Fruity Loops - FL Studio - Blog

New site for learning how to make rap beats

2008-11-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

Check out a cool new site for learning to make rap beats. It covers a lot of topics, like playing by ear, getting hot sounds, music theory and more.

Looks promising and there are a ton of informational pages up.

Secrets of the Pros for FL Studio / Fruity Loops

2008-05-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Imagine what it would be like to get inside the heads of the top urban producers out there today...

What would YOU do with that knowledge?

Imagine if you could understand some of their techniques for making hits that sell millions of copies...

Could it help you sell more beats with commercial appeal? Would it raise your game up?

TESTIMONIALS

I would like to thank NFX for all that he is doing. He has helped a lot of people who are new at this and teaches people the simplest way on how to do things at producing. Much respect to you NFX.
-PlanetMars

You are helping me become something that i have wanted to be my whole life. A music producer, and in various genres. Not only do i get sounds and advice...I also get ideas and inspiration.
-Almeida

NFX and Warbeats is the truth! I started here!
-nGage

Really, if it wasn't for NFX i would not be at the point I am right now. I started out a total novice, now two years later I can hang with the best of them and not fall behind.
-Lanze

Warbeats taught me all the things I needed to know, and them some, and I enjoy the vids which show me the trickier techniques
-Jaze

Are you ready to work at getting better at making beats?
If so, I'm ready to help.

My name is Nelson Fernandez and I go by the nickname "NFX" online and with my music production. Watch as I explain in full length video tutorials some important topics that will open your eyes to possibilities and inspiration.

Watch as the famous Dr. Dre "4-and Hit" technique is explained step by step. I show how Timbo can make a low tempo club banger sound busy and full.

Want to know how to get a T-Pain vocal effect using freeware? Just watch the video as its all explained in detail.

There is a wide range of topics covered in these tutorials.

Music theory (Notes, Chords, Chord Progressions, Melodies, etc)

Audio Effects (Reverb, Delay/Echo, EQ, Filters, etc)

Composing (Arpegios, Basslines, Chopping Samples, Portmento, etc)

FL Studio specific Techniques (Slicer, Scratching, Peak Controller, Automation, etc)

Beat Recipes (Timbo, Dre, South Styles, etc)

Remake Walkthrus and more...

There are 62 videos covering over 14 hours of detailed instruction recorded by me on this data DVD for you to watch, listen and learn from. I personally use FL Studio for my music production so thats what I show in my videos, but the concepts I explain can be carried over into other software like Reason, Cubase, Protools, Logic, whatever!

Here's an edited sample of a video you will get:

I know of some tutorial sites that would charge you $30 PER VIDEO of similar instruction. You will be paying less than $1 per video if you order today.

But I don't want to stop there.

In addition to the video tutorials, I am going to include over 150 FL Studio remakes. A remake is a project file that reproduces a commercial beat or song without the lyrics.

By loading and viewing these remakes, you can not only hear, but SEE how they are put together:

See and hear how the drums break down for dramatic impact...

See and hear how the bass line interacts with the melody...

See and hear how the verse transistion into the hook...

See and hear how they catch the listener's ear and make platinum selling tracks...

Here are a few samples of actual remake projects included on this DVD:

Flo Rida's Low Remake (prod by T-Pain):

Snoop's Sensual Seduction Remake:

TI's Big Things Poppin' Remake:

Chamillionaire's Hip Hop Police Remake (prod. JR Rotem):

Sean Kingston Beautiful Girls Remake:

Dont have FL Studio? No problem, just get the free non time limited demo version of FL Studio and you can load up and study these at your own pace.

Included on this data DVD are remakes of songs originally produced by: Timbaland, Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Lil Jon, Heatmakerz, DJ khaled, 9th Wonder, Pharrel, Danja, Just Blaze, Alchemist, Scott Storch, Rick Ross, JR Rider, T-Pain and many more...

Plus each remake project has it's own sounds you can re-use in your own songs!

If you order today I will sweeten the deal with two more incredible bonuses:

First, I'll include 2.75 gigabytes of sounds/samples/drum kits/sounfonts to keep your inspiration flowing.

Finally, I'll include over 3 hours of video on "Fruity Loops Made Easy" with even more bonuses and samples.

These world reknown videos are included as a special bonus through a license agreement with the makers of the "Fruity Loops Made Easy" series. The FLME extras include:

- A sample contract to help you sell and license your music

- Mastering Production handbook

- List of sites to access over 20 gigs of samples/sounds

- 100MB more samples

I can only extend this great offer to you and tell you honestly that the value of this data DVD is much higher than what I am asking. It's up to you to decide if it's worth it for you.

After this initial run is over and my stock is gone, I will be increasing my price. Stock is going fast at this price. I cannot guarantee that you will be able to buy at this low price and get the extra bonuses tomorrow. The price will go up on the next run.

It takes significant effort to compile and package such a great collection. DON'T MISS OUT! GET YOUR COPY TODAY!

ORDER A COPY TODAY AND GET THE TWO EXTRA BONUSES!

(ONLY ~~$99~~ ... $60 USD if you order today)

*** SUPPLY HAS RUN OUT - SORRY! NO MORE COPIES ARE AVAILABLE ***

*******

To pay without signing up for PayPal, just click continue on the PayPal login screen

** THIS IS A DATA DVD AND REQUIRES A WINDOWS COMPUTER WITH A DVD ROM DRIVE **

9 reasons why FL Studio 8 is the best DAW period

2008-03-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

FL Studio 8 will be released soon and it's time for me to announce that it will be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Before all you registered users get upset, you can get your own FL Studio download from the official site as an RC or release candidate.

1) FL as it exists today already has as much power (or more) than any other DAW. The automation is very extensive, it supports third party plug-ins. The sound engine is top quality.

2) The sampling capabilities will be even better. In addition to the FL Slicer and the recently added Edison WAV editor, you will be getting SliceX. It's kind of like an Edison + Slicer hybrid. Oh man is it great.

3) Edison is getting some new features. Things like Tempo and Pitch detection? You didn't hear that from me...

4) Build your own plug-ins? No F-ING way! Yes F-ING way! Synthmaker will be added to the FL mix, and that means that you can create and share an unlimited amount of plug-ins and effects. FREE.

5) It's the most affordable bang for your buck value in digital audio. The price will be going up by $50 in a few weeks, but right now the Producer version is only $149. Considering that you get lifetime updates, that means all of those lucky people that bought FL back at version 2 (or was it 3?) for $99 have been getting free updates for many years.

I suggest you look at this Warbeats FL Studio Promo link for 10% off the regular price and VIP access to the best FL Studio tutorial site around. That means for about $135 you get FL7 now, FL8+ when it's released and 3 months of VIP access at Warbeats. That's a value of $244 for only $135 if you buy today.

6) FL supports MIDI, Audio and Audio Recording. Many DAWs don't do all three. FL excels at all three. Sample directly into FL, Chop, Sequence, whatever.

7) FL comes with many great plug-ins from instruments to effects. Some do cost extra, but the stock ones are very good indeed.

8) Some say the stock sound samples suck in FL. Well the truth is when you BUY FL, you get access to 2 gigs more sounds online. Everything from drums to guitars to orchestra and more.

9) Warbeats offers the best FREE Fruity Loops Tutorials on the net today. This site has helped so many people learn FL and they also have over 1000 FL Projects to download and study. Most of them are remakes of popular songs so you can see how to do things like the pros! Did I mention the community is the greatest over there too? They are.

Think I'm FL Crazy? yeah I am.

How to start a making a beat. Not just with Fruity Loops either!

2008-01-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

A lot of people email me and want to know how they should begin making a beat and the truth is there is no perfect answer.

For me it starts with a bit of inspiration. It could be the sounds of a drum, a looped sample, a chord progression, a specific sound from a Fruity Loops generator or a million other things.

One thing I learned a while back is that the inspiration is the hard part, making the beat is easy after that.

How many times have you made a drum pattern and then tried to fit in a bassline or melody but nothing ever sounded as good as you would like. It's happened to me more times than I can count. It's like I'm searching for that next high of making a dope beat.

See if you really wanted, you could make beats all day every day. They would all sound bad, but they would classify as a beat.

Never try to make a beat. Let the beat come to you.

Sure you need to seek sounds and musical parts to use, but as soon as it becomes a labor it's time to move on. For example, you might have a drum pattern and bassline that you are grooving with. You think that a piano part might go well but for some reason the piano you pick or the melody just does not fit right. Move on. Think about how a different sound, say a synth part might sound and try that. Get crazy if you have to, just try to hang on to that inspiration as long as you can.

Your goal as an artist is to capture that inspiration and use it as fuel. If your creative motor begins stalling out, try something else. Don't Rush things, but don't waste all day trying to EQ that kick either.

This is the number one reason to learn how to use your tools. You should not be wasting time trying to figure out how to load and chop a sample or where to find that perfect clap when you're inspired to create a new track! This is why I share some of my own techniques in my Fruity Loops based videos. For me learning to use Fruity Loops has allowed my creative workflow to expand leaps and bounds.

Get as many parts together as you can until you think it's enough or you run out of gas.

Once you have the parts or as I call them - ingredients - you can arrange them and tweak them. Then your creative inspiration takes on a different form as you focus on the new task.

After your arrangement is done, then you get a creative opportunity from another angle, the mixing process.

If you ever get a creative block and just can't finish the beat, don't feel bad, it happens to everyone. Just save your work and move on. Maybe even just go do something different for a while. Shoot some hoops, play some video games, spend time with your significant other, etc.

The minute you start to get pre-occupied over the fact you cant seem to make a beat, you start to hate it and it will only snowball into more hate.

Never stress. Learn to walk away. Keep things fun and you will perform at your peak level and your growth as an artist will also grow at maximum speed.

Share some of your techniques for capturing inspiration with others.

Making Music on a Computer

2007-12-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

Making music is a dream for many people. Some want to make music because it offers the potential for fame and fortune. Others find music as a way to escape and create something beautiful.

Thanks to the powerful computers we have today, we have the opportunity to make these dreams come true in a compact and reliable way.

For example, you could score an entire movie without an orchestra. You could use your MIDI keyboard to emulate guitar, trumpet flutes, violins and many other non-piano key style instruments. All it takes is practice and information.

Most of the schools that exist for music production can teach you either engineering or music theory. You could also take a class to learn how to play specific instruments. With enough patience and perseverence, I believe you can accomplish enough of both on your own. I'm not saying that you won't benefit from specialized instruction. What I am saying is that you can move towards your goal without paying for school until you reach a point where you know if you really need it.

DAWs

Assuming you have a computer already, what else do you need to get started? At the minimum, you need a software program often referred to as a DAW or Digital Audio Workstation. The DAW is the center of the audio creation process.

Most DAWs can utilize external sounds and effects. There are two main standards to be aware of, one is for Windows and the other for Macs. Windows uses a "VST" plug-in specification and Macs use "AU". This allows you to add new sounds and effects to most DAWs on the market.

There are many DAWs out there today. Products like Cubase, Reason, FL Studio (also known as Fruity Loops), Logic, Garage Band, Sonar, Pro Tools and many others can get you started. Many of these come in a variety of versions and prices. Here's what I can tell you about a few of them:

Cubase - A lot of professionals use this and it is regarded as a pro level DAW. It comes in different models that have different price levels and feature sets.
Reason - One of the more popular DAWs for the home musician. It emulates real life gear and comes with top quality sounds. It has been used professionally but is considered a step below Cubase on the pro scale. The system is a closed system, meaning that new sounds and effects must be made specifically for Reason. it does not use the VST standard plug-ins. Runs on Mac and Windows computers.
FL Studio - One of the most feature-rich DAWs ever made but also one with a higher learning curve in many areas. FL Studio has been used in professional releases but is considered a step below Cubase on the pro scale. Many of the gripes about this product come from the fact it is not newbie friendly in many areas, but time invested in FL usually yields excellent results. It has many non-standard elements that confuse people initially. The relatively low price and lifetime free updates are a major selling point for many. Windows only.
Logic - A well respected DAW for the Mac family of computers. Considered a professional level DAW.
Garage Band - Comes stock with all new Macs (as of this writing) and is said to be a subset of Logic code.
Pro Tools - This is the defacto standard for professional (digital) recording today. It is often sold with hardware specifically created to work with it. It uses a standard known as "RTAS".

I would suggest you do a google search for the various DAWs to get a feel for how they look and their prices. Some of them also have demo versions you can download to get a sense of how the workflow in each operates. To me, the workflow is the most important part of the process. If a DAW is great in every respect but the workflow is terrible, you may not use it to it's full potential.

Sounds

Once you have a DAW, you need to use it to control sounds. Sounds can be made in 3 general ways - Samples, Virtual Instruments and Effects.

Samples are digitally recorded audio. There are four main types of samples commonly used:

One Shots - These are quick hits of audio like a single kick drum or snare drum. Maybe even a sound effect like a car horn or a gunshot.
Loops - These are recorded audio that can be repeatedly played to form a sound that seamlessly loops back to the beginning and continue to be on time.
Chops - Technically these can be looped or even one shot. The difference is the intention. These audio bits are usually strung together to form a new audio sequence
Recorded - This is a full part played or sung by a human and recorded into one sample that is arranged into your song.

Virtual instruments are added software devices that work inside the DAW to produce sound. You might have a virtual instrument that sounds like a piano or guitar for example. You can use many instruments to make a complete song.

Many DAWs come with a selection of virtual instruments to get you started but there is a huge market of third party instruments that you can choose from.

Effects or "FX" for short, are added software devices that take an incoming sound and effect it in some way producing a different sound. Some effects that are common would be Echo (delay), Equalization (EQ), Filters, Compression and Reverb.

In the case of echo for example, a sound goes in and the output is the sound plus a diminishing version of itself.

Like the virtual instruments, many DAWs come pre equipped with a selection of these. There is a large third party aftermarket for these as well.

MIDI

After you get some sounds, you need to get those sounds into a sequence. Many DAWs give you the ability to open a "piano roll" and click the notes and set the duration. This can be tedious for anything beyond drum tacks however so most people will use a plug-in hardware interface called a MIDI controller.

The most popular and widely used is the keyboard style MIDI controller. It is used to play notes into the DAW which then get routed through a virtual instrument to produce a sound. For example, you might load up a piano instrument to record a piano part and later activate a violin instrument to record a violin part as well.

The extra buttons, knobs and faders on the MIDI controller may be used to control other aspects of the program such as volume level, stop, start and record. Usually these goodies can be programmed at will depending on the active instrument or effect. You could hook a knob to control the timing of echo in a delay effect for example.

There are other types of MIDI controllers. Drum Pads, Control Surfaces (no piano keyboard), Guitars and more.

Most MIDI controllers can be used with any DAW. To be sure, you should ask the vendor of the DAW for a list of compatible devices.

Information

This is the fun part for me. There is so much information readily available on the 'net that you can get swept away. Just use Google to search for some terms you are interested in such as "Fruity Loops Tutorials" or "Scales", etc.

You can also look at other peoples project files and learn from them. My own site hosts over 600 remakes of popular songs in Fruity Loops format for you to dissect and learn from. Some more popular FL Project downloads on my site are:

I also have several articles for you to use as a starting point:

Conclusion

So thats it in a nutshell. Get a DAW, a MIDI controller, some Information and a little inspiration and you can make music on the computer!

Free Drumkit for Fruity Loops

2007-08-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

Download - Warbeats Drumkit