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Old 11-04-2019, 08:03 PM   #1
samkaz
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Default Trouble with hearing the audio in Reaper

Hi there,

Ok. I'm back after a good number of years. Anyhow, the divorce is finalized so I decided to fire up some of my old projects and Reaper was my go-to software for multi-track recording. I recorded (and released) a whole albums worth of music on here 8 years ago. Now that I've fired it back up again I'm having a helluva time trying to get the audio inputs and outputs to work. Essentially I cannot HEAR the guitars that are plugged in through my Edirol audio interface. I know it's working, so it's not the device. I open up Reaper and everything looks fine, it recognizes the device as my audio input but I cannot get any sound to come through the program. I'm running Reaper on a Mac Mini running OSX Sierra. It's been driving me crazy for days and I'm through with Youtube and googling and seeing everything BUT a solution. Can anyone help? Unfortunately Cockos doesn't have a contact or support page and my issue is very particular based on my computer setup and audio interface. If anyone can advise you'd be literally saving a middle-aged man's life. Thanks.
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Old 11-05-2019, 02:07 AM   #2
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If you can see your guitar's signal moving the track's meter then the signal is reaching Reaper, perhaps you forgot to turn the RECORD MONITORING on?

Just enlarge the track so you can see the knob that has that loudspeaker pic in it and click it so that you have the RECORD MONITORING ON setting turned on, in that way you can hear your guitar through Reaper. (also remember to arm the track when you play your guitar)

If this is not what is causing the trouble then try to load some MP3 or WAV file to a track and try to play it, if you can see the track's meter and the Master track's meter moving while you play the file, then you know that Reaper is sending the track's audio correctly to the master track but that it does not reach your audio device. Cheers.
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Old 11-05-2019, 04:21 AM   #3
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And since you are using Mac make sure that Reaper is enabled in the mic privacy settings. The username Solger adviced someone else in another thread of a similar issue and it solved the problem.

https://support.blindsidenetworks.co...BigBlueButton-
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Old 11-05-2019, 08:39 AM   #4
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Hi there,

Thanks so much for the response! I have tried all those things, and as for the privacy settings in the Mac system preferences, the mic doesn't even show up as an option. I have attached images showing my setup. It reads the Edirol interface as being present, but still no audio plays through it. If I change my settings in Reaper preferences to Audio Device and select Edirol, I see the track's meter but still can't hear anything. It's so frustrating. I used this program for a whole year with no issues and now it just won't work for me at all. And on the same Mac computer! Please let me know if these screenshots help in any way. Thanks again.
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Screen Shot 2019-11-05 at 8.27.12 AM.pdf (225.7 KB, 121 views)
File Type: pdf Screen Shot 2019-11-05 at 8.26.29 AM.pdf (67.3 KB, 118 views)
File Type: pdf Screen Shot 2019-11-05 at 8.26.48 AM.pdf (73.4 KB, 126 views)
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Old 11-05-2019, 09:36 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by samkaz View Post
Hi there,

Thanks so much for the response! I have tried all those things, and as for the privacy settings in the Mac system preferences, the mic doesn't even show up as an option. I have attached images showing my setup. It reads the Edirol interface as being present, but still no audio plays through it. If I change my settings in Reaper preferences to Audio Device and select Edirol, I see the track's meter but still can't hear anything. It's so frustrating. I used this program for a whole year with no issues and now it just won't work for me at all. And on the same Mac computer! Please let me know if these screenshots help in any way. Thanks again.
If the meters are moving as you play your guitar (or if you play some audio file with reaper like some MP3), then you know the audio is going inside Reaper and moving there, it is just not directed to go out from Reaper to your speakers or headphones through your Edirol audio interface.

In your first screenshot (the audio device page) you have, "Built - in output" selected. Try that box if there are other options to choose from, like your Audio Interface Edirol. What might be now happening is that Edirol is not chosen as the audio output device, so no audio can get out of Reaper to your audio interface and from there to your loudspeakers - it is going to some other device that is not hooked up to your Edirol.

So right now you have the audio going in to Reaper through your Edirol Audio Interface, but Reaper does not send the output audio back to Edirol, because some other output device is chosen for that in the preferences.

I am not a Mac user so the whole Audio Device page is different to the one on my PC, but I would imagine that you would still have to choose your Audio Interface (in your case Edirol) as your output device and that first page is the one where you would choose it. I think it might solve the problem. Cheers.
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Old 11-05-2019, 09:46 AM   #6
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Quote:
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Hi there,

Thanks so much for the response! I have tried all those things, and as for the privacy settings in the Mac system preferences, the mic doesn't even show up as an option. I have attached images showing my setup. It reads the Edirol interface as being present, but still no audio plays through it. If I change my settings in Reaper preferences to Audio Device and select Edirol, I see the track's meter but still can't hear anything. It's so frustrating. I used this program for a whole year with no issues and now it just won't work for me at all. And on the same Mac computer! Please let me know if these screenshots help in any way. Thanks again.
Looking at the included shots, it looks like you have audio set up for built in output as opposed to the edirol.
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Old 11-05-2019, 09:54 AM   #7
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Thanks for the response folks. I have tried switching the Audio output to the interface and still no sound. However, I'll make sure that the Edirol is selected and try and troubleshoot from there. At least this is one issue tackled. I'll get right back on it after work today and see if I can get it to work. I'll update again. Much obliged!
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Old 11-06-2019, 10:05 AM   #8
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Hello again,

Switched out the audio from 'Built-In Audio' to the Edirol and I can see the meter on the track moving, but still no sound. I have attached images below. Any other suggestions maybe? Anything I'm missing? Please let me know. Thanks!
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Screen Shot 2019-11-06 at 10.00.48 AM.pdf (218.6 KB, 103 views)
File Type: pdf Screen Shot 2019-11-06 at 10.00.28 AM.pdf (213.3 KB, 97 views)
File Type: pdf Screen Shot 2019-11-06 at 9.59.44 AM.pdf (158.2 KB, 96 views)
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Old 11-06-2019, 10:17 AM   #9
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Also, when I switched the audio setting to the Edirol, I can now see the wave pattern of the track I quickly recorded to test it out. But no audio during playback either! When I switch the settings back to 'Built-In Output' I can hear the recorded track during playback, but no live sound at all. Not really sure what's going on here. I have attached an image below where I've opened up some other settings and was wondering if this has anything to do with the sound not being there at all?
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File Type: pdf Screen Shot 2019-11-06 at 10.14.46 AM.pdf (195.8 KB, 106 views)
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Old 11-06-2019, 10:38 AM   #10
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I have also been trying to figure out the media settings on here (image attached) and have tried every available combination but still cannot seem to get sound to come out of the speakers. I'm about ready to douse my whole setup in gasoline. Any help would be significant. Thanks!
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Old 11-06-2019, 10:48 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by samkaz View Post
Hello again,

Switched out the audio from 'Built-In Audio' to the Edirol and I can see the meter on the track moving, but still no sound. I have attached images below. Any other suggestions maybe? Anything I'm missing? Please let me know. Thanks!
Everything looks fine to me in those pictures. You have the track armed and you have "record monitoring" on and I can also see that what is played on the track reaches the master track. It looks like that inside Reaper things are working as they should and now it is about your Mac doing something to the audio that is sent out from Reaper to reach the output on your Edirol Audio Interface - it blocks it somehow.

I don't know if the audio interface itself has some "command center pop up menu" where you can mute or boost some channels and something is there now muted, or if that Mac mic thing muting the output applies to your case, but something like that is going on.

What you now know, though, is that you can reach Reaper with your Edirol audio interface, meaning that you can record whatever you send to Reaper through Edirol, but you can not monitor it. (for now)

You can test this by recording any random thing and then rendering it to a Wav or Mp3 file. (even though you could not monitor it) Then you can play the file with some other player and hear your random recording and hear that Reaper does in fact records what you play.

So inside Reaper things are working and whatever audio you send to Reaper, it goes there and reaches the master track and from there is sent out from Reaper, but something happens to it before it is allowed to reach your Audio Interface's output. Something like this seems to be the problem and it probably is about your Mac not allowing Reaper and the Audio Interface to communicate when it comes to the audio output settings. (or your audio interface having some settings on that are muting the output)

Personally I don't know anything about how the Mac security settings work, but perhaps you should try and see if by allowing any and all audio devices more "rights" will solve the problem?

I hope this helps.
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Old 11-06-2019, 11:04 AM   #12
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I have also been trying to figure out the media settings on here (image attached) and have tried every available combination but still cannot seem to get sound to come out of the speakers. I'm about ready to douse my whole setup in gasoline. Any help would be significant. Thanks!
In this picture you have the outputs 1-6 (in your Edirol audio interface) all turned down to zero, while the master setting for those outputs is turned up to 1. Try to turn those sliders 1-6 up somewhat up, half way etc. and keep that master slider all the way up. I think that might let you hear the outputs.

There is also a box on the right side of those sliders. I don't know if it is used to mute or turn the output on/off for the channel in question, so try those boxes and see what they do.

In any case that page seems to be a mixer for your outputs in your audio interface. So turn those sliders on and up and you should be able to hear and monitor what you play. Cheers.
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Old 11-06-2019, 11:29 AM   #13
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Thanks Crowzilla. Your attention to the matter has been great. I'm on the line now with Apple support. I'm wondering if my use of other multi-media software (Final Cut, for example) has somehow re-routed or restricted the audio signal from the audio interface or if there is a setting that has been switched off during use of perhaps other software. I'll update the feed either way. Take care.
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Old 11-06-2019, 02:34 PM   #14
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Hey again,

Got Apple on the line and it turns out I had the speakers plugged in the wrong way; I was not to use the headphone output jack at all but plug the audio interface directly into the speakers using the outputs. Once I did that the sound came through and everything is working as it should. Thanks for all the help!
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Old 11-06-2019, 03:00 PM   #15
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Here's the deal. You can select one audio interface in a DAW app. If you want to use multiple interfaces together - like your Edirol for inputs and the built-in output for output - you need to make what's called an aggregate device. You do that with your OS audio utility (Audio MIDI Setup in OSX). Add the individual devices to the aggregate device. Then select the aggregate device in Reaper instead of one of the individual interfaces. Now you can assign the input channels from one of them and use the output channels on the other.

Now, maybe you don't actually need to use both at the same time. Maybe it was just that you tried that first or something but it wasn't the main aim. Keep it simple and carry on if so! But if you want to use multiple devices together, that's how you do it.

You have to mind your sample rate clock and what you select as master. And there's more to mind there with aggregate devices.
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Old 11-06-2019, 03:31 PM   #16
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Looks like I am now having latency issues (the recorded audio is slightly behind the drum tracks). I'm wondering if this has something to do with sample rate clocking? Any ideas would be great. Thanks!
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Old 11-06-2019, 03:54 PM   #17
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Looks like I am now having latency issues (the recorded audio is slightly behind the drum tracks). I'm wondering if this has something to do with sample rate clocking? Any ideas would be great. Thanks!
Nope. The sample rate clock is like a tape deck motor. It runs at 44.1k samples per second for CD sample rate, for example. 96k for modern HD.

Latency with recorded tracks is a calibration issue.
You need to calibrate your DAW to the system lag. Especially when you monitor live inputs with your audio interface and run the DAW at higher latency (the most common scenario).

Reaper Preferences/Audio/Recording page is where the controls are for that.
The default is to use what the driver reports and it's often very near correct. But when it isn't... you can add a manual offset or go manual all the way.

Run a loopback test to determine the latency. The sample rate you are running at DOES affect this. The block size directly sets the system lag. Look up loopback test for more details.
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Old 11-06-2019, 07:29 PM   #18
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Thanks so much serr. I will check this out and revert back!
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Old 11-07-2019, 10:22 AM   #19
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Hey there,

I set the block size to 128 in the Audio preferences settings (instead of 512) and it seems to be right on the money now. Thanks again!
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Old 11-08-2019, 01:32 AM   #20
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Well worth seeing if you can set it even lower than 128 but dont forget that the lower you set the buffer, the more load you are putting on the cpu. With my RME interface, I generally run Reaper at either 32 or 64 if I can get away with it (i.e. no snap crackle & pop or dropouts) so its worth trying smaller and smaller buffer till it starts crapping out.
You`ll be amazed how much nicer it is playing to a really low latency.
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Old 11-08-2019, 08:54 AM   #21
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There's two things here.

The block size is the system lag you set.
When you need to hear the output from the computer in time with the live here and now real world, the output from the computer must be no greater than 11ms latent. That's the threshold for perceiving a delay. Like drifting out of sync with the lips vs the voice on TV.

When you set the system lag to do that, the computer needs to crunch all the processing in that lag time you set. The system of the audio interface and computer either handles that or not. Low powered computers or laggy USB audio interfaces are thus not able to be used for live sound scenarios.

That's the deal. It takes time for the audio to clock through the computer.

Because making the computer scream for live audio might be hard (and used to be impossible)... audio interfaces include built-in mixing boards to let you monitor live inputs with no lag - bypassing the computer. That lets you set the block size large again to allow for more processing because we aren't doing the live sound part with the computer.

All good. Simple workaround in a way.

But now the incoming audio is REALLY offset.
(It's actually slightly offset in the nearly-zero low latency mode too. It's whatever the lag set with the block size is.)
The calibration I mentioned earlier is to make Reaper align the incoming audio with the existing audio to normalize for the system lag.


You weren't complaining about hearing a lag when monitoring yourself...
So I'll guess you were using the mixer built into your interface to monitor live inputs. Then you set the block size lower. Two wrongs made a right in that the recording offset was lessened by the lower block size. If you're monitoring your live inputs with your interface though, you'll get more CPU power left for mixing leaving the block size set high (512 or 1024 samples) and fixing the calibration issue in Preferences/Audio/Recording.
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Old 11-08-2019, 09:45 PM   #22
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Hey Serr,

So does that mean my setup is still not optimal at this point? Am I losing audio quality by reducing the block size? Sorry but I'm foreign to all of this (at least the theory part; I've used DAW's successfully for years). Or am I good to continue with the setup as is?
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Old 11-11-2019, 10:29 AM   #23
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No worries. Switched block size to 512 and all is still good!
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Old 11-11-2019, 12:06 PM   #24
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"Reducing the quality" with too small a block size isn't a gray area like analog audio that can get slightly subdued in a number of ways. It's all or nothing. If the digital audio stream isn't allowed enough time to go through the computer vs the processing time it takes, you get dropouts. Dropouts in digital sound like clicks and pops. There's no in-between.

So, it would behoove you to calibrate the offset and pick a setup that was most efficient based around that.

If you just don't want to learn any of that and the system works for everything you're doing even if it's not optimal, it's all good. If there's nothing wrong and nothing messing with you or slowing you down... then there's nothing wrong.

If you DO want to play with it, the above is how it works under the hood. Not that big of a deal. You can look up other threads on loopback testing or check out the tutorial videos if what I wrote above still sounds like Klingon.
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