Podcast and Spoken-Word Audio
How to record two people in one REAPER session (two mics, separate tracks)
Published August 5, 2026
To record two people at once in REAPER and get each voice on its own track, you need an audio interface with two inputs (or a mixer with a multitrack USB output). Two separate USB mics usually will not work together on one computer, because the computer talks to only one audio device at a time. Once both mics are plugged into one interface, add two tracks in REAPER, set the first track’s input to Mono › Input 1 and the second to Mono › Input 2, record-arm both, set each level so peaks land around -12 to -6 dBFS, and press Record. You get two separate files you can edit and mix independently.
Recording two people in the same room, a co-host, an interview guest, a duet partner, is one of the first walls beginners hit in REAPER. The recording itself is simple once the signal is coming in. The part that trips almost everyone up happens before REAPER: getting two microphones into the computer as two separate channels. Solve that, and the REAPER side is a five-minute setup.
This guide is about recording two people in the same room, both mics into one computer. If your second person is joining remotely over a call, that is a different job with different problems, and it is covered in how to fix a remote guest’s bad audio in REAPER.
Why two USB mics usually will not work
This is the single most common reason people get stuck. A USB microphone is not just a mic. It is a mic plus its own little audio interface built into the body, and it presents itself to the computer as a complete audio device. The problem is that a DAW like REAPER records through one audio device driver at a time. On Windows that is typically a single ASIO device; on macOS it is a single Core Audio device. Plug in two USB mics and you have two devices, and REAPER can select only one of them as its input.
There are workarounds, and it is worth knowing they exist, but they come with caveats:
- macOS Aggregate Device. macOS can combine two USB mics into a single “aggregate” device in Audio MIDI Setup, which REAPER can then use. It works, but clock drift between two cheap mics can cause clicks or gradual sync problems over a long recording.
- Windows aggregation tools. Third-party ASIO wrappers can bundle two devices into one. They are fiddly, add latency, and are not reliable enough to lean on for something you only get one take of.
For anything you care about, do not fight the two-USB-mic problem. One audio interface with two inputs is inexpensive, rock solid, and removes the entire category of driver headaches. It is the difference between a setup that works every time and one you have to nurse.
The gear that actually solves it
You have two clean paths to two separate tracks:
- A two-input audio interface with two XLR microphone inputs. Two standard (XLR) mics plug in, the interface presents itself as one device with two channels, and REAPER sees Input 1 and Input 2. This is the most common home podcast and small-studio setup.
- A mixer or podcast console with a multitrack USB output. Some mixers send each channel to the computer as a separate track over USB. Read the spec carefully: a plain stereo USB output collapses everyone into a shared left/right pair, which is not separate tracks. You want one that specifically lists multitrack or per-channel USB.
Whichever you use, the goal is the same: two microphones arriving in REAPER as Input 1 and Input 2, not summed together before they get there.
Set it up step by step in REAPER
This assumes both mics are already plugged into one interface and the interface is selected as REAPER’s audio device under Options › Preferences › Audio › Device. If REAPER is brand new to you, the single-mic walkthrough in how to record vocals in REAPER step by step covers picking the device and the basics that this guide builds on.
Add two tracks
Make two new tracks and name them for the people, for example Host and Guest. Naming them now saves confusion later when you are editing.
Set each track’s input
On the Host track, click the record-arm area and set the input to Mono › Input 1. On the Guest track, set it to Mono › Input 2. Mono is correct here because each mic is a single channel. Match the input numbers to the physical sockets your mics are plugged into.
Record-arm both tracks
Click the record-arm button on both tracks so they light up. Only armed tracks record. A quick way to arm several at once is to select them, then arm one, and REAPER can arm the whole selection.
Confirm each mic hits its own track
Have each person talk in turn. The Host’s voice should move only the Host meter, and the Guest’s only the Guest meter. If one person shows up on both tracks equally, your inputs are set wrong or the mics are summed before REAPER. Fix this before you record anything real.
Set levels on the interface
Set each person’s gain with the knob on the interface, not the fader in REAPER, so that their loudest talking peaks around -12 to -6 dBFS. That leaves headroom for a laugh or a raised voice without clipping.
Record, then save
Press the transport Record button. REAPER writes a separate audio file for each armed track. When you stop, save the project so the two takes stay linked to it.
With each voice on its own track, you can fix one person without touching the other. If the guest is quiet, the host pops their P’s, or one mic picked up more room, you handle each independently. Record both people into one shared file and none of that is possible.
Setting levels for two different voices
Two people are rarely the same loudness, and that is fine. Do not try to match them by turning one person’s gain way up. Set each voice for a healthy level on its own, peaks around -12 to -6 dBFS, and let the quieter differences get balanced later in the mix. A voice recorded too hot to squeeze it louder just clips, and a clipped take does not come back cleanly.
| Situation | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One person much louder | Set each mic’s gain for its own -12 to -6 dBFS peaks | Separate tracks let you balance levels in the mix later |
Both meters near 0 dBFS | Turn the interface gain down until peaks sit lower | Headroom prevents clipping on sudden loud moments |
| A voice on both tracks | Recheck each track’s input assignment | Inputs are crossed or summed before REAPER |
Monitoring two people without echo
If either person wears headphones, feed them from the interface or from REAPER’s monitoring, not from the room speakers, or the mics will pick the sound back up. Beginners often hear their own voice come back slightly late and find it distracting. That delay is monitoring latency, and it is fixable by lowering the buffer size. The full explanation and the settings are in how to fix recording latency in REAPER.
What recording on separate tracks will not do
Separate tracks give you control, but they are not magic, and a few things need managing at the source.
- It will not stop bleed. Two open mics in one room each hear both people. The host’s mic still picks up the guest, just quieter. Cardioid mics, pointing them away from each other, and a little distance reduce bleed, but they do not eliminate it. Recording separate tracks does not mean each track is isolated.
- It will not fix a bad room. If the space is echoey, both mics capture that echo. That is a recording problem to solve with placement and soft furnishings, and only partly a repair job afterward.
- It will not clean the audio for you. Hum, hiss, and background noise still need handling after the fact. When you get there, reducing background noise in a podcast in REAPER covers the stock-plugin cleanup.
- It will not rescue a clipped take. If you recorded too hot and the loud peaks squared off, no amount of separate-track editing brings that detail back. Set safe levels going in.
Two people, two mics, one REAPER session comes down to one thing: get both mics into a single audio interface so they arrive as Input 1 and Input 2. Two separate USB mics fight the one-device rule and are not worth the trouble. Add two tracks, set them to Mono › Input 1 and Mono › Input 2, arm both, set each level to peak around -12 to -6 dBFS, and record. You end up with two clean, independent takes you can edit and mix separately.
Sources
- Cockos, REAPER User Guide (current version 7.78, July 2026) - selecting the audio device, assigning a track record input (mono input channels), record-arming, and multitrack recording. reaper.fm/userguide
- Cockos, “REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits” - REAPER uses a single audio device driver (ASIO on Windows, Core Audio on macOS). reaper.fm
- Apple, “Create an Aggregate Device to combine multiple audio devices” - macOS Audio MIDI Setup can present two USB devices to an app as one. support.apple.com
- Avid, “Gain staging” - keeping recording peaks below 0 dBFS for headroom. avid.com/resource-center/gain-staging-guide