In LMMS, anything you want to reuse across projects must be saved with the instrument preset, not the project

LMMS draws an explicit line between project-scoped and preset-scoped settings. The manual instructs: ‘Remember that everything you like to save for general usage, that must be saved with the preset! This goes for the aforementioned volume, but also for effects added on the FX-Tab.’ So if you build an instrument with a specific effects chain (e.g. chorus, reverb, EQ) on its FX-Tab and want it available in future projects, that chain and its calibrated volume must be saved into the preset — leaving them only in the project file makes them non-portable. This principle enables reusable instrument templates and avoids rebuilding the same sound repeatedly. The misconception it corrects: expecting the project mix or master to carry a sound between projects, when only the preset travels with the instrument.

Examples

You design a pad with chorus + reverb on its FX-Tab and set its instrument volume. Saving it as a preset makes the whole voice reusable; opening that preset in a new project reproduces the sound without rebuilding. Saving only the project leaves the effects chain behind.

Assessment

You want an instrument’s effects chain and level to appear identically in a future project. Describe what you must save and where, and explain why saving only the project file is insufficient.