MIDI Mapping

MIDI Mapping

Via MIDI Mapping you can remotely control Renoise from your external MIDI controller or master keyboard. Nearly everything you can do in Renoise with the mouse or the keyboard can also be done from an external MIDI controller.

MIDI mappings are saved along with your song, unlike the keyboard mappings in the preferences. This way you can create unique MIDI mapping sessions for every song and also share the settings by either using Template Songs or by importing/exporting common MIDI mappings in the MIDI dialog (see below).

Renoise will never automatically detect your MIDI controller and configure the mappings for you. You have to manually (at least once for a Template Song) set up the controller.

MIDI Device Setup

First make sure Renoise knows which device you want to use for MIDI mapping by setting it in the "Edit -> Preferences -> MIDI" panel.

Opening the MIDI Mapping Dialog

The MIDI Mapping dialog box can be opened with the "Options -> MIDI Mapping..." option in the main menu (or by pressing "Control/Command + M"):

It can also be opened by clicking the "MIDI Map" button to the right of the VU meters at the top of the Renoise interface:

Next to the "MIDI Map" button you will also find two small LEDs which show the MIDI input/output that Renoise receives/sends. If you are in doubt about whether your MIDI controller is set up and connected correctly to Renoise, then watch the green LED, the input, which should blink when you use the controller.

• Left: MIDI Clock (if enabled in the MIDI Preferences)
• Right: General MIDI input and output

The MIDI Mapping Dialog at a Glance

• Learn Mode:
  • Highlights all the parts of Renoise available for MIDI Mapping (see image below). Select a highlighted button or parameter, then press a note or move a controller to assign.
  • When clicked, "Learn Mode" will become "Test Mode", which allows you to test out what you've just mapped without having to close the MIDI Mapping dialog.
• Available & Active Mappings: Clicking the arrow will unfold a list of the currently available and active mappings.
• Selected parameter: Displays the currently mapped parameter in Renoise.
  • Channel: The MIDI channel currently mapped from your controller.
  • CC No: The CC number currently mapped from your controller.
  • CC Type:The type of MIDI CC controller.
    • Absolute 7 bit: Use the CC value as an absolute value.
    • Relative signed bit: Increase at [065 - 127], decrease at [001 - 063].
    • Relative signed bit 2: Increase at [001 - 063], decrease at [065 - 127].
    • Relative bin offset: Increase at [065 - 127], decrease at [063 - 000].
    • Relative two's comp: Increase at [001 - 64], decrease at [127 - 065].
  • Min: When mapping, for example, a MIDI fader or encoder to an effect parameter in Renoise, this allows you to set up the lower boundary of the controller.
  • Max: This allows you to set up the upper boundary of the controller in Renoise. Tip: Swap min and max values to reverse the controller.

" Prefer to Set instead of Toggling: Specify how the controller should change things that are turned On/Off in Renoise. See #Set, Trigger and Toggle Mappings for a detailed description.

• Allow mapping the same Note/CC more than once: When enabled, you can assign the same controller button or fader (the same MIDI message) to multiple things in Renoise. As an example, this could be used for cross-fades of two track volume parameters.
• Record MIDI mapped parameters to automation: When enabled, any parameter changes you make with the MIDI controller will be recorded into either the Pattern Editor or Automation Editor. This only applies when Edit Mode is enabled.

File:Vvoois renoise midi mapping 4.png

Create Mappings

• Click on a highlighted parameter or button.

• Send MIDI from your controller (press a key, push a button, move a fader etc.)

Renoise will automatically map the selected parameter to the chosen key/button/fader of the controller.

Note: When using endless encoders, which may send one of the relative CC modes noted above, slowly turn it to the left in order to map it. This allows Renoise to estimate how the encoder works (guess the relative CC modes). This you won't have to keep manually resetting the mode.

Remove Mappings

To remove a mapping, open the MIDI Mapping dialog and click on the mapped part of the Renoise GUI. Then hit the Backspace or Delete key on your keyboard. Alternatively, press the "Clear" button next to the parameter description:

To clear all of the mapped parameters, click the "Clear" button at the top of the dialog (next to the load and save buttons).

Import/Export Mappings

If you want to share MIDI mappings you've set up, you can do so by importing/exporting them. To export, click on the "Save" button at the top of the dialog. This will prompt you for a file name and a location to save the mappings to. Exported settings can be imported by clicking the "Load" button and selecting a file.

Note that Renoise won't be able to save/restore parameter mappings. Parameter mappings are mappings in Track DSP effects. Those will be different in every song, so it would not make much sense to do so. Whats im/exported instead, is everything you find under "Global Mappings" in the "Available and active mappings" list, like Start/Stop the song, select/trigger Sequences and so on...

If you want to use the same mappings over and over again for your songs, then it might be useful to use a Template Song. Because all mappings are saved along in your songs, set up your favorite mappings in an empty document once, and then save this song as template. This will enable all your mappings by default, for every new song that you create.

Set, Trigger and Toggle Mappings

When opened, the list of available and active mappings shows you all possible parameters and functions that you can map in Renoise. This list contains way more entries and thus possibilities than whats highlighted in Renoise to be automatically mapped.

There are mappings to for example select the currently active track, to control the selected Track DSP FX and much more. Please see below for some usage tips.

Further, a lot of things can be mapped in more than one way. Note the postfix of the mapping names in the list: [Trigger], [Toggle] or [Set]

Lets try to understand what [Set], [Trigger] or [Toggle] means.

1. [Trigger]: This means in words: Whenever your controller sends something, do "something" in Renoise, ignoring any values or states from the MIDI messages. This is for example used for things like "Start Playing" or "Stop Playing".

1. [Toggle]: Let the controller only change a value from On to Off or Off to On again ignoring any "values" or "states" from the MIDI messages, from the controller.

1. [Set]: Let the controller exactly specify when something is On or Off. So when the controller sends out a value of 0 (< 64 to be exact) then this means for Renoise Off. A value of 12 (>= 64 to be exact) means On for Renoise. This way you can let your MIDI controller have the total control.

To understand the difference between [Toggle] and [Set] better, lets have a look at what MIDI controllers may send out. Here is an example for a button that sends a MIDI controller change message:

A) Button Pressed: Controller with Value 127 (or something above 64) is sent. Button Released: Controller with Value 0 (or something below 64) is sent. Button Pressed again: same as before. Button Released again: same as before.

B) Button Pressed: Controller with Value 127 (or something above 64). Button Released: nothing. Button Pressed again: Controller with Value 0. Button Released again: nothing.

C) Button Pressed: Controller with Value 127 (or something above 64). Button Released: nothing. Button Pressed again: Controller with Value 127 is sent again. Button Released again: nothing.

So some controllers may use use protocol A, others B or C, even other non listed combination are possible. Often this can also be configured for the controllers. We want Renoise to deal with all those possibilities, thats why the [Toggle] [Set] options exist.

Lets say you want to set something ON or OFF in Renoise, you then have to 'tell' Renoise how it should deal with the incoming messages. Lets choose the global "Edit Mode" as example:

There are two variants for the "Edit Mode" in the list of available MIDI mappings:

Edit Mode [Toggle] -> will ignore Controller Values of 0, so you can use controller A) or C). Edit Mode [Set] -> will not ignore Controller 0 Values, but interpret them as "state": CC value > 64 ON, CC value < 64 OFF, so you can use controller B) or encoders or faders.

If you are unsure whats the „right“ mode for you controller, simply try out both variants. Then select the variant also for other mappings for this controller because its very likely that it sends MIDI the same way for other buttons as well. Note that Renoise always chooses the [Toggle] variants when doing the MIDI learning by clicking on the highlighted frames in the GUI.

Automatically choose [Set] or [Toggle]

When clicking on something in the Renoise GUI to quickly do mappings, the "Prefer to Set instead of Toggling" option in the MIDI mapping dialog defines which mappings should be used for your controller. [Set] will be selected when the option ins enabled, else [Toggle] is used. This way you only have to decide which type of mapping you want and can quickly do the mapping without using the "Available And Active Mappings" list.

Dynamic Mappings

In the list of "Available and Active Mappings", you will find much more options than things you can click on in Renoise. Here are some examples. Feel free to explore the list by your own to find more options that may be useful for you.

Selected Track Mappings

'Global Mappings/Navigation/Tracks'

allows you to switch over the next or previous track in Renoise. This alone is not yet that interesting, but it will be with the following examples, which all use the selected track as base:

'Global Mappings/Track Muting/Current Track'

allows you to mute/unmute the currently selected track

'Global Mappings/Track Levels/Volume/Current Track'

allows you to control the volume selected track and

'Global Mappings/Track Levels/Panning/Current Track'

the panning of the current track.

this way you can control every track in all songs with a few buttons and faders on your controller.

Selected DSP FX Mapping

Same is possible for Track DSPs:

We already mapped track selection, now we also map selection of DSPs via:

'Global Mappings/Navigation/Track DSPs/Select'

and can control up to 32 parameters with

'Global Mappings/Track DSPs/Selected FX/Parameter #XX

via

'Global Mappings/Track DSPs/Selected FX (Mixer Subset)/Parameter #XX'

we can control only the parameters which are seen in the mixer for a DSP. The great thing about this is that you can customize which parameters are seen by your own (right click on the FX in the mixer, Show Sliders). This way you can for example control and navigate through a small subset of parameters in a live performance. Prepare which parameters you would like to change and which not...

Sequencer Navigation & Triggering

Just like the track and DSP effects, the sequencer can be controller as well in a dynamic manner. I leave this for you to explore by your own, just like other things in the mappings list.