Noob question on input monitoring

[SongwriterSoul]

Recently switched from Pro Tools HDX and am loving the features and versatility of Reaper, but still have a lot to learn.

When I have some audio recorded on a track, (is that called an item?), and I want to playback the song while I input monitor my incoming guitar signal instead of hearing the track I've already recorded, how do I do that?

I don't want to just hit "record" so that I can hear my guitar input instead of the track playback and I'm guessing there's a better way to do this. I just don't know it yet. I have the track set to "input monitoring", but I've tried the other settings and every one of them has the recorded track playing back instead of my input signal.

In Pro Tools, when I would hit "I" for input monitoring, it automatically muted the playback of the recorded material and let me just play along with the song/session. So, how do I accomplish this in Reaper with the most efficiency?

Thank you,
Steve

[skylar_battles]

Hey Steve & welcome!

In Reaper there are 3 input monitoring states:
1. Off = no matter what you cannot hear anything but the input can be recorded
2. On = As long as the track is armed you will hear monitoring
3. Auto = Monitoring is heard during recording AND when playback is stopped BUT NOT during playback

Also when recording in Reaper, you have the option to "monitor recorded media while recording" or not.

Hopefully that clears things up!

I am trying to spread the word and let users on here know of the work of these 2 brilliant scriptors:

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=232672

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=252455

[vdubreeze]

Yep, welcome aboard Steve

Are you using an interface that comes with a routing app, like Focusrite and their MixControl or MOTU and Cue Mix? If that's the case, get into the toggling of the track's monitor states on that app. You can do without it, but for zero latency monitoring it's a pretty simple way to go.


Cheers

[SongwriterSoul]

I'm using an RME UCX II and can certainly do this using their Total Mix software, but I was hoping there was a way to simply monitor my input during playback instead of the recorded material. If Reaper doesn't allow for this with a simple button push, it will be the first thing I've discovered that I like better about PT. So far, I haven't missed PT at all.

[bolgwrad]

Anything on a track is an item, MIDI or audio or video or an image, etc)

Not totally sure what you mean, but if you just press the 'record' button on the track, not the transport, with monitoring ON (the small speaker icon by each track meter) you will hear your input while the track plays, without recording it. [edit] If you want to mute your track item when you do that, it's not difficult to create a custom action (macro) and associate a kbd shortcut or even a toolbar button as well.

It's always worth right-clicking on things in Reaper, btw.

[Stella645]

I don't want to just hit "record" so that I can hear my guitar input instead of the track playback

You don't have much option. If you need to monitor one track and record other tracks you'll have to activate record arm then right click and choose record disable (input monitoring only).

[vdubreeze]

Originally Posted by SongwriterSoul

I'm using an RME UCX II and can certainly do this using their Total Mix software, but I was hoping there was a way to simply monitor my input during playback instead of the recorded material. If Reaper doesn't allow for this with a simple button push, it will be the first thing I've discovered that I like better about PT. So far, I haven't missed PT at all.

You can definitely just toggle the input modes on the Reaper track.

[serr]

It's always an option to work "DAW style".
Using extra tracks on the digital mixing board doesn't add noise. Flying an audio item from one track to another doesn't add analog tape generation loss.

So you can always record into tracks that aren't routed to your mix bus.
You can always fly bits of recorded audio into mix routed tracks.
You don't have to do everything at once in the same track and switch monitoring around like a tape deck.

Work out your monitoring. Either a live hardware or low latency cuemix mixer built into an audio interface or live sound through the computer.

Monitoring with an interface cuemix mixer leads to recording into un-monitored recording bin tracks. But monitoring live through the DAW can still be done that way. Just make a separate live monitor bus track set to monitoring only (no record). Then keep using the un-monitored recording bin track.

In either method, fly good takes into your mix tracks as you get them.
The idea is to end up with tracks to mix.
Record to build those mix tracks. Extra tracks are free (no noise) and flying audio across tracks is free (no generation loss). Might as well use the computer abilities to make it easy to record takes and fill those mix tracks!

Simulating analog tape deck workflow on a computer is like simulating a manual typewriter or something.

[SongwriterSoul]

Originally Posted by bolgwrad

Not totally sure what you mean, but if you just press the 'record' button on the track, not the transport, with monitoring ON (the small speaker icon by each track meter) you will hear your input while the track plays, without recording it. [edit] If you want to mute your track item when you do that, it's not difficult to create a custom action (macro) and associate a kbd shortcut or even a toolbar button as well.

It's always worth right-clicking on things in Reaper, btw.

I've tried this multiple times and it keeps playing back the track instead of letting me hear the input from my guitar. I have the track record armed. I have the monitoring set to "monitor input" (The little speaker icon is grey).
I hit "play" and it just plays back the item that's recorded on the track and my guitar input is muted. I've tried setting the monitoring to "auto" with the speaker icon red, but same result. My live input is inaudible and the item audio plays back.
What am I missing? This is such a basic function and should be as easy as clicking a button or icon, but nothing I've tried will mute the item and let me simply input monitor during playback so I can rehearse or jam with the rest of the material in the session.

[bucca]

Originally Posted by SongwriterSoul

When I have some audio recorded on a track, (is that called an item?)

yap

Originally Posted by SongwriterSoul

and I want to playback the song while I input monitor my incoming guitar signal instead of hearing the track I've already recorded, how do I do that?
Steve

mute the previous recorded item [item/ right click > item settings > mute]

[Holzwurm]

Originally Posted by bucca

mute the previous recorded item [item/ right click > item settings > mute]

A quick way to do this: double-click the track control panel(selects all items on the track), then alt-/option-m (mutes/unmutes all selected items).

Originally Posted by SongwriterSoul

I hit "play" and it just plays back the item that's recorded on the track and my guitar input is muted

You really should be hearing both. If you mute all items on the track, can you hear the live input? You wrote that you can hear it only while recording, maybe it is being drowned out? If so, you can additionally try "Options>Solo in front". Solo in front video:
https://youtu.be/9CpTS9zvoW8

[Stella645]

I hit "play" and it just plays back the item that's recorded on the track and my guitar input is muted.

Maybe you have monitor set to tape style...i.e you only hear input when the recording starts.

[bolgwrad]

Steve, this is not a thing that's 'tricky' in Reaper, but you seem to have a configuration that's confused things. Maybe post the empty project (or just the track as a template) so we can check your i/p setting on the track.