Render Song to Disk suggested additions

Ok. My suggestion is very humble. And got nothing to do with adding vertical audio tracks or importing into .XM and the like :D

  1. Under File…Render Song to Disk/Wave
    Please add the option to render into MONO wave so that user can select between Stereo and Mono
    Unless I am missing something basic, I can not find a MONO Option.
  2. Please consider adding to the Render Song to Disk/Wave window the list of tracks to select from to render to wave.
    Default should be All Tracks Selected. User can deselect tracks not to be rendered.
  3. Right now we have the option to Write Tracks into Separate Files
    Should not this be: Write INSTRUMENTS into Separate Files?
    This will emphasize that the individual files written are guaranteed to have one instrument per file INSTEAD of a track per file.
    Thanks for the great work.

+1 for all of that.

Everything in Renoise is processed in stereo, even if you make it sound like mono through the use of DSP effects or something similar.

However, we could potentially add a mono rendering option, as a convenience for those who really need it, with the basic mono mix and L/R options to choose from.

Currently, Renoise only renders tracks that are physically enabled in your song. If you solo Track 1 before rendering, then only Track 1 will be rendered (assuming that it contains any sounds).

Having this in the render dialog could be interesting, but it could also become quite clumsy on larger songs that have tons of tracks. Would need some careful planning.

What if you have 3 instruments playing on the same track, and the track itself also has some complex DSP effects? Should each rendered instrument .wav also contain the DSP effects, which would result in doubled up (well, tripled up in this example) effects? Its quite tricky to know exactly how these type of situations should be handled.

The solution here seems quite simple, though: If you WANT a separate .wav rendered for every instrument in your song, then simply arrange your song so that each instrument lives on its own dedicated track, and then the current “Write Tracks into Separate Files” option does exactly what you need, doesn’t it?

These are bizarre requests.

Mixer effects operate on the track level, this would mean that the resulting stems sound quite different from what you’re hearing in renoise.

What’s the point of rendering to mono? This is weird on two levels - if you’re song is entirely mono (or there’s a stereo-to-mono effect on the master), the worst thing that happens is that you have a file that’s 2x the space. On modern hard drives, this is negligible. But if the disk space is that important, a stereo-to-mono operation is trivial in any sound editor like audacity (you could even use the renoise sample editor in a pinch).

From a convenience perspective, implementation of “convenience features” should really be optimize towards things that are utilized the most frequently. An operation that is done once per completed song is not the right place to direct “for-convenience” efforts.

I deal mainly with mono waves as do many people who work in multitrack waves. The unit of such waves are mono tracks. The files I render in Renoise go to a multitrack wave in Sound Forge for example or Sony Vegas or straight to an AC3/DTS encoder. These tracks are almost always mono.
Right now, I render tracks I need to render, and I always open them in a sound editor and make them into mono.
So, what is rendered in Renoise is a step toward a finished product. And MONO files are indeed important. Not because as another poster suggested that I am worried about disk space hhehehehehe but because they are the units of what becomes a multitrack wave and/or units of what goes into AC3/DTS/DTS HD encoder. In my line of business, and many others too, I think of a track as mono unit because I have multitrack waves on my mind. So, Renoise is a first step. Then comes the wave work on audio tracks in other editors, or as I mentioned, these waves go straight to a surround encoder. So, it would be highly appreciated if this is indeed considered as an addition. And as is the case, almost every audio program has MONO as an option. With me and with many others, the option has a strong business case.

I know that only enabled tracks are rendered. My suggestion is about not worrying about what is enabled or not.
It is just a difference in the way I view this business of rendering. I may need to test the audio in a wav file. So I render and I go straight to a sound editor and I do not have to worry about what is enabled or not. So, to me the issue of what is enabled or not is separate from the business of rendering.
So, it is a matter of perspective. You are right, and I am right too :))))
MadTracker 2 has a nice wave export window where user can select tracks. Default is to have them all selected. Usually there are two buttons: Select All, and Deselect All. MadTracker dialog has a scroll window for this purpose.
Since we are both right, I leave it to the good judgement of the developers.

You are right on this count. This suggestion in particular has a general value in my mind. I do think in terms of instruments not tracks, and I almost always work with one instrument per track except in cases where I need to do otherwise.

Anyway, thanks for your response.
Thanks for such a great and beautiful work. Indeed, I am impressed.
And great wishes to you and all and happy new approaching year.
Maan

Bizzare? My suggestions have to do with the flow of work. I work with multitrack waves and each one of them has at least 6 tracks. Each track comes from different sources and all mixed to mono. Sometimes I do need Renoise to render to stereo. Most times I need it in mono. So do many people who operate in the multitrack wave business and HD Surround environment.
My first two suggestions are not bizzare at all. Mono option, and ability to select tracks to render regardless of what tracks are enabled or not.
As to the third one, I see dblue point.

You may render once. Many people render many times to test and mix in a sound or Video editor.
You are assuming many things about what people use Renoise for.
Renoise to me is a first step toward a 3 or 4-step project.
It is the initial building block. And at this it does an excellent job.
And each step has its programs.
So, yes these suggestions have to do with convenience of course. Convenience to the user in a real work environment.