WhatsNewReaper7Summary_r2.pdf — page 9

REAPER 7.0: What’s New
Fixed Media Item Lanes
Prerequisites: Before approaching this section, you will need a basic understanding of REAPER’s recording 
techniques, and in particular layered recording. If necessary, you can refer to User Guide sections 3.1 to 3.5 and 
section 3.14. Familiarity with at least the basics of REAPER’s legacy takes system is also recommended.
Media item lanes offer you a flexible alternative way of working that takes you beyond the limitations of 
REAPER’s basic track structure.
By default, media items will fill the entire vertical space of the track on which they are recorded. If the media 
items overlap, they are auto-arranged vertically based on your preferences. The vertical positioning of media 
items does not affect playback. Media items that overlap 
interact during playback according to the project settings 
(Project settings, Advanced, Item mix behavior), 
preferences settings (Preferences, Project, Item fade 
defaults, Preferences, Appearance, Zoom/Scroll/ 
Offset), snap settings, and/or media item properties for item 
mix behavior (see right). If media item and project settings 
are different from each other, the media item setting will apply.
With free item positioning you can freely position and resize media items within the vertical space of the track. If 
auto-crossfade is enabled, media items that overlap vertically will crossfade. Otherwise, the vertical positioning of 
media items does not affect playback. The preferences for item mix behavior are ignored; items always mix on 
free item positioning tracks.
Fixed media item lanes offer you further tools and techniques for building projects. They can be used to record, 
layer, edit, manage and comp material. The simplest way to think of them is like being tracks within tracks. Up 
to 128 lanes can be recorded within a single track. As you will see, REAPER then gives you multiple options to 
treat these tracks individually or as linked (such as by comping) or in other ways related, as you wish.
Let’s start with the basics! To give you some idea of where we’re eventually going here is a relatively simple 
application of media item lanes:
Look at the above illustration. Notice:
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The track shown comprises three lanes, labeled in a lanes panel (top to bottom) C1, 1 and 2. 
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Lanes 1 and 2 are two takes of the same tune. Lane C1 is a work in progress comp of the best parts of 
lanes 1 and 2.
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To the right side of the track panel a new section has been added: this shows (in this case) three labeled 
buttons as well as housing its own right-click context menu.
Recording and Layering Media Items
Example
We can begin by working through a relatively straightforward example, to help understand the basics, then go 
on to consider more powerful and complex models.
1. Make sure that the following conditions are set on your Options menu:
Record mode normal
Offset overlapping media items vertically
New recording that overlaps existing media items then either Add lanes or (if you prefer) Add 
lanes (layer new lanes). This latter option should only be chosen if you wish to play the new material 
along with any existing lanes.
2.
Create a new, empty project file (Ctrl N). Add a track and either (using an instrument of your choice) 
record a tune for about a minute, or import an existing media file. 
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