Clip launching, like in Ableton Live? Wow, there has been a lot of discussion (and opinions) about this.
Well, sorry folks, but if you ask me - a lot of the functionality is already there. I’ve been setting up a workflow lately that works wonders for me.
I have a MIDI controller, which is of course a big advantage when we’re talking about clip launching. Every self-respecting Live user has one, but professional MIDI integration just started in recent versions of Renoise. But it’s never the features, it’s how you work them, no?
List of ingredients:
Grid controller : this is the type of controller you want for this. Ohm64, monome, launchpad, that type of gear. You’ll get really busy using mouse and keyboard, but it’s possible too, of course.
Pattern matrix. This is what the focus should be on, not the pattern editor. If you are not comfortable working in the matrix, I suggest you experiment some, read tutorials etc. Basically, you would want to create a custom mapping of the matrix, and save it to disk so you can just import the mapping into any song.
Next up, lots of action - you need to have some really good stuff going in your song. Music is subjective, but the ideal thing would be to be thinking an 8-track structure - it’s a magic number for grid controllers. But also, it’s a good idea to think about the possible combinations that the sounds represent.
Technique:
Looped segment: what you want here, is a beat-synchronized sample that fit whatever tempo you are running. You write the note into the pattern, and add the 0500 command to it (it’s the “slide” command). Now, the sample just keeps playing onward, even if you are looping the pattern over and over again. To stop it you hit “mute” for the relevant slot *
One-shot segment: exactly like above, but with an un-looped sample - obviously, this will cause the sample to stop somewhen.
Repeating one-shot segments: it is also possible to trigger a sound every second or third time! Basically it involves setting the instrument fadeout value to something sufficiently small (smaller value == longer fadeout time), and with a bit of looped silence in the end of the sample. When the 0500 command is reached, and the instrument is still playing (check the instrument editor), it will not get retriggered. So, it’s basically a question of finding the right fadeout time. Every second pattern @124bpm/8lpb is a fadeout value of approx. 44, but you need to experiment to get it right. Also, it’s not working for continuous stuff like beats, because it involves a gradual volume fade - but it’s fine with one-shot samples.
- to switch off multiple pre-planned tracks, you can navigate into a different song position - just a moment in this position, and then back is enough. The track mutes still take effect, and the result that the desired tracks were silenced. So you can “configure” the track mute you want, and WHOOSH!! briefly enter that position and go back
I really should make a video, but I’m too lazy for that. Questions, post them.
