Bouncing from LMMS for mixing.

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aprzekaz
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Bouncing from LMMS for mixing.

Post by aprzekaz »

Hi everyone. I'm just finishing up a track in LMMS that uses a lot of everything. I started using Vestige and downloading free VST's and put a lot of samples and peak controllers, effects.......etc. Anyway It barely plays without xruns and glitches now at a 1024 buffer. So what I want to do is export all the tracks from LMMS as audio and then mix it in Ardour. I've tried doing this and it almost works but I just want to get some input. What settings should I use in LMMS for the export? I've been trying WAV files at a high bitrate and 32 bit float. Also, will increasing my buffer size and/or periods per buffer in Cadence help avoid cpu overload when exporting? Thanks for any input. :D
ssj71
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Re: Bouncing from LMMS for mixing.

Post by ssj71 »

aprzekaz wrote:Anyway It barely plays without xruns and glitches now at a 1024 buffer.
No reason not to go to 4096 latency. You aren't doing anything real-time at this point.
aprzekaz wrote: I've been trying WAV files at a high bitrate and 32 bit float.
32 bit is rather overkill. 24 bit will be fine, especially where everything is already in the box.
aprzekaz wrote: will increasing my buffer size and/or periods per buffer in Cadence help avoid cpu overload when exporting?
Not really CPU overload, but it will help reduce xruns to some point. The same amount of processing needs to be done, its just you're giving it more time to do it in. One thing you can do is bounce the tracks so the effects and synthesis or whatever is recorded into them. At that point you can remove the plugins which will reduce the load. Not sure the mechanics of lmms, but if you can just solo each track and record stems, then you only need to process one at a time.
Hopefully that helps.
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dednikko
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Re: Bouncing from LMMS for mixing.

Post by dednikko »

From what I have seen, LMMS does not process muted tracks. That can save you some CPU overhead when you are still composing.

However, I recommend just using the "export Tracks" option in the export dialogue. I export 24bit wavs at 88.2khz. Make sure that your Ardour session is set up the same way. If you create the session file with 32 bit wavs at 48000, ardour will have to convert a bunch of stuff. You'll know it's correct if there is no conversion dialogue and the files just load in. There is also the File Format option within Ardour, where you can set the bit depth.

One small thing to note is that LMMS seems to add a tiny delay to the start of each track you export. If you load the track, set the BPM and play the metronome along with it, there is a tiny but troublesome delay. I find it worthy to snip that little bit of sound from all imported tracks simultaneously, right after import.

One big thing to note is that if you have sidechained effects, LMMS will not process them together by just using the "Export Tracks" option. You'll have to solo just the interacting tracks and export the whole song as a single track. One way I like to manage this is to send all the interacting tracks to the same bus, and solo that bus for export.
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aprzekaz
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Re: Bouncing from LMMS for mixing.

Post by aprzekaz »

Yes thanks for the info. I went ahead and did 32 bit waves at 48khz. I didn't see an option for 24 bit. I put it all in Ardour and I re-sidechained all my ducking stuff with the SC3 compressor. It took some time but I think it's easier to mix and automate in Ardour (and also nudge and stretch the samples). By any chance is there any other way to side-chain or duck stuff in Ardour? SC3 works but since this is an EDM type track I might be looking for an even more severe pumping sound.
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dednikko
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Re: Bouncing from LMMS for mixing.

Post by dednikko »

Yes, the Calf sidechain gate. Oddly enough it doesn't do what I though (to open the sound after the SC input threshold is reached).

Its response is practically instant, and having the knee shaping in there is a great help.

One thing I'd also point out is that if your sound isn't ducking fast enough, clone the kick track and nudge it a few 128ths of a beat to the left. This gives the compressor or gate more time to respond before the real kick actually hits.
Think like a gun.
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