FL Studio!

[Myster_EE]

You guys use FL Studio!  I KNEW you guys were awesome!

Long live the fruit.

[Alec]

....

AH, JEAH!

Not sure what else to say. FLStudio is pretty fun to use...

[Myster_EE]

Any chance you'll ever release the .FLP's?  I'd love to see how you do some of your stuff....

[Ian]

FLStudio is the bomb-diggity. If you get FLstudio + Sytrus, you're pretty much set. I also used FLStudio and a midi keyboard to play live shows back in the day.

...and it's so cheap too =O

[Quemaqua]

I've tried desperately to figure it all out, but the technical side of musical production baffles me.  I've got a multitrack and mixer and a bunch of guitar equipment and such, but that's a whole different ball of wax.  Have actually been participating in the February Album Writing Month and this discussion has come up a few times.  I have FLS, just need to figure out how the hell to actually use it.

[Alec]

Maybe Ian and I should do a video tut or something...

~toot!~

[Myster_EE]

Mixing and Mastering are, indeed, some of the most challenging things I struggle with.  I find that what FL Studio lacks most, is a really nice limiter.  Their Multiband Compressor has a "limiter", but it doesn't "maximize" the sound nearly as well as some other products I've heard.  (e.g. Voxengo's "Elephant".  That thing rocks my socks off!)

Other than the lack of a Limiter, you've really just gotta look around, and see what you can find.  I hear that the Flipside, (http://flipside.singingcrane.com) is going to have an FL Studio wiki up soon, and they've got some tutorials on various subjects....... AND the Demo projects, (especially "Hanging on" by Blake Reary) show some rather impressive production.......

But mostly just playing with it, and seeing "what this knob does"....... And reading the Help file, of course.

[Quemaqua]

The main thing I'd like to do is figure out how to get myself a good drumkit (such as the Drumkit From Hell, though I don't know if it's compatible) and phase in some better sounding drums for demos I record here in my apartment.  And thanks for the link to that site, btw.

[Myster_EE]

If you own FL Studio,  head over to samplefusion.com, click "Samplefusion"  on the left, and then download the "FPC Drumkits" samples.  Believe me, they are worth it!
There are some other good samples there as well.  Almost all of their Orchestral samples are definitely worth having.  (If you've got DirectWave, you can get even more, and from within FL Studio!)  Their "killer tweaks" and such are, (IMO) not worth the bandwidth you use downloading them.

For good Drumkits, Compression/EQ'ing is everything.  Getting that "punch", and sometimes even an over-compressed sound can really help!

[Ian]

FPC isn't bad, depending on which drumkits you get for it. In terms of effects for drums.... fruity compressor->preset:Drums ftw. But I usually just use drumloops.

..and I've taught at least 3 people how to get started and do cool stuff in FL studio... so I'd do a video tutorial if I find a decent way of doing it. Like... super-fraps or something.

this.horn.toot();

[Myster_EE]

Yeah..... I typically don't mess too much with this Multiband Compressor preset for all my drum needs;
http://kavdragon.com/presets/MC%20-%20Drums.fst