FL Studio (previously known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a

digital audio workstation A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software program on a laptop, to an integra ...

(DAW) developed by the Belgian company

Image-Line Image-Line Software (commonly known as simply Image-Line) is a Belgium, Belgian software company best known for its digital audio workstation program FL Studio and related audio plugins such as Sytrus and Harmor. Image-Line was founded in 1994. In ...

. FL Studio features a

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows User (computing), users to Human–computer interaction, interact with electronic devices through graphical icon (comp ...

with a pattern-based

music sequencer A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling Musical note, note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or O ...

. The program is available in four different editions for Microsoft Windows and

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...

. Image-Line offers lifetime free updates to the program after one-time purchases, which means customers receive all future updates of the software for free after their purchase. Image-Line also develops FL Studio Mobile for

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

, iOS,

and

Universal Windows Platform Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a computing platform created by Microsoft and first introduced in Windows 10. The purpose of this platform is to help develop universal apps that run on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile (discontinued), Windows ...

devices. FL Studio can also be used as either a

virtual studio technology Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an audio plug-in software interface that integrates software synthesizers and effects units into digital audio workstations. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional rec ...

(VST) or Audio Unit (AU) instrument in other audio workstation programs and also functions as a ReWire client. Image-Line also offers its own VST and AU instruments and audio applications. FL Studio has been used by numerous highly visible hip hop and

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstra ...

producers, including Porter Robinson, Alan Walker, Madeon,

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single " Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peak ...

, Southside,

Martin Garrix Martijn Gerard Garritsen (; born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Martin Garrix and also as Ytram and GRX, is a Dutch disc jockey and music producer who was ranked number one on '' DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years—20 ...

Avicii Tim Bergling (; 8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii (, ), was a Swedish DJ, remixer and music producer. At the age of 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first rec ...

, Imanbek and

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces ...

History

The first version of Fruity Loops (1.0.0) was developed by Didier Dambrin and was partially released on December 18, 1997. Its official launch was in early 1998, when it was still a four-channel

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, an ...

drum machine. Dambrin became Chief Software Architect for the program, and it quickly underwent a series of large upgrades that made it into a popular and complex

. FruityLoops was renamed to "FL Studio" in mid 2003, after the threat of a lawsuit from

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...

and to improve the software's marketability. Software piracy was a major issue in the company's early days, and it took nearly 5 years for the company to earn money from users purchasing legitimate licenses. On May 22, 2018, a macOS-compatible version of FL Studio was released.

Overview

Editions

FL Studio comes in several editions with different levels of functionality. The free trial version includes all of the program's features, all plugins, and allows users to render project audio to WAV,

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Orig ...

, and OGG. Projects saved while in demo mode, however, can only be opened once FL Studio and its plugins have been registered. Also, instrument presets cannot be saved and the audio output of some instruments will cut out momentarily every few minutes until the program and its plugins have been registered.

Fruity Edition

The Fruity Edition allows users to access the playlist, piano roll, and event automation features, which allow for complex and lengthy arranging and sequencing. There is also VST/ReWire support so that FL Studio can be an instrument in other hosts such as Cubase, Sonic Solutions, and

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...

. As of version 20.8.3, this edition includes 82 instruments and effects; it does not support audio recording and the use of audio clips.

Producer Edition

The Producer Edition includes all of the features of the Fruity Edition, as well as full audio recording for internal and external audio and post-production tools. It allows for hand-drawing point and curve based splines (referred to as "automation clips"). Plugins include Edison, Slicex (loop slicer and re-arranger), Sytrus, Maximus, Vocodex and Synthmaker. It also allows for waveform viewing of audio clips and the ability to add cue points.

Signature Bundle

This edition includes the Producer Edition as well as a series of plugins such as the Fruity Video Player, DirectWave Sampler, Harmless, NewTone, Pitcher, Gross Beat and the Hardcore Guitar Effects Suite.

All Plugins Edition

The All Plugins Edition includes the Signature Bundle along with extra plugins, particularly synthesizers.

Mobile

On June 21, 2011, Image-Line released FL Studio Mobile for iOS and in April 2013 for Android. Both support the ability to create multi-track projects on mobile devices including

iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...

es, iPhones,

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operati ...

s, Android 2.3.3 and higher smartphones and tablets.

Groove

On September 2, 2013, a new standalone app for Windows 8 was released. It is a

Groovebox A groovebox is a self-contained electronic or digital musical instrument for the production of live, loop-based electronic music with a high degree of user control facilitating improvisation. The term "Groovebox" was originally used by Roland C ...

-style application optimised for touch-based music creation.

System requirements

FL Studio 20 works on

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearl ...

/ 8/ 10 (

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calcula ...

64-bit In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit CPUs and ALUs are those that are based on processor registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. A comp ...

versions) or on macOS 10.13. FL Studio requires a 2 GHz AMD or Intel Pentium 3

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...

with full

SSE1 In computing, Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE) is a single instruction, multiple data ( SIMD) instruction set extension to the x86 architecture, designed by Intel and introduced in 1999 in their Pentium III series of Central processing units ( ...

support. It requires 2 GB of free disk space and 4 GB of RAM is recommended. The website states that "the more powerful your CPU, the more instruments and FX you can run." FL Studio processes audio using an internal 32-bit

floating point In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can be r ...

engine. It supports sampling rates up to 192 kHz using either WDM- or

ASIO ''Asio'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North an ...

-enabled drivers.

Program features

*Version 9.0 introduced support for

multi-core A multi-core processor is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit with two or more separate processing units, called cores, each of which reads and executes program instructions. The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions (such ...

effects processing and improved support for multi-core instrument processing. *Version 10.0, released on March 29, 2011, included a new project browser, fixed some bugs, and smoothed envelope points. It also introduced Patcher, a modular workflow environment capable of chaining together an unlimited number of instruments and effects. *Version 11.0, released on April 19, 2013, included multi-touch support, improved tempo automation, new plugins such as BassDrum, GMS, Effector, Patcher, and new piano roll features (VFX Key Mapper, VFX Color Mapper). *Version 12.0, released on April 22, 2015, added a new vectorial UI, updated plugins, multi-touch support, a redesigned mixer, improved 32 and 64 bit plugin support and improved file management. *Version 20.0, released on May 22, 2018, skipped versions 13 to 19 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the program. It introduced native macOS support, multiple time-signatures, MIDI conversion to audio, unlimited playlist arrangements, improved plugin delay compensation, the return of the step sequencer graph editor, In-situ rendering ("freezing"), and other improvements. The mixer interface allows for any number of channel configurations. This allows mixing in 2.1,

5.1 5.1 surround sound ("five-point one") is the common name for surround sound audio systems. 5.1 is the most commonly used layout in home theatres. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low-frequency effects channel (the "point one"). Dol ...

, or 7.1 surround sound, as long as the output hardware interface has an equivalent number of outputs. The mixer also supports audio-in, enabling FL Studio to record multitrack audio. FL Studio supports audio time stretching and pitch scaling,

beat slicing Beat slicing is the process of using computer programs to slice an audio file of a drumloop in smaller sections, separating different drumhits. This is employed to rearrange the beat with either a sequencer or play them with a sampler, with the ...

, chopping, and editing of audio, and as of version 12.9 it can record up to 125 simultaneous audio tracks. Other key features include a digital piano roll. Audio can be imported or exported as WAV,

, OGG,

FLAC FLAC (; Free Lossless Audio Codec) is an audio coding format for lossless compression of digital audio, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, and is also the name of the free software project producing the FLAC tools, the reference software p ...

ZIP Zip, Zips or ZIP may refer to: Common uses * ZIP Code, USPS postal code * Zipper or zip, clothing fastener Science and technology Computing * ZIP (file format), a compressed archive file format ** zip, a command-line program from Info-ZIP * Zi ...

, or the native project format with an .FLP

filename extension A filename extension, file name extension or file extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file (e.g., .txt, .docx, .md). The extension indicates a characteristic of the file contents or its intended use. A filename extension is typically ...

. The trial allows users to save projects, but does not allow re-opening them. Tracks may be exported to any of the available file formats.

Plug-ins

FL Studio comes with a variety of plugins and generators (

software synthesizer A software synthesizer or softsynth is a computer program that generates digital audio, usually for music. Computer software that can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed now allow softsynths to accomplish the sa ...

s) written in the program's own native plugin architecture. FL Studio also has support for third-party VST and DirectX plugins. The API has a built in wrapper for full VST, VST2, VST3, DX, and ReWire compatibility. Although FL Studio's own plugins are set to be available only in their native format in the future, some of them also function independently as standalone programs and can be purchased in VST format for use with other DAWs.

Virtual effects

FL Studio is bundled with a variety of sound processing effects, including common audio effects such as chorus, compression, distortion, delay, flanger, phaser,

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

, gate, equalization, vocoding, maximization, and limiting.

Synthesizers

FL Studio's install contains the entirety of native software synthesizers, internally labeled as "generators". Depending on the edition of the program, some will be locked in trial mode until the synth itself or a software upgrade is purchased.

Harmor

Harmor is Image-Line's flagship synthesizer. Initially released in late 2011 as a successor to Harmless, it was envisioned as a way to work with additive synthesis through an interface typical of subtractive synthesizers. It also includes many functions previously found within individual FL Studio utilities. such as the ability to produce sounds from pictures fed into the synth (known as ''image resynthesis'').

Sytrus

Sytrus is an FM synthesizer with an internal effects module and additional wavetable capabilities. Its architecture can let it interface directly with patches from

Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 198 ...

units, allowing it to import original SYSEX data.

Dedicated hardware

As with other DAW developers, Image-Line has collaborated with hardware manufacturers in two different occasions, resulting in the release of products branded and compatible with FL Studio. The first was the

Akai Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produ ...

''FIRE'', a MIDI controller with touch and pressure-sensitive buttons modelled after the software's channel rack pattern editor. Released in 2018, it can be used as a pattern editor, keyboard, drumpad, multi-colour peak visualizer and performance controller. A distinctive feature of the Akai FIRE is that up to 4 units can be connected to a single instance of FL Studio, chained together or with a different mode set for each. It is sold in two variants, one coming without extra software (aimed at existing FL Studio users), and one bundled with an exclusive version of the ''Fruity'' edition called the ''Fruity Fire Edition''. The latter of these involvements is currently the Novation ''FL Key'' line of controllers. It consists of two redesigned MIDI Keyboards – dubbed the ''FL Key Mini'' and the ''FL Key 37'', the latter being larger in keybed and size – originally from Novation's own Launchkey line, modified to have a grey case and an FL Studio-themed RGB lighting palette. Despite some initial traction regarding the Akai ''FIRE'''s unusual velocity implementation, both units have went on to receive broadly positive reception from the professional press.

Reception

FL Studio has been praised for its simplicity, power, and ease of use. Jamie Lendino of ''PCMag'' wrote that "While

L Studio is L, or l, is the twelfth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''el'' (pronounced ), plural ''els''. History Lamed ...

still clearly geared for electronic music production 'in the box,' as opposed to recording live musicians playing acoustic instruments, you can record or create just about any kind of audio project with it." Criticisms include a difficult audio recording system.

Notable users

808 Mafia 808 Mafia is an American record production and songwriting team, founded by record producers Southside, TM88, and Lex Luger. Southside is currently at the helm of the group. The group also includes producers Young Miami , Fuse 100, Tarentino ...

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a *

Afrojack Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), better known as Afrojack, is a Dutch DJ, music producer and remixer from Spijkenisse, South Holland. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album '' Forget the World' ...

Alex da Kid Alexander Junior Grant (born 27 August 1983), professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British musician, record producer, songwriter, record executive and fashion designer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for p ...

* Alan Walker *

Basshunter Jonas Erik Altberg (; born 22 December 1984), known professionally as Basshunter, is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ. Basshunter has recorded five studio albums: ''The Bassmachine'' (2004), '' LOL'' (2006), '' Now You're Gon ...

* Benga * Boi-1da * Cardo * Cazzette * The Flashbulb * Hit-Boy *

Hopsin Marcus Jamal Hopson (born July 18, 1985), known professionally as Hopsin, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles. In 2007, he was signed to Ruthless Records, and had founded his own record label, Funk Volume, ...

* Jahlil Beats *

Kane Beatz Daniel Andrew Johnson (born December 20, 1986), professionally known as Kane Beatz, is an American record producer and songwriter from Orlando, Florida. Life and career Johnson first found monetary success from producing while still in high s ...

Kaye Styles Kaye Styles, born Kwasi Gyasi, is a Belgian singer, songwriter and TV personality best known for the theme song of the Belgian version of the hit television series ''Prison Break'' produced in 2006. Life Kaye Styles, whose birth name is Kwasi G ...

Kouhei Matsunaga Kohei Matsunaga (aka NHK yx Koyxen) is an electronic musician and draughtsman born in 1978 in Osaka, Japan, currently residing in Osaka and Berlin, Germany. History Kohei Matsunaga grew up in Osaka, Japan, where he studied architecture and ...

Lee on the Beats Anthony Leedel Norris (born February 11, 1990) is an American hip hop record producer and songwriter, professionally known as Lee on the Beats. Lee has produced for artists such as Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Kid Ink, Ace Hood, French Montana, Rick Ros ...

* Lex Luger * Madeon * Masterkraft *

* Max Tannone * Mesto *

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), professionally known as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer, record executive, beatmaker, and DJ. He is known for his dark production style and its influence on modern hip hop and trap. ...

* Mike Will Made It * Mustard * Nic Nac *

Nick Mira Nicholas Warren Mira (born August 25, 2000) is an American record producer from Richmond, Virginia, who is part of the producer collective Internet Money, a record label he co-founded with fellow producer Taz Taylor. He gained notoriety for de ...

* Pi'erre Bourne * Pogo * Porter Robinson *

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

* Savant * Seven Lions *

Skream Oliver Dene Jones (born 1 June 1986), known as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream was an early and influential exponent of the dubstep genre. After producing several singles, he released his first full-leng ...

Sonny Digital Sonny Corey Uwaezuoke (born March 5, 1991), better known by his stage name Sonny Digital, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ.

* Southside * TBJZL * TM88 * Toby Fox *

Tom Ellard Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...

* Ugly God * Vinylz *

Young Chop Tyree Lamar Pittman (born November 14, 1993), better known by his stage name Young Chop, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. In 2012, he gained widespread recognition within the American hip hop community for producing Chief K ...

* Yung Carter * Zardonic * Zaytoven *

Zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fl Studio 1997 software Digital audio workstation software Electronic music software Music looping Music production software Soundtrack creation software Windows multimedia software Pascal (programming language) software FL Studio