The selection of included effects plugins is excellent, with highlights including the Convolver convolution reverb and a strong selection of delay tools. Workspace aside, FL Studio is a very well-equipped DAW. There’s a heavy emphasis on toolbars and menus too, so those not fully schooled on their keyboard shortcuts might find tweaking and editing a little slow to begin with. The need to load up new windows for many sequencing and editing duties, for example, rather than simply make edits within a timeline. There are certain elements of the work flow that those used to rival DAWs may find clunky. It encourages a work flow focused on grooves and riffs more than long recordings. Its focus on Patterns, acting like building blocks to arrange with, really suits genres with an emphasis on loops, builds and breakdowns. It’s no coincidence that FL Studio is popular with hip-hop and dance music producers. We must admit though, we still find FL Studio’s pop-up heavy interface somewhat stress-inducing.įrom a work flow point of view though, it can prove inspirational in certain situations. The DAW got a major visual upgrade for version 12, with a switch to vector graphics throughout, and the ability to smoothly resize windows is great. Fortunately, things are very flexible, so each window element can be hidden as needed. For one, it means there’s a lot going on within the FL Studio interface. This fragmented creative approach has pros and cons. As a result, it’s possible to think of arrangement, creation and mixing as independent work flow elements. Similarly, Patterns aren’t limited to making use of just one instrument in Rack, but can sequence multiple elements across a single clip. Unusually, Mixer tracks in FL Studio aren’t bound to specific tracks in the Playlist, but are only linked to instrument routings coming from the Channel Rack. Most of the plugin instruments are available for purchase individually too.Īudio from the Channel Rack is then routed to the Mixer, where each track gets its own channel strip complete with insert plugin slots for effects processing. Finally, the All Plugins Bundle comes in at 826 euros and comes with Image-Line’s entire arsenal of instruments and effects, including things like the Drumaxx drum machine and Harmor, Morphine and Toxic Biohazard synths - all of which are excellent, even if they’re a little on the old side now.

The Producer and Signature edition cost 189 and 289 euros respectively - both have full audio capabilities, but the latter comes with an increased selection of plugins, including things like the Pitch & Time editor and Harmless additive synth. The Fruity edition is the cheapest at 89 euros, and contains the core functionality but lacks audio capabilities and some of the more advanced plugins. FL Studio 20 is available in four different versions: Fruity, Producer, Signature and All Plugins Bundle.

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