In Renoise 3, it seems that MIDI start/stop (to start/stop an external drum machine, etc.) is not sent when you perform a realtime render.
• Steps to reproduce
Connect some gear that requires a MIDI start/stop message (Elektron Machinedrum or Rytm, for example). Make sure send MIDI clock and send start/stop are checked in MIDI preferences, then render song/pattern. No start/stop message is sent.
• Expected results
When the song starts, the drum machines starts with a MIDI start message.
• Actual results
The drum machine just watches as the rest of the song is rendered. : )
Just double-checked and MIDI clock is sent by Renoise also when real-time rendering (but !only! when real-time rendering, not when offline rendering). Verified this with an external MIDI monitor on Windows too. Which OS are you using: Windows, OSX, Linux? Can you give us a few more details here?
@bbarham: not sure what you mean here. ReWire does not use MIDI clock? Please give us a few more details of what exactly does not work for you.
I’m running OSX, 3.01 version for 32-bit. After thinking about this for a while, it seems separate from the original topic.
A setup I tried recently was initiating Reaper as a Rewire slave and then sending the MIDI note data from Reaper (acting as a sequencer) back into Renoise (acting as a VST host and mixer). I was using Rewire for transport sync and Renoise MIDI device for notes. MIDI channel input is specified on the instrument level and routed to it’s own track. Plug-in audio channels are also routed to those tracks. I’ve also got the Rewire device in Renoise on it’s own track, but I’m not using any audio from Reaper. This worked well (stable clock, synchronized transport control, loop points) up until I tested a render and got an empty file. My initial assumption was that Reaper wasn’t getting clock or sync during the render. I had it in the background and don’t know why I didn’t bother to check.
I just tested again and I can see that Rewire transport sync is sent and received. I also see the notes incoming from Reaper in the Renoise MIDI monitor, but the rendered file still comes out empty. Maybe instruments see but don’t process MIDI from external sources during render? This makes sense as you wouldn’t want accidental input from a keyboard or controller to mess up a render.
My solution was to just record all the MIDI data into Renoise and finish there.
Just double-checked and MIDI clock is sent by Renoise also when real-time rendering (but !only! when real-time rendering, not when offline rendering). Verified this with an external MIDI monitor on Windows too. Which OS are you using: Windows, OSX, Linux? Can you give us a few more details here?
Thanks for following up!
Yes, MIDI clock is sent, but not MIDI Start/Stop messages.
An external MIDI device that has an on-board sequencer (such as the Elektron boxes) needs the start/stop message in addition to clock.