Fruity Loops Studio 9 [ Full Version ]

Fruity Loops Studio 9 [ Full Version ]

At first glance, existing FL Studio users might struggle to spot the changes in the latest version, for besides a handful of extra plug-ins, FL9's enhancements are behind-the-scenes coding upgrades and interface tweaks.

Autogun is the only new instrument and is based on the additive synthesis engine of Image-Line's Ogun plug-in. It has a preposterous 4,294,967,296 pseudo-random presets to step through, but thankfully, you can 'bookmark' good sounds and even share them with other Autogunners.

However, while Autogun is pretty cool, it's already available as a freeware Windows VST, so it doesn't add any value to the package. And in a similar way, Image-Line advertises the inclusion of demos of their Sakura and Ogun synths and the Gross Beat time-manipulation effect as "new plug-ins", which we think is misleading.

Of more value is the inclusion of five existing synths - DX-10, WASP, WASP XT, SimSynth and DrumSynth - that were previously bundled only with the top-of-the-range editions of FL Studio, but now come with all packages except Express.

"Autogun is the only new instrument and is based on the additive synthesis engine of Image-Line's Ogun plug-in."
Perhaps most enticing are the new effects. Vocodex is a huge step up from the old Fruity Vocoder, with a clear interface that makes it quick and easy to dial in great sounds. Stereo Shaper, meanwhile, is a mid/side-capable stereo processor, with a mixer for left/right channels and their inverted equivalents, plus knobs for channel delay and phase offset.

M/S processing might not seem like an obvious choice for an FL Studio effect, but it's such a powerful concept that its inclusion can only be a good thing. There are lots of useful presets, too, divided into an Effects bank (with presets for 'stereoising' mono signals and other interesting stereo effects), and a Mixing bank.

Not many DAWs boast such a straightforward yet comprehensive M/S tool and Image-Line are to be applauded for making a potentially confusing technique so accessible.

The new Riff Machine feature tied into the piano roll makes it easy to come up with riffs, arpeggios and chord progressions. In a nutshell, it's an automatic pattern generator that enables one to set a few key parameters that determine the melody and groove of a riff, with the results being sent to the piano roll. And if that still sounds too much like hard work, there's a surprisingly effective random option.

Download Full Version