Rpg - The Renoise Phrase Generator

Renoise Tool Development Renoise XML Fileformats & Tools
1

Ok,

so after I got inspired by the excellent Track Generator made by Angel Draganov (subset?), I spent the last 24 hours or so making my own generator.

I think it is different than the generators I have seen, since it uses a different logic to generate the sounds, and require different type of input from the user. The results are quite nice, even if I say so myself. :)

I call it RPG - the Renoise Phrase Generator.

Also, this one works inside Renoise - when it is running, it will add a hotkey to Renoise - Ctrl+Q - and this hotkey, when pressed, will generate a track and paste it wherever the cursor is.

I will not talk too much about the concept yet - this will be in the Readme, once I finish testing it all, but in general, this is a 16-row phrase generator. All the input done in the program, relates to one 16-row phrase. The output of course, can be a series of phrases (usually 4, to generate a 64-row track).

I am not yet ready to release it to the public, still needs to test it and to add presets (you can save each of your settings in a preset, like we are used to from VST instruments) but for now, I have prepared a screenshot and a few loops as a demo.

Go to RPG Homepage - Download, Sound Samples and Video Tutorials

Hope you like it, would love to hear your thoughts.

1 Like
2

Hi Icarus, looks cool.

However, it also looks familiar? Have you had a look at the dev forums? More specifically, have you had a look at the (open source / windows) Psymachine which is melody generator for Renoise coded by tenda? See: https://forum.renoise.com/t/psymachine/20831

Psymachine is the original inspiration for subset’s Track Generator, so i’m feeling like a moebius loop of inspired tools happening up in here? Haha.

In any case, I like the melodies in your MP3, a lot. I like the screenshot. I’d like an OS X version :)

3

that looks really interesting icarus

looking forward to trying it out,when you are ready to release it :yeah:

4

I saw psymachine in the past. The interface is too raw, no offense.
It served an important purpose to me - as it inspired subset :)

I am now making “one finger goa” and “one finger bassline” presets for RPG :)
cant wait to release it - i barely slept in the past 2 days…

5

looks good, some of the sound demo patterns remind me a little of an old standalone virtual synth called ts 404 ( http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/download…oftware/TS-404/ )

tho off course your creation doesn’t create the sounds just the patterns :)

6

Here goes nothing…

It is ready for you guys. I hope you find it entertaining and useful.
Go to RPG Homepage

This is version 0.12 - I have tested it to the best of my ability, and on XP only.
There is also a new demo loop MP3 on the page, to give you a taste. Came out nice I think.

Looking forward to your feedbacks - and If you happen to generate nice presets, feel free to send them to me, so they can make it to next releases.

EDIT: Hey! I became Advanced Member! Sweet! and thanks to the person/script that is responsible for this :)

7

Hey, Icarus.

I’m enjoyng RPG right now. Making trance tunes like a pro, though I’ve never really made any trance tunes before. :) I love the way it integrates with Renoise; it’s extremely convenient.

The position probability setting is also great. Quite fast to set, while still versatile enough.

Great job! Keep it up.

8

nice icarus,i will try this out tonight,will post how it turns out :drummer:

9

Hey subset, thanks.

Yeah, I wanted to keep position probability simple. One of the items on the todo is to add another mode (in addition to normal and wide), so if you have ideas let me know.
you know, I found it quite useful for non-trance phrases - see the Mid East or Wide East presets, with some guitar or other string instrument (thats the last phrase in the sample1.mp3), or try the Dooms Day preset - it is the slow tune at the end of sample 2.

I sometimes miss an extra G - maybe I will add some keys to the last octave (wanna keep it small though)

s-n-s im curious to see what you think.

10

Some RPG Tips:

Tip 1: Build Gradually

  • start with a clean RPG screen (all reset)
  • select a note you wish to be your primary note - say middle D and raise to almost max
  • select your primary position - say slider 2, raise to about half
  • generate and listen - let Renoise play (without scroll follow) while you are editing parameters in RPG
  • if you are using a long instrument, and want shorter pulses, increase the Off slider.
  • now, start playing with the other position sliders.
  • only when you are happy with the positions, start adding notes. increase the sliders of the newly added notes only slightly, to add only “touchups”
  • when you are happy, try changing the state of the Wide checkbox - provides interesting results.

Tip 2: Build Variations
When you generate the standard 64-row track, in many cases you will be happy only with one or two of the phrases, so.

  • generate a full 4-phrase track.
  • when you are happy with one section of it, bring it to first beat (backspace-it).
  • put your cursor on the next beat (pg dn once to row 16) and repeat the process.
  • you may want to change the RPG settings a little, for an extra twist (e.g. add another note, or increase octave)

Tip 3: Use with Arpeggiated Instruments

11

:dribble: love gizmo’s like this, you made it very user friendly ! , thx

(now if only i knew what notes go well together :D )

12

this sounds awesome! I’m trying it asap. Thx!

13

dope app for sure, just played around with it for a few minutes. Probably should read the text file that comes with it, but the ctrl+q (or pressing generate) doesn’t automatically paste in my Renoise…ctrl+v in Renoise does paste in the generated data, maybe I’m doing something wrong?

edit: changed the g for q , duh…

14

Thanks guys, I am working on a nicer version - with much nicer sliders, and an extra few keys on the keyboard - should be ready in a few hours.
The shortcut is Ctrl-Q and not Ctrl-G. I picked a key which was available in the default Renoise keyboard configuration, and was close to the left so you can generate repeatidly without getting tired. :)
At first, it was Ctrl+Shift (thats how lazy I am), but then I noticed I cannot copy tracks anymore.

The thing is this - when you press Ctrl-Q, you may notice I am focusing the RPG gui for a split second, this is where I generate, and then focusing Renoise again to paste.
The focusing of the RPG window is not necessary at all by my code, but it seems that Renoise has control over the clipboard that goes beyond the OS API. So, in other words, when Renoise is in focus, it has exclusive control over the clipboard and I cannot “inject” my data to it, unless I steal focus.

If any Renoise dev expert is here - would you please confirm or deny? :)

15

Icarus, if you’re ever bored, this whole probability thing could be linked to placement of events other then note and velocity data…

meaning-> pattern commands & values (like some kind of glitch machine :slight_smile: )

For real, basically the same thing you have now, but linked for instance to bpm/speedcommands: F0XX , would be an ideal groove manipulator.

16

Lets see how this one turns out and if people like it. I have devil-red eyes from sleep deprivation like you wouldnt believe.
Say - is that Ctrl-Q working for you?

EDIT: Oh - I noticed you edited your post - so it was just a typo? Wondering why its not working for you.
The Generate button does not intend to paste in Renoise, but I will add it also - in next version, pressing Generate will do the same as Ctrl-Q.
Also - could you please check you Renoise keyboard shortcuts, to see if you are not already taking Ctrl-Q? (in the keyboard shortcuts window, try to assign Ctrl-Q and it will tell you if there are conflicts - but I am sure you know that and I am probably insulting you for thinking you dont… :))

17

Hey, yes it works! At first it looked like it wasn’t working, because clicking ctrl+Q once doesn’t do anything. If I keep it pressed a little longer though (like 2-3 times flashing of renoise gui) the data does change! Maybe this is because of my edit->preferences->keys settings, regarding keyboard repeat rate? (set on 20)

18

Perhaps. Will check.

19

Ok,

Version 0.14 is up - screenshot updated at the first post here.
A few of the important changes (more revision history at the end of the readme)

  • Changed sliders to something more comfortable
  • Mousewheel moves slider by 1 point
  • Right click on sliders will change to 0,25,50,75,100 values
  • A few minor bug fixes.

Jonas - I tried with 05 and 20 key rate, and it works ok here. But, just in case I have changed a small thing here that may make a difference. Before sending Ctrl-V, I am verifying that Renoise is active. Before that, I just asked to activate it, and sent Ctrl-V. So, maybe this will perform a little better for you.

20

OMG! Instant inspiration. Sweet! thanks man!