Most trackers, Renoise among them, could be characterized as a standalone sequencer instrument with some DAW features. Renoise specifically is sampling-first.

Most trackers, Renoise among them, could be characterized as a standalone sequencer instrument with some DAW features. Renoise specifically is sampling-first. It has the gamut of typical sampler features and built-in effects, plus you have multiple ways to sequence everything(besides high-level pattern reuse across the song, you can abstract a lot of stuff into key-triggered sub-sequences or macro knobs). It has built-in effects, you can record automation curves and if you have something very specific in mind, there is Lua-based scripting and a little community of third-party scripts. In general, step sequencing is faster here than in any piano-roll based system, with the knock-on effect of it being extremely easy to build complex percussive sequences with a lot of timbral variation. Melodic lines and harmonies can be more frustrating if you are used to reading the piano roll to establish pitch visually. Renoise does have a tool to snap note entry to a scale of your choosing(with plenty of options for scale type) which smooths out the entry process tremendously, and if you're using a lot of block chords, they can be macro-ified as well to reduce the visual noise. The VST support is OK. They recently started supporting VST3. I occasionally encounter glitches with it - particularly one longstanding one where it renders stuck notes - but not enough to dissuade me. Worst case, I isolate the problem notes and bounce them to samples(which is easy).