FL Studio - Should I bother?

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Kaos Axiom wrote:I use all 3 hosts you mentioned and can tell you they offer different things.
I love each one for their different quirkinesses (does that word exists :?: )
Tracktion ( I still use 1) is excelent for audio.
EXT is awesome in its simplicity and modular approach
FL is a very complete host that does audio but not as good as T. The patter based workflow is wonderful and fast and the piano roll is among the best I have tried (unlike T).
Can you tell me about your issues with T2's piano roll (or do you use T1)? I'm relatively new to MIDI editing but I rely on it constantly now and I fins T2's MIDI resources to be pretty good for my needs. I'm interested to know wht shortcomings you feel are there.
Here is my small version:

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Frippertronix wrote:Can you tell me about your issues with T2's piano roll (or do you use T1)? I'm relatively new to MIDI editing but I rely on it constantly now and I fins T2's MIDI resources to be pretty good for my needs. I'm interested to know wht shortcomings you feel are there.
I took a look at T2 demo and had a play with the midi editor. Compared to FL Studio Producer, T2's midi editor is very basic. What I like about FL Studio is the array of tools on the midi editor - quantize and chop, for example can use other patterns to quantize and chop your current pattern, extracting the feel from one pattern and imposing it on yours. Chop does something similar, but with the notes themselves, slicing them up and moving them up/down across the scale. Strum can take a chord and adjust the timing and velocity to make it sound like a guitar strumming.

The basic editing is very straight forward - left click drops a note, right click removes it. CTRL+Left click gets you a selection.
Pete Goodwin

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Thoth93 wrote:At one point, I was all hot to get the XXL edition of this software, but then I decided to try other hosts instead.

I have EnergyXt and Tracktion 2 now. Is there anything that FL Studio, probably at the Producer Edition level now, can offer me that these hosts can't? I do have some background in pattern-based music production, so I get that portion of what FL offers.

Brian
I got Fruity Loops ages ago, looked for an audio app found Tracktion, found eXT for various purposes and hardly use FLStudio now at all. I find if I use it I end up making music that is more synthetic in nature and that is different from what I normally try to do which is guitar based rock sort of thing. It's a nice change to muck around in but if I was in your shoes I wouldn't bother.

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bluedad wrote:
scam_artist wrote:@Bennettt: if you plan to buy a midi keyboard or controller, most M-audio keyboards come with a free cutdown version of Ableton Live which is good to loop a few tracks at once... with teh latest version of Live Lite you can also have one midi track with a VST instrument on it. That, coupled with some loop sample CDs from Time and Space could be all you need...
not only that, but an upgrade path to Live at about half price.
Are you a live5 fan? :hihi:

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Well, that is one thing......fl studio does have a "knock your socks off" midi editor.

But I guess for me, I get too caught up in it and then it gets unproductive.

I LOVE the chord select, the rendering (midi) is really very good, arpeggiator is terrific........certainly no knock on the midi.

But for LOOPS it's kinda (word that some people find offensive so I won't use it) it really doesn't do that well.......stretching.......awsome......

But that beatcreator (makes for fl studio btw) is to die for if you want to do loops..........seriously.........

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He's not alone :wink:

Seriously though, my impression of FL is that it's good for MIDI editing (provided you have a powerful CPU and so don't need a freeze function), but fairly awkward when it comes to using audio...

If you are looking for an all round host that handles both MIDI and audio really well, then Ableton (especially!) or Cakewalk offer more rounded products imho.

And if you are really into loops - including audio - than Ableton is without peers or rivals right now :D

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Thoth93 wrote:At one point, I was all hot to get the XXL edition of this software, but then I decided to try other hosts instead.

I have EnergyXt and Tracktion 2 now. Is there anything that FL Studio, probably at the Producer Edition level now, can offer me that these hosts can't? I do have some background in pattern-based music production, so I get that portion of what FL offers.

Brian
Others have probably said this below...but...

Just lifetime free updates (this is worth far more than people here seem to give it credit, this suggests to me this place is 90% Warez users :-(). I mean come on, it's like $200-300 free upgrades every year...I have been using FL since 2002 so that's $600-800 value for nothing! :-)

Piano Roll

Automation

Flexibility

Access to huge sample library at Sample Fusion, which despite some of the lower comments *is* full of quality content.

There's in version 6 some cool new plugins (which you will get)

Carb.

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headquest wrote:He's not alone :wink:

Seriously though, my impression of FL is that it's good for MIDI editing (provided you have a powerful CPU and so don't need a freeze function), but fairly awkward when it comes to using audio...
I use FL for audio in a professional capacity, no problems. I have no idea why you think audio is awkward, it's one of the most flexible hosts I have used. It's sort of like saying...I find drawing using a blank piece of paper and a box of pencils awkward because there is no restrictions on how I draw.

Carb.

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bluedad wrote:
scam_artist wrote:@Bennettt: if you plan to buy a midi keyboard or controller, most M-audio keyboards come with a free cutdown version of Ableton Live which is good to loop a few tracks at once... with teh latest version of Live Lite you can also have one midi track with a VST instrument on it. That, coupled with some loop sample CDs from Time and Space could be all you need...
not only that, but an upgrade path to Live at about half price.
I've got the cut down versions of Live 3 and 4 which I got with my controllers... I wonder if they'd allow I licence transfer? I'm not using either coz I have Live 5 full

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Carbonboy wrote: Just lifetime free updates (this is worth far more than people here seem to give it credit, this suggests to me this place is 90% Warez users :-(). I mean come on, it's like $200-300 free upgrades every year...I have been using FL since 2002 so that's $600-800 value for nothing! :-)
My host, Zynewave Podium, also has lifetime free updates.

Also, I doubt there's even 0.01% warez users on here... KVR is an anti-warez kinda place if you hadn't noticed before... ;)

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tracktion also has lifetime free updates (for users who stayed on version 1!)... at least I seem to remember that was the case... don't quote me on that!

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Well, we did get a _very_ cheap downloadable upgrade. $20, I think.

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scam_artist wrote:Also, I doubt there's even 0.01% warez users on here... KVR is an anti-warez kinda place if you hadn't noticed before... ;)
I respectfully propose that you are mistaken, yes KVR discourages Warez discussion...but that doesn't mean large numbers of Warez users congregate here for free tips. Just think for a moment...how likely is it that a 14 year old has legit copies of FL studio, Reason, Cubase SX and Live 5...yeah riiiiight.

Carb.

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Carbonboy wrote:I respectfully propose that you are mistaken, yes KVR discourages Warez discussion...but that doesn't mean large numbers of Warez users congregate here for free tips.
Be warey of anyone who posts FL type questions here on the grounds that Looptalk is sh*t; which it clearly isn't. You can quote me on that and flame me all you like. :P

Some KVR users have a habit of defaming Image-Line for no good reason.
Image
Analogue or digital – which is better? There's only one way to find out... FI-I-IGHT!!!

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ceenda wrote:Well, we did get a _very_ cheap downloadable upgrade. $20, I think.
I just logged in to my Mackie account and it says Tracktion 1 hasn't been updated since July 2004. Assuming they don't upgrade Tracktion 1 further, that means Tracktion isn't lifetime free updates.... but yes, the upgrade was really cheap! (I got it for the video support)
I respectfully propose that you are mistaken, yes KVR discourages Warez discussion...but that doesn't mean large numbers of Warez users congregate here for free tips. Just think for a moment...how likely is it that a 14 year old has legit copies of FL studio, Reason, Cubase SX and Live 5...yeah riiiiight.
Who is the 14 year old you are talking about?
You could be right though. I should have been more clear, in that I meant most people who post here on a regular basis (ie, who are active members) wouldn't be warez users :) I just had to jump into defensive mode when you said 90% of users could be warez users ;)

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