While doing some more research on VST plugins I came across an alternative way of running native Linux VSTs in LMMS ( rather than using WINE ). It’s not very well publicised in my opinion and I found it via an incomplete LMMS wiki page.
Free VST Plugins are one of the most exciting things about mixing. In the past it was impossible to imagine that so many quality tools could be available at no cost. Today there are more great free plugins than ever before, but the freeware scene is always changing.
The key piece of software is called Carla which is written and maintained by Filipe Coelho as part of the KXStudio Linux distribution. Carla is open source and can be found on GitHub.
Carla has two modes of operation, as described by the LMMS wiki page:
- In the Carla Rack instrument, loaded plugins will show up in a virtual rack as units with control buttons and VU-meters. The internal midi and audio routing is fixed in this mode, and goes from top to bottom.
- In the Carla Patchbay instrument, plugins are loaded as units with inputs and outputs onto a canvas. Midi and audio can be routed anywhere to anywhere giving an enormous flexibility to this mode. Rack mode view is also available in the Patchbay instrument.
But note that if you’re using ALSA like I do then only Rack mode is available so Carla Patchbay is not discussed further in this post. However it does look quite powerful.
Installation
You can obviously build from source from GitHub but the KXStudio site also has some of its own repositories with instructions on how to install on various flavours of Linux. I added this repository to my installation using the instructions on that page then installed Carla with:
Usage
Once Carla is installed then running LMMS will show two extra instrument plugin options as shown on the left.
Dragging the Carla Rack to the Song Editor and double clicking it brings up its Settings window. Clicking on “Show GUI” then brings up the Carla rack control.
Native Linux VSTs ( usually .so files ) are loaded using the file navigator pane and the controls for the loaded VSTs are shown on the right. Clicking the cog icon on each entry then brings up the same UI as for the Windows VST version.
Conclusion
Installing the Dexed VST was probably easier this way than using the normal Wine based VST support in LMMS. However there are not many native Linux VSTs available but then again not all Windows VSTs work under Wine 🙂
For me, if there’s a Linux version available then I think that it will be more reliable to use it with Carla. If a Linux version is not available then you’re at the mercy of the Wine compatibility.
I am using the program LMMS ( Linux multimedia studio )This program is like fruityloops, but for Linux.
If that does not mean anything to you guys, its a program to make music.
With this program you can load vst plugins. ( sofware synthesizers)
This is done by loading .dll files.
Allot of these work, but some don't.
LMMS uses wine to load these .dll files.
There is one vst, I really would like to use. ( vintage sounds, Jean Mcichel Jarre used as rhythm )
Lmms How To Install Vst Plugins
But when I load it, it freezes lmms and prob wine too.
Free Vst For Lmms
On Linux when I encounter problems, I can start programs from the command line.
And see the output, of the programs and possible errors.
Is this possible for loading .dll files in LMMS too?
( LMMS runs native on LInux, not through wine )
I already tried starting wine from the command line, but that did not work.
Wine told me I need to add the program I want to start.
But an .dll file is not a program.
I would like to see what goes wrong when loading this .dll file. Because maybe then it can be fixed.
I also know there are programs with which you can edit .dll files, and although I fear this is way to complicated for me, I can always try.
But then I need at least a basic idea, on what goes wrong.
If it helps, this is the plugin. ( its an vintage rhythm machine )
http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?id=797