Ask A Sound Guy

I got an email from Belgium-based company Imagine-Line announcing the new version of their popular sequencing software, FL Studio 9.

FL Studio 9 contains 25 stock virtual instruments, covering just about any base you could think of. It can also record up to 99 audio tracks through the 105 channel mixer.

Here’s a list of changes from FL Studio 8 to 9:

• A total of 305 additions, bugfixes, and other changes.
• Five brand new synths: SimSynth Live, DrumSynth Live, DX-10, WASP, and WASP XT (Fruity edition or higher).
• Revised Playlist with integrated ‘Play’ button, new Clip Track features incl. track naming, muting, clip grouping and icons
• Mixer insert tracks 99 (previously 64) with new ‘Sidechaining’ function
• Piano roll ‘Riff Machine’ automated sequence generator tool and ‘note grouping’ feature
• Step sequencer & Playlist now have an integrated Play button for improved workflow
• Multiple controller support, independent instrument channels can be simultaneously played by separate controllers
• Volatile links allow hardware control of last touched GUI object. Improved linking options and functions.
• Multi-Core CPU improved multithreaded generator & multithreaded effects processing. Unleash the power of the latest generation multi-core processors.
• Revised plugins include Fruity Limiter with sidechaining, Wavecandy new mastering meter modes Fruity Reeverb 2 Mid/Side processing. Edison & Slicex new export regions and noise reduction function.
• Loop recording Audio Clips are now muted instead of the associated Channel for improved workflow.
• Wrapper completely revised for improved compatibility inc., multi-input/output plugins & ‘aligned tick lengths’.
• Autogun – (free) is based on Ogun and offers more than four billion presets andproduces exceptionally rich metallic and shimmering timbres
• Vocodex (free with FL Studio Producer Edition) - last word in vocoders, featuring automatic speech-enhancement functions, an integrated Carrier synthesizer, output maximization and up to 100 variable-width multi-parameter vocoder bands.
• Stereo Shaper - (free) a multi-purpose stereo shaping tool
• Gross Beat (demo) - real-time, audio-stream playback, pitch, position and volume manipulation effect
• Ogun (demo) – Additive metal simulation synthesizer that can generate more than 32,000 harmonics, modulated by high-level ‘harmonic mapping’ functions, that hand tonal control directly to the user

FL Studio 9 is available now from Image-Line’s online webshop. There are several versions you can choose from:

• FL Studio Express – $49, download only
• FL Studio Fruity – $99 download, $139 box
• FL Studio Producer – $199 download, $269 box
• FL Studio Signature – $299 download, $399 boxed