Believe it or not, it’s been four-and-a-half years since the release of FL Studio 20, which celebrated the DAW’s double-decade anniversary. Sure, we’ve had plenty of point releases from Image-Line since then, but now it’s finally time for FL Studio 21.
The headlining new feature is the integration of envelopes into audio clips - you can now adjust fade-ins/outs and levels in the Playlist on a per-clip basis. What’s more, dragging one clip into another will automatically create a crossfade between them, leaving you to adjust the ‘tension’ until you’re happy with it.
The look of FL Studio 21 can be adjusted with new themes, which themselves can be tweaked to your liking, while the upgraded file browser offers tagging, faster search and the option to preview a sample from any point on its waveform.
If you have the All Plugins edition of the FL Studio, you’ll also get the new Luxeverb reverb, while the Vintage Phaser plugin (available in the Signature Bundle and up) models a classic effect used on Oxygene by Jean-Michel Jarre (Electro-Harmonix Small Stone, by any chance?).
The new Multiband Delay, meanwhile, is included in every version of FL Studio 21 from the Producer Edition upwards, and everybody gets the VFX Sequencer, regardless of which edition they’re rocking. This is an “advanced” step sequencer that can transform chords into melodic phrases.
Other enhancements include expanded multi-language support (Spanish, German and French join English and Chinese) and a whole lot more besides.
FL Studio 21 is free for existing users as part of the company’s Lifetime Updates policy, and until the end of the year, there are discounts on both upgrades (to a better version) and for new customers. The popular Producer Edition, for example, is currently on sale for $149/£129.
Find out more and download a demo on the Image-Line website. FL Studio 21 is available for PC and Mac.
