Here’s a tool that makes it easier to create sequences for instrument envelopes using a pattern sequencer style interface. I find the existing instrument envelopes interface a bit fiddly to create sequences so I made this which puts the essential controls on one screen and lets you do extra stuff like note lengths.
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Usage
Use the piano roll to enter your notes. Underneath this are a set of sliders and dials.
Adjust the note lengths using the horizontal slider.
Adjust volume for each step using the dials.
Adjust filter cutoff using the fat vertical slider.
Adjust filter resonance using the thin vertical slider.
Filter envelope follower: Use the large dial to adust the intensity and the xypad to set attack and release settings. Horizontal axis controls attack and the vertical axis controls release for the envelop follower.
New - Adjust all steps: Use the four dials to change the levels of all steps for Note Length, Volume, Cutoff and Resonance.
I’ve updated the tool to v0.2 - fixed a few bugs and added it to the instrument context menu.
Renoise instrument envelopes are quite powerful, more so if you use them as a sequencer. Each time you play a key the envelope runs in its own independent time line and this lets you do crazy polyrythmic stuff and arps if you play staggered notes.
(On a side note what would be really cool is if the devs ditched the current instrument envelopes editor and replaced it with the main pattern editor and therefore allowing you to trigger instruments as if they were clips etc, you could also have DSP effects and remove the need to have separate filters and effects in the envelope)
Twisting knobs in Resynth ( http://www.renoise.com/tools/resynth ) also manipulates the Instrument Settings, maybe you can look at the code and implement some of the envelope lengthening bits into reseq?
I generally like to work directly with the pattern editor to apply effects like these, but this tool does make it easier to loop a section and make little changes here and there.
Do you think it would be possible to write the data contained in your tool to pattern effect commands?
For me, keeping everything on the pattern data page seems less abstract, but the tool is handy to create the sequence in the first place.
I’m thinking that the envelope offset would be a perfect companion. You could then “loop” any part of the programmed sequence while triggering any note?
Oh yeah, cool, I didn’t know it did that I just had a play and it looks like exactly what this needs, filter envelopes sound tasty! Adding that is next on my list, thanks for the heads up!
I couldn’t do it entirely as instrument envelope filters are not automatable so the only things you could write to patterns would be notes and volumes, but then it would take it out of the scope of what this tool is all about. Besides if I did that I would be creating a piano roll interface for the pattern editor and well… that would be going against tradition wouldn’t it?
Maybe one day but for now I want to concentrate on the instrument envelopes as sequencer concept.
Exactly!
Actually to make it easier to use the Exx command I have updated the tool to include a text strip that shows the command value for each step. See the screenshot in the first post.
A nice different approach to envelope sequencing… I like the filter adjustment addition… something i didn’t considered myself
I do miss indicators of note-height.
Also you might be able to steal some “fetch from track/column” tricks from my envelope sequencer in Epic Arpeggiator and some preset saving:
Updated to v0.4 - Added controls for the envelope follower. Use the large dial to adust the intensity and the xypad to set attack and release settings. Horizontal axis controls attack and the vertical axis controls release for the envelop follower.
You can also set the instrument filter from the tool now. See first post for download.
EA saves presets in own XML files, i made a dumb decision to save them inside the tool folder itself. If you create a folder outside the tool-folder and save them there, they will be unharmed when your tool is being updated from the tools site.
(all contents of the tool folder are erased before the new tool is installed, this also means loosing custom files that had been created by the tool)
This tool is awesome! If it were possible to write different envelopes for each sample in an instrument, I would totally use this. I’m actually still not quite sure why it’s only one set of envelopes per instrument. I would suggest adding it to the context menu in the envelope editor.
Don’t be silly. This is what a large number of people want. It is highly requested.
