FL Studio Tips

Get the most out of Image-Line’s much-loved DAW with these essential tips

Shortcuts to success

As with any DAW, you can save yourself bags of time if you memorise the most useful keyboard shortcuts. Our favourites are the F keys for navigating around vital project areas: Toggle Playlist (F5), Toggle Step Sequencer (F6), Toggle Piano Roll (F7), Show/Hide Sample Browser (F8) and Show/Hide Mixer (F9).

Layers

Stacking two or more sounds is an essential production technique and FL Studio 12 makes this process easy. Simply add a Layer track, open its interface, click the Channel Selector of the multiple channels you want to layer to select them, then click ‘Set children’ in the Layer screen’s window. Now play MIDI on the Layer channel, and all of the child layers you selected will play simultaneously.

Clone wars

Often, you’ll want to edit a clip without affecting the other instances dotted throughout your project. Open your chosen clip’s drop-down (via the clip’s top-left corner) and select ‘Make unique’ to clone it. If you’re working with an audio clip, any edits will still affect the original audio file – so instead, select ‘Make unique as sample’ to physically clone the audio file for destructive editing.

Playlist navigation

Learning how to quickly navigate around projects will instantly improve your workflow and efficiency. Although scroll bars get the job done, try using your keyboard’s 1-5 keys to jump to preset width settings in both the Playlist and Piano Roll. Alternatively, use your mouse’s scroll wheel as you hold Ctrl to zoom in and out horizontally; or scroll vertically by holding Alt as you move the wheel. You’ll zoom in on wherever the mouse pointer is hovering, so you can easily zoom straight in on a clip by floating your pointer over it as you zoom.

Automation station

When you want to automate a synth control, right-click on the parameter you want to automate and select ‘Create automation clip’. This will automatically create an Automation Clip in the Playlist assigned to that parameter, so you can immediately start drawing in your curves.