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

[nahnah]

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.

This is a load of absolute horse shyt btw. Sounds like an old head take from 2003. Don't listen to it.

FL has everything you need to make anything you want. Dope shyt, wack shyt it’s about the person crafting the music much like it would be if it was a Sp1200, Mpc or any other Daw.

 

[Double Burger With Cheese]

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.

The thing about process and making beats is everyone has their own process. Like what should be the process everyone goes through to certify them as a real or authentic beat maker?

When making beats sometimes I will tinker with a hi hat for 20 minutes, or re chop a sample a few different times, or spend 30 minutes going through an endless catalog of kicks just to find the right one that meshes right. Or I might make a beat in 10 minutes because I have the developed the skill set to do so. Now when it gets to the end user or the rapper and the listeners, they are not gonna give one fukk how either of those beats were made, as they shouldn’t. That’s for me and other producers to talk about in threads like this.

My point is, romanticizing your own personal journey and holding those experiences near and dear to your heart, as you should, has no bearing on whether a beat is dope or not. Another person could have simply just fired up fruity loops and made a beat in five minutes and if it’s dope it’s dope. The music should be judged on the output, not the process. Even people who use the same equipment have wildly different processes and had different unique journeys on their way to becoming beat makers/producers.

 

[Pegasus Jackson]

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.

Hit in the DMs playboy. No diddy.

 

[TripleAgent]

Hit in the DMs playboy. No diddy.

 

[Awesome Wells]

The thing about process and making beats is everyone has their own process. Like what should be the process everyone goes through to certify them as a real or authentic beat maker?

When making beats sometimes I will tinker with a hi hat for 20 minutes, or re chop a sample a few different times, or spend 30 minutes going through an endless catalog of kicks just to find the right one that meshes right. Or I might make a beat in 10 minutes because I have the developed the skill set to do so. Now when it gets to the end user of the rapper and the listeners, they are not gonna give one fukk how either of those beats were made, as they shouldn’t. That’s for me and other producer to talk about in threads like this.

My point is, romanticizing your own personal journey and holding those experiences near and dear to your heart, as you should, has no bearing on whether a beat is dope or not. Another person could have simply just fired up fruity loops and made a beat in five minutes and if it’s dope it’s dope. The music should be judged on the output, not the process. Even people who use the same equipment have wildly different processes and had different unique journeys in their way to becoming beat makers/producers.

True.

Everyone has their own process, but what I'm talking about is getting away from this, 'it's easier, so I like it" thing. If we're being honest, that's why so many people want to make music now. Because they think it's easier to do today. When we see those Rhythm Roulette episodes, you can see who really knows how to produce and who doesn't. It takes years to get nice and to learn all there is to know. That's not gonna be an overnight thing. So what I'm talking about is going with the best tools to learn on, but also using what will help to transition to the pro level and working with pros.

So if you're making music for yourself, then that's perfectly fine. But what I'm talking about is something different. It's not just my journey. You look at any legend and speak to them about the process or take advice from any of them, they'll say the same. There's a reason why certain DAW's and hardware have the reputation they have. They're proven to be the best for what I'm pointing out. You have to learn sh*t, if you're serious about it. Output is only a piece of what this is about. There ain't no rushing to greatness.

 

[Reptile]

This is a load of absolute horse shyt btw. Sounds like an old head take from 2003. Don't listen to it.

FL has everything you need to make anything you want. Dope shyt, wack shyt it’s about the person crafting the music much like it would be if it was a Sp1200, Mpc or any other Daw.

Facts it's not about the equipment. It's the idea, execution and end product.

 

[StatUS]

I mean 9th Wonder was using FL for awhile. Now he uses Ableton I think. They're all just tools if we're talking beatmaking.

I wouldn't use FL to track out a vocal multi track hit record but it can do that too I guess lol.

 

[spliz]

True.

Everyone has their own process, but what I'm talking about is getting away from this, 'it's easier, so I like it" thing. If we're being honest, that's why so many people want to make music now. Because they think it's easier to do today. When we see those Rhythm Roulette episodes, you can see who really knows how to produce and who doesn't. It takes years to get nice and to learn all there is to know. That's not gonna be an overnight thing. So what I'm talking about is going with the best tools to learn on, but also using what will help to transition to the pro level and working with pros.

So if you're making music for yourself, then that's perfectly fine. But what I'm talking about is something different. It's not just my journey. You look at any legend and speak to them about the process or take advice from any of them, they'll say the same. There's a reason why certain DAW's and hardware have the reputation they have. They're proven to be the best for what I'm pointing out. You have to learn sh*t, if you're serious about it. Output is only a piece of what this is about. There ain't no rushing to greatness.

U sound extremely ignorant and like a hater. Most people who make beats now know how to fuse the tools together. shytting on people’s process ESPECIALLY if they are dedicated to their craft is wack. Ive seen so many nikkas make beats in like 10-15 minutes on an MPC. Matter fact Heatmakerz was notorious for that when it came to their beats for Dipset. Here’s an example actually.


Look at Pete Rock doing the same shyt.

 

[Awesome Wells]

U sound extremely ignorant and like a hater. Most people who make beats now know how to fuse the tools together. shytting on people’s process ESPECIALLY if they are dedicated to their craft is wack. Ive seen so many nikkas make beats in like 10-15 minutes on an MPC. Matter fact Heatmakerz was notorious for that when it came to their beats for Dipset. Here’s an example actually.


Look at Pete Rock doing the same shyt.

You've been missing the point since you popped up in this thread.

Don't reply to my sh*t anymore, until you're actually adding to the talk instead of trying to get my attention. You should be embarrassed, fam.

 

[Double Burger With Cheese]

U sound extremely ignorant and like a hater. Most people who make beats now know how to fuse the tools together. shytting on people’s process ESPECIALLY if they are dedicated to their craft is wack. If seen so many nikkas make beats in like 10-15 minutes on an MPC. Matter fact Heatmakerz was notorious for that when it came to their beats for Dipset. Here’s an example actually.

I thought producers stopped hating on fruity loops like over a decade ago lol. Can’t put these rules and stipulations on creativity and refuse to honor people exploring new technology for making beats. I understand the preference for a certain way, but I don’t understand the dismissal at the process he dosent like.

 

[Awesome Wells]

They're all just tools if we're talking beatmaking.

This is true.

But dude was speaking to me about recording vocals, mixing, etc.

For beats, I'm a die-hard MPC head. I'm on the Live II now, and I take the Studio II with me, when I'm traveling. But for vocals, I've been back and forth with Logic and Pro Tools, for a minute. So for what dude was asking, Logic would do the job nicely and he can run with that everywhere and not have any issues with needing to pay monthly for it.

 

[spliz]

You've been missing the point since you popped up in this thread.

Don't reply to my sh*t anymore, until you're actually adding to the talk instead of trying to get my attention. You should be embarrassed, fam.

I’m missing the point yet other people are replying to u saying the same shyt as I am? U missed the damn point from the jump. The first cat asked if FL was better than Pro Tools and I said it’s all in what ur using it for. YOU are the one who came in straight up shytting on FL.

 

[Reptile]

I will say as an FL user I would love to own an SP1200, MPC One, Linn Drum, Stretch DX, etc. The shyts expensive as hell though and rare; one top of being used up as hell for over 30 years now (aside from MPC One). I always told myself Imma buy equipment with money I make from music, not work money.

 

[Reptile]

You can implement both DAWS and hardware into your workflow, doesnt have to be one or the other. Metro creates his chords and shyt in FL and gets his drums snares and percs from the SP 1200 (as of late hes been using the Linn Drum. Heres and Villains, WDTY and WSDTY he used mostly the Linn Drum)

 

[Awesome Wells]

I understand the preference for a certain way, but I don’t understand the dismissal at the process he dosent like.

I explained it.

I don’t want it to be easy for me. I actually love the process of learning. So when I've f*cked with FL, I didn't like it. For the same reasons other people mentioned on here. I also see a lot of people who use it, not knowing a lot about production, when they come into the studio. That makes everybody else's job harder.

But it's not just about making beats. We started this talk on mixing, recording, etc. The learning aspect is what I'm speaking about though. So I'll ask another producer what equipment and techniques he used to make certain classic songs, and we'll speak about the process. That's the fun part for me. If I don’t have that piece of equipment, I might cop it, just to learn how to use that sh*t. I'm doing it now with the SP because someone told me I should cop another one and master it. So I picked up a used one a couple years ago from Armen's here in NYC. The fun part is the learning. I don’t want anything to come easily with music. Only the checks, lol. The creative process for me, is the learning. And I've been doing this since I was 15-16, but I don’t ever want to stop learning new sh*t.