ok this is an important and much neglected topic i.e "Mastering"
i will start the ball rolling here and post up some things i do to, IMO, improve my songs in LMMS
(1) send each instrument to its own FX mixer channel, where it is easier to see which instruments/samples/etc are too loud or low in the mix and can easily be adjusted.
(2) when using multiple LADSPA or VST effects on an instrument or FX mixer channel/master, change the order in which the effects are chained together as this can dramatically change the end result.
(3) try not to drown the mix by using too much of an effect on your output.an example is that although using reverb can enhance a sound, but if used too heavily it will sound awful.
(4) in the LADSPA effects control adjust the w/d wet/dry level of the effect, where at 0 there is no effect and use the fine tuning in the + direction to add just the right amount of your effect.
(5) use automation on panning of either an entire track or a single sound, for example , pan an open hi-hat from left to right gradually over a section in the song or pan left to right on each separate hit of the hi-hat, this gives a bit more interest to the mix.
(6) change the volume of each hit in the Beat+Bassline editor. a good example of this is to fill all 16ths of the bar (all the LED's) with a snare drum sample, then lower random steps (keeping a few at 100%) to roughly 12.5%, 25%, 50%, 75% of the full volume. this can be done by hovering the cursor/pointer over the required LED and using the mouse wheel to lower/raise the volume. *note the laptop mousepad can emulate the mouse wheel behaviour, usually at the very right side of the pad *
(7) add either fast-lookahed-limiter or hard limiter LADSPA to the master fx channel and set the limit to 0 decibels to ensure that there are no peaks in your mix.
if all users on the LMMS forum add your tips/techniques here (no matter how trivial you think they are), this will be of great help to both new and experienced users.....
i will start the ball rolling here and post up some things i do to, IMO, improve my songs in LMMS
(1) send each instrument to its own FX mixer channel, where it is easier to see which instruments/samples/etc are too loud or low in the mix and can easily be adjusted.
(2) when using multiple LADSPA or VST effects on an instrument or FX mixer channel/master, change the order in which the effects are chained together as this can dramatically change the end result.
(3) try not to drown the mix by using too much of an effect on your output.an example is that although using reverb can enhance a sound, but if used too heavily it will sound awful.
(4) in the LADSPA effects control adjust the w/d wet/dry level of the effect, where at 0 there is no effect and use the fine tuning in the + direction to add just the right amount of your effect.
(5) use automation on panning of either an entire track or a single sound, for example , pan an open hi-hat from left to right gradually over a section in the song or pan left to right on each separate hit of the hi-hat, this gives a bit more interest to the mix.
(6) change the volume of each hit in the Beat+Bassline editor. a good example of this is to fill all 16ths of the bar (all the LED's) with a snare drum sample, then lower random steps (keeping a few at 100%) to roughly 12.5%, 25%, 50%, 75% of the full volume. this can be done by hovering the cursor/pointer over the required LED and using the mouse wheel to lower/raise the volume. *note the laptop mousepad can emulate the mouse wheel behaviour, usually at the very right side of the pad *
(7) add either fast-lookahed-limiter or hard limiter LADSPA to the master fx channel and set the limit to 0 decibels to ensure that there are no peaks in your mix.
if all users on the LMMS forum add your tips/techniques here (no matter how trivial you think they are), this will be of great help to both new and experienced users.....