Speaking of Indamixx, we are running a challenging music contest. We are giving away one of their Netbooks for the best low-power Renoise song. Go to CreateDigitalMusic for the details. You need to send in your music before 15 October.

The groove settings feature is great, but only applies to the complete song.

Also, the alternative methods of  speed and tempo tricks,  explained on the same page, affect the whole pattern for the rows used.  So, how do we isolate things further?

In the following movie we are going to show you how to generate a simple 50% groove pattern on a single note-column and at the second part of the movie, we will demonstrate the same method to apply a groove pattern to the full track.

Also, this trick does not affect synchronisation problems to external hosts or plugin effects that cannot handle swift timing effects, which is an extra plus benefit as well.

To clarify, the following procedures were used in the movie…

-We pick a delay value of 2 to apply on each second row.
-To apply a 50% groove, everything needs to be sliced by 2, else there won’t be a 50% groove, so we place a delay command on every second row too.
-Then there is the amount of delay we can apply and as we work with individual tracks or notecolumns, we can only use the delay command to achieve this local effect and the delay command is affected by the speedfactor which you have to divide by 2 as well.
-The example song in the movie used speed 6 which is 3 when you divide this number by 2. However…
-Each row starts at the first tick which is position 0(zero) for Renoise and not position 1. Basically a speed to effect command translation table would look like this:

So for that reason, we say speed divided by two minus 1 which means: 6 / 2 = 3 -1 gives you the value of 2 for the delay effect command.

For every command that is based on ticks, this table applies. The higher the speed value, the more ticks in a row you have, the higher the integrity of your effect commands can be.

But that falls outside the scope of this tutorial. (You can read more about that at this location.)

That was for the background information, now go and watch the movie…

Note that you need to manually pause the movie when you see a text balloon as they swiftly pass by during the movie

Layering a looping sample

Right now we have created a beat from one-hit samples. We are going to spice it up by layering a breakbeat. Load breakApache.xrni from the pre-installed Instruments library (eg. C:/Renoise/Instruments/). It is not the same as Neil’s one, but it will work out fine. Put a C-5 note in a new Breakbeat track. When you play the pattern the breakbeat sounds continously at a much too high pitch.

We need to modify this Instrument’s Sample Properties to sync it with the rest of the song. You can see that Loop has already been set to Forward, which is why the sample repeats over and over. We need the sample to loop over 2 bars, so the Sync value of 32 is already correct. You just need to enable it. Push the breakbeat slightly back in the mix by lowering the Amplify value to about -4 dB.

Finally, Neil adjusts the bassdrum track to match the breakbeat (eg. notes on lines 00, 10, 16, 22, 26 and copied to the 2nd half of the pattern).

Installing a VSTi plugin

Moving on from the beat to the bassline. Instead of using a sample we will use a software synthesizer, more specifically a VSTi (Virtual Studio Technology instrument). Neil has the commercial reFX Beast, but to prove you can get fine results with even the simplest of VSTis, we will play around with the free Chip32.

• Chip32 for Windows
• Chip32 for Mac OS X (contains both VSTi and AU – use the VSTi)
• Chip32 for Linux

Before you can use VSTis, Renoise needs to be aware of them. After you have placed the VSTi files in a subfolder, you need to set-up VST directories in the Preferences pane in the Edit menu.

Installing and using VSTs is explained more thoroughly in the Renoise Tutorials section: Using VST. If Renoise has trouble finding Chip32 on Linux, consult: Setting up Linux.

Groovy bassline with Chip32

Select a new Instrument slot to load Chip32 into. The Instrument Settings has a VSTi Properties section, where you can select Chip32 from the dropdown list.

For the bassline we will repeat the bar below in a new track called Bassline.

Note that this Bassline track has 2 note-columns, allowing you to trigger multiple notes at the same time in a single track. This is especially useful for portamento (or glide) instruments to emulate pressing keys while holding another. Chip32 however does not have portamento, but there is another benefit: you can easily modify the accent notes on the 2nd column.

What about the note-OFFs? If you compare a note in the pattern to holding down a key, causing a sound to play continuously, a note-off is releasing that key again. After a note-off an Instrument may immediately stop, fade-out or do something completely different. The SquareWave preset of Chip32 simply mutes. Enter the appropriate note-offs with CAPS-LOCK for a staccato bassline.

Fattening the bassline with a Chorus device

We need to compensate for Chip32’s lack of fatness. In the first half of the video we added an EQ device, now add a Chorus device from the DSP list in the TrackDSPs tab. You can experiment with the Chorus presets until you get a bassline that sounds a bit like Neil’s.

Automating a VSTi slider

Most VSTis have sliders, knobs or other controls. Open Chip32’s own interface by double clicking on the Instrument or in the VSTi Properties.

The rightmost slider is linked to a lowpass filter. If we increase the filter, the sound becomes muffled. Try moving the slider
while the song is playing. We can record slider movements and play them back later. This is called automation.

To automate a VSTi we need a special device: the *Automation Device. Add one to the Bassline tracks’s DSP Chain.

Since there is only one VSTi, the Linked Plugin value is automatically correct. The drop-down lists correspond to the controls (parameters) of the plugin. Set the first dropdown to FILTER. Moving the slider next to it will also move the slider in Chip32’s interface.

The *Automation Device in turn can also be controlled. Add an *LFO device and set-up the correct destination device (*Automation Device) and destination parameter (FILTER). Maximize the Amplitude and double the Frequency to 32 Lines Per Cycle. Chip32’s filter silder will now move without your help.

End of the video

The video has ended, if somewhat abruptly, and we ended up with a great starting point for a new song. In less than 10 minutes we have created a fat beat with a VSTi bassline buttered up with chorus and channeled through a lowpass filter connected to an LFO.

Credits to Neil ‘Celsius’ Gaeggeler of Shaper for creating the original video tutorial.

PS. Part 2 might be missing, but rumor has it Neil will do a new tutorial video.

Because Neil works blazingly fast it might be a tad bit hard to follow what he is exactly doing. So here is a walkthrough.

Loading samples

Download the BeatBattle 5 samplepack and unzip the samples into a new folder. Now navigate to that folder with the Disk Browser in Renoise. You will see a list list with .xrni and .flac files.

An Instrument is a container that can hold a number of samples, a plugin and/or a MIDI connector. You could create a drumkit by loading drum samples into an Instrument. The Instrument Editor allows you to map each of the samples to a note. In this case we will only load a single sample into one Instrument. The benefit of this approach is that it allows you to change the pitch of the sample.

To use samples and Instruments stored on disk in your song, you can drag or doubleclick them from the Disk Browser into the the box to the right of it. This box is called the Instrument List. The Instrument List consists of several numbered slots, each of which can contain one Instrument.

Neil creates an Instrument by loading the sample 07 kick2.flac into the first instrument slot, numbered 00.

Playing an Instrument with the keyboard

By default Renoise uses the computer keyboard as a virtual piano. For example, press Q for a C note, 2 for C#, W for D, etcetera. Thus, once you have setup an Instrument with a bassdrum sample, you can play it by pressing the virtual piano keys on your computer keyboard. The keyboard contains 2 octaves. You can shift octaves with * and /.

If you have a MIDI keyboard, you can use it as well, but it needs to be configured. See Attaching a MIDI Device. However for the rest of the article, I will assume you use the computer keyboard.

Tempo, metronome and playback

Set the tempo of the song to 140 BPM, enable the metronome and start/stop playback. You can access these options in the Player Control Panel. It is also possible to quickly enable and disable the metronome with the ~ key. Starting and restarting playback is one of the most important actions, that is why its default shortcut is SPACEBAR. Finally, if you notice that the cursor scrolls along with the song, press SCROLL LOCK, unless you want to record notes in real-time.

One word of advise: to prevent clipping during the rest of the article, enable Auto-adjust volume, which is all the way at the top of the window, near the Master slider.

Putting notes into the Pattern

The Pattern Editor has an overwrite protection lock. When this Record Mode is disabled, it blocks notes from getting written into the pattern. Press ESC to enable Record Mode and a red border appears around the editor.

The drum pattern Neil creates is a syncopated beat that looks like this:

C-4 means note C of the 4th octave. Enter C notes with the Q key and if necessary, change to the correct octave with * and /. If you have made a mistake, you can move and delete notes with INS, DEL and BACKSPACE. Finally, you can navigate the cursor up and down with the UP and DOWN arrow keys.

Copying and pasting a bar

With the current settings every 4 lines is a quarter note. We are going to create a 4/4 beat, which means that one bar (or measure) equals 4 quarter notes. The second bar begins on line number 16.

When you have completed the first bar, select the first bar (line 00 to 15) either with the mouse or by holding SHIFT and moving up and down. Copy the selection with CTRL+C. Pressing PAGE-UP and PAGE-DOWN makes the cursor jump 16 lines. This way, you can quickly paste (CTRL+V) the copied bar on line 16, 32 and 48.

Switching to another instrument

Now that the bassdrum track is complete, Neil moves on with the rest of the drums. In the second slot he loads 13 snare2.flac.

The 00 from the C-4 00 is called the Instrument number, which refers to the selected Instrument in the Instrument List. Ofcourse you could use the mouse to switch to another Instrument, but let us speed up the workflow by using shortcuts instead: hold ALT and press UP or DOWN. This way you do not have to move away from the keyboard.

Going to a new track

So far we have put down a bassdrum in the first vertical lane called Track 01. Use the TAB key to move forward to Track 02. You can move backwards with SHIFT+TAB.

With the snaredrum selected and the cursor in Track 02, enter C-4 01 notes on lines 04 and 12. Like before, copy and paste the bar until you have filled the whole track. It is getting a bit repetitive now, so here is another trick: CTRL+P will paste automatically until the end of the pattern is reached.

Back to the bassdrum track. To obtain a "groove effect", Neil adds an extra kick on line 13 of each bar, which is one line below the snare drum on the other track.

You should always give each track a specific name. For example doubleclick on the Track 01 label and replace it with ‘bassdrum’. For the sake of brevity I will refer to to the original names in the rest of the article.

Adding volume commands

Moving on to the hihats (RX17HatClosed.flac) on Track 03. We will employ a new trick to quickly enter a large number of notes. Until now every note you entered caused the cursor to move one line down. The Edit Step changes that amount of lines. We want to move 4 lines, so press CTRL+4. Now simply hold Q until the whole track is filled with C-4 02 notes.

Jump back to the top of the track (HOME), move to line 02 and repeat. Notice that we could as well have set Edit Step to 2 lines instead, but this way we have formed a mental image (I know, lame excuse).

Anyway, now the interesting part: adding volume commands. Back to line 02, move the cursor sideways until you highlight the first . (dot). You are now in the Volume Column, which is a column of 2 digit fields. We are going to halve the volume of every 2nd note by entering 40 in the volume fields. 40? Yes, 40. Just hold 4 and you will see. Here is what the bar will look like:

Next, Neil adds a bit of variation. Remove the bassdrum at line 29 and half a pattern further down at line 61. On Track 04 you can put an RX17Crash.flac on the first line.

Equalizing

At the bottom of the screen there is a panel that we have not paid attention to yet. Assuming you are still on the track with the crash cymbal, open the TrackDSPs tab. There is a slider label Volume which you have to lower a bit to make the cymbal, in fact the whole track, less loud.

If you are done, go to Track 01 and add an EQ 10 device from the list. To keep things simple, Neil does not adhere to substractive mixing standards, but naively pumps up the lower frequencies. The lower three frequency ranges from the EQ 10 device are to be nudged to around +2 dB. Track 02 with the snaredrums need a little boost in the upper frequencies, you can use a EQ 5 for this one.

Done for now

At this point the video has barely reached the 5 minute mark. Just look how much we have covered already! We actually created a pretty decent beat at the moment. You see, this straightforward and fast workflow is the main attraction of a tracker.

As the video continues, Neil blends in a breakbeat and tacks on a synth bassline, which touches upon some topics that are outside the scope (and length) of this article. A follow-up to this article is necessary to cover the rest of video. Ofcourse, you can follow through the rest of the video tutorial yourself, because it is not that hard at all.

Update: The follow-up tutorial about the 2nd half of the video is now available. Groovy bassline in less than 5 minutes

Good luck and until next time!

Credits to Neil ‘Celsius’ Gaeggeler of Shaper for creating the original video tutorial.