Troubleshooting

The sound crackles

1. Open OPTIONS ▸ Audio settings and make Buffer length longer. The Status lines on that page count dropouts, so you can see if it helped.
2. Double-click the toolbar’s CPU panel for the Plugin performance monitor, and look for a heavy plugin.
3. Turn a finished pattern into audio with PATTERNS ▸ Render to audio clip.

Set up your audio has more.

My system won’t open the download

The builds aren’t signed yet, so Windows and macOS warn you the first time. Install Lemon Studio has the steps past SmartScreen on Windows and past the block on macOS. On Linux, make the AppImage executable first.

If the app says it can’t update itself, it’s running from somewhere it can’t replace: on Linux outside its AppImage, on macOS from where it was downloaded, or in a folder you can’t write to.

A plugin won’t load

• 32-bit plugins can’t be loaded. VST2 ones are listed as not supported, without being tried.
• Intel-only plugins on Apple silicon can’t be loaded either, which is common among older VST2 plugins. VST2 ones are listed as not supported, without being tried.
• Audio Units aren’t supported. Lemon Studio hosts CLAP, VST3 and VST2.
• A plugin that isn’t listed: add its folder in Settings ▸ Plugins with Add folder…, then click Scan for new plugins. Hover over a row in the table to see why a file failed, and Rescan plugins with errors tries the failed ones again.

If a plugin crashes, Lemon Studio stops it and its slot passes the sound through, instead of closing. That’s newer on macOS and Linux, and on macOS a crash in a plugin’s editor still closes Lemon Studio.

On macOS, Lemon Studio’s own plugins from the zip won’t load in other DAWs until you run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine on them.

Linux: the window looks soft

Under XWayland, Lemon Studio follows the X11 scale (Xft.dpi). If it looks soft on a fractionally scaled Wayland desktop, let X11 applications scale themselves. On KDE, that’s Display Configuration ▸ Legacy applications (X11) ▸ Apply scaling themselves.

You can also change Main GUI scaling in Settings ▸ General ▸ Display.

Linux: limits under Wayland

Lemon Studio runs on X11, and on Wayland desktops through XWayland. Native Wayland is only used when there’s no X server. There:

• Plugin windows are always separate windows, kept above Lemon Studio while it’s the active application.
• Their window menu, Presets list and Misc lists don’t open.
• Files can’t be dropped in from a file manager. Add folders in Settings ▸ File ▸ Browser extra search folders instead.

Linux: other differences

• Keys pressed while a plugin’s editor has the keyboard focus don’t play the computer keyboard yet.
• A sample dragged from the browser onto a plugin window doesn’t reach the plugin yet.
• Lemon Sampler can’t copy or paste audio through the clipboard yet.
• The “save changes?” prompt needs zenity or KDE’s kdialog.

macOS: recording is silent

The first time a mixer track monitors or records an input, macOS asks whether Lemon Studio may use the microphone. This covers the Mac’s microphone and an audio interface’s inputs. To change your answer, go to System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Microphone. If you started Lemon Studio from a terminal, macOS asks on the terminal’s behalf instead.

macOS: other differences

• A minimized detached plugin window is hidden rather than sent to the Dock. Its instrument’s button brings it back.
• A sample dragged from the browser onto a plugin window reaches Lemon Sampler only. Other plugins take dropped files only from the Finder.

A control does nothing

Controls drawn dim aren’t available yet. Hovering over one says “not available yet”, and clicking it does nothing.

I lost some work

FILE ▸ Restore backup… opens the project’s newest backup. See Project files for how backups work.

Report a bug

1. Choose HELP ▸ Diagnostics. It writes a plain-text report to Diagnostics.txt in your settings folder and opens it. The report lists your build, system, audio settings, the plugins found and the open project, so read it before you share it.
2. Open a bug report on GitHub, and say what you did, what happened and what you expected.