ReViSiT

[Reactor Grits]

For any of you who's into tracking, read on. And no, this ain't about Renoise.

If you know that Renoise is a fasttracker 2 clone, you might also remember Impulse tracker. This was basically a better (but uglier) version of ft2 and was developed until about 10 years ago.

You might also know that tracking is vertical sequencing and a thing like cubase or fl horizontal. But sometimes both can have their merit. I like to do my drums in a tracker for instance and melodies in a piano roll. Since Renoise holds no piano roll, there is a nice alternative which combines both and doesn't require adapting to a whole new sequencer.

This is called ReViSiT. It's basically a clone of Impulse tracker which you load as a VSTi in your sequencer, like a softsampler. You can load samples in it and rout them to audio channels in your sequencer, and/or control other VSTi's from the tracker by midi. And since trackers work with patterns, you can visualize these in your sequencer in midi channels where you can draw the patterns to be played.

For a producer who wants best of both worlds, this could be your thing. I've been using this for 2 months now and couldn't think of going back. I've routed ReViSiT to Shortcircuit for instance so I can control my sliced breaks in the tracker and do the most weird stuff, whilst cubase is controlling the SC output with fx etc. It all takes a bit to set up, but it's rewarding in the end. The documentation coming with the program sorts most things out now.

One con but also a pro: this thing will cost money in the future but not just yet. Yes... let me explain. The pro version is out now but is still being beta tested by any one who likes to apply. This version is stable enough (trust me) and it's free to download BUT you'll have to participate into an experiment done by the Cambridge Uni who looks at your workflow whilst working in the tracker. This might sound a bit scary but it's not. They're not stealing your bank details or tunes, but are just looking at whether your workflow in tracking beats yours in a horizontal sequencer (when you're online). When the experiment is over (in a half year from now), you can have the program for free!

Check all the details here:
ReViSiT

 

[logikz]

sounds the bizness!!

 

[kama]

I don't know man. I downloaded Modplug tracker a few months ago and it was scary... How can I go back to that vertical approach? I get these chills down my spine when I visualize it. Plus when I looked elsewhere from the monitor everything seemed to be going upwards, it was sick as hell.

I'll check that link though.

 

[kama]

Btw could I make a pattern in the tracker and have it triggered via a midi note from the DAW?

---ok just read the features list, looks like it. That's a good thing. But tell me grits, how exactly do you load up sound to it, does it happen the same way like in the trackers of old, that it has its own samples? Then how exactly do you use it to trigger shortcircuit?

 

[Reactor Grits]

Plus when I looked elsewhere from the monitor everything seemed to be going upwards, it was sick as hell.

Wow!! You got high from tracking?! That's amazing, wish I had that. Everything goes sideways as well when you do Cubase?

Anyway, yeah it works just like a tracker except it's integrated in Cubase. So for example, you load a sample in the sampler (which automatically gets assigned as an instrument where you define volume envelopes, NNA's etc) and then you can rout the sample to a fx bus in cubase. These busses are called Rebus and you can have 16 outputs, assigned to channels, samples or instruments (I choose the latter). You can rout everything through a matrix to the proper channels when you press F11 if I remember correct. Then you make an audio track in cubase, choose 'rebus' as insert effect, and select the corresponding output. now you can add vst fx to the samples in revisit!
so yes, the tracker holds the samples (although you can control them from SC as well, see below) and cubase does the vst fx, mixing and automation basically.

VSTi's are controlled by MIDI. Set up a MIDI channel in Cubase with input revisit, output the VSTi you wanna fuck with. Make sure the audition button (the loudspeaker) is turned on in this channel. Assign a midi channel to the track and the same to the VSTi (if necessary) and go back to revisit. Choose an empty instrument slot and hit the pitch/midi tab. You see a thing called 'midi input/output' there. now what you do, is click the 'out' tab (so it becomes dark) and select the midi channel you just selected in the midi track. If all is right, you can now control VSTi's with ReViSiT!

Finally, the SC trick. Load it up and revisit, and load a sample in shortcircuit. Select a midi channel for it. Set up again a midi channel in cubase with, just like in last example the input to revisit and the output to shortcircuit. set the midi channel to all and turn the audition button on. Finally, you once again pick an empty instrument slot in revisit, go to the pitch/midi tab and click the 'out' tab in the midi thing to dark and set the right midi channel. Now you control samples in SC and can set the fx in SC and cubase for them.

phew

 

[kama]

Oh man that was a long description and after all that I don't even have cubase but reaper, but I think I can manage. That would actually be a blessing with reaper since its midi editor aka piano roll is utter shite, this would be a welcome addition to making beats with it.

cool, Guess I'll try it after all.




it just somehow doesn't........feel right, tracking and all. Like back to the stone age

 

[Reactor Grits]

heh, load a rex up in SC and feel how it is to make breaks again in a tracker... bliss to me! and well, tracking looks quite oldskool with all the numbers and matrixes, but I find it a lot more versatile sometimes than the piano roll or copy/paste/drag samples around all the time (in terms of beats, percussion etc)