Image-Line FL Studio 20

FM VERDICT
8.7
On its 20th anniversary FL
Studio is a powerful and
inspirational application –
and a welcome addition to
the Mac realm!
UI: FL Studio’s reliance on separate
windows might feel a little jarring
to those who are coming over from
other DAWs
PLAYLIST: FL Studio’s composition
space gets the most enhancements
for version 20. The Arrangements
feature is great!
WAVEFORMS: Audio waveforms now
appear while recording, so you don’t
have to hit stop before seeing what
you’ve just laid down.
CONSOLIDATE: FL Studio 20 adds
multiple options for bouncing MIDI or
samples down to audio, either in the
Playlist or as Patterns.
without worrying about breaking
existing compositions. It’s easy to
copy an existing Arrangement, and
you can even consolidate multiple
arrangements to bring your favourite
elements into a single Playlist space.
On that subject, flexible
consolidation capabilities are another
highlight of this version. This gives
users several options for bouncing
instruments or samples down to
single audio files. There are options to
bounce down full Playlist tracks,
selections from the Playlist or
individual Patterns from the Rack.
There are further tweaks to the
Playlist too. For one thing, the
number of available tracks has
increased with this version, from an
already fairly generous 199 to a
maximum of 500. To help keep those
masses of tracks getting too cluttered,
you can now hide track groups.
FL Studio also now presents a
visual representation of audio when
recording into the Playlist. On the
recording front, when recording in
looped mode, multiple takes are now
automatically copied to new tracks
and grouped, which is handy for
keeping track of multiple variations.
Multiple time signature options for
both the Playlist and individual
Patterns is another welcome new
feature. This allows users to add
markers to the Playlist which initiate
a shift in time signature. You can also
set time signatures for individual
Patterns, and even change timings
mid Pattern using the Piano Roll.
Patterns can be set to follow time sig
changes marked on the Playlist too.
While there’s not much in the way
of new sounds or effects, a few
plugins have been updated, such as
Fruity Reeverb 2, which gets a Speed
control for refining the sound, and the
Convolver, which gains a pair of
presets allowing it to act as a Linear
Phase EQ. There are a good number
of other small tweaks and quality of
life improvements across the board,
from an improved plugin delay
compensation system to general bug
fixes for a host of FL Plugins and
numerous other small changes.
The question of whether these
changes make FL Studio 20 a
worthwhile upgrade for existing users
is a moot point; thanks to Image-
Line’s excellent policy of giving all
users free lifetime upgrades, all
existing users automatically get the
new versions for free. That aside
though, while some longtime users
may bemoan a lack of major new
plugins or tools, the Playlist and
Pattern improvements are excellent,
and make this a really worthwhile
update. The Arrangements feature in
particular is a bit of a revelation, and
really suits FL’s workflow, making it
more flexible and fun than ever to
throw together patterns and loops in
weird and exciting ways.
As for new users, FL Studio is very
much worth your attention. It makes
a great addition to the Mac realm too.
It’s a slight shame that you can’t
currently use FL Studio as a VST or
Rewire client on Mac, or use it with
the FL Studio Mobile companion –
the flexibility brought by these three
features is one of my favourite things
about FL Studio. The VST capability
in particular makes it a great choice
for a secondary DAW, allowing it to be
used as a sketchpad in a manner
similar to NI Maschine.
Most of these are all things
Image-Line are working, and there’s
still a lot that’s appealing about FL
Studio. Plus, the offer of a lifetime of
free upgrades once you’ve bought in
once is very tempting.
Image Line FL Studio 20 | Reviews
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FMU334.rev_imageline.indd 95 11/07/2018 11:43