FL Studio Questions

[BazzaTron]

I have the demo version of FL Studio and I'm wondering whether to buy the full thing.

VST's I have are the Korg Legacy Collection and a few freebies (Synth1, Crystal, Oatmeal etc)

Anyway, I have a few questions:

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1) Patch changes

If I want to use 10 different MS-20 patches in a track, do I need to have 10 different channels and 10 different instances of the MS-20 plugin open ? Is there some way of changing the patch used by a VST channel during a track?

2) Freezing channels

Can FL do this? By this I mean pre-rendering a channel so it doesn't have to drive the VST when playing (to save CPU cycles).

3) Multiple monitors

I haven't had the chance to try it on a multiple monitor system - does it work ? On my machine FL fills the whole screen - the "Maximize/Restore" button doesn't do anything!

4) Saving Projects

The demo of course doesn't save - in the full version when you save does it remember the VST patch and any manual tweaks you've made to it?

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Sorry if these are daft questions! I also have the EnergyXT demo to try out when I get the chance - but I was up until 4 am last night playing with FL...

[arke]

I have the demo version of FL Studio and I'm wondering whether to buy the full thing.

VST's I have are the Korg Legacy Collection and a few freebies (Synth1, Crystal, Oatmeal etc)

Anyway, I have a few questions:

==============================

1) Patch changes

If I want to use 10 different MS-20 patches in a track, do I need to have 10 different channels and 10 different instances of the MS-20 plugin open ? Is there some way of changing the patch used by a VST channel during a track?

Yes, but you'd do that in other Hosts too, so I don't see the problem.

2) Freezing channels

Can FL do this? By this I mean pre-rendering a channel so it doesn't have to drive the VST when playing (to save CPU cycles).

Yep. Its not as easy as in other Hosts though, but to be honest FL is also blazingly fast (at least for me), so I've never had to freeze something because of CPU troubles (and I don't have the fastest computer either).

3) Multiple monitors

I haven't had the chance to try it on a multiple monitor system - does it work ? On my machine FL fills the whole screen - the "Maximize/Restore" button doesn't do anything!

Yep, make sure that in the General options you check "Don't limit windows to screen", then you can move them around wherever.

4) Saving Projects

The demo of course doesn't save - in the full version when you save does it remember the VST patch and any manual tweaks you've made to it?

Well of course!

==============================

Sorry if these are daft questions! I also have the EnergyXT demo to try out when I get the chance - but I was up until 4 am last night playing with FL...

Both are pretty neat, and you'll get plenty of people advocation both. Depends on what you want.

Me, I'm a FL guy, through and through

[arguru]

Yes, but you'd do that in other Hosts too, so I don't see the problem.

I would not.

[Debutante]

Here's my set of answers to your question:

1. If you instrument is multi-timbral then you only need one instance of it and you can open as many patches as it has voices and route each voice to a seperate mixer channel if you wish.

2. FL itself cannot freeze channels but I know there are VST options available for this, or if you want to, you can very quickly record/render a channel direct from the mixer and use that for playback. There may be other workarounds... A big power saver, though not as effective as freezing is the option to "Switch smart disable for all effects" which turns off any effect that is not being processed to save a little power. Sometimes this small feature can really make the difference, though freezing is probably much better.

3. FL does support multiple monitors: in the general settings tab you will find the option "Don't limit windows to screen".

4. When saving a FL will remember all instrument and effect settings as well as any automation you may have drawn/recorded into any VST/i that supports automation within the project. I don't know how it is with other hosts, but FL will also search and find your samples for saved projects anywhere within the given folder. So for example, if you happen to create a new folder or simply reshuffle your containing folder, it will get them regardless of where you put them if they are contained in a searchable directory.


Hope this helps!

[BazzaTron]

Many thanks for all your helps guys.

1. If you instrument is multi-timbral then you only need one instance of it and you can open as many patches as it has voices and route each voice to a seperate mixer channel if you wish.

Unfortunately none of the VSTs I'm using are multitimbral .

I asked about the patch change because the first thing I tried was a very simple repeating track where I wanted to alter the lead line every few bars to a different MS-20 voice (and also throw in a load of noisy woops and sweeps), so of course I finished up with lots of channels of the same VST, however mostly they didn't overlap so I thought it would be better to somehow just change the patch...

Anyone know of any hosts that would support that?

On the whole though I quite like FL!

[BazzaTron]

Also, on the "Freezing" of a channel, I would have thought that FL's loop/pattern structure should make this pretty easy.

You could I suppose just freeze the pattern rather than the whole channel within the track.

Just a shame they haven't put in an easy "one-click" way of doing this.

...this is fairly important as I found it quite easy to get the CPU up above 60% - the Korg stuff is pretty CPU intensive.

[Debutante]

Many thanks for all your helps guys.

1. If you instrument is multi-timbral then you only need one instance of it and you can open as many patches as it has voices and route each voice to a seperate mixer channel if you wish.

Unfortunately none of the VSTs I'm using are multitimbral .

I asked about the patch change because the first thing I tried was a very simple repeating track where I wanted to alter the lead line every few bars to a different MS-20 voice (and also throw in a load of noisy woops and sweeps), so of course I finished up with lots of channels of the same VST, however mostly they didn't overlap so I thought it would be better to somehow just change the patch...

Anyone know of any hosts that would support that?

On the whole though I quite like FL!

... your other option, though it might be a pain in the ass, would be to automate your insrtument settings so they change at the places you would like them to if the parameters support automation. This could work well for small timbral changes, but if your patch needs drastic alteration, then you might want to think otherwise.

[Rabid]

There are some major disadvantages to using patch changes in a single channel this way. The different sounds may have different output volumes. You may also want different effects for those swoops, or to place them in different positions in the stereo field.

[Canned Heat]

Many thanks for all your helps guys.

1. If you instrument is multi-timbral then you only need one instance of it and you can open as many patches as it has voices and route each voice to a seperate mixer channel if you wish.

Unfortunately none of the VSTs I'm using are multitimbral .

I asked about the patch change because the first thing I tried was a very simple repeating track where I wanted to alter the lead line every few bars to a different MS-20 voice (and also throw in a load of noisy woops and sweeps), so of course I finished up with lots of channels of the same VST, however mostly they didn't overlap so I thought it would be better to somehow just change the patch...

Anyone know of any hosts that would support that?

On the whole though I quite like FL!

... your other option, though it might be a pain in the ass, would be to automate your insrtument settings so they change at the places you would like them to if the parameters support automation. This could work well for small timbral changes, but if your patch needs drastic alteration, then you might want to think otherwise.

and the better Option IMHO is to use a Midi Out Channel, set it's In port to the Out port of your VSTi and link it's patch number to your MIDI Controllers (Knob ,Sliders or even keys via fruity keyboard controller). in this manner you can easily change your MS20 patches via your MIDI keyboard or even your PC keyboard.

[Debutante]

Many thanks for all your helps guys.

1. If you instrument is multi-timbral then you only need one instance of it and you can open as many patches as it has voices and route each voice to a seperate mixer channel if you wish.

Unfortunately none of the VSTs I'm using are multitimbral .

I asked about the patch change because the first thing I tried was a very simple repeating track where I wanted to alter the lead line every few bars to a different MS-20 voice (and also throw in a load of noisy woops and sweeps), so of course I finished up with lots of channels of the same VST, however mostly they didn't overlap so I thought it would be better to somehow just change the patch...

Anyone know of any hosts that would support that?

On the whole though I quite like FL!

... your other option, though it might be a pain in the ass, would be to automate your insrtument settings so they change at the places you would like them to if the parameters support automation. This could work well for small timbral changes, but if your patch needs drastic alteration, then you might want to think otherwise.

and the better Option IMHO is to use a Midi Out Channel, set it's In port to the Out port of your VSTi and link it's patch number to your MIDI Controllers (Knob ,Sliders or even keys via fruity keyboard controller). in this manner you can easily change your MS20 patches via your MIDI keyboard or even your PC keyboard.

I COMPLETELY forgot about that! There is your answer to changing patches perfectly! From here you can very easily automate/change your patches any way you want.

[BERFAB]

I'm also demoing the FL package. I know the manual is in the package, but I'd like to access it in my office too. Is there a link to just the manual?

Thanks
-B

[BERFAB]

I'm also demoing the FL package. I know the manual is in the package, but I'd like to access it in my office too. Is there a link to just the manual?

Thanks
-B

Nevermind. Sorry. Found it here: http://www.flstudio.com/English/frames.html

Thanks.
-B

[riley4reason]

I vote for FL6.. Plus, I suggest you save 10% while buying it..

[BazzaTron]

Thanks for your help guys.

Best price I've seen in Europe is from

http://www.thomann.de/thoiw2_artikel-186981.html

275 euros / £190 for the XXL version.

I really like the mixer section & piano roll in FL. Not too bothered about the internal generators as I have other VSTs.

I'm very tempted to just dive in! However, being new to this I want to try a few things out first.

[Debutante]

I love and use on FL, but I think it's wise for you to try out a few other demos as well. The price sounds right, and if you don't want the internal VSTi then just get the Producer Edition for about half that price.