Renoise is still the best for expressive sequencing — do you agree?

General Discussion
1

I’m one of those eternally torn Logic/Renoise users, now seriously considering switching back to Renoise full-time. (Okay, maybe not 100% — I still need audio tracks, but you get the idea.)

It makes me wonder:

How do people actually put feeling into their music these days?

I’m not talking about vocals or live acoustic instruments, but things like basslines, synth leads, layered pads… all the subtle stuff. :musical_keyboard:

When it comes to note glide, vibrato, precise timing — I haven’t seen anything that rivals Renoise. Maybe there are alternatives, but they sure aren’t easy to use. Don’t get me started on MIDI. (Unless you’re amazing at live playing you would love the MIDI Seaboard keyboard).

Sure, there are tons of things I wish Renoise had. But in the end, I keep coming back to what really matters in music: expression.

That’s what Renoise gives me.

Personally, I still miss ReWire — and I really hope Renoise adds solid Ableton Link support (transport sync etc). Redux also has its problems. And Logic’s handling of program changes? I still don’t understand some things… :man_facepalming:

For what it’s worth, I even started developing my own AU plug-in — a minimalist tracker-style sequencer. With AI in the mix, it might actually be done within a couple of years. :partying_face: I’m happy to share more about that if anyone’s curious — and hey, I’ll even throw in some free ideas for the Renoise devs while I’m at it.

I know, I probably don’t sound like the happiest Renoise user… But really, I’m just hard to please in general — no hard feelings! I am an optimist. Until the glorious days I’m bouncing between the two DAWs, when necessary, and having fun along the way.

Anyone else made a return to Renoise after years with another DAW?

2

Can you explain please?

3

I’ve really tried to get into Redux — probably a hundred times — but it just doesn’t click for me.
1. Redux isn’t really a “Renoise VST/AU,” unfortunately. It’s an instrument. So if I just want to add a little glide to the bassline, I have to keymap it to another slot instead of having it composition-ready inside the plugin.
2. Unless you’re actively typing, you’d expect the SPACE bar to still control your DAW’s transport — but with Redux, it doesn’t. So if you want to listen in context (which is kind of the whole point of using a plugin), you constantly have to toggle focus between your DAW and Redux.
3. Program changes don’t work — probably a Logic issue — but the keymap editor is barely visible. And that’s basically the only way to work with Redux.

4

Try to load samples from HDD or SSD in a fraction of time…impossible

For the rest,Redux is an evoluted sampler…A VST…It’s not Renoise

Renoise have ‘Ableton link’…And MIDI can do the work if you don’t change BPM in realtime

5

Not sure what you meant by the sample loading part — I wasn’t really referring to disk speed or anything like that. My frustration is more about the overall workflow in Redux.

I get that it’s not meant to be “Renoise-in-a-box,” but for someone used to the speed and immediacy of Renoise’s sampler and real-time editing, Redux can feel a bit too detached — especially when even basic things like glide or program switching require extra setup steps.

6

A program doesn’t contain intransic samples?

7

For glide there is modulations and velocity tracker

8

Maybe you misunderstood. I meant program changes in the MIDI sense, like switching between mapped phrases in Redux using external automation.

Not loading new samples, of course — just changing what’s already been set up in the keymap. That’s what I was hoping to do smoothly from Logic, but it doesn’t seem to respond properly.

Yeah, I get that modulation can simulate glide in some cases — but I’m specifically talking about note-to-note glide, like a Gxx-style pitch slide between two notes in Renoise.

That kind of glide is super easy to program directly in Renoise, but in Redux you have to keymap multiple versions or manually automate pitch bend — which isn’t the same thing and kind of breaks the flow when writing melodies or basslines.

9

I think you beat me on that point…

A more experienced user will help you

10

Right — and I appreciate you trying to understand my POV.

But yeah, to simplify it: I’m talking about musical expression inside the Phrase Editor — not macro routing or DSP chains per se.

If I want to switch phrases (to get a glide, variation, or articulation), and I have to set up program changes and keymap every tiny change manually — it breaks the flow completely.

At that point, I might as well just use Renoise, where all of that is built in and designed for that kind of compositional spontaneity.

11

You just want full tracking possibilities on the phrase editor

Renoise + Ableton link

12

I personally haven’t found Ableton Link useful. No transport sync, no sample-accurate start/stop. I still miss that level of integration — and this has been discussed in other threads as well.

Redux has its strengths, sure. But when it takes a full keymap remap just to add a subtle glide or articulation, I lose the spontaneity. That’s really what I meant when I said: it just doesn’t click for me.

If you’ve found value in Link or Redux, I’m genuinely happy for you.

Anyway — to circle back to the actual question of this thread:

How do people today manage to inject feeling into their electronic productions — especially without relying on live instruments or vocals?

To me, it comes down to things like note-to-note glide, precise vibrato, sample-level timing, per-note articulation.

Stuff that’s compositional, not just mix-based.

And that’s why I keep coming back to Renoise — because it lets me do all of that, fast, and without workarounds.

Thanks again — and if you’ve ever come back to Renoise after years in another DAW, I’d still love to hear why.

I did it for one reason: musical expression.

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13

So you like this style :
Moby - Mobyle | ProTracker :slightly_smiling_face:

14

Oh, love it :heart_eyes_cat:

This is what I’m talking about, part the reason why I started the topic was to ask how people do this stuff without a tracker. Or maybe today’s music isn’t about musical expression, then I understand the lack of alternatives.

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15

You are more a musician than a technician…

I am 100% sure that you play a musical instrument

16

There are alternatives but most of them are quite unintuitive because arpeggios, vibrations, and note slides are treated as three different workflows or plugins in three different place for linear daw instead of three different fx commands under the same column. For me, who know how to read and use Notation, really feel like the following:

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The only exception though, is MPE which they have a slightly easier way to do per note expression; however, even MPE exists, at least the YouTuber I know who use MPE or make Orchestral Music, they only record their performances from their keyboard with recording their mod wheels and pitch bend, instead of actually programming it.

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17

This is about crafting an artificial performance — and whether you play an instrument or not, tracker effects remain the easiest way to do it.

It’s baffling that in 2025, there are still no solid alternatives to Renoise for this kind of control.

18

“Three different workflows” — lol, no comment! :rofl: Totally agree though — MPE is a possible alternative, but the Seaboard is just way too expensive. Honestly, what we did in the early 90s was (and still is) way easier than anything MIDI will ever manage.

Maybe it all comes down to style — when people start wanting that kind of music again, the demand for modern tools that actually support it will probably rise too.

19

I’m not playing an instrument…So I assure than that I’ve less sensibility for expressivity…

I know that…Seriously

My soul feel the expressivity…But can not see it clearly

For a musician it’s easier

But via code and with good rules,this problem could go away

20

That’s exactly why I think tracker effects are such a powerful tool — especially for those who don’t play an instrument but still have music inside them.

You don’t need finger dexterity to express feeling — just control over time, pitch and motion. And trackers give you that in a way no piano roll ever really has.

So in a way, it’s not less expressivity — it’s just a different kind. More like composing emotion, step by step.

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