I'm an Ableton user but I will always have love for Renoise due to my love for the tracker scene overall. Some of the best composers on earth went unheard by a large part of the population.
Yea for sure, Ableton is amazing and has so many great features. I think the one thing that makes Renoise so great is its limitatons and the way it forces you to be creative to work around them. There both are fantastic tools to have in your arsenal! Trackers also look dope AF, like your up to some dark magic. 🥷
I always use the same combination: 1. Write a tune in Renoise using VST instruments 2. Export the tracks to individual audio files 3. Import into Cubase 4. Fix up the Tempo track in Cubase for any tempo changes commands I have in Renoise 5. Pick up my guitar, record 100's of takes 6. Comp the guitar takes in Cubase 7. Mix in Cubase I cannot agree with this video more. I've tried using FL Studio for Midi arrangements but I just get frustrated and always come back to Renoise. It *is* difficult to to complex arrangements in Renoise but I just make it work. Colour coding tracks with background colour blending and naming tracks is a must. I usually write music on the go and seldom get the chance to plug in a MIDI keyboard to record controller changes and the likes. I do find trying to draw MIDI controller changes a bit of a pain within Renoise, but it does work. I did start making music on the Amiga so I'm used to using a "tracker" but entering music any other way just seems to time consuming. QWERTY keyboard entry is far quicker than any mouse and piano roll combination in my opinion. Any irritation or need to think when using a music editor is instant death to creativity.
I use Renoise much in the same way as you. I also try to mix in Renoise from time to time but a DAWs like Cubase or Logic are infinitely better for that sort of stuff. When you start to consider it solely as a fantastic tool in your arsenal, it opens up a lot of doors. Really getting into resampling and committing to ideas has also drastically improved my own workflow. I also love that you can stack up as many groups as you like in Renoise. I mean Logic X doesn't even have that feature! Do you use the Inst. Midi Control FX? It makes everything much easier than entering in all the data and interpolating that way etc. Also, you can connect the Midi Control FX to an LFO, put the LFO on one-shot mode, and open up the custom editor. You can then draw in Envelopes and control the automation in the graph much as you do in other DAWs. You can right-click the 'Reset' option of the LFO and assign it to when you want the envelope to reset. I absolutely agree with that last statement. Music production and finishing tracks can be such a complicated process these days. Speeding up your workflow and removing obstacles really helps you to get through projects. It's also just about having fun at the end of the day and Renoise and trackers in general are great for that :)
I've been a lifetime Renoise user and am really adept at using Ableton so a lot of my workflow has been: sketch idea in Renoise, render out the stems (with the Deliverer tool), punch it into Ableton where I can benefit from midi and audio recording to play along with my original idea. That being said, Renoise is still my favourite tool for making music.
Yea its such a great place to generate ideas. I always feel so much more creativly free in Renoise then I do in other DAWs. Even as projects get more complicated, they still don't stress me out as much. Having a DAW like Ableton is great aswell. Its all about developing a workflow that works for you and sticking with it until you achieve ninja level breakbeat mastery! ✌️🥷
Renoise is an underrated performance tool with the great midi mapping tools, macros, and the ability to do MPC-style recording on the keyboard. Biggest complaint I have is the lack of live recording tools and that you can't plug a guitar in and record yourself playing alongside your patterns. Recording into Reaper with Rearoute solves that problem very well though and there are definitely similar solutions for other DAWs as well. I find Renoise and Reaper in particular synergize very well and Renoise is my go-to when I want to sit down and write a track front to back.
I agree there is no easy way to get live instruments into Renoise. There is probably a tool out there which can help you but as I don't play any live instrument, I haven't looked for it yet! Reaper and Renoise seems such such a fantastic combo. I absolutly use Logic for certain things like Sound Design where its a lot more practical. You've just got to look at a DAW like a tool and use it were it suits you best. We seem to have quite similar workflows. I also do almost all my track writing in Renoise. Thinks just seem to flow so well in Renoise and I never feel stuck working in there.✌️
@@orbetobe The LFOs are epic in Renoise. Just the way everything is set up that you can so simply apply them to every effect is amazing. A lot of the tools that Shaperbox 3 brings you've been able to do for ages in Renoise with all its modulation capabilities! ✌
@@rorz999 Redux is certainly another great tool. I love the Super Nudge Tool & Step automation of plugins so much that I would almost always use Renoise Rewired into another DAW if I want to use both!
I still like my other DAWs but I like how differently Renoise works. It’s another great tool to have (and way cheaper than buying a Polyend Tracker). Really enjoying your channel!
Thanks - glad you're enjoying the channel! I'm much the same, I also use Renoise like a tool - love sequencing and arranging in there. But use Logic X for sound design, SFX for these vids etc. They each have their merits. I did actually buy a Polyend Tracker right in the beginning but ended up selling it. Renoise is the one for me :)
I haven’t produced music in like 5 years and have been thinking about getting back into it but I don’t have money for ableton. Thanks, you just convinced me to buy this program
Its a wicked program and loads of fun. There is a little learning curve coming from other DAWs but if you can stay strong and get past that its fantastic :)
Fanu, Big ups legend! Loved your new album mate, epecially Headgames. Production is oboviously quality but I actually really liked the mixing as well. I've found it really hard is the past to strike that balance between dirty, crunchy mid energy and warmth vs making the tracks too muddy. Would be wicked to link up one day on some Renoise related content! ✌️🥷
It is fantastic, even if you just use it as a tool for handling drums on certain tracks etc. It's actually just fun and creative to work in. Making music in Renoise feels much less laborious that It can in other DAWs. ✌
Top to bottom is a more natural way of writing music because that is the way we all learned to write and read.Also the Renoise arranger is a work of art so easy and quick to get things done.Great video as always and your video editing top notch
I agree, the Renoise arranger is so much more streamlined to work in. I always struggled to finish projects in Logic X and the workflow in Renoise really helps me get through them! Thanks for your comment :)
@@groovining I still struggle to complete things, but I've gone from getting stuck at how to expand ideas and loops to songs, to struggling with reducing the amount of ideas/arrangements/etc that I've sketched out down to a song. I like my current "dilemma" way more!
@@MrPriceTigerStyle There is a really interesting book by Ableton called 74 creative strategies for electronic music producers. There is a section in the book exactly about this called ‘depth before breadth’. It’s the idea that it’s way easier to slim and cut your ideas down in the arrangement stage that it is to add more back in. I definitely find the process flows a lot better when I have loads of ideas in the beginning, which I can then piece all together later. I’ve heard people say it’s got something to do with the analytical side of your brain vs the creative side. Anyways keep cracking with the music! ✌️
Renoise is such a steal at that price, it's a meal out with your mates but lasts for years. I bought it 3 years ago and I'm still getting upgrades for free. I'm from the Amiga NoiseTracker era and all I can say is that it's such a pleasure to work with this DAW. If anything, learning to use a step type sequencing program like this will teach you new ways of manipulating samples and sounds. Excellent review by the way, sub'd :)
Thanks for the sub dude! I couldn't agree more, learning trackers like Renoise can really help you break down what is happening on a step by step basis. It's also very creatively freeing when you come from a timeline based DAW like Logic X. Step automation on plugin parameters in particular I absolutly love messign with! I never really had a chance to get into those old trackers but Renoise seems to have captured all the best bit of them perfectly. ✌️
@@F-Andre Wrong! You're talking about Sunvox, but not about Renoise. Renoise is based on Noisetrekker. And every tracker there is is basically a SoundTracker ripoff, so what are you talking about? No, Renoise is not free, but it's still way too cheap! It should cost 300 € at least.
Watched your video and then bought Renoise and already really enjoying it! My first foray into trackers was using Octamed on Amiga, many moons ago. Also subscribed to your channel too, nice work man 😎👌
Thanks dude & appreciate the sub! Lots of Renoise content on this channel amounst other things :) Its such a wicked DAW and really feels like all the best parts of those trackers combined. Amongst all the things listed in this video, I actually just find it really fun & enjoyable to work in 2! ✌️
Apart from what is mentioned, I like how renoise forces you to make decisions and also doesn’t let you over complicate things. Keep it up with the vids! 👌🏻
Thanks for your comments Pavel! Yea it's that creative box that I think I enjoy the most. When you have fewer tools at your disposal, you learn to use them a lot more effectively. For me, it's much more like working in an Elektron Box like the Digitakt than it is working in Logic X. But it still has all the benefits of Plugins and Automation etc. It's really a great tool. :)
You missed out on Live Lite which is a good compliment to Renoise, you can get it bundled with numerous kits even second hand provided Ableton was part of the deal. It has everything you would want to chop breaks, Akai style time stretch, simpler sampler, track freeze, auto filter for 96 style Dillinja filtered amens.
9:56 alone just sold me on this DAW. DnB music is something I've been interested in trying my hand at. I'm a loyal FL user, and the workflow of that program has been great for me in most cases, but dnb/breakcore hasn't been easy for me. This, however, seems like the perfect tool to learn the genre with. Awesome video man, you're putting us on to great stuff.
Thanks Jonathon, glad you enjoyed the vid mate. Renoise is such a wicked DAW. Once you get over the initial learning curve its also really intuitive and creative. If you want more detail on that drum hit replacement technique, I went over it in this video!✌️🥷 - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-imaDGgnt1Og.html
i use fl studio as well, have no problem making dnb or jungle with it, but i will say this: the workflow of a tracker intrigues me and i love how basically everything is on hand via parameters. also fl studio brings my pc to its limits because the projects tend to be plugin heavy. i find fl studio to sound a little sterile, now i know about eqing and mastering, but with dnb and jungle, i often struggle with the mix a lot, compared to a boombap beat or basically anything that doesn't use a reese bass. struggling with the kicks punching through the mix and all that. i hate to sidechain, because i like the lo-fi ness, but will probably have to start doing it to get the results i'm after i guess.
All my audio / music / sfx I do in Renoise ;) (and on my both channels). And I use old version (v3.1.1) as 100% of my plugins works in this version. When I start new version (3.2+ and newer) - my old VSTs will no longer work (around 60% of them).
Epic mate! just saw your subs - im kinda jelouse, one day i'll get there! congrats for all the hard work paying off :) I haven't had a problem with my VSTs in Renoise, even on an M1 Mac everything is fine for me. I'm not sure what your problem could be. Sadly updates are pretty slow, i'm not sure 3.2+ brings anything that special to the table anyways so your fine to just stay on 3.1.1 for now. ✌️
@@groovining Hehe :) Thanks :) The reason for old VST instruments is lack of support for x32 plugin versions... But overall it has great real-time pitch / shifter for loops & samples
Ahh yes modulating loop start and end points has always been one of the features I`ve craved for. I guess you`ve seen it but still - there is a tool that allows you to mess with the loop points - haven`t tried it personally tbh cz the interface seems too "complicated" but again - this is just me assuming based on the videos showing how to work with the tool and what you can do with it. Either way by all accounts it seems this is a feature quite a lot of ppl look forward to so hopefully they`ll add it to the next major update....though sadly we are all aware of the glacial pace they get released at.
bro, i've be staying away from daws since i started music production, i have a mpc live 2 and its been banger for me to just learn so many fundamentals in a "fun" way, but lately i've been thinking about how i can take my ideas from mpc and finish them with a daw. I'll be honest most daws seem scary AF for me creatively and cost so much. I'm coming round to the idea of taking my creative loops and ideas into a daw like Renoise. THANK YOU SIR! please put out more content i bet trackers will make a come back in a big way so many benefits.
If I was going to start again, I would just pick Renoise. Its works great with hardware also so you can combine your MPC workflow with Renoise. Its all about resampling the audio and loops for one to the other. Slicing everything back up again. So much fun to be had. Keep well man ✌️
Funny. I was just watching another vid on your channel and saw you were using Renoise. So I asked myself: "should I give Renoise a try (use Ableton Live myself)?". So I typed in "Renoise" in the YT search bar, thinking to myself "why should I use Renoise?" And then this video comes up. Must be the cosmos telling me something.
Haha maybe it is! Renoise is such a wicked program. It's essentially like a hardware sampler think (Emu 6400) with a tracker sequencer attached. Really fun and creative tool and break chopping with the tracker FXs is 🔥🥷. It does have a learning curve that can discourage people which is somewhere between the Digitakt - Octatrack level of learning but it's worth it once you get the workflow down. Ableton is great too. It's all about whatever works best for you :)
i only started using trackers recnetly, and only started playing with music stuff a month before i started using renoise, but my favourite reason is just that it feels so fun to use trackers compared to my short stint in traditional DAWs
I've used fl studio, reason, abelton, bitwig, reaper and renoise. Renoise is nice, but not the best of all. Best for composing are fl and reason. Abelton is clean and automation feels right. Bitwig and reaper are ok. Today i would probably go with Fl(lifetime updates and piano roll), but i still use renoise from time to time.
I think they're all great options. People are always looking for the best or most features etc. but that dosen't always lead to making music and finishing tunes. I get my best work done in Renoise & struggled for ages in Logic even though on paper its a better DAW.
I used renoise for a very long time and love some things about it, but having to use letters for notes never really made sense to me, since I never learned to read music and don't have a music theory background. The visual aspect of a piano roll where I can literally see pitch relationships rather than have to think about them in an abstract sense in terms of letters is much more intuitive for me. I switched to Bitwig recently and love it. Apart from the piano roll, which most traditional DAWs have, its modulation system is incredible. Renoise also has lots of modulation options, but Bitwig takes it to a whole other level. I like to combine Bitwig with Cardinal to give me even more options.. and Cardinal is something that can be used along with Renoise too, so I'd recommend checking it out if you're interested in exploring what can be done with a very deep modular system -- for free.
Yea Bitwig does look amazing. If I had to start all over again I would probably use that over Logic but it takes so long to get comfortable in a DAW i'm pretty settled now. I will have a look at Cardinal - I used VCV rack for a while when it first came out but haven't got that into modular. Yet! Interestingly I also don't have a music theory background and can't read music traditionally, but think that Renoise really helps with this. I'm much more of a computer nerd and am ok with maths so it makes a lot of sense to me. There are definitly advantages and disadvantages to both styles of DAWs so great to have the option for both. 😊✌️
Haha good news it does exist! Bad news it's just a Renoise project and I still need to finish it. But it's pretty close so I'll try to have another run at it and get it up somewhere :)
@@groovining Amazing, I've just discovered this software and I'm kinda obsessed with it's potential. Thanks for the content you're making and keep it up 🔥
@@rosetti1719 It's such a wicked program. It's got a bit of a learning curve so just stick with it initially. It's super creative and fun once you understand the workflow :)
Great explanation for those curious about Renoise. I got into Renoise a couple of years back. Have used many daws over the years, but Renoise is fast to get ideas going, and tracks completed
Thanks Greg, nice to hear from you again. I enjoy Renoise the more I work with it. Logic always felt like the deeper I got into it, the more possibilities I uncovered and in the end, that actually slowed down the workflow. Renoise is definitely fast and fun to get ideas going. It can get a little confusing when projects get too complicated but there are always workarounds! ✌
I've been trying to get used to Renoise for a long time, but I can't seem to fully grasp the concept of hex. The effect reference sheet isn't helping either. It makes me feel so stupid 😭
Haha I get you mate! it a bit of a fucker to get your head around but once you get it, you realise it's not as mental as you think. Check my free Renoise Help guides. I basically mapped percentage to hex so it's easier to make sense off www.groovingbiz.co.uk/renoise 🌴 🚀😊
Thanks mate. I agree, It's just so fun to work in. It feels so refreshing to me compared to other DAWs. Maybe more limited but there's a workaround for everything! New vids coming soon! ✌
Nice video, bro! Production quality is on a new level :) Regarding loop control/automation, there are a couple of tools that do this already available. The sample multi controller by ulneiz and loop automation (I think) by afta8 (I think) 🙃 Have you tried them? They work pretty well, once you get the hang of them. Cheers, and keep spreading the gospel. If we get enough converts maybe taktik will give us regular updates, lol
Thanks so much mate. Love your channel also. We cover very different aspects of Renoise which is great. Shows how versatile it is as a workspace! I did try Loop marker automation. It caused some bug with my Loop points which drove me insane so I had to delete it! The Sample Multi Controller looks very cool - exactly what I'm after. Haha I know, dreaming of a world where Renoise gets updated like other DAWs. I pray for 'tab to transient' every night. 🙏
@@groovining tab to transient would be dope. I often use the chop sample tool or snap to beat for processing breaks quickly, but inevitably there's some fiddling around to get the cleanest chops. I don't work with breaks a ton, but improved transient detection would be a big improvement. I wonder if a tool could be made to mimic this functionally? There are a bunch of talented programmers on the forum, some of them might be open to taking it on. The sample multi controller is very cool and allows for direct manipulation of sample properties, which is awesome, takes a little getting used to, but well worth the 10 bucks
@@MrZensphere I'm sure a tool could be made as the detection system is already there. I spend my life manually chopping and never do any automatic stuff so It's such an essential feature for me. I'll defs check out that Multi Tool when I have a bit of a black Friday session! Keep well man :)
Yea you can most definitely make hip-hop. House, ukg. Everything electronic really. It’s a super versatile & creative DAW with amazing sampling capabilities
The problem Renoise has is that the sequencer uses PICTURES of the patterns instead of words... How much easier is it to recognise a pattern title that is made of WORDS, that you yourself have made up, than a tiny little 'representation' of the pattern? Just ridiculous. Buzz already invented the best way of doing it, but the geniuses at Renoise thought they knew better...
it does actually have labels on the patterns now. you just have to extend the pattern matrix, which is a button above the pattern list on the left side. : )
@@cclark3564 I've had a look at it again - I don't mean labels on the patterns, sorry, I meant labels on the matrix blocks. Having each matrix block have a colour and some lines in it is ridiculous, Buzz's editor was the perfect way to do it. You just give each pattern a number, or a name - anything you want, and then you can immediately SEE the arrangement of your song, i.e. "Drums 1" for one pattern, "Drums Fill" for the next pattern, "Bass start" for the next pattern, and so on. It is a hundred times clearer than the ludicrous pattern matrix. But even being able to name a matrix block wouldn't get rid of the basic problem, which is that the pattern matrix is a ludicrously outdated way of arranging song components. Here's how easy it is to lay down patterns in Buzz: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NiAmro8ZxnY.html
Renoise does have sample warping capabilities. You can timestretch a sample to your liking in the sample editing options, according to the lines you set - this is great with vocal samples
Yea you can warp in this way but its really just pitch-shifting to your song tempo. It's not a timestretch as such like Logic or Ableton offer. Still very useful though!✌️
@@groovining Most of the time, that is all you really need. You can warp individual splits to the lines. Like if you have amen loaded up, you can split a drum hit and have it fit within 1 line making it a 16th note. I find this a very flexible feature.
I bought and have been playing with Renoise for the last few weeks and really enjoyed the tracker workflow. I was already familiar with it (played a bit with LSDJ a few years ago and am familiar with hex code) and seeing all the notes from multiple tracks is really helpful. Funny enough, I make mostly ambient music with soft-synths, and I'm still unsure if I'll still keep using Renoise. However, your video showed a few things I didn't know (and I read the manual!) that could be very helpful. The "auto-write" automation in hex code, with right click and interpolate, could be a game changer, as I was drawing them with the mouse in the automation tab, copying and pasting values in a line and thinking "this doesn't seem better than FL Studio/Studio One". Thanks for your videos, man! We work with different genres of music, but watching your stuff is always helpful, one way or the other.
Thanks your comment Loke! The Track FX automation feature is really amazing in Renoise. The way I essentially set it up is to put my first value down. Then scroll down and select the endpoint of the automation (Using alt and shift + arrow Keys). Turn off 'Follow Play Position' and then keep changing the endpoint and interpolating until you like the results. I actually hate the automation tab and never use it. There is another very clever technique if you want to do Graph Automation on the track where you use an LFO FX on 'One-Shot mode'. You can right-click Reset to set the start point of the LFO/Envelope. Then connect the LFO to the effect you want to automate. Hope this makes sense anyways :)
@@groovining I played around with the LFO FX, it's pretty great and works almost like a module in Bitwig! But to be able to use the FX column to set exact values and interpolate, even from VST parameters, opens up a whole range of possibilities and fine control! Will definitely abuse this feature now.
@@lokelosk Yea Renoise FXs actually look very similar to Bitwig in terms of their open UI. I've actually never used it as a DAW but it looks great feature-wise. I love the Track automation in Renoise. Even though it can get tricky when you start looping around patterns, I still prefer it to Automation in other DAWs.
I couldn't agree more. Its much more of a tool to me than Logic is. Things just seem to flow better in there. Maybe more like working on an Elektron device, the restrictions really help the workflow. I only started using it about 5 years ago but it instantly clicked and I haven't looked back since! Merry Christmas 🎄
why Renoise can't bring pianoRoll like in Ableton or FLStudio? =(( it's actualy ruined tracker music today=( but we all need for tracker music today for mobile games
I have been using "tracker" software since the Amiga 600 days lol... Renoise is so powerful and very much underrated.. Its not perfect but I could not be without it.
Nice thats a good old stint on the trackers from you my friend! From my understanding, Renoise has incorporated all of the best bits from the old Protracker, Octamed days. I had barely even heard of trackers before I found Renoise about 4/5 years about and now I'm deep down the rabbit hole. They are entirely challenging in lots of different ways but really enjoyable to work in. Making music in other DAWs like logic always felt more like a chore, espeically when you get to the tough stages of a track where you have to push through.
@@groovining I use to use both Protracker and Octamed and both had major limitations.. Protracker only had 4 channels and these were, by default, panned hard left and right (2 left 2 right) octamed had a max of 8 channels but the same applied with that so you had to work around that issue. Then there was the sample quality and memory issues lol.. Renoise has zero limitations from what I can tell I've been using it for many years now.. I trid other DAWs but I always end up back on Renoise. This side of music production was something else I wanted to cover in come videos too but i need a mic for my laptop. The little intro tune on one of my recent videos was done with renoise.. just a little something i did for my videos but I do also right music for EzRecordings under the alieses "NDE", "Echo Shore", and "D'Blaze" Its nice to see others using renoise and teaching others about it too. Keep up the great work!
@@zenobibonsai Thanks ZenObi, I appreciate the kind words! I liked your track also, is that the ninja steppy one! very cool :) I can kinda hear Renoise in the drum work actually which is interesting. Excellent mate, ill check out some of your music also. Keep well dude ✌
Yea it's really cool. You can turn plugins on/off per step, do all kinds of crazy things. It is possible in other DAWs but not nearly as accessible and fun to use. In some ways, it works for Redux as you can do the step automation for the Tracker FXs. However, you can't do this for plugins (not even native ones) as Redux works slightly differently. I use Redux occasionally but Renoise syncs very well to Logic X with Rewire so I tend to go that route. ✌
@@groovining Thanks for clarifying! Ableton is still the main core of my workflow, so I decided it was enough for me to go with Redux, but apparently I’m missing out quite a lot! 😅 Cheers mate, love your videos👋
Been making tracks in SunVox the last couple months, its really similar to renoise but its open source and will run on anything from a $3000 windows 10 production powerhouse to a Windows ME PDA, to my crap HP laptop that i had to install linux to because it cant handle windows 10 at all. Only downside is that theres no reverse command, but i just make another sample thats already reversed and trigger that as a work around
I've never tried SunVox but it looking intresting. People have made epic music on all kinds of programs and software, it just about whatever works for you. I mean look at burial - untrue which was on Soundforge which is essentially an audio editor! I like the way these programs force you to be more creative with the limited tools they provide. ✌️🥷
I love using trackers for the reasons you've stated. Once the clunky muscle-memory and common effects starts to pay off, mouse-heavy environments start to feel clunky.
I Enjoyed this video, also the musical style. Having grown up with trackers, I can't imagine using another DAW than Renoise. Just lately really learning about mixing, mastering and trying to do it all in Renoise, with 99 percent samples as source, I'm having trouble getting my samples in key (note wise) with each other. Any thoughts (other than using an auto-tune effect to mask the problem)?
Hi Fred, I came to trackers from a slightly different angle but haven't looked back since! Yes absolutly, there are a few things I do with my samples. This Plugin is fantastic. You can run it on your master bus and just have it open in the background - mixedinkey.com/studio-edition/ If i'm really struggling to match by ear I will use that. Mute the drums, solo the instruments and find the key of my track and then match the new sample to that key. I assue like most of us tracker heads you have minimal music theory knowledge. One this that really helped me was just understanding a few basic things: One is that if you matching a new sample to your track. Try playing it up and down the keyboard until you find a note that sounds pleasant harmonically with your track. Or at least one that dosen't clash in a jarring way. If you pitch this note up +7, +5 semitones or -7, -5 semitones you will usually find another note that works harmonically with your track. This is basic Circle Of Fifths stuff but essentially pitching up or down by a perfect forth or perfect fifth. Another thing is that some samples are just never going to work with your track. Sometimes in order for a sample to work you have to pitch it up or down +6 or -6 semitones. Things like pads can sound great here, but other samples like vocals can sound very stupid pitched around like that. For me, it's really all about having loads of source samples before you even start producing. I do all of my sample managing before starting a track and rarely look outside the playlist I create once I get to the production stage. Take a huge selection of samples. Pick a core sample for that track, then select other samples that seem to fit the vibe/mood/energy of that main sample. Works for me anyways! ✌️
Note sure if you you saw this tool, but it addresses your last point: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KaV1BUFewHA.html It's also more powerful since it can provide two moving slices of playback (3:21) and it's possible to expand this in future (8:48).
Hey Achenar thanks, I did try that tool in the past but I got some wierd bug with my loop points so ended up deleting it. In hindsight it could have been another tool but I did a big purge! MrZensphere put me onto the Sample Multi Controller which looks great also. I'll give them anbother go. Cheers✌️
I stumbled upon this DAW after looking into how Aphex twin programmed his super complex rhythms for some of the songs off his album Drukqs and I went full force in and decided to pick up the DAW 😊 lol time to leave my Logic comfort zone and become genuinely stressed for a while until I am able to learn what this DAW is able to lead to creativity 🙏
Should have been more specific: Aphex used an outdated software tracker interface (from info I was able to piece together) but renoise stood out online as being the king of modern Tracker DAWs
Yea Renoise is bascially all those old trackers like Protracker and Octamed combined into a modern DAW. Its definitly has a harder learning curve for most people than a DAW like Logic but it also looks a lot more indimidating than it really is. Just stick with it for a few months and you'll see how dope and fun it is to use! ✌️😊
I haven't actually released that track yet. Its was just a WIP that I thought would be a good one to include in the demonstrations for Renoise! One day I will get around to finishing it :) ✌️
@@groovining Ah. Promising start, really digging the angry lows ;) I'm a free tekno guy, this would sound great as jungletek on a 10kw sound system in the middle of a forest somewhere
Redux is great also, If your super comfotable in the DAW your in already then it might be more sutiable for you. The main reasons I don't use Redux are: I love the Renoise workflow, creative box it puts you in. It actually helps me make tracks in a lot of ways as i'm more restricted. Its also FAST when you get it down & 90% keyboard focused. I use quite a few renoise tools like SuperNudge which are essential to my workflow. I love being able to modulate & use step automation in Renoise for all my 3rd party plugins.
Thanks for the insight, much appreciated :) I think I may well give redux a go! Do you have any thoughts on how the Octatrack compares to Redux/Renoise for breakbeat programming? I'm too committed to Ableton to switch DAW completely but have never clicked with making breaky stuff on it so far. I heard Dgohn just uses Ableton's arrangement view (which mindblowing really) but I'm not there yet! @@groovining
The Octatrack is definitely quite similar to Redux/Renoise as it's also a step-sequencer. I have a Digitakt and it's probably the closest thing to Renoise outside of other hardware trackers like The Polyend/M8. The learning curve is probably quite similar for both. However, I do find it a lot easier to make more full arrangements in Renoise than I do in the Digitakt. They're both very creative so I think you'd enjoy any Octatrack/Digitak/Redux/Renoise. @@hf328
Good to know! Leaning towards trying Redux, I've spent a fair bit of time with Elektron boxes and found they're just nowhere near as fast as using a DAW for finishing tracks quickly. A lot of your videos on Renoise are pretty transferrable with Redux right? :) @@groovining
Yea I feel exactly the same thing. The elektron boxes are super creative and amazing for idea generation but very difficult to translate that to finished tracks. Renoise/Redux stuff translate very well but the workflows are slightly different. :) ✌️
Achenar (the voice of the renoise videos) has created a loop marker automation tool that is available. I haven't figured it out yet. Achenar has a channel of his own with a video demonstrating it as well. Have you tried it? These videos are amazing dude, you've taught me so much in little time. Thank you!
Thanks mate, Yea I had a look at that loop marker tool a while back and thought it was too confusing for what I was after. Just basic Loop start vs loop finish modulation would be amazing. Anyways, i'm happy you've been enjoying my vids. Lots more to come this year! Cheers :)
This is literally just the video I was looking for! Seems like transitioning from livecoding wouldn't be too huge of a learning curve, as I'm really sick of the millions of automation choices that exist within DAWs like Bitwig. Thank you for sharing your insight on this, especially with breakcore examples which I'd intend to create once I pick up Renoise as well!
Hey Slime, thanks for the feedback! Absolutly, if your already good with computers and have a decent grasp with coding you'll breeze through Renoise. I talk about this a lots but the best thing about Renoise is the creative box it puts you in. It's so much easier to make decisions when there isn't 1000 of them at every turn. I also love the step automation! Give the demo a go, see how you get on. If you have any problems hit me up for sure!✌️🥷
I just wish there was a way to track a sample from a VST instrument along with the MIDI being played live like you can in Ableton, that's the one big bummer brick wall I've ran into so far... Other than that it's pretty much been the only thing, Renoise is a BEAST!
Yea, there is definitly a few things like that where DAWs like Ableton are superior. I kinda like the limitations of Renoise though. I almost don't want them to update it too much as I enjoyed creativly working around the problems! ✌️🥷
The only thing that intrested me about this was the "trigger slice" thing you show... why it would make time stretches being "trigger slice" I didn't understand.. well I did get the demo and tried this... it doesn't do what you show here at all
You should have mentioned the tools you can download and use within Renoise, made with LUA scripting, I believe. Some of the issues with Renoise are addressed with these tools.
Yea there is definitly some useful tools. I don't actually use that many but there are a couple of essentials I will definitly go over in a future vid! ✌️
What I like about renoise is that it's not bloated with stock sounds which gives you plenty of room to add your own sounds you will actually use in your productions. I like how the stock sampler works, I love how renoise forces me into listening and not been overwhelmed by having to much to look at, it's not heavy on the cpu so it works on just about any computer, when I used to have 4gigs ram I couldn't create much in other daws (limtations, work arounds and crashes), though I could produce full beats in Renoise so I ended up ditching other daws for a longtime. It's ahead of it's time with VST3 working and my other daws playing catch up with that.
I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been there too trying to run projects in Logic on old laptops where the cpu is glitching everything out constantly. It just made being creative so frustrating. Renoise has so many things going for it, it’s also such a satisfying DAW when you get the keyboard workflow down! ✌️
Another feature is that it opens mod and XM-files (and IT) so that you really can open old tracks you find online. Very fascinating to see how these old electronic music was made.
Yea you could definitly do this. I've used the Digitakt to control Renoise in the past. It works very well as a slave & as a Master. Its great at interfacing with midi all round. :)
@@ghal3on Good stuff. One thing that always really helps me at that stage is the first time I listen to the track in the morning, I sit there with a notepad and write/type down all the things I think need improving. Then go about crossing off that list and try not to deviate too far from it. You definitely have the most perspective on a track when you haven't heard it for a while. Works for me anways✌
@@groovining yep great advice. Need to give your ears a rest and listen to things fresh. Was pushing to get as much done with the track as I could this past weekend, now I think it's time to take stock and see where im at. I made an epic amen program on the S950 :) Definitely inspired by your "secret to it all" video. Basically every permutation of an amen you could want
@@ghal3on Oh that sound fucking wicked! That technique takes a while to set up but it's so much fun once you get to the programming stage. I can imagine it sounds great on the s950 also. I'm just starting to develop the next stage of that technique which gets even crazier.
Super informative video, thanks! A quick question, in 9:32 if I understood it correctly you took a snare hit from one of the instruments and made a new instrument, then you used this new instrument in order to pitch up and down the snare... but in the video excerpt where this happens it shows the previous instrument (the whole break) retriggering the snare same slice... what am I missing?
Hey Moloko, thanks for the comment mate :) Yea it does happen a little fast in that clip but I was trying to show the technique in a real track. If you look at 9:24 and pause, you can see I'm triggering the instrument '1F', this is the single snare that is being displayed in the waveform example. I'm using the Sxx command to retrigger the single snare hit at different points from start to end. Then I'm mainly triggering instrument '05' which has got the main break in it. Here I'm using the Sxx command to jump to the different hits which I'm showing in the waveform editor. The real advantage of cutting out a single snare to do this effect is you get a much higher resolution with the Sxx command. You get 256 Hex points on the single snare hit, rather than the entire break. Hope this clears it all up✌
@@groovining yeah, I figured out, I thought that instrument was sliced, haha, but it wasn't, so naturally it can be pitched up and down with different notes. Thanks for clarifying it
The loop modulation will probably not happen because samples can be layered. Which one would receive the loop modulation parameter in that case? Both? The first? A random one? An additional parameter to set that? etc...would be awkward.
Just a parameter that you could map to a Macro would work well for me under the waveform. Theirs loads of space on that bar for extra controls. Being able to map loop end to a midi controller is always fun! ✌️
Renoise has so many missing features vs other daws that it's becoming a hindrence. I only use it because I haven't mastered other daws quite yet. Future updates? *laughs in swedish*
Ha! I agree some updates would be amazing. I still love the DAW tho. It's actually those missing features and restrictions that I like. It puts you in a creative box which can actually make things a lot easier. ✌️🥷
@@groovining I do also love it but there are so many small things that make getting what you want a bit difficult, the metronome is terrible, changing time signatures is difficult, I still don’t have a grasp on the hex numbering even after I’ve been using it for 10 years, I have to look at a chart to know which base 10 number I’m actually getting when panning, setting velocity etc, strumming is difficult (the script found is not great), humanizing is slow, the track delay maximum setting is -100 to +100 which is not enough for big boy sample library use, u-he synth settings are not saved (reported years ago), I could go on. It’s ok for strictly electronic music use with synths but when you add recorded instruments/sample libraries in the mix, it gets tough
Yea for sure. I agree with all of these points. Its really like a oldschool sampler with a tracker sequencer attached. Actually really similar to my Emu e5000 ultra. It's Ace for chopping breaks & sampling/resampling so I try to use it for its strengths rather than fight it programming complex chords sequences etc. Maybe similar to how you would use the Digitakt or Octatrack. ✌️🥷
That's a cool pair of DAWs. I've heard great things about Reaper. Renoise can definitely be difficult to mix in. If you've taken the time to learn another tool like Reaper, then absolutely use it to improve your workflow. That's what it's all about at the end of the day! :)
Highly dubious of Renoise in any of it's application to any music production, as all of my stuff is - SHIT. R2.8 is a cantankerous software package that eludes me constantly, i use possibly 10% of the features onboard. HeLL, i didn't even know that 'Redux plugin' existed. Recently i have tried R2.8 as a midi input device with a keyboard controller jacked into the laptop. I only use 64 lines per page generally, and the note resolution associated with that, is horrible. @16th intervals only. And yes, i am going to have to go to 128 lines per page, for better results. FmL. So many music production methods out there, that i don't know what to do. Actually - this vid you have made, mate, is totally on point top dollar awesome relatable overview. Great work. BTW: R2.8 for Lyfe !!! : )
I love working at 16th-note intervals (LPB 4). You can be sneaky and do 32nd notes by having two notes on the same line, one delayed by 80. You can even achieve 64th notes in the same way 00,40,80,C0. 8/16LPB is hard to follow what's going on. Like you're in the Matrix! Anyways, thanks for your comment man, glad you enjoyed the vid! :)
@@groovining Yeh amaze-ed! no doubt, Renoise is a quick DAW production vehicle, yet i still use things like ctrL + C commands etc.. just sayin'. There should be more Music production in person, Night School Tutorials, available - and available to keen to learn types.
@@groovining Quick tip: theres a tool called "Place selected notes evenly", in the case of this 4lpb workflow you can just add notes and decide how many notes you want to fit in the beat, then you select them and it automatically sets the right delay times!
@@croay Thanks Moloko, that's actually really handy for triplets and things like that. I'll def check it out! Also saw this tool quite recently which is doing similar things - www.renoise.com/tools/reform
Its only scary in the beginning. For lots of people it actually has quite a quick learning curve. If you ever need some 1-1 help feel free to hit me up! :)
I agree I would love to see them give it some new life with updates etc. Its still my favourite DAW even as it stands but Bitwig/Ableton etc. get some many new features all the time :(
@@groovining I had the time wrong, actually about 8:20. you have an image top left, obviously clip art you grabbed from someplace, if you dont know what I'm talking about. It is a screen capture of linux terminal. On the left is a program called htop. I was asking what is the program or programs to its right. I was hoping that you had grabbed the screen capture, thus would know what the programs were.
@@RoastLambShanks Ah I see, I have no idea actually. I think I just typed in 'Terminal coding video' into youtube to find the results. I've never used Linux :)
@@RoastLambShanksimmediately to the right of htop on the top is the output of somebody installing packages with apt (processing triggers for ***) and the one below it is just a simulation of the matrix code for terminal emulators.
@@bubaondesign Look amazing! I'm literally just working on a technique for my next vid that this would be perfect for! I'm doing something very similar. Proper Renoise style break swapping madness.✌
I got the demo version to linux to try and see if I liked it enough to buy it. Turns out they disabled ALSA in the demo version. That is a super shitty thing to do! How am I suppose to test the damn thing without ALSA? They could just provide a fully functional 3 days demo. Any way I deleted the demo and will never touch this thing. Reaper for life and as far as trackers are concerned there are too many of them out there to use instead of a software that literally spits on their users with a non-functional shitty demo release.
I never used Open MPT but Renoise looks far superior in terms of UI, Modulation, Automation. Midi Sequencing etc. Yes its paid but its the best of all those old trackers like Protracker, OctaMed :)
This rain noise technically is not a Daw this is a Tracker only going to get a niche audience that would want to do that because like you said trackers are intimidating most people are going to look for something easy to get into with lots of resources for help on tutorials
Yea trackers will always be niche as the learning curve is more difficult and they are much less visual that other DAWs. Even so, many people I speak to love them & how creative they are to work in. Most of all I just find Renoise fun to make tunes in! ✌️
@@groovining I definitely understand what you're saying cuz I mean I use trackers myself I use open MTP and delfa mask in gems how to make chiptunes and sometimes drum and bass and jungle but like I said for a person wanting to learn there's not a ton of resources online to teach you how to use the software you're more than likely to find Ableton Live or FL Studio tutorial which I use FL Studio as well too but cuz it is definitely more user-friendly and easier
