Mastering Tip #3: Master to -1 dBTP (decibels true peak). Mastering Tip #1: Supply Yourself with Adequate Headroom to Work With. This is especially true if you have to come back to the session at a later date. It can be annoying, but the payoff is rewarding. The only problem with FL Studio is that to create a similar workflow that I’m used to in other DAWs, they make you jump through hoops. I’ve since carried those working habits over to FL Studio, and now I’m sharing them with you. Personally, I come from other DAWs, like Pro Tools and Sonar, so I’ve picked up certain habits along the way while working in those programs. You’re going to see exactly how I like to organize my sessions for success. I’m talking labeling, color coding and rearranging of the patterns and tracks. So now that we’ve got some of the basics behind us, this is where the real work is going to happen. Organization #3 - The Sequencer & Playlist All you have to do is push CTRL and then click on the label and BOOM!Done. With the markers set up this way in FL Studio, you can now click on each marker, and it will automatically set up loop parameters for you, making it super fast and easy to loop whatever section you want. What I mean is, I like to loop sections of the beat when I’m working on it so that I can balance those parts. Let’s use our ears and our balancing skills to make things sound better! So my preference is always to start with nothing on the master bus. The FL Limiter prolongs the point when distortion occurs, and your ear gets used to the over compressed and squashed sound. If my way doesn’t sound better, then you can go back doing it your way.Īlso, a lot of producers like to peg their meters in FL Studio, and we want to avoid that. If you’re still learning - just trust me. If you have a ton of experience with compression on the master bus, then go ahead and leave it on. I think it sounds restrictive, and at best it sounds “pumpy” Personally, I don’t like the sound of the FL Limiter. There are ways to create templates to avoid this but for this article, let’s just pretend they don’t exist. When you first start up FL Studio, it’s going to come preloaded with the FL Limiter on the Master Bus. Organization #1 - Removing the FL Limiter You’ll notice drastic improvements in your mixes over a short period if you stay disciplined, and you organize your sessions. The organization is a kin to the psychological aspect of mixing - the more organized you are, the more creative you will be. If you think this part is boring (it is) and you decide to skip it, everything else is going to fall apart. It’s so important that I had to break it down into four different sub-sections. I can’t stress enough just how important this section is. The first section of this tutorial is going to deal with the organization. And We’re Done Organizing Your FL Studio Sessions