Image Line FL Studio 10
Reviews | Image Line FL Studio 10
98
Studio to compete with other DAWs
head-to-head, and the new playlist and
mixer features do help in this regard, as
does the support of VST3 plug-ins and
plug-in bridging.
The Patcher, takes things in an
interesting direction in processing
terms, and is something that I imagine
other DAW users would like to see
added to their software of choice. The
ZGameEditor Visualizer is fun, adds
some interesting possibilities for those
keen on uploading tracks to YouTube or
similar sites. The Newtone and Pitcher
plug-ins, although not free, do mean
that FL Studio now
potentially offers a
strong and
up-to-date range of
plug-in options.
My main area of
reservation is still
in the mixer
section, but it
operates work well, once you have
adjusted to its workflow.
As always the great appeal of FL
Studio is the price. With the lowliest
version costing only $49, it is possible
to scale the software to your
requirements. On the downside, FL
Studio is PC-only, which restricts its use
in some ways, although Apple Mac
users tend to be less price-sensitive, so
this could be overstated.
Ultimately, FL Studio is a great
piece of software, that in some areas is
way ahead of the more mainstream and
‘industry-standard’ competition.
Freshly picked...
One of the most interesting new
features in FL Studio 10 is Patcher.
Patcher is a great idea, in that it allows
you to create your own instrument and/
or effect plug-in chains in flexible ways
(serial, parallel etc) with the ability to
add your own control parameters – a bit
like a modular plug-in editor. Once
you’ve constructed your original chains,
they can be loaded into different tracks
or projects in one go. This is certainly
the future of DAWs, and it is interesting
and encouraging for FL users to see
Image Line getting there early on.
Less exciting, though definitely a
useful bonus, is the new Visualizer,
which is based on the Open Source
ZGameEditor, an integrated
development environment for creating
games, demos and screensavers. Of
genuine interest were the two new pitch
manipulation plug-ins Newtone and
Pitcher, which although not free are, at
the time of writing, available via a ‘pay
what you think they’re worth’ offer.
Check the box on the previous page for
more information.
Concentrated or
freshly-squeezed?
Image Line make a big play of the fact
that once you buy FL Studio you are
entitled to unlimited life-time updates
to the software, but this doesn’t appear
to be a cheap ploy to lure in
unsuspecting customers, as they release
major new version once every year or so,
and provide a stream of updates in
between. This does make the cost of
ownership lower than many DAWs over
time, and is also helped by the highly
competitive pricing.
One interesting aspect to all this is
that IL have a full software update
history on their website extending back
to the original (and unreleased) Fruity
Loops 1.0. This is unusual, but to be
admired in a world where many
manufacturers could do better in the
support and communication stakes.
So, where does that leave us in the
big scheme of things. FL Studio offers
increasingly more bang for the buck,
and Image Line have seem to make the
effort to respond to user requests. Many
of the recent changes, quite rightly,
have focussed on attempting to allow FL
VeRDIcT
STABILITY
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VALUE
❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚
EASE OF USE
❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚
VERSATILITY
❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚
RESULTS
❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚
A solid contender for any budding
producer’s affections, that offers
plenty of bang for the buck.
ALTeRNATIVes
Ableton Live 8
£299
A well-rounded package
that is similar to FL Studio
in many respects. Definitely
the choice for those also
involved in live performance
or processing.
ableton.com
Propellerhead Record
Reason Duo
£369
The pairing of Reason and
Record makes for a
formidable production
system that is also easy to
use. Not cheap in
comparison to FL10, but
a strong contender and
solid performer.
propellerheads.se
LMMS
Free (Open Source)
An interesting, and free,
production environment
available for Linus and
Windows systems that sits
in a similar territory to FL
Studio, but with perhaps
less depth or finesse.
lmms.sourceforge.net
Image Line allow potential
users to download a fully
featured demo version
that allows you to create,
save and export tracks.
However, projects saved
in demo mode will only
open fully once all the
elements used have been
registered. For those of
you who are unsure of
which version to go for,
there is a FL Studio
Edition Choice Wizard on
the website that will guide
you to the version best
suited to your music-
making needs (http://bit.
ly/gmUC3S). FL Studio
comes in four different
flavours so try it out.
Juice In Many Flavours...
FL Studio is a great software, that in
some areas is way ahead of the
more mainstream competition
FL Studio 10’s new Newtone allows you to manipulate audio on a note-by-note basis
FMU240.rev_flstudio 98 4/21/11 3:11:58 PM