AUTOMATION & RECORDING

Internal Controller Plugins

In FL Studio 3.2 or later, you can use special internal controller plugins (they can be either effects or generators) to move the controls for you programmatically. These plugins can, for example, follow 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.

Linking a control to internal controller

The controller plugins provide special internal controllers in FL Studio, that are used to link a control to the plugin. To link a control to such internal controller, right-click it and from the menu that appears click Link to MIDI Controller. The MIDI Remote Control dialog appears.

MIDI Controller:

This section allows you to link a control to a MIDI controller. For more information see Live Recording Using MIDI Controller.

Internal Controller:

Here you can linked the property to an internal controller that controller plugins provide. Note that this section is NOT VISIBLE when there aren't any controller plugins added in the current FL Studio project.

Record Automation - This switch should be usually turned off. When turned on, all events generated by the controller plugin will be recorded during a live recording session, as if you moved the control manually. However, you may turn this switch on if you want to use the controller plugin as a tool (like you use the LFO tool) to record specific set of events that you can then further refine and edit in the Event Editor window. It also makes possible to record events from controller plugins that might use much CPU when used in real-time. Don't forget to unlink the control after you recorded the events you need, not doing so may result in unwanted behavior (due to conflict between the recorded events and those generated in same time by the plugin).

Remove Conflicts

When this option is checked, FL Studio will remove conflicts, like linking two wheels to the same controller (either MIDI or internal).

Reset

Click this button to reset the remote control settings, including mapping formula & smoothing.

Smoothing:

This feature allows you to smoothen the motion produced by the remote control hardware and/or internal plugin. This reduces the need to manually refine recorded automation after live sessions and ensures proper ramping of the control motion to avoid abruptly changes.

Time - The amount of smoothing applied to the remote control input. The longer the time, the smoother the motion.

Mapping Formula:

Here you can enter a formula that is used to map the controller values to the property you link (click the title for a list of formula presets). The default formula is 'Input', Input is the variable that holds the value of the controller (1:1 mapping). Now you can enter an expression to alter the default 1:1 mapping. For example: 'Input*2' multiplies the controller value by 2. When you write an expression, press Enter. If you see message "Compiled OK" the formula was successfully compiled and you can press the OK button to apply it to the linked control. If a red text appears below, the formula is wrong (usually syntax error or unsupported variable/function was used). Correct the error and press Enter again. For a full list of supported variables and function click here.

Linking effects

If you want to automate a FL Studio effect, you can proceed with its controls exactly as with any FL Studio control - right-click it to launch a pop-up menu, from where you can display the MIDI Remote Control dialog box. The same goes for VST effects that do not have their own editor's interface. Then FL Studio provides interface for the plugin, and all wheels can be automated as usual.

To link VST effects that have their own interface, call the FX pop-up menu (see Mixer window) and select Link to MIDI controller item. From the submenu that appears, either select All to link all effect's controls at once (for example, if you select controller 8, the first control is mapped to controller 8, the next one to controller 9 etc.), or select a property name to link it alone instead. Be warned that many third-party VST effects do not report properly their settings, and might crash when trying to link them to a MIDI controller. It is highly recommended that you save your project before mapping VST settings for remote control.

Unfortunately, there is no way to link DirectX effects to MIDI controller. That limitation comes from DirectX specifications, not from FL Studio itself. Some DirectX plugins might have MIDI remote controller functionality, but NOT through the DirectX interface (so they can not be linked right inside FL Studio). To link such effect, follow the help instructions that come with your DirectX plugin.

Included Internal Controller Plugins

FL Studio comes with several internal controller plugins available as effect or generator plugins. These are:

Dashboard

Fruity Formula Controller

Fruity Keyboard Controller

Fruity Peak Controller

Fruity X-Y Controller