Why not make your own suggestions, then you don’t have to grasp for straws to see issues with the ones others make? We have pages of discussions over VST3, just because it’s there, with no VST3-only plugin in existence. I suggested this just because it would be a simple easy addition and useful at least to me, maybe for others, and that is a problem, of all the things that get suggested? That’s insane to me, that’s like the stuff you get to read on gaming forums. “it already has to shift quite a lot of ram to draw the pattern” is just saying stuff, in the service of shooting down a tiny suggestion that wouldn’t affect you at all, since you could simply not enable it.
But nevermind all that, forget about vumeters, I retract the suggestion… because I have another, much better idea! Let’s show two decimal places for CPU usage!! I think drawing another character would hardly affect Renoise performance. *runs*
I very rarely make suggestions about Renoise (or any program written by someone else) neinMC. Yes, there is a lot that Renoise doesn’t do for me…but there is a lot that other programs don’t do for me either. I’m not a particularly good programmer, but I understand how difficult programming is. That’s my opinion(s), that’s my belief(s). Just as you have your opinion(s) and belief(s). If you disagree with what I have said I can’t change the way you (or anybody else) thinks by writing posts in a forum. I’ve voiced my opinion (just as you have the right to voice yours), be it good or bad, take it or ignore it.
Going a little deeper here, I think there are several important things that could be improved, and much. Renoise can continue to improve for many years. Who does not see this, has not used it thoroughly. But it is possible that certain changes are a problem, since Renoise already has an established base code, and changing it would be a lot of work, possibly. Although I’m not sure about this.
Some changes that may be very expensive:
Improve the instrument box:
Groups with tree list by folders.
Select, drag and sort in group.
Possibility of using color codes. In the sources or even in the reproduction boxes (left of the slot).
Improve the phrase editor:
Add “a manager” to see and change several things at once: phrase name, some features of the phrase. I am creating a personal tool for this myself.
Ability to play several phrases synchronously at once.
Allow to drag and drop in group several phrases in the “Keymap” mode. Nonlinear Selection Be able to select several phrases by skipping some.
Improve automation editor tools:
Ability to see several stacked graphics.
Facilitate the manipulation of points, and their information.
Endeavor to improve the treatment of windows for VSTi:
Dragging a window should not block Renoise’s graphical interface.
Check the scaling, to avoid more problems.
Related: more VST Plugins paths (Preferences/VST Plugins…)
Separate Renoise windows should have an option to change the scaling GUI individually. This would drastically improve the management of multiple monitors of different resolutions. This is one of Renoise’s biggest problems today.
The “Scripting Terminal and Editor” should have its own scaling GUI, separately. At least.
Main window, Mixer and Instrument Editor with separate GUI scaling.
Window tools should also have their own scaling GUI, separately.
Add a new bottom tab for an integration framework for tools.
Ability to anchor or unpin.
Frame selection to use the tool’s own keyboard commands (obviously).
Improve the metronome:
Currently, the metronome cannot be changed. Then, ability to change the metronome with automation parameters. It would really only take 2 parameters.
Improve metronome management. Volume bar, path to change audio file, etc.
Improve the Pattern Editor for effect parameters:
At least facilitate the introduction of parameters with the mouse (simiar Redux).
Add times and accumulated times in the sequence column:
Renoise does not have a timeline or related markers. This prevents Renoise from being used to compose original soundtracks, for video clips, movies, series, etc. This kind of details make the difference.
It wouldn’t even take a video window to sync. But if added, I would suggest that Renoise will cost € 100, minimum.
The list could continue. But it’s not about going crazy. Most issues are very complex, and it’s just about improving what already exists (except point 9). There is nothing that changes Renoise. They are only improvements, leaving aside the possible bugs, which there are and will continue to be.
In fact, point 9 would be a turning point in this DAW. A new impulse to buy.
100€ is still a very good price for the features… I don’t know how renoise could have several prices (60€ standard, 100€ gold, 150€ full)… maybe with sound packs ?
But yeah some stuffs are a bit cumbersome like changing instruments or stuffs like that
Parallel container. Most things you can do with this is already technically possible, but it’s far from elegant and user friendly. Really cumbersome.
Instrument hierarchy (or… maybe one level is enough) for easy doubling of instruments. It seems like a relatively simple thing to implement (?) that would make a lot of funnes easily available. That’s why I mention it.
Of course there are other more elaborate ideas that are easy to toss around, but to me, some of them imply more vast changes than they seem and therefore don’t seem short-term realistic.
I’m always going to ask for these, and part of it has been implemented already:
Automated time-stretching. We have the effect natively now - it would be neat to be able to pull at taffy.
Granular algorithms. Please, may we please have some? I’d love to make clouds in my bowl of Renoise!
I know I can do this with VSTs and AUs. I do not want to. Renoise is good at all things it does by itself, it does not need external plugins! Renoise is beautiful.
I just want (would like) a Graphic Plugin Picker (because ok, choosing plugins by names is cool, but screenshots are so much better). I’m sure Taktik (and the dev team) can make something to grab automatically a screenshot of all the plugins you have in your 2 VST paths (and yes, add more paths, please, let say 10). And along with the screenshots, something to add hashtags (keywords), because the favorite functionnality is cool, but not sufficient when you have dozens of cool VSTs. I’d like to be able to create my own sections (vocoders, reverbs, EQs) in order to group my VSTs. And perhaps to add a color for each group section.
In all fairness, renoise’s plugin manager is pretty great. It’s organised by manufacturer and the search bar works well ( compared to Ableton live it’s amazing)
Graphical library has pros and cons… it might be quicker (that’s up to debate) but it’s take a loooot if space
Time stretch definitely needs improvement. Having to set up the length is an interesting option but it’s confusing
@psumner you can hook in a formula device, and set it to the “input inertia” preset… Let the formula control the instr. automation device, and control the formula from pattern fx to get smoothed automation
Yeah, that’d be neat! Still, I’d prefer the granular stuff to be completely native to the application. Because I’m old and stodgy and stubborn in my ways, that’s why
Also, I can do most of what I want from PD in Renoise, it’s just a few of the little abstract things that I can’t (reasonably, that is) - all things granular, FM, and automated time-stretch. Very little else is left. Those requests in a broad way, to most people, are very unique.
PD, for me, while it sounds great and is lots of fun, always crashes on whatever computer I use, PC or Mac.
I agree with you that renoise would benefit a lot from just a couple more synthesis options.
FM / AM would definitely skyrocket Renoise to another level. This alone would make me happy
Sample morphing would be a game changer as well : that’d I allow wavetable synthesis, and (the much needed) PWM.
How ? A button in the sampler that opens a windows from we’re you can select another sample and the precision of the morphing. Hit render and voila. Next to the button a knob would allow you to scroll the wavetable
Last but not least… (as mentioned) granular would be the most logical tool of the three
My PD rarely crashes, but I use vanilla plus the csound6~ external so it’s really really bare BUT the vanilla objects are mostly enough and I can load up Csound right into it and map regular MIDI/OSC controllers for all the esoteric shit.
And now that I think about it, I thought Csound was GPL but it turns out it’s LGPL so the Renoise team could use it without having to open source the project. PD is BSD so also no worries there, which is why I suggested it.
If they simply incorporated one (or both) of these environments, all they’d really need to do then is just build native wrappers for the sound/OSC/MIDI signals which is 3245986734958743698574x easier than writing the many thousands of lines of DSP code that something like Csound and Pd (with all of the externals available) have and then we’d have the bazillion of signal processing functions. (see: http://www.csounds.com/manual/html/PartReference.html)
In addition, they can market to the educational sector as well via this method. Ableton/Max for Live is far too expensive for students and there’s no real dedicated sequencer for Csound and Pd that is as developed as Renoise.
As a total beginner at Renoise I have done one thing only: so far I have downloaded the LInux installer files, and installed Renoise. Renoise runs on my Ubuntu Linux and I have played some demo songs. So the only thing that I can suggest is that the install process be a bit easier on LInux; it is a tar gz file so you have to know how to extract and then use the terminal to use the .sh install script to install Renoise. Weirdly the readme file didn’t tell me how to do this. I went to the Renoise manual and found that confusing as well. I found the needed install command somewhere. Can’t recall where. All in all it took me about one hour of frustrated efforts to install Renoise on Linux; if it were a .deb file of course it would have taken me 10 seconds and not needed the terminal. p.s I haven’t been in Linux for a few years. First installed LInix 10 years ago but I took a break from Linux about 3 years ago and forgot about it.
all of your suggestions and remarks are interesting. It’s a thought experiment anyway.