Instrument selector

In the Instrument selector section, you select and define your instruments and samples. The Instrument Selector window will help you with the selection of your samples/instruments. It shows all the sounds that are used in your song and their names and lets you change them.

Screen displays (from top-left to bottom right)

• Headphones icon

  Toggles instrument preview (when selected).

• Cut/Copy/Paste

  Performs a Cut/Copy/Paste operation on a selected instrument. Use Cut to delete the selected instrument.

• + / - (upper window)

  Selects another instrument bank. One instrument bank consists of 8 instruments. It works like page-up/down for all of your instruments.

• Arrow Up/Arrow Down

  Moves the selected instrument up / down in the list. This affects instrument numbers in patterns too and they are remapped to match the new instrument order in this list.

• + / - (lower window)

  Moves through the sample list in the lower window (for multi sampled instruments).

Double clicking on an instrument name opens the Instrument Editor (or VST editor window) and double clicking on the sample name opens the Sample Editor. Clicking with the right mouse button on a sample name or instrument name renames it.

Using the instrument selector

When you load or create instruments, they are placed in this list. Then you can use or rearrange them. Samples, MIDI instruments, and VST instruments are displayed in different colors in this list.

Some options in Renoise require a source and a destination instrument/sample. You can select the destination by clicking on the sample name (which highlights it). To select a source sample click on the sample number. The sample number should be highlighted now as well. You can now use the source/destination operations as the program now knows where they are (for example, exchange or mix in Sample Editor or operations in the Advanced Edit section).

If you use multi-sample instruments (where for instance each octave can be represented with one or more samples) you can select an individual sample by clicking on the lower window. Then you can edit it. This way you can make drum kits or multi sampled instruments like pianos or strings. To setup which sample will be assigned to which key on your keyboard go to the Instrument Editor in the (6) Properties window.

Hints on organizing many samples in the Instrument selector

General hints

• Put all drum samples in the first bank. If it exceeds the bank size (8 samples) put the rest in second bank.
• Put all samples that are leads, strings etc. in another bank (for example in second bank) etc.
• Use your banks the same way in all your songs. Always put the drums in first one, strings in second etc. In Renoise you can move samples through banks with the arrow buttons (unlike in many other trackers) so use it to organize your sounds.

How to organize many samples on your harddisk

Our recommendation is that you create a folder like this:

• Root (or other starting folder)
• Root / Renoise
• Root / Renoise / Samples
• Root / Renoise / Songs Renoise Ideas
• Root / Renoise / Songs Renoise Work
• Root / Renoise / Songs Renoise Finals
• Root / Renoise / Songs Noisetrekker
• Root / Renoise / Songs FastTracker2
• Root / Renoise / Songs Amiga 4-ch Mod
  etc.

In the Samples folder:

• Drums
• Loops
• Strings
• Pads
• Basses
  etc.

In the Drums folder:

• 909 drums
• 808 drums
• Sound effects
• Orchestral drums
  etc.

Make your own structure and keep it that way. This way you can always quickly locate any samples that you require.

Many commercially available sample CDs will have samples organized that way, so if you have such CDs you can learn how you can organize your own samples similarly. It'll speed up things and minimize the risk that you spend too much time on searching samples instead of being creative.

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