Track DSPs
Each track in Renoise has its own set of audio effects which are grouped into an effect chain. The chain can be a collection of built-in Audio Effects effects, plugins (VST/AU/LADSPA Effects) or Meta Devices.
DSP effects can be freely moved around within the chains. Using the Mixer, they can be moved from track to track. They also can be organized, copied, pasted or saved as a file for later use.
With Routing Devices you can send or receive signals at any point in a chain. Meta Devices do not change the actual audio signal, but instead alter the effect parameters of a DSP in any of the tracks.
Adding Effects From the Effects List
To the left of the Track DSPs panel is a list of available effects, categorised like so:
Plugin instruments will not show up in the track effect list. Instruments are handled with the Instrument Settings.
You can quickly search for an effect by typing a part of its name into the search bar at the top of the list. This also works for categories, so typing in "VST" will show only VST plugins in the list.
To add an effect from the list, either double-click on it or drag and drop it into the chain at the desired position. You can also drag and drop an effect into other tracks using the Mixer:
Organizing the Effects List
By default, the plugin effects list is sorted by vendor name. Clicking the "More" button next to the search field will vertically expand the list, giving you more room to organise the effects.
Right-clicking on a plugin or vendor/group name will bring up a context menu with the following options:
- Add To Favorites: Adds the selected plugin or vendor to your favorites list.
- Add To Group: Opens a new dialog box, where you enter a name for the group. If it is a new name, then the group will created and the selected plugin(s) moved under it. If the group already exists, then the plugin(s) will be moved over to the group.
- Ungroup: (Only available when clicking on an existing group or vendor name) Removes the selected group from the effects list.
- Rename: (Unavailable for native effects) Opens a new dialog box, where you can change the plugin or vendor name. Any changes made here will only be saved within Renoise; the actual plugin name remains the same, since it may be used by other applications.
- Hide: Excludes a plugin or a category of plugins from the list. This can be useful if you no longer use a plugin, but don't want to uninstall it because old songs still use it. To make a hidden plugin visible again, enable the "Show Hidden Devices" option, then simply "Unhide" it again.
- Collapse Whole Tree: Collapses the entire effects list, showing only the Favorites (if any exist) Native, VST categories. Handy if you need to show just a few effects.
- Expand Whole Tree: The effects list will expand back to its full size again.
- Show Hidden Devices: Enables hidden plugins to become visible again.
- Show Short Names: Instead of sorting plugins by vendor, you can also display them as a single list. With this option enabled you can still categorise the plugins by renaming them as described above.
Favorites List
To add a plugin to your custom favorites list, click the star icon to the right of it. Your favorites are located at the very top of the effects list. To remove a plugin from your favorites, simply click the star icon again.
Common Effect Layout and Controls
Each effect that you add to the chain has a standard set of buttons to perform common functions:
Storing/Recalling Effect Presets
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: Right-clicking A or B stores the current parameter set, while left-clicking restores it. This allows you quickly switch between two presets and compare them. The stored presets are saved with your song.
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: Select, edit or create presets for the current effect. Clicking upon the preset name shows a list of available presets, along with some options:
By clicking "Save as", the current parameters will be saved into a new preset. Saved presets are stored by Renoise and will show up every time you use the device in future. Presets created by you can also be deleted and renamed.
To save/load parameter presets to/from disk, use the "Import" and "Export" options in the same context menu. This method allows you to share your presets with other Renoise users.
Pre and Post Mixer Effects
Two devices are always present in every track and cannot be removed or repositioned: the pre and post mixer devices. The pre-mixer device is located at the beginning of each DSP chain and controls the volume, panning, width and delay of the track's incoming signal. For standard Sequencer Tracks this is the audio from the notes in the Pattern Editor. For Groups, Sends and the Master Track, this is the audio that is being routed to them.
The post-mixer is located at the end of the DSP chain and controls the volume and panning of the sound leaving the track. By default, the audio is routed to the Master Track, but this can be changed through the Mixer or the "Routing" tab of the pre-mixer. If your soundcard offers multiple channels, you can route audio from different tracks to different channels and even send them for post-processing to a hardware mixer.
The post-mix device in the Master Track has a few extra options:
- Auto Gain: Automatically lowers the master volume to avoid clipping. This is the same as the Transport Panel's auto gain button:
- DC Filter: When enabled, DC offsets in the master signal are automatically removed.
- Soft Clipping: When enabled, the master signal will be softly saturated when clipping occurs.
- Peak Levels: Shows the actual master signal. Using this you can easily see if the master signal is clipping.
Copy/Pasting Effect Chains
Right clicking on a DSP device or into the free space between the DSPs will show a context menu with various options for the whole DSP chain, or the currently selected DSP chain. This way you can delete, cut, copy or paste whole DSP chains, or also minimize all DSP in the current chain. Please have a look at the following screenshot for all available options:
Loading/Saving Effect Chains
It is possible to export DSP chains to disk for later use through the "DSP Chain" category in the Disk Browser. Note that when loading in DSP chains, Renoise will replace the existing chain with the new one. You can avoid this by right-clicking the DSP chain file in the Disk Browser and then selecting, "Load file with options...".
MIDI Mapping and Automating Effects
Every Track DSP parameter can be attached to a MIDI controller via the MIDI Mapping dialog box. They can also be automated using either Graphical Automation or Pattern Effect Commands.
