LMMS - A free DAW for Windows and Linux - The Ultimate Guide (and Q&A)

[mazza558]

For me, this isn't too big a problem as I set things up like MIDI connections to controllers, grab a synth, and just play. Doing this, I experience no skips or pauses at all, and there's no latency. Once LMMS is up and running, it just works, even live.

I think LMMS is on the fringe of being "ready" for use now, and that's the first time it's been at that point.

when I tried to program more that three instruments with their own score programmed with the piano roll the sounds hardly follow & I hear all kind of stutters & clipping in the audio. That's the main problem I have with LMMS, with FL Studio I don't have this problem as it use the ASIO4All drivers (I guess it help a lot). It's still a nice open source project, but it need more work to work like it's meant to work.

There's a lot of performance issues which have been fixed since 0.4.5. I can confirm this because I've been using the development version for a while now. The Zynaddsubfx plugin is a lot less intensive now. I had 12 at one time, all connected to a MIDI keyboard and with no stuttering at all.

Having said that, what are the specs of your PC running LMMS? I'm using a mid-2009 MacBook to do audio stuff on.

[OutCider]

That VST issue is strange.

Well it's not really strange

Lmms either has the ability to save/load fxb files and select patches from the vsti wrapper, and due to my incompetence I missed how to do it - Or it just doesn't have it yet, which I suppose in a vsti host is a bit strange afterall.

[cusis]

i would be happy to supply some graphics to this project.

[Ben [KVR]]

I should mention that LMMS does support VSTis too, the page here on KVR claims it's just VST.

Where does it claim that?

[dickiefunk]

I've just bumped into this thread and have to say this free DAW looks to be possibly the most comprehensive available for PC?

Thanks you for the seriously hard work that has gone into this!!!

It would be great to see ASIO4ALL support in this program.

I am looking for something that is free to use for some of my students to enable them to get up and running.

I look forward to seeing how this DAW will develop and sincerely hope it doesn't follow Koblo !!

[mazza558]

i would be happy to supply some graphics to this project.

What kind? Icons?

The background of LMMS is very easy to change indeed, and that's an area that needs a bit of work. At the moment it's a vague blue-black haze, and could look a lot nicer. Some kind of brushed metal with the same hue would be brilliant. It needs to be small and tile correctly (e.g so each texture blends together)

I should mention that LMMS does support VSTis too, the page here on KVR claims it's just VST.

Where does it claim that?

Never mind, I thought there was a separate icon for VSTi support on the product page here on KVR.

I've just bumped into this thread and have to say this free DAW looks to be possibly the most comprehensive available for PC?

Thanks you for the seriously hard work that has gone into this!!!

It would be great to see ASIO4ALL support in this program.

I am looking for something that is free to use for some of my students to enable them to get up and running.

I look forward to seeing how this DAW will develop and sincerely hope it doesn't follow Koblo !!

Thanks for your support

ASIO support would be very good indeed, I agree.

What happened to Koblo?

[dickiefunk]

Thanks for your support

ASIO support would be very good indeed, I agree.

What happened to Koblo?

Koblo put up a page a while back saying development had ceased and would not resume. It now says :-

http://koblo.com/

[mazza558]

Thanks for your support

ASIO support would be very good indeed, I agree.

What happened to Koblo?

Koblo put up a page a while back saying development had ceased and would not resume. It now says :-

http://koblo.com/

I hope that doesn't happen with LMMS. Obviously the project's always looking for Linux C++ and Qt coders, documentation and artwork, so if anyone wants to help, they might want to email the lmms-devel mailing list.

[cusis]

"What kind? Icons?

The background of LMMS is very easy to change indeed, and that's an area that needs a bit of work. At the moment it's a vague blue-black haze, and could look a lot nicer. Some kind of brushed metal with the same hue would be brilliant. It needs to be small and tile correctly (e.g so each texture blends together)"

I would be willing to skin the entire thing, from head to toe. As well as make visual interface enhancements, that could hopefully be implemented into the U.I.

[mazza558]

"What kind? Icons?

The background of LMMS is very easy to change indeed, and that's an area that needs a bit of work. At the moment it's a vague blue-black haze, and could look a lot nicer. Some kind of brushed metal with the same hue would be brilliant. It needs to be small and tile correctly (e.g so each texture blends together)"

I would be willing to skin the entire thing, from head to toe. As well as make visual interface enhancements, that could hopefully be implemented into the U.I.

Get in touch via the lmms-devel mailing list at lmms-devel [at] lists.sourceforge.net - or get on the IRC (there's a dev online as of this message).

From what another dev has told me, you've tried to help in the past but were too busy at the time when they needed to implement the theme.

[cusis]

yeh that is correct. I currently have a design that i can adapt and change to fit with the existing design.

[SampleScience]

If Cusis would do a good GUI it would help a lot!! I'll follow LMMS devellopement to see if he can finally contribute to this project with his great talent.

Cheers

[mazza558]

If Cusis would do a good GUI it would help a lot!! I'll follow LMMS devellopement to see if he can finally contribute to this project with his great talent.

Cheers

Yeah, that would be excellent. Some of his other work (especially the FL Studio skin) is impressive.

[glokraw]

If Cusis would do a good GUI it would help a lot!! I'll follow LMMS devellopement to see if he can finally contribute to this project with his great talent.

Cheers

Yeah, that would be excellent. Some of his other work (especially the FL Studio skin) is impressive.

Does the LMMS utilize wine/wineasio? If so, is there a text-file or preferences option to load wineasio automatically? Even better would be transparent and unencumbered use of any asio driver someone has.

Cusis, if you get the chance, a button labeled 'load vst' would sure help
new users quickly see if their go-to plugins will work.
Cheers

[mazza558]

I've asked about ASIO support and one of the devs has said it's probably the last thing on their mind compared to other issues. Their argument is that there's practically no latency on the Linux versions of LMMS anyway (which is true, even with the ALSA sound interface). There's no technical reason why ASIO support can't be included, it's just that no one has bothered to code support for it yet.

Also, direct from a developer (pgib):

I think that is the wrong goal. The primary goal (for me at least) is a full-featured, easy to use Linux DAW. The fact that LMMS runs on Windows is a convenience AFAIC. If we go with "Prioritize to maximize users" then we basically sell-out. We will start adding features that people instinctively want.. instead of having the opportunity to think out of the box.
You may say, but more users = more devs. Well, ask Toby, LMMS has grown ten-fold or more in the last 2 years, we have the same develpment force. so...
for me, ASIO support, is just a terrority I am unfamiliar with (win32 coding, ASIO api) and it is riddled with possible legal issues. So that is why I'm hands-off regarding ASIO

I also need to say: if you want to help in any way, please send an email to the lmms-devel mailing list at:

lmms-devel [at] lists.sourceforge.net