Using iZotope RX7 with Reaper

[ChristopherT]

Is there a way to use iZotope RX withing Reaper for noise reduction, as an external editor?

Anyone have any advice on possible workflow / how to ?
Or is it best to process audio outside of Reaper and re-import?

[pepe44]

Have you tried using the rewire ?

[pepe44]

https://www.izotope.com/en/support/k...os-reaper.html

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by ChristopherT

Is there a way to use iZotope RX withing Reaper for noise reduction, as an external editor?

Anyone have any advice on possible workflow / how to ?
Or is it best to process audio outside of Reaper and re-import?

Yes, I do this all the time all day. RX works great as REAPER's external audio editor.

Here is a quick video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vcvgk39tvw...ation.mov?dl=0

The first time I use RX in the video it's a little slow because RX had to launch.

All in all it's very fast and one of my favorite things about REAPER.

[andyp24]

The video would be more useful if you shared the actions/commands required to get from one to the other like that....

Cheers
Andy

[MRMJP]

With the custom action shown, and RX set as REAPER's primary external editor, it's very fast and easy to highlight part of an item, run the custom action, have a copy open in RX, edit it, close it, and toggle back to REAPER as you see in the video.

I also have REAPER set to double click the lower part of an item to open an item copy in RX.

With this method, you still easily can choose between the original item or the RX'd copy. Super useful.

[andyp24]

Thanks. So in RX, are you saving the file, or exporting it, or what? And then does Reaper automatically bring the "new" version in as another take in the current item?

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by andyp24

Thanks. So in RX, are you saving the file, or exporting it, or what? And then does Reaper automatically bring the "new" version in as another take in the current item?

Since the file opened in RX is a copy of the original audio, I just overwrite/save the audio file. There is an RX shortcut for it. Then I use a shortcut to close the file in RX.

I do not need to export it from RX.

As you see in the video, the item copy shows up as an additional take and REAPER automatically has the copied take processed in RX as the active take.

If I need to access the original audio in that section for any reason, it's just one click away.

It's a very fast process. Much faster than RX connect, ReWire, or even Pro Tools AudioSuite in many cases.

[andyp24]

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds much quicker than what I've done in the past. I will try it.

Andy

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by andyp24

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds much quicker than what I've done in the past. I will try it.

Andy

No problem. When I was considering moving from Pro Tools to REAPER for the digital/analog/digital part of my mastering process I was concerned that REAPER didn't have anything close to AudioSuite in Pro Tools which I used often to remove clicks and pops from songs right in Pro Tools as well as other noises and noise reduction etc.

It turns out that having RX as REAPER's primary audio editor, combined with these custom actions allows me to make the edits faster and also always have a nice visual GUI of RX whereas with AudioSuite you do not see the spectral view when making the repairs.

It's a win/win and much faster than importing/exporting/rewire/RX Connect etc. It's very simple and direct.

[clepsydrae]

Same here. I have two shortcuts in reaper; one for opening as a copy, one for opening the original audio. And of course you can also insert the RX VSTs in tracks or on individual items (for e.g. noise reduction, as you mentioned).

I also use an instance of RX Monitor in my monitoring FX, so that while I work in RX I can hear the output through my monitoring FX chain (which has analysis plugins, some room correction eq, etc).

[pepe44]

great

[pepe44]

Did that and some things didnt went as expected. For some reason in some media item it opens the RX 6 but for others it creates a new rpp tab with that media only. Hope i explained well.

Does it happen to anyone else ?

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by pepe44

Did that and some things didnt went as expected. For some reason in some media item it opens the RX 6 but for others it creates a new rpp tab with that media only. Hope i explained well.

Does it happen to anyone else ?

I've never experienced this. For me, opening an item copy by using my custom action or by double clicking the lower part of an item always opens an item copy in RX.

Then I can edit it, save/overwrite the file in RX, close it, toggle back to REAPER and the edited version is the active take and the original audio for that section is also there but not an active take.

[clepsydrae]

Yeah, it works fine for me. Haven't seen the new RPP tab issue. Maybe confirm that you're doing the right thing in RX when saving?

[pepe44]

it was not a wav file, the item was an rpp file! That was the problem, i rendered into a stereo track and all good. Strange heheh!

[ChristopherT]

Thanks for the feedback and workflow tips

[JSMastering]

Originally Posted by MRMJP

With the custom action shown, and RX set as REAPER's primary external editor, it's very fast and easy to highlight part of an item, run the custom action, have a copy open in RX, edit it, close it, and toggle back to REAPER as you see in the video.

I also have REAPER set to double click the lower part of an item to open an item copy in RX.

With this method, you still easily can choose between the original item or the RX'd copy. Super useful.

Justin,

How are you dealing with item effects after doing this? When you split an item, reaper duplicates the FX onto each one, which makes sense. But you can't modify them together later. And if you glue them, the FX get printed.

Or does that just not come up in your workflow?

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by JSMastering

Justin,

How are you dealing with item effects after doing this? When you split an item, reaper duplicates the FX onto each one, which makes sense. But you can't modify them together later. And if you glue them, the FX get printed.

Or does that just not come up in your workflow?

Great question but because I do this after my capture from analog, there are no item FX involved at this point. Especially because I do the very final touches and sequencing in WaveLab. All my item FX are on the source track before the analog chain and then set to offline during my RX process etc.

One reason I do this process after the analog capture is incase I need to rework an edit or if I removed a noise that was meant to be left in, I can get it back in seconds without having to process again through the analog gear. The original audio is just one click away to be active.

Another reason is because these types of issues tend to be more noticeable after the capture from analog and the average loudness is raised a bit.

Another reason is because of what you described, managing item FX on song that is broken into multiple items can be a headache, and also with larger latency item FX chains, I have had issues with playback at the transitional points so I just keep my source items as one continuous item so the item FX are easier to manage.

[JSMastering]

Originally Posted by MRMJP

Great question but because I do this after my capture from analog, there are no item FX involved at this point. Especially because I do the very final touches and sequencing in WaveLab.

One reason I do this process after the analog capture is incase I need to rework an edit or if I removed a noise that was meant to be left in, I can get it back in seconds without having to process again through the analog gear. The original audio is just one click away to be active.

Another reason is because these types of issues tend to be more noticeable after the capture from analog and the average loudness is raised a bit.

Another reason is because of what you described, managing item FX on song that is broken into multiple items can be a headache, and also with larger latency item FX chains, I have had issues with playback at the transitional points so I just keep my source items as one continuous item so the item FX are easier to manage.

That makes a lot more sense.

[mgrimm]

Wondering if I'm missing a preference somewhere. This used to work for me with RX 3. On RX 5 now. After I'm done editing and save, the new active take in Reaper is the exact same as the original take, rather than the RX processed version.

Steps:

Open copy in external editor (RX 5 Editor)
Do things in RX
Export (Save in RX just saves an RX doc rather than the .wav file)
Return to reaper

Result, new copied audio is active take, but file is the exact same as original.

[clepsydrae]

I think this changed in recent versions... "Save" now overwrites the original file, if I'm not mistaken, and "Save RX Document" does as you described. There used to be an "overwrite original file" option, but no longer, afaik.

[clepsydrae]

Oh, you're in RX 5 -- perhaps you want "Overwrite Original File" or whatever it used to be called.

[EpicSounds]

you use export, not save in RX

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by EpicSounds

you use export, not save in RX

But when you open an item copy from REAPER into RX (set as REAPER's primary external editor), you can simply save/overwrite the audio file directly and close it, and the RX'd version is right there and active as a new take for that section. No export/import needed.

Then you can still get back to the original audio for that section if you need it.

I guess we should note the difference between saving/overwriting the original file in RX or saving an RX document which is a different thing and something I don't personally do when I use RX as REAPER's primary external editor.

It's still there in RX7 for sure, and RX6, and RX5 IIRC. Been doing it for awhile.

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by mgrimm

Steps:

Open copy in external editor (RX 5 Editor)
Do things in RX
Export (Save in RX just saves an RX doc rather than the .wav file)
Return to reaper

Result, new copied audio is active take, but file is the exact same as original.

I believe it's because you need to save/overwrite the actual source audio file. Saving an RX doc doesn't alter the actual audio file.

Export from RX and import to REAPER could work but that's a super slow way of doing it, especially if you have to do it to many sections.

[clepsydrae]

Yes -- it depends on which version of RX, but there should be an option (besides Export) that saves the original file.

Lemme dig out my old RX5 manual... yeah, use "Overwrite Original File" in RX5, not Export.

[airon]

Open copy in editor
Offline item (these last two are a custom action)
Do stuff in RX
CTRL+ALT+S (muscle memory)
Close file file in RX(CTRL+w iirc)
Change task to Reaper
Online item

My turn-around time is 2-3 seconds on a simple mouth declick. Up to 10 seconds on some painting tasks. Zero mouse action in Reaper itself.

[clepsydrae]

Originally Posted by airon

CTRL+ALT+S (muscle memory)

Yeah. But RX 7 users note that this is now CTRL+S by default.

[EpicSounds]

Originally Posted by MRMJP

But when you open an item copy from REAPER into RX (set as REAPER's primary external editor), you can simply save/overwrite the audio file directly and close it, and the RX'd version is right there and active as a new take for that section. No export/import needed.

Then you can still get back to the original audio for that section if you need it.

I guess we should note the difference between saving/overwriting the original file in RX or saving an RX document which is a different thing and something I don't personally do when I use RX as REAPER's primary external editor.

It's still there in RX7 for sure, and RX6, and RX5 IIRC. Been doing it for awhile.

I'm still on RX4 but that's similar to how I do it but I have a couple extra steps to bring the updated file online and rebuild missing peaks.

Before you say it, I know there's a preferene that would avoid that but don't like seeing all my items offline while I'm in another window.

[Dannii]

Originally Posted by MRMJP

Yes, I do this all the time all day. RX works great as REAPER's external audio editor.

Here is a quick video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vcvgk39tvw...ation.mov?dl=0

The first time I use RX in the video it's a little slow because RX had to launch.

All in all it's very fast and one of my favorite things about REAPER.

RX is also my primary editor and has been for years. I usually locate the audio file I'm working on and drag that into RX, do my edits, save and switch back to REAPER. I much prefer the looks of your workflow in the video though. Having instant access to the original as a take looks very useful.

On a related topic, is the jump from RX6 to RX7 worth it (I'm using RX6 advanced)? Are there any sound quality updates to the existing algorithms?
I was on RX2 adv for ages before upgrading to 6.

[airon]

You'll have to check the videos for that.

I've decided to skip it for now, since I'm mostly dealing with ADR at the moment, and RX6 Advanced is just fine for that.

The Melodye-type of rebalancing is neat. Maybe the DeEsser is better now ? There should be some reviews out by now. The Pro-Tools Expert guys are good at taking hard looks too.

They don't support the new Netflix spec in their loudness module yet, which would have been a reason for me to get the update. Had to go for the NuGen LM Correct thing instead, which works.

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by ReaDave

RI much prefer the looks of your workflow in the video though. Having instant access to the original as a take looks very useful.

On a related topic, is the jump from RX6 to RX7 worth it (I'm using RX6 advanced)? Are there any sound quality updates to the existing algorithms?
I was on RX2 adv for ages before upgrading to 6.

Yeah, I guess it all depends how many edits you're doing and how fast you want to do them but since I am usually doing anywhere from a few to a dozen or two really small edits on a stereo mix, this workflow is as fast as it gets IMO.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vcvgk39tvw...ation.mov?dl=0

The export/import/export/import between REAPER and RX would be WAY to slow.

The fact that the REAPER files go offline has never been an issue for me. All in all it's very fast to toggle between the apps and get things done.

What I like about this is because each RX edited section is a new take for that section, I can very easily get back to the original audio if I happened to remove a sound that was meant to be there, or if I want to try again and go more or less aggressive with the RX edit. I can rework a small section instantly.

It's also nice because then you have a little map in REAPER of where all your edits were made.

In the world of mastering, especially with analog equipment, this is huge. When a client sends me a new mix to re-master because they had to change something in their mix (happens all the time), now I know right where I made all the RX fixes and can quickly do them again without having to scan the entire song(s) again and find the problems again.

I've even had cases where I can save some of my original RX work when a new mix is sent. Just yesterday I had to master an updated mix of a song. At the end I had spent some time removing the click track bleed that became audible as the final note decayed. Because everything was so perfectly in sync, and the mix didn't change at the very end, I was able to seamlessly toggle over to the original RX work I did at the final hit, and not have to redo the tedious click track removal.

I couldn't be happier with the REAPER/RX integrator with RX being REAPER's external editor.

[Dannii]

Thanks guys. Airon, I'm probably going to skip RX7 for now too. Like you, RX6 Adv gives me all I typically need.

MRMJP, do you have any details on the custom actions you set up to achieve this? I'd love to set that up on my rig. That would indeed be a big workflow improvement here too.

[airon]

Apart from everything else in your custom action, make sure to offline the item after calling the editor on the copy. I also keep the online and offline commands on shortcuts in case I need to re-edit an existing audio file.

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by ReaDave

MRMJP, do you have any details on the custom actions you set up to achieve this? I'd love to set that up on my rig. That would indeed be a big workflow improvement here too.

I think everything needed is a few posts up. I don't recall having any custom scripts made for this. Everything should be available natively and with SWS/ReaPack at most.

I must have a setting that sets the files to offline when REAPER isn't focused.

I don't notice a lag when flipping between RX and REAPER as far as items having to come back online.

It's very fast and awesome.

[airon]

That's very possible. Indeed, the last time I tested the "offline media when Reaper is in background" was when I was using a standard hard disk. These days I use an SSD for work projects.

[MRMJP]

Originally Posted by airon

That's very possible. Indeed, the last time I tested the "offline media when Reaper is in background" was when I was using a standard hard disk. These days I use an SSD for work projects.

Yes. I've been using SSD for my OS and audio drives for awhile so maybe that has something to do with the fast response time you see in the video I shared.

Also, since I'm doing mastering sessions, I don't have tons and tons of items like a multitrack song may have.

Justin

[kris.audioplanet]

When I do the same and save in RX, the file doesn't get updated in Reaper. If I listen to it in the finder the file has the changes but not in Reaper, as if was playing some kind of buffer.

[RJHollins]

Here's an RX editor question ...

For my audio tracks, I use WavPak [Wv] format.

When I send Copy to RX editor, I get an error ... file does not then load.

any work around ? I like to stay with the WV format while working in Reaper.

Thanks