Many new friends who have just come into contact with music creation have learned about FL Studio through various channels, but they do not know our history and the impact it has had on music creation. Today I will share an in-depth science popularization from coco macchiato blogger Rio I believe this article will be of great inspiration to newcomers.
FL Studio 21.1 provides faster and more creative note editing through scale snapping in the piano roll and Python-based scripting. The updated version also brings colored waveforms for better management of samples, Hyper Chorus extreme chorus plug-in, AI Declipper in Edison (artificial intelligence declipper), etc.
FL Studio 21 Win-installation package is downloaded as follows:
https://wm.makeding.com/iclk/?zoneid=55981
FL Studio 21 Mac-installation package is downloaded as follows:
https://wm.makeding.com/iclk/?zoneid=55982
You can see many improvements in the new version in audio editing , file management , and creative tools .
Faster audio editing
FL Studio 21 integrates audio clipping envelope and gain controls so you can control your audio faster and more precisely, including automatic crossfade and more.
Rich theme skinning
Now you can change the look of your DAW and become unique by controlling hue, saturation, brightness, text, meter and step sequencer color.
Smart file management
For our most commonly used file manager, this update adds a lot of functions, such as tags, collections, custom colors-icons-tags, you can directly browse online content, and it is upgraded to online audio with visualization and volume control. player.
4 new effect plug-ins
Version 21 brings you 4 new plug-ins, covering audio design, delay, phaser, reverb, etc. You can enjoy more intelligent creative tools. The full version now has more than 30 plug-ins! Of course many more plugins have been updated.
Finally, Coco Macchiato has collected 85 user- made themes (the copyright belongs to the original author, please do not use it for commercial purposes). After downloading, you can copy all the files to the Artwork\Themes folder in the FL installation directory, and open the program-Settings -Select from Theme.
Theme network disk: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1TNKivz9FxBGOD3zm4Sreig
Extraction code: kgv3
Nowadays, more and more musicians choose to use music production software to create music. A computer, a piece of software and an external MIDI are a small music workstation, and the very popular FL Studio (known in China as "Fruit/Fruit Arranger") has become the first choice for both newbies and big guys in the music industry, and occupies a very high status in the fields of EDM and Hip Hop (it is the most influential Beat program since MPC) .
Image-Line, the company that created FL Studio software, is from Belgium. But their initial positioning of the software was not in the music field. "The strategy we started with was simple," said Scott Fisher, COO of Image-Line. "We were looking around the business and entertainment software markets and making products to solve the problems of our time. I just wanted to make some money."
At first they produced some game software, such as "Private Investigator" (private detective) and "Porntris" (an adult-themed version of Tetris). Each of these games has received varying degrees of appreciation. In order to continue to expand the company's territory, they hired a French programmer named Didier Dambrin.
Since then, everything has changed.
Image-Line Corporation
After Didier Dambrin came to Image-Line, he was responsible for making game software, but because he had a lot of free time every day, he would use his free time to make things that interested him.
After he came into contact with the ReBirth 338 software synthesizer and Hammerhead drum machine, he had a bold idea. He decided to make an audio application that would combine the advantages of both machines and make it more user-friendly.
With Didier Dambrin's continuous experimentation and efforts, Image-Line decided to give it a try and released this software called "Fruity Loops" (the program name of Fruity Loops was inspired by a program called "Kellogg" cereal brands).
Kellogg cereal (the inspiration for the name of the Fruity Loops software) picture
In 1997, Image-Line first released a demonstration version of Fruity Loops 1.0 online. As a result, a few days later, the server crashed due to excessive demand. So they worked hard and released the official version in 1998, which quickly became popular.
Marie Cannie, one of the founders of her company, also said in the interview: "This software became famous almost overnight. What makes us happy is not because of the income this software brings us, but because it has made our products famous. Users You could use it to make something that sounded like music, which was a big reason for its early success."
One of the biggest reasons why "Fruity Loops" became so popular is because it was never directed at any musician. In fact, neither Dambrin nor any member of the Image-Line team had any previous musical experience. They designed it from the perspective of a game software, so Fruity Loops was very easy to use and attractive (many music production software at the time looked more like piles of spreadsheets, which were very obscure).
Marie Cannie (co-founder of Image-Line)
Although Fruity Loops didn't start out as a sequencer, Image-Line quickly added sequencing and sampleable drum kits to its users after noticing that people were using it, which has been its lasting success. two important cornerstones.
Fruity Loops 1.0 software interface
Unfortunately, in the nascent Internet environment at the time, Fruity Loops made almost no money.
Marie Cannie said: "We have almost no revenue from Fruity Loops. Not many people pay to use it, and they are happy to use pirated copies. Fortunately, we have revenue from other application projects in the company. Without these , Fruity Loops may not be able to persist in the development of version 1.0."
Although he later admitted that piracy was a form of advertising in a different direction. Because of the popularity of pirated Fruity Loops, more people know about and use this software, but he still firmly believes that those who use Fruity Loops loyally will definitely buy it.
Fruity Loops 2.0 software interface
The time came in 2004, as the release of the fourth version of Fruity Loops was approaching, when the company decided to register the trademark for Fruity Loops in North America, it received a lawsuit from Kellogg Food Company.
The reason for the lawsuit was that Kellogg Foods believed that people would confuse Image-Line's "Fruity Loops" with its breakfast cereal "Froot Loops" and that its software packaging was also suspected of plagiarism.
Image-Line immediately gave up after hearing the news and immediately decided to change the product name to "FL Studio" (because instead of wasting resources and time with a company that was 10,000 times their size at the time, it would be an egg or a rock).
“Fruity Loops” (music production software) VS “Froot Loops” (cereal)
After the name change controversy, FL Studio has gained strong popularity and has a large number of loyal users and fans, and even the community of FL Studio teachers has started to develop.
Especially the celebrities in the EDM field, such as Deadmau5, Martin Garrix, Skrillex and the deceased Aviici. Many of their early hits were produced on FL Studio, and Studio continues to gain recognition from new users.
Martin Garrix is one of FL Studio’s biggest fans
FL Studio’s influence on hip-hop music
Over time, FL Studio slowly found its user group: young producers eager to learn music production. Because they have computers but cannot afford expensive samplers.
According to data, the album "Hostile Takeover" released by rapper Jugga The Bully in 1999 was the first rap album produced entirely through FL Studio software (its producer was Kno).
"Hostile Takeover" album art
Afterwards, producer Kno continued to use FL Studio to produce the album "Will Rap Food" released by the rap group Cunnin Lynguists in 2002 and the album "A Piece of Strange" released in 2006 (known as one of the best rap albums by XXL one).
"Will Rap Food" album art
"A Piece of Strange" album art
In addition to producer Kno who uses FL Studio to produce Hip Hop music, the famous producer 9th Wonder is also an early user of FL Studio.
For example, in 2003, he helped the rap group Little Brother produce their breakthrough album "The Listening" (still produced on FL Studio).
"The Listening" album art
The album "The Listening" and his own informal remix album "God's Stepson" have received widespread praise from magazines such as HipHopDX and Vibe after their release. 9th Wonder also gradually gained opportunities to work with some of the most well-known record labels in the industry, and has since achieved many successes.
Remix album "God Stepson"
For example, he composed Jay-Z's single "Threat" (included in Jay-Z's 2003 album "The Black Album") in 20 minutes. Participated in the production of Erykah Badu's 2008 album "Amerykah Part One (4th World War)" and received a spot. He also composed Mary J. Blige's album "The Breakthrough all" within 3 years, which won a Grammy Award.
When producing these singles and albums, FL Studio is his main weapon.
Jay-Z also shouted out producer 9th Wonder in the song "Threat"
But at the time, most producers in the Hip Hop circle didn't take the software seriously. When they knew that 9th Wonder was using FL Studio to make beats on a computer, they all felt very disdainful and laughed at him (thinking that the beats made by FL Studio were not hip hop).
But 9th Wonder believes his use of FL Studio is no different from what early hip-hop pioneers did with limited resources. He also said that the software he used for only $50 and won a Grammy Award may. It upset a lot of people.
Produced by 9th Wonder
But the real highlight of FL Studio begins in 2002 with a young man from a small town called DeAndre Cortez Way in Mississippi.
At the age of 12, he received a demo version (unofficial version) of FL Studio from his uncle Justin. In 2005, he began to release songs on the SoundClick music platform under the stage name "Soulja Boy", and in 2006 he opened MySpace and YouTube accounts. By the time he was 16, he was producing beats in FL Studio with incredible speed and efficiency (making a beat in an average of 10 minutes).
In an interview with Noisey in 2016, he said: "The first thing I do when I get home from school every day is to make beats. I can probably make about a dozen accompaniments a week. The goal I set for myself is to complete it within a few months. 150 Beats or more."
Soulja Boy
In 2009, his efforts paid off. When he released his single "Crank That" (produced by FL Studio), it quickly became the number one single on the Billboard charts and achieved triple platinum sales in the same year of release. Soulja Boy's reputation in the rap circle improved overnight.
From the explosion of songs to the subversion of traditional gatekeepers, Soulja Boy has rewritten the rules of the music industry and Hip Hop in many places. Not only because of the magical dance in the song MV that celebrities such as Beyoncé and Samuel Jackson rushed to imitate, but also because of the way he used FL Studio to produce beats.
Soulja Boy's image in the MV "Crank That"
The production of the song "Crank Dat" from the skeleton structure to the loops was completely based on FL Studio's own materials. After the song became popular, Soulja Boy released a video on Youtube to explain how he produced the song in July of the same year.
The baby-faced rapper can be seen in the video wearing a baggy black T-shirt and golden jewelry. From his footage, you can see that there is only a worn-out microphone, a small MIDI keyboard, and FL Studio software on his desk, and nothing else.
Soulja Boy proudly said in the video: "It only took me about 10 minutes to complete this song, and everyone knows that I made 10 million dollars from this song. People will be like, my God, you used FL Studio 's demo version of the song was made and it went to number one and made all this money."
So Soulja Boy firmly believed that this software gave him an affordable and achievable way to turn his intangible ideas into a tangible piece of music.
In the video, Soulja Boy is demonstrating how to use FL Studio to make accompaniments.
FL Studio soon became the first choice for Hip Hop music producers in the following years, including many well-known producers and rappers such as Hit-Boy, Metro Boomin, Young Chop, Hudson Mohawke, Drake and Kanye West. Have a similar story trajectory.
In this sense alone, FL Studio can be considered an incubator or training ground for hip-hop, a software that has honed the skills of countless producers over the past 15 years through its simple workflow. But its impact went beyond the talent it spawned, shattering mainstream consciousness and helping to shape the definition of many musical genres.
In particular, it not only has its unique step-sequencer (those little blocks of color on its interface) and more powerful Drum Lines, but also its characteristic Triplet Hats, elements that inspired beatmakers in the American South to make A new direction for trap music. And when the digital cymbal alternates between the 8th and 16th notes, it establishes a rolling effect—one that would define the genre like Lex Luger, a pioneer of modern trap music. And this broad hi-hat style is currently gaining popularity, becoming the cornerstone of other hip-hop genres such as Chicago Drill.
FL Studio page
And many trap music producers often use FL Studio as their important label. For example, Atlanta's famous producer Sonny Digital admitted that all of his successful music works, such as Future's "Same Damn Time", 2 Chainz and Kanye West's "Birthday Song", and iLoveMakonnen's "Tuesday" were all produced by Produced by FL Studio.
Like many people, he downloaded a cracked version to explore its features before purchasing the genuine FL Studio. He has kept using fruit ever since, even though he now has enough money to buy better equipment. In an interview, he said: "Fruit taught me most of what I know about music. It opened the door to more possibilities for me."
He went on to explain: “This is a completely new breakthrough for us as producers because the software is user-friendly and people of any age, regardless of their expertise, can use it to create something special. ” Young Chop, the founder of Chicago Drill, also said a similar point of view to Sonny Digital (Young Chop also practiced beat production through FL Studio at the beginning, and at the age of 19, he produced Chief Keef’s classic single “I Don’t Like" has become a popular producer in the industry).
Sonny Digital explained how he used FL Studio to make beats on the "R Λ Z Ξ R" channel in August 2018
Next up is Metro Boomin, a well-known Atlanta producer who is probably the most successful HipHop music producer using FL Studio.
Like many other producers, he first learned about FL Studio by watching others use it. He told Fader in a 2014 interview: "I've been following Soulja Boy and I know he uses this software. And I also know that 9th Wonde also uses it, and a lot of EDM music like dubstep is done through it. "." Metro continued: "The reason I started using it is because it can be downloaded to my computer and FL Studio is the best at editing, sorting and layout."
Since he started making music with the fruit in high school, Metro has produced 15 multi-platinum records in 5 years for rappers such as 21 Savage, Future, Migos and Big Sean. In addition to composing songs for rappers, he has also collaborated with other producers such as Sonny Digital, Southside, TM88 and other members of 808 Mafia.
Metro Boomin
The incredible achievements achieved by these star users may seem out of reach to beginners, but producer Vinylz took to Twitter in 2016 to share his thoughts on using FL Studio, a digital audio workstation like this. Let more people know that this software is not difficult to learn and anyone can use it.
Vinylz’s tweet in 2016 (in other words, what he wants to express is that the threshold for FL Studio is not high, and you can use it skillfully with a lot of practice)
Image-Line continued to tweak and develop FL Studio over the next few years, launching FL Studio Mobile for iOS and Android, and creating the Image-Line Remote app to ensure it remained relevant in the world of music production. leading position.
Although other production software such as Ableton Live are also very competitive, FL Studio's strong position is still difficult to shake.
FL Studio Mobile (available in Android, Apple, and Window versions)
With the development of FL Studio for more than ten years, it has been an enduring music tool influencing more millennial producers and singers. Marie Cannie, co-founder of Image-Line, also said in Genius News that their FL Studio will become even larger (now more than 10 million people install FL Studio on their mobile phones or computers almost every year).
And with the popularity of online videos, you can see many well-known producers uploading FL Studio production processes and tutorials on Youtube (such as the channel "R Λ Z Ξ R"), which will help guide more young musicians People learn how to use it and eventually create their own musical style.