Renoise 1.5
December 2nd, 2005
Renoise 1.5 is, quite literally, THE best music composition program I have ever worked with.
Long ago, in that dark age of music known as the 1990s, when I first began to compose my own music, I got started on an ancient, DOS-based module editor known - creatively enough - as MODEdit. It was the very definition of primitive. To begin with, you loaded up .wav or .voc sample files (8-bit, 22kHz only, thank you very much, and no file larger than 200kb) to serve as instruments. Then, you arranged trigger points for the samples in rows across four side-by-side tracks. So, basically, the program functioned like an extremely stripped-down MIDI sequencer, only it didn’t use MIDI. It was actually more like a virtual player piano.
This type of music composition program was called a “tracker” and was used primarily to compose simple music tracks for the various groups of the early-90s demo scene - of whom Future Crew was unarguably the best. I learned a great deal about the basics of rhythm, looping, and beat programming on MODEdit…and, best of all, since I was limited to only four tracks, I had to learn how to make the most of limited space and edit individual .wav files to create weird distortion effects.
Later on, I discovered another, even better tracker - created by Future Crew - called ScreamTracker. ScreamTracker had 16 tracks and a whole slew of new editing functions that made my life a lot more interesting…and, incidentally, gave birth to Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos since I could now do sooooooooooo much more. I could sequence complete songs that actually sounded professional and deserved to be released under a band name. A little later, Impulse Tracker, a 64-track tracker, came out and I really started get adventurous with music now that I had a virtually limitless (for me) palette on which to sequence sounds.
Impulse Tracker could handle some basic MIDI functions, but…because I was so used to just sequencing .wav sample files I never really learned how to do much with MIDI stuff–and to this day I barely understand the basics of MIDI. Tracking was so much more intuitive to me: I could take look at the sample-triggering codes layered on the screen in their tracks and know exactly what instrument was triggering when, at what note value, at what speed, and so forth. When I later on discovered MODPlug, the first 100% Windows95+ tracker that I ever used, I learned a lot more about MIDI, as MODPlug supported it so much better. MODPlug also supported VST effects, which let me add a completely new dimension and richness to my music. In fact, Nyarlathotep’s “breakthrough” EP, Our thoughts make spirals in their world, as well as A Doctrine of Works‘ Eleventy-Seventy Names in Vain and all of my Retar-D2 tracks were composed on MODPlug.
But MODPlug’s creator stopped updating the software years ago. And I am an upgrade freak - I always must have the newest, most bleeding-edge alpha/beta versions of any software on earth. So…after a few years working on MODPlug, I decided to go shopping around for the Next Big Thing.
And I found Renoise. Which is literally the code equivalent of all previous trackers combined, multiplied by 1,000,000, and then sprinkled with pure, uncut Powdered Awesome. It is, quite frankly, the most incredible piece of music creation software I have ever worked on.
First off: it’s a tracker. With the usual keyboard-controlled sequencing setup. But you can have as many tracks are your computer can damnwell handle. (I have yet to need more thazn 39, but my stuff gets more complex and weird every day, so I’m sure I’ll break that ceiling eventually.) The interface is very clean and set up just like any familiar tracker of yore: anyone with MODPlug or even Impulse Tracker will be able to boot up Renoise and manage to begin sequencing tracks within seconds. But Renoise also plays very nice with MIDI, including support for VST synths, MIDI sync, and assorted other MIDI functions that allows the program to work well with other sequencers and MIDI-equipped programs and devices.
And, like MODPlug, Renoise hosts VST effects. MODPlug had the annoying habit of crashing if you attempted to load a VST plugin that it didn’t particularly like (which was many of the more advanced VST effects)–but Renoise loves them all, and allows you to not only chain numerous effects’ plugins to any particular track, it also allows you to save these VST chains for later reuse. You can rearrange the order of effects easily, and - best of all - assign adjustable envelopes to every one of those effects’ available parameters…which makes for some extremely exciting audiomulching when you start assigning completely random envelopes to various parameters! Even if you don’t have a hundred million VST effects plugins installed on your machine, Renoise comes with a set of its own native effects DSPs that, quite frankly, are just as good (if not better) than many expensive VSTs. In fact, I use Renoise’s bevy of native effects more than I use my VSTs these days! BitCruncher (for that amazingly crunchy, distorted low-bitrate sound) and the various EQs are my favorites, but the native reverbs are pretty damned hot, too.
But it gets better. Renoise also features an excellent sample editor and MIDI instrument editor. It also supports a huge range of sound-file formats, can load up ancient module files originally made in ScreamTracker or Impulse Tracker (revisiting your oldest works with all the benefits of modern virtual-studio technology makes for an intriguing learning experience), and can even generate mind-altering psyclon waves that can deflect the deleterious energies of even the most potent HypnoToad.
There is a lot more to Renoise than the above. Feel free to consult the package’s website to get a much fuller understanding of its capabilities. My needs are actually fairly simple, so there are many, many functions of Renoise that I just haven’t needed to play with yet. In fact, I think I only use about 40% of the program’s capacity - which promises that the software will age very well, and as my compositional needs grow and become more demanding (or just weirder) I will have many untouched capabilities waiting for me without the need of upgrading to a different program.
So. Big question: how much? $400? $100? Nope. $45. (US Dollars, of course.) For $45, you get a program that lets you do nearly as much as Rebirth, Reason, Cubase, Adobe Audition, Cakewalk, and whatever crazy program Otto von Schirach uses combined. Seriously. Check out my music links on the right side of the page here to get an idea what Renoise can do. Even though some of those tracks were started in MODPlug, they’ve all been finished in Renoise.
Well, that’s about it. Check out the website. Listen to some of the sample songs on Renoise’s site. Channel the spirit of Nyarlathotep. And the next time you think to yourself, “Man…I wish I could write incredibly whacked-out music like Derek C. F. Pegritz,” remember this: all you need is Renoise. (And a schizophrenic obsession with H. P. Lovecraft and antique medical equipment.)
Add New Comment
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment