# FL Studio

FL Studio (known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. It features a graphical user interface with a pattern-based music sequencer. It is available in four different editions for Microsoft Windows and macOS.
After their initial purchase, lifetime updates of the software are free to registered users. Image-Line also develops FL Studio Mobile for Android, iOS, macOS, and Universal Windows Platform devices.
FL Studio can be used as either a Virtual Studio Technology (VST) or Audio Unit (AU) instrument in other audio workstation programs, and as a ReWire client. Image-Line offers its own VST and AU instruments and audio applications. FL Studio has been used by many notable hip hop and EDM producers, including 9th Wonder, Cardo, Basshunter, Metro Boomin, Hit-Boy, Porter Robinson, Alan Walker, Madeon, Soulja Boy, Southside, Martin Garrix, Avicii, Imanbek, Lex Luger, Deadmau5, and Pi'erre Bourne. The previous default tempo of FL Studio (140 BPM) has been credited as being the reason grime music is generally produced around 140 BPM.

## History

The first version of FruityLoops (1.0.0) was developed by Didier Dambrin and was partially released on December 18, 1997. Its official launch was in early 1998, when it was still a four-channel MIDI drum machine. Dambrin became Chief Software Architect for the program, and it quickly underwent a series of large upgrades that made it into a popular and complex digital audio workstation.
Image-Line renamed FruityLoops to FL Studio in mid 2003, after the company's attempt to obtain a US trademark prompted concerns from Kellogg's. and to improve the software's marketability. Software piracy was a major issue in the company's early days, and it took nearly 5 years for the company to turn a profit from users purchasing legitimate licenses.
A macOS-compatible version of FL Studio was released on May 22, 2018.

## Overview
### Editions

FL Studio comes in several editions with different levels of functionality. The free trial version includes all of the program's features, all plugins, and allows users to render project audio to WAV, MIDI, MP3, FLAC and OGG. Projects saved while in demo mode, however, can only be opened once FL Studio and its plugins have been registered. Also, instrument presets cannot be saved and the audio output of some instruments is cut out momentarily every few minutes until the program and its plugins have been registered.

#### Fruity Edition

The Fruity Edition allows users to access the playlist, piano roll, and event automation features, which allow complex and lengthy arranging and sequencing. There is also VST/ReWire support so that FL Studio can be an instrument in other hosts such as Cubase, Sonic Solutions, and Logic. As of version 21.0.3, this edition includes 84 instruments and effects; it does not support audio recording and the use of audio clips.

#### Producer Edition

The Producer Edition includes all of the features of the Fruity Edition, as well as full audio recording for internal and external audio and post-production tools. It allows hand-drawing point and curve based splines (referred to as "automation clips"). Plugins include Edison, Slicex (loop slicer and re-arranger), Sytrus, Maximus, Vocodex and Synthmaker. It also allows waveform viewing of audio clips and the ability to add cue points.

#### Signature Bundle

This edition includes the Producer Edition plus a series of plugins such as the Fruity Video Player, DirectWave Sampler, Harmless, NewTone, Pitcher, Gross Beat, and the Hardcore Guitar Effects Suite.

#### All Plugins Edition

The All Plugins Edition includes the Signature Bundle and extra plugins, particularly synthesizers.

#### FL Studio Mobile

On June 21, 2011, Image-Line released FL Studio Mobile for iOS and in April 2013 for Android. Both support the ability to create multi-track projects on mobile devices including iPod Touches, iPhones, iPads, Android 2.3.3, and higher smartphones and tablets.

#### Groove/GMM

Groove, a standalone Groovebox-style application optimized for touch-based music creation, was released for the Windows 8 store on September 2, 2013, as FL Studio Groove. It was later released on mobile devices as Groove Machine Mobile and temporarily available as a plugin in FL Studio. As of now, it is no longer available for purchase.

#### FL Cloud

FL Cloud is a sub-brand launched by Image Line on October 26, 2023, encompassing online products and services for music production, with tools for mastering, music distribution, and accessing a curated selection of audio samples. Its features include:
* Sounds: Similar to FL Studio FLEX, FL Cloud allows seamless integration of audio samples directly within FL Studio. Content can be downloaded directly into the FL Studio project, eliminating the need for external libraries or manual file management. There are free and subscription options. The subscription option provides access to a wider range of sounds compared to the free version. Alternatively users can purchase non-expiring Download Credits to access the same sample library as available while subscribed.
* Mastering: FL Cloud offers both free and paid options for professional-grade mastering. The free tier provides basic tools, while the paid subscription unlocks advanced features and additional mastering effects.
* Music Distribution: Included with the subscription offering, music distribution allows users to directly upload their music to major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and more.
* External Plugins: FL Cloud now includes 65+ plugins from UVI, Native Instruments, Minimal Audio, Baby Audio, and more. 10 Plugins are available for free, and 20 with the Plus tier.

### System requirements

FL Studio processes audio using an internal 32-bit floating point engine. It supports sampling rates up to 192 kHz using either WDM- or ASIO-enabled drivers.
Windows 7/8/10/11 or later (32-bit or 64-bit versions), MacOS Version 10.13.6 (High Sierra) or later.
* Disk space: 4 GB
* RAM: 4 GB
* CPU: Intel and Ryzen only, ARM not supported.
Note: More powerful CPU, more Instruments and Effects you can run.

### Program features

* Version 9.0 introduced support for multi-core effects processing and improved support for multi-core instrument processing.
* Version 10.0, released on March 29, 2011, included a new project browser, fixed some bugs, and smoothed envelope points. It also introduced Patcher, a modular workflow environment capable of chaining together an unlimited number of instruments and effects.
* Version 11.0, released on April 19, 2013, included multi-touch support, improved tempo automation, new plugins such as BassDrum, GMS, Effector, Patcher, and new piano roll features (VFX Key Mapper, VFX Color Mapper).
* Version 12.0, released on April 22, 2015, added a new vectorial UI, updated plugins, multi-touch support, a redesigned mixer, improved 32 and 64 bit plugin support and improved file management.
* Version 20.0, released on May 22, 2018, skipped versions 13 to 19 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the program. It introduced native macOS support, multiple time-signatures, MIDI conversion to audio, unlimited playlist arrangements, improved plugin delay compensation, the return of the step sequencer graph editor, In-situ rendering ("freezing"), and other improvements.
* Version 21.0, released December 6, 2022, introduced integrated fade in/out level control and cross fades for audio clips, new visual themes, changes to the browser feature, and new audio effect plugins for each edition of FL Studio.
* Version 21.2, released October 26, 2023, observed the addition of a stem separator tool in FL Studio, which can be used to separate any audio track into the vocal, melody, bass and drum components. Version 21.2 also saw the addition of AI Mastering tools, music distribution through DistroKid, a partner of FL Studio, and a new sample library, as a part of the FL Cloud subscription.
* Version 2024, released July 1st, 2024, included the addition of new AI tools, new effects plugins for the Producer and Signature Bundle edition, a new instrumental plugin for the All Plugins Edition, and additions to the FL Cloud subscription.
The mixer interface allows for any number of channel configurations. This allows mixing in 2.1, 5.1, or 7.1 surround sound, as long as the output hardware interface has an equivalent number of outputs. The mixer also supports audio-in, enabling FL Studio to record multitrack audio.
FL Studio supports audio time stretching and pitch scaling, beat slicing, chopping, and editing of audio, and as of version 12.9 it can record up to 125 simultaneous audio tracks. Other key features include a digital piano roll. Audio can be imported or exported as WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC, MIDI, ZIP, or the native project format with an .FLP filename extension.
The trial allows users to save projects, but does not allow reopening them. Tracks may be exported to any of the available file formats.

## Plug-ins

FL Studio comes with a variety of plugins and generators (software synthesizers) written in the program's own native plugin architecture. FL Studio also has support for third-party VST and DirectX plugins. The API has a built in wrapper for full VST, VST2, VST3, DX, and ReWire compatibility. There has also been support for the CLAP plugin format since FL Studio 2024.
Although FL Studio's own plugins are set to be available only in their native format in the future, some of them also function independently as standalone programs and can be purchased in VST format for use with other DAWs.

### Virtual effects

FL Studio is bundled with a variety of sound processing effects, including common audio effects such as chorus, compression, distortion, delay, flanger, phaser, reverb, gate, equalization, vocoding, maximization, and limiting.

#### Gross Beat

Gross Beat is an audio effect plugin that is included with the Signature Bundle of FL Studio. Gross Beat performs real-time audio stream playback, pitch, position, and volume manipulation. Gross Beat includes multiple envelope mapping controls, which can alter time/pitch and volume. Gross Beat can be used to provide beat-synced glitches, stutters, repetitions, scratches, and gating effects.

### Synthesizers

FL Studio's install contains the entirety of native software synthesizers, internally labeled as "generators". Depending on the edition of the program, some will be locked in trial mode until the synth itself or a software upgrade is purchased.

#### Harmor

Harmor is Image-Line's flagship synthesizer. Initially released in late 2011 as a successor to Harmless, it was envisioned as a way to work with additive synthesis through an interface typical of subtractive synthesizers. It also includes many functions previously found within individual FL Studio utilities. such as the ability to produce sounds from pictures fed into the synth (known as image resynthesis).

#### Sytrus

Sytrus is an FM synthesizer with an internal effects module and additional wavetable capabilities. Its architecture can let it interface directly with patches from Yamaha DX7 units, allowing it to import original SYSEX data.

#### Sakura

Sakura is a virtual modeling synthesizer that is included with the All Plugins Edition of FL Studio. Sakura utilizes virtual modeling, an 8-stage modulator, and a variety of acoustics and effects, such as delay, chorus, and reverb to create stringed sounds. Virtual modeling in Sakura includes a 5-stage process referred to as the hanami-go method, including Touch, Vibration, String Interaction, Resonance, and Acoustics.

#### Morphine

Morphine is an additive synthesizer and resynthesizer that is included with the All Plugins Edition of FL Studio. Morphine uses a 4 Voice Generator with 128 harmonics per voice to achieve additive synthesis. Morphine includes the ability to generate samples from snapshots of the synthesized harmonics, known as Breakpoints, which can be used to create any sound.

#### Sawer

Sawer is an analog modeling synthesizer that is included with the All Plugins Edition of FL Studio. Sawer utilizes a saw shape oscillator for subtractive synthesis, as well as a sub-oscillator with level, phase, detune, and octave shift controls, sync and ring modulation, multiple audio effects, such as chorus, phaser, delay, and reverb, and a multimode arpeggiator. Sawer pays homage to the 1980s analog synthesizer Polivoks, which was manufactured and marketed in the Soviet Union during the late 20th century.

## Dedicated hardware

As with other DAW developers, Image-Line has collaborated with hardware manufacturers on two occasions, resulting in the release of products branded and compatible with FL Studio.
The first was the Akai FIRE, a MIDI controller with touch and pressure-sensitive buttons modelled after the software's channel rack pattern editor. Released in 2018, it can be used as a pattern editor, keyboard, drumpad, multi-colour peak visualizer and performance controller. A distinctive feature of the Akai FIRE is that up to 4 units can be connected to a single instance of FL Studio, chained together or with a different mode set for each. It is sold in two variants, one coming without extra software (aimed at existing FL Studio users), and one bundled with an exclusive version of the Fruity edition called the Fruity Fire Edition.
The latter of these involvements is currently the Novation FL Key line of controllers. It consists of two redesigned MIDI Keyboards – dubbed the FL Key Mini and the FL Key 37, the latter being larger in keybed and size – originally from Novation's own Launchkey line, modified to have a grey case and an FL Studio-themed RGB lighting palette. They later released the FL Key 61, a larger version with the same features.
Despite some initial traction regarding the Akai FIRE's unusual velocity implementation, both units have gone on to receive broadly positive reception from the professional press.

## Reception

FL Studio has been praised for its simplicity, power, and ease of use. Jamie Lendino of PCMag wrote that "While [FL Studio is] still clearly geared for electronic music production 'in the box,' as opposed to recording live musicians playing acoustic instruments, you can record or create just about any kind of audio project with it." Criticisms include a difficult audio recording system.