KVR Audio

jmbriley · Post by **jmbriley** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 3:37 pm

OK I have used FL Studio for about 2 years. I love making my loops and patterns in it. I like arranging my song in it and I love mixing in it. I love how you see what effects are being used on a track and how you can click it and open the effect. I only have two dislikes. A) It does not have automatic PDC so I must either limit my VST FX usage or do the manual PDC stuff. B) I hate recording my vocals in it. It is just too tedious a process for someone who is doing 3 verses, doubles on the 3 verses, adlibs on the 3 verses, chorus, background vocals for chorus, intro adlibs and outro adlibs.

jmbriley · Post by **jmbriley** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 3:39 pm

Plus you have to record the vocals in stereo.

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 4:35 pm

OK... But what is the dillema? Use FLS as a VST/VSTi or rewired into a audio tracker, problem solved? I do this with Tracktion 2 and it's a great team; FLS is used for what it's good at (pattern based composition/sampler/generators/piano roll MIDI/etc) and Tracktion is used for all audio recording and mixing. I struggled with the same thing trying to use FLS for everything, and while this is for sure /possible/ to do, it's just not the turn-key "fit" that Tracktion (or any other multitrack host) gives me for doing audio recording.

Do you own another host? If so, try rewiring FLS into it or using FLS as a VSTi from inside the other host. If you don't have another host, I recommend Tracktion 2 very highly.

HTH

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 4:39 pm

... and tracktion has it's own PDC support (and very elegant implementation at that!). If you're looking for great vocal workflow, Sonar 5 can't really be beat nowadays. It's got the most comprehensive suite of plugs in the box for vocals and fixing vocals and so on. But it's much more expensive than T2 (it's $150 for box version - and what you get for that price is completely awesome -- www.mackie.com/tracktion). See for yourself, a demo is available.

jmbriley · Post by **jmbriley** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:42 pm

Thanks for the help. Quick question. when you use FL as a VST in Tracktion all you do is but FL on a particular track and then do the sequencing for it in FL. SO the track in tracktion doesn't really have anything in it but just plays the audio from FL in the clear track. Is that right. Or do you do the sequencing of the FL sound in tracktion.

jmbriley · Post by **jmbriley** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:46 pm

Oh I have the NRF version of T1. Do you know if it supports PDC. I guess I can find out when I get home but just wondering if you knew. Thanks

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:59 pm

jmbriley wrote:Thanks for the help. Quick question. when you use FL as a VST in Tracktion all you do is but FL on a particular track and then do the sequencing for it in FL. SO the track in tracktion doesn't really have anything in it but just plays the audio from FL in the clear track. Is that right. Or do you do the sequencing of the FL sound in tracktion.

Yes. That's how I use it when I insert it as a VSTi. But usually I rewire, that way I can get more finite control over the generators from FL and route them/apply post effects to them as needed in Tracktion. Rewire is similar concept except you have then outputs and inputs that are virtual rewired I/O and you just treat them like hardware I/O from tracktion tracks, this includes the piano roll, and MIDI in Tracktion as well.

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:00 pm

jmbriley wrote:Oh I have the NRF version of T1. Do you know if it supports PDC. I guess I can find out when I get home but just wondering if you knew. Thanks

Off the top of my head, I don't know. I don't have the NFR copy (I didn't find out about Tracktion until just this year). It may not support ReWire either? I don't know. The $150 for the boxed T2 was some of the best money I have ever spent on audio product the other being the money I spent on FLS

Sidhu · Post by **Sidhu** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:03 pm

grymmjack wrote:Use FLS as a VST/VSTi or rewired into a audio tracker, problem solved? I do this with Tracktion 2 and it's a great team;
HTH

Can u get this to work...???

For me FL has never synced, visually, to anythin when routed as a VSTi or through Rewire... While the patterns within FLS play back at the correct time, the visual sync is way off... the cursor jumps like a random number of bars and starts playing from there.. the led in the step seq. also follow a random timeline.

I have not managed to solve these sisues, and my usage of FL has practically stopped... Face these issues with Tracktion 1.6 and SX3.1

Sidhu

jmbriley · Post by **jmbriley** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:23 pm

I know for FL as a VSTi it starts 2 bars later so you have to leave two blank bars in your other appl. And in rewire it starts right away in the other app. but you have to remember to save both.

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:43 pm

Sidhu wrote:
grymmjack wrote:Use FLS as a VST/VSTi or rewired into a audio tracker, problem solved? I do this with Tracktion 2 and it's a great team;
HTH
Can u get this to work...???

For me FL has never synced, visually, to anythin when routed as a VSTi or through Rewire... While the patterns within FLS play back at the correct time, the visual sync is way off... the cursor jumps like a random number of bars and starts playing from there.. the led in the step seq. also follow a random timeline.

I have not managed to solve these sisues, and my usage of FL has practically stopped... Face these issues with Tracktion 1.6 and SX3.1

Sidhu

Yeah it worked ok. It wasn't flawless and I had to offset the timing parameter -8 or 4 or something. I have since used it as rewire and have no issues that way at all.

I use Tracktion2 with FLS rewire just fine, and had used FLS VSTi with success in Cubase SX1 and 2. I never had a random timeline though, in all my use. That's odd.

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:46 pm

jmbriley wrote:I know for FL as a VSTi it starts 2 bars later so you have to leave two blank bars in your other appl. And in rewire it starts right away in the other app. but you have to remember to save both.

Yeah that's a bummer about rewire saving issue, but if you get used to doing it, it's not a problem anymore. The trick for starting 2 bars later can be overcome by offsetting the start/delay time of the VSTi itself if I recall. I haven't used it as a VSTi in a long time

prefering rewire myself. But now that you mention it, ever since I've been doing MIDI sequencing I always start on measure 2 anyway so that the 2 measure lead-in prepares the software/hardware in a stable way. I've had issues with that and outboard gear for sure.

arke · Post by **arke** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 8:06 pm

Once you get past the multi track mentality, the FL's audio clips are actually heaven to work with. In fact, I wish the pattern part worked like it too

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 8:36 pm

arke wrote:Once you get past the multi track mentality, the FL's audio clips are actually heaven to work with. In fact, I wish the pattern part worked like it too

Yeah I'm sure. The problem is I'm an old dog, set in my tricks

I will always choose the path of least resistance for things that I already know how to do this means doing them in that way. Limited? Yes! Frustrating at times? Yes! But the few things I do outside of FL I don't have to think about, especially with T2 since it's so freaking intuitive. Part of it though arke, is that I am notorious redo/undo when it comes to audio and multitrack. It becomes cumbersome fast with FL that's all there is to it. I'm horrible critic and perfectionist so my live performance capturing tools need to be one keypress to go/go again/check, etc.

Liquidclear · Post by **Liquidclear** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 8:42 pm

How about exporting a basic stereo mix from FL into your multitracker and recording the vocal in the multitracker. And then import the vocals you've recorded back to FL. Low on CPU too.

Check this out FL dilemma