I have an external mixer, and would mainly prefer to use Renoise as a sample-sequencer (as well as sequencing/recording external MIDI) to output lots of different audio channels out onto seperate channels on my hardware mixer…
…Therefore, if I get something like an Emu 1820M soundcard which has many audio inputs and outputs, will I be able to set Renoise up so I can send various audio tracks to various soundcard outputs?
…Like, for example, if I have a sequenced kick drum on Renoise channel #1, snare on #2, bass on #3 etc., can I then route each of them out on seperate, individual audio outputs on my soundcard?
Lastly, if I get a USB Midiman 4x4 Midi I/O interface, will I be able to fully control all 4 outs (and record the 4 ins, when needed) via Renoise?
What is Renoise’s MIDI timing like? Is it tight enough for professional use, to accurately sequence several external synths and drum machines during a full mixdown?
Oh, one more thing, can I use Renoise as an effects send router and processor, basically so I can route various individual channels from my external mixer (for example, the group outs) into the soundcard inputs, to then allow VST effects to process these individual audio channels, and then get it to send it back out onto my mixer via several of the soundcard’s audio ouputs?
Which is only true for Windows though. On OSX its perfect, because the system takes care about that.
I wonder if any app on Windows gets a somehow suiteable MIDI timing without writing a driver or doing some other nasty tricks. Windows “normal” timing accurancy is so worse, you really dont want to know the details. So this is not only a Renoise problem.
How can Renoise have tight VST timing and not midi?
I thought the only thing that created midi timing descrepancies was large amounts of data going back and forth (which drums shouldn’t really be sending anyway) and length of the leads/daisy chaining etc?
I tracked with midi for years with Octamed on the humble Amiga, and the timing was great for up to 16 tracks of drums & synths (Cheetah MS6, Yamaha SY85, Roland DJ70, D110 and Yamaha SU10). Then, around Y2K I started to notice timing problems for only 3-4 tracks using new samplers and synths (Yamaha EX5, A2000, Novation Supernova, Drumstation). I just assumed that it was because newer synths sent more data and overloaded the poor old Amiga?
This bugged me so much that I sold all of my hardware and moved to Dreamstation (well, there was no Renoise back then y’see)
Anyway - my main question is this: If I overload Renoise with VSTI’s (without overloading the CPU and getting that nice crackling sound, of course), would/could I hear timing problems (God I HATE timing problems ), or is this impossible due to VST architecture? Are VSTI’s used with Renoise essentially as timing perfect as the old CV sequencers (used for sequencing old analogue stuff)? Am I gonna find myself back to square 1 with crappy timing after learning a whole new program?
VSTs are capable of having sample perfect timing, as long as the author of the VST plugin has taken trouble to make it so. You’ll find that pretty much all commercial vsts and most of the free ones are sample-perfect, unless specifically stated (usually as a ploy to try to get you to register).
I actually did some tests with 32 tracks of the same hihat sample running at 16ths @ 90 and then 140 bpm last night. No flanging was apparent but there was the occasional off-beat (but this was REALLY slight and VERY irregular - 1 every few blocks), so I guess this ties in with what you say!
I use often the cpapbilites of my pulsar wiht renoise. Didnt experience timing issues so far. Some Vsts have timing problems. - but I think thats a problem related to tickbased sequencers - since most of the vstis re optimized for common nontickbased sequencers. But ecen that mustn´t be a problem you can render the problematic selection and use the sample instead.
I know of people who would like to use Renoise with a outboard sampler, but it wasn’t tight enough for drums. You can try this yourself, put a hihat (thru midi) on every line and set bpm to 170 or something, you’ll hear it will skip now and then. He uses Cubase now I believe, though I believe the devs if they say Windows timing sucks. All the rest of the questions you asked give no problems.
That’s a great shame. I’d be using Renoise pretty much as a midi sequencer for many external synths (Virus, Trinity, MC505 etc) so accurate and reliable timing would be a must.
Are these so-called “Windows” problems also apparent with Cubase or Sonar, etc.? I never hear many complaining about Cubase timing. I just don’t get on with Cubase, though. I like Renoise’ interface and ‘tracks’ (being a tracker ), and especially the concept of the control-change envelopes etc.
I don’t know of any other sequencer that has the graphical CC envelopes (does anyone else?).
Cubase and Sonar will likely have the same problems, yet they may use tricks to balance out the delay between the many channels.
If you would have midi devices that respond quicker or less quicker you can send signals after a certain delay.
This can probably also be done with Renoise (add a delay to samples and vst instrument before they really supply output) to make them sync to your MIDI devices.
Wether it is nice for live performances or real-time jamming i doubt that.
But for listening to the total end-result without requireing to render the Renoise sample-part and the MIDI part first and then mixing them in a wave-mixer, this may be a solution.
Just interested… is this a guess or do you know they work like this?
I have not heard before that MIDI devices can respond slowly… from what I know the delay is virtually nothing. In fact I thought that samples/VSTi are slower because of the sample buffer. And that Renoise already took this into concern when playing MIDI. But you suggest delaying samples to sync with MIDI… am I missing something?
), or is this impossible due to VST architecture? Are VSTI’s used with Renoise essentially as timing perfect as the old CV sequencers (used for sequencing old analogue stuff)? Am I gonna find myself back to square 1 with crappy timing after learning a whole new program? 
