Reaper 7: Comparing Plug-ins With ParaNormal

FX Containers are a single item in the FX window, with the individual plug‑ins shown in the sub‑panel.

Reaper 7 makes it easy to compare the sound of different plug‑ins. Find out how...

Recently, I wanted to compare hardware recreations of classic outboard with plug‑ins emulating the same gear. Setting up such a comparison has always been possible in Reaper but there are multiple approaches, including some that are new in Reaper 7. I’ll run through the options here, including some that support instant switching between different plug‑ins, or plug‑ins and hardware.

Routing Options

The most straightforward approach to plug‑in comparison would be to add several plug‑ins to a track, select each in turn, and listen to the effect on the signal. But this doesn’t allow for immediate switching: it’s necessary to turn one plug‑in off then another on, so either the unprocessed signal will be heard for a short time when you switch, or playback must be stopped or paused and restarted.

A better alternative is to route the track on which you’ve placed the source audio recording to a set of different tracks, each destination track hosting one of the chosen plug‑ins. To examine the differences with instant switching, simply ‘exclusive solo’ each track (Ctrl+Alt‑click on solo) in turn. This works well for a single source, but also has drawbacks. Exclusive solo mutes every other channel, so you won’t be able to hear different compressors on, say, the drum bus, while still listening to the other instruments in your mix. Setup is time‑consuming too, and even if the project is saved as a template, it results in a busy screen and you must insert the audio into the template — wouldn’t it be better if we could simply use our comparison setup on an existing track?

Well, now we can. Reaper 7 introduced the FX Container, which is similar to the FX Chain in that, within it, a set of plug‑ins can be saved and recalled. But an FX Container is treated by Reaper as a single effect, with a sub‑panel showing the plug‑ins hosted within it. Another new feature relevant to our aims here is the ability to route plug‑ins in parallel, rather than in series. An ‘||’ icon before the plug‑in name indicates that it’s running in parallel with the previous effect. And, handily, you can exclusive solo each parallel plug‑in in turn, courtesy of a new ParaNormal FX Router extension by Reaper script developer Sexan.

Scripts & Extensions

To use ParaNormal FX Router, you must import the Reaper Extensions repository from https://github.com/GoranKovac/ReaScripts/raw/master/index.xml and, in case you’re new to extensions, I’ll quickly describe how to install them.

First, install ReaPack. Go to...