What I've learned in 2023

[fleissig24]

Hi! I hope everyone is having a good holiday season.

Here are just a few thoughts on LMMS and music production in general. It's been some time since I posted on this forum. I've been working on algorithmic music programming, which is interesting, but it produced nothing I wanted to publish. Instead I now use a simple text based tool I wrote to help me produce scores a bit faster and then turn them into MIDI files. Probably there is commercial software or even free software with nice GUIs and so on that does it much better.

I'm in production mode now and it's back to LMMS.

I have been disappointed by many VSTs and soundfonts I have downloaded. Maybe I just get bored with them. I still like arachno. There are a few others I like.

Just a warning about VSTs. I tried a set of free ones and found one in particular that sounded off. Sure enough, it was playing the notes a semitone off. I contacted the producer and never got a reply. I don't want to mention the name.

There is also a problem with some soundfonts which play the right pitch class but drop back an octave for higher notes.

I like the built in LMMS synths. I tend to be quite lazy about learning how someone else's synth works. All those knobs, etc. But it's good they all have a similar interface on LMMS. Also I found documentation about them online.

If I already have a MIDI track, but do not want to use a soundfont, all I need to do is import the MIDI track, then use one of the synths. This is easy in LMMS.

My favorite genre is progressive rock. Lots of choices there. There's lots of room for experimentation and fusion of genres.

I like new sounds. I've been spending some time learning Csound so I can make my own experimental instruments and effects.

Csound is good for far out experimental music. But usually I'm very MIDI orientated, so I'm learning how to make soundfonts from my own sounds. It's not hard to make soundfonts using the software available from the synthfont website. I haven't gotten around to making any VSTs yet but it's on my list.

I still find no better alternative to LMMS for what I do. I find it easier to use the LMMS user interface than the other solutions I have tried. The LMMS layout is quite logical. The only problem I've had was some time ago when I mentioned the small font problem.

My conclusion is that I'm going to continue using LMMS. Next I'm going to try the alpha 1.3.0. I hope my computer is powerful enough.

This morning I looked at FL Studio again. It gets quite expensive for the pro versions. Sorry FL Studio, but I'm not rich yet. Besides food prices have been going up here in the USA and so has the rent. Then there is health care. We do not have a German system. However, some good news is that there are more online opportunities than ever to make some money. It's important to stay positive.

Best wishes to all for a Happy New Year! And of course, thank you to all the LMMS developers!

[fleissig24]

Just a quick follow up. I started a new LMMS project today and it occurs to me that I was over complicating the whole process. I really do not need to make any special tools to automate anything including composition. I want to simplify the production process by using a very few programs and learning them as well as I can. This means LMMS and Audacity for now.

I'm very curious how far I can go using only the synths provided in LMMS. I might as well learn how to use them to create new sounds instead of just accepting the presets and trying truckloads of soundfonts and VSTs from other sources.

[musikbear]

Happy NY to you too
Good insightful post, but also a few misconsumption i will address them

I have been disappointed by many VSTs and soundfonts I have downloaded.
Get Synth1 -it wont disapoint

VSTs. was playing the notes a semitone off.
Just move the base-note on semitone and you can use it in LMMS

I like new sounds. I've been spending some time learning Csound so I can make my own experimental instruments and effects.

I mentioned the small font problem.
Absolutely! We must do something about it!
You already can size the components, but not text

Next I'm going to try the alpha 1.3.0.
Obs that you will not be able to use 1.3 saved projects on 1.2.2 LMMS!

I hope my computer is powerful enough.
1.3 does not uses more resources

prices have been going up here in the USA
Everywhere! Danish food has raised ~60%

more online opportunities than ever to make some money.
Mostly to them self....

..and :)

I've been working on algorithmic music programming,

If you are a c-dev we need devs like never before!

HNY

[fleissig24]

I have been disappointed by many VSTs and soundfonts I have downloaded.
Get Synth1 -it wont disapoint

I will check it out.

VSTs. was playing the notes a semitone off.
Just move the base-note on semitone and you can use it in LMMS

OK

prices have been going up here in the USA

"Everywhere! Danish food has raised ~60%"

Not OK!

I've been working on algorithmic music programming,

"If you are a c-dev we need devs like never before!"

Music has always been my thing, but I like computers, so I combine music and programming. Programming is a useful skill. I have written lots of code in C and C++ for my own music projects. I think about making some public, to make some money, but I really do not want to get into the software business on my own. But maybe I can help a bit with LMMS. I definitely want to keep high quality FOSS alive. Rest assured I only take on some work if I'm sure I can do a good job. Feel free to contact me any time at my Proton email address!

HNY
[/quote]

[fleissig24]

I have been disappointed by many VSTs and soundfonts I have downloaded.

"Get Synth1 -it wont disapoint"

I installed Synth1 this morning and I've been trying it out in LMMS. I think I'm in love!

Any great drum kit VST recommendations?

Thank you!

[musikbear]

I definitely want to keep high quality FOSS alive.

You can read everything around getting involved here:
https://lmms.io/get-involved

The process is to just find something in Github that you believe is doable and that also is interesting to you, make a post in the thread and ask if anyone else is working on this atm. If not it will be assigned to you. We do this to avoid that the same feature is being made by more than one, and also to connect devs that want to work on a specific feature.

Any great drum kit VST recommendations?

No not really. Drum-VSTs are kind of tricky in LMMS. Always make sure that the drum-VST can be activated through an automation cmd, some are not meant to be used that way.
DrumSynth with the .ds library-files are my own goto, but i use the samples in AFP, not as .ds-files

[fleissig24]

Thanks. I will read the bug tracker list. I like to exterminate bugs.

I stayed up all night looking for drum kits. I just came across TS-808 by Tactile Sounds. The VST comes in mono and stereo versions. On LMMS I can only hear left speaker using mono, so I use the stereo version. Seems good so far.

[musikbear]

On LMMS I can only hear left speaker using mono

Use FX stereo-Matrix, and you can get both channels -Same output

[BrainP]

I have been disappointed by many VSTs and soundfonts I have downloaded.


Any great drum kit VST recommendations?

Thank you!

Not a synth drum set, but workable:

SMDrums

https://smmdrums.wordpress.com/for-sfz-sforzando/

It's very usable, runs in sforzando, and you can split the instrument (kick, snare, cymbals, etc.) so you can equalize different parts by cloning the midi track.

A new one I found:

https://www.powerdrumkit.de/download76187.php

works directly in Vestige as VST2. Less controls than SMDrums, and doesn't natively split into several instruments. Has less recorded levels I think than SMDrums. But it's got a nice sound to it, and I wanted a change.