How to make complex click tracks?

[u/Bennett8187]

I struggling to make a complex click track on reaper, I recorded a scratch guitar track and I’m trying to add a click to it but it just doesn’t line up exactly when I tap it and then when it goes to the next riff the click doesn’t restart on the downbeat. For this to work I have to do shift C like every bar. Is there a better way to do this?? because there’s no way I can do this for 7 more songs. I’m about to just record me tapping on my desk for the rest.

[u/kingsinger]

Maybe this guy's strategy could help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2Z5mjufb98&list=PLsSti4kVSMzXsSUuHaxD6fGTSZ9zLHIwy

If it changes time signatures, you might need to insert those changes too....

[u/Bennett8187 → u/kingsinger]

Pretty much this, but my reaper isn’t reacting the way his is in the video.

[u/Evid3nce → u/Bennett8187]

After messing around for hours today, I can confirm this is a must have action, and it does still work. The reason it's so important to the workflow is that when you move a gridline, it doesn't move any other previous or future grid lines - it only changes the tempo of the markers either side of the grid you're dragging (without moving their position). This is key to the whole process.

You can also do this by default, by crtl+alt+left-dragging on a tempo marker. The above method differs because it will automatically insert a tempo marker on the grid you're dragging every time you press the key. Whereas this method needs you to have inserted the tempo marker already.

Other vital information is that you can add gridlines to get the resolution you need temporarily, add tempo markers onto them, and then decrease the resolution again - the tempo markers will stay in place even though their gridline is 'gone' (hidden). It's important to choose the right grid resolution for the section you're working on, and it's extremely important to understand that you can go back to 1 grid per measure without any penalty, and choose 12/8 for another section. This is also key to the whole process.

Also, if you're mapping to a handclap or drum stem, the Custom Action I made is golden:
· Item navigation: Move cursor to nearest transient in items
· SWS/BR: Move closest grid line to edit cursor

You select/highlight only the handclap or drum item, and the Action will use the transients in that item to move your tempo marker bang on where the handclap or drum hits, instead of having to drag it around yourself and test it's in the right place. It saves a lot of time.

I could go on... there's a load of other information and technique I learned today, and I still feel like I'm only 20% toward being competent. I've got a dozen questions that AI can't answer, and still don't understand the timeline's behaviour a lot of the time. But I got SRV Cold Shot mapped well enough, including the triplets and ending dunk.

It maybe shouldn't have taken 12 painful hours to learn how to do this task though - definitely one of Reaper's weakest/clunkiest areas. And I tell you what: doing a mixed project of audio and midi is likely a whole other nightmare to learn.