nvk_CREATE

Videos

Media Explorer

In order to use nvk_CREATE, you will need to create Media Explorer databases. For more information on how to use Media Explorer, check out these videos here.

How To Create Media Explorer Databases

1. Open Media Explorer (View > Media Explorer).
2. Right-click in the side panel to "Create new database..."
3. With your database created, right-click again on the database to add the path(s) containing your files.
4. After Reaper finishes scanning the files, re-open nvk_CREATE.

Soundminer

You can also search Soundminer databases with nvk_CREATE. In order to use this feature, you will need the latest version of Soundminer and the Soundminer Reaper plug-in.

How To Search Soundminer Databases

1. Make sure Soundminer is open and running and you have the preference "RUN INTERNAL HTTP SERVER" checked in your preferences.
2. Select the Soundminer database option from the "Select Media Databases" screen in nvk_CREATE.
3. With the search blank, the results list will show the currently filtered results in Soundminer.
4. Type in your search as you would in Soundminer in nvk_CREATE.

Soundminer-specific Preferences in nvk_CREATE

• Disable auto-search: instead of displaying search results instantly with each letter you type, the script will wait until you press enter to do a search. This can help when searching larger Soundminer databases due to the large amount of results returned.
• Resolve Soundminer file paths: if you encounter issues with files not appearing when searching Soundminer databases, enable this feature to fully resolve the file paths and account for moved drives or files on servers.

Basics

About

nvk_CREATE is a script for REAPER which allows you to quickly search through your Media Explorer databases for sounds. It adds additional features such as automatic trimming, take numbering, and add file variations as takes. It is designed to be quick to open, light on memory, and simple to use. It is not meant to be a fully-featured search program, but rather a quick and easy way to try out new ideas and get sounds into your project trimmed and ready to go.

The multi-layer mode is where things start to get interesting. When in this mode (which you can access with TAB), pressing ENTER will automatically create layered sounds based on your settings and search string. This ends up being an extremely powerful workflow for generating new and interesting content. Unlike other alternatives, the tight integration with REAPER means you don't have to render anything until you are ready. You also have additional control over things such as the length of the takes and the ability to add any of your vst plug-ins to the tracks for more interesting designs. There's even more, but that's why we have this guide!

How To Use

1. Open the script. If it is the first time, you will be prompted to enter your activation code and then select the Media Explorer databases you would like to search.
2. Type in your search string to find the file of your choice.
3. Find the file you want with your mouse or arrow keys. Once you have your file/files selected, you can either drag them to insert them into your project or press the enter key to insert them at the edit cursor.

Multi-layer Mode (TAB)

To activate multi-layer mode, hit the TAB key while in the search window. This will make the multi-layer settings visible. While in this mode, pressing ENTER will execute the multi-layer action based on your search string and the multi-layer settings.

Advanced

Boolean Search

OR, NOT, and "" can be used for more control over the search results (e.g. "wild horse" OR mustang NOT vehicle). You can also substitute commas for OR, and hyphens for NOT (e.g. "wild horse",mustang -vehicle).

Token Search

There are also special searches you can do for information about the files. Adding a letter from the list below after a number value will search for files that match that value. Adding "+" after the letter searches for anything equal or above the number and adding "-" finds anything equal or below the number. "=" after the letter will return exact matches, otherwise it will return matches that are considered close.

Token	Description	Examples
b	Bit rate	32b, 16b+, 24b-
ch	Channels	1ch, 6ch+, 2ch-
k	Sample rate (kHz)	192k, 48k+, 22k-
s	File length (seconds)	5s, 1s+, 10s-, 40s=, 0.5s-
t	Take length (seconds)	5t, 1t+, 10t-, 0.5t-

note

In order to search for take length you will need to build your file cache. You can do this by pressing F5 and letting the script run overnight. Take length is an average of the various take lengths in the file and exact matches are unlikely.

Controls

1. Information

Hover over a control to find out more information, or right-click here to dock/undock the script.

2. Settings

Setting	Description
Multi-layer mode	Toggles multi-layer mode.
Loop preview	Repeat from beginning after playback of file(s) finishes.
Track preview	Play through first track named "Media Explorer Preview", "nvk", or first selected track.
Auto-trim items	Automatically run the Take Processor script on your items as they are added to your project. This script will trim to the first take of the item, add take markers to the first major peaks of each take (for use with nvk_TAKES - Select next/previous take SMART), and add a snap offset corresponding to the first take peak.
Keep the script open	If this setting is disabled, the script will close when pressing enter to insert an item or run multi-adder mode.
Preferences	Click to open the preferences window.

3. Click to select media databases

Clicking the magnifying glass will open up the media database browser where you can select the database(s) you want to search (Ctrl+Click to select multiple). You will need to create these media databases in REAPER's Media Explorer before using the script.

4. Search Text/Waveform View

Anything you type will show up here, no need to click in the box. Type in your search string to find the file of your choice. OR, NOT, and "" can be used for more control over the search results (e.g. "wild horse" OR mustang NOT vehicle). If a file is playing and you have waveform display enabled (in preferences) then you can click here to seek to a specific time during playback or click-drag in order to bring a specific take of the file into the project.

5. Clear Search Query

6. Multi-layer Settings

Setting	Description
Variations	Number of multi-layer variations to make when running multi-layer mode.
Items	Number of items in each variation.
Length	Length of items to create. The script will search for takes that fit within the target length before applying pitch randomization.
Pitch	Amount of pitch randomization (in semitones) to apply to each item.
Offset	Amount of random offset time (in seconds) to apply to the items position.
% Reverse	Percentage of items to randomly reverse.
Random	If "Trim" is enabled, this will select a random take in each item and trim the item to it. Otherwise, this will add a random take offset to each item.
Trim	This essentially enables audio analysis of the various files, so that the items are trimmed to actual takes in the items as long as they fit the target length and lines them up based on their rms peak (weighted towards the start of the item). If it's disabled, the files are just dropped in and trimmed to fit the length with random offset (if "Random" enabled).
Normalize	If checked, items will be normalized after being added to the project by the multi-layer mode.

7. Results List

Click or use the arrow keys to select results. Shift+Space to start/stop playback. When you have found a file you want to add to the project, either press Enter or drag it into the arrange window.

Keyboard Shortcuts

note

On Mac, Ctrl = Cmd and Alt = Option

Shortcut	Action
F1	Open the help file
F2	Toggle preferences/search view
F3	Select media databases
F4	Hide/unhide search results
F5	Start/stop file analysis
F6	Remove missing files from file analysis cache
F7	Decrease the maximum results number
F8	Increase the maximum results number
Shift+F7	Toggle compact results lists
Shift+F8	Toggle combined results
F9	Make GUI smaller
F10	Make GUI larger
F11	Previous theme color
F12	Next theme color
Shift+F11	Previous waveform color
Shift+F12	Next waveform color
Ctrl+F11	Previous highlight color
Ctrl+F12	Next highlight color
Ctrl+Shift+F11	Previous waveform/highlight color
Ctrl+Shift+F12	Next waveform/highlight color
Esc	Clear the search box or close nvk_CREATE
Tab	Toggle multi-layer mode
~	Toggle keep script open
;	Toggle auto-trim items
*	Toggle track preview
?	Shuffle results
Up/Down	Select previous/next result
PageUp/PageDown	Select previous/next page of results
Left/Right	Seek forward/backward through preview regions
Shift+Left/Right	Seek forward/backward through preview by 1 second
Ctrl+Left/Right	Seek forward/backward to beginning or end of sound
Ctrl+Up/Down Ctrl+Mousewheel	Increase/decrease playback volume 1 db
Ctrl+	Reset playback volume
Shift+Up/Down Shift+Mousewheel	Increase/decrease playback pitch 1 semitone
Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down Ctrl+Shift+Mousewheel	Increase/decrease playback pitch 12 semitones
Ctrl+.	Reset playback pitch
Ctrl+D	Toggle script docked state
Ctrl+Shift+D	Toggle undocked split-view
Ctrl+E	Focus arrange window
Alt+Click Ctrl+F	Add selected result to favorites
Ctrl+H	Hide selected result
Shift+Space	Play/stop selected result
Enter	Insert result(s) or run multi-layer mode
Ctrl+Enter Ctrl+Drag	Insert result(s) and render with fx through preview track
Ctrl+Shift+Enter Ctrl+Shift+Drag	Insert result(s) and render with fx through preview track (only one region)

nvk_RECORD

With the script docked (right-click below title bar), you can click on the waveform preview window when you have no items selected to enable nvk_RECORD. This adds a jsfx to your Monitoring FX Chain which allows you to have a buffer of the last 20 seconds of output from Reaper. Right-click and drag in order to make a selection and then click-drag to bring that recording into your project. You can also click-hold to preview and click-drag outside the selection area to move the recording buffer area around. Zoom in and out with the mousewheel in order to find the section you are looking for.

nvk_CREATE - Replace

This script allows you to quickly swap out items for other items randomly using the search and multi-mode settings of your choice. To use the script, simply select the items you want to replace and run the script. The search string and the settings used will be determined in priority in the following order from highest to lowest priority:

1. Item track name
2. Item parent tracks name (if multi-layer settings found, with the deepest folder tracks taking higher priority)
3. Initial search used for item (embedded in item when using nvk_CREATE)

This means you can type a search in the track containing the item and quickly swap it out for a new item matching that search.

Track Name Tokens

You can also add multi-layer settings for randomization by using the following format:

<search string> l<length number> p<pitch number> r<reverse percentage number> (-r) (-t) (-n)

Example 1: ice crunch l6 p12 r50 Search the last used database for "ice crunch" with length of 6 seconds, pitched randomly 12 semitones, reversing 50% of the items, randomizing takes, trimming, and normalizing items.

Example 2: explosion l3 r100 -n Search the last used database for "explosion" with length of 3 seconds, reversing 100% of the items, no pitch randomization, randomizing takes, trimming, no normalizing of items

Token Examples

Token	Effect
l6	length (6 seconds)
p6	pitch (6 semitones)
r6	reverse (6% chance)
-r	no randomization
-t	no trim
-n	no normalize

Known Issues

• Older scans of Media Explorer databases can cause issues with certain file paths. It's recommended you delete and recreate your Media Explorer databases if you encounter any issue.
• Popping may occur when seeking on slower hard drives or NAS setups.
• .rpp files can be opened by the script but results are unpredictable and best to not include them in your database.
• Files with tempo information will take a while to preview sometimes.
• When previewing through track, record is disabled.
• Lag when building waveforms on slower hard drives.
• Previewing files doesn't work while playing your project at the same time.

Changelog

Show changelog

1.8

• Importing items now respects user setting for copying imported media items to project.
• Fix for not being able to change take offset in item peaks view if the take contained stretch markers.
• 1440p zoom option.
• Support for beta sws extension with more robust playback.
• Possible fix for item fades being affected by replace script.
• Replace no longer works on locked items.
• Greatly improved search speeds after first completed search.
• Fixed bug where adding a new item over an existing item would delete the existing item.

1.7.3

• Respect project setting for preserve pitch enabled on items, playback preview pdc now accounts for bypassed fx.

1.7.2

• Alt-drag from waveform view now only adds the selected variation.

1.7.1

• Fixed crash when cancelling apply track fx, improvements to search speed, fixed bug where zoom wasn't working when using spectral peaks, now you can zoom in and out in all waveform views, selection playback now loops if setting enabled.

1.7

• Zoom and preview selected item peaks. Mousewheel scroll now zooms in and out of item peaks preview and clicking outside the selection will preview. Shift-click will preview inside selection. While zoomed in, dragging the selection to the corner will automatically scroll the window. Shift-scroll will move the view left or right when zoomed in.
• Alt double-click in item peaks window will move sound to the new region without changing the length or position of the item (keeping snap offset the same).
• Old mousewheel behavior in item peaks can still be used by holding control (for now, might get rid of this since it's not that useful).
• Improved performance with Soundminer and multi-layer mode as well as replace script.
• Fixed bug where take markers would still be created with replace script.
• Fixed bug where sometimes take markers wouldn't be removed from replaced items.
• Playback preview line now compensates for pdc when previewing through track.
• Ctrl/cmd when dragging retrospective record selection will now apply track fx.
• Behavior change when holding shift and dragging a sound into the project. If dragging a result, shift will override the auto-trim setting. If dragging a selection from the waveform view and holding control, shift will only process that specific area. Shift by itself shouldn't have any effect when dragging from waveform view for now.
• Disable auto-naming of multi-layer tracks by Reaper.

1.6.5

• Fixed bug introduced in 1.6.4 if SWS not installed.

1.6.4

• Option to allow for empty searches with replace script, lock button to keep focus on playback peaks for retrospective recording, option to disable take markers/snap offsets.

1.6.3

• Option to focus arrange after mouse drag-drop.

1.6.2

• Adding option in config file to set fade in time and changing default fade in time from 0.01 to 0.001 for better transients.

1.6.1

• Minor bug fixes.

1.6

• Undocked split-view (new option): features of docked mode while not docked.
• Docked split-view option removed, added option for split: disabled instead.
• Hold shift when dragging or inserting item to override trim setting. If auto-trim is enabled, it will be disabled and vice-versa.
• New keyboard shortcuts for docking/undocking, enable undocked split mode, and focus arrange window.
• Demo time would expire if attempted to input license key.
• Improved licensing UX.
• Fix issue when dragging retrospective recording into project with 0 results found.

1.5.2

• Licensing Improvements.

1.5.1

• Fix issue with nvk_RECORD tutorial restarting.
• Turn on 'resolve Soundminer file paths' by default.

1.5

• nvk_RECORD (Retrospective Recording): Click on the playback preview mode to enable nvk_RECORD. When you don't have any items selected, you will be able to right-click-drag to make a selection and then click-drag to bring it into your project. You can also preview by clicking and holding down the mouse button.
• Soundminer Integration: nvk_CREATE now allows you to select Soundminer as a database. Simply install the latest version of Soundminer and the Soundminer REAPER integration and then open the script. With Soundminer open, you will be able to search the current Soundminer database. You can also filter results with Soundminer and then bring them up in nvk_CREATE by doing a blank search. Great for making a custom filter for multi-layer mode.
• Colors: choose from a number of custom themes for your waveform or highlight colors or create your own by selecting 'custom'. You can also now change themes/colors with F11/F12 and modifier keys.
• Filters: You can now add filters to your search (channel count, sample rate, bit rate, file length, region length). For example, if you only wanted to find files that were above 48k, you could search for "growl 48k+" and it would only return files that match "growl" and are 48k or above. Improved functionality of NOT, OR, and "" searches. Now you can do things like: growl or roar tiger or leopard or lion not "sound ideas". You can also use the Soundminer format for searches eg: "rock (heavy, metal, hard) -pop".
• New options:
  • Waveform: Select waveform color.
  • Highlight: Select highlight color.
  • Split: you can now force a specific split orientation. Automatic will decide which orientation to use depending on the script window dimensions.
  • Particle effects: Enables particle effects on retrospective record playback line.
  • Preview pitch: Change the playback pitch when previewing sounds. Mostly there for hotkey reference since it gets reset every time you close and re-open the script.
  • Disable auto-search: script won't complete search until you press enter. Useful for very large Soundminer databases where searching as you type might not be performant.
  • Show full file-path: results will display the full-file path instead of just the file name. You can also view the full-file path without this option during playback in the tooltip area at the top of the script.
  • Save multi-layer state: when closing the script, if you have multi-layer mode open it will be open next time you open the script.
  • Retro waveforms: gives the waveforms a retro look and slightly reduces CPU use.
• Improvements/fixes:
  • 14-day trial available now to test before purchasing the script.
  • Better calculation of results to display after turning multi-layer mode on and off while docked.
  • Spacebar starts/stops timeline playback in more situations where it makes sense.
  • Waveform appearance improved (anti-aliased, fill to zero line).
  • Keyboard input now processed on same frame as graphics display (might slightly improve responsiveness).
  • Issue with editing selected items that had playrate other than 1.
  • Fixed mouse cursor bugs when showing selected item peaks.
  • Crash when running multi-layer mode without any matches.
  • Display channel count, bit rate, and sample rate after file metadata.
• Changes:
  • Removed result placeholders while docked option. Didn't seem that useful and was causing bugs.

1.1.2

• Database selection now saves immediately to config instead of at script close so replace script can use new database immediately. Bug fixes.

1.1.1

• Various bug fixes.

1.1

• Right-click drag to create time selections in waveforms (first pass on this feature, planning to improve). Various bug fixes.

1.0.4

• Fix for databases not being found due to incorrect REAPER.ini, crash when pressing F3 with no databases selected, default to not combining variations for new users, multi-layer now shows count of generated multi-layer variations in tooltips, can no longer favorite databases (it didn't work anyway), error when selecting empty item while script is docked.

1.0.3

• File names with quotes no longer break things 2: Electric Boogaloo.

1.0.2

• File names with quotes no longer break things.

1.0.1

• Bug fixes, licensing improvements.

1.0

• Initial Release.