Instrument Sample Layering

I’ve been wanting to layer my samples a lot lately, especially snares and kicks. Something that i would LOVE, and really improve my workflow, would be the option to be able to trigger multiple samples with one key on the keyboard. Like, in the instrument editor window, allowing you to map multiple samples onto 1 key. nothing ridiculous, but maybe like 4 or 5 samples per key. This would be great for people trying to layer drums (i.e. drum n bass, hip hop, dubstep, breakbeat, breakcore, etc.) as well as making complex pads with multiple samples.

If you can already do this in renoise and im just an idiot, PLEASE let me know, my life would be complete!

no, you cannot do this in the current version (1.9).

yes, this is already in our to-do list.

YES! so its coming up! i dont check the to-do list or know where i can view it, so thanks for letting me know! :D

I don’t understand how this is possible on a computer keyboard with no touch sensitivity or velocity information? Do you mean each time you press a key it cycles through 4 different samples?

A little perplexed here. :blink:

This is just simple triggering, right? Press one key - several samples fire at once.

I look forward to this.

+1 :dribble:

+1+multiple VSTs … also, one instrument triggering many instruments would be cool.

What we really need though, is a redesign of the instrument/sample concept. Instead of loading samples redundantly into instruments, they should be a separate construct. The instruments should simply reference them. This way, you not only reduce filesize, but you also allow for things like having multiple LFOs/Envelopes on the same sample. If you implemented this with optional user definable sample offsets, you could create multiple versions of one drum kit from a single stored break. The possibilities start to look endless when you start thinking about this kinda thing in a more modular way.

Would then the linked samples load into memory or run off disk?

yeah, then you can really go nuts with complex sound design in a much easier way. You could set up each instrument so that all the samples are triggered when you press a key, or you could choose for renoise to only trigger certain samples based on velocity values.

If one could apply envelopes to each sample in the instrument individually, you could have some samples trigger after other samples, as well as have some samples loop while others play through once!

good times!

+1 mr byte smasher. Im keen to see renoise get more modular :)

A sample pool is planned :)

++

Yeah, this is essential stuff.

A modular instrument editor would likely be my #1 vote.

Any improvements are welcome, but for the time being, why not just create two tracks and put a sound on each track.

I think triggering more than one sample at a time from a single instrument would be very restrictive, as it would not allow you to effect each sound seperately… If you want to really go to town on your drums, you want to be able to use seperate compression rates and effects on each layer…

This would require major routing juggling if you want to do it with the two samples firing from the same track

Perhaps this could be included in a similar fashion to allow master envelopes and master tune button for multiple clips like suggested here and here (?)

Just make it possible to trigger the samples from the parenting instrument… “or the master values holder”

a picture from my suggestion topic:

the instrument 00 works as the master instrument and holds the envelopes for all its childern clips - as well as the clips themselves.

+1

this kind of option would be awesome for creating dNb basses etc… slightly detuning the samples and layering sounds…

The idea was to have a device chain for every element of your instrument.

Like I briefly showed here.

Have a look at that picture.
Every element inside the the 06 instrument you see extracted there have a device chain.
The master device chain (as you see on that picture) you will see when you highlight the top (parent) slot of that instrument. You then see the ‘master device’\Instrument properties for the entire instrument.
This master is sticked and always visible (but you can collapse it) as long as you browse any part of the instrument.
If you highlight a sample in the list, then another device chain will be shown at the bottom. You will of course see the sample properties ‘device’. And here you can add any type of device for this single sample.

You can also add a instrument inside the instrument. Then you will see a new ‘master device’ for this instrument inside the main instrument etc.
It’s a fully flexible and modular system. You can add as many envelopes or fx or lfo etc that you want for each element.

took a look at that pic pysj, and i just want to say that when you implement this feature, you have my money for life! i love renoise now, but i can only imagine how amazing 3.0 will be!

also, vadarphone - thats how i layer samples now, and it works great, but sometimes i find myself wishing i could layer multiple samples to one instrument. whether it be drums, pads, synths, whatever. It makes more sense to me, and its much more useable (i.e. i can play my new snare on the keyboard instead of having to make a pattern).

i hear what yoursaying though, and for breaks, its what i currently do.

Cool man. Yeah I guess it would be good to be able to play what you have layered…

Maybe some sort of way to highlight a bunch of instruments and assign them to a key in a new meta-instrument would be good.

That was the plan :)

You just select your instrument and drag/drop them into a new one. While dragging you choose with modifier keys if you gonna make shortcuts or if you wanna copy these instrument into the new instrument.