AUTOMATION & RECORDING
In FL Studio you can record three different types of data. Notes (MIDI keyboard performances), audio (mixer, microphone, line-in) & control value changes (volume, pan, cutoff filter tweaks and more). Here you can find more information on these functions and links to pages which cover some of the techniques in detail.
FL Studio can also record the output of the various Mixer tracks, or even your microphone or line-in (ASIO sound cards only) and convert the recorded audio to audio clips. For more information see these pages:
Live Recording - Recording mixer tracks to audio files during a live recording session.
Mixer Input/Output Routing - Learn how to adjust the mixer tracks input/output to record line-in and microphone input.
Disk Recording - Learn how to prepare and arm a mixer track for recording.
External MIDI keyboards can be used to play and record the synthesizers in FL Studio. For more information on recording a sequence using your MIDI keyboard, see these pages:
Live Recording - Recording performances during a live recording session.
Step Editing - Recording performances step by step.
Almost any control movement in FL Studio can be recorded, so it turns/slides exactly the way you want it next time when you play the song. You can then refine recorded events using the Event Editor. If you own an external MIDI controller, you can use it to tweak the automated controls as well.
You can also let special internal controller plugins (they can be either effects or generators) move the controls for you programmatically. These plugins can, for example, follow the special features of a sound (like volume envelope, as in the Fruity Peak Controller) and map them to the value of a control of your choice, or provide automatic LFO for controls where otherwise that would be impossible etc. Since FL Studio 5 you can also use the flexible automation clips to animate the controls you need.
To check if any control can be recorded or linked to an external MIDI controller, position the cursor over it and check what is displayed in the hint field of the Main panel. Look for these icons:
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This icon shows the control is automatable (events can be recorded and then
edited with an Event Editor)
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This icon shows the control can be remotely controlled by a MIDI controller.
So there are four ways to add "live tweaks" to your project:
Live Recording - Recording control changes during a live recording session.
Event Editor - Editing, refining and drawing control value changes in a graph.
Automation Clips - Automate your controlls easily and naturally with the spline-based automation clips.
Live Recording Using MIDI Controller - Using your MIDI controller during a live recording session.
Internal Controller Plugins - Using plugins to automate control values parametrically.
Click here for a full list of supported external MIDI devices.