MIXING & EFFECTS

Recording External and Internal Audio

This section covers everything you need to know about recording external audio sources connected to your soundcard input/s and internal audio generated by instruments.

Pre-requisites for recording external audio

Before you can record external audio sources ALL the following conditions must be met:

1. Using FL Studio Producer Edition or higher.
2. An ASIO soundcard driver selected for your soundcard (press F10 to open the options settings, select Audio and select an ASIO driver).
3. The recording filter is set to record audio (right-click the Transport Panel record button).
4. A sound source connected to the soundcard/interface audio input/s (DOH!).
5. The active soundcard input/s (from 4. above) must be selected on the mixer track 'IN' menu.
6. Edison must be set to record audio on the input mixer track (Edison recording) or the mixer track armed to directly record audio (Playlist recording).

Recording FAQ

• Where does external audio enter FL Studio? External audio inputs are selected from the FL Studio mixer INPUT menu. The 'IN' menu shows a drop-down list of the available soundcard inputs (mic, line, etc). The screenshot above shows the soundcard microphone (Mic L/R) input selected on Mixer track 4 (each mixer track has it's own external input options menu). Input options will only be visible if an ASIO soundcard driver is active.

  NOTE: Input names shown in the drop-down menu are provided by the soundcard ASIO driver and are frequently some of the least descriptive and confusing labels we have ever seen, so experimentation may be required to find the correct input.

• How do I record audio? There are two methods that can be used individually or simultaneously:
  • 1. Edison - Place an instance of Edison in the mixer track receiving audio and record into memory (see screenshot above). Edison is best when you plan to record one or two sources, each source requires a unique instance of the plugin. Edison is also ideal for 'Loop Recording' as 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.
  • 2. Playlist - Arm a mixer track by selecting an input or clicking on the disk recording icon (see screenshot above). Playlist recording is ideal when two or more sources are to be recorded simultaneously as managing large numbers of Edison plugins can be unwieldy.

  The audio recorded by either of these methods can come from external sources, internal sources or a combination of both. For details, see below.

• Why do my recordings come from one speaker? The INPUT menu has an upper stereo list and lower mono list. You have selected a stereo INPUT whereas your audio source appears in the left or right channel. Select your input from the lower, mono INPUT list.
• How do I record multiple independent inputs (multi-track record)? Each of the 99 mixer tracks can be independently loaded with an Edison recorder, however if you are recording more than one or two inputs it is better to arm individual mixer tracks and record external and/or internal audio sources to disk (see Playlist Recording below). It is possible to simultaneously record the full number of audio inputs on your soundcard.

  NOTE: Right-click the Mixer Input menu to initiate an 'Auto-map'. This will automatically map each input on your audio interface 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, Master Tack send will be disabled on each Mixer Track, so you will see input activity on the Peak Meters, but won't hear anything.

• How do I record my hardware synthesizer/drum-machine/sampler? To use sounds from an external synthesizer, while it is played by FL Studio, you will need to make MIDI connections AND audio connections to your soundcard inputs. FL Studio can record the sound/s (discussed below) as it plays the external MIDI hardware using a MIDI Out plugin.

• Can I record using a USB microphone or headset? Yes, USB microphones require special setup discussed here.
• Are there video tutorials for recording audio? Yes, click here to jump to the video tutorial website.

Using a USB microphone or headset

USB microphone & headsets cause some special problems that can be resolved by following the steps in the section on recording USB audio-inputs. The solution is to select independent input (USB mic) and output (soundcard) devices using the ASIO4ALL soundcard driver.

Step by step instructions for recording external audio (microphones, guitars, etc)

Three main methods for recording external audio are explained below, the first two record into an Edison plugin loaded into the mixer track of your choice. The third method records audio into an Audio Clip displayed in the Playlist - please note that the clip will not be visible until the recording has been completed.

1. Quick audio recording procedure (using Edison)

If the pre-requisites for external recording have been satisfied (as described above), FL Studio will provide a wizard for audio recording which uses the Edison recording method:

1. Select One-click audio recording from the 'Tools' menu.
2. Follow the prompts.
3. If you are recording an external audio source then record on a mixer track that only has the external audio on it. If you have internal audio routed to the same track it will be blended with the external audio. Once blended, it can't be undone.

2. Edison recording procedure

If the pre-requisites for external recording have been satisfied (as described above):

1. 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).
2. Input selection - Select an external input (6 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 disk icon (17) associated with the track you are using.
3. Effects - 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 it is possible to record dry and wet (with effects) versions of your external audio, or monitor with effects while recording without effects (just place an effect after Edison).
4. 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.
5. Exporting recorded audio:

   There are three main ways to export audio from Edison into FL Studio:

   1. Tools > Sequencing
      • Send to Playlist as Audio Clip (Shift+C) - Dumps the selection to the Playlist as an Audio Clip.
      • Send to selected Channel - Dumps the selection to the selected Channel.
   2. 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.

   3. 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).

3. Playlist audio recording procedure

We know the next section looks complex with too many words, however it provides a full description of the external-audio to Playlist recording options and full step-by-step procedure. Once you understand the process it really only takes a couple of mouse-clicks to set up:

1. Pre-requisites - The pre-requisites for external recording must first be satisfied (as described above).
2. Don't record on the Master mixer track - When recording external audio on a mixer track, internal audio routed to that track will be mixed in with the external source so it is best to use a mixer track with no internal generators routed to it. Remember that the Master mixer track has all the other tracks routed to it, so this is definitely not the place to record external audio sources.
3. Input selection & Mixer track arming - Select an external input (6 see below). The options that appear in this drop-down menu will depend on your soundcard, most soundcards have at least one mic and one line input, however you may need to experiment to find the input that carries your external audio. Selecting an input will auto-arm the track for recording, as indicated by the orange disk icon (17). If you wish to use a USB mic or headset to record audio, follow the steps outlined here first.
4. Mono inputs - If you have a mono sound source that appears in only the L or R stereo channel, you will notice that the input options (6) are divided into 'Stereo' in the upper section and 'Mono' in the lower section. By selecting the Mono version of your input, FL Studio will record the signal into both the L and R mixer channels.
5. 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 press the disk icon (17) TWICE, firstly to de-select the arming and secondly to re-select it and open the file-name/location dialog. Select a location in the browse dialog and name the .wav file to be recorded. If you use right-click, an automatic file name will be assigned to the track. Do the same for all mixer tracks you want to record.
6. Recording Options - Open the Mixer pop-up menu. In the Disk Recording sub-menu select -
   • Auto-create audio tracks - Saves the recording as an Audio Clip and automatically places it in the Playlist, after you press stop. NOTE: Automatic clip placement only works in song mode.
   • Latency compensation - Removes an amount of time equal to the soundcard latency (buffer length) from the start of the recording, ensuring the audio is aligned with the internal events. NOTE: This setting does not affect the live sound, only the recording. See the point below on 'Monitoring' for ways to improve latency delay on the live audio passing through FL Studio.
   • Bit-depth - This is the saved bit-depth. '32-Bit floating point recording' is only necessary if your soundcard 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 soundcard quantization's above 16-Bit. NOTE: FL Studio receives audio from the soundcard as a pre-digitized stream, the bit-depth set in the mixer has no effect on the recording bit-depth (that is set in the soundcard's own options). Saving a 16-Bit sample at 32-Bit will make the file significantly larger with no gain in quality.
7. Monitoring the sound being recorded - Monitoring is hearing the sound as it is recorded. 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 track and back to the soundcard outputs. As the audio path through FL Studio is delayed by an amount equal to the soundcard 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:
   • 1. Routing - Stop the incoming audio passing back to the soundcard by de-selecting the 'Send to master knob' from the mixer track you are recording into. Remember 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.
   • 2. Latency - If 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 buffer can be set.
   • 3. Direct Monitoring - Use 'direct monitoring' if supported by your soundcard. Direct monitoring is achieved completely in hardware, routing a copy of the input signal directly to the soundcard 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 7.1 (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) soundcards, so consult the soundcard 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 soundcard driver. Many external USB/FireWire audio interfaces have a hardware button labeled 'Direct monitoring' or 'Monitor'.

8. Recording with effects - Don't! We recommend that you record all incoming audio without effects, add them later, as this provides maximum flexibility during post-production. If you want to monitor the incoming signal with effects while recording without effects -
   • 1. Deselect the 'Send to master' knob on the recording input mixer track.
   • 2. Re-route the recording input mixer track to a second empty mixer track.
   • 3. Load the effects you wish to use on this second track and allow that track to pass to the Master.

   The above setup ensures that the audio is recorded dry, from the input mixer track, passes to a second track where effects are added and then onto the Master track where it is sent to the soundcard outputs. NOTE: Edison recording makes this process simpler, put Edison in FX slot 1 of the input mixer track (so it has no Effects before it), then put any effects you want to hear below it (slots 2 to 8).

9. The Record Button: Prepare for recording. There are two functions associated with the Record button on the Transport Panel.
   • 1. Recording filter - There is a recording filter pop-up menu, right-click the Record button and make sure Audio data has a tick (all data-types with a tick will be recorded, click to select/deselect items).
   • 2. Arming - Left-click the record button to arm for recording. The button will light to indicate that record mode is activated (orange).
10. Start recording - Finally! Press the Play button to start recording.
11. Stop recording - When you are finished, press the Stop button. If you want all armed tracks to unarm enable the 'Disk Recording > Auto-unarm' option in the Mixer popup menu. If tracks remain armed and you press record again new Audio Clips will be created leaving previously recorded Audio Clips intact.
12. Where's my audio? - If you are in pattern mode, the recording will appear as an Audio Clip channel. If you are in song mode AND the Mixer menu setting, Auto-create Audio Clips is on, your recording will appear as an Audio Clip wave display in the Playlist window.

    The Audio Files that were recorded to disk will be in one of three locations:

    • 1. The directory set at Step 5 (above) OR
    • 2. The FL Studio installaton directory ...FL Studio\Data\Patches\Recorded. This directory is shown in the Browser OR
    • 3. If you have set a custom record location from the F10 > Project > General Data folder setting, your audio files will be there.

    NOTE: All new Audio Clips are routed to the Master Mixer track by default.

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:

1. 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 into the Playlist or saved as audio files.

2. Playlist method - If Loop recording is selected, FL is in Song mode and a Playlist range is selected, you will be able to automatically record layer-upon-layer of audio into the Audio Clip section of the Playlist. When FL Studio reaches the end of the Playlist range it will automatically create an Audio Clip and start at the beginning recording a new Audio Clip. Previously recorded Audio Clips will be muted. As there is quite a lot for FL Studio to do each time around the loop (saving .wav files, creating channels and creating new .wav files) there may be audio glitches in the first few ms of each loop. Placing a bar lead in at the start of the loop section will avoid this problem.

If your soundcard does not have factory ASIO drivers, try the www.asio4all.com driver on your system. Please note that since ASIO4ALL is a 3rd party work-around to provide ASIO for soundcards that don't have a native ASIO solution, Image-Line cannot guarantee that it will work, but it usually does. NOTE: The ASIO4ALL driver has a number of internal options that can be adjusted if the default settings don't work for you. Click on the 'Show ASIO panel' button in the F10 Audio Settings to access them.

Recording Internal Mixer Audio (Freezing)

FL Studio allows you to record the output of one or more mixer tracks to .wav files and to auto-insert the resulting Audio Clips in audio tracks (optional). Mixer track recording, or freezing, enables you to quickly replace real-time effects and instruments with pre-rendered audio, thereby reducing CPU load. This type of recording also allows easier rendering of separate mixer tracks for additional processing in 3rd party applications. Users of ASIO-enabled soundcards can also route ASIO inputs to the track input (e.g. microphone, line-in) and record them in a .wav file (see Audio Input/Output Routing above).

There are two ways to record a track - realtime recording (interactive), which allows recording of ASIO inputs, and non-realtime recording, which generally results in faster rendering and better audio quality.

Non-realtime recording Playlist

To perform non-realtime export of Mixer track/s, also known as 'track freezing':

1. Mixer track arming - Press the disk icon (17) on mixer track/s you wish to record. In the browse dialog that opens, select a location and name for the .wav file to be recorded. An orange disk icon indicates that the track is ready to be recorded.
2. Recording Options - Open the Mixer popup menu (1). In the Disk Recording sub-menu check 32-Bit floating point recording if you want to render to 32-Bit .wav files, or Auto-create audio tracks to insert the resulting Audio Clip in the Playlist audio tracks, once recording has finished.
3. Rendering ( Alt+R) - Open the Mixer popup menu (1) and from the Disk Recording sub-menu select Render to Wave File. In the rendering settings dialog, adjust the relevant settings and press OK to render the track. NOTE: Some of the options available for rendering a full song are not available for track recording (e.g. rendering to mp3 or MIDI file, saving an NFO file with the Audio Clip, and saving ACIDized audio.
4. When recording has been completed, all tracks that were activated for recording will return to their normal state.
5. Where's my audio? - If you are in pattern mode, the recording will appear as an Audio Clip channel. If you are in song mode AND the Mixer menu setting, Auto-create Audio Clips is on, your recording will appear as an Audio Clip wave display in the Playlist window.

   The Audio Files that were recorded to disk will be in one of three locations:

   • 1. The directory set at Step 1 (above) OR
   • 2. The FL Studio installaton directory ...FL Studio\Data\Patches\Recorded. This directory is shown in the Browser OR
   • 3. If you have set a custom record location from the F10 > Project > General Data folder setting, your audio files will be there.

   NOTE: ASIO inputs are disabled while recording in non-realtime.

Alternatively, there is a 'Split mixer tracks' option on the Export project dialog that will create a .wav file for each active mixer track in the project.

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:

1. Select your recording location - Either load Edison into an FX slot of the mixer track you wish to record OR Arm mixer tracks by pressing the disk icon.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Mixer reference diagram

1. Mixer menu - Contains view, recording, Track linking, renaming and coloring options, click here to learn more about the options.
2. Mixer Track Scroll Bar - This will slide the visible range tracks within the mixer window.
3. Mixer Insert Tracks - The output of all audio instruments in FL Studio is routed to one of the 99 available insert tracks. In the default Mixer setup, once the audio signal is processed with the integrated effects (equalizer, volume and panning - 9) it is then sent to the Master Mixer track (10). It is also possible to route the audio of a mixer track to any ASIO output (7 - for users with ASIO enabled sound cards) or even another insert track (18). This internal re-routing is a very powerful feature allowing you to create advanced mixer setups with groups and subgroups of insert tracks.

   The labels can be right-clicked (or press F2) to rename the track or recolor it. Quick linking of channel/s: From the Channel window use the Channel selector to select the channel/s you want to route to the mixer track, then select the desired destination mixer track and click Ctrl+L. There is also an option to sequentially link Channels to tracks starting from the selected track. Shift+Ctrl+L.

4. Send Tracks & Selected Track - Send: There are 4 mixer tracks dedicated to send functions, although any track can serve as a send, (18). The send tracks can't be directly linked to instrument channels, but they can receive audio from other mixer tracks (1 to 99). Adjust the amount of signal sent by each Send track with the Send Level knobs (15). The purpose of send tracks is the ability to setup common effects (for ex. reverb and delay) once in a send track and then being able to route multiple insert tracks audio to it, as opposed to adding the same effect in each insert track, wasting CPU power. Selected: This is a special track that automatically receives the currently selected mixer track. Use this to host an instance of Edison for easy recording of any track OR the Wave Candy visualization tools.

5. Big Peak Meter - Can be hidden using the Mixer menu (1) > View > Options. Output is in dB. See Levels and Mixing to learn more about using peak meters in FL Studio.
6. External mixer input - ASIO hardware inputs and some VSTi inputs can be selected here. This also where external audio is selected for audio recording in FL Studio.
7. External mixer output - ASIO hardware outputs can be selected here. Typical uses include live-use where one channel is sent to headphones for monitoring previewed samples/mixes while the main mix goes to the PA OR to create a surround sound sub-mix by sending several mixer tracks to the relevant surround channels of your soundcard.
8. FX slots - Up to 8 independent FX may be added to each mixer track. To load an Effect: Left-click on pop-up menu arrow at the left end of the slot and use the 'select' option. If you need more than 8 Effects, use the 'Send' feature (18) to route the output of one mixer track to another. To open an Effect user interface interface: Left-click on the name of a loaded Effect, a loaded Effect is displayed in FX slot 7 above. To re-order effects in the stack: place your mouse cursor over the effect to be moved and scroll the mouse-wheel up/down (the mixer window must be selected for this to work, click anywhere on the mixer to select it).
9. Mixer Track Properties - For more detail click here. Parametric EQ, Stereo Separation , Pan , Swap Stereo Channels, Invert Phase . All these features can be automated. Panel (A) is the graph for the Parametric EQ, left-click to control center frequency (left-right)/amplitude(up/down) or right-click to control bandwidth (left-right)/amplitude(up/down). Panel (B) can be left or right clicked to gain simultaneous X/Y control over Pan and Volume. Panel (C) holds the controls for Plugin Delay Compensation.
10. Master Mixer Track - All audio output of FL Studio is routed through the Master Mixer track for final processing before the final output (unless an insert track is routed out of the mixer to an ASIO output - 7). In light of this, the Master track isn't a good place to record external ASIO inputs (6) as the external and internal audio will be mixed together and recorded to disk.
11. Small Peak Meter - See Levels and Mixing to learn more about using peak meters in FL Studio.
12. Mute Switch - left-click to mute/un-mute the individual track, right-click to solo/un-solo the individual track.
13. Pan Knob - this function is also duplicated in the Mixer Track Properties area.
14. Level Fader - Can be automated right-clicked and linked to controllers. This function is also duplicated in the Mixer Track Properties area.
15. Send Knobs - When the 'Send' switch is activated (18) this knob (on the destination track) controls the signal level received from the source track.
16. FX Enable/Disable Switch - When deselected, the FX switch disables all the FX in the associated mixer track (8). At least one effect must be added to the FX rack for the switch to be active. Right-clicking the FX switch will open/close the interfaces for all effects loaded in the associated mixer track.
17. Track Recording Switch - When selected (orange) the track is armed and any audio (internal or external (6)) will be recorded to disk.
18. Track Send / Sidechain Enable Switch - Left-click to enable audio to be passed from one track to another, turns orange. Right-click to route OR sidechain to a specific track, master routing disabled. Sidechaining works in conjunction with plugins that accept a sidechain feed (e.g. Fruity Limiter's compressor function or the Stereo Shaper). The direction of the sidechain signal will depend on the plugin, for example the Fruity Limiter receives a sidechain FROM another mixer track while the Stereo Shaper sends a sidechain TO a mixer track. Available Sidechain tracks are labeled by their track name when a plugins sidechain selector is right-clicked. Remember if the sidechain direction is incorrect for the plugin type then the sidechain option won't show when the plugins sidechain selector is right-clicked. NOTES: Multiple side-chain sources can be sent to any given mixer track.

NOTE: Most controls are automatable (right-click and select 'Create automation clip').