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OTR v2.3.05 Update Released (January 4, 2024) ! Orchestral Template For Reaper Release Thread

@EvilDragon , toggling FX/Vst off is not freeing up my RAM in reaper. Is there some specific script for that ? (sorry for the stupid question, I've searched about it before, but never found a satisfying answer)

If neither of you mind, could you elaborate on "smaller template?" I certainly want to understand more and see if I can accommodate that idea.

Many beginners like me (in composition/mixing/DAW etc) are starting with Reaper because it is cheap and promise a lot of things. And if they’re beginner, the chances they already have a simple template are pretty low. For us, your solution seems appealing but brings pretty advanced mixing concepts AND is expensive (being a beginner means I’d prefer to spend 150$ in new sounds or plugin rather than in DAW improvement). You’ll probably find it funny, but I’ve got one Kontakt instance per track, one reverb per track, and so on. My tracks are messy but for now, I’m happy with it because I’m able to create music (and even score short films). If I got one free hour in my life, I prefer compose rather than organize a fancy template (which is not the easiest thing to do with a « naked » reaper).

All in all, if a cheap solution can help me with a simple routing template (3/4 verb instance, One kontakt instance per Instrument « family », existing scripts improving midi workflow), I’d be happy with that. And maybe this would convince me to « crossgrade » to the complete solution in the future. My 2 cents :)
 
While I absolutely acknowledge and respect the work that's been put into this product I can't seem to find any real reason why this would be "faster,quicker and more organised" than my current disabled tracks template in Cubase. Everything is pre-routed into groups/fx sends and stems. Enabling a track to compose with is a matter of just selecting it and hitting a button on the keyboard (no right mouse clicks and sub menus). Visibility is perfectly managed through lemur on ipad - show all tracks, show tracks with data etc. Of course, batch exporting has been with cubase for a long time, so rendering multiple stems is also not a problem. I may have missed some important feature of OTR - would be grateful to anyone who could point me to it.
Once again, I have big respect for this work and I sincerely wish the best of luck to the dev.
 
It's faster, quicker and more organized for Reaper users.
yes, no problem with that. It's just that in the video he says it's "faster,quicker and more organised than any other DAW" so I was trying to figure out in which ways it would be better than what I currently have.
 
Thank you for the compliments! Now on to answering your questions...
1. Can I modify your theme? For example, I would prefer the following order of instruments (similar to the traditional layout in orchestral scores): woodwinds / brass / percussion / (keyboards and synths) / strings. Note: I'm a real idiot when it comes to scripting and programming.
Yep! It is as simple as dragging around the categories into the order you wish. If you wanted to dive into changing the button order on the menus to correspond with your new order, you can right click on the menu, click customize, then drag the buttons around too. Trying to rename the category tracks (the VI-C tracks) everywhere is not recommended though because each track contains attached configuration information that makes the template work.
2. Can I use separate reverbs for front and rear? I have a 5.1 setup - quadrophonic for music, with separate front and rear reverbs (I love Eastwest's Spaces - they have these beautiful reverbs with impulses recorded individually for front and rear).
Yep! I haven't spotlighted this feature yet, but I plan on adding a video for it. In addition to the standard stereo routing that all of the videos have demonstrated, there is also a "classic quad" mode that allows you to do just that, including rendering to quad stems. Full 5.1 and up will be added at a later point though.
3. I love the custom made user themes for Reaper - in particular White Tie's Imperial Theme, Albert's Pro Tools 2.0.5 theme (which is my default theme). Can I use those with OTR?
Yes - with a caveat. I answered this more in depth in an earlier post. But if the template supports all of the custom track lane skins that the standard Reaper theme used, then it will be seamless. If the template does not have all of the different track lane skins (such as faders on the track, or long text boxes, etc), then it will still work, but the template might have a slightly different workflow due to those changes. That might be what you want though! That's the beauty of Reaper.
4. In Reaper you can toggle FX / VSTs online / offline - does that work with OTR? I have well over 2 TB of virtual instrument samples, can't load all of them into memory at the same time or my computer will die. 24 GB of memory is not the latest or greatest but it's been plenty so far.
Yep! It does this very well. But, when you become comfortable with Track Templates and using (or creating your own) TrackPacks, then you won't even load them into the session until needed. Its quick. Simple. And really easy. It seems like they are in the session due to the right-click load process, but they are stored outside of it until you want to use them.
5. I created a custom "template" last year but it's so huge, I really don't use it. Is there a feature that I can hide / select only those tracks I am actually using in a cue? Frankly looking at 1,200 tracks at once drives me nuts.
Thanks!
Yep! Reaper has a built in Track Manager that makes this easy. You can choose what is visible in the main tracking view as well as in the mixer view. But, also see my reply to number 4 above.
 
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While I absolutely acknowledge and respect the work that's been put into this product I can't seem to find any real reason why this would be "faster,quicker and more organised" than my current disabled tracks template in Cubase. Everything is pre-routed into groups/fx sends and stems. Enabling a track to compose with is a matter of just selecting it and hitting a button on the keyboard (no right mouse clicks and sub menus). Visibility is perfectly managed through lemur on ipad - show all tracks, show tracks with data etc. Of course, batch exporting has been with cubase for a long time, so rendering multiple stems is also not a problem. I may have missed some important feature of OTR - would be grateful to anyone who could point me to it.
Once again, I have big respect for this work and I sincerely wish the best of luck to the dev.
Hey no worries! Its new and something to digest. And, it's a great question. I do stand by the comment that it is faster, quicker, and more efficient than every other DAW for a number of reasons that I'll try to touch on here.

Users transitioning from some DAWs will see a much greater swing in productivity than others. For Reaper users, there is nothing else like it. For Logic users, they will likely first see that with OTR, there is no better way to deal with high track counts and the folder struggles within that particular DAW and then start to see all of the push button functionality that is absent from Logic. Not to mention all of the routing is already setup. And while Cubase does have some work-arounds to the hurdles composers face, they are still work-around solutions that are not inherently baked into the workflow. You mentioned rendering stems. Zero configuration in OTR. It just works. But it sounds like you are settled in with Cubase and are very comfortable with your present workflow - and have probably put in a great deal of work to get there. That's great because it takes most people a really long time to get where you are. So you'd really have to compare your workflow with how your workflow could be with OTR+Reaper. And honestly, only you will be able to assess that. No marketing will be able to speak to you like your own successes and potential struggles can. Maybe it is even as simple as, "I wish I could get rid of some of this clutter." Only you will know what pushes your buttons.

So really, the marketing is not to try to lure you away from something you are presently happy with. It is to provide each person with an opportunity to self-assess where their current workflows may face bottlenecks and see if OTR could be that solution. I've always believed that a person's work speaks for itself. in this case, the OTR product will do that for those that use it.

Also, a closing thought if I may add - it is very easy for a person to be comfortable with their existing workflow in the present moment because it either works or it doesn't. But what happens when a person adds the next big library? Perhaps they have a methodology down that they can work through quickly. But OTR does make this part very very simple in configuring and adding it to the template. That part is IMHO untouchable at the speed possible compared to other DAWs. And for those saying, "I'm struggling with my present situation. I need a different solution", there isn't a more comprehensive and easier solution than OTR+Reaper.

Hope this helps clarify a bit! :thumbsup:
 
@storyteller, Re: TrackPacks/track templates, will you release a guide on how to create/update them such that they integrate best with OTR?
Absolutely! The manual will cover this and this topic is also planned for another video I'll be putting out soon. It is definitely something important to cover.
 
Thank you for the compliments! Now on to answering your questions...

Yep! It is as simple as dragging around the categories into the order you wish. If you wanted to dive into changing the button order on the menus to correspond with your new order, you can right click on the menu, click customize, then drag the buttons around too. Trying to rename the category tracks (the VI-C tracks) everywhere is not recommended though because each track contains attached configuration information that makes the template work.

Yep! I haven't spotlighted this feature yet, but I plan on adding a video for it. In addition to the standard stereo routing that all of the videos have demonstrated, there is also a "classic quad" mode that allows you to do just that, including rendering to quad stems. Full 5.1 and up will be added at a later point though.

Yes - with a caveat. I answered this more in depth in an earlier post. But if the template supports all of the custom track lane skins that the standard Reaper theme used, then it will be seamless. If the template does not have all of the different track lane skins (such as faders on the track, or long text boxes, etc), then it will still work, but the template might have a slightly different workflow due to those changes. That might be what you want though! That's the beauty of Reaper.

Yep! It does this very well. But, when you become comfortable with Track Templates and using (or creating your own) TrackPacks, then you won't even load them into the session until needed. Its quick. Simple. And really easy. It seems like they are in the session due to the right-click load process, but they are stored outside of it until you want to use them.

Yep! Reaper has a built in Track Manager that makes this easy. You can choose what is visible in the main tracking view as well as in the mixer view. But, also see my reply to number 4 above.

Thanks Jonathan.

Follow up questions:

1. Will there be a user manual?
2. What about user support? I'm probably going to have a LOT of questions ..

By the way, your full name isn't Jonathan Loving, is it? He was the guru who wrote many soundsets for Sibelius, for integration with third party VSTs.
 
Thanks Jonathan.

Follow up questions:

1. Will there be a user manual?
2. What about user support? I'm probably going to have a LOT of questions ..

By the way, your full name isn't Jonathan Loving, is it? He was the guru who wrote many soundsets for Sibelius, for integration with third party VSTs.
Not the same Jonathan ;) But thank you for the compliment. Regarding the user manual - yes, there will be a comprehensive, yet very easy to read manual. It won't deep dive into everything that Reaper does independently of OTR, but it will certainly cover the basic Reaper functions one would need to know to navigate the template - and of course an in-depth look at OTR's functionality and how-to's. There will also be a Quick Start guide for those who just need the 1 to 2 page highlights on using OTR.

As for support - absolutely! As you can probably tell, I'm fairly active here on VI-C and respond pretty quickly to any posts or PMs. I also want to ensure most of the how-to's are covered in videos posted to the Storyteller Youtube Channel. In addition to that, I'm easily accessible through email (found on the website). And, if the need arises, I'll be happy to setup a voice or Skype video call as well.

And just for an update on OTR's march toward it's release date, today I completed the screen recordings for 9 more videos (in addition to the 12 currently available). Those should begin to be made available over the next few days. There are also a few more videos planned before the release date that I'm really excited about. :thumbsup:
 
Not the same Jonathan ;) But thank you for the compliment. Regarding the user manual - yes, there will be a comprehensive, yet very easy to read manual. It won't deep dive into everything that Reaper does independently of OTR, but it will certainly cover the basic Reaper functions one would need to know to navigate the template - and of course an in-depth look at OTR's functionality and how-to's. There will also be a Quick Start guide for those who just need the 1 to 2 page highlights on using OTR.

As for support - absolutely! As you can probably tell, I'm fairly active here on VI-C and respond pretty quickly to any posts or PMs. I also want to ensure most of the how-to's are covered in videos posted to the Storyteller Youtube Channel. In addition to that, I'm easily accessible through email (found on the website). And, if the need arises, I'll be happy to setup a voice or Skype video call as well.

And just for an update on OTR's march toward it's release date, today I completed the screen recordings for 9 more videos (in addition to the 12 currently available). Those should begin to be made available over the next few days. There are also a few more videos planned before the release date that I'm really excited about. :thumbsup:

Very cool --- thanks Jonathan. Yes, I watched the YouTube videos, but there's so much stuff to digest ... can't take it all in at once.

As you know, I am on board --- can't wait for the release.

I hope that I am not the only one, and that is going to be very successful for you.

You obviously put a lot of time and effort into this. I really hope it will pay off.
 
As promised, here is a look into OTR's extended midi functionality. It is a three part series. Part 2 specifically takes a "how to approach" when using the extended functionality provided for by OTR. I know it was mentioned that many people stepping into Reaper for the first time often have trouble "demystifying," installing, configuring, and using the scripts Julian Sader provided to the Reaper community that turn Reaper into the DAW MIDI Heavyweight Champion. With OTR, you don't have to worry about setting them up. They are already included and ready to use. Everything is mapped, setup and ready to go.

In tradition with OTR's "ready-to-go-out-of-the-box" design philosophy, this extended midi functionality will just appear as if it was always supposed to be there. Shout out to Julian though for providing such incredible functionality to the Reaper community!

Part 3 highlights the included expression map functionality that utilizes Blake Robinson's incredible plugin. Native functionality is coming to Reaper soon though, so treat Blake's plugin as an "in-between solution" until the native solution is released.





 
Also, can we choose our own colors for tracks/stems/fx/etc?

In addition to the midi videos I just uploaded, I also put up a new how-to video that demonstrates this functionality. Here ya go! Lot's of creative coloring freedom!

 
As promised, here is a look into OTR's extended midi functionality. It is a three part series. Part 2 specifically takes a "how to approach" when using the extended functionality provided for by OTR. I know it was mentioned that many people stepping into Reaper for the first time often have trouble "demystifying," installing, configuring, and using the scripts Julian Sader provided to the Reaper community that turn Reaper into the DAW MIDI Heavyweight Champion. With OTR, you don't have to worry about setting them up. They are already included and ready to use. Everything is mapped, setup and ready to go.

In tradition with OTR's "ready-to-go-out-of-the-box" design philosophy, this extended midi functionality will just appear as if it was always supposed to be there. Shout out to Julian though for providing such incredible functionality to the Reaper community!

Part 3 highlights the included expression map functionality that utilizes Blake Robinson's incredible plugin. Native functionality is coming to Reaper soon though, so treat Blake's plugin as an "in-between solution" until the native solution is released.







Awesome work Storyteller. Not only are u doing a service for OTR, you are doing a great service to the Reaper application with these videos. These should have been made available by reaper a long time ago.

Thank you!

A few more questions though... :)
1. I like seeing the envelope icon on each track. Is that possible?

2. Also, we can still add custom tool bars if we want, right?
 
The lfo automation has feeling all tingly inside. I'm really impressed Storyteller.

Thanks! I've gotta say, your initial reply before you ghost-edited your post made me laugh. I initially saw it in my email where I guess you typed "Storymaker" instead of "Storyteller." I assume it was an accident since you changed it back in your post, but at the time I read it, I thought it was an intentional name change for "creating" OTR instead of "talking about" creating OTR. Haha. Freudian slip? Who knows. Kinda funny though! I liked it!

But, I'm with ya on with the LFO stuff! It really is as cool and useful as it looks. Thanks for the compliments!
 
Thanks for posting those videos! What incredible functionality! As always, though, a few more questions:

1. Will OTR be optimized for Retina displays? I find I can't look at things that aren't for long periods of time.

2. Re: the "temporary placeholder" expression maps, in OTR, are you still limited to 16 articulations per track or can you load up to however many you need?
 
Awesome work Storyteller. Not only are u doing a service for OTR, you are doing a great service to the Reaper application with these videos. These should have been made available by reaper a long time ago.

Thank you!

Thank you! I really hope they help demystify much of the confusion new users have with Reaper! As I mentioned in the Reaper forum, its just building bridges... so we can all just go make music and quit figuring out "how" to make the music we want to make. Now on to your questions.

A few more questions though... :)
1. I like seeing the envelope icon on each track. Is that possible?

When you say "icon on each track" can you explain a bit more what it is you mean? I will say that, for example, the Volume and Pan envelope lanes are initially hidden from view, but by pressing "V" or "P" respectively, the envelope lanes reveal themselves right beneath each track. Not sure if this is what you mean.... but hopefully with a little more clarity I can answer your question a little better.

2. Also, we can still add custom tool bars if we want, right?

Short answer - Yep! Longer answer - Reaper provides a limited number of toolbar slots (sixteen I believe, off the top of my head). OTR uses *most* but not all of them (yet) with the various custom toolbars. So you can certainly use one of the empty lanes, or if you wanted to replace, say, one of the color menus, then you could do that with a custom menu toolbar. I have not touched the extra midi toolbar slots...yet. But at some point, OTR will likely expand into that area as well.
 
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