FL Manual 14 Mixer/Effector Flashcards
1
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
When one Track is routed to another there are two independent audio paths.
These are what?
A
- A regular audible send path that responds to the send volume level.
- -A sidechain path that is NOT audible on the destination Mixer Track UNLESS it is picked up by a plugin with a sidechain audio Input capability loaded on the destination Mixer Track
2
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
You can change any ‘send’ into a ‘sidechain’ (only) link by doing what?
A
- Manually setting the volume to 0.
- -Remember the sidechain source Mixer Track will remain routed to the Master Mixer Track, so deselect its send to master switch if you don’t want the sidechain source Mixer Track to be audible.
3
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
When recording how can you ensure which playlist track receives the audio?
A
-If you want to ensure recorded Audio Clips are placed where you want them, Right-click a Playlist Track you want to use and select Track mode > Audio Track > (choose Mixer Insert).
4
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Disk Recording
Render to wave file
A
- (Alt+R)
- -Renders all Mixer Tracks armed for recording to a wave file (see Disk Recording).
5
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Disk Recording
Auto-unarm
A
-Tracks armed for recording will be automatically unarmed when stop is pressed.
6
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Disk Recording
Auto-create audio clips
A
- FL Studio inserts Audio Clips in the Playlist after recording.
- -NOTE: The first available Playlist track that can fit the recording will be used.
- –If you want to ensure recorded Audio Clips are placed where you want them, Right-click a Playlist Track you want to use and select Track mode > Audio Track > (choose Mixer Insert).
7
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Disk Recording
Latency compensation
A
- This applies to external audio input latency caused by the ASIO Buffer length setting.
- -FL Studio will remove time equal to the input latency from the start of recorded Audio Clips, so they correctly align with the Playlist.
- –NOTES: 1. Internal mixer Audio does not need latency compensation so this option should be off. —-2. Depending on your system and ASIO drivers, you may still need to use the Playback tracking offset fine tune the clip placement.
8
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Disk Recording
32-Bit float recording
A
- If enabled, audio recording Tracks are saved as 32-Bit wave files, otherwise the standard 16-Bit format is used.
- -‘32-Bit floating point recording’ is only necessary if your audio device is set to record at a bit-depth higher than 16-Bit (24-Bit for example).
- –32-Bit will preserve the full quality of all audio device quantization’s above 16-Bit.
- —NOTE: FL Studio receives audio from the audio device as a pre-digitized stream, the bit-depth set here has no effect on the recorded bit-depth (that is set in the audio device options).
- —-Saving a 16-Bit sample at 32-Bit will make the file significantly larger with no gain in quality.
9
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Plugin Delay Compensation
Reset manual latency on all tracks
A
-Reset all manual latency values to zero.
10
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Plugin Delay Compensation
Automatic
A
- Automatically applies PDC and updates the PDC settings when changes are detected.
- -This is the default mode for new projects.
- –If APDC fails you will need to manually adjust PDC delays on the offending Mixer Track/s.
- —NOTES: 1. PDC state is saved per-project. 2. There is a Wrapper > Settings > Latency option where you can set a manual latency offset for plugins that incorrectly report their latency. This is remembered per-plugin.
11
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Link all parameters…
A
-Opens a link-dialog that is designed to link automatable software parameters to ‘tweaked’ hardware controllers and then automatically move to the next item in the ‘parameter list’ ready for the next link.
12
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Options - Open Audio Editor vs Open Audio Logger
A
-Both open Edison, but logger will have Edison set to ‘audio logging’ mode, that is, recording on FL Studio play and set to a 5 minute rolling audio-log.
13
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer Routing
Create submix..
A
Right click>Track Routing>Create Submix
- Modifies Mixer Track routing so that the Right-Clicked Mixer Track is inserted between the selected tracks and the Master.
- -Essentially a group Pre-Master Buss.
14
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer Routing
How to select Tracks routed to this track?
A
-CTRL+Alt+L
15
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer Routing
How to select Tracks this one is routed to?
A
-Right click, Select, Tracks this one is routed to
16
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer Routing
Solo vs Alt Solo
A
- Solo (S) - Solos the output from the selected Track.
- -Alt Solo (Alt+S) - Solos the selected Track AND all other Mixer Tracks routed TO and FROM it
17
Q
FL STUDIO - Effect slots 1 to 10
Effect mix does what?
A
- Adjust the wet/dry mix of each effect using the Effect Mix Level knob.
- -Fully left = 0% effect, fully right = 100% effect mix.
- –NOTES: 1. Effects usually have their own internal wet/dry mix so adjusting the Effect Mix level to 100% does not guarantee a 100% wet signal. 2. Normally leave this at 100% and control the Wet/Dry mix from within the plugin.
- —If the plugin introduces a processing delay, most do, then the processed ‘wet’ and unprocessed ‘dry’ signal can phase cancel as the wet slightly lags the dry signal. This is usually most apparent on high frequencies such as cymbals. Summary? Don’t touch that knob! Unless you know what you are doing and since you are reading this you probably don’t, so…
18
Q
FL STUDIO - Effect slots 1 to 10
Why should you generally not be using the Effect mix knob external of the plugin?
A
- If the plugin introduces a processing delay, most do, then the processed ‘wet’ and unprocessed ‘dry’ signal can phase cancel as the wet slightly lags the dry signal.
- -This is usually most apparent on high frequencies such as cymbals.
- –Don’t touch that knob! Unless you know what you are doing and since you are reading this you probably don’t, so…
19
Q
FL STUDIO - Effect slots 1 to 10
Reorder / move effects within a track
A
- Alternatively: Select the Effect slot menu and use the Move Up/Down commands.
- -Simply open the menu and press the ‘u’ or ‘d’ keys on your keyboard.
- –NOTE: The order of effects can have a dramatic impact on the sound so think carefully about the order in which effects are applied
20
Q
FL STUDIO - Effect slots 1 to 10
Presets - Randomize
A
- Randomize gives random values to the published (i.e. known to FL Studio) effect settings.
- -When enabled, selecting a preset will load a random 50% of the settings, so you can quickly mix different presets and create new effects.
21
Q
FL STUDIO - Effect slots 1 to 10
Presets - Hybridize
A
-Hybridize blends between the previous and next selected settings.
22
Q
FL STUDIO - Effect slots 1 to 10
Browse parameters
A
-Allows you to see the list of automatable parameters in the browser.
23
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
What is Mixer Track Panel?
A
- Only one Mixer Track panel can be seen at a time.
- -It integrates a parametric equalizer, PDC (Plugin Delay Compensation) and hardware audio INPUT/OUTPUT controls.
24
Q
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Manual Plugin Delay Compensation
A
- (B) - PDC.
- -Left-click the icon on tracks to make manual adjustments to PDC, or use the drop-down menu on the Track Inspector panel.
- –The Track Icon will turn blue when manual PDC offsets are set.
- —Controls as discussed below.
- —-NOTE: Manual PDC can be used in conjunction with Automatic PDC. Manual values are treated as offsets to APDC.
25
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Audio INPUT delay compensation
- (C)
- Use to fix cases where recorded audio, is out of sync with internal events. Normally, use positive values to move the audio to the left (earlier), since most external audio inputs are delayed, or negative values to shift recorded audio to the right (later) if it is ahead of internal events.
- -There is also a global control for changing recorded input alignment on the Audio Settings \> Playback Tracking \> Offset.
26
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Plugin Delay Compensation - PDC is what?
- PDC is required when plugins (instrument or effects) have processing delays that put their audio out of sync with other audio in the project.
- -Most commonly effects introduce these unwanted delays and this causes the audio on their Mixer Track out of sync with other Mixer Tracks.
- --PDC works by adding this same delay to all other Mixer tracks, to bring them into sync again.
- ---When several plugins introduce unwanted delay on several Mixer Tracks then multiple compensations are required so that all the tracks end up in sync when the audio reaches the Master Mixer track.
27
```
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Automatic PDC (Orange icon)
```
- Use the Plugin delay compensation \> Automatic option on the Mixer menu.
- -This will automatically update PDC settings as plugin delay is detected or changes, no further input is needed from you.
- --If APDC fails (usually because a plugin is not reporting its latency correctly), you can manually set PDC (Left-click the PDC icons on Mixer tracks or use the menu as shown at B above).
- ---Manual PDC settings will be treated as offsets to Automatic PDC, unless Automatic PDC is off.
28
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Delay Track/Generator
-The PDC (B) on Mixer Tracks affects Track PDC, the PDC icon on the INPUT field affects audio input latency, from external audio inputs.
29
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Manual delay compensation (Blue icon)
-Use the drop-down menu to add offsets to the APDC. For plugins that consistently report incorrect or no latency, you can set a permanent offset in the Wrapper Setttings \> Info \> Latency field and it will be remembered per-plugin.
--For this, and the wrapper setting, positive values delay the selected track, negative values delay all other tracks in the following units:
Reset - Resets the PDC to 'none', the default 'no delay' condition.
Set in ms (milliseconds) - Set the PDC in ms, a value entry box will appear after selecting this setting.
Set in samples - Set the PDC in samples, a value entry box will appear after selecting this setting. This is the finest control over delay.
Set in beats - Set the PDC in beats, a value entry box will appear after selecting this setting.
Set from - This will list Mixer Tracks that have latency caused by plugins. Select a track to automatically adapt the current PDC value to the selected track without the need to manually enter values.
Continuous adjustments - Roll the mouse wheel over the time icon or latency display (Mouse Wheel) = 10 ms steps, (Ctrl+Mouse Wheel) = 1 ms steps, (Ctrl+Alt+Mouse Wheel) = 1 sample steps. Mouse Wheel works in three places: Track Input latency icon (FX panel), Track Output latency selector (FX panel), Track Output latency icon (Mixer Tracks).
30
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
NOTES: 1. Manual PDC can be used in conjunction with Automatic PDC. Manual values are treated as offsets to APDC.
31
The Delay Panel (B) is available on all Mixer Tracks. This will turn orange when a delay is detected on that Mixer track, either from instrument Channel/s routed to that track or from effect/s loaded on the track. You can also click the icon to make manual adjustments to PDC (Automatic PDC will still operate in addition to these changes). Manual PDC is required when plugins don't report their processing latency correctly or at all. Enter positive values to add delay to the Mixer Track or negative values to add latency to all other tracks. If you need to set up PDC manually, a tutorial is provided in the next section.
32
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
NOTES:
Icons - The PDC icon will show orange for Mixer tracks with detected plugin latency OR where PDC has been manually set. Hovering your mouse over the PDC icon will show the detected latency in the Hint bar.
33
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Realtime performance - When using PDC, FL Studio will no longer respond 'instantly' as the audio output is delayed to sync with the PDC latency.
APDC - Works for both Instrument and Effect plugins.
Routing - APDC also applies to inter-track routing, including multi input/output plugins, and sidechains.
APDC + PDC - Manual and Automatic PDC can be used together.
Delay sign - Positive manual latency values will delay the selected track, negative values delay all other tracks.
Automation - PDC/APDC is not (yet) applied to Automation feeding FX plugins. To fix this, you will need to move the automation in the Playlist.
34
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Guide to Manual PDC - Instruments and Effects
Normally Automatic PDC should work. If not, Mixer Tracks containing Instrument and or FX plugin that introduce unwanted delay (delay-affected) will be out of sync with the other Mixer Tracks. Manual PDC is no more complex than delaying all 'normal' tracks by the same amount as the delay-affected track, bringing the two audio streams back in sync. To facilitate manual PDC, a highly accurate compensating delay is available through the Mixer Track Delay Panel (B). These will act as offsets to Automatic PDC if it is left on (recommended).
35
FL STUDIO - Mixer Track Panel
Step-by-step instructions to using Manual PDC:
Switch Automatic PDC on (Mixer Menu \> Plugin delay compensation \> Automatic) - This will make PDC management easier if things change in the project (and they usually do).
Delay-affected (slow) plugin/s - Route the delay-affected instrument to, or insert delay-affected plugin/s on an FX slot of any Mixer Track.
Determine the delay compensation - Normally this is shown in the hint bar when you hover over a plugin FX slot that contains a plugin causing (and reporting) a delay. However, since this is incorrect you will need to use trial-and-error to set the PDC. Use negative values to delay the selected Mixer Track when the plugin is early or positive values to delay all other Mixer Tracks, when the plugin is late.
Testing - In the case of an instrument, set a short, sharp sound and compare it with a similarly short-sharp sound on another Mixer track (with no FX). In the case of an effect set up two Mixer Tracks and route the same kick or hat sound through the delay affected track and a normal track without FX. Play the sounds together and adjust the PDC control until the sounds from the delay affected and normal Mixer tracks are in sync/phase (you can adjust down to the level of single samples).
NOTE: If you intend to use a delay-affected plugin on the Master Mixer Track (and you are not sending audio out of FL Studio via an individual Mixer Track output), then you do not need to compensate as all audio passes through the Master track and so all audio is equally delayed by the offending plugin.
36
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Audio Input/Output Routing
External routing - Audio sent to and received from your audio devices input and output jacks is set by the External audio IN / OUT selectors (as shown above). NOTE: that each Mixer track has its own input and output options. For example, if you have an audio device with 16 microphone inputs, then you have the option of setting 16 unique Mixer tracks to receive each of these audio device inputs. It is even possible to set two or more Mixer tracks to receive the same input or send to the same output. When '(none)' is shown, this means no external audio device input or output is selected for the selected track. By default, the Master Mixer track 'Output' is the routed to the audio devices main outputs (usually the main/front Left/Right channels). However, by routing another Mixer track (other than the master) to other audio devices outputs (e.g. the rear channels of 5.1 surround-sound card), you can create a separate sub-mix for band headphone monitoring or studio monitoring.
Parallel internal / external routing - It is worth noting that the Mixer track External audio IN / OUT can function in parallel with the internal routing functions so that any track can receive external and internal audio sources simultaneously OR output to the Master Mixer track and any other available audio device output. Mixer routing is described in more detail below:
37
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Audio Input/Output Routing
How to Route Audio
Mixer tracks - can take an input audio signal from one or more internal Instrument Channels by setting the Mixer Track Selector to a given track OR one external source (External audio OUT). After processing the input they can pass the audio to another location, usually the Master track (M) but it can be another Mixer track (as shown by the cables) or directly to a audio device output (External audio OUT).
To send audio from one insert track to another - Select the source track you wish to send FROM and then Left-click the send control switch on the destination track you want to send TO. A send-level knob will appear on the destination track that can be used to change the level of signal passed to the destination. By default the SOURCE track will maintain routing to the Master track - If you don't want to create a parallel path to the Master Mixer track, select the source track and disable the send switch on the master by Left-clicking it.
External Inputs - Most ASIO drivers provide inputs (External audio IN) for microphone, line-in, etc. You can route these inputs to any or all Mixer tracks. Note that the ASIO inputs will not replace but mix together with any input audio the track receives from other sources (instruments, other tracks, etc).
External Outputs - Most ASIO drivers provide outputs (External audio OUT). You can route any Mixer track to any ASIO output.
Surround sound 5.1 or 7.1 - You can set a group of Mixer tracks to output (External audio OUT) to the individual channels of a 5.1 surround system for surround-sound mixing. A Surround sound template is available in the File menu \> New from template \> Utility \> Surround panner. After opening this template, select audio device outputs using the Output menu to match the pre-named Mixer tracks.
FL Studio as VST - Additional outputs also appear when using the FL Studio multi output VSTi connection.
38
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Limitations of routing:
If you are using the 'Primary Sound Driver' audio driver only one track at a time can output to the primary output (usually this is the Master Track). This limitation does not apply if you use an ASIO driver, then any Mixer track may be routed to any available output.
FL Studio will disable routing options that would create a feedback loop (for example trying to route a track to itself).
Use the Send Level knobs to adjust the amount of signal sent from an insert track to the send tracks.
The specially named 'Current' track can only receive audio from the currently selected track. Its main purpose is to hold an Edison plugin, ready to record any selected tracks audio OR visualization plugins, such as WaveCandy.
39
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
How do I record audio? - There are two methods that can be used individually or together:
Playlist - 1. Associate a Playlist lane with a Mixer track by Right-clicking the Playlist track header and selecting - Track mode \> Audio track \> Insert (link to the desired Mixer Track). 2. Arm a Mixer track by clicking on the disk recording icon (see screenshot above).
Edison - Place an instance of Edison in the Mixer track receiving audio and record into memory (see screenshot above). Edison is best when you are experimenting and plan to make multiple takes such as when 'Loop Recording'. In this case region markers are automatically placed in the recording each time FL Studio loops back to the beginning of the project. Regions (loops) can then be dragged into the Playlist.
40
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
How do I record multiple independent inputs (multi-track record)? - All Mixer tracks can be armed to record external and/or internal audio sources to disk (see Playlist Recording below). It's possible to, simultaneously, record the full number of audio inputs on your audio device.
NOTE: Right-Click the Mixer Input menu to initiate an 'Auto-map'. This will automatically map each input on your audio device to a unique Mixer Track Input, starting on the Mixer track where the Auto-map was initiated and working to the right. To prevent feedback, the Master Tack send (click here for an oversized and obsessive diagram) will be disabled on each Mixer Track, so you will see input activity on the Peak Meters, but won't hear anything.
41
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
How do I set the recording bit-depth
FL Studio receives audio from the audio device as a pre-digitized stream, the '32 bit float recording' option set in the Mixer menu \> Disk recording save option has no effect on the incoming recorded bit-depth (only the save format). Recording bit-depth is set in the audio device's own options and is shown in the hint bar when selecting items from the mixer input menu. Windows:, right-click your volume control icon on the Windows task-bar, select 'Recording devices'. Select your input device and 'Set as default' then select 'Properties', then 'Advanced' and choose 24 bit 44100 Hz option if available OR 16 bit 44100 Hz if not
42
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
How do I record multiple independent inputs (multi-track record)?
All Mixer tracks can be armed to record external and/or internal audio sources to disk (see Playlist Recording below). It's possible to, simultaneously, record the full number of audio inputs on your audio device.
NOTE: Right-Click the Mixer Input menu to initiate an 'Auto-map'. This will automatically map each input on your audio device to a unique Mixer Track Input, starting on the Mixer track where the Auto-map was initiated and working to the right. To prevent feedback, the Master Tack send (click here for an oversized and obsessive diagram) will be disabled on each Mixer Track, so you will see input activity on the Peak Meters, but won't hear anything.
43
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
How do I record audio?
-There are two methods that can be used individually or together:
Playlist - 1. Associate a Playlist lane with a Mixer track by Right-clicking the Playlist track header and selecting - Track mode \> Audio track \> Insert (link to the desired Mixer Track). 2. Arm a Mixer track by clicking on the disk recording icon (see screenshot above).
Edison - Place an instance of Edison in the Mixer track receiving audio and record into memory (see screenshot above). Edison is best when you are experimenting and plan to make multiple takes such as when 'Loop Recording'. In this case region markers are automatically placed in the recording each time FL Studio loops back to the beginning of the project. Regions (loops) can then be dragged into the Playlist.
44
FL STUDIO - Mixer
How to record External Audio through the mixer directly into playlist?
- SONG mode, arm main recording button, make sure Audio is checkmarked
- -On playlist track header, select track mode, Audio Track, and pick your mixer insert.
- --When recording without headphones, unlink the mixer track from master so there is no feedback loop.
- ---Select Mic input from mixer input menu
- ----Click play to start recording, in order to record again without it blending, mute the made audio recording.
45
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
TIP: If you are recording in Audio Track mode and need to make multiple takes, select Loop record and deselect Blend record so recordings are muted when you press stop. This prevents previous recordings interfering with the next take. Alternatively, manually mute previous Playlist Tracks before recording the next pass.
46
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
Use the (clickable) icon in front of the Input menu to choose Pre/Post FX recording:
Pre effects mode (preferred method)
Audio is recorded without effects. Audio Clip routing - After recording (Audio Track & non-linked modes), the Audio Clip is routed back to the Mixer Track it was recorded from, and so it will play with any live effects present on the Input Mixer track.
47
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
Use the (clickable) icon in front of the Input menu to choose Pre/Post FX recording:
Pre effects mode (preferred method)
Post effects mode - Recordings will be imprinted with any effects active on the Input Track. Audio Clip routing - After recording (Audio Track & non-linked modes), the Audio Clip is routed back to the Mixer Track it was recorded from, and so it will play with any live effects present on the Input Mixer track (if they are present this will double the FX, so mute them). After recording (non-linked mode), the Audio Clip is routed to the same Mixer Track the Input Mixer Track was routed to (usually the Master), to avoid doubling effects. Make sure you have a specific reason for 'post effects' recording, since the effects will now be part of the recording and can't be undone.
48
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
NOTE: If the recorded audio is late, or early, relative to other Playlist events, use the manual Input Delay Compensation icon to adjust this on a per-input basis. Positive values to move the audio to the left (earlier) and negative values to shift recorded audio to the right (later). See Audio INPUT delay compensation for more information. There is also a global control for changing recorded input alignment on the Audio Settings \> Playback Tracking \> Offset.
49
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
Naming & save location (optional) - If you want to select the name and location of the saved .wav file as something other than the default then Right-Click the Mixer track recording icon to open the file-name/location dialog. Select a location in the browser dialog and name the .wav file to be recorded. If you use Left-click, an automatic file name will be assigned to the track. Do the same for all Mixer tracks you want to record. NOTE: Setting a custom record location folder from the F10 \> Project \> General Data folder setting, will mean the default location is set by you.
50
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
Hearing the sound being recorded (monitoring) - Let's assume you are monitoring FL Studio through headphones and not getting an echo caused by feedback from your speakers into your microphone. By default, live inputs to the Mixer are routed to the Master mixer track and back to the audio device outputs. As the audio path through FL Studio is delayed by an amount equal to the audio device buffer length setting, the monitored sound may echo against the live source. Latency echo can cause problems for performers (e.g. vocalists) who need to hear their live performance mixed with the song. Latency echo can be eliminated in three ways:
Routing - Stop the incoming audio passing back to the audio device by de-selecting the 'Send to master switch/knob' from the Mixer track you are recording into. Remember, with the recording track selected, the send knob is located on the Master track, not the selected track. The downside is that you can no longer 'monitor' the recorded sound, although you can move one headphone cup an ear (DJ style) and listen live. However, if you Audio Interface has 'Direct Monitoring' see belo
Direct Monitoring - Use 'direct monitoring' if supported by your audio device. Direct monitoring is achieved completely in hardware, routing a copy of the input signal directly to the audio device outputs, and so eliminating latency caused by the software buffer.
NOTE: If you use direct monitoring it will be necessary to apply the routing solution (in this paragraph), to prevent input to the FL Studio Mixer being heard. Finally note that direct monitoring isn't common on basic (consumer level) audio devices, so consult the audio device manual to see if it's available on your card. No manual? The direct monitoring options are usually found in the factory Mixer associated with the audio device driver. Many external USB/FireWire audio devices have a hardware knob or button labeled 'Direct monitoring' or 'Monitor'.
Latency - If you don't have Direct Monitoring and you need to monitor your input signal, try lowering the buffer settings and see if the echo can be eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels. Of course there are limits to how low the ASIO / Core Audio buffer can be set.
51
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
2. Edison recording procedure
Edison will record audio from any FX slot into which it is loaded. This makes it a handy tool for sound-design and general recording duties where you are not specifically wanting to sync the recording with the Playlist.
If the pre-requisites for external recording have been satisfied (as described above):
Load Edison - Load Edison in an FX slot in the Mixer track that you want to record. Don't use the Master track (all audio from all tracks is routed here). TIP: Select the Mixer track and press (Shift+E) to auto-load Edison in the first empty FX slot on the track ready to record.
Input selection - Select an external input (see below). Loading Edison before selecting an input will disable the auto-arming of the disk-record function. It is possible to turn this back on (if you wish) by clicking on the Mixer track record icon associated with the track you are using.
Effects - Place Edison before any effects loaded in the same Mixer track for a 'dry' recording. It is recommended to record all external audio dry as this gives you the opportunity to add and change them later on.
Record using Edison - Click here to see the Edison help and normal recording setup options. You will be able to record into Edison, where it is stored in memory, and then export the audio to a sample or Audio Clip.
Exporting recorded audio - There are three main ways to export audio from Edison into FL Studio:
Send to Playlist button, Left or Right-Click to:
Left-click: Send to Playlist as Audio Clip (Shift+C) - Dumps the selection to the Playlist as an Audio Clip.
Right-Click: Send to selected Channel - Dumps the selection to the selected Channel.
Drag / copy sample / move selection - Left-click on the button and drag to the desired location (e.g. Playlist Clip-track). The selected region in the Sample Edit Window (or whole sample if no selection is made) will be copied and moved to any compatible location in FL Studio. Apart from the Playlist other locations may include Sampler channels, Fruity Slicer, DirectWave, etc. Right-Click to copy the selection to the clipboard.
Save and load - Save the audio/selection to a file and re-import it through the Browser.
NOTES: 1. Take the time to read the next section on Mono inputs (3.4) and Monitoring (3.7) as they are also relevant to Edison recording. 2. Memory considerations: Edison records into RAM and so is not suited to recording hours of continuous audio. Edison uses approximately 20 Meg of RAM per minute of recording. If you need to record for more than 15 minutes then the Playlist (disk recording) method is recommended (see below).
52
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
Edison Loop recording
Loop recording is the process of repeatedly laying down audio-takes while FL Studio loops a project. This technique is often preferred by instrumentalists or vocalists who want to repeat a phrase/section of a song until they get the perfect take, there are two loop recording methods available:
Edison method - We recommend using Edison for Loop recording duties as described in the Edison Loop Recording section. This will provide glitch-free recordings with the advantage that Edison will place region markers at the start of each loop-back for precise selection of the preferred loop. After recording the desired regions (loops) can be selected and dragged (or sent) into the Playlist or saved as audio files. Use Edison as follows:
oad Edison - Select a Mixer track and press (Shift+E). This loads Edison in the first empty FX slot ready to record with 'Slave playback to host' and Record 'On play' enabled.
Select your input - Select your live audio input from the Mixer INPUT menu.
Make a Playlist selection - If you only want to record a section of the song, highlight the section of time in the Playlist, hold (Ctrl) and then click and drag along the bar-count at the top of the Playlist. If you don't make a selection then the whole song will Loop record.
Start recording - Press Play in FL Studio and record as many takes as you need into Edison. Each time Edison loops section Markers will be placed in the recording (these are useful for later).
Stop recording - Stop FL Studio and click on the record button in Edison to disable it.
Start playback - Press Play in FL Studio and the first take in Edison will play in sync with the Playlist (slave mode is on), looping when the Playlist does.
Audition takes - With Edison focused use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard to select a different takes in Edison. Each left/Right-Click will jump to the next/previous section.
Send the perfect take to the Playlist - Press (Shift+C) to send the current selection in Edison to Playlist. NOTE: Edison will automatically set the sample properties to the current project tempo so that the recording will stretch as the project tempo is changed.
NOTE: The Edison method does not allow for 'sound-on-sound' recording where layers of audio are built up on each pass, for that use the Playlist method, below.
53
FL STUDIO - Mixer
Recording External and Internal Audio
3. Recording Internal Mixer Audio (Freezing Mixer Tracks)
FL Studio allows you to record the output of one or more Mixer tracks to .wav files and to auto-insert them as Audio Clips in the Clip Track area (optional). There are two ways to record a track - non-realtime recording, which results in the highest audio quality and realtime recording (interactive) that allows recording of ASIO inputs.
Non-realtime recording Playlist (Mixer track freezing)
To perform non-realtime export of Mixer track/s, also known as 'track freezing' and auto-create an Audio Clip. See the Playlist section of the manual on Consolidating Clips. Alternatively, use the 'Split mixer tracks' option on the Export project dialog that will create a .wav file for each active Mixer track in the project. Great for creating track stems when importing audio into a 3rd party application.
Realtime recording Edison & Playlist
As an alternative to off-line rendering, as described above, you can use Edison or the track recording icon to capture audio from any number of Mixer tracks, live:
Select your recording location - Either load Edison into an FX slot of the Mixer track you wish to record OR for Disk/Playlist recording Arm Mixer tracks by pressing the disk icon.
Disk recording - If you are recording to the Playlist then turn OFF the Mixer menu \> Disk recording \> Latency compensation option. There is no latency for internal audio sources.
Effects - In the case of Edison, you have the option of placing multiple instances of Edison on the same Mixer track, with or without other effects loaded before or after each instance. In this way you can record dry and wet (with effects) versions of your Mixer track audio (to record a dry version, make sure Edison is in slot #1). In the case of disk recording any effects on the track will be recorded, if you don't want this, disable the effects now.
Record - Click here to see the Edison help and normal recording setup options. You will be able to record into Edison, where it is stored in memory, and then export the audio to a sample or Audio Clip. For disk recording the process is as described in the sections above, however this time it is internal audio that is recorded.
54
Playback tracking
Can solve jittery/incorrect playback position indicators OR solve Audio recording alignment problems with the Playlist. NOTE: Low Buffer Length settings can also improve positional accuracy.
Playback tracking source:
Driver - The audio driver is used for playback position. NOTE: If your audio interface has a manufacturer-supplied driver, you should select it in the Device menu and use 'Driver' mode for optimal performance.
Hybrid - Driver/Mixer hybrid position. This option can be effective to fix visual jitter of the playhead or timing errors to solve audio/video timing problems that can happen with some audio devices.
Mixer (default) - The Mixer position is used. This works acceptably when the buffer latency is around 10ms (441 samples), or less, to solve audio/video timing problems that can happen with some audio devices. NOTE: If you are using a 3rd party Audio Interface, prefer 'Driver' mode.
Offset - Use this to correct the location of recorded notes or to correct the position of FL Studio's Playhead (the vertical green line in the Playlist and Piano roll). This may be necessary if the audio device driver does not report its position correctly. Before using this control make sure positional errors are NOT caused by:
Input quantizing under the control of the Global Snap setting
Latency compensation due to the Mixer menu \> Disk recording\> Latency compensation setting
OR if the playhead position and other visuals don't align with the audio, use the slider to add positive or negative offset to realign the Play & record position. This is a global change to all tracks. If you need to make changes to individual audio INPUTs, use the Mixer Track Audio Input Delay Control to shift the audio for that specific audio input.
55
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
The Edison Noise Removal Tool does have a Declipper Function, but this will work successfully only with mild clipping issues.
56
FL STUDIO - The dB Scale
-6 dB. So -6 dB is a drop in amplitude by \_\_\_\_
-50% (or half).
57
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
Mixing is the process of setting the levels of your instruments and effects so all elements can be _____ and sound\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Mixing primarily uses level, panning, equalization and possibly compression on a track-by-track basis.
- Heard
- - 'good' together
58
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
Mixing is different from 'mastering', where your goal is to tweak the mix to sound both \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
good and loud
59
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
Mastering primarily uses equalization, multi-band compression and or limiting on the Master mix (Master Mixer track).
60
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
Our perception of loudness is based on an 'average' input over a period around \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Peak meters show the instantaneous moment-by-moment levels so peak meters will be deceiving as a guide to loudness.
-0.5 to 1 second
61
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
If you are doing this right, instruments will probably sound _________ in solo but great in the mix.
-Strange
62
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
Use subtle delay rather than reverb.
-Reverb is great when there is little else happening but is simply lost in a wash of 'muddying' sound under a busy mix.
--Subtle delay tricks the ear into thinking there is reverb since early echoes (predelay on most reverbs) are the first component in a rooms sound.
---If you really need reverb, one good compromise is to automate the reverb amount, down in the busy parts, up during the solo when it's need
63
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
+ 12 dB = Howmuch volume decrease?
400% volume increase.
64
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
+ 6dB = Howmuch volume decrease?
200% volume increase (twice the original level).
65
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
+ 1 dB = Howmuch volume decrease?
~10% volume increase.
This is very close to the JND (Just Noticeable Difference), that is the smallest increase in volume you can notice.
66
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
- 1 dB = Howmuch volume decrease?
~10% volume decrease.
-This is very close to the JND (Just Noticeable Difference), that is the smallest decrease in volume you can notice.
67
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
- 6 dB = Howmuch volume decrease?
-50% volume decrease (half the original level).
68
FL STUDIO - Levels, Mixing & Clipping
-12 dB = Howmuch volume decrease?
-75% volume decrease (to 25% of the original level).
69
FL STUDIO GURU
Adding Presense to drums with reverb, how?
-Minimum predelay and minimum Decay.
70
FL Studio Guru | How to Remove Vocals with FL Studio -
Using Phase cancellation
- -Vocals need to be panned center
- --3 tracks, input track and 2 sidechain tracks.
- ---Send input to sidehcain track 1, and unlink input track from master
- ----Put stereo shaper on the sidechain 1 track.
- -----Turn the right into left and left into right outer mix sliders to -1
- -----Maximus on sidechain1 to split bands and only phase cancel a certain band. Also put maximus on sidechain 2.
- ------Sidechain two has the opposite bands as sidechain 1 maximus.
71
FL STUDIO
What is Control Surface?
- The Control Surface plugin allows you to add real-time controls that can be linked to plugins in FL Studio OR Patcher.
- -Control objects (knobs, sliders etc) can be linked to plugin and FL Studio interface targets to combine or aggregate control in a single location or to create dashboards for plugins and external hardware.
- --You can add as many Control Surfaces as required to your project to Channels or Effect slots.
72
FL STUDIO - Effector
What is Effector?
- Effector provides 12 performance oriented effects that can be used one at a time.
- -The large center X/Y pad (X/Y parm knobs) can be linked to controllers for expressive control or used with a touch interface.
- --NOTE: Effector processes one effect at a time. You can load several Effectors to use multiple effects on the same channel.
73
FL STUDIO - Effector - LFO Modulation Parameters (Right Side)
- Down the right side of the plugin are the Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) controls.
- -The LFO is control waveform that can be linked to control the X/Y parameters of the effects above via the X MOD and Y MOD controls.
- --In other words, automatically twist the X and Y parameter knobs for you.
- ---By selecting the Tempo switches and TEMPO multiplier knob you can sync this to the beat or put it anywhere you like.
74
```
FL STUDIO - Effector - LFO Modulation Parameters (Right Side)
Tempo switches (8/1 to 1/8)
```
- LFO waveform cycle speed, synchronized to the track tempo.
- -Speed is expressed in terms of beats/cycle. Settings range from 8/1 or 8 beats per cycle (slow), through to 1/8 or 8 cycles per beat (fast).
- --NOTES: 1. Tempo switch values assumes the TEMPO multiplier knob is at 1 (default). Most effects require the X MOD and Y MOD multipliers to be moved from the default 0% before the tempo modulation takes effect. Exceptions are TRANS and GRAIN which are automatically driven by the Tempo switches.
75
FL STUDIO - Effector - LFO Modulation Parameters (Right Side)
X MOD & Y MOD
- These are LFO multiplier amounts fed to the respective X & Y Param controls.
- -The default, 12 O'Clock = no modulation, Left - negative multiplier, Right - positive multiplier.
76
FL STUDIO - Effector - LFO Modulation Parameters (Right Side)
SHAPE
-LFO waveform shape. Select Sine, Saw or square wave.
77
FL STUDIO - Effector - LFO Modulation Parameters (Right Side)
TEMPO
- Tempo speed multiplier.
- -In the far Left (default) position the Tempo switches correctly reflect Beats per Cycle.
- --As the knob is turned Right the LFO cycle speed is increased (multiplied).
78
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
Effects
There are 12 effects these include:
79
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
DISTORT, X Y
Distortion.
- X - Distortion amount.
- -Y - Tone control.
80
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
LO-FI, X Y
- Bit reduction.
- -X - Sample-rate reduction amount.
- --Y - Low pass filter cutoff frequency.
- ---Creates old-school low bit depth sounds (particularly at high X values) reminiscent of gaming consoles.
81
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
FLANGER, X Y
Flanging.
X - Depth.
Y - Feedback.
82
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
PHASER, X Y
Phasing. X - Depth. Y - Feedback.
83
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
FILTER X Y
High and Low pass filtering.
X - Left of center = Low pass filter cutoff frequency.Right of center = High pass cutoff frequency.
Y - Resonance amount.
84
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
DELAY, X Y
Delay/Echo.
X - Feedback amount (echo strength)
Y - Echo filtering.
85
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
REVERB, X Y
Reverberation.
X - Feedback.
Y - Wet level (reverb amount).
86
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
STEREO, X Y
Panning.
X - Left/Right pan position.
Y - Binaural effect level. Up/Down.
87
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
TRANS, X Y
Trance / gating effect.
X - Release time.
Y - Drop level.
The Tempo switches & TEMPO speed multiplier knob will determine the period.
Use this effect to induce side-chain style pumping.
88
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
GRAIN, X Y
X & Y - Not used.
-The Tempo switches and TEMPO speed multiplier knob control the grain size.
89
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
VOX, X Y
X - Formant filter, vowel sound (A,E,I,O,U).
Y - Throat size.
Creates human vocal resonance sounds.
90
FL STUDIO - Effector - Effects (Bottom)
RING, X Y
X - Modulator frequency
Y - Not used.
-Ring modulation multiplies the input (your music) with a sine wave oscillator (FM synthesis style).
91
FL STUDIO - EQUO
What is EQUO?
- EQUO is an advanced morphing graphic equalizer plugin.
- -The main display contains both the EQ (VOL) and EQ (PAN) controls so that sounds can not only be shaped according to frequency content, but panning can be applied on specific frequency basis.
- --Further, One Master EQ shape and then a further 8 separate EQ/PAN shapes may be set and then these EQ shapes can be smoothly morphed using the Morph knob.
92
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Morph Section
Shift (Band Shift)
- Turning the knob to the right will move the current EQ shape to the higher frequencies, moving the knob to the left shifts the current shape to the lower frequencies.
- -Try automating this parameter.
93
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Morph Section
Mix (Band mix)
- By default is set to 100%.
- -This controls what percentage of the selected EQ shape to the (knob full right) is applied to the input signal. Moving the knob fully left will apply -100% of the current shape (invert it).
- --The 12'Oclock position applies 0% EQ.
94
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Morph Section
Morph (Between Banks)
- Morphs (blends) between banks 1 (knob fully left) to 8 (knob fully right).
- -For this function to have an effect you must set different EQ curves on each bank.
95
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Morph Section
Smooth (Motion Smoothness)
- Sets how quickly changes to EQUO settings can happen.
- -This is like an inertia effect for knobs.
96
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Morph Section
Vol
Main output volume.
97
FL STUDIO - EQUO
Setup Section
-Contains controls to set the routing and audio quality
98
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Setup Section
Send only | Send
- Mutes the direct output from EQUO in the present Mixer channel.
- -The LED display window shows which of the 4 'Send' mixer tracks EQUO is set to.
- --The Send window is not operational if EQUO is in the Master Mixer channel to avoid a feedback loop.
- ---NOTE: To send EQUO's output to mixer tracks other than the 'Send' tracks, use normal inter-track routing.
99
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Setup Section
Add mode
- Normally EQUO band-slices the incoming audio, effects it and recombines the audio at the output.
- -The band-slicing and recombination process introduces subtle changes to the input audio, even when no EQ is applied (the EQ bands are flat).
- --Add mode combines (adds) the sound of EQUO to the original input rather than replacing it (as normal) to avoid these subtle effects.
- ---However, in add mode an EQ band set to minimum will allow the original signal to pass.
100
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Setup Section
Over sample
-Engages 2X oversampling for higher audio quality.
101
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Setup Section
BW (Band Width)
- Changes the bandwidth of the EQUO bands.
- -Simply adjust for the most pleasing sound
102
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Main Display
There are several controls available from the main screen that will change the way you can shape the EQ or PAN settings.
103
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Main Display
Options Menu
- Contains three options, Random Curve, that produces a random EQ or PAN curve, surprisingly :)
- -Flat Line that resets the current EQ curve to the default state and Interpolate 1 to 8, this allows you to set a EQ or PAN curve in bank 1 and 8 and then EQUO will create the intermediate steps in-between on banks 2 to 7.
104
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Main Display
Drawing modes - There are three drawing modes available by clicking the appropriate icon:
- Pencil mode - allows you to move individual EQ or PAN bands with precision.
- -Line mode - Left-click and drag the mouse to create straight lines.
- --Curve mode - Left-click and drag the mouse to create smooth curves.
105
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Main Display
Analyze
- When the Analyze button is held, EQUO will average the frequency spectrum of the incoming signal (over the duration the button is held) and upon release create an EQ curve antagonistic to that signal (that is an EQ curve that when combined with the input will tend to be flat).
- -The interaction of the analyzed curve can be varied from antagonistic (cut) through to complimentary (boost) with the MIX knob.
- --NOTE: Bands 40 Hz and below are not included in the 'Analyze' function as they 'muddy' the mix, set them manually if you require sub-bass EQ.
106
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Main Display
EQ/PAN On/Off/Locked
-Clicking the light-blue box at the top of an EQ band will switch through the sequence 1 - Band OFF, 2 - Band Locked, 3 - Band Enabled (default).
107
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Main Display
Adjusting bands
- Clicking in the display area will activate the band under your mouse pointer.
- -Move the band up and down as required.
- --Consider these bands to be the sliders on a Graphic equalizer and you have a good idea of the basic interface.
- ---The image below shows EQUO in curve mode tracking an upward movement of the mouse, to move individual bands set EQUO to pencil mode.
108
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Main Display
Bank M, 1 to 8
- Select these to individually set the Master bank or Banks 1 to 8.
- -The Master bank is applied to the final output of the plugin and is not used in the morphing sequence between banks.
109
FL STUDIO - EQUO - Main Display
VOL/PAN/SEND
-Switches, determine if the action in the main EQ area affect, VOL (Volume) - the standard EQ volume as a function of frequency, PAN - The stereo panning of the selected frequency or Send - The send levels for the selected frequencies.
110
