VST and PC keyboard

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Hello all,

I'm trying out the different features LMMS offers, and I have a question.

As a newbie, I don't have a Midi keyboard and I noticed it's impossible to play notes when the vst instrument window is active, so it's impossible to turn a knob while playing, for example. As far as I can tell, it's a known issue, and has no solution for the time being. Can someone confirm this ?

Also, it may sound naive, but I'd like to be sure, is the problem solved with a real Midi keyboard ?

Just in case, I use the Linux version of LMMS.

Thanks a lot. :)
Corvus Lusor wrote:
Mon Jun 12, 2017 12:28 pm
Hello all,
Hi, Welcome to the forum Corvus Lusor! Here are all our important links:
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I'm trying out the different features LMMS offers
Perhaps my LMMS rookie-guide can interest you? Link in signature.
it's impossible to play notes when the vst instrument window is active, so it's impossible to turn a knob while playing, for example.
Not always, but most VST will have this behaviour, that is correct.
The reason is, that it is the focused instrument that has the routed output.
What i use to do is to jam in some notes in piano-roll, set loop-markes, and just let that loop play, as i fiddle with all knobs and sliders on the VST-UI
Or you can use the VST-lmms_UI
Image
This one is for Synth1 (highly recommended ! btw)
You toggle this from the wrench-icon on the lmmsVST-Insert-instrument:
Image

is the problem solved with a real Midi keyboard ?
afaik, there is no difference, but here someone with a midi KB needs to chime in :´)
Thank you musikbear for your friendly answer. :)

The way I feel music makes often necessary the fact of fiddling with knobs while playing, like an extensive use of automation. You talk about VST-lmms_UI. Interesting indeed, I didn't know about it, it may help but obviously lacks the native user interface and knobs organization, thus making very difficult what I aim.

What surprises me a little is that the Windows version used with Wine allows playing with the vst window active. Maybe because LMMS and vst are run in the same context. It would be fine, but there are two major problems doing so:
1- The PC keyboard layout is always qwerty (is there a way to change it?), so it's necessary to change the keyboard layout before playing. May be solved with a Midi keyboard.
2- The vst window has a big refresh problem: it often turns grey whole or partly and it's necessary to click several times on the display UI button to make it appear almost fully.
Corvus Lusor wrote:
Mon Jun 12, 2017 6:12 pm
1- The PC keyboard layout is always qwerty (is there a way to change it?)
Outch.. No, that cant be changed
May be solved with a Midi keyboard.
Yes!
The vst window often turns grey whole or partly
That is -not- supposed to happen!
Do you have low ram?
musikbear wrote:
Corvus Lusor wrote:
Mon Jun 12, 2017 6:12 pm
1- The PC keyboard layout is always qwerty (is there a way to change it?)
Outch.. No, that cant be changed
Oh, well… at least, I tried. :) Anyway, it would be nice.
musikbear wrote:
The vst window often turns grey whole or partly
That is -not- supposed to happen!
Do you have low ram?
Nope, I have 8 GB and nothing special runs meanwhile. The problem is in fact a little more subtle than that. What happens : when displayed, the vst window turns grey, at least partly (just like tiles that would be missing). I have to click on the display UI button multiple times until I have by chance an almost complete window. But it goes back all grey if I move a window or just play something. I found a way to avoid this in the previous stable version of LMMS, by dragging the vst window and its instrument window way under the bottom of the screen and scroll there, so playing doesn't break the display (but any window change or just arpeggio still breaks the display). Unfortunately, the last version of LMMS doesn't allow this anymore, and whatever I do, the window turns grey after a while. This problem only occurs with the Windows version of LMMS run with Wine. The native Linux version doesn't have this problem. What kind of problem is it?
Corvus Lusor wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:47 am
What kind of problem is it?
Sounds mostly like a graphic updating issue
It could be that the WINE version is incorrect in respect to your linux distro, or maby just an update exists? You should ask your distros packman of assistance. Maybe the distro has a forum?
Its not a general issue, so its not a lmms bug :´)
Hmm the fact is that tried with Fedora and with Ubuntu (fresh install with this one), and the problem is exactly the same. The problem occurs with lmms 1.1.3 32 and 64 bits, and 1.2.0-RC3 64 bits.

When I launch lmms 1.1.3 32 bits with the console, I have message errors:

Code: Select all

pouyou@HAL9000:~$ wine .wine/drive_c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/LMMS/lmms.exe
err:module:import_dll Library vstbase.dll (which is needed by L"Z:\\home\\pouyou\\.wine\\drive_c\\Program Files (x86)\\LMMS\\plugins\\vestige.dll") not found
VST sync support disabled in your configuration
Okay, after a search, it seems to be a known problem. I copy vstbase.dll in the lmms directory, and re-launch LMMS. And then:

Code: Select all

pouyou@HAL9000:~$ wine .wine/drive_c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/LMMS/lmms.exe
VST sync support disabled in your configuration
…Why? :?

Anyway, when I open a vst instrument, I have in the console:

Code: Select all

err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
err:shell:SHGetFileInfoW pidl is null!
RemoteVstPlugin.cpp: Failed to initialize shared memory for VST synchronization.
 (VST-host synchronization will be disabled)
unique ID: 6590
RemotePlugin::DebugMessage: inputs: 0  output: 2
RemotePlugin::DebugMessage: creating editor
RemotePlugin::DebugMessage: editor successfully created
RemotePlugin::DebugMessage: failed getting shared memory: 5
I don't understand what it means, but there is obviously a problem, possibly with Wine. But what I don't get is why the problem is the same with two distros.