Working With External Instruments in FL Studio

To incorporate the sound generated by an external MIDI device into your FL Studio project, you will need to record the audio from the device into FL Studio while it’s played or controlled by the FL Studio native MIDI Out plug-in. So in this guide, we will show you how to configure, create, and record MIDI in FL Studio. Follow the sections below to get started.

1. Configure the MIDI settings
2. Create the MIDI sequence
3. Record MIDI tracks

Configure the MIDI settings

Before you begin, you’ll need to make the audio and midi cable connections between your external MIDI instrument and your interface, as described in our FL Studio Quickstart Guide.

1. Add an instance of the MIDI out plug-in to the FL Studio channel rack. 
2. Click the Option menu and select MIDI settings. 
3. Select the device in the Output list.
   • If you are using a USB connection to the device, you will choose the name of the device itself. Select the interface’s name if your external MIDI instrument is connected to an interface via MIDI cables. 
4. Match the Port numbers – Make sure the MIDI port number shown for the device in the MIDI settings window matches the MIDI port number shown in the MIDI out plug-in window. 
5. Make your MIDI connections. If you’re using a direct USB connection from the device, you can skip this step. 
   • If you’re using an interface, connect the MIDI OUT port on your MIDI interface to the MIDI IN port on your interface with a MIDI cable. 
6. Set your external MIDI device to the same MIDI Channel as the MIDI Out plug-in (upper left corner of the plug-in window. There are 16 Channels that allow you to control different MIDI devices on each channel. 
   • If you set your MIDI device to OMNI mode (some external instruments will call this ALL), it will respond to all MIDI Channels.

Matching the MIDI ports.

Create the MIDI sequence

Creating a MIDI sequence is straightforward. Enter or record your score data in the Piano roll (or Step Sequencer) associated with the MIDI Out plug-in in the channel rack. 

NOTE: If you are playing MIDI notes on the external device, you may hear doubled-notes, flanging, or phasing. This happens because the device is playing sound internally from its own controller (no latency) and receiving notes from MIDI Out (with latency). 

If you’re having this problem, most hardware synthesizers and drum machines have a setting, ‘Local Control‘, that disables the keyboard or pads from playing sounds locally. 

Record MIDI tracks

Once everything is set up, it’s time to record your MIDI tracks! Follow the steps below to get started. 

1. Open the FL Studio mixer. Choose a channel for recording the audio output from your synth. 
2. At the top of the inspector window for that channel, choose the same input on your audio interface you connected your audio cables to in Step 6. 
   • For example, if you choose input 3 on your interface, set the channel input to input 3 in the FL Studio mixer. 
3. FL Studio will automatically arm the track for recording when the input is selected, and you will see the ARM button highlighted in red at the bottom of the mixer channel.
4. Place the MIDI sequence you created (outlined in the section above) into the Playlist if you want to incorporate it into your existing project. 
   • If desired, you can place the sequence multiple times to create a longer audio recording. 
   • You can also switch FL Studio from Song mode to Pattern Mode if you want to record the MIDI sequence as a single audio loop. 
5. Press the Record button at the top. You’ll be presented with a dialog window asking, “What do you want to Record today?” (if you aren’t, you can Alt-Left click the record button to show the dialog).
   • In most cases, you will want to choose “Audio, into the Playlist as an audio clip.” 
6. This generates an audio clip in the playlist of the sound that is output from your external synthesizer based on the MIDI sequence you created. 

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