AUTOMATION & RECORDING

Using MIDI Controllers

This section discusses moving FL Studio interface knobs/sliders from a MIDI controller and (if desired) recording these movements. For information on setting up/connecting a MIDI controller keyboard to FL Studio see the section on F10 > MIDI Settings.

During a recording session, any knobs and sliders that are moved will have that exact movement recorded and it will be repeated when the song is played back. You can move these knobs with the mouse, however, if you own an external MIDI controller you can move FL Studio/VST controlls from it. If the device you use can also send note events (usually these are MIDI keyboards), you can use it to record melodies in FL Studio (see MIDI Settings for various options concerning keyboard input). To use your MIDI controller/keyboard in FL Studio, first ensure you have selected the proper driver in the Remote Control Input combo box, located in the MIDI Settings page. Then check if the Enable MIDI Remote control option is enabled in the Options menu.

Linking an internal control to a MIDI device

Right-click a control to be linked and from the menu that appears click Link to Controller. The Remote Control Settings dialog appears.

Assignment

Link menu - (showing 'New Link' above) This menu will allow you to link several external MIDI controllers to the same internal target. By default assumes a new link is to be made.

Remove Conflicts

When selected, the process of making a new link will de-select any previous link relationships.

MIDI Controller

In addition to the standard MIDI controllers, FL Studio supports several types of custom MIDI controllers (endless knobs, switches etc.). For more information, see MIDI Settings.

• Channel - Choose a MIDI channel to link the control to.
• Controller - Choose a controller number to link the control to.
• Auto Detect - Very useful option that will detect and set the MIDI controller automatically - all you need to do is just tweak the desired control on your MIDI controller.
• Omni - Decides if the link is channel specific. OFF - If a MIDI controller knob is linked to a channel volume, the MIDI knob will control only that specific channel volume. ON - The MIDI controller knob will no longer be tightly bound to a specific channel volume, but will control the volume of any channel selected. For example, if you linked to the volume of a 'kick' channel and then selected the 'clap' channel, the MIDI controller knob will also control the clap channel volume.

Omni and VSTi/DXi Control

As mentioned above, you can use the Omni mode to set your MIDI controller to control the same target in any selected channel. This section describes this process in more detail for 3rd Party plugins and a method for saving controller assignments for future quick recall.

Omni CC Links - If you want to use the Modwheel (CC1, for example) on your controller, so the mod wheel controls the CC1 parameter of any instrument in an active channel and also to save controller assignments for future use -

Saving MIDI/CC control assignments - This method creates a project template with the MIDI assignments saved in the project.

Internal Controller

This section allows you to link the property to an internal controller plugin. It appears only if you have added at least one controller plugin. For more information see Internal Controller Plugins.

Record Automation

Switching this on will record internal controllers such as LFP and Fruity Peak Controller so that you can edit and refine their output later. Remember to unlink the control after you have recorded. Not doing so may result in conflict between the recorded events and those generated by the plugin.

Reset

Click this button to reset the remote control settings, including mapping formula & smoothing.

Mapping Formula

Here you can enter a formula that is used to map the controller values to the property you link. The default formula is 'Input', Input is the variable that holds the value of the controller (1:1 mapping). Now you can enter an expression to alter the default 1:1 mapping. For example: 'Input*2' multiplies the controller value by 2. When you write an expression, press Enter. If you see message "Compiled OK" the formula was successfully compiled and you can press the OK button to apply it to the linked control. If a red text appears below, the formula is wrong (usually syntax error or unsupported variable/function was used). Correct the error and press Enter again. For a full list of supported variables and function click here.

Smoothing

This feature allows you to smoothen the motion produced by the remote control hardware and/or internal plugin. This reduces the need to manually refine recorded automation after live sessions and ensures proper ramping of the control motion to avoid abruptly changes.

• Time - The amount of smoothing applied to the remote control input. The longer the time, the smoother the motion.