The best and worst of FL Studio?

[Morris]

I like the many possibilities like beatslicer, granulizer reasonable good vst(i) support. I like the workflow also.

What I do not like, and that is very important for me, no PDC, I am using the UAD-1. I personally find that FLS & UAD is no go!!!!
The midi timing is not as tight as I want to. And FLStudio itself is not using hyperthreading (second CPU) of my P4.

It is not that I do not like FLStudio. I like it alot but the things I mentioned earlier are becomming more and more important for me.

[Cabinfever]

i like the "wrap remainder" function on wav export.

some other hosts (hello orion) refuse to implement this feature since you're supposed to use the app to produce the entire song and therefore 'wrap remainder' is not relevant. bollocks !

i dislike that there is no 'loop record' function. this is a basic requirement and i now believe that only sheer spite keeps it out of the development schedule.

in fact that's almost another dislike - the nasty attitude of the fl team. i know myself that dealing with "the public" is horrible work, but you should at least pretend to smile. the fl team tend just to tell people to go to hell, which may be what we all want to do, but it comes across as very arrogant.

but then i do really like their take on dilbert on looptalk - very funny.


all in all a great app. but i think in future ableton4 will be giving them a kick in the ass

[arp_laszlo]

best: spectroman, peak controller
worst: use with midi controllers & vsti (having to assign/link controllers instead of a vsti just responding to cc#s); clunky rewire interface; the staff (prick-o-rama).

i pretty much stopped using it after i got a proper midi controller. ableton 4 will result in frooty poo being flushed down the toilet.

[wrench45us]

the step sequencer for drum lines is very usable -- including the easy assignment to mixer channels to apply fx. and I find the compressor very good.

setting up templates and adding channels is good.

beatslicer is very useful

nobody's mentioned the fruity wrapper on vst instruments. the delay and arp can really add a lot - unfortunately also drives up the cpu in some cases

image line's opening up of their sound fusion library for registered users was an unexpected extra.


i take exception to the piano roll editing. I think a lot of people have managed to adapt to its quirks (though the slicer tool is nice) The Piano roll in Project 5 seems to me to be the most intuitive and easiest to use.
I also prefer the ability to stretch-copy patterns in tracks in P-5 vs. copy, copy copy in FLS.
The concept/workflow of having all the instruments available for a track that uses only one instrument seems off, but it's definitely workable. But I prefer the one track/one instrument concept/workflow of Tracktion and P-5.

I think I've adapted to the FLS developer's attitudes. It would be a more boring world without that attitude, but it does limit my enthusiasm for the product.

[Jaidy]

The Good (Actually the Fantastic!)

Dashboard and things like the peak controller make all kinds of side chain style madness possible, build your own effects, multi channel compressors, etc.

Keyboard Controller - Who needs a stinking midi knob box (at $200 a pop) when you can use a an external midi keyboard to control anything you want. How about an pan pattern based on an arpegiated sus4th chord?

The playlist and pattern method of composition. Love it or leave it. Grok it and workflow is superb, heads above acid or sonar or other midi sequencers. I have yet to see something related to composition that one of these type products can do that the FL playlist and pattern method does not simplify if you are creative enough.

1st class value proposition, FL native synths and effects are all great values.

World Class Support and Development. If there is a problem ( a real one, not some cosmetic preference), it gets resolved.

The Bad

No Loop Recording is a crippling ommision relegating FL as not ready to be a prime standalone DAW.

The Ugly

The tiny tiny mixer is less flexible and lacks standard features that even most entry level bargin bin $9.99 CD music creation packs have. Limited aux or sends. Incomplete support for multi in or out instruments or effects. The final output monitor is a miniscule idiot light. While the playlist and pattern method encourage multichannel productions, the mixer is not up to the task with too little real estate showing too few tracks.

The pawster works exclusively in FL studio.

[arp_laszlo]

Keyboard Controller - Who needs a stinking midi knob box (at $200 a pop) when you can use a an external midi keyboard to control anything you want. How about an pan pattern based on an arpegiated sus4th chord?

how about actually playing vsti and wanting realtime control over the various parameters? this can be done by linking controllers but those links are only saved within a song meaning you either 1) link every damn thing you want and have your default song have every synth you want to control loaded & linked (which isn't very useful) or 2) link controllers every time you want to use a synth (which also isn't very useful).

[Spe3D]

Keyboard Controller - Who needs a stinking midi knob box (at $200 a pop) when you can use a an external midi keyboard to control anything you want. How about an pan pattern based on an arpegiated sus4th chord?

how about actually playing vsti and wanting realtime control over the various parameters? this can be done by linking controllers but those links are only saved within a song meaning you either 1) link every damn thing you want and have your default song have every synth you want to control loaded & linked (which isn't very useful) or 2) link controllers every time you want to use a synth (which also isn't very useful).

http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 4&start=30

I should just stick that link in my sig until the FL debate subsides. with the amount (' I’ can’t do this ') comments

Best regards,

Spe3d

:O)

[meeks]

I'd rather you didn't

[Spe3D]

I'd rather you didn't

I won't, sorry Meeks!

Not you I am aiming the comment at

Best regards,

Spe3d

[meeks]

lol; it serve me right though

by the way, if I get this right, a temple is nothing but a FLP file (set to your choice of stuff) that is placed in the templet folder? I mean, its not a special tpye of doc, right? And if the templet is open then closed, it will open to that templet the next time FL is fired up, correct?

[Spe3D]

a temple is nothing but a FLP file (set to your choice of stuff) that is placed in the templet folder? I mean, its not a special tpye of doc, right? And if the templet is open then closed, it will open to that templet the next time FL is fired up, correct?

That is all correct Meeks

Best regards,

Spe3d

:O)

[pd]

What I like
1) It comes with a large collection of synths and effects giving you quick and cheap access to most synthesis methods out there. Even after collecting a bunch of plugins I still find myself going back to the FL plugins all the time. It is a perfect starting point for anyone new to Computer Music Technology.
2) You can create some very complex synths by layering synths, using effects, and using the controllers.
3) Image Line keeps creating cool new stuff making the product better and better. You get a lot of it as updates for free. Even when you have to pay for an upgrade, it is very cheap.
4) Randomize function.
5) Very stable. I very rarely get a crash and usually only if I am messing with some new unstable plugin.

What I don't like
1) Hard to save complicated modular synths or effects as a preset so that you can reuse in other projects. This could be minimized if you could load FLStudio as a vst within FLStudio.

I must admit though that I haven't really gotten around to writing a single song yet. I am more of a technology geek than a song writer at this point . I am still building up my arsenal of synths and don't feel the pressure yet to complete a song. I have very limited time but I still fire FL up every night with some simple goal in mind like experimenting with the controllers or trying out some new synth demo or freebie. I usually end the night with a couple of loops (some of them actually sound cool ). I'm only saying this because I am not sure yet that I like the pattern based playlist. This may be one of the reasons I hardly ever get past a simple loop but I can't say that I have given it a fair chance.

I plan to get another host eventually (probably Sonar and/or Acid Pro), so I have given up the very frustrating obsession of wishing that FL would turn into my everything host. I will just keep enjoying FL for all the wonderful things that it is and let the Image Line team continue to surprise me with all the cool new inovative stuff coming. I think FL will always be my most important tool. I am anxiously awaiting the envelope controller.

Phil.

[arp_laszlo]

so you save templates, which are songs/projects. say i want to use imposcar & atmosphere - your solution is to create a template with both of those synths? with everything assigned? i don't see how that's helpful if you want to add a third synth, though your suggestion is to have another template for that option. rather than make a template for each possible situation, i'd rather make a scene for a synth on my controller (microKontrol) and be able to recall the settings with a couple of buttons and not have to pull up a template for each situation.

[meeks]

You can create the templete and those items that you choose will automatically come up when you open a new project; nothing is stopping you from adding another synth (or twenty). It will just open the customized preferences that you prefer, such as assigning mod wheels, etc. Your more likely not to include an imposcar in every track, so why bring it up (then again mabey you do dependent on your taste).

[Rellik]

<- stlll confused

So you can't map controls to soft-synths in the natural manner? Or am I wrong? Everything must be *assigned*? Or does FL allow the soft-synth to recieve MIDI CC's as it sees fit? I'm really just trying to scope out what the deal is, because I can't test it out myself. And I don't want to have to buy a new sequencer... I require, for my needs, FL to be my one-and-only sequencer I love the way it works, and I want it to do everything I need it to do.

Anyway, with the whole template thing, what if you use a huge arsenal of free VSTi's, and your CPU couldn't stand a chance against even a third of them being open at once? I am still confused, so don't blow up at me if I'm wrong, but ... CC's don't have free rights to be directly transmitted from controller to soft-synth? They must cross the border via FL's own "Link to Controller..." station? Is this correct? If so, ... I do not like this at all. And you say you cannot save an individual MIDI reception template and load it onto the synth? I do not like that either. But am I correct in this?

I love FL. It's not just a beat machine for me; it never has been (then again, I wasn't around in the beginning). It's my host/sequencer. As long as the FL team doesn't try to 'chicken out' and fail to include new, necessary, and most of all, desired, features, I will be satisfied.

The good:
Huge, relatively knowledgable, userbase.
Ultra-efficient workflow.
A bunch of nice effects.
Pattern-based sequencing (this is a plus sometimes).

The bad:
Pattern-based sequencing.
Synths that come separately.
The whole CC thing that everyone's talking about... I may not understand it completely, but it's bad.
A bunch of "lacks of" (good multi-tracking capability, CPU-saving features for generators [I'm gald it has Smart Disable for effects], spline/envelope-based automation, score editor, etc.)

The things that really worry me are the 'lacks of', and the fact that the developers seem to want FL to stay a beatbox forever, while most users are clamoring for an ever-more-complete sequencer/host.