Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I’ve wanted to know this practically since I bought Renoise. In my songs, I like my patterns to be 128 lines, instead of the default of 64. This means every time I start a new song, I have to change the number of lines in the initial pattern to 128, then go into “Song Options” and change “Default Pattern Length” to 128. I’d like to be able to change the pattern length of every new song by default to 128, but so far, I haven’t seen an option to do so in Renoise. Is there such an option or setting that allows me to do this?
If not, it’s no big deal. Changing the pattern length for every new song is just a bit tedious, that’s all.
Just adjust your desired settings and save it as a Template Song and your settings will remain every time you start Renoise. This will not only work with the pattern length, it also works with any other setting, such like open folders, BPM, LPB, the chosen octave and so on. See also here. “Save As Template Song” ist what you need.
Yes creating templates is a great practice anyway. Aside from setting the pattern length, you can do things like have all your favorite instruments pre-loaded into slots, track groupings, custom buss tracks, etc. Anything that you do over and over when you’re creating, it makes sense to create a template for it.
I almost always start with a small number of super useful VSTs like a 909, an acoustic drum kit, Roli Studio Player, Vital synth, and Spitfire Labs as I sketch out the bones of a song, so I just have those pre-loaded in my template. I also have a track group for Drums so I can choose to apply effects to all drums or the individual tracks. Similarly, I have a Melodics group for all tone-carrying tracks like bass, leads, pads, etc.
Your approach will be unique to you, but you’ll probably find that it helps you get started on track quicker.