fl studio is amazing - please give me some cons

[mr.ergonomics]

I'm starting to think this program is damn amazing, I never really looked at this so called toy and used "pro" stuff like cubase and ableton.

At may be that I only see the good things about it since I'm new at this program and often the bad things shine through later when you really know the stuff...

- it's no real daw so audio editing sucks I a would't mix in it, but for composing I think I really like it. can't say if it's true since I'm new to this program.
- I like the fluid gui, it's ugly yes but it's very smooth like a video with a high frame rate. After that the live GUI seems to lag in comparison.
- the piano roll is really good and the groove quantisation seems to be better then in most other daws at first glance
- great automation curves and also very nice looking
- it works different than other daws but I like the pattern and clip design after I understood it. so fast to build an arrangement.
- good overview in the arrangement
- midi cc input smoothing(!)


Are here some long time fl studio which do electronic/techno/house stuff in it? what is the bad part about fl studio. there must a a bad part. I even think that the preset synth sounds really good.

I don't know... I really think if I make a switch or at least use it as a vsti inside live.

[RajahP]

The bad part is... It does not cost too much money, you get lifetime free updates. Truly not professional at all. Oh don't forget you should not try running it as a VSTI in Live.. Because that would not be professional at all.

[agent314]

-The UI is all over the place, and window management becomes a big pain in the ass

-Zooming is similarly a pain in the ass

-You can't change individual instances of a pattern without changing the entire pattern (i.e. changing a single instance of a drum pattern to create a fill requires an entirely new pattern, which can quickly lead to an obscene number of patterns)

-Trying to use a single controller (i.e. padKontrol) to program multi-voiced parts (i.e. play on a kit in real time) is cumbersome to set up/route

-Having to constantly switch between song and pattern for playback quickly becomes frustrating

-Can't drag and drop/reorder effects (you have to manually re-insert each plug separately)

-VSTi support can be kind of sketchy

-Managing the different pattern groups/types (audio vs. step vs. automation) can be a pain in the ass

For me, FL Studio has lots to offer in terms of functionality, but the workflow is not fluid in the least and even a moderately complex tune can quickly become a big hassle to manage, to the point of getting in the way of making progress on it.

There's a lot I do enjoy about it (automation clips, curves, parameter-assignable LFO, the step sequencer, slicing notes in piano roll, etc.), but in the end all the frustrating things about it end up keeping me from enjoying production the same way I do with something like Live.

[agent314]

I am also not particularly fond of the built-in synths that it offers, but that may just be a matter of taste. Wasn't a problem when I was big on it as I was using lots of VSTs, but may be a consideration.

I think running it in ReWire mode within Live would be the ideal way for me to use it nowadays, but aside from automation curves, LFO and step sequencer, there isn't much I feel like I can't do in Live that I can do in FL.

[fx23]

despite what people think FL is and has has always been a very serious daw, it sounds good and it's definitely used in production.
And you can do mainy tiny stuff you can't in other daws. The pitch all slider beeing one exemple but there are lot of
other convenient and clever stuff, and i says that while i stay on my years old versions remembering, it must have highy evoluate since.

but to simply answer the Q live has something special Fl hasn't : the session view wich is imo more powerfull concept than fl paterns.
system (at least when it will have that damned automation, cause in fl if i remember right you can rec the automation to the patern).

[Cool Character]

Can you change the time signature or tempo in the middle of a song on FL Studio?

[3phase]

ableton live is no pro software.. at least not more than fruity loops.. actually less because it crashes more often

[HeavyBeats]

Agree FL is really nice. I thing FL10 can be a really monster, and overall they have the best update politic on the market. Buy the program, and pay only for the addon plugs in the future.

[Angstrom]

I really respect the FL crew for making such a powerful and well featured application that doesn't cost much. I just wish they would scrap their entire interface and start again though. The slavish devotion to a legacy interface has stopped them from really progressing to where they could be.

The whole app is a lesson in why you can't progressively shoehorn thousands of features into a simple interface and think that it'll remain coherent. "well the interface was great in 1998, so why shouldn't it still be a great interface now?"

I hope other manufacturers take notice of this.
*cough* "other manufacturers"

[The Carpet Cleaner]

It only works under windows, doesn't it ?

[pulsoc]

It only works under windows, doesn't it ?

This is the problem I have with FL.

I tried to bootcamp my mac but I fucked up the dir structure or some some crap, now I have to run it in Parallels which is slower than snails and crashes.

[Johnisfaster]

you get lifetime free updates.

to be clear, that's upDATES, not upGRADES. So when fruityloops 10-11-12-13 come out you don't get to upgrade to those for free, you just get free updates for the version you already have. Which is pretty much what ableton does, with the exception of the UB update that they made a few years back.

[RajahP]

you get lifetime free updates.

to be clear, that's upDATES, not upGRADES. So when fruityloops 10-11-12-13 come out you don't get to upgrade to those for free, you just get free updates for the version you already have. Which is pretty much what ableton does, with the exception of the UB update that they made a few years back.

Well I have been getting free updates/upgrades since v3.5..
From Fl site:
Free FL Studio updates for life!
This might be hard to believe but buying (the online version of) FL Studio not only gets you the latest version of FL Studio but all new updates released.
This means you'll receive FL Studio 10, 11, ... absolutely free as we believe you should have the functionality you paid for bugfixed for as long as we develop it.
Users of the boxed version ...
Lifetime free updates are only included in the online versions of FL Studio and are available to the users of the boxed version for $39 by clicking here.

[mayabong]

you get lifetime free updates.

to be clear, that's upDATES, not upGRADES. So when fruityloops 10-11-12-13 come out you don't get to upgrade to those for free, you just get free updates for the version you already have. Which is pretty much what ableton does, with the exception of the UB update that they made a few years back.

Hmm not sure about that. I bought it way back in 2001 or something and I have the latest version. Havn't payed a penny more.

Anyways, I like to use it as a Vst plugin. with Ableton sometimes.

[H20nly]

you get lifetime free updates.

to be clear, that's upDATES, not upGRADES. So when fruityloops 10-11-12-13 come out you don't get to upgrade to those for free, you just get free updates for the version you already have. Which is pretty much what ableton does, with the exception of the UB update that they made a few years back.

Hmm not sure about that. I bought it way back in 2001 or something and I have the latest version. Havn't payed a penny more.

Anyways, I like to use it as a Vst plugin. with Ableton sometimes.

Well I have been getting free updates/upgrades since v3.5..
From Fl site:
Free FL Studio updates for life!
This might be hard to believe but buying (the online version of) FL Studio not only gets you the latest version of FL Studio but all new updates released.
This means you'll receive FL Studio 10, 11, ... absolutely free as we believe you should have the functionality you paid for bugfixed for as long as we develop it.
Users of the boxed version ...
Lifetime free updates are only included in the online versions of FL Studio and are available to the users of the boxed version for $39 by clicking here.

^ and ^^ yep... sorry Johnisfaster... in this case they really mean it. No hidden fine print. I bought FL Producer 5 and have been sent a free upgrade all the way up to current version 9 which has had several updates. they have added a lot of cool little things/toys along the way. The basic premise still stands though and it just works for what it is regardless of the addons.

While I agree agent314 and Angstrom I have to say that there are several things that keep me opening the app from time to time and applying those updates/upgrades:

1. it pretty much opens instantly - around 2-5 seconds. if Live could do this i'd crap my pants.

2. it has NEVER crashed on me.

3. i use it for building a quick drum pattern (without a controller) - it just works. sometimes the tediousness of of other apps wear me out and i can't crank something out quickly. since the interface has never changed, in this sense, there is nothing new to learn and i usually have a great base drum pattern including percussion within a matter of minutes. once you've moved away from the lame techno included sounds from (the probably most pirated DAW ever) version 3 days there are some good sounds. for me this came in the form of a 3 GB DVD of World Samples. This disc/download is still available on their website plus more...

4 i love the way you apply groove... basically a simple slider that you can't really move much because it will scramble the shit out of your beat if thats what you want.

5. multiple format export. I like to export my drums as Ogg Vorbis (.ogg) files. I once had an issue with imported files in Cubase years ago and that format saved me... i've remained thankful even now. .mp3 .wav and others are available... with multiple options regarding how you want your loops to loop/end etc. and then import to some other app... like, i dunno, Live?

Other cons have been mentioned in previous posts and I mostly agree with them, for the price, for the lifetime upgrades, for the ease of use of classic features that it has had for years and years... its great. The only other con that comes to mind that actually has kept me from using it more is recording audio in (such as vocals) is a pain in the ass and unlike Live or Cubase etc. it slows me down and I haven't the patience to care about learning this workflow in what is essentially a sequencer on steroids.

its a good weapon to have at your disposal and you can at least count on the fact that it will be upgradable without additional costs to move with the times regarding hardware. I can't say the same for any other DAW i've touched.