The Tao Of Renoise

[rjungemann (Roger Jungemann)]

@Garmonbozia

That Tassman program is amazing. Thanks for letting us know about!

I’ve been interested in PureData and Supercollider, I can’t get them to install correctly on Linux though, frustrating. I’ve never messed with code, so I mostly am just interested in it from an experimentalist standpoint. Synthesis to me is more of an exploratative world for me in that I feel like I’m always wandering into new territory discovering new things. It’s so exciting. Difficult in a different way then bass exploration but even more exciting in many ways.

As an aside, I would recommend installing PureData on Linux by downloading the appropriate .deb file from here and installing by using “sudo dpkg -i FILENAME.deb” as opposed to installing through apt. For some reason that doesn’t work for me. You’ll also want to install jack. Instructions here and some additional configuration info here.

One possible interesting avenue of exploration of PureData with Renoise is looping, possibly live, using vd~ objects. Another idea is adding some algorithmic flourishes to drum beats. Renoise is already great at glitching and slicing so PureData is kinda stepping on its toes in this area. But PureData is great for synthesis (something Renoise isn’t quite as good at, yet). I like using the sigmund~ object for pitch detection (works great for guitar).

One thing, though, that I only barely mentioned before, is that if you want to trigger PureData from some sort of signal in Renoise’s tracker view, you’ll need to use sysex messages or some sort of MIDI message, since Renoise can’t observe the tracker view in real time and send OSC messages at particular times. Hopefully this will change in future versions. Obviously PureData can trigger Renoise at any time using MIDI or OSC without restriction. As for audio, you can happily route Renoise and PureData back and forth from each other using Jack, but there will be somewhere between 5-20ms of latency depending on your audio hardware, your Linux kernel, and other consideration (I’m able to get 5ms latency on my Macbook Pro running OS X).

[afta8]

@Garmonbozia

I’ve always considered DAW’s like Logic, ProTools and Reaper really more of a Tool for Engineers, where as Renoise, Ableton and to some Extent FL more of a songwriters tool.

I would never use Renoise or even Ableton (while I totally realize it can be done) to track a band. That’s just not what I use those programs for.

When I first turned on Renoise back in 2.1 days, I freaking hated it. I just didn’t get it. The Tracker system just didn’t make sense to me. So I went back to Reaper and deleted the Renoise demo. Sometime later I decided to give it a second look and I’ve never looked back. For me, what I love about Renoise is that as soon as I turn it on, I’m working. I’m not spending an hour trying to figure out how to configure my drums or what have you. Or setting up an effects a bus or whatever. I just start working.

I’ve spent a lot of time the past few years trying to be a bassist. I love playing bass, it’s what I do. At one point I stopped and realized that I had this other side to me, I was an electronic musician and I didn’t even realize it. For as long as I’ve had a bass I’ve had drum machines, Fruity Loops, Reason and other tools. And I loved making electronic music, I just never realized that’s what I was doing. Silly I know, but I never really saw my time making electronic music as anything but a hobby, but nonetheless, I was doing it, and I had been since day one. I’ve recently recognized this and have decided that to truly express myself, I needed to find a way to combine both worlds; my love of being a bass player, playing jazz and classical music, and my love of composing electronic music. It was this that led me to try Renoise again. I saw it now as a companion to my bass playing. My other device next to my bass playing. I sold my cello, which I had spent the last five years studying to buy a laptop and some midi controllers and started working with Renoise. The music I’ve been writing with this combination is some of the best I’ve written in years. I feel truly alive and at my best. So for me, Renoise isn’t just a DAW, it’s a musical instrument.

I completely agree, for me Renoise has more similarities with being a musical instrument than just a DAW. Even the steeper learning curve is comparable with musical instruments where you have to invest time and effort into learning it and practice it. I think it is important to respect and retain this aspect even if it is just as a counterbalance to the quick fix, preset generation we currently live in!

Cheers