{"id":1760538,"date":"2019-12-18T16:44:58","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T16:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=1760538"},"modified":"2021-12-16T16:34:28","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T16:34:28","slug":"how-to-use-plugins-with-fl-studio","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/articles\/how-to-use-plugins-with-fl-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Plug-ins with FL Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In this guide we will show you how to work with effects plugins and virtual instruments in FL Studio. We\u2019ll show you how to load them and add it to a track. We\u2019ll also provide you some tips and tricks along the way. Follow the sections below to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong><a href=\"#Scanning-plugins-in-FL-Studio\">Scanning plugins in FL Studio<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a href=\"#Adding-plugins-on-a-track-in-FL-Studio\"><strong>Adding plugins on a track<\/strong> <strong>in FL Studio<\/strong><\/a><ul><li><strong><a href=\"#Routing-multi-out-virtual-instruments\">Routing multi-out virtual instruments<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"#Using-FL-Studio-as-a-plugin\">Using FL Studio as a plugin<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Scanning-plugins-in-FL-Studio\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">Scanning plugins in FL Studio<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Each time you launch FL Studio, it will scan any plugins from its default <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/articles\/which-plug-format-need-for-my-daw\/#VST\">VST<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/sweetcare\/articles\/which-plug-format-need-for-my-daw\/#AU\">AU<\/a> <em>(Mac only)<\/em> path. If you installed a plugin or virtual instrument to a custom path, however, you first need to add that path within the FL Studio Plugin Manager for it to be scanned. Follow these steps to scan plugins and virtual instruments in FL Studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"background-color:#f3f2f1\" class=\"has-background\"><strong>TIP: <\/strong>By default, FL Studio only scans plugins that have a .dll file extension and will perform a <em>Fast Scan<\/em>. Turn on <strong>Verify plugins<\/strong> so it can scan and sort .vst3 and .au file extensions, as well. The scan will take longer, however. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Click <strong>Options<\/strong> and select <strong>Manage plugins<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Click the <strong>Folder <\/strong>+<strong> <\/strong>icon in the <em>Plugin search paths <\/em>section, select the location(s) where your plugin\/virtual instrument is installed, and then click <strong>OK<\/strong>.<ul><li>To disable a plugin path, click the checkmark located to the left of it. The default FL Studio plugin paths cannot be disabled.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Click <strong>Find Plugins<\/strong> to begin scanning. Once complete, your plugin will now be available to use.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Adding-plugins-on-a-track-in-FL-Studio\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">Adding plugins on a track in FL Studio<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>FL Studio sorts your plugins into two categories; <strong>Effects <\/strong><em>(i.e. reverb, compressor, filter)<\/em> and <strong>Generators <\/strong><em>(virtual instruments)<\/em>. Once you\u2019ve scanned your plugins, they can then be accessed from the <strong>Plugin database <\/strong>section of the <em>Browser<\/em> which you can then drag and drop into the channel rack. When dropping effects plugins onto the channel rack, be sure to drop it on the instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also add FL Studio plugins to the plugin database. Check out our article on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sweetwater.com\/insync\/how-to-use-fl-studio\/#Plug-in-Database-Snapshot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"how to use FL studio (opens in a new tab)\">how to use FL studio<\/a> for more information!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You can also add effects plugins from the <em>Mixer<\/em>. Just select the track you want to work with, and click one of the slots located on the right side.<\/li><li>To add a Generator as a track, you can also click the <strong>+ <\/strong>button located on the bottom of the channel rack. Alternatively, you can click <strong>Add <\/strong>on the top toolbar, and select the virtual instrument.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Use Plug-ins in FL Studio 20\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sgoKAQhOE3U?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"Routing-multi-out-virtual-instruments\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader darkBlueHeader alignLeft underline customh3 swheader\">Routing multi-out virtual instruments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When using virtual instruments such as EZDrummer or Kontakt which utilize multiple outputs, you need to assign them to individual <em>Mixer <\/em>channels and update the routing within the virtual instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"background-color:#f3f2f1\" class=\"has-background\"><strong>TIP: <\/strong>The output channel you select in your virtual instrument is offset by one on the <em>Mixer<\/em>. For example, if you set an output from your VI to <em>Channel 2<\/em>, it will be assigned to <em>Insert 3<\/em> in FL Studio.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Open the virtual instrument\u2019s window, and click the <strong>cog <\/strong>icon located at the top left.<\/li><li>Click the <strong>plugin and cog<\/strong> icon, and then select <strong>Processing<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Click <strong>Auto map outputs<\/strong> in the <em>Connections <\/em>section. You can also manually assign each output to different channels, if necessary.<\/li><li>Open your virtual instrument\u2019s channel mixer and update the output to match that of the outputs created in FL Studio.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FL Studio Guru | Multi Input &amp; Output Instruments\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Nfhcb73U61k?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"> <strong>FL Studio | Multi Input &amp; Output Instruments<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Using-FL-Studio-as-a-plugin\" class=\"wp-block-cgb-block-customheader blackHeader alignLeft noUnderline customh2 swheader\">Using FL Studio as a plugin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You may have noticed that <strong>FL Studio VSTi<\/strong> listed as a Generator (virtual instrument). This is especially helpful if you want to use FL Studio\u2019s instruments inside another DAW. Some instruments included with FL are in the <strong>.fl <\/strong>file format, which means it can only be used inside of FL studio. All you need to do is load the FL Studio VSTi plugin onto an <em>Instrument<\/em> track within your DAW, and record a MIDI track like you would with any other virtual instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FL Studio Guru | FL Studio VST inside FL Studio inside FL Studio ... ?\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cb-7YmGCdf8?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"> <strong>FL Studio | Using the FL Studio VSTi plug-in<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1760537,"template":"","categories":[142726],"tags":[54243,36498,36319,34717,54928,34740,54773,35068,101159],"storecat":[],"itemids":[157644,157645,157646,157647,335638],"manufacturers":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this guide, we will show you how to scan, add, and use effects plugins and virtual instruments with FL Studio. 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