!

[@imhatchmantoo]

This is very helpful. Ive been doing this since 4 tracks. Lol But i am interested in learning to produce this type of electronic stuff more authentically and , as i am told by my producer friends, Reaper and Serum and few other programs are a must have fot that hot shit , so thank you for helping me to understand how to use some of these programs that are new to me

[@purposedinhim4026]

Great Job! Straight to the point

[@DanielKwan]

Is there any way to dock the piano roll to like the lower part of the main window so it doesn’t block my view of everything else?

[@TerranSpacePolice]

double clicking doesnt allow me to see the piano roll editor, does anyone know why by chance? also i dont have a midi keyboard so i have to do it this way

[@keithfulkerson]

At 6:42 he explains it real quick. I don't have a midi controller either.

[@DaveZnoise]

Super helpful and well articulated. Kick ass job, Gabe!

[@chrismcgourty1756]

Well done mate, very productive.

[@howtodostuff1244]

great vid, but is it just me that heard you say free sample pack in the description below because it doesn't seem to be there or I am not looking in the right place? Thanks for tutorial

[@erickechegar]

very helpful thanks !

[@JoshIsMakingMusic]

Great video, thanks for sharing your advice!

[@Ivan_Ku.]

Man, thx for video! Very informative!

[@againstthedarkness985]

Hey Gabe! Thanks for producing this video - it is really helping me out getting started. You mentioned a "free" sample pack that you were going to link in the description, but I have yet to find it. Am I missing something here?

[@GabeMillerMusic]

My bad, I totally forgot to link it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGTaYaOunbehjbs

[@PersonManManManMan]

@@GabeMillerMusic add it to description ya dummy

[@einsteinorwell]

For some reason the vst3 of Helm shows as mono in Reaper 7.33.

[@antoniovalladolid2642]

I know some people very very happy with this one. Maybe it's time to retire my old copy of Cubase. Also the price is unbeatable.

[@notrhythm]

helpful video. love you :)

[@MarioKuburovic]

Thanks

[@leochavez6833]

this is way more complicated than fl studio but also not? Great tutorial

[@محمدابراهيممحمد-ي3ت]

lol must like and subscribe.. what are you thinking man XD nice vid

[@luminousbrilliance1711]

Thank you Gabe!

[@MarshyHawks]

Helm's audio is not registering on my project. What can I do to fix this?

[@grim789]

Dude thanks just found your channel top notch content! Got a sub from me my dude.

[@frankthehecker08]

This is really cool! I am looking into making electronic music and I am trying to find DAWs that I think will be useful. Does Reaper come with plugins? Or do you have to separately get them?

[@AleArzMusic]

Is TAL filter 2 a good free alternative to LFO tools to do kick/synth trick?

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Yep, I've used it for exactly that.

[@AleArzMusic]

@@GabeMillerMusic thank you very much. After several years using Reaper for death metal, I'm going back fo my techno trance roots and your content is like gold

[@DextersLab93]

Hey so kind of silly question but, how do you get the virtual instruments..? I have none of the ones you showed, including helm, so I can't get started with the video 😅

[@Stellarainn]

Just google it and it'll show up the free ones

[@lightwaveofficialmusic]

Great

[@vinceadam3816]

Thanks man, i don't even know how to enter the piano roll thingy 😂😂😭

[@thomaswang]

This is helpful, thank you!

[@argentsilver928]

Does the free trial not have all these plugins? When I open my instruments there only 3 and I can’t figure out how to make them do anything

[@GabeMillerMusic]

It doesn't really have built-in instruments. Check the pinned comment for links to a free synthesizer plugin and how to install external plugins.

[@vector0001]

where are the drum samples? I couldnt find in the comments or description

[@leeanderson7877]

Superb

[@elizaramsey9748]

ps, where is the bit about using internal sounds please?

[@roninnero4480]

I dont see the drum sample pack in the description, am i missing it or is it not there?

[@johnchapman8717]

How did you copy the low pass frequency fx from the synth track to the bass track?

[@energy-tunes]

this slaps tbh

[@johngraham9878]

Hi Gabe, I have an editing question. Is there a way to copy splits from an item on one track to an item on another track? Not the audio, just the splits. I do a lot of background vocal edits and as I go through them I wind up having to re-split the new versions after making various changes for noise cleanup, plosives, de-essing, etc. I'd love to be able to copy the splits from the versions I've edited to the next version efficiently without having to re-split each phrase. If Reaper doesn't do this, OK - just tell me so I can stop going down this rabbit hole. - Thanks, John

[@JJRocheO]

Please make more reaper tutorials

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Anything in particular you want to know about? I can't guarantee it'll make it into a video but I'm always looking for topics that people will find helpful. Also, in the meantime, this works as a decent follow up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYiymXuNhs6am9U

[@JJRocheO]

Could you do a video on how to set reaper up to look and function like Ableton live. Trying to make the switch and the UI is intimidating to say the least. Other than that just making beats like you were here because as you go on you're already answering most of my questions about where everything is. A video on the pros and cons Vs other DAWs would also be interesting.

[@Tominom]

but how to make a sound with no midi keyboard like yours, just a laptop???