Ableton and Renoise have very similar concepts when it comes to the dsp chain. The track routing in Renoise is more advanced. Ableton has no tracker view. Renoise has a way more advanced scripting and remote control system. But all the rest seems to be way more advanced in Ableton, since this topic started. Esp. v11 and v12 really modernized Ableton. Love the plugin manager with custom tags. The piano roll is very good, too, also the scale implementation. A parallel container, yay! The internal fx is outstanding, MPE is fully supported. Macro modulation is on par with Renoise, but with a better resolution. Also you can add all the MaxForLive stuff, too. Only CLAP and DAW-project support and a tracker view are missing. And a proper analyzer view. Maybe Taktik could add those to Ableton? I think Renoise copied some not so good decisions from Ableton, like the macro controls limitation (I think this actually was doubled in Ableton recently…?).
I wish I could wrap my head around Ableton, but I am stuck with Bitwig.
Stuck with Bitwig? I also have Bitwig, but most of the time I use Reaper when not using Renoise, cause it is so lightweight and because of the effects you can install from Reapack. Meanwhile there’s also a Linux version of Playtime 2.
Renoise can make very abstract pattern lengths and divisions that are not rooted in 4/4 AND have visible LPB.
Ableton can only do triplets if I want to get ‘weird’ with the divisions. And I already know about the M4L devices that can make odd tuplets, and they are not fun or easy to work with. I spent about a year researching all the methods and devices that Ableton CAN do with its sequencer. It is just not as adjustable as Renoise’s. I won’t be needing a suggestion for any device or method. Ableton won’t make the adjustment.
For instance, I like working in 5/5 (yes, not 5/4). Renoise can do that, Ableton can only make odd-length sections without the LPB for visual guidance. In this case, I have to use 25/16 to get an odd time length using quintuplets.
Ableton’s visual representation of that is a one-quarter note or bar (depends on how you want to look at it) section that has 25 divisions. If I want to go shorter or longer than 25/16, then the sequencer visuals overlap the time signature in a 4/4 view.
This is a major issue for me, as I have grown accustomed to Renoise’s generous grid accommodations. Renoise is quick and easy with its grid settings. LPB, ticks per line, etc. Just too good.
Please @taktik, will you please please please please please (see? Five!) give us granular synthesis (and maybe wavetable?) so we can dump Ableton? Renoise is THE BEST sequencer and THE BEST sampler. It’s theme is so adjustable, it’s tools so great, it’s EQ is surgical. It slices, it dices, but it won’t do granular and it really really really reallllllllllly should!
I mean, look at me, I bought Ableton, but I keep coming back to Renoise. Yeah, it’s that good. No, I cannot emulate real granular synthesis with it.
@lilith I also purchased Butt-wag a couple’a years ago - I did not like it enough to warrant re-upping it for the next set of changes. Renoise is just so light and nimble. It’s a GRID composer - just gotta look at the grid entries as a non ‘on-off’ button, but data entry. It’s a grid. The best grid.
I bought a new PC because I can out of RAM (8 GB) when starting Bitwig. Now I have my new PC (32 GB) and I’m still using Renoise. Sometimes I use Reaper (or SunVox), cause it’s also fast, lightweight and efficient. Regarding automation I’m faster in Reaper and it comes with great plugins (also via Reapack).
No DAW let’s me sequence and manipulate samples on a step-by-step basis like Renoise. It’s about trackers get some love, I’m about to kickstart a tracker revolution!!!
Renoise is essentially a one person operation, presumably ableton has at least a hundred people working on code. The comparison of dev cycles is silly for that reason.
I’m sure we all wish for a more frequent release schedule, but that fact is that development continues. Renoise has not been abandoned. Complaining about the slow schedule won’t help anything
Ableton also costs over 10 times what renoise costs
