SuicidexCult wrote:the ar wrote:Trackers are just another instrument, another tool.
Saying they are dead is rather superficial, from my point of view.
Are old reel to reel tape recorders dead?
Some might say so, but many people/studios still use them.
Nothing is 'dead', it just depends whether they suit your workflow and if they deliver what you want them to.

Ive been busy right now learning and practicing between renoise and ableton. they are both very different yet similar. The biggest issue I have, the hill to get over right now is that in both I know how to input notes, create a beat, pretty straight forward easy stuff. Problem is it all sounds so bad and plain, my mind hears a glitch here, rewind there, stretch and so on...now I need to figure out how to do it. Is there a good video tutorial on how to do this? the guy from telefon tel aviv shows it a little in that one video but does not explain how to do it! makes it look sooo easy, copy and pasting etc...
In my opinion no amount of BeatRepeaters, BestScramblers, Glitch, or Shuffle effects can replace a solid understanding of rhythm. The tracks on the Venetian Snares "Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972 - 2006" album are anything but 'random'. They have purpose and direction. They are musically meaningful. They are full of tension, build-ups, release, complexity, structure and playfulness... I'm also struggling to create those types of rhythmic structures and I too am experimenting with Renoise because, as you probably know, it has some capabilities that some people here might not fully appreciate.
My recommendation is learn to play the drums--if you don't already know how. I started about a month ago, and I go once a week for 30 minutes but practice in the school's rental room.
Already it's paying off. I'm just learning basic 8 beat patterns and fills so far, but lots of lights are turning on in my mind. My teacher is very excellent, and I get to play on a $5,600 top-of-the-line Roland V-Drum kit (sweet)!
I've been playing along with this Cevin Key track on Fixer called Uhm. The drumming isn't too complex, but you REALLY get intimate with the structure of a piece of music when you play along with it.
Feel free to drop me a line, maybe we can learn together. I'm intent on becoming a solid percussionist. I want my rhythms to be musically meaningful. It's very easy to just use BeatRepeat, sample offset envelopes, and Glitch VST so you end up sounding exactly like everyone else when you do that...