3.35 Looped Overdubbing and Looped Time Selection Recording
Loop overdubbing allows you to make repeated overdubs of a section of recorded material without having to be repeatedly stopping and starting.
Kind: concept (user-guide-section) Chapter: 3 Recording Audio and MIDI Source: REAPER User Guide v7.70
Loop overdubbing allows you to make repeated overdubs of a section of recorded material without having to be repeatedly stopping and starting. The technique can be used with both audio and MIDI. In both cases, you will need to check your Options, Preferences, Audio, Loop Recording settings. Set When recording and looped add recorded media to project to On stop. Usually you will also want to enable In loop recording, discard incomplete first or last takes if at least one full loop was recorded. You should also (from REAPER's main Options menu) disable Loop points linked to time selection and enable Record mode: Time selection auto-punch.
Now arm your track for recording, select your record options and make your time selection just as you would for normal punch recording. Click and drag along the timeline to create the loop – this should enclose the time selection, as shown below. Make sure Toggle repeat (next to Record button) is enabled on the Transport Bar.
When
Record input (audio or
MIDI) is selected, then both audio and MIDI essentially behave in a similar way. When you record, new material will be recorded within the time selection (and added to the MIDI item) for each pass over the loop until you press Stop. The loop is used to audition material immediately before and after the section being recorded.
For example, you might choose Monitor input and Record Input (audio or MIDI) and Input MIDI then your MIDI device. If so, the outcome will be similar to that shown here.
Audio material recorded with Input MONO rather than Input MIDI would produce a similar result, except of course the media items would be audio instead of MIDI. You will, however, get significantly different outcomes if
you use any of the Record: MIDI overdub/replace options with looped time selection recording**.** In each case, new takes will not be created. Instead, the existing take will be edited. For example:
Record: MIDI Overdub: with each loop, the new material will be added to the existing material within the time selection.
Record: MIDI Replace: with each loop, all previous material within the time selection will be replaced with new material. For example, the first loop will replace existing events within the time selection. Second time around it will replace the material recorded in the first loop with new events, and so on. Only the most recent material will be saved.
Record: MIDI Touch-replace: Each time you play a note within the time selection any existing material concurrent with that note will be replaced with new material is on the same channel. For example, if you play correctly except for one wrong note first time, you can correct just that one note second time round.
Record: MIDI Latch-replace: Each time round the loop all existing material in the time selection will be replaced with new material if on the same channel only from the moment you press your first note. This technique can be useful, for example, if you are replacing existing material little by little.