MIDI PADs
to Controll Tracks
A professional tool for Renoise DAW that connects MIDI pads and buttons to your project navigation. It offers instant access to tracks, instruments, and the mix with zero latency and intelligent song structure scanning.
Platform: Renoise 3.x (tested on 3.5.4)
Features: Native Project Controll Tracks, Send Tracks, MIDI Channel, Instruments. Function MUTE, SOLO, Select Track, Clean Selected Row Display.
1. Main Workflow & GUI
The tool is designed for lightning-fast navigation without the need for a mouse. The GUI serves as an interactive control panel and simultaneously as a real-time visual state monitor for the entire project.
Triple-Logic Mapping
Map your pads via Ctrl+M. A single pad handles three actions: a soft press selects the track/instrument, a harder press toggles MUTE, and a long hold activates SOLO.
Smart Indication
GUI buttons inherit track colors from Renoise. You instantly see which track is selected, which belongs to a Group, and where Sends or Solo states are currently active.
GROUP Row & SOLO Button
- GROUP: Displays the detected Renoise group structure and shows which tracks belong to the active group area. Clicking a GROUP item selects the related project area and keeps navigation focused on the group context.
- SOLO: Shows the current solo state for the related group or track block. Clicking the SOLO button toggles solo behavior directly from the GUI, matching the hardware long-hold solo workflow.
PAD Buttons
- PADs: Display the active pad set mapped to tracks, sends, instruments, or MIDI channels. Clicking a PAD button selects its assigned target in Renoise.
- PAD feedback: Button color and state follow the current Renoise target, including selection, mute, solo, send, and instrument/channel assignment visibility.
Tracks
The Tracks row displays native Renoise tracks in the mapped project range. Clicking a Track button selects the track and updates the Selected row, PAD state, and visual feedback.
Send 1 & Send 2
Send 1 and Send 2 rows display the detected send-track destinations. Clicking a Send button selects the corresponding send track so the mix target can be reached instantly from the GUI or hardware workflow.
Instr & MIDI Channel
Instr shows the detected instrument assignment for the active pad target. MIDI Channel shows the detected channel routing. Clicking these buttons selects the related instrument/channel context for fast project navigation.
2. Key Features & Engine
Version 4.28 keeps the redesigned native scan engine stable and adds a cleaner Selected row presentation for instrument names, without changing the fast hardware workflow.
Native Project Scan
The tool automatically scans patterns and detects assigned instruments and MIDI channels. This completely eliminates the need to set mathematical offsets.
Optimized Performance
An architecture utilizing “Dirty Flags” and “Throttling” ensures that Renoise won’t freeze, even during extremely rapid API state changes.
CC 127 Support
Native support for standard non-dynamic MIDI buttons. A CC value of 127 is automatically interpreted as a strict Select command.
3. Advanced Settings
The Advanced Settings section allows precise calibration of the tool for your specific MIDI controller and workflow preferences.
Project Structure
- Pads per Set: The number of pads displayed in one row (typically 8 or 10 depending on your controller).
- First Track Index: The project track from which the tool should start mapping the first pad.
PAD Sensitivity & Timers
- Select Threshold: The velocity limit below which a Select action is triggered. Above this threshold, Mute is activated.
- Dead Zone: The dead zone between Select and Mute actions to eliminate accidental toggling.
- Hold Time: The duration in seconds you must hold the pad to activate the SOLO state.
- Debounce: A time filter to prevent multiple triggers from mechanical button bounces.
4. Version 4.28 Refinement
Version 4.28 focuses on display clarity in the Selected row. Instrument names are now presented without trailing technical notes or parenthetical suffixes, so the live view stays clean during fast track and instrument navigation.
Clean Instrument Name
The Selected row now strips trailing parenthetical information from instrument labels. This keeps the currently selected instrument readable and prevents long technical suffixes from polluting the live GUI state.
No Workflow Change
The update does not change MIDI mapping, PAD behavior, track selection, MUTE, SOLO, timers, or observable logic. It is a focused GUI text cleanup built on the existing v4.x engine.
5. Changelog
v4.15 Final: Group Solo, Group Mute, PAD OFF & Visual State Engine
v4.14: Anti-Freeze Architecture (Throttled idle processing, removed heavy rescans)
v4.13: Zero FOUC GUI (Pre-rendered GUI preparation, no layout flashing)
v4.12: Standard MIDI Button Support (CC value 127 = Select command)
v4.10: Smart Instrument & MIDI CH Detection (Native Scan Engine)
v4.05: Smart pattern scrolling (Absolute & Endless encoders support)
v3.9x: Split Solo Architecture (Native separation of Group vs Track Solo logic)