FL Studio is one of the most powerful music production tools around, with an array of synths and effects available right out of the box. But like most producers, you could probably use a few more plugins! Here we’ve put together some of the best free plugins for FL Studio, which should cover you for almost every imaginable musical scenario.
Sitala
Download for Free
Sitala is a drum plugin that can also be used as a standalone app. Although it is about as simple a drum plugin as you could want, it will find a place in almost any project due to its musicality and highly intuitive interface. Sitala’s six knobs and sixteen pads encourage you to use it as an instrument, which results in more musical beats and grooves.
Best Features & Specs
Sitala features 16 assignable pads that should be familiar to anyone who’s ever used a drum plugin before. You can drag and drop your own samples right into these pads or use the factory kits that come with the plugin.
Sitala also includes an array of sound-shaping tools that lets you put your own stamp on your drum sounds. With features such as ‘Shape’, ‘Compression’, and ‘Tone’, recreating traditional drum beats or more experimental grooves is a piece of cake.
Bottom-line
- 6 Easy Steps to Treat Vocals in FL Studio By W. Production 10, Apr 2018 In order for the vocal to fit perfectly in the mix, we need to make sure the vocal is welly treated to avoid any mixing troubles.
- Free to download and use fl studio vocal rap and singing presets, such as the weekend, swae lee vocals presets ande some nice clear rap vocal presets.
- FREE Travis Scott Style Vocal Presets for FL Studio Do you want to make your vocals sound the best the can? With a half decent mic and your favourite DAW its never been easier to.
Like the best free FL Studio plugins, the beauty of Sitala lies in its simplicity. We found that it lets you lay down grooves quickly, and the results are always musical. We especially like how the interface allows you to play it like an instrument.
FL Studio Vocal Presets Free - Autotune Pro Vocal Presets, Waves Presets and Stock Vocal PresetsIn this video I'm giving you a mixed set of vocal presets us. Check out our new site for even more FREE DOWNLOADS!
Piano One by Sound Magic
Download for Free
Sound Magic’s Piano One is reminiscent of the Yamaha C7 concert grand, which is highly revered by many professional piano players. Based on Sound Magic’s Hybrid Modeling Engine, Piano One combines the best qualities of physical modeling and sampling. The result is an amazingly rich and responsive sound that often felt like playing a real piano.
Best Features & Specs
Sound Magic’s Hybrid Modeling Engine does a great job of combining the realism of piano samples and the responsiveness of physical modeling. Unlike other modeled instruments, Piano One responds instantaneously, with no sluggishness or delay. The sound is reasonably rich and full-bodied, particularly when playing sustained low notes. The plugin even comes with an onboard reverb that simulates environment and soundboard resonance for added realism.
Bottom-line
Even with its limitations, Piano One is a pretty impressive piano plugin. If you need a range of basic piano sounds but don’t have the cash for a humongous piano library, Piano One is worth looking into.
TyrellN6 & Zebralette by u-He
TyrellN6 is based on the legendary Roland Juno 60, which is one of the most iconic analog synthesizers ever made. Users of the venerable classic will appreciate the simplicity and ease of use of this plugin, which lets you create deep bass, lush pads, and cutting leads with relatively little effort.
Zebralette isn’t based on any particular instrument. Rather, it is a teaser of sorts for u-He’s well-respected Zebra 2. It has the same great-sounding oscillator that is in Zebra, giving you a taste of what you could achieve with the more fully-featured product.
Best Features & Specs
TyrellN6 and Zebralette give you a pretty diverse range of sounds, from classic to cutting edge. TyrellN6’s classic architecture is the ticket to thick and lush vintage sounds, with noise and a ring modulator joining the two oscillators for extra flavor.
Zebralette is a more esoteric plugin that allows for the creation of more outlandish and experimental sounds. This is a great entry point into the sonic possibilities offered by Zebra 2, and we were thrilled to find that Zebralette patches can be opened in Zebra 2.
Bottom-line
TyrellN6 and Zebralette are compact yet powerful synths that will find a place in any modern production. Even if you already have some powerhouse synths in your collection, these two free VSTs for FL Studio are worthy additions.
Guitar M Lite II
Download for Free
Guitar M Lite II offers studio musicians the crisp and authoritative sounds of the Martin D-41 acoustic guitar in a convenient software plugin. Developed by Ample Guitar, M Lite is a great way to add glistening acoustic textures to your productions, even if you don’t happen to have a guitar player handy.
Best Features & Specs
M Lite is a sample-based instrument that weighs in at just under 850 MB. It includes standard guitar articulations such as hammer-ons and pull-offs, palm mutes, and pops, allowing you to create surprisingly realistic performances. The plugin also offers Customized Parameters Control (CPC), which lets you add more expressive touches via MIDI CC or automation.
We especially like the plugin’s Strummer function, which allows for some pretty convincing strummed performances. Strumming is where most acoustic guitar plugins fall short as far as we’re concerned, so were pleasantly surprised to find it implemented so convincingly in a free plugin.
Bottom-line
Those with discerning ears aren’t likely to be fooled by M Lite. But if you need some rudimentary acoustic guitar parts for a mockup, this plugin will do very well in a pinch.
LABS by Spitfire Audio
Download for Free
Spitfire Audio’s LABS has created quite a stir in the software plugins world, so we were eager to put it through its paces. At present, the collection already covers a pretty broad range of instruments, and more are being added all the time. And because each instrument is a labor of love by dedicated musicians and sampling experts, the results are consistently impressive.
Best Features & Specs
Each LABS instrument comes in the form of a dedicated plugin, rather than a library you load in a software sampler. We found the user interface to be focused and refreshingly straightforward, with easy to use controls for dynamics and expression. We also like the inclusion of a knob that can be customized for whatever function the user wants.
The LABS collection currently includes strings, guitars, pianos, brass, drums, vocals, percussion, synths, and experimental instruments. Although not quite as detailed as more extensive sampled libraries, we had no trouble making them fit into our productions.
Bottom-line
The LABS instruments are about as straightforward as plugin instruments can be. Even if you already have a collection of software instruments, you will probably find a use for some of these plugins.
Vinyl by iZotope
Download for Free
iZotope has long been known for its excellent noise reduction and sound improvement plugins. So it was a bit of a surprise when the company rolled out a plugin that adds grit and dirt to audio. With Vinyl, you can dirty up your tracks with a healthy helping of dust, scratches, and mechanical noise, instantly giving them the character of a vintage recording.
Best Features & Specs
As the name implies, Vinyl makes tracks sound like they are being played from a turntable. Ideally suited for every stage of the production process, we found this to be the most convenient solution to get the authentic vibe heard on ’60s and ’70s recordings.
We like how you can control how much ‘pixie dust’ you can add to your tracks. Whether you need just a few cracks and pops, a touch of mechanical noise, or you really want to thrash your audio, Vinyl provides independent control over each element.
Bottom-line
Vinyl works on pretty much everything from drums and strings to full mixes. If your tracks are sounding just a bit too clean, this plugin will let you dirty them up in a few clicks.
Ozone Imager 2 by iZotope
Download for Free
iZotope’s Ozone Imager 2 offers a quick and easy way to alter the stereo image of your tracks. Whether you need to widen a pad or string section or narrow down your bass and kick drums to fit into a mix, Ozone Imager lets you do so quickly and easily.
Best Features & Specs
The most obvious application of Ozone Imager is to widen an audio track. If you need your synth pad or string section to fill up the soundstage, Ozone Imager will get the job done without imparting any sonic anomalies that could make mixing a nightmare.
Ozone Imager provides two flavors of Stereoize: one lets you widen source audio with a cool phasing effect, while the other widens signals more subtly. The plugin also has three vectorscope meters that give you instant visual feedback on your stereo spread.
Bottom-line
Ozone Imager is a fairly simple plugin that is useful for mixing as well as creative experimentation. If you are struggling to make certain elements fit into a mix, this is one you can try out, of check out or list of other mixing plugins.
MAutoPitch
Download for Free
MAutoPitch is a pitch correction plugin developed specifically for vocals and monophonic instruments. Simple and straightforward, it is nevertheless capable of producing great-sounding results that compare favorably to more expensive pitch correction plugins. It even has formant shift and stereo-expansion features that expand its capabilities as a creative audio production tool.
Best Features & Specs
Compared to many FL Studio plugins for free, MAutoPitch has quite an impressive user interface. It can be resized freely and has standard meters as well as time graphs. It also has sophisticated multi-parameter features such as mid-side and 8-channel surround processing. We particularly like the onboard safety limiter and the automatic gain compensation (AGC) features that keep levels in check.
All MAutoPitch parameters can be mapped for MIDI control and automation. This enhances the plugin’s value as a creative tool, making it more than just a “set-and-forget” processor.
Bottom-line
From subtle pitch correction to creative sound design, MAutoPitch does it all. If you do a lot of vocal work, this plugin is an essential addition to your toolbox.
Supermassive by Valhalla DSP
Download for Free
Free Fl Studio Plugins For Vocals
Supermassive is only one of a handful of time-based plugins that form the bedrock of Valhalla DSP’s stellar reputation. The company’s delays and reverbs compare favorably to much more expensive plugins, and their features and capabilities are well known to producers across the globe. With Supermassive, the company once again proves its expertise in developing lush and exquisite sounding plugins, with a few more tricks up its sleeve.
Best Features & Specs
Supermassive is designed specifically to produce spacious and expansive delays and reverbs. Ideally suited for adding atmosphere to dry and lackluster productions, it sounds just as good when dialed down for more subtle ambiance.
Like all Valhalla DSP plugins, Supermassive is freely resizable, with precise controls for every parameter. It is based on a system of feedback delay networks, with each delay ultimately being processed by a unique WARP control. This allows you to produce everything from twinkling echoes to rich and deep reverbs and everything in between.
Bottom-line
Supermassive is easily a great VST for lush ambiance, even able to compete with our list of top VSTs on the market. Even if you already have a couple of favorite reverbs and delays, you will likely find yourself patching in Supermassive every time you need a unique atmosphere in your productions.
Pancake 2 by Cableguys
Download for Free
Cableguys’ Pancake 2 handles a variety of panning and imaging functions in a slick and easy to use interface. Like all Cableguys plugins, Pancake 2 offers full control over the most useful parameters, giving you total control over your sound. You also have plenty of options to modulate the source audio as you wish, so you have free rein over your creative vision.
Best Features & Specs
PanCake allows you to set and forget the modulation depth and rate if you wish, although you could also draw in your own modulation curves. This feature is perfect for panning audio in time with the tempo or ramping up the speed for a buildup.
Of course, the plugin’s LFO can be set to sync to your host DAW’s tempo as well. Speeds from ¹⁄₁₂₈ notes to 32 bars are possible, giving you a wide range of movement options. The plugin also has a left/right display so you always know what is going on with your soundstage.
Bottom-line
Like the other top FL Studio plugins out there, Pancake 2 can be as simple or as complex as you wish. Whether you need subtle movement in your tracks or you are looking for more intense panning functions, Pancake 2 is one of the best free plugins for FL Studio.
So you want to learn how to record vocals in FL Studio?
In this article I am going to show you four easy steps to get you recording in no time.
When you open up FL Studio the first time, it can feel a little overwhelming.
It seems a little daunting to figure out how to record vocals. There are so many windows, so many options.
How do you get started?
Trust me I’ve been there.
But don’t worry, I’m going to take you step-by-step through the process that I use to record vocals in FL Studio.
This is certainly not the only way. But it’s the method I use almost all the time.
I think the way you choose to record vocals in FL Studio will be dependent on the workflow that you choose.
Music production is a very personal things.
As you get more comfortable, you may find a different way to do vocal recording, and that’s completely fine.
NOTE: if you want to see how I produce music in FL Studio, you can check out the free course below
HOW TO RECORD VOCALS IN FL STUDIO
ASSUMPTIONS BEFORE WE BEGIN
There are a few assumptions that I am going to make up front to help clarify the process.
ASSUMPTION #1: I am going to assume that you are working on a desktop or laptop computer to record your music. I am working on a Windows 10 based laptop. So that’s where a lot of my examples will be drawn from.
ASSUMPTION #2: I am also going to assume that you are going to be recording through an audio interface as well. If this is not true for you, then you can look at some other options, like recording voice through a USB mic, or using your iPhone to do mobile recording. So let’s just get that out of the way before we start, so that there not a misunderstanding.
STEP 1 – SETTING UP THE HARDWARE
Fl Studio Vocals Download
The Recording Studio Components for Recording Vocals
Here’s a brief list of home recording equipment that I use when I am going to record my voice in FL Studio.
This a good starting point to work from. And this is the list of equipment that I will be using in this guide.
ESSENTIAL ITEMS:
- Laptop or Desktop computer
- Audio interface
- Microphone – condenser or dynamic
- Microphone cable
- Pop Filter
- Mic Stand
- Pair of Headphones
CONNECTING ALL THE RECORDING EQUIPMENT
Let’s get all the recording equipment set up.
This brief video will show you how I connect all the items together before I start the recording process.
Before you connect your condenser mic, make sure that phantom power is off.
This can cause damage to a condenser microphone, and you definitely want to protect it.
Once the condenser microphone is connected is when you want to turn on the phantom power.
Not before.
If you are interested in seeing what products I use in my studio, you can go to the resources page.
I’ll show you what I have purchased and what I am currently using in my home studio to record and work on music production.
PLUGGING THE AUDIO INTERFACE INTO YOUR COMPUTER
Most of the smaller audio interface draw their power from the computer they are connected to.
These include USB, Firewire, and Thunderbolt audio interfaces.
So you shouldn’t have to plug them into a wall outlet to get them powered on.
Just plug the cable into the back the audio interface. And connect to the correct port on your computer. It should power on.
See if the computer recognizes the device.
Sometimes you’ll get lucky, and everything will work right out of the box.
Sometimes you won’t.
DOWNLOADING THE LATEST DRIVERS FOR YOUR AUDIO INTERFACE
It’s great if your computer recognizes your audio interface straight out of the box.
But it’s still a good idea to make sure that you have the latest drivers.
Open up Google and type in:
[manufacturer] [device name] driver.
In my case, I’m using the Presonus AudioBox iTwo, so I type in Presonus AudioBox iTwo Driver, like this:
You will see the page that you can download the driver from in the top results.
Make sure it’s the manufacturer’s website, and not some crazy spammy site.
Select the correct driver based on your operating system and download it:
Once you download the file, install it.
*Unplug the device from the computer before you install the driver. Once the driver is installed you should be able to plug it back in and have the computer recognize the device.Sonic academy fl studio download.
After you the install the driver, there may be updates needed.
Common updates are firmware.
Run those to make sure you are all up to date.
Now let’s set up the audio interface in FL Studio.
STEP 2 – SETTING UP THE AUDIO INTERFACE IN FL STUDIO
Open up FL Studio.
Use the shortcut key F10 to open up the settings menu.
*By the way, learning short cut keys in FL Studio is one of the best things that you can do. It can speed up your workflow so much!
In the Settings window open, you are going to click on the Audio tab.
This is where we are going to make sure that FL Studio recognizes our audio interface.
Look for the drop down menu DEVICE.
Click on that drop down menu:
Look under the ASIO drivers section.
Find the driver that has some or all of the name of your audio interface.
I am using the Presonus AudioBox iTwo interface in this example.
The ASIO driver I see is labeled as AudioBox ASIO Driver. So I’ll select this option.
I don’t know all the technical details of ASIO drivers. So I’m not going to spend a ton of time trying to explain it.
If you want to get into the technical details of ASIO, you can start with this Wikipedia article.
Now let’s click on the buffer length option.
What I do know is that it was developed by Steinberg. And that’s enough for me.
Mine looks like this for the Presonus AudioBox iTwo:
If you are curious what latency is, Presonus has a good overview article about audio latency.
Rule of thumb: when you are recording audio, the lower the latency, the better.
Set the latency as low as you can go.
Make sure you aren’t getting any glitches, crackles, pops, etc.
You will have to work that out by a little bit of trial and error.
STEP 3 – SETTING UP THE MIXER FOR RECORDING AUDIO IN FL STUDIO
To open up the mixer in FL Studio, you press the F9 shortcut key.
It may look a little different than mine, but you should a window similar to this.
With a tracks that are labeled Insert 1, Insert 2, etc.
Select an empty track
Click on an empty track in your mixer. In my case, Insert 6.
To the far right of the mixer window there is the effects panel.
Choose the input from your audio interface
At the top and bottom of the effects panel you will see drop down menus.
The default selection is (none).
Left click on the top, drop-down menu. This is your input selection from your audio interface.
Select whatever input you have your microphone connected to.
In my case, I’m going to select input 1, like this:
When you do that, you should start seeing the audio meter in the mixer channel detecting sound.
You will see the meter responding as you speak into the mic.
It will look like this:
There is a button down at the bottom of the mixer track. A circle. As soon as you select the input on your interface, it will turn red.
Make sure the track is armed for recording
When it’s red, it’s letting you know that it is ready for recording.
You can see the red circle in the picture above on Insert 6.
To find out a lot more detailed information on the mixer window visit the FL Studio Mixer Explained page.
FILE LOCATION AND NAMING FOR RECORDED FILES
FL Studio will automatically select where to record file to and what to name it, if you do not.
But I like to be a little more organized with my projects than that.
I like to name files in a way that helps me when I come back to a project.
File names like vocal, or electric, or acoustic, etc. What can I say? I like simplicity.
To be able to select the location you want to save the file and what to name it, right click on that red circle.
A folder will open up. This is where you are going to name that track that you will to record.
You can also select the location that you want to save the file.
The more organized you are with the recording the better.
It’s easier to come back to a project and pick up where you left off.
With file location and name set, you can start the process of setting the level of the microphone.
SETTING THE RECORDING LEVEL
There are lots and lots of opinions on this topic.
I won’t get into all the details, but one of the biggest traps for beginners is to record the audio as loud as you can get it.
This is not the smartest move.
AUDIO HEADROOM
The reason this is not a smart move is that you aren’t taking into consideration the steps that come after the recording process.
After recording, there are the editing, the mixing and mastering phases of a project.
Each track that you record at a high level adds up in your mix.
The more files you have in the mix, the faster those levels add up.
Plus you don’t have a lot of wiggle room to alter and manipulate the track you record with effects.
In my opinion it’s better to take a more conservative approach to recording your audio tracks.
Here’s what I mean by that.
Find a good level for the vocal
As you are setting your levels for your voice, watch the dB meter on your track.
You want the basic range of where those levels hit to be somewhere between -16 and -12 dB.
This is just a rule of thumb to follow when you are starting out.
It just helps you make sure that you are louder than the room noise.
But makes sure that you have some headroom to manipulate the audio after you record it.
Again, this is just a safe rule of thumb, this is not the gospel of recording by any means.
Setting up the transport controls
So once you have the track averaging at the right levels, then you can move up to the main transport control.
This is where you see the record button, play, stop, etc.
Right click on the record button and you will see a menu appear with a lot of options.
Since I’m recording audio, I want to make sure that option is checked.
You can uncheck or check any other option by right clicking on them.
This is usually how I set up the recording options when I am recording vocals:
You may also want to select the option “Recording Starts playback”.
This just means it automatically starts recording when you hit record.
Otherwise you have to hit the space bar after you hit the record button.
SETTING UP HEADPHONE MIX TO RECORD
Put your headphones on and set the volume of the music that you are recording to.
Check to make sure that you can hear the vocals the amount that you want to hear.
this will be for the headphone mix, not for the recorded file. Balance that the way that you would like to hear it.
CHECK THE RECORD ARMING IN THE MIXER
Go back to mixer window.
Check to make sure that the vocal track is still armed for recording.
The small circle in the bottom of the mixer track should be highlighted in red.
SONG vs PATTERN MODE WHEN RECORDING
Look back at the transport bar in FL Studio.
Make sure that you are in song mode, not pattern mode.
Pattern mode is active when the button to the left of the play button is highlighted in orange like this:
YOU DO NOT WANT THAT PATTERN BUTTON TO BE ORANGE.
You want the SONG button to be green like this:
So now you are in song mode.
This allows the audio to be recorded onto the playlist. Just trust me on this.
I can’t tell you how many times I thought I had a great take, but no audio appeared on the playlist when I stopped recording.
I would frantically search around to see what had gone wrong only to realize later that I had been in loop mode.
So frustrating.
Now that you have setup everything, you get to the exciting part.
Free Vocals For Fl Studio
STEP 4 – Recording the vocal in FL studio
All of that set up work has led to this moment.
Now you get to actually record the vocal.
When you click on the record button in the main transport panel the first time, a menu is going to pop up, like this:
I select the button in the top corner that says “Don’t ask me this again in the future”.
Like this:
And then I click the option:
“Audio, into the playlist as an audio clip”
And the recording will start!!
Press stop when you are finished and you should see your audio show up in the Playlist like this:
Congratulations!
You now know how to record vocals in FL Studio.
It may seem like a lot at first. But once you do it 3 or 4 times, it feels more natural.
AGAIN, if you want to check out how I produce songs in FL Studio, check out my FREE course!