Fruity Loops Studio Tutorial (**New** John Legend remake!)
Alright, I'm gearing up for a couple big tutorials in the next couple weeks, but in the meantime, I just want to point out a feature some of you may not have discovered yet. I was gonna save this one for the synth programming tutorial, but it looks like I'll have to do a couple other tutorials (as a precursor) before I get to that one.
Just place two overlapping notes in FL in your piano roll (this will work best with an instrument that can play for quite a while, like a synth or an organ or whatever):
Then go to the "Misc" panel of the channel settings of that instrument and turn "Mono" on:
Viola! The notes should now slide from one to the next. Or you could, instead, turn the "porta" (short for portamento) on, and mess with the settings on the "slide" knob (how much the notes overlap and how much slide you use will determine just how the notes slide from one to the next).
This is useful for achieving that 90's g-funk style synth sound. Just thought I'd point that out!
Also, some things on the sampling tip ... Palmsout just started what will hopefully grow into a long tradition, Sample Wednesdays. This week they have a couple Wu-Tang samples ... good stuff. Looks like a good MP3 blog all around, actually. And, while I realize it was probably the most hated song in OTB of 2005, probably nobody outside of myself would be interested in remixing it, but anyways, Can You See the Sunset From the Southside has an accapela of "Laffy Taffy" :lol:.
check this out a cool skin for FL!
Click Here to Download
Alright, as promised, I'm coming through with an EQ tutorial today. This tutorial, unfortuantely, won't be too detailed, but, really, there isn't any way to make EQ very interesting, and I doubt most people will probably get too into using EQ, anyways ... I just want y'all to expirement with this a bit; get an idea of what different frequencies sound like and what they do, so you know what's going on when I get the first synth programming tutorial up. Besides, there are plenty of excellent EQ tutorials out there - just check out Computer Music's one. I'm just here to show you how to apply that stuff to FL Studio.
Now, there are plenty of types of Equalizers out there, and they are all of different quality, but the thing they all do (or should do) is alter frequencies. We'll get a bit more into the theory of exactly what a frequency is and how it's made when we get into synth programming, but for now, all you need to know is that any noise you hear (and even the ones you can't hear - there are plenty of frequencies outside of the human hearing spectrum) gives off a frequency. You'll generally be working with the range of 1Hz up to 12,000Hz (or 12kHz). Low frequencies equal a low pitched noise - think of trunk-rattling sub bass - that might be found in the 50Hz range.Â
So, how does EQ factor into this? What an EQ can do is either boost a frequency (to make it louder, to give it more presence in the song - let's say you're using a sample off a really old record, and the kicks can barely be heard - you might be able to boost them a bit with EQ), or it can cut out an unwanted frequency (if you're using a sample, and, say, there's a kick in there you don't want, and you're lucky enough that there aren't any other instruments in that frequency range the kick is taking up, you might be able to EQ it out). EQ'ing isn't limited to sampling - anyone that's used FL for a while knows those stock drum sounds all too well now, and you can use EQ to re-shape those sounds.
Alot of EQ'ing is, unfortunately, just trial and error ... every drum out there is different from the last, so you never can make any rules; you just have to develop an ear for this stuff, and sooner or later you'll be able to hear it and say "this would be bangin' if I boosted _____ frequency up just a bit". But there are definetely some helpful sites out there to get you started - check out Breakbeat-Cafe's chart of what frequencies do what:
http://www.breakbeat-cafe.net/eq_pri.htm
So, how do you start EQ'ing in FL? Well, start by opening your mixer, and then choosing a mixer channel to work with - unless you're EQ'ing your whole song, you'll want to avoid the master channel for now. Now, think about what channel you're EQ'ing - let's say you're EQ'ing your kick drum pattern, and want to make it boom a little bit more - we'll use Fruity Parametric EQ - there's also the 7 Band EQ, which lets you make VERY detailed EQ adjustments, but for now, let's avoid that. So, now you have the Parametric EQ open, and it's all probably pretty confusing - let's break each item down:
1. This is the type of EQ you're using - you can left-click this button and drag your mouse downwards to scroll through a number of types of EQ, or just set it to "OFF" (for now, just make sure your EQ icon matches the one I'm using in the picture, and then set all the other ones to "OFF", just like I have in the picture).
2. This slider controls how many decibels (Db's) you want to boost or cut the frequency you're working on. Moving it up from 0 Db's boosts the frequency; moving it down into negative numbers cuts away from the frequency.
3. This knob lets you set the frequency you're working with.
4. This knob lets you set how wide of a range of frequencies your boost or cut will effect. I'll explain this more in a minute.
Now, if you're following my guidelines, the type of EQ we're currently using is called "Low Shelf". Now, let's say we want to work with the frequency of 100Hz - this is the main area a kick drum usually takes up, so well beef up the sound a bit. And we'll boost it by 10Db's - that's actually quite a large boost, but at least this way you'll be able to hear the difference. Finally, set the range (step 4 in the picture above) .40.
What does all of this do? Well, with a "Low Shelf" EQ, you tell it a frequency, and then it will boost the frequencies below that (a high shelf EQ does just the opposite). So, in our example, we're boosting the frequencies below 100Hz, and we set the range to .40 - so what we're doing is boosting the frequencies from 60Hz up to 100 Hz by 10 Decibels. Go ahead an try it out now, to hear what kind of a difference it makes! Try adjusting the frequency knob, too, to other frequencies like 200, or even 1000Hz, and see how different frequencies sound.
Keep in mind that if you plan to start expirementing with these low frequencies, though, that a good pair of speakers is essential ... if your speakers can't pick up on low end, you'll have no idea if you're really making any difference in the sound.
So, like I said, it's all about trial and error, and expirementation ... try out the different types of EQ, but pretty much the only ones you really need to worry about are low shelf and high shelf. And don't forget to try cutting out frequencies as well ...
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