Hey there,
It's been a long time since I've used an actual forum, so I'm hoping that my posting format ends up looking okay. This is my first post here.
Snow, I too used to get destroyed by automation clips in my projects. I'm here to let you know that there is a better way to automate.
A disclaimer: I won't say I have a degree in Music Production, nor am I a definitive guide on Fruity Loops.
With that said, my early years of beat production started with very little guidance. It took me a long time to discover that
there is no need to use automation clips most of the time.In the next few images I will show you the wonders and beauty of the 'Edit Event' option that can be used for any parameter in Fruity Loops.
Step 1:Make a basic beat to work with. This way you can follow along and learn in only a few short minutes what I am talking about. Your projects and ideas of automation will change dramatically.
In this image I have made a basic 4/4 beat.
Step 2: Know what you want to automate. In the image below I will be automating the volume of the master track to give a nice 'fade in' effect to my project. However, this method works with
every parameter in fruity loops. This includes the juicier things like parameters in NI Massive for precise dubstep wobbles, or whatever.
- FIRST AND FOREMOST: Check to make sure you are in the right pattern that you want the automation to happen. In this example, I want my automation effect to 'fade in' on my first pattern, aptly titled Pattern 1.
- Go to your channel mixer
- 'Right Click' the Volume knob
- Select 'Edit Events' in the drop down menu
This will appear on your screen:
As depicted, a piano roll will open that allows you to change the parameter that you have selected in what is called an 'event'. By default, this event is tied to the pattern that is currently open when you choose to edit an event. This is why I mentioned to double check and make sure you are on the correct pattern
before editing an event. However, this is only for convenience. It is possible to change where the event occurs but it is much more convenient to choose the pattern that that you want to have the automation occur first. The 80% is a displayed value of where my mouse was sitting in the piano roll while I was taking the screenshot. This value will change based on where you place your mouse which is very useful for selecting specific values for your automation.
Step Three[/u]:
Learn how you want the parameter to be automated. In the next few images I will show you the detail in which you can edit an event.
This image depicts a basic abrupt rise in volume over time.
This image depicts a manually entered 'smooth' rise up. It's not perfect, but don't worry. There is a better way to achieve perfection. It is important, however, to note that a rise like this is possible to enter in manually, which is great for precise changes in a song.
Now lets see how this edited event looks in the playlist (song view).
Notice how the event is automatically tied to Pattern 1 and repeats twice in the playlist. This mistake is to display how the edit event automatically ties the event to the pattern that is open when you edit an event.
All patterns after the event (i.e. pattern 2 and pattern 3 in this example) will assume the last value given to the parameter at the end of the event sequenceBecause the edit event works with the piano roll, all of the changes in the event are based around the same divisions in time that normal musical notes are (whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, sixteenth notes, etc. etc.) This allows excellent detail for
some parameters, and not enough detail for others. In comparison, if we were to do the same exact effect using an automation track, we would seamlessly change the volume of the track from 0%-100% using
every single number between 0 and 100 in an even sequence. This same even sequence can be achieved in the edit event function but would have to be meticulously entered manually if there weren't a few tricks I'm about to show you.
Step Four: Tools are your friends. In the images below, I will show you how I can achieve the same precision that an automation clip would have if I were automating the volume knob at the beginning of the track, rather than using the edit event function. To achieve this, I will use the 'Tools' given to me at the top of the piano roll window.
Select the 'Tools'. For the effect, I want to use an LFO.
I've selected some values that work well for the effect I'm trying to achieve. Using this LFO function allows to customize the rate of change in the parameter with little error. Instead of me picking out each individual value (0-125), FruityLoops automates this process for me by using the LFO tool.
So, you're probably thinking, "Okay, I get it. But that's a lot of work just to have the volume fade in to the track." To which I respond, 'Don't be lazy or don't make music.'
But I'm kidding. Actually, I'm going to show you a more applicable use of the edit event function using NI Massive. I understand not all of us have a midi keyboard. On top of that, automation can be incredibly tedious and can totally destroy the creative process. Editing events is a great and painless way to play with how you want the synth to sound without having to pick and choose a value on an automation track over and over until you get it right (or totally give up).
Let's begin.
First, in order to reveal all the parameters for NI Massive, you need to
make an editor thumbnail.
Next, you will hear a little camera sound and the FL Studio browser/plugin picker will open to the thumbnail you have just created.
These list of parameters are appropriately named and refer back to parameters (or 'knobs' for those who don't know what a 'parameter' means) in the NI Massive synth. For example, Macros 1 - 8 depicted above relate back to the macro knobs depicted below.
Learn what the list of parameters are (or don't and just pick and choose forever until you get the right one every time you need to automate something in a track). When you know what you want to automate, simply right click on the parameter in the editor thumbnail, depicted below. Then select edit event.
From here, you can revert back to steps 1 - 4. Most likely, you will get the most use out of Step 4.
I know this is a lengthy post and I hope that someone learns something from this. I hope it helps out the original poster as well as other people interested in the automation function in FL Studio. It looks like Babasmas has depicted what seems to be a better fix for the automation track problem in FL studio 12. I personally don't have FL Studio 12, and am sure there are plenty of other changes in that version as well. The version displayed in this tutorial is FL Studio 11. If you have any other questions feel free to reply or send me a message on here. Hope this is a good first post. Thanks all.
