Baby steps, speak slowly and avoid jargon - using hardware with reason

A little help for a noob, please! I’d describe my general production knowledge as barely intermediate so do be kind.

I find hardware synths and other instruments a lot easier to create with. I’m also trying to evolve my music in to something I can take perform live.

Where I’m at now

When I’m writing with most external instruments like synths I plug them straight in to my audio interface, press play on Renoise (either a backing track or metronome) and record straight, uneffected audio in the sample section. I chop up the sample as needed and paste it in to the tracker. This gets a bit trickier with sequenced synths because pressing play on renoise and the synth at the same time sounds a bit more difficult that it sounds. But all in all it works pretty well for sequencing etc.

What (I think) I would like to do

I’m pretty sure there is no way that I can “record” all the automation I would like to in Renoise when fiddling with the knobs of an Arturia Minibrute (for example). But can Renoise trigger the note on, note off midi commands while I use the moduklation on the synth, and record the audio? Or am I overthinking this? Is tehre an easier way?

Help appreciated. Thanks

Triggering notes and then fiddling with knobs and then recording is how I occasionally work.You just need to set up the Instrument’s MIDI tab to do that… just set the output device and away you go.

You could record most of the automation you wanted using the “Instr. MIDI Control” device but you’d need to map other knobs on say a MIDI controller to control your synth and record automation (or just put the automation in using Renoise) You’ll need to know what CC controls what on your synth to do this though. I’m not sure the Minibrute can be controlled in this manner though. Check the manual.