My guess is that synth and effect nerds actually are using a lot of this stuff and don’t want to talk about it. Honestly, it’s all vastly underrated, and another instance where producers on a tight budget can find endless worlds to explore on a computer that would be massively expensive if replicated in hardware. I mean, even if you just used a couple of these extras to start an idea now and then and otherwise treated FL Studio as an instrument and effect bundle you can use in other DAWs, it might be a good buy. (And if you’re not a polyrhythm lover, you’re no friend of mine.) Oh, plus this cool “Advanced fill” tool is already fun for polyrhythm lovers. There is, unfortunately, some UI squinting involved, but the sound and diversity of these tools is something really special. The Patcher, a tool for visually connecting more advanced routings.Ī whole ton of effects and instruments. (Some DAWs let you do this, but usually with more advanced tinkering.) And if that’s not enough, there’s also now: There’s also per-note expression controls the likes of which I’ve only really seen in Cubase.Īn open-ended Mixer, which includes front-panel sidechaining and wet/dry controls for each insert slot. Ableton Live comes closest to that, but FL Studio gives you more tools for drawing/editing different automation shapes, and lets you store all your automation in a big palette (and in the browser to reuse). The unique Channel rack, which hides some deep sample manipulation and pattern generating and variation tools.Ī fully open-ended Playlist, which you can use to arrange and explore variations and larger-scale song structures and non-linear arrangements – all in the same view.įree use of automation clips alongside patterns. I wish some other tools had an equivalent, actually. The powerful waveform editor Edison is built-in, which you can also record samples into directly. I mean, a clip in your arrangement can have an arpeggiator inside. That’s insane, and I can’t think of another program (other than a sampler with some arrangement features) that does anything like it. Audio both in the Channel rack and the main arrangement view (which FL calls the Playlist) is actually a full-featured sample engine, with all the associated controls and internal modulation. Hardware style sampling and pitch controls for the whole project, right on the transport bar / top toolbar.Īll audio is contained in a sampler. What’s at the heart of FL Studio that makes it worth getting into: And when you do want or need to bounce, FL Studio is more flexible with generating audio clips than any other tool I can think of. Because there are so many internal sound generators and effects, you can exchange projects without bouncing. Plus, FL Studio is ideal for collaboration – good news in this time when DJs are stuck without gigs, for instance. But there are some different ways of working here – enough so that switching a little bit may unlock some new ideas and break some creative ruts. If you are used to something like Ableton Live, you’re likely to feel a bit disoriented in FL at first. How to get the most out of techno production in FL Studio (I’ve been cutting some really experimental stuff in FL lately, actually.) But you could also just see techno as a convenient way to talk about the workflow and then go somewhere entirely different. Riemann’s own samples are ideal here, because FL’s engine has so many sample-based features – but without much sample content for techno producers. I wrote a beginner guide for FL Studio partly just to keep everything in one place, continuing the partnership with Riemann Kollektion. But other veterans can skip some of the cooler new toys and tools that have been added in recent versions. Many users ignore the Channel rack (that’s the thing with the Roland-style x0x button step sequencer), and miss out on some powerful features that were in FL from the start. I’m surprised actually at the diversity of workflows in those videos. Yet you could easily wind up spending hours watching just YouTube videos, but wind up with no real map for where to work in FL Studio. And yeah, I’m sure some people will still keep calling it Fruity Loops.įL Studio has a passionate following. But long-time users may miss some of its recent improvements – and newcomers may not be clear on how to start.ĭon’t forget FL is on macOS, too, so it’s not just a Windows thing any more. FL Studio’s reputation is deceiving: this is one of the richest, most surprisingly open-ended tools for music-making.
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