I’m creating this thread as a living collection of ideas and suggestions aimed at improving the Renoise interface. Over years of use, I’ve developed certain workflows, as well as run into recurring friction points that often require workarounds or extra attention.
The focus here isn’t on radical redesigns, but rather on targeted enhancements that could make the interface clearer, faster, and more comfortable — without compromising the tracker philosophy.
I’ll be posting thoughts and mockups as they come. Anyone is welcome to join in — feel free to share your own observations or expand on the ideas below.
my first 5 cent
Optimized Effect/Processor Selection
The idea is to streamline the effect/processor selection interface: more compact, visually clear, and faster to use.
This concept integrates the automation editor with an oscilloscope — something I have wished for in Renoise for a long time.
The goal is to visually align automation changes with the actual waveform , in real-time.
This would be especially useful for working with short percussive elements, filter modulations, or any parameter-sensitive material — allowing for more accurate keyframe placement and easier fine-tuning of behavior.
It bridges the gap between what we “draw” and what we “hear”, making sound shaping more precise and intuitive.
Modulation target destinations. Ie, being able to point one lfo (or stepper etc) at another modulation device parameter directly within modulation sets. Bypassing the need for macro automation hacking for complex native sound design
The internal EQs could optionally just “hijack” the main analyzer, at EQ output. Not only the EQs, but simply all DSP processors.
The awesome, unique feature analyzer of Renoise could simply be used more efficiently. So it offers a mode “show difference of focused processor”, one graph shows then the input/pre-signal of the focused dsp, and one graph the output/post-signal. Seems to me an extremely low hanging fruit, too. Alpha blending would be helpful here though. Or a combination of a filled back layer and a line-only front layer. Front layer the post/output signal.
A shortcut for EQ mode switching, or even some automatism, might be nice then, too. Maybe a shortcut for the analyzer or selected dsp “show difference of focused processor until unfocus” or something. And a context menu entry.
…If you think about it, this could be an even more helpful/effective tool than the analyzers of the usual suspects, e.g. Pro-Q, Melda EQ etc. Since here the analyzer is not polluted with an overlayed EQ curve at all → Better visuality, better focus on what actually changes.
FYI, my tool command_palette implements something like this for dsp devices, plugins, and a lot more aspects of Renoise (like moving around, renaming, setting lengths and values and so on).
You can also close the default search panel on the left to get the interface cleaner.
