“FL Studio’s duty is to get more people to stick with music-making”: CEO Constantin Koehncke on FL Studio 2025 and beyond

[Awesome Wells]

the fact people are going hard for DAWs IMO is a little silly.....if you wanna flex....



flex your hardware. I'd be more interested in hearing what people got and how the rooms are treated. thats the real flex......just my opinion tho

Facts.

But that's the issue though. A lot of these people never worked on the hardware. So they're looking for a quick way to "produce" in DAW's that will do the work for them. For guys like us, we learned and started on hardware first, so it's easier for us to move over to DAW's because we know the workflows already, from back in the day. So our job on the hardware now might be a little easier, but the knowledge never left. That's the point.

I'm seeing a lot of dudes working on DAW's and saying they "make beats" or "produce", but they don’t actually know anything about sh*t. Like I said earlier, mad dudes come to the studio saying they work in FL and "produce", but when you ask them basic sh*t, they don’t have a clue. So I'm speaking about the knowledge and learning aspect. You can't bullsh*t your way around hardware, Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton, MPC or Cubase.

 

[spliz]

Facts.

But that's the issue though. A lot of these people never worked on the hardware. So they're looking for a quick way to "produce" in DAW's that will do the work for them. For guys like us, we learned and started on hardware first, so it's easier for us to move over to DAW's because we know the workflows already, from back in the day. So our job on the hardware now might be a little easier, but the knowledge never left. That's the point.

I'm seeing a lot of dudes working on DAW's and saying they "make beats" or "produce", but they don’t actually know anything about sh*t. Like I said earlier, mad dudes come to the studio saying they work in FL and "produce", but when you ask them basic sh*t, they don’t have a clue. So I'm speaking about the knowledge and learning aspect. You can't bullsh*t your way around hardware, Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton, MPC or Cubase.

FL is easier for beginners but u still gotta know what u doing to make quality shyt. I know nikkas who play multiple instruments who use FL and u would never guess they used it.

 

[MurderToCassette]

I've used everything from Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton, Reason, Maschine, to Serato Studio as far as DAWS. Hardware my bag goes even deeper from old MPC's (60, 3000, 2000XL, 4000) to new ones (X/Live) to the Boss/Roland SP's (202, 303 606, 404) to the SP 1200, ASR 10, etc. I gotta say FL is a great tool. I first used it back in the mid 2000's. I hadn't used it for a long time, but my boy who is a hardcore user put me on to some new features they put in recently and I put in back on my PC and it made me make a batch of beats in a fresh way. In a world of subscription based services, I think it's ill that Image Line does lifetime free updates if you choose to purchase it. It's not my daily driver (nothing really is these days) but it's a dope choice.

 

[Pegasus Jackson]

yes. Analog Labs and all the sounds you can find to put in it.

Been using FL Studio since 3.0 and took a decade plus hiatus so I had no idea. People have said that registered official versions won't load cracked VSTs.

 

[BronxFleeZ]

This shyt reminded me I been literally hacking and stealing programs most of my literal life

 

[Double Burger With Cheese]

I think 9th wonder uses hardware now but he was a FL producer. Obviously FL is much more user friendly than most hardware and it had a reputation for people making wack beat on it, but that was so long ago. But even then people like 9th wonder was making real soulful boom bap type shyt on it. Its always been a program that you could make dope or “real” hip hop beats on.


Anybody talking down on Fl back in the day was flat out hating. Anybody taking down on FL right now flat out hating. nikkas were furious for no reason. Feeling like they had to do it the “hard way” Well nikka before MPCs you had to play a fukking instrument, so stop hating on new technology.

I say this as someone who makes beats and only use hardware. I like to hit the pads, but that’s just me. Dosent mean that some one using FL is not as skilled. You not as skilled if your beats trash, don’t have shyt to do with how you making them

 

[Double Burger With Cheese]

Also I want to add that most hardware was and still is expensive compared to FL. Making beats used to be some shyt that only people who had access to MPCs and Trtions and shyt could learn and even then them shyts hard to learn without someone who knows how to use it showing you. So when the cheap (or free) digital version of FL came out it allowed more people to able to try and learn how to create beats. Some people transition to hardware and some stay digital. And these days most the hardware then went the Maschine route and it’s a hybrid of hardware and software.

 

[TripleAgent]

Nah, it's not.

It's still the remedial DAW for beginners and wack bedroom producers. If you want to actually learn about production and/or mixing, it's best to stick to DAW's like Logic and Pro Tools. MPC and Ableton too. FL's workflow is all about making it easier, but without the user developing more skill and knowledge. That's not gonna work if you ever have to hit a real studio to work or have an artist that needs a lot of adjustments to the production.

U literally have no idea what ur talking about and I say this with utmost seriousness. U sound like a nikka who never made beats before. I can show u production from FL Studio that u would NEVER guess. All of these DAWs have their strengths and weaknesses. For instance Pro Tools is industry standard for recording but Cubase been better than that shyt for years.

IMHO the truth is in the middle. You can make heat on anything if you are good enough and master the tool (PAUSE). FL is definitely the "easy mode for nikkas who want to make shytty no effort trap beats" default. HOWEVER, it's spawned classics. They accidentally hit a gold mine. I used to think it was garbage, but they stepped it up a lot.

 

[spliz]

IMHO the truth is in the middle. You can make heat on anything if you are good enough and master the tool (PAUSE). FL is definitely the "easy mode for nikkas who want to make shytty no effort trap beats" default. HOWEVER, it's spawned classics. They accidentally hit a gold mine. I used to think it was garbage, but they stepped it up a lot.

Bro the key is knowing how to balance the hardware and software. I know nikkas that was making beats on FL back in 05-06 that sounded like it came out a professional studio, from mixing. To the sounds used, all that. Like 9th Wonder was getting crazy praise for his shyt but certain nikkas I knew was making shyt that sounded WAY more crisp and polished.

 

[TripleAgent]

Bro the key is knowing how to balance the hardware and software. I know nikkas that was making beats on FL back in 05-06 that sounded like it came out a professional studio, from mixing. To the sounds used, all that. Like 9th Wonder was getting crazy praise for his shyt but certain nikkas I knew was making shyt that sounded WAY more crisp and polished.

I believe you. As I said, if you know the program well enough you can do amazing stuff. I've heard dope from an Atari ST. FL is the "easy" nontechnical choice, and it's good it exists, except for all the garbage trap

 

[Awesome Wells]

You can make heat on anything if you are good enough and master the tool (PAUSE). FL is definitely the "easy mode for nikkas who want to make shytty no effort trap beats" default. HOWEVER, it's spawned classics. They accidentally hit a gold mine. I used to think it was garbage, but they stepped it up a lot.

Truth.

You can definitely make heat on anything. When I met Diamond D, we were talking about equipment and he said he made all of his 90's classics on a damn Alesis HR-16! You can literally cop one of those now used, for like $100. HAHA! When I was a kid, I thought dude was working on an SP like all of the other legends. He never had an SP. But he's a rare case. That's just a mad high level of talent and know how.

Like you said, a lot of people coming in today want to make things easy. Which is cool, but not at the sacrifice of actually learning about music and how to make it. It's like how a lot of new MC's don’t know how to count bars. When you get around pros in this sh*t, you get exposed if you tried to take shortcuts. Problem is, a lot of the wackness comes from people trying to do sh*t the "easy" way, and it shows in the trash ass music they make. It's like Questlove said that time, "FL should stand for 'forever lazy'". It's really the "easy mode" for a lot of them with no effort, like you posted.

 

[HollywoodP]

Been using FL Studio since 3.0 and took a decade plus hiatus so I had no idea. People have said that registered official versions won't load cracked VSTs.

maybe cracked shyt from the 3.0 era won't work. But as far as modern day presets and plugin... I can assure you...you're good to go. There is torrent sites specifically for VSTs...and reddit has some good subforums as well.

 

[Double Burger With Cheese]

Truth.

You can definitely make heat on anything. When I met Diamond D, we were talking about equipment and he said he made all of his 90's classics on a damn Alesis HR-16! You can literally cop one of those now used, for like $100. HAHA! When I was a kid, I thought dude was working on an SP like all of the other legends. He never had an SP. But he's a rare case. That's just a mad high level of talent and know how.

Like you said, a lot of people coming in today want to make things easy. Which is cool, but not at the sacrifice of actually learning about music and how to make it. It's like how a lot of new MC's don’t know how to count bars. When you get around pros in this sh*t, you get exposed if you tried to take shortcuts. Problem is, a lot of the wackness comes from people trying to do sh*t the "easy" way, and it shows in the trash ass music they make. It's like Questlove said that time, "FL should stand for 'forever lazy'". It's really the "easy mode" for a lot of them with no effort, like you posted.

I think yall sound kind of pretentious. None of that shyt matters except is the beat dope or not. That’s all that matters. You can make quick and easy beats on hardware as well. As a matter of fact, once a producer gets to the point where he’s comfortable and has his work flow down, hes typically not going to spend hours on a beat. You can make a 10-15 minute trap beat on FL as well as a 10-15 minute boom bap beat on an MPC.

Nobody gives a fukk about the process of a producer except for producers. People who make beats are the only people that can appreciate shyt like that. A lot of us in this thread do, but the average listener does not.

Hardware does not equal dope beats and neither does the amount of time you spend on a beat generally matter.

And to the point about learning about the music… Everyone is not meant to be technical like that. Some are more naturally technical like a DJ Quik and some people are not. Like everyone that knows how to play the keys and knows music theory can’t make dope beats. It’s a tool that helps but you either have an ear or you don’t.

 

[CHICAGO]

I think 9th wonder uses hardware now but he was a FL producer. Obviously FL is much more user friendly than most hardware and it had a reputation for people making wack beat on it, but that was so long ago. But even then people like 9th wonder was making real soulful boom bap type shyt on it. Its always been a program that you could make dope or “real” hip hop beats on.


Anybody talking down on Fl back in the day was flat out hating. Anybody taking down on FL right now flat out hating. nikkas were furious for no reason. Feeling like they had to do it the “hard way” Well nikka before MPCs you had to play a fukking instrument, so stop hating on new technology.

I say this as someone who makes beats and only use hardware. I like to hit the pads, but that’s just me. Dosent mean that some one using FL is not as skilled. You not as skilled if your beats trash, don’t have shyt to do with how you making them

HIT BOY AND METRO USE FL.



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[Awesome Wells]

I think yall sound kind of pretentious. None of that shyt matters except is the beat dope or not. That’s all that matters. You can make quick and easy beats on hardware as well. As a matter of fact, once a producer gets to the point where he’s comfortable and has his work flow down, hes typically not going to spend hours on a beat. You can make a 10-15 minute trap beat on FL as well as a 10-15 minute boom bap beat on an MPC.

Nobody gives a fukk about the process of a producer except for producers. People who make beats are the only people that can appreciate shyt like that. A lot of us in this thread do, but the average listener does not.

Hardware does not equal dope beats and neither does the amount of time you spend on a beat generally matter.

And to the point about learning about the music… Everyone is not meant to be technical like that. Some are more naturally technical like a DJ Quik and some people are not. Like everyone that knows how to play the keys and knows music theory can’t make dope beats. It’s a tool that helps but you either have an ear or you don’t.

I think the beat sounding dope is only one part of the process though.

I started on the MPC 2000, in the late 90's. Never bothered to read the manual or even ask anybody how to use it, at first. But after about a month of being on that sh*t 24/7, I was able to make some dope sh*t on it. I was playing sh*t live on the pads and recording to a Fostex 8-track recorder, to cassette. Wasn't even bothering to use the damn sequencer on the 2000. I was working as an A&R at the time and was giving everybody the tape. The tape ends up being played in a meeting at Def Jam and they asked me to come in for the early sessions for Jay-Z's Vol.3 album. I get to the studio, and there's a 2000 in there and a S950 and mad other sh*t. They asked me to do a couple of adjustments to the beat, which I still had saved on floppy's back then. They wanted different breakdowns and for the stems to be a certain way. I didn't know how to do any of that sh*t yet, and didn't even really know my way around the MPC well enough, but I was able to make dope sh*t on it. Premier told me that I needed to go back and study. That's exactly what I did. You can't cheat the process.

The process is everything! Because when it's time to really do this sh*t at a real level, if you don’t really know what you're doing, or know your way around these sh*ts or the studio, or how to cater to artists and their preferences and have the knowledge to meet that, you're done. If you're serious about music, the "easy way" is gonna actually turn into the hard way when it's time to get into the game for real and shift into making money in this sh*t.

Now if you're just doing it for fun or a hobby and it's not being done for anything away from that, then this doesn't apply. But I'm talking about for people who want to actually get in and succeed in this.