Drum machine vs a Digital Audio Workstation

It seems like but I may be wrong that a few cats are getting a bit confused about the abilities and functions between what sampling drum machines can do and what a multitracker/recorder audio/midi sequencer can do. I hate to say it but it is important to really understand what exactly each can do.

Ren is a drum machine designed in the mode of every mpc that came before it to sequence midi tracks that send data to a sampler. Of course the virtual Ren can add plugin instruments and effect still it sends midi data.

A Daw on the only hand beyond the midi capablites is a audio multitracker, console mixer and stereo subgroup summer recorder. Remember the Ren is designed to work within a daw. The Ren isn't a daw yet. Keep is simple either work the two together are do most of a cold bounce in Ren. I suggest to learn your daw of choice.

Well, according to Dan, the vision was to make the Renaissance the only-go-to software able to be a drum machine/sampler/DAW. 1.0 is a drum machine but who knows for 1.1 and up. Besides, looking at the hardware with all those knobs just smells like DAW to me.

Ill-Green wrote:Well, according to Dan, the vision was to make the Renaissance the only-go-to software able to be a drum machine/sampler/DAW. 1.0 is a drum machine but who knows for 1.1 and up. Besides, looking at the hardware with all those knobs just smells like DAW to me.

Ren is the same concept as the mpc you have on hand now. Yes in the future it will have additions on the level on say the mpc 5000. But that is going to be a few upgrades from now in the virtual future. And you and I always have to deal with reality now. All mpcs are drum machines that is the essential of mpcs and the beauty of it.

However since we are in the now dealing in a virtual studio instead of a real hardware based studio, it pays to understand the tools you have on hand now. I mean everybody has Cubuse, Pro Tools, Logic, and Live and some of the most basic mixer routing, track recording, multitracking functions are easily done and they are claiming and complaining about for which the can be easily done in any daw of choice.

It seems that a bit on the confusion of what any drum machine is designed to do. I worked with a lot of virtual drum machines in varuios daws. But done are completely able to replace them, and why should I when each tool serves a different specific purpose. It is like wanting my omnispere plugin to do everything that my host does.


I honestly think many people have to wrap there minds to a new concept of software production beyond it just as a virtual tape recorder coming from hardware side. I know I had too get more out of my setup when I started changing my hardware studio to software setup.

Believe me in the long run you will have less headaches.

A piece of a advice try it if you haven't already try to sequence, arrange, mixing and complete an entire song in the daw you own without recording or importing any audio tracks from outside your project. Use only all software instruments build into the DAW don't use any third party instruments and effects. That experience will clear up a lot of misleading posts on the what you can do in a daw. And if you do the same procedures for Ren it is very clear what Ren can do.

Working in the software environment may be new for some but understanding it goes a long way.

If the Ren was a fully featured drum maschine I could slave it to Pro Tools like my MPC4000.

You should be able too when you instated in your DAW, I would be surprise if it doesn't. Check the mpc university videos for the preferences settings I remember seeing it there or check the manual under sync settings.

e9000k wrote:If the Ren was a fully featured drum maschine I could slave it to Pro Tools like my MPC4000.

Page 24 and 90 in the reference manual for automatic and manually settings.

Works alone as your main DAW or works seamlessly with your current studio as a VST, RTAS, or AU plugin

When you have Akai openly and intentionally making statements like the above quote in their marketing it creates confusion and misleads the customer. Also important is that we know what the can possibly become but nobody knows if the unit will be advanced that far.

With Numark , potential doesn't equate to feature additions. It didn't with past units and there is no guarantee that it will with the Ren/Studio software. You have to accept the unit from where it is at the moment of purchase.

I agree with moyphee to put it in context pretty much all mpcs from the 4k on up can bounce midi tracks into stereo files by resampling with the 5k being able to mix the individual audio tracks. Most virtual drum machines allow for the same thing to bounce down midi tracks into audio.


As it stands the 5k is the only mpc that multitracks audio, Ren doesn't yet. But since it operates like all mpcs before it and it intergrates well in your DAW there is no worries at least for me to use as a phrase sampling drum machiner tracking in my daw.

Understanding how virtual instruments work in your DAWs with save a lot of headaches, plugins are mostly designed as either stereo or multiout audio in DAW. When you have a multitrimbal midi instrument you usually cam only have one instance in a Daw with several input tracks tie to the one plugin. The midi plugin in a dawdoesn't send out midi to external instruments. A Daw itself can send out midi to external instruments.

Learn your daws. You will be able to do more with your production.

moyphee wrote:Also important is that we know what the can possibly become but nobody knows if the unit will be advanced that far.

With Numark , potential doesn't equate to feature additions. It didn't with past units and there is no guarantee that it will with the Ren/Studio software.

oh, almost forgot...

Ill-Green wrote:Well, according to Dan, the vision was to make the Renaissance the only-go-to software able to be a drum machine/sampler/DAW. 1.0 is a drum machine but who knows for 1.1 and up. Besides, looking at the hardware with all those knobs just smells like DAW to me.

If Akai adds audio tracks to the Ren.....I will have very little need to use a DAW.

I made this post clarify what a drum machine essentially Ren can do now and how drum machines in particular work within a DAW. Alot of cats I see asking and demanding different capabilities from the Ren seems to be misinformed on exactly how a drum machine operates and what a DAW can do. Ren isn`t a DAW yet. Most software studio vets know this from work experience in the computer enironment and so can buy it realizing the limitations and purpose it serves.

But it seems alot of users from strictly hardware background or limited software studio backgrounds are getting confused or misinformed that Ren aka drum machine is already a DAW. It is a sampling drum machine with midi tracks at this stage designed to work within a DAW.


My two cents if you understand your current DAW of choice you should have to many problems with your workflow. How plugins work within a DAW besides just assigning to a track is crucial to working in software studio.

Case in point the default drum machine in Logic Pro is Ultrabeat an sampling/drum synth sequencing drum machine. Key point is that it is drum sequencer within a main audio sequencer DAW logic. As you can see first the pattern is made in the drum machine and eventually exported into the main sequencer logic itself for arrangement. Even though is it bought in as a single midi file they are quickly separated for making an arrangement in the DAW far easily than just within the drum machine. Each drum kit can be easily routed to aux inputs for mixing and adding effects. Overall it will be easier to effect, mix and arrange within the daw of choice it is up to the user.

Whether build in plugin or third party plugins the concept is the same when working within a DAW, it is the place to bring all of your instruments together for arrangement and mixing.

For a tradionalist with a live setup or hardware studio setup the drum machine as the main sequencer is to send midi data to your synths and other modules which will route audio to your mixer to be send to your multitrack recorder which isn`t shown in the video. But all drum machines work the same to sequence midi in blocks aka sequences that can be made into songs. Alot of artists record each instruments audio either one by one or separate outputs into the multitrack recorder not another sequencer. Ren doesn`t have audio tracks for you to record your instruments audio it only sends midi data like this hardware setup. But it can bounce everything to a stereo track because it is a sampler same as this drum machine in the video if all the instruments were routed by to it.

Blue Haze wrote:I made this post clarify what a drum machine essentially Ren can do now and how drum machines in particular work within a DAW.

The Ren is a music production workstation though......

Dr. Rhythm, XR20, SR16/18, etc are drum machines.