FL Studio

From FLStudio Wiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

FL Studio (formerly Fruityloops) is a fully-featured Virtual Studio/Sequencer produced by Image-Line. Music is created by recording and mixing audio and/or MIDI data together to create a song, which can then be saved to the program's native .flp (fruity loops project) format or exported to a wav or mp3 file compatible with most media players.

FL Studio is a primarily pattern-based and clip-based sequencer. It allows the user to create songs in pieces (patterns) using the Step Sequencer and the Piano Roll view, then merge those pieces together using the Playlist window. The Clip Desk at the bottom half of the playlist allows more complex Audio, Automation, and MIDI clips to be arranged in a vertically free fashion. The Mixer provides access to a wide range of FLX, DX, and VST effects.

[edit]

User Interface

The FL Studio user interface is comprised of 5 main screens:

  • Step Sequencer - Contains a virtual rack of all instrument generator channels used in a track. The steps to the left enable quick assembly of drum patterns and short melodic parts because they allow the user to edit multiple channels' data at the same time.
  • Piano Roll - A two-dimensional grid for composing complex MIDI parts. The vertical axis represents pitch, and the horizontal axis represents time. The Piano roll houses within it a smaller version of the event editor, and supports several non-standard MIDI editing functions, such as per-note parameters (pitch, cutoff, pan) and morphing "slides".
  • Playlist - Allows the arrangement of sets of patterns and Audio, Automation, and MIDI clips for assembling a complete song.
  • Mixer - Used for balancing audio levels, adding FLX/DX/VST effects processors and managing and recording streaming audio input and output.
  • Sample Browser - Allows for searching of, and easy access to, samples, plugins, presets, and FL Studio song files (.flps). The browser also contains a folder labeled "Current Project" which provides access to all automation, channels, and parameter links used within a song, as well as the undo history.
[edit]

Features

FL Studio has become widely used by both amateur and professional musicians alike, because of its easy-to-use step sequencer, its intuitive and powerful piano roll, its good value for money, its wide support of many industry standards, its extensive automation capabilities, and its high-quality effects. One particlarly alluring feature of (the online version of) FL Studio is that all upgrades are free for life, meaning that every version of the software will be given to owners free of charge.

As of version 7.0, FL Studio has a brand new Edison, advanced filter plugin, MIDI Clips, mono ASIO inputs, and much more.

It uses internal 32 bit floating point audio mixing, and suppports any sampling frequency supported by the user's soundcard.

The demo version of FL Studio includes quite a number of generators (software synthesizers). Some of these must be purchased separately. Generally, these additional plugins are inexpensive. The "Producer Edition" includes a mixer and multi-track audio recording capabilities for sound hardware with ASIO drivers. The "FL Studio XXL" offer includes all optional components with a 40% price reduction. FL Studio uses its own plugin API but it can use VST, Buzz, ReWire and DirectX plugins via adapter plugins, allowing it to work with a gigantic amount of synthesizers and effects processors.

[edit]

Included generators

  • 3xOsc - a flexible 3 oscillator virtual analog synth with custom wave-shapes, a tempo-synced DAHDSR envelope and LFO for Volume, Filter, Resonance, and Pitch, an LFO for panning, a pitched MIDI delay for unison effects
  • BeepMap - generates unusual sounds based on an image.
  • BooBass - a realistic bass guitar simulation.
  • Buzz Generator Adapter - used to run most Buzz plugins.
  • Dashboard - customizable interface for controlling external MIDI hardware as well as controlling specific internal parameters.
  • FL Slayer - an electric guitar simulator.
  • FL Keys - a multi-sampled synth for various piano sounds.
  • Fruity Keyboard Controller - internal controller for patterned based filter applications, trance-gates, etc.
  • Fruit Kick - for generating synthesized kick-drum/bass sounds.
  • Fruity Granulizer - for applying granular synthesis effects to a sample.
  • Fruity Slicer - A tool which slices and enables the rearrangement of audio files with well-defined transients (akin to ReCycle).
  • FPC - Software drum machine modelled after the Akai MPC series.
  • Wave Traveller - spline-based playback of samples, useful for record-scratch effects.
  • MIDI Out - provides MIDI control of external hardware.
  • Plucked! - a Karplus-Strong plucked string generator.
  • Sampler - a simple but flexible sampler that has the same envelopes, LFOs, and MIDI delay as the 3xOSC described above.
[edit]

Optional generators (require additional purchase)

  • Sytrus - a powerful FM synthesizer featuring 6 customizable operators for FM, RM, VA and plucked-string synthesis, numerous multi-point, tempo-syncable envelopes and LFOs, 12 filter types & 3 waveshapers, a unique programmable unison mode, and an effects module consisting of chorus, 3 delay lines, and reverb.
  • Toxic III - a powerful synthesizer that combines additive and subtractive synthesis, producing a "softer" or more ambient sound than Sytrus. Includes more than the standard number of waveforms, low, high and band-pass filters, and numerous programmable modulation windows.
  • PoiZone - a subtractive software synthesizer designed to bring you professional quality results, without a learning curve that hinders your creativity.
  • Slayer II - a guitar simulation that improves upon the included FL Slayer (VSTi plugin by reFX)
  • SimSynth Live - 3 oscillator MiniMoog simulation combined with Oberheim style SVF filters
  • Wasp - a broad analog emulation synth with an aggressive distortion effect
  • Wasp XT - an updated version of Wasp
  • Fruity DX10 - FM sound with a simple, intuitive interface
  • Fruity Soundfont Player - gives the ability to load, play and render soundfonts (.sf2 files)
  • Fruity DrumSynth Live - a complex drum synthesizer
  • BeatSlicer - easily 'slice' any wav file (not only loops) into its specific parts and edit those slices
  • EZ-Editor - An audio editing program (not needed if you have Producer Edition)
  • SimSynth Standalone - A free-standing program that is used to generate synth sounds in WAV or SYN format.
  • DirectWave - A multisampler that can sample VSTi instruments directly
[edit]

FL Studio supported standards

[edit]

Driver support

[edit]

Effects Plugins

  • Buzz Effect Adapter - is a wrapper for Buzz effect machines. You can find a huge collection of Buzz machines at BuzzMachines.com
  • Edison - Advanced audio editor, which loads as an effect to facilitate realtime input sampling and editing.
  • EQUO - 31-band Graphic equalizer that can be automated to morph different aspects sound and features curve-capturing features.
  • Fruity 7 Band EQ - A fast 7 band equalizer
  • Fruity Balance - A stereo balance plugin to create a panning effect
  • Fruity Big Clock - Displays song time in various formats
  • Fruity Blood Overdrive - A distortion effect suitable for guitar sounds
  • Fruity dB Meter - Shows the Decibel level of sound sent to the dB Meters' specific FX track
  • Fruity Bass Boost - Bass enhancing effect
  • Fruity Center - Removes DC offset in real-time
  • Fruity Chorus - A standard pitch-shifting chorus effect
  • Fruity Compressor - A standard compressor, it scales the output volume, making quiet parts louder without causing loud parts to clip.
  • Fruity Delay - Adds delay (echo)
  • Fruity Delay 2 - An enhanced version of Fruity Delay
  • Fruity Delay Bank - Allows complex delay effects by having 8 identical banks where each bank can be fed to another
  • Fruity Fast Dist - A simple distortion effect
  • Fruity Fast LP - A lowpass filter
  • Fruity Filter - A filter plugin with knobs to adjust the level of the cutoff frequency, resonance, low pass, band pass and high pass
  • Fruity Flanger - Applies flanging effect to audio
  • Fruity Flangus - Allows you to enrich the stereo panorama of your mix, add complex flange effects and simulate unison mode synthesis via a set of controllable "stacked" flangers
  • Fruity Free Filter - A simple filter plugin
  • Fruity Formula Controller - Allows you to write a formula returning a value which is then used to control an internal parameter.
  • Fruity HTML NoteBook - The same as the Fruity Notebook but with the ability to use HTML.
  • Fruity Love Philter - A complex filter effect with input envelope following, borrowing much of its design from the Sytrus effect panel.
  • Fruity LSD - Wraps the functionality of the DirectMusic software synthesizer to FL Studio and provides 16 MIDI instruments with an option to import DLS level 1 banks. (This feature is not supported by Windows Vista and so the plugin will soon become legacy)
  • Fruity Multiband Compressor - A 3 band stereo compressor
  • Fruity Mute 2 - Automates mute
  • Fruity NoteBook - RTF format editor with MIDI-automatable page changing.
  • Fruity PanOMatic - Pans and controls volume of sounds sent to its FX track.
  • Fruity Parametric EQ - A parametric Equalizer for sounds traveling through its FX track. Each band can act as high shelf, low shelf, peaking, band pass, notch, high pass or low pass filter. The plugin also contains global gain wheel to adjust the overall volume
  • Fruity Parametric EQ2 - An advanced 7 band parametric equalizer plugin with spectral analysis.
  • Fruity Peak Controller - An internal controller which returns a value based on the peak level of sound sent to the controllers specific FX track. By default, it mutes the sound being sent to it. The returned value is used to control any internal parameter.
  • Fruity Phase Inverter - Creates surround-like effect
  • Fruity Phaser - Creates effect similar to flanging, but with a wider 'sweep' effect
  • Fruity Reeverb - Simulates sound reflecting in enclosed space, creating a 'live' feel
  • Fruity Reeverb 2 - A more sophisticated version of Fruity Reeverb
  • Fruity Scratcher - Simulates a turntable. Load a .wav file and play with it like it's a record.
  • Fruity Send - Sends its input to one of the 4 send Mixer tracks. This allows you to include effects in the insert track after the signal is sent to a sent track
  • Fruity Soft Clipper - Very similar to the compressor, except it is more CPU friendly.
  • Fruity Spectroman - Monitors the spectrum of its specific FX track
  • Fruity Squeeze - A distortion effect that adds a gritty feel to sounds such as drumloops
  • Fruity Stereo Enhancer - A filter and processor for sound being sent to the FX track
  • Fruity Vocoder - Takes left and right channels of sound being sent to its specific FX track and combines them in such a way where one channel modulates the other.
  • Fruity WaveShaper - A wave distortion effect which maps input to output values in a graph
  • Fruity Wrapper - Brings compatibility with Steinberg's VST2/VSTi plugins and DXi2 plugins
  • Fruity X-Y Controller - An internal controller using a coordinate plane to return an X value and Y value which can both be used to control any internal parameter
[edit]

Editions of FL Studio

FL Studio is available in four editions, each one having a different set of features.

  • Express Edition - This is the smallest version, and with the most limited selection of features. It is meant to be used more as a drum machine than a full-fledged audio production program, for those using FL to augment their current host.
  • Fruityloops Edition - This is the second version, and is meant to be an "entry level virtual studio", according to the Image-Line store. It is more or less a stripped down version of the Producer Edition. It is included with more plug-ins than Express, but not as many as the Producer Edition. It's primary advantage is that it unlocks the complex Piano Roll and Event Editors.
  • Producer Edition - The highest, and fully-featured version. This version supports full audio recording, and is designed for more advanced and professional audio applications.
  • XXL Edition - A bundle including the Producer Edition, as well as most of the optional plug-ins and generators that are not included in it. Most noteworthy is the popular Sytrus generator.
[edit]

See also

[edit]

Sources

[edit]

External links

Retrieved from "http://flstudiowiki.com/FLStudioWiki/index.php/FL_Studio"
Personal tools