FL Studio

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FL Studio (formerly Fruity Loops, though now available in a "Fruity Loops Edition") is a music production software package, also known as a digital audio workstation, created by Image-Line Software. Music is made by recording and mixing audio and MIDI data together to create a WAV or mp3 file.

FL Studio is a pattern based music sequencer, which allows the artist to create songs in pieces (patterns) using the Step Sequencer and the Piano Roll view and then weld those pieces together using the Playlist window. The Effects Panel provides access to a wide range of software effects that can be automated for dynamic sweeps, rolling bass lines and texture changes.

The program is especially well-known within the hobbyist music community with as a low-cost platform for the creation of amateur dance music as well as electronica, though the complete version is full-featured enough to handle production of songs in many different genres.

Contents

1 User Interface
2 Features

2.1 Included generators
2.2 Optional generators (require additional purchase)
2.3 FL Studio supported standards
2.4 Driver support
2.5 Effects Plugins

3 Editions of FL Studio
4 External links

User Interface

The FL Studio user interface comprises 5 main screens:

Step Sequencer - enables quick assembly of drum patterns and short melodic parts.
Piano Roll - a two dimensional grid for composing. The vertical axis represents pitch, and the horizontal axis represents time.
Playlist - where you can arrange sets of patterns and audio files to assemble a complete song.
Mixer - used for balancing audio levels, adding effects processing, and recording audio input.
Sample Browser - allows quick access of audio samples, plugins, presets, and other FL Studio song files.

Features

FL Studio has become widely used by both amateur musicians and professionals alike, because of its easy-to-use step sequencer and piano roll, its good monetary value, its wide support of industry standards, its extensive automation abilities, and its quality effects. One progressive feature of FL Studio (of the online version) is that all upgrades are free.

As of version 6.0.1, FL Studio is now compiled in Delphi, all the mixer tracks can be used as Send tracks, multiple MIDI devices can be used, a new popup engine, and many more updates.

Instrumental effects include reverb, chorus, flanger and the like. It uses internal 32 bit floating point audio mixing, at one of the six available sampling frequencies (default: 44.1 KHz).

The demonstration 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.

Included generators

3x OSC - 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.
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.
WaveTraveller - 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 3x OSC described above.

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.
Slayer II - a guitar simulation that improves upon the included FL Slayer
SimSynth Live - 3 oscillator MiniMoog simulation combined with Oberheim style SVF filters
Wasp - a broad analog emulation synth with an aggressive distortion effect (after the EDP Wasp)
Wasp XT - an updated version of Wasp
DX10 - FM sound with a simple, intuitive interface
Soundfont Player - gives the ability to load, play and render soundfonts (.sf2 files)
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

FL Studio supported standards

DirectX plugins
VST plugins
VST2 plugins
Buzz plugins
Rewire host and client

Driver support

ASIO driver
DirectSound driver

Effects Plugins

Buzz Effect Adapter - is a wrapper for Buzz effect machines. You can find a huge collection of Buzz machines at [BuzzMachines.com]
EQUO - Equalizer that can be automated to morph
Fruity 7 Band EQ - 7 band equalizer
Fruity Big Clock - Displays songtime in various formats
Fruity Balance - A stereo balance plugin to create a panning effect
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 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 Blood Overdrive - A distortion effect suitable for guitar sounds
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 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 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.
Fruity NoteBook - It's basically wordpad, but in fruity loops.
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 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 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 Free Filter - A simple filter plugin
Fruity Flanger - Applies flanging effect to audio
Fruity Chorus - Creates chorus effect
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 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 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.
Fruity Mute - Automates mute
Fruity Compressor - Scales the output volume, making quiet parts louder without causing loud parts to clip
Fruity Multiband Compressor - A 3 band stereo compressor
Fruity Phase Inverter - Creates surround-like effect
Fruity Phaser - Creates effect similar to flanging, but with a wider 'sweep' effect
Fruity Reverb - Simulates sound reflecting in enclosed space, creating a 'live' feel
Fruity Reverb 2 - A more sophisticated version of Fruity Reverb
Fruity Wave Shaper - A wave distortion effect which maps input to output values in a graph
Fruity Squeeze - A distortion effect that adds a gritty feel to sounds such as drumloops

Editions of FL Studio

FL Studio is available in four editions, each one having a different set and amount 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 rather than a full-fledged audio production program.

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.

Producer Edition - The highest, and fully-featured version. It also includes a comprehensive set of VSTi and DX plugins.

XXL Edition - A bundle including the Producer Edition, as well as all of the optional plug-ins and generators that are not included in it. Most noteworthy is the popular Sytrus generator, which includes options for FM synthesis, ring modulation synthesis, and a wide assortment of integrated effects.

External links

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