LMMS review
Lately, I have been trying out LMMS (Linux MultiMedia Studio) and have been quite impressed. Don’t let the name scare you away, there is also a Windows version if you haven’t upgraded to Linux yet :).
This is a full-featured product that allows musicians to create samples, create tracks, add effects to audio files, and record from MIDI instruments. Adding effects to pre-existing audio allows you to record vocals in a program like Audacity, import it as a sample, add filters and distortion, and then make the entire file one track. The ability to create your own samples in the same composition program saves a lot of time that would be wasted between copying the sound between multiple programs.
The learning curve can be steep with LMMS but, fortunately, it comes with several example songs to examine. There are also a number of tutorials online, including step-by-step video tutorials on YouTube. I was able to figure out what most of the knobs and sliders did by loading existing samples and adjusting the controls one at a time. This method of learning can be extremely beneficial as you can hear your results immediately; the sample creation tools have a miniature keyboard on the bottom part of the window that can be used to test them.
I was able to compose a short song on the second night of experimenting with LMMS, and by the next week had written Eff-Bahm, my first full-length track.
How do you find Linux – many a time I have thought about moving away from Microsoft to Linux and not done it, as I am worried that I don’t know enough about it – any thoughts
I myself am a Linux convert. Trust me. I still consider myself a linux noob, but ever sec is worth it.
I have come to extremely HATE windows. But Have to use it at Work.
My Home PCs have been converted to Linux. There are 100’s of flavours (Distros)
I am using #!Crunchbang9 right now. And its fast! Just downloaded LMMS. Will try it tonight.
There are a lot of great video tutorials for LMMS on YouTube if you are having trouble with the interface. I would definitely recommend watching a couple of them as the interface has many features.
Alot of linux distros like linux mint and ubuntu come with package installers, just type the name in the search bar of the package installer and it installs automatically! that simple
Yep, it’s much easier to install software than in the old days. Even the more technical flavors of Linux such as Gentoo have package installers (portage in this case).
I started using Linux back in 1998 when it was difficult to set up, even for some of us who make a living in IT.
However, most modern flavors of Linux are extremely easy to use and work out-of-the-box. Ubuntu is a popular distribution, and there are “live CD’s” of it so you can try it without installing it if you aren’t sure that you want to stick with it.
Just keep in mind that running from a CD is going to be slower (especially on start up) than running an installed version.
if in doubt use Ubuntu so far it has been the easiest to use for me.
Thanks for the comment. I agree that Ubuntu is a good choice for many people; in fact, at the time I wrote this article I was running Ubuntu 8.04 on my primary system. I have recently switched to Gentoo though for more control over my system and driver issues in Ubuntu.
The issues that I was experiencing though would be very uncommon (three sound cards in one system) and Ubuntu would still be a stable, full-featured system for most users.
Nice blog, very interesting.
I have the LMMS software, just downloaded it. I also have a keyboard that I use to play chords and notes using LMMS. I want to know how you can record from a keyboard and it is attached using a USB connection. Please let me know and an answer will be appreciated
Well grab a sample you want to use like say you wanna Use “rough” one of my personal favorites then open it in a piano roll. in the top of the piano roll there is a tool bar the first button is the play button to play wht you’ve written right next to that are 2 record buttons one to “record from midi device/or channel piano(which is using the computer keyboard as a music keyboard pretty much) then the other one is to record while playing back the song or BB track (the beat track)
Thanks for the answer to ben77’s question. Without personally owning keyboard, I was unable to provide a definitive answer.
That is a very good question. I don’t actually have a music keyboard (I just use my mouse to place notes), so I have never personally tried this. This page from the LMMS tutorial may help if your USB keyboard is treated as a MIDI device.
Good luck! And if that link helps, or if you find another link that provides the information that you are looking for, feel free to leave a comment here in case anyone else has the same question.
LMMS is mostly like FL Studio and as such for those used to working with FL, LMMS will be easy to surmount. the keyboard shortcuts are the same and such stuff… I like it but sometimes i get stuck using it when i have to juggle between windows within. it’s somewhat inert and as such may drag ya creativity down when you have a melody going on in ya head and you need to put it down fast. Niceee work though. keep it going.
I haven’t personally used FruityLoops, but I have heard from many sources that there are many similarities between LMMS and it. I agree that LMMS can be clunky at times, but the newer versions are much quicker to navigate and more intuitive than releases from a couple of years ago.
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