Need help or tips with FL studio?

[cornandbeans]

Ask your questions here! I'll be posting tutorials and examples over time in this first post.

Anyway, here are two tutorials that I have already made:
Sidechaining Tutorial
Dnb Basses and Breaks Tutorial

[Adamaja456]

i don't understand the whole synthesizer stuff people talk about.

could you explain that/vid showing how its used

[cornandbeans]

Originally Posted by Adamaja456

i don't understand the whole synthesizer stuff people talk about.

could you explain that/vid showing how its used

Do you mean synthesizers in general or how to create a certain sound?

[who_cares973]

is it possible to have the bpm change automatically?

like say you have the bpm at 140 but at :40 you want it to slowdown to 98 and then have it go back up to 140 at 1:20

[cornandbeans]

Originally Posted by who_cares973

is it possible to have the bpm change automatically?

like say you have the bpm at 140 but at :40 you want it to slowdown to 98 and then have it go back up to 140 at 1:20

Yes, what you do is you right-click the bpm meter and then select "create automation clip." An automation clip can be set to any parameter in FL studio, it's a very handy object for transitions and such. The automation clip will pop up in the audio section of your playlist. It's pretty much self explanatory, but it's very hard to be precise with tempo. Usually what I do is I first create a clip with the original tempo, and then shift down to the desired tempo and create another clip. You just need to piece them together right, and on the first clip you should make a slope up/down to the second tempo. To bring the tempo back up, just create another clip after changing the tempo to 140 again.

[who_cares973]

THANK YOU ive been looking everywhere xD

[customstuff]

Kind of confusing tutorials since I don't know all the fancy words for stuff. I'll get it eventually!

[Zythus]

Thank you for making this thread, I'm pretty filled with questions.

Please listen to this clip.

http://files.filefront.com/1mp3/;106.../fileinfo.html
I would like to know how the bassline was created, and is it solely by one instrument in the bassline? there seems to be an echo for it as well. I might be completely wrong about what I'm talking about, but its a start.

Also, what kind of VSTis do you think will produce the bassline from, say... Basshunter's music?

I'm a beginner, but made some progress by screwing around with it, and learning as I go. But now the problem is I have absolutely no idea how to use the softsynths like Sytrus, piozone and things like that. I would appreciate some help on these matters =P

Other questions:
"What is FM synth?
What is subtractive synth?
What is Time stretching?
What is TNS?
What is a filter?
what is FX in sytrus?
What is mod X and Y in sytrus?
What is envelop
What is LFO?

Sorry, I've got a lot more =/ and I've read tutorials on a lot of things, but their crappy explanations doesn't cut it.


Thank in advance!

[cornandbeans]

http://files.filefront.com/1mp3/;106.../fileinfo.html
I would like to know how the bassline was created, and is it solely by one instrument in the bassline? there seems to be an echo for it as well. I might be completely wrong about what I'm talking about, but its a start.

It seems like the bassline is sort of a sine/square hybrid with a really quick lowpass drop or a bit of a pitch modulation as well. Any time you have a pizzicato or stab sounding instrument, it usually has an envelope on the volume or some sort of filter.

Also, what kind of VSTis do you think will produce the bassline from, say... Basshunter's music?

Almost any softsynth vst can produce a similar Basshunter sounding bass, I'll probably post a video showing you how. Even 3xosc (actually specifically 3xosc) can make a bass like that pretty easily.

I'm a beginner, but made some progress by screwing around with it, and learning as I go. But now the problem is I have absolutely no idea how to use the softsynths like Sytrus, piozone and things like that. I would appreciate some help on these matters =P

Sytrus is a very advanced synthesizer, however poizone is a little bit easier. What I would suggest if you're a beginner is to work with the easier synths first to get a handle on the knobs and their functions--most synths have a lot in common, it's just the presentation that is different. I would suggest working with 3xosc first, it's what I did to help myself understand sytrus better.

"What is FM synth?

FM stands for Frequency Modulation, honestly if you're having trouble understanding the basic terms right now this will only further confuse you--I'll save this for later.

What is subtractive synth?

Basically, a subtractive synth subtracts frequencies from the synth by use of filters--generally you have a lowpass (LP), bandpass (BP), and a highpass (HP). A subtractive synth supplies one or more waveforms for you to use to cut frequencies out of. It's optional, of course, but filters are very very useful for creating characteristic synth sounds. 3xosc is a good example of a subtractive synth.

What is Time stretching?

Time stretching in short is the stretching of an audio clip to make either longer or shorter. You can make audio clips shorter or longer by raising or lowering the pitch, but time stretching allows the sample to stay in tune.

What is TNS?

TNS stands for tension---This is really hard to explain in words haha... Ok, think of a rope tied to the top of a flagpole. You're about 20 feet away from the pole on the ground, and you're holding the end of the rope. It's hanging very loosely and takes on a sort of slide shape, but when you pull on it, it becomes more diagonal and rigid. The rope has more tension when it is pulled. For auditory tension in this case, imagine the volume of the music following down the rope. Greater you pull, the longer the music is audible.

What is a filter?

See subtractive synth : )

what is FX in sytrus?

FX in sytrus is just sytrus' own effects channel. If I can remember you've got delay, chorus, and reverb.

What is mod X and Y in sytrus?

X and Y are controllers that you can assign to many parameters in sytrus. The novelty of this is that you can control two knobs at once, for example pan and volume.

What is envelope?

Think of the rope image again, but you can mold it into any shape you want. An envelope is just another controller for a parameter, however it is automatic.

What is LFO?

LFO, or low frequency oscillation, is a very low playing oscillator usually below the threshold of human hearing. It is yet another controller, only it moves in the shape of a waveform.

[sarahxjane]

You are my hero.

I tried to figure this program out on my own and failed.
I shall try your tutorials once I get my computer back.


Would you be able to make a beginners tutorial?
Like what the basic controls are and how to input sounds and what not?
A bit sad to ask, I know. However, I am dying to make music of my own.
I am just a tad stupid when it comes to programs other than Photoshop/WMM and the like.

[cornandbeans]

Originally Posted by sarahxjane

You are my hero.

I tried to figure this program out on my own and failed.
I shall try your tutorials once I get my computer back.


Would you be able to make a beginners tutorial?
Like what the basic controls are and how to input sounds and what not?
A bit sad to ask, I know. However, I am dying to make music of my own.
I am just a tad stupid when it comes to programs other than Photoshop/WMM and the like.

Yeah of course

I'll be posting videos here very shortly, perhaps that would be easier to follow.

[sarahxjane]

Videos would be amazing.
I'm a visual learner, so I'll follow better if I can see what you are doing.
Obviously.

I can't wait!

[remedy1502]

Lol I want to learn to make music... But I don't understand anything. I'm such a noob lol.

[Zythus]

Thank you kindly for the explanations. You will definitely see more of me in this thread =P
I'm pretty convinced that I want to create music, inspired by SHIKI and aspire to produce melodic/progressive Trance. FL studio is the easiest way.

FLS is the best beginner/user friendly DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) programs out there, with a easy (arguably yes) and elaborate GUI. Compared to Cubase, Sony ACID, and Reason, I think FLS is full of win.

[Zythus]

Another a few questions that just came up. (I think a new question deserves a double post.)

I've messed with it before, but now that I really need it, I can't seem to do it. When doing a piano roll, the notes you inputted might be a whole note for each note. How can I select notes and then reduce the note value for those notes?
Example: 4 whole notes, I wish to shrink and reduce their duration to 4 half notes.
There was a keyboard shortcut, it seemed to have slipped my mind.

Secondly, as I have not yet got an ASIO driver and a MIDI keyboard, I use ctrl+T, or computer keyboard to mimic the keys for a piano. Is it possible to record like this? I "play" on my computer keyboard, and the notes register on the piano roll?

Another question is envelop. Changing the envelop properties, attack decay, and such, does this apply for every note, or for the entire sequence? Say I use envelop on Kick, does the envelop effect change every beat, or the entire sequence ( say I had 4 bars of notes)?


Much Thanks.

[Adamaja456]

synthesizers in general. like give me an overview of what they do/effect and how i can create sounds using synthesizers

[iPatcH]

Something that's always annoyed me in FL:

Say I'm in record move and I'm doing some on the fly knob twisting for stuff like cutoff, resonance etc. and I decided I didn't like it. How the hell do I remove what I just twisted without opening up a clone synth and dumping my notes into it? Every time I set it to record mode and do something like holding the knob down, it just makes it even worse.

[Zythus]

Cornandbeans would probably give a more through definition and application, but heres mine.

Synthesizers, or Synths for short, is an instrument, like your piano, or your flute, or your trumpet, only that its electronic, with usually a digital interface. Think of it as your computer. Now, synths have many methods of input, including but not limited to : piano keyboards, guitar strings, etc. but predominately a piano keyboard. You can think of this method of input as your keyboard for your computer.
Notes played on your input is not sound, but electric signals or pulses. The Synth which your input is attached to uses the signals and subject them to a sound that you want to emulate, meaning, you can use a piano keyboard and press the C key. The output of the Synth (Speaker or headphones) can be the C key played by the sound of a flute, the kick of a drum, or even a sound you distorted to not sound like any specific instrument.
A Synthesizer is a piece of hardware, it is usually a bit more bulky than a piano with intricacies of knobs, levers, switches and maybe a touch screen. A softsynth on the other hand, is a piece of software you can run on your computer or as a VSTi plugin to your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). FL studio has a few softsynths, such as Poizone, Toxic Biohazard, and Sytrus. These are just as good, if not better, than hardware synths due to their compact "size" and their versatility.


Now some things about using a Synthesizer.

Synths vary in GUI (graphic user interfaces). They might look different from each other, but they usually have the same assortment of knobs and such to create the same function. After inputting a note, the synth reads it and plays it out for you. It is your discretion how you want to enhance and change the note sound. With practice, you can change a child's voice into a weezy old man's.

[Zythus]

Originally Posted by iPatcH

Something that's always annoyed me in FL:

Say I'm in record move and I'm doing some on the fly knob twisting for stuff like cutoff, resonance etc. and I decided I didn't like it. How the hell do I remove what I just twisted without opening up a clone synth and dumping my notes into it? Every time I set it to record mode and do something like holding the knob down, it just makes it even worse.

Thats true, it is my question too. There should be a button called "Reset back to default" on the channel options.
Well...maybe Ctrl+Alt+Z until next morning? I tried.

[DarkbearX]

Originally Posted by iPatcH

Something that's always annoyed me in FL:

Say I'm in record move and I'm doing some on the fly knob twisting for stuff like cutoff, resonance etc. and I decided I didn't like it. How the hell do I remove what I just twisted without opening up a clone synth and dumping my notes into it? Every time I set it to record mode and do something like holding the knob down, it just makes it even worse.

Hmm, I've always wondered how to undo this too. I never really looked into it because the method is pretty inefficient anyway; just use automation clips* (which takes a lot longer than recording but meh). Or if you have a midi keyboard with a modwheel, you can always just link that to whichever parameter and just play regularly from there.

*if the reason you don't use automation clips is because you're using an external VST(i) and don't know how to make automation clips (this particular problem bugged me for a LONG time), I can make a quick tut on how to do that. This confused me for a while so I'm just assuming it's confusing other people.

Edit: thumbnailed to save space.



Yeah, it's pretty obvious, but maybe it'll help someone, at least.