Workflow Thread. (how Do You Work?)

General Discussion
1

I just wanted to know a little bit about how other people work with Renoise and other Music Related programs to create their songs.

I myself is still experimenting a lot and don’t have any workflow set in stone. I never wanted to let go of the tracking part but usually i just saw it as a complement, until i found Renoise. Before i was using Trackers to make drumloops, Bassline sequences, or Advanced Arps and appregios etc, then Rendered it as a .wav and sequenced it in other programs. (Usually Reason)

I still feel most comfortable with reason as a Sequencer, but i hate the fact that you cant use any 3rd party VSTi Synth’s and effects within the program. I havn’t yet found any ultimate program wich would suit my way of working wothout having to switch programs. Renoise is getting really close, since I’m familiar with Tracking since i started almost 15 years ago.

The only thing i don’t like about my workflow today is that I always have to render stuff to wav, to save “workspace”, processing power or simply becouse i prefer do some things in different programs. And the most important feature i miss using this rendering based workflowis that have to render everything all over again if i want to change a note, a sound, effects etc.

Renoise has it’s Pros & Cons but I’m waiting paitiently for more features. I like tracking and can use samples to write complicated melodies and effects with cergery precission. Todays tracking allows me to use it as a sequencer as well or even for some mastering. I like to use VSTi synths & effects but the impact on Processessor usage is too great for it to be fun using. I would love to skip the rendering part since it would allow me to feel more free to edit what i wrote without having to do it all over again.

Still quite new to Renoise, I figure I will eventually move over to only use this program for writing songs. I just have to get used to the rendering workflow using Renoise. But even if i have to work this way, Renoise has an advantage since I can save the editable melody and the VST synth/samples within the program and edit it without having to switch programs over and over.

Last but not least. The Wishlist.
*Multi Thread Support.
*Rewire support
*Renoise LITE (A simplified rack for Reason/VST where you can load Renoise files, example: if you would like to use a tracked pattern as a drumloop for instance, or use a patterns to “code” reason synths/vst synths, in a pattern enviroment. Or simply as a sampler.)

Thumbs up for the Renoise team. Keep up the good work.

2

Seems more like an ‘ideas and suggestions’ thread than a general thread, but I’ll take the topic title seriously…

Once Renoise NE is released my workflow will be something like this:

  1. Create a library of rhythms in Renoise (already done really)

  2. Use EnergyXT inside Renoise to record inspired melodic phrases over selected rhythms, these could be guitar or vocal.

  3. Use Renoise to flesh out basslines, chords, movements and arrangements

  4. Use Renoise sonically ‘finish’ the entire backing mix

  5. Use EnergyXT inside Renoise to record final vocal/guitar takes.

  6. Final mix in Renoise and render (32bit)

  7. Export song with group of songs to be arranged into an Audition session. Create an album song order flow.

  8. Mix in transition sounds if necessary.

  9. Render entire session to a large 32bit file.
    A. Very very lightly ‘master’ the file, e.g. tape saturation, normalise, slight boost.
    B. Dither to 16bit, define index points and burn to CD.

As you can see Renoise NE will be able to handle are large scope within the first 6 steps, even without XT. You probably don’t want it to do everything, but it would be great to minimise the amount of total renderings to 1.

3

what about compression too? and bass boost?

i always do that on my stuff before i burn it to cd.

4

Very slight compression if at all.

No post EQ. If there are problems with the frequency sonics I’ve not mixed the pre good enough. Too many engineers post EQ these days in hope that it will mask for sloppy mixing in the pre.

5

Foo?, could you elaborate abit on this for me?

i am doing this exact same thing, only i must stick to using 1 file, for Everything!
this is because i want to reuse pieces of patterns ive already written.
but recently its become very complicated,
because i broke up the file, an now i have multiple versions with progressions in each.
so i very much need to find a way to move patterns from file to file.

so like, did you create this library as renoise patterns?

in case this is a yes, do you use this file as a master template?
in case this is also a yes, have you found any possible way to add new patterns back into this master template.

thanks man.

6

Hmmm, I’ll try and answer like this:

Over the last 4 years a day would come up where I’d have an idea about a rhythm. So I’d make an new rns, collect samples and sometimes synths, and make an interesting beat, groove or texture. Some would even be a few patterns long. Most of these were experiements and not intended for anything in particular. I can use these to draw upon when I need rhythmic reference for melody creation later on.

It just so happens that a lot of the older drum loops have chord and melodic ideas in them that were generated in them at the time. A very select group of these end up being songs, and out of those the ones that are any good have gone through a tremendous amount of work. Hands down I write better music when I come from a melody or riff first.

I write lots of different types of rhythms because my taste in genres is very wide. This makes having all the data in one rns impracticable, also because I’m using a different sonic template for each song as well. Perhaps if ALL my songs were breakcore or something then it would be easier to have a ‘mother rns’ where you could just milk bits from… But I’d argue you shouldn’t be writting in one single genre all the time.

Does that help?

7

i think that it does answer my question. :)

it occured to me after i wrote my post, that the real only possible way to do this currently in 1.5.2 is to export wavs.

the reasoning i had for keeping most of what i do all in 1 file, had alot to do with a longtrack style project i was doing. i make mashup jungle, in respect to creating a signature sound, i reuse certain edits. that way no matter how much different it will ever become. there will always be interlaced ties between all of my work. so i figure the best absolute way of doing this is to be able to at anytime go back to the actual score.
i try to always keep the patterns available in case i want to change something, so i never render anything to wav unless absolutely neccesary. the exception to this would be rendering a note from a heavy vsti, but never actual rythym content.
this way i can keep it all being done in realtime, i value this aspect very very much. :D

i could have swore that i saw something about pattern saving & loading or importing & exporting, somewhere to this effect in the coming NE, but am now unsure.
i dont know what genre it could be labeled as,
but i also make some slow tempo, sound texture/enviroment, using a simple source running through renoise’s dsp effect chains to make something completely different. pretty much on the premise of using renoise as a dsp toolkit without the damn math! being involved. ;D

thankyou for your words man!