Nope, not a newbie - been using it for a few years now. For the style of music I make (lowercase/experimental/glitch), Renoise is king for me. Now, I don’t have to use Max/MSP or Pure Data to create what I want to hear, but I did have to learn how to use Renoise coming from a piano-roll perspective (Reason for 17 years).
Now that I have learned how to use Renoise, it’s boosted my music into places I couldn’t get before. Abstract patterns, DIY sample generation, field recording, clicks 'n pops, generative sequencing, and generative sample-triggering. Reason can do that, but it doesn’t sound ‘right’. Renoise takes the sound, and leaves it crisp, clear. Renoise has gotten me ‘out there’ as well, making my audio sound the way it should and people seem to like it better.
Along with @Raul’s Renoise plugin, SMC Tool (which I’ve shouted endlessly about), Renoise is now in some amazing granular/glitch territory. As long as Renoise keeps progressing and working on my Mac, I’m going to keep using it, until it dies (which I hope does not happen). Heck, I’ve considered getting a cheap PC if that does happen and installing Linux and using it that way if that does happen. I hope it does not.
@taktik does chime in here and there, he’s a busy fella. He and the few others who do work on Renoise are all working regular jobs alongside updating this amazing tracker.