Mixer

Mixer

If you are familiar with hardware mixer consoles, the Mixer in Renoise will look familiar to you. It provides a quick overview of all available tracks, DSP effects and output levels. This is especially useful in the last production stage, when you are finished with the main song structure and need to concentrate on polishing the final mix.

The Mixer also allows you to display a subset of track effect parameters which you can customise. Using this, you can prepare your songs for live performance by showing only the parameters you would like to concentrate on adjusting.

Pre/Post Volume and Panning Concept

Volume and panning controls in the Mixer can be set up to show two different levels:

• Pre: Volume and panning levels which are applied after instrument playback, but before track DSP effects are applied.
• Post: Volume and panning levels which are applied after all track DSP effects are applied. This is the final sound leaving track and being fed into the Master Track.

The idea behind the Pre/Post mix separation is that you should use the Pre levels while composing the song. Automation, like the fade-in of tracks, should be applied here or with a Gainer Device. Post volume and panning levels cannot be automated and should only be used in the final mixing stage to balance the mix.

Customizing the Mixer Layout

At the right side of the Mixer you will notice a set of buttons relating to some of the components:

• File:Vvoois renoise mixer labels.png - Show/hide parameter labels above DSP sliders.

• File:Vvoois renoise mixer mute.png - Show/hide mute and solo track controls.

• File:Vvoois renoise mixer pan.png - Show/hide panning sliders.

• File:Vvoois renoise mixer meter.png - Show/hide VU meters and main volume faders.

• File:Vvoois renoise mixer vol.png - Show/hide volume edit box.

• File:Vvoois renoise mixer del.png - Show/hide custom track delays. Entering a negative value will play the track before others, while a positive value will play it after. This is only available for Sequencer Tracks. This can be useful to compensate small latency problems with MIDI and plugin based tracks.

• File:Vvoois renoise mixer out.png - Show/hide audio routing control. Audio routing defines where the track's final output will be send to. Selecting "Master" will send the output to the Master Track and through its DSP effect chain. Selecting a dedicated output of your soundcard will bypass the Master Track, allowing you to separate and mix Renoise tracks with an external mixer console. This is only possible if your soundcard allows the use of multiple channels. To make us of this feature on Windows, you have to use ASIO, on Linux, Jack Audio.

Track colours can be shown or hidden in the Mixer as well. Right-click anywhere in the Mixer DSP chain section and select, "Show Track Colors".

Send Devices/Tracks and the Post Mixer

To route a sound from one track into a Send Track, insert a #Send Device into the track that you want to send the signal from. Send Tracks are typically used to apply the same set of Track DSPs to multiple tracks at once. A Send Track can also make use of a #Send Device, so there are many possibilities available for complex routing. The slider in the #Send Device's box controls the amount of audio that is sent to the Send Track.

When using a #Send Device you have a choice between:

• Mute Source: The signal is muted after it is routed to the Send Track, meaning that the current track becomes silent and DSPs appearing after the Send Device in the DSP chain will have no effect.
• Keep Source: The signal is routed to the Send Track, but also continues to play on the current track (see illustration below).

When using Send Devices with a “Mute Source” option, the post volume and panning levels will have no effect. That's because the signal is sent “away” from the track to the send tracks before the signal reaches the tracks output. To change the tracks levels, you then either have to use the send tracks volume and pan levels or have to adjust the “Send Device” amount.

To visualize this in the mixer, track levels which do not reach then POST volume and paning are shown in a different color. That's white by default instead of green, but may vary depending on which color theme you are using in Renoise:

(Track with a Send Device with Mute Source)

File:Vvoois renoise mute keep source.png

(Send Device Routing in rhe Mixer)

Adjusting Level Meters

Volume level meters display volume on one in four available scales: −24dB to 0dB, −48dB to 0dB −96dB to 0dB dB and a linear scaling. To change the scaling for all meters you can right click on any level meter in the mixer. The meters can this way also be disabled.

A small tip: The master level meter on top of the interface can be adjusted and disabled as well this way.

Controlling the Mixer with a MIDI controller

You can attach MIDI controllers to the pre- AND post-mixer, Mute/Solo controls to be able to comfortably do mix the a MIDI controller. To do so select View → Midi Mapping… in the main menu, or click on the MIDI Mapping button on top of the interface next to the main VU meter.

Please have a look for a more detailed description of the MIDI Mapping feature.

Working with DSP Effects and Chains

Track DSP devices are shown in the mixer-rack above the track levels and the other channel strip controls. Right clicking an effect gives you a set of options for the selected FX and for the whole chain. For example to initialize, cut, copy paste a device or to set up which parameters you would like to see in the mixer for every DSP.

Drag and Drop, Copy and Paste

To copy a DSP from one track to the another, simply click on it with the mouse and move it to its new place while still holding down the mouse button. Pressing CONTROL while dropping the DSP will create a copy of the device. This and more can also be done with the standard copy/paste key commands (CONTROL-c, CONTROL-x and CONTROL-v).

Please note: Copying or moving an effect from one track to another, will not move also the automation for the device. When moving a device the original automation will be removed.