Audio can also be recorded directly into a track, and you’ll need to be sure you have the settings correct so it’s not recorded into a wrapper – a sort of container that lets you edit a clip. Switch FL Studio into Song mode (from Pattern mode) and you can arrange your various patterns into a song using the linear timeline. Extensive options are available for generating or entering MIDI patterns. Popup graph editors can be used to enter automation and CC data as well as velocity, release, tuning and many more. Patterns can be step sequenced in the Channel Rack or played and edited in the Piano Roll for any instrument. These can be variously dropped into the Channel Rack or the Playlist depending on content type. On the left of the main window is the Browser which contains essentially everything: all your project templates, samples, MIDI clips, instruments and effects both stock and third-party.

More generally, FL Studio employs conventions that aren’t so common in other DAWs so if you’re switching, some familiarisation will likely be required. Where most competitors like Cubase, Logic Pro and even Ableton Live for the most part use a fairly conventional timeline-based interface where you record audio and MIDI into tracks that are layered up, here there’s much more reliance on patterns. READ MORE: Cherry Audio GX80 review: Two legendary synths for the price of oneĮvery DAW has its own workflow but that applies especially to FL Studio.Rather, we will look at how FL Studio fits into the music tech landscape and what it can offer new or switching users. Image Line has a remarkably generous policy of free lifetime updates so this review isn’t going to spend long pondering whether you should update as an existing user, because it’s completely free to do so. In 2018 it made the leap to macOS, finally opening it up to Apple users after years of a Windows-only existence. In its first incarnation as FruityLoops, it was more of a musical sketchpad but has long since evolved into one of the most advanced music production tools around. December 2022 marked the 25th birthday of FL Studio, a remarkable milestone for any DAW.

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