To record with a USB microphone in Reaper, plug the mic into your computer, select it as the audio input device in Reaper's preferences, then arm a track and press the record button. The entire process takes under two minutes once your microphone is connected and recognized by your operating system.
How to record with a USB microphone in Reaper: A concise overview of the goal
The goal is simple: connect a USB microphone to your computer, tell Reaper to use it as the input source, and capture clean audio onto a track. USB microphones are plug-and-play devices that bypass the need for an external audio interface. Reaper's flexible routing makes this straightforward, whether you're recording vocals, podcasts, instruments, or voiceovers. This guide walks through every step from physical connection to final export, focusing on the essential settings that matter for beginners. If your mic is not detected at all, the troubleshooting steps for isn't my USB microphone working on BandLab can help you isolate the hardware issue first.
Connecting and testing your USB microphone
Start by plugging your USB microphone directly into a USB port on your computer. Most modern USB mics are class-compliant, meaning the operating system automatically installs the correct drivers within a few seconds.
Before opening Reaper, verify the microphone works at the system level. On Windows, right-click the speaker icon in the system tray, select "Sounds," go to the "Recording" tab, and speak into the mic, the green level meter should move. On macOS, open "System Preferences" > "Sound" > "Input" and watch the input level indicator. A quick test with the built-in Voice Recorder app (Windows) or QuickTime (macOS) confirms audio is being captured. If you record that test on a standalone device instead, you'll need to transfer files from voice recorder to computer before Reaper can import them. This pre-check saves time troubleshooting inside Reaper later.
Selecting your USB microphone as the audio device in Reaper
Open Reaper and access the audio device settings. Go to Options > Preferences (or press Ctrl+P on Windows, Cmd+, on macOS). In the Preferences window, select Audio > Device from the left-hand menu.
For Windows users, the critical choice is the Audio System dropdown. If your USB microphone has a dedicated ASIO driver (check the manufacturer's website), select ASIO and then choose your microphone's specific ASIO driver from the ASIO Driver dropdown. This provides the lowest latency and best performance. If no ASIO driver exists, select WASAPI (Windows Audio Session API), this is Reaper's recommended fallback and works reliably with class-compliant USB mics. In the Input Device dropdown, select your USB microphone by name (e.g., "Blue Yeti" or "AT2020USB+").
For macOS users, select CoreAudio as the Audio System. Then choose your USB microphone in the Input Device dropdown. Leave the Output Device as your speakers or headphones. If you need to use different input and output devices simultaneously (e.g., recording from the USB mic while listening through built-in speakers), you have two options: enable the "Allow use of different input and output devices" checkbox in Reaper's Audio Device settings, or create an Aggregate Device in Audio MIDI Setup (Applications > Utilities) and select that as the input device.
After making your selection, click "Apply" and then "OK." Reaper will now route all audio input through your USB microphone.
Creating a project and setting it up for recording
Create a new project by pressing Ctrl+N (Windows) or Cmd+N (macOS), or by going to File > New project. Reaper opens a blank project with a default track already present, but you'll want to configure the project settings first.
Open the project settings via File > Project Settings (or press Alt+Enter). Under the "Project Settings" tab, set the sample rate to 44100 Hz (CD quality) or 48000 Hz (video standard). For bit depth, choose 24-bit, this gives you more headroom during recording and editing without excessive file sizes.
Next, configure the recording file format. Go to Options > Preferences > Audio > Recording. In the "WAV" section, set the "WAV bit depth" to 24-bit. For the file format, choose WAV (uncompressed) for maximum quality, MP3 is only suitable for final delivery, not recording.
Finally, choose a save path for your recordings. In the same Preferences window, navigate to Audio > Recording and click the "Browse" button next to "Recording path." Select or create a dedicated folder for your Reaper projects (e.g., "C:\Reaper Projects" or "~/Music/Reaper"). Click "OK" to confirm. Now save your project immediately: File > Save As, give it a descriptive name, and choose the same folder. This ensures all recorded audio files are stored with the project.
Arming a track and setting input levels
If the default track isn't present, insert a new one by going to Track > Insert new track or double-clicking in the track control panel (the empty area below the existing tracks). A new track appears with a set of buttons on its left side.
Click the Record Enable button (the red circle) on the track, it turns red, indicating the track is armed and ready to capture audio. Next, click the Input: Mono dropdown on the same track. Select Mono > Input 1 (or whichever input number corresponds to your USB microphone). If you're unsure which input is correct, look at the input names, Reaper typically displays the device name (e.g., "Mono > Yeti Stereo Mic 1").
Enable input monitoring by clicking the Monitor button (the speaker icon) on the track. It turns green, meaning you'll hear your microphone through your headphones or speakers in real-time. This is essential for hearing yourself while recording.
Now set your input levels. Speak or play at your normal recording volume while watching the track's level meter (the vertical meter to the right of the track controls). Adjust the gain knob on your USB microphone (if it has one) until the meter peaks around -12 dB to -6 dB (yellow zone). Avoid hitting the red (0 dB), that causes clipping and distortion. If your mic has no physical gain knob, you can adjust input gain in Windows Sound Settings (Input > Device properties) or macOS System Preferences (Sound > Input), but physical gain is always preferable for quality.
Recording and monitoring your audio
Move the playhead (the vertical line in the timeline) to where you want recording to start, click in the ruler at the top of the timeline to position it. Press the Record button in the transport bar (the large red circle at the top of the screen) or press R on your keyboard. Reaper immediately starts recording, and the transport time display begins counting.
While recording, you'll hear your voice through your headphones (if input monitoring is enabled). Keep an eye on the track's level meter to ensure your input stays in the healthy range. If the meter consistently hits the red, stop, lower the gain, and start again. If it barely moves, increase the gain.
When you've finished your take, press the Stop button (the square in the transport) or press Spacebar. Reaper creates a media item (the recorded audio clip) on the track. To listen back, press Spacebar to play from the playhead, or click the play button. Use the Home key to return the playhead to the start of the project if needed.
If you need to re-record a section, simply position the playhead, press R again, and record over the old take, Reaper creates a new take that you can switch between by clicking the take number on the media item. This non-destructive workflow lets you record multiple takes without losing previous attempts.
Editing and exporting your final recording
Once you're satisfied with the recording, it's time to clean it up and export. Basic editing in Reaper is intuitive:
Trimming unwanted sections
Click on the media item to select it. Hover your cursor over the left or right edge until it turns into a double arrow. Drag inward to trim silence or mistakes from the beginning or end. To split a section in the middle, place the cursor where you want to cut and press S (Split). Then select the unwanted segment and press Delete.
Reducing background noise
If your recording has a constant hum or hiss (e.g., computer fans or air conditioning), use Reaper's built-in noise reduction. Select a few seconds of pure silence (no speaking) from your recording. Go to Effects > ReaFIR and add it to the track's FX chain. In the ReaFIR window, click "Learn" to capture the noise profile, then switch the mode to "Subtract" and adjust the reduction amount (start with -20 dB). This removes the steady noise without affecting your voice significantly.
Exporting the final audio
When editing is complete, select the time range you want to export. If you want the entire project, press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (macOS) to select all items. Then go to File > Render (or press Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R).
In the Render window, set the following:
- Output format: Choose WAV for uncompressed quality (24-bit) or MP3 (320 kbps) for smaller file sizes suitable for sharing online.
- Channels: Select "Mono" if you recorded with a single mono track.
- Directory: Choose where to save the rendered file.
- File name: Give it a descriptive name.
Click Render and Reaper processes the file. Once complete, you'll have a polished audio file ready for publishing, sharing, or further processing in other software. The entire workflow, from plugging in your USB mic to exporting a finished recording, takes less than ten minutes once you're familiar with the steps.
