Latest revision as of 10:03, 22 March 2022

Setting Up MIDI Devices

You can connect external MIDI devices to Renoise in order to play notes or record controllers (automation). This is often done with a MIDI master keyboard or an external synthesizer which is capable of sending MIDI. While it is possible to use the computer keyboard to enter notes in Renoise, it is not velocity sensitive and can only map two and half octaves at once. So a MIDI keyboard is highly recommended when you want to accurately record "live" playing.

Using the MIDI Mapping function, you can externally map things like starting/stopping the song, changing sequences, levelling tracks and FX etc. This can be done by either mapping regular notes from a master keyboard, or with MIDI hardware which is dedicated to the task, such as MIDI controllers and mixers.

With the MIDI Clock you can sync external MIDI capable devices to the Renoise clock or vice versa.

To play external MIDI instruments you just use the MIDI section of a Renoise instrument, which does not require anything to be set up via the Preferences menu.

Default Setup

By default, Renoise is set up to use the first two devices it finds as input devices. If you don't have more than two devices, MIDI IO might work right out of the box for you. To verify that Renoise recognises your MIDI keyboard or controller, load up a sample and press notes on the keyboard. If you can't hear what you're playing, you should open up the Preferences menu and have a look at the settings.

Monitoring MIDI-IO

To the right of the menu options within the Upper Status Bar will be either two or four small LEDs. If there are four LEDs then the left set refer to MIDI Clock signals, while the right set refer to general MIDI transfers. If there is no MIDI Clock set up, then there will be only two LEDs, representing general MIDI transfers. Every message that is sent from Renoise will blink the red LED, while every message that is received by Renoise will blink the green.

MIDI Preferences

To change the MIDI settings in Renoise, select "Edit->Preferences" from the Upper Status Bar. On MacOS you will find the "Preferences" in the "Renoise" menu at the very left.

In the Preferences menu, select the MIDI tab:

(Example of the MIDI Preferences tab on Windows)

Device Setup

Clicking on one of the device drop down boxes shows a list of the currently installed MIDI devices. Simply select the one that you would like to use.

On Windows, you may find the same entry appearing twice, one with WDM before the name and one without. If that's the case, then your sound-card or MIDI device offers two different drivers for the same device. WDM is a new kind of driver which offers better timing, so select this one if it works.

On Linux, you will also see some generic names (Renoise Input A/B). These devices are virtual ports that Renoise registers so that other applications can connect to them easily. To do all MIDI routing outside of Renoise with the ALSA MIDI patch-bay applications, take a look at the Linux MIDI HowTo FAQs for more information about this and ALSA in general.

In the above picture, you can see three configuration panels:

MIDI Master Keyboard / Mapping: Connect your external MIDI master keyboard or MIDI controller to Renoise

MIDI Clock Master: Send MIDI clock timing information to other MIDI devices

MIDI Clock Slave: Sync Renoise to external MIDI devices

All that is needed to start is to select the required devices. For a detailed description of the other advanced settings, take a look at the Preferences section of the manual.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= Configuring MIDI-Devices =
+= Setting Up MIDI Devices =
-You can connect external MIDI devices to Renoise, to play notes or record controllers (automation). This is often done with a MIDI master keyboard or an external synthesizer which also can send MIDI. You can also [[Playing_Notes_with_the_Computer_Keyboard|use the computer keyboard to enter notes]] in Renoise, so even without a MIDI keyboard you will be able to edit and create songs in Renoise. But the computer keyboard is not velocity sensitive and can also only map two octaves, so a MIDI keyboard is highly recommended when you want to [[Recording_Notes_into_Patterns|record what you “play”].
+You can connect external MIDI devices to Renoise in order to play notes or record controllers (automation). This is often done with a MIDI master keyboard or an external synthesizer which is capable of sending MIDI. While it is possible to [[Playing_Notes_with_the_Computer_Keyboard|use the computer keyboard to enter notes]] in Renoise, it is not velocity sensitive and can only map two and half octaves at once. So a MIDI keyboard is highly recommended when you want to accurately [[Recording_and_Editing_Notes|record "live" playing]].
-With Renoises [[MIDI Mapping]] function, you can map things like starting/stopping the song or changing sequences, leveling tracks and FX without using the computer mouse of keyboard. This can either be done by mapping regular notes from a master keyboard, or with MIDI hardware which is dedicated to this task, like MIDI mixers, controllers.
+Using the [[MIDI Mapping]] function, you can externally map things like starting/stopping the song, changing sequences, levelling tracks and FX etc. This can be done by either mapping regular notes from a master keyboard, or with MIDI hardware which is dedicated to the task, such as MIDI controllers and mixers.
+With the [[MIDI Clock]] you can sync external MIDI capable devices to the Renoise clock or vice versa.
+To play external MIDI instruments you just use the [[MIDI]] section of a Renoise instrument, which does not require anything to be set up via the Preferences menu.
-Via MIDI clock you can sync other external MIDI capable devices to Renoises timing clock or vice versa.
 == Default Setup ==
-By default Renoise is set up to select the first two devices it finds as input devices. If you don't have more than two devices, MIDI IO might work right out of the box for you. So the first thing you should try out is, if Renoise recognizes your MIDI keyboard or controller. The easiest way to do so is to load up a sample and plying around with the keyboard. If you can't hear what you play, you should open up the preferences and have a look at the settings.
+By default, Renoise is set up to use the first two devices it finds as input devices. If you don't have more than two devices, MIDI IO might work right out of the box for you. To verify that Renoise recognises your MIDI keyboard or controller, load up a sample and press notes on the keyboard. If you can't hear what you're playing, you should open up the Preferences menu and have a look at the settings.
 == Monitoring MIDI-IO ==
-On the top right of Renoises interface are two or four small LEDs, red and green. Two for the MIDI clock sync devices, two for general MIDI in and output. Every message that is sent from Renoise will blink the red LED, every messages that is received by Renoise will be green:
+To the right of the menu options within the [[Main_Screen#Upper_Status_Bar|Upper Status Bar]] will be either two or four small LEDs. If there are four LEDs then the left set refer to MIDI Clock signals, while the right set refer to general MIDI transfers. If there is no MIDI Clock set up, then there will be only two LEDs, representing general MIDI transfers. Every message that is sent from Renoise will blink the red LED, while every message that is received by Renoise will blink the green.
+[[Image:3.0_midi-io.gif]]
-[[Image:renoise_midi_blink2.gif]]
 == MIDI Preferences ==
-To change MIDI settings yo do open the preferences. This is don in Renoise by clicking the main''' Edit''' menu''' → Preferences. '''On OSX you will find the preferences in the '''Renoise''' menu, the one on the menu bar on the very left. Alternatively you can hit the shortcut Control/Command + ","
+To change the MIDI settings in Renoise, select ''"Edit->Preferences"'' from the Upper Status Bar. On MacOS you will find the ''"Preferences"'' in the ''"Renoise"'' menu at the very left.
-In the preferences menu, select the MIDI tab:
-[[Image:vvoois_renoise_preferences_midi.png]]
+In the Preferences menu, select the MIDI tab:
-MIDI master keyboard / MID Mapping settings apply to “playing notes in Renoise” via MIDI and to “remote control” Renoise. You can select up to two devices for the general input.
+[[Image:3.4_preferences-midi.png]]
-To play external devices from Renoise, you don't have to set up anything in the preferences. This is done by simply selecting the device you want to play in the Instrument MIDI properties.
+(Example of the MIDI Preferences tab on Windows)
 == Device Setup ==
-Clicking on one of the device drop downs brings up a list of MIDI devices that are currently installed. Simply select the one you would like to use then.
+Clicking on one of the device drop down boxes shows a list of the currently installed MIDI devices. Simply select the one that you would like to use.
-On windows, you maybe will find the same entry twice, one with a WDM behind its name and one not. If that's the case, then your sound card or MIDI device offer two different drivers for the same devices. WDM is a new kind of driver, which offers better timing, so you should prefer using this one if it works.
+On Windows, you may find the same entry appearing twice, one with WDM before the name and one without. If that's the case, then your sound-card or MIDI device offers two different drivers for the same device. WDM is a new kind of driver which offers better timing, so select this one if it works.
-On Linux, you will also see some generic names (Renoise Input A/B and so on). Those devices are virtual ports which Renoise registers, so that other applications can connect to them easily. Or to do all the MIDI routing outside of Renoise with the ALSA MIDI patch-bay applications Please have a look at the [http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-HOWTO/MIDI-HOWTO.html http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-HOWTO/MIDI-HOWTO.html] for more information about this and ALSA in general.
+On Linux, you will also see some generic names (Renoise Input A/B). These devices are virtual ports that Renoise registers so that other applications can connect to them easily. To do all MIDI routing outside of Renoise with the ALSA MIDI patch-bay applications, take a look at the [http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-HOWTO/MIDI-HOWTO.html Linux MIDI HowTo FAQs] for more information about this and ALSA in general.
 In the above picture, you can see three configuration panels:
-* '''MIDI Master keyboard / Mapping:''' Connect your external MIDI master keyboard or MIDI controller to Renoise
+* '''MIDI Master Keyboard / Mapping:''' Connect your external MIDI master keyboard or MIDI controller to Renoise
 * '''MIDI Clock Master:''' Send MIDI clock timing information to other MIDI devices
-* '''MIDI Clock Slave''': Sync Renoise to external MIDI devices
+* '''MIDI Clock Slave:''' Sync Renoise to external MIDI devices
-Setting up the devices is basically all you need to start. For a detailed description of the other advanced settings, have a look at the [[Preferences]] pages in this manual please.
+All that is needed to start is to select the required devices. For a detailed description of the other advanced settings, take a look at the [[Preferences#MIDI|Preferences]] section of the manual.

Setting Up MIDI Devices: Difference between revisions