Howl of The Lone Wolf

*DISCLAIMER: This post refers to FL Studio 12 and Pro Tools 12 as they are the most recent versions as of 3/10/2017*

The comparison between FL Studio and Pro Tools is a topic a feel passionate about. I’ve talked about this with many people with an audio background and a tend to hear many people refer to FL Studio as a lower class DAW. This frustrates me because I am an FL Studio user and can confirm that it’s not a lower class DAW and because I have experience with both and understand that they serve different purposes. They are both high class DAWs for what they are made for.

What is the purpose of FL Studio?

FL Studio is a music composition and production DAW meaning its main purpose is to allow the user to create music. When you first open FL Studio, you see a channel rack with a kick, snare, hi hat, and clap. This is where you create you individual patterns for your musical creation or instrumentals. At the bottom of the channel rack, there is a plus sign that allows you to add more VSTs to use more sounds for your instrumental. You also have the playlist window where you paste all your patterns to create an instrumental.

What is the purpose of Pro Tools?

Pro Tools is used for sound recording and sound productions purposes. The setup is geared towards recording and mixing any audio which means it’s not limited to just music. This include soundscapes, audio for video, or even a podcast. Upon opening a Pro Tools session, you see the edit window. This is where you see tracks that have been recorded or tracks that have been added to the Pro Tools session that weren’t recorded on Pro Tools. The other window that’s most important in a Pro Tool session is the mix window. This is where you’ll see the audio channels, auxiliary send channels, and the master channel.

Comparison of the two (from my experience).

o  One similarity between the two is that FL Studio’s playlist window is almost the equivalent to the Pro Tools edit window. With both windows, you see each track used in the session and how long it will last.You can drag certain tracks and place them where ever you what to fit your sonic vision for the audio work.

o   Both software have digital mix consoles built in the software. They have everything you need to mix like a volume fader, pan pots, equalizers, compressors, limiters, etc. Everything to create a quality mix is on both software.

o   It is possible to use midi to create instrumentals on both software. I’ll admit, I don’t know how to do this on Pro Tools. I’ve seen it done but it was a long time ago. I have a lot of recording and mixing experience on Pro Tools so that’s what I’m most comfortable doing on it. The vast majority of my midi experience comes from FL Studio.

Dissimilarities between the two (from my experience).

o   Pro Tools trumps FL Studio in the area of mixing but it’s not because it’s a completely better DAW. It’s because its purpose and its layout makes mixing a lot easier than it is on FL Studio. One reason why I like Pro Tools for mixing more than FL Studio is the flexibity with aux sends. You have the options of pre fader and post fader sends while on FL Studio, you only have pre fader sends. In my experience, a prefader send isn’t useful in recorded music. I find it easier to just use reverbs and delays as inserts on FL Studio because I don’t like their sends. On Pro Tools, you can create mono and stereo tracks. The closest you can get to that on FL Studio is using the mono/stereo separation feature on the mixer.

o   FL Studio trumps Pro Tools because it has musical functions in your face. On the left side, it has all the drum packs that came with the software and all the others you may have downloaded. Finding a virtual instrument to play a melody is easy to find and putting it into the play on a grid that allows a consistent tempo is easy (of course after you learn how to use FL). I find that snapping to grid is harder Pro Tools although it’s not impossible. Because Pro Tools isn’t a music composition and production DAW, the needs like finding VST’s and making things play at a consist tempo isn’t as in your face and isn’t quite necessary unless you’re recording something with a click track. Even then, you can just use your musical ear to know when something is or isn’t in line with the tempo.

Explain why they shouldn’t be on equal playing grounds

Now before I answer this, I want to open with saying that I know both of these are different forms of audio processing and that mastering comes after mixing. I did, after all, study audio engineering in college and learned the basics of both forms of processing. With that being said, let’s get to my answer.

Between the two, I enjoy mixing a lot more than mastering. I’ve had many sessions where I stayed overtime just because I enjoyed what I was mixing. The reason why I like mixing more than producing is because I like having control of each individual track in a song. I like that I can process one track without interfering with other elements within that same frequency range. I like creating group tracks and being up able to use that as a way to further control the gain structure in a mix without interfering with everything else in the mix. I feel like I have more creative control when I’m mixing.

Another reason why I prefer mixing over mastering is because I spent more time with it. I’ve been mixing since high school but I started learning how to mix at a high level in the spring of 2016 in my mixing intensive class at Georgia State University. My professor gave us a lot of mixing assignments and due to the length of the normal spring semester and how dedicated I was, I spent about 20 hours a week on mixing. I gained proficiency in the art of mixing on both Pro Tools and Nuendo and feel 100% comfortable mixing on both platforms. I’ve learned how to apply my skills to other DAW’s that aren’t focused on mixing like FL Studio. I learned how to master at a high level that summer. One reason why I had a hard time with it is because of how short the semester was. A class that is normally about 14 weeks long was condensed into 7 weeks. I was also a full time student, working a part-time job, and doing a part-time internship. I had to do the bare minimum is all areas of my life to survive or else I would have self-destructed. I was also trying to graduate by December so I was doing whatever I could to pass without draining my energy. It’s fair to say that due to my circumstances and my mental, state, I wasn’t 100% percent dedicated to learning the art of mastering. I had a “I’m just trying to pass” attitude.

With that said, another reason why I don’t enjoy mastering is because mastering DAW’s like iZotope Ozone and WaveLab have a different set up from the DAW’s I’m used to like Pro Tools, Nuendo, and FL Studio. I’m already in foreign territory when I start working on mastering platforms.

I don’t have an extravagant set up but it gets the job done. After all, it’s not about what you use but how you use it. That being said, there are certain pieces of equipment that you need or else you can’t have an functioning studio i.e. a computer. Using that example as my starting point, the computer that I use is called a Windows Inspiron 15-3537. My dad gave me this after my last laptop stopped working.

On my computer, I work on a software called FL Studio 12. It’s my favorite music production DAW. I also use it as an audio post production DAW because it’s the only one I have. I do plan on getting a copy of Pro Tools in the near future.

I use an M-Audio Fast Track audio interface as both an interface and a monitor management system. I have my mic routed to the mic input. I also have my speakers routed to the headphone input of the interface with a ¼ inch adapter so I can monitor the level of the speakers through the output of the interface. The interface is routed to the computer through USB.

My monitors are Mackie CR3′s. They are very good considering how cheap they are. They don’t allow you to hear the whole frequency range but they cover most of them which isn’t bad for someone just joining the field of audio or for someone who is low on funds.

For vocal recording, I used an Audio Technica AT2020 condenser mic. I use my mic when I want to record a song but since I spend the majority of my studio time producing or mixing, I don’t use my mic that much.

The headphones I use are called Sony MDR’s. I mainly use them for recording and production but there are times that I use them for mixing. If I use them for mixing, it’s because I’m in a situation where I can’t use loud speakers. Headphone mixing isn’t recommended but if you know what you’re doing, you can’t go wrong mixing on these.

I use an AKAI MPK Mini as my main midi controller for production. It’s small and portable. It doesn’t hurt to have extra octaves but two octaves are just enough to get the job done. I don’t use any of the pads or knobs. I just use the keys.

My last piece of gear on this list in a Casio CTK-2300. This doubles as a normal keyboard and a midi keyboard. This was the first midi keyboard I ever got. This used to be my main midi controller but it became a hassle to carry it around if I wanted to produce outside of my bedroom studio. Now I use it to practice piano.