Toggle the transport metronome and open its settings

Left-click REAPER's metronome toolbar button to enable or disable the transport click. Right-click that button to open its configuration; the same family of settings is also available through the Options menu under metronome and pre-roll. Custom themes can change the icon's appearance or position, so use the menu command when a screenshot does not match the installed layout.

Start playback for several bars and then make a short record test. The settings can allow the metronome during playback, recording, or both, so a successful rehearsal does not prove that the recording state is configured. Check the button state, the specific playback and recording options, master monitoring, and the selected output before replacing sound files or resetting preferences.

Choose playback, recording, and count-in behavior

The metronome settings let you decide whether the click runs during ordinary playback and during recording. Count-in options add a chosen number of measures before the requested transport action. A recording count-in is useful when a performer needs empty measured preparation before capture begins. Confirm the displayed bar and beat during the countdown so pickups are not played before the record point.

Count-in is not a recorded intro and is not automatically part of a render. It prepares the transport and performer. When you need clicks that remain in the arrangement, use a click source or record an intentional guide instead. Save a proven count-in length and click behavior in the project template used by a band, because opening another project can present different project-level timing and routing choices.

Distinguish count-in from pre-roll

REAPER groups count-in and pre-roll controls in the same settings area, but their purposes differ. Count-in supplies measured click time before the start. Pre-roll begins playback before the edit cursor or record position so the performer hears existing project material and plug-ins can run into the entry. Use pre-roll when musical context matters and count-in when a bare rhythmic cue is enough.

Audition the exact setup before a take, especially when punch recording or starting near the beginning of the project. Verify when recording actually becomes active and whether an early pickup will be captured. Do not infer behavior from the audible click alone. Project start, time selection, loop state, punch mode, and the selected count-in or pre-roll options can all affect what the performer hears around the entrance.

Set accents, click pattern, volume, and sound

The current User Guide documents primary and secondary beat levels, metronome patterns, and choices between generated sounds and selected audio samples. Use a stronger primary event for the bar downbeat and quieter secondary events for other beats. Current REAPER 7 releases provide richer pattern options than many older tutorials show, so treat instructions made for a previous major version as historical rather than exact.

Choose a short sound with a clear attack that remains audible in the real cue mix. Excessive level can cause fatigue or leak from headphones into a microphone. A highly resonant sample may blur at fast tempos. After selecting custom samples, transfer and relink them with the project where licensing permits; otherwise another system can fall back to a different sound or fail to reproduce the cue.

Follow tempo maps, signatures, and beat patterns

The metronome follows the project's tempo and time-signature markers. Tempo changes alter pulse spacing, and signature or pattern choices alter bar accents and grouping. If the click accelerates at a specific measure, inspect the tempo envelope or markers before treating it as an audio problem. If the speed is steady but the downbeat sounds wrong, inspect the signature and metronome pattern.

Verify an imported performance against multiple distant bars. A plausible starting BPM can still drift when the recording was not made to a fixed tempo or when half-time was selected instead of double-time. REAPER's click reports the timeline you configured; it does not independently determine the song's true tempo. Build or correct the tempo map deliberately before relying on the click for editing or overdubs.

Route monitoring click or create a printable click source

Use the routing or output control exposed by the metronome settings to send the transport click to the required hardware destination when the audio interface has separate outputs. Test the performer cue and main monitors independently. A label such as headphones does not prove the hardware route is correct, especially after a project moves between systems with different output counts and channel names.

When a permanent guide or deliverable is needed, use REAPER's click-source feature to insert a project item that follows project timing and can be edited or rendered intentionally. This is not the same as merely enabling the transport metronome. Keep the item on a clearly named track, route it consciously, and verify whether the final render should include or exclude that track.

Troubleshoot missing, doubled, or late clicks

For silence, check the toolbar state, playback and recording options, metronome volume, master mute, monitoring path, and configured output. For an absent lead-in, inspect count-in separately from pre-roll. For doubled attacks, look for an inserted click source, another audio guide, duplicate monitoring through two devices, or a metronome pattern that deliberately places multiple event types at one position.

For an apparently late click, first decide whether the mismatch is in the timeline, the monitored audio path, or the source recording. Compare grid-aligned transients, inspect tempo markers, and test the interface at a practical buffer. Wireless monitoring can add variable delay. Document the REAPER version, audio system, device, buffer, project tempo, and routing when timing is critical instead of judging accuracy only by ear.