Patterns/Clips - i dont understand why important

[Caine123]

Im a fl studio user around 9 years. I never liked the drum pattern work but always used the piano roll as i see more advantages with it and it doesnt take more time to fill it out. Yeah u have to change the piano rolls for each sample this i get. But then patterns. I always created 1 pattern where i hear all elements clmplement then i split those to single patterns and align them like clips in the playlist then i make different patterns for variations on existing instruments, automations, adding wave sampled etc. So it doesnt sound just vlipbased without variation.
I always did that. I guess i always use fl studio like standard daws?

So i always ask myself if i can use fl studio like this why are people still making it so hard themselves and categorize daws?

I just demo studio one. Reaper etc and even if you dont have as default a patternview you could just create a row of midiclips and then move them around and combine easily instead of having to every time copy patterns

[antic604]

I believe the idea of pattern (a vertical slice through separate tracks playing together) comes from hardware sequencers (and drum machines), whereas linear multi-track recording is a tape workflow.

DAWs tried to somehow combine those two worlds:
- some, like Cubase or ProTool went straight for the tape / linear workflow,
- some, like Renoise and most trackers before it are firmly in patterns workflow,
- some, like FL or Reason (Blocks) were trying to mix the two with a balance tilted one way or the other,
- Live - followed by Bitwig - thought of 3rd way and came up with session view, which is a more flexible pattern idea.

So I'd say there's many categories of DAWs, some are more some are less flexible when it comes to workflow and you need to find one that suits your creative process best.

[gentleclockdivider]

When I used to use fl studio , I created a bunch of empty patterns ( lets say 4 or 8 bars long , couple of patterns )
Stacked them ( underneath each other in the linear/song view ) , set to song mode and started messing around in pattern view
Best of both worlds

[xbitz]

...
- some, like Cubase or ProTool went straight for the tape / linear workflow,
...

Logic uses track alternatives

Cubase uses track versions

S1 uses scratch pad


and all of them use arranger track for this kind of tasks, Cubase can trigger clips with MDI too

Using Cubase Live, Triggering the Arranger Track with MIDI Notes

[Hink]

for me my comfort zone would seem to be as close to tape and linear as possible because I'm old and use to it. When I first started with using a computer based studio over a digital Akai DPS-12 (really just another computer) I was doing FL for my midi work, rendering everything to audio and then when it came time for guitar and such I would use Cool Edit Pro/Adobe Audition for recording audio parts and mixing. In AA for a while (up to 1.5 I believe) you could draw in blocks as patterns and by default if the track was armed to record it would punch in and out at the points where the blocks started and ended, I liked that a lot. I then got a crossgrade deal on Samplitude Pro 9 in Feb of 2007, Samp's objects brought this to a whole new level though it didn't do the default punch like some versions of AA did. (not to worry though samp now has multi point autopunch). The object editor is so amazingly flexible and powerful I wouldn't want anything else at this point (of course technology could change that tomorrow)

[AdvancedFollower]

I kind of feel like I'm using my linear DAW (Studio One) more as a pattern-based one like FL Studio.

I tend to use "Shared Copies" a lot. So I'll create one MIDI clip for an instrument, then drag out shared copies in the arranger. Then it's simple to right-click an individual clip and make it unique, for various transitions, variations etc. So I'm essentially working with patterns, just without a separate list of patterns/clips/whatever since it's all done in the linear arranger view. The advantage of this is that if I want to make some change, e.g. change a note in one of the clips, I only have to do it once and all shared copies of that clip are affected. Just like modifying a pattern in FL and making it change everywhere in the playlist.

The only problem is that for some bizarre reason, automation is still entirely linear. So if I want the same reverb automation in 10 places, I have to copy+paste the automation, and any change has to be manually duplicated 10 times.

[antic604]

The only problem is that for some bizarre reason, automation is still entirely linear. So if I want the same reverb automation in 10 places, I have to copy+paste the automation, and any change has to be manually duplicated 10 times.

Working with MIDI, if you open your Piano Roll then at the bottom you'll have your velocity & panning, etc. but you can add there any other parameter available in this channel and automate it. I believe this is stored within the clip & copied with it, although I'm not sure it's also "shared". I'll check it out in the evening

[andypryce]

An Event Playlist for Midi and Audio regions in Studio One would be perfect.It is almost like a Pattern list. Just like Protools. Are there any other hosts have it?

[AdvancedFollower]

The only problem is that for some bizarre reason, automation is still entirely linear. So if I want the same reverb automation in 10 places, I have to copy+paste the automation, and any change has to be manually duplicated 10 times.

Working with MIDI, if you open your Piano Roll then at the bottom you'll have your velocity & panning, etc. but you can add there any other parameter available in this channel and automate it. I believe this is stored within the clip & copied with it, although I'm not sure it's also "shared". I'll check it out in the evening

Yes this can be done, but there are a couple of caveats. You obviously can't automate independently of the MIDI clip this way - duplicate the clip, the automation gets duplicated along with the notes (sometimes this is what you want, sometimes not). It can only be done on instruments, not effects, and the length of the automation is limited to the length of the clip. E.g. if you have a repeating 4-bar clip but you want the automation to be over 32 bars, you have to merge them into one giant 32-bar MIDI clip first.
What I really want is the ability to "encapsulate" automation on any automation track into its own clip, make shared copies, quickly copy+paste it (instead of fiddling with the individual points) and maybe even save it to a pool to re-use it.

[antic604]

Yes this can be done, but there are a couple of caveats.

Oh, right - I'm aware of the limitations. It's just better than nothing
And indeed automation clips with sharing would be great!

[Trancit]

The only problem is that for some bizarre reason, automation is still entirely linear. So if I want the same reverb automation in 10 places, I have to copy+paste the automation, and any change has to be manually duplicated 10 times.

This is where FL Studio really shines...
As much as it´s "freedom" between the different blocks stands in my way when it comes to complex arranging, but being able to automate with one automation clip as many targets as you like over the whole programm and each with different mapping if needed is really genius...
I guess that´s one of my absolutely favourites...

[AdvancedFollower]

Yes this can be done, but there are a couple of caveats.

Oh, right - I'm aware of the limitations. It's just better than nothing
And indeed automation clips with sharing would be great!

Yeah, they are workarounds I found after I spent an entire night getting frustrated with automation in SO. I was surprised how clunky it was given how streamlined everything else is. Like, throwing together the song was so easy and inspiring, and then I just wanted to automate a couple of parameters and it became this total mess of zooming in hunting for dots, copy+pasting, making some change, copy+pasting again etc.

The only problem is that for some bizarre reason, automation is still entirely linear. So if I want the same reverb automation in 10 places, I have to copy+paste the automation, and any change has to be manually duplicated 10 times.

This is where FL Studio really shines...
As much as it´s "freedom" between the different blocks stands in my way when it comes to complex arranging, but being able to automate with one automation clip as many targets as you like over the whole programm and each with different mapping if needed is really genius...
I guess that´s one of my absolutely favourites...

Indeed, I've demoed FL and even considered buying it and finding some kind of workflow that lets me use it together with SO. Like you say, getting the basic arrangement down using patterns, create interesting variations, breaks and build-ups using automation clips, then move it to SO once it becomes too overwhelming in FL. OTOH, using multiple DAWs doesn't seem like the way forward if you want to streamline things...

[kmonkey]

So i always ask myself if i can use fl studio like this why are people still making it so hard themselves and categorize daws?

Answer to your question is rather simple.

Because (drum roll and a shock) - not everyone in this world is like you and people tend to develop their own workflow and how they approach on making sound.