FL Studio 10

Just a quickie; it seems that Image Line has renamed their Chainer plugin to Patcher as can be concluded from the Chainer YouTube video which has been stealthily edited. So be aware when looking for this handy plugin in the current beta and FL Studio 10 later on.

Musicians are being overwhelmed by the current options in the music production software market. The DIY approach is gaining ground, large studios are closing down because creating a chart-topping music piece is now more and more possible with just using a pc or laptop. The large availability of music production tools makes it hard for a newbie to choose an arsenal. This list will tell you why it’s time to buy FL Studio 10 on its release date with the information currently available.

• #10 The Chainer Plugin
  For all the people who find using a software mixer higher math, Image Line has created a new graphical plugin to assist you in routing your devices and plugins together. Reason has its infamous rack and routing interface, but now users of FL Studio can also benefit from this easy to use routing plugin.

• #9 The Price
  With everything that’s included and will be included, now is the time to ensure yourself of lifetime updates before Image Line discovers they could charge much, much more for their product.

• #8 CPU-saving
  The latest beta updates have really made an improvement on better memory management. The keep-on-disk function saves your precious RAM from being overused and extra audio options allow you to fine-tune the software for maximum CPU preservation.

• #7 User Base
  Everyone up to your favorite producer’s momma uses FL Studio because of the reasons mentioned in this Top 10 and more.  With buying Fruity Loops you can enter and participate in a massive user forum over at Image Line and be heard by the developers themselves. Very different from DAW developers  that throw a new eyecandy-heavy version of their software over the fence once in while after which they’re never heard from again.

• #6 Newtone And Pitcher
  Even though Jay-Z has announced the death of autotune a while ago, pitch and harmonization correction and effects are still immensely popular. These native plugins allow for creative flexibility in tuning vocals and instruments.

• #5 64-bit Plugin Support
  64-bit plugins are now recognized and can be run in bridged mode.

• #4 Piano Roll
  Both the mixer and the piano roll + playlist have undergone lots of workflow improving changes. Selecting notes is easier with the lasso tool and special attention has gone to live performing with audio clips in the playlist.
• #3 Playlist Clips
  The latest FL Studio betas see a departure from the well-known playlist blocks to playlist clips that were already half integrated in the previous versions. The blocks are still available, but hidden. Don’t be sad though, cause you will not miss the block view at all with all the improvements that are made, making the clip overview very straightforward and a great addition to the step sequencer.

• #2 Step Sequencer
  FL Studio’s step sequencer remains one of the most innovative and fastest ways to lay down a rhythmic pattern. If you’re not yet familiar with its use or new to music production this is a must-try.
• #1 Ease-of-use
  Following up on #2 the overall learning curve for FL Studio is lower than the competition, you can go from an idea to getting results down very quick.  Let the massive userbase speak for itself. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the ease-of-use makes the software a mere toy though, many testimonials from chart-topping producers will disagree.

In anticipation of the official FL Studio 10 release date please check out this neat video on FL Studio Chainer, which will come free with FL Studio 10 and is now in the current 9.9 beta release. This beta is set to expire in mid-April, so let’s hope to have more information on version 10 then.

Soon, Image Line will reach a milestone with the latest release of their flagship product, FL Studio 10. The software has come a long way, from a basic step-sequencer to the full-fledged digital audio workstation numerous (aspiring) musicians have grown to love. The 10th version seems not only a special version by number, judging from the latest beta releases of version 9 the product seems to further improve and expand a producer’s workflow and introduce exciting new functionality. Let’s see what (aside from any surprises) we can expect from FL Studio 10.

The Project Picker & Chainer

These new plugins introduce an innovative way of respectively arranging playlists and route midi or audio through several instrument and effect plugins. The Project Picker gives the user a clear graphical overview of all playlist and sample clips and their connection and allows for quick song arrangements by dragging these clips to the song arrangement.

A neat graphic interface for midi and audio routing between your devices

Chainer gives users a graphical alternative to the regular mixing routing capabilities. It’s similar to the online music making tool audiotool.com, in a clear interface you can drag your connections between the instruments loaded, making it possible to setup complex routing very quickly.

Pitcher and Newtone

Two new plugins are introduced that are dedicated to pitch correction, time strechting  and harmonization effects. Pitcher features a live auto-correction for vocals and instruments, Newtone is fully integrated with FL Studio 10 and provides auto vocal correction and gives possibility to create harmonies and new tunes.

Auto Save

A new feature worth mentioning is an auto-save option that should save masterpieces from getting lost, caused by freezes or computer crashes, users can set up a time interval for which the computer will save a time-stamped copy of your project file each time.

Improved audio options and memory management
FL Studio 10 will now recognize 64-bit plugins and open them in ‘bridged mode’, running its memory allocation in a seperate process, thereby giving you more overhead in your project. Also you can toggle a keep on disk option for Audio Clips and Sample Channels that will save some significant memory in the process.
In the audio settings ‘Mix in bufferswitch’ and ‘Triple buffer’ can be switched on and off which might increase performance for some sound cards.

Export To Score Sheet
A handy function for live performers and orchestral score composers is that you can export your midi data instantly to a fancy score sheet.

Improved piano roll, mixer, navigation
Furthermore Image Line revamped the piano roll and mixer and added countless workflow and navigation improvements and nifty new functionality like new zoom controls,
magic lasso selection tool, browser auto hide function, playlist markers for innovative live performing and the Playlist transport is finally in sync with the Piano Roll!

Conclusion
It’s clear that Image Line is in touch with their user base and takes notes to the competitor’s developments in the DAW-market in order to keep up. You might get overwhelmed by all the new goodies and workflow changes that have been added in the previous beta-versions, but now more than ever has a musician the possibility to really go his own way within one software-solution, find a workflow  and customize his or her’s own sound without resorting to third party plugins too much. There’s no excuse anymore to not go out and make some great music with all the music software options available. Keep an eye out on this blog for the release of FL Studio 10, we will keep you updated on all the new features.

FL Studio 10 blog coming soon!