Starting off as Fruity Loops before changing its name and branding to FL Studio (following complaints from a certain cereal manufacturer), Image Line’s beatmaking software has long been one of the world’s most popular music production apps but does FL Studio work on mobile devices?
Luckily for us, Image Line have developed a special version of FL Studio which runs on Android (Phone/Tablet), iOS (iPhone/iPad) and Windows (App/Phone) devices.
What is FL Studio Mobile?
FL Studio Mobile is an easy to use music production app based on the popular FL Studio DAW. With FL Studio mobile you can record, sequence, edit, mix and render complete songs on your mobile phone or tablet using a configurable virtual piano-keyboard & drum pads and optional external MIDI controllers.
You can start tracks on FL Studio Mobile and then continue to develop your track further in the desktop version of FL Studio when you’re back in the studio.
FL Studio Mobile Drum Sequencer & Drum Sampler:
The FL Studio Mobile Drum Sequencer has two different types of tracks, ‘Stepsequencer Tracks’ and ‘Note Tracks’: With the Stepsequencer Tracks you can create drum rhythms by manually selecting steps to create a drum pattern. Note Tracks allow you to record/edit steps of varying lengths (including complex Snap Settings).
For each step on the sequencer you can adjust Velocity, Panning, Pitch and Note repeat (up to 8 repeats per step.)
The Drum Sampler is integrated with the Step Sequencer and is geared towards playing single-shot percussion samples. The Drum Track can hold multiple samples making up a drum kit and allowing you to process each sound separately.
Working with drum samples in FL Studio Mobile:
Using Custom drum samples: The Drum Sampler looks in the My Recordings/My Samples and My Tracks for WAV (16 / 32 Bit) and MP3 format samples. Put your own samples in these locations and you can access them in the app.
How to add a drum sample: Tap the (+) icon at the bottom of the rack and choose another sample to add. This will become a new track.
How to replace a drum sample: Long-tap on the track header and choose ‘Load sample‘ and choose a new sample OR with the SAMPLE tab selected tap the waveform icon and choose a new sample.
How to save a custom drumset: Long-press the Channel Icon to open the Channel Menu and use ‘Save Template‘. This will save the current set of drums as a preset so you can use it again.
To load a custom drumset: Tap the (+) Playlist button to add a track of type Drum Sequencer. Choose your custom drumset from your ‘My Drumsets’.
Give the Drum Channel a short tap to open up new 4 tabs to access the mixer, sample options, volume envelope settings and advanced stepsequencer setttings.
Does FL Studio Mobile work as a plugin on desktop?
Yes it does! You can run FL Studio within your desktop version of FL Studio just like any other native FL Studio plugin.
Is FL Studio Mobile the same as FL Studio?
FL Studio is a powerful, fully featured DAW which requires a suitably powerful computer to run properly. FL Studio Mobile is optimized for mobile and low CPU load and features a much smaller feature set compared to its desktop sibling. FL Studio Mobile is designed to work on any size screen from popular phone sizes to TV sized touch-monitors.
What synths does FL Studio Mobile come with?
Fl Studio Mobile comes with the following instruments and devices:
Transistor Bass – a monophonic bass-line style synthesizer inspired by the legendary Roland TB303. For creating resonant-style basslines and leads.
GMS (Groove Machine Synth) – a multitimbral hybrid synthesizer & FX channel taken from the FL Studio Groove Machine plugin.
MiniSynth – a simple and easy to use synthesizer with a low processor overhead. There are 1000’s of patches available for it and you can easily create your own.
DirectWave – This is a sample player and is a useful source of traditional sounds such as piano and guitar etc. Directwave ships with many included sample banks and you can purchase extra banks from the in-app shop.
FL Studio Mobile FX:
FL Studio features a number of classic fx including Auto Ducker, Chorus, Compressor, Limiter, Distortion, Parametric Eq Graphic Eq, Flanger, Reverb, High-Pass/Low-Pass/Band-Pass/Formant (Vox) Filters, Delays and Phaser to enhance your mix.
Does FL Studio Mobile have automation?
Yes FL Studio features automation. You can create automation clips for most interface controls. In the “Playlist” workspace of the app you can arrange notes, automation and audio clips to create songs. Automation Clips can either be manually created or can be created by manual tweaking of a control while you are in ‘Record’ mode.
How to export FL Studio Mobile projects as .Wav files?
Tracks created in FL Studio Mobile can be exported in WAV, MP3 or AAC, FLAC & MIDI formats. To export your files use the Save > MP3 or WAV on the “Home” Tab. Audio files are saved in the FL Studio Mobile installation folder under ../My Tracks.
Where is FL Studio Mobile in the desktop version?
To use FL Studio Mobile in the desktop version as a plugin you must have FL Studio desktop version equal to or later than version 12.4 If you have a legit version of FL Studio it includes lifetime free updates so make sure you have the latest version. FL Studio Mobile can be opened in FL Studio in the same way you would open any other FL Studio plugin.
Using FL Studio Mobile with controllers:
FL Studio Mobile responds to internal touch-controllers and you can also use external wired or Bluetooth MIDI. Some Android and iOS devices will require an OTG (On The Go) adapter to convert from a larger USB A type output from the MIDI controller to your Android or iOS device.
Under the FL Studio Mobile Home tab > Settings page, tap on MIDI Device. You can choose your device by name (if its visible) or use the default ‘Any available’.
FL Studio Mobile video tutorials:
If you want to get up to speed with FL Studio Mobile the fastest way to learn is via the official Image Line Youtube videos. They have a dedicated FL Studio Mobile playlist on their Youtube channel covering topics including getting started, stepsequencer programming, custom drum templates and much more.
Download FL Studio Mobile:
See the official FL Studio Mobile site for links to the Android/iOS and Windows apps. If you want to test it out for free on desktop you can install a demo version of FL Studio and use the FL plugin version of FL Studio Mobile.