A BETA version of Fl Studio 20.5.0.1090 is available for download. It introduces FLEX,an advanced synthesis engine that includes Subtractive, Wavetable, Multisample, FM & AM based synthesis. https://forum.image-line.com/viewtopic.php?p=1397554#p1397554

Spoiler: NEW IN THIS BETA

• Fruity Scratcher - Added option to increase the size of the window 2x in each dimension
• FLEX - New plugin (included free for Fruity Edition and up).
• Formula Controller: added CV output option
• Improved error messages and unlock status when unlocking from the about window
• Added "Don't show this in the future" checkbox to the deletion dialog for channels and effects
• Added "Don't show this in the future" for error message when a midi device can't open
• Added button to reset all "don't show this in the future" checkboxes to the General settings window
• Added plugin performance monitor window (View > Plugin performance monitor)
• Background image painting is now cached in EQUO and Fruity Vocoder
• Don't allow a user data folder that FL Studio can't write to
• Fruity Blood Overdrive is now a vectorized native FL Studio plugin and available in macOS
• Open DirectWave when a SoundFont file is dropped on the channel rack
• Option to change the maximum number of backup files (FILE settings).
• Patcher: new option to show cpu usage of modules
• Plugin Manager: check mark for favorite plugins is now a star
• Show a warning when the program is started as an administrator user
• Transparent windows option now has only two values (on and off)
• Troubleshooting option to set FL Studio path in registry to the location of the current instance
• Underrun counter is no longer increased while a project opens
• Update MIDI device list when the computer wakes up after sleeping
• Wave Traveller and Fruity Scratcher are now vectorized and available in macOS
• ZGameEditor Visualizer - Supports Instagram resolutions and aspect ratios
• ZGE Visualizer - added "Select all" buttons to images and meshes list
• ZGE Visualizer: added color parameter to WetInkSpiral effect. + More new effects (Alps, Boaty Goes Caving, Fluidity, Frozen Wasteland, Neptune Racing, Space Jewels, Spherical Polyhedra, Xyptonjtroz)
• Zge Visualizer: support export to Instagram resolutions and aspect ratios
• ZGE Visualizer: support nearest filtering mode for imported pictures
• ZGE Visualizer: Youlean Mask, Youlean From Buffer, Youlean Background MDL, Youlean Audio Shake
• # Preview browser sample for full length with ALT + click
• # Visibility of left and right docks in the mixer is now stored in the project file
• # Control Surface: popup menu for multiple selected items applies changes to all
• # Control Surface: support presets for label, digi wheel and XY controls
• # Control Surface: choose control style when adding a new control
• # ZGE Visualizer: use presets as image source

(macOS)

• Edison denoise tool now works under macOS
• FL Studio can now operate as a VST or AU plugin under macOS
• # New drag and drop implementation

Spoiler: BUG FIXES

• Closing toolbar editor can crash
• DirectWave: improved warning message shown when opening a SoundFonts or other multi-sample import formats
• Control Surface: access violation when closing project. label and bevel controls have parameters when they shouldn't
• Love Philter: CPU usage spikes when playback stops
• Wrapper: incorrect latency for Meldaproduction plugins after opening an flp file
• "Invalid pointer operation" after opening the "more" window
• "Invalid pointer operation" after opening the "more" window
• Alt + right click to preview clip doesn't work when PR is open
• Audio recording broken with loop rec off and a PL time selection
• Auto-rename is done for instrument tracks when relevant options are off
• Automation clips play during countdown timer while recording
• Avoid unnecessary repainting of the PL when audio clips have automated pitch
• Can't select multiple patterns linked to instrument tracks
• Can't unlock the program from the about window when the account email address contains a +
• Channel Rack does not remember its width
• Clone channel with multiple selection doesn't work in filter group
• Consolidation freezes or pauses at the start when using Fruity Video Player
• Control Surface: project saved on macOS can't be opened in Windows
• Corrupted project files because of tempo maps
• # Can't open some wave files
• # Crash opening projects with invalid pattern number data
• Crash opening popup menus in some circumstances
• Crash pressing return / enter key in More plugin window when no plugin is selected
• # Graph editor is not hidden when CR is detached
• Dashboard: unzip function extracts to FL Studio folder instead of user data folder
• DirectWave: editor doesn't update when preset is dropped on channel settings tab of the plugin window
• Dragging sample to browser doesn't locate its folder but adds a new one
• Dropping a plugin preset in the mixer always adds new plugin to currently selected mixer track
• Dropping a sample on the channel rack creates a copy of the file
• Edison: freeze detecting pitch regions
• EQUO, FPC: opening a preset that was saved at minimal size will have glitches
• EQUO: graphical glitch
• FLEX: Downloading pack and clicking download from other instance, it makes download fail
• FLEX: Dropdown under Master Filter changes between presets even when locked.
• FLEX: Oscilloscope analyzer stutters and freezes when notes are played quickly
• FLEX: Wrong position of macro labels after Browser is hidden
• FPC: MIDI loops are not read from both user and factory data locations
• Fruity Filter: extreme DC offset on low frequencies
• Fruity Notebook and Notebook 2: FL Studio doesn't ask to save song after changing text and closing FL Studio
• Fruity Phaser: error message when turning the knob on Patcher preset "1K Phaser"
• Fruity Send: pan and volume knobs don't have a hint
• Harmless: no hints when hovering over switches
• Harmless: visual glitch at 125% scaling
• Harmor: images over a certain size and using the format mix knob cause a crash
• Import of time signature from MIDI file is incorrect in some cases
• In-app shop shows products that aren't for sale anymore
• Inconsistency with naming of plugin instances from different sources
• Incorrect channel index leads to crashes when loading some flp files
• Issues with track routing when assigning instrument tracks from the channel rack
• It's possible to delete the only channel in the channel rack when deleting an instrument track
• Love Philter: access violation
• Maximus, Fruity Limiter: set the ATT / LMH Del control value on mouse release only
• Maximus: control hints not available or show wrong values
• Merging pattern clips affects unrelated patterns
• Missing samples dialog doesn't have correct file extension in filter list when locating the samples
• Missing shortcuts for "dropped samples" popup window
• Mixer mute / volume button & wheel on plugin window breaks in certain situations
• Newtone: access violation when opening a sample
• Patcher: freeze when switching presets in some cases
• Pattern names in pattern menus can't be clicked when they start with a "-" character
• Patterns playing from random position when switching
• Plugin Manager: loading existing presets takes too long
• Plugin Manager: potential crash because of update message when starting
• Potential crash using zip files when the shared program files location is not the default one
• PPQ affects the default note length
• PPQ affects the default note length
• Preset filename is not used for empty effect slot when auto-name is off
• Recorded events in the PL are offset incorrectly
• Rendered audio clip sounds quieter than live version
• Right shift + click on the left side of a clip in the PL moves the whole selection to the left
• Rotate right and rotate left functions in the channel rack don't account for pattern length
• Selected channel is incorrect after cloning
• Selection in PL gets stuck in resizing mode once edge is clicked
• Sustained note recording into overlapping patterns causes extreme note lengths
• Transistor Bass: controls for sequencer tab listed in last tweaked menu
• Using "reset mixer track" doesn't update the Changed flag
• VFX Key Mapper: no hint on Offset control and problems with other hints
• VFX Level Scaler, Keyboard Splitter: problems with hints
• Wrapper: "bridged" state for plugin is not remembered

(macOS)

• ZGE Visualizer: preview window appears white after wizard is closed
• Crash when deleting a channel
• Maxx's plugins: right-click context menus are not available
• Minisynth: all audio is muted
• IL Remote: commands are processed incorrectly by FL Studio
• Very long mp3 files fail to import
• Runtime error 216 during installation and launching OsxFL
• Plugin Manager: freeze while scanning
• Crash with samples with very long filenames and paths
• Caps lock acts like shift is held, and sometimes doesn't turn off
• Caps lock causes Shift + Left-Click to function as slice tool
• Wrapper settings not persisted
• Drag and drop to Channel Rack not working for files located on Boot Camp partition
• # Wave files in Microsoft ADPCM format are not supported
• # Control Surface: adding controls via drag doesn't work
• # Wrapper: UAD AudioUnit plugins report incorrect latency when processing buffer size changes

(Windows)

• Wrapper: bridged plugin window doesn't show at the correct size when FL is scaled by Windows
• Wrapper: external window for bridged plugins has tiny caption bar when FL scales itself

 

Can I install it next to mine?

 

The macOS and Windows Betas install in parallel with the release version, they don't replace it! These are safe to install and should not interfere with a previous installation of FL Studio 20.

 

I don't like that the preset browser points to microtransactions already.

 

Yeah its tacky as fuck. I'd hate to be someone who bought this thing in VST form and have a little shopping cart icon in the preset browser

Good thing I don't want it.

 

it's all about the benjamins

 

Flex wont be in vst form since its going to be completely free they seem to be making it exclusive for FL. I cant really complain since its free. i enjoyed using the presets it came with as a starting point. Dont see myself ever buying any preset packs though

 

Oh I didn't know it was gonna be free/only available to FL users. That definitely mitigates the EA/mobile games vibe of having an in-app purchase button right there on the interface.

Shame they made this instrument with supposedly such a versatile synthesis engine but decided to make it more Nexus than Avenger

 

They will sell the full synth later on. Still, their plans are mainly selling expansions for it. I doubt that FL alone is very profitable business, because of the free updates for life policy.
Their other synths - Harmor, Sytrus, Sakura etc are pretty good, but they never managed to make them popular and IL also never manage to release many expansions showcasing the power of their synths for the regular producer (that's not some kind of expert sound designer).
There is a reason why Nexus is still one of the most popular plugins - people are more interested in pre-produced genre sounds than creating something semi-original.

 

That has to be a completely different synth from Flex like a Pro version, but honestly i dont see it being profitable outside of the FL studio user base. Right now theyll probably want to use it as a marketing technique to get people to buy and switch over to fl studio.

 

I know, I know.

What really baffles me is Avenger doesn't seem to be as popular as Nexus even though it sort of works on the same business model AND allows you to access all the synth parameters you could want.

I still think Avenger is criminally underrated. It's not quite as simple to use as Serum, but it's close, plus it does pretty much all the same things and way more.

 

Image-Line representative on their own forum:

FLEX will be free for all FL Studio owners (Fruity, Fire, Producer, Signature etc).

FLEX won't give you access to the deep controls of the synth. It will allow you to control only what the patch designers allow (via UI and Macros). Later there may be a paid plugin, FLEXXX which will expose all (but we are yet to decide if and when this will happen).

There will be lots of free content for it

There will be lots of additional purchase content available for it. This content will be inexpensive.

Harmor was released 8 years ago. Since then they have only released toy synths.

 

Hm, the market is oversaturated with high quality synths with good presets these days.
Serum managed to get popular for several reasons - there was a marketing gap (synths with simplistic interfaces like Massive and Sylenth1 were becoming outdated and lacking functionality); it got pirated by Kanye West, wow; Duda is a friend with many popular EDM producers and it became known among other producers in their circles, and mentioned in interviews, featured in studio walkthroughs etc.People released plenty of soundsets for it.
There are many synths with like no third party presets for them. With no media exposure. Locked behind iloks or something similar or too expensive for the regular amateur producer.Serum was the right product in the right time for a decent price, there is even rent to own program for it.
One thing that Nexus has over Avenger (or any real synth) is lower CPU usage, so as long as you have RAM, you can create more complex project without freezing tracks.
The only marketing gap at the moment is (or was) in advanced FM or additive synths, but these will never have mass appeal, so developers don't really bother. I have to see how good is the new Phase Plant for FM/PM or Msoundfactory for both of these.
Reaktor can do them, but it's not CPU efficient, plus you have to waste hd space with every project, because of NI's crappy preset system. (Or they changed something for good in the last update?)
Graintables (Virus TI, Malstrom in Reason) or skanned synthesis (there were 2 such synths that were abandoned) are two other potentially interesting techniques that are not very popular in the vst world, but maybe have potential.

 

Hm so that is a preset player ? You cant create your own sounds nor can you add own multisamples ?

 

you did a comparison between them CPU wise.
It would be interesting how cpu efficient avenger is compared to nexus when it just comes to sample playback.
How many voices etc. Pure sample playback no other things

 

interesting

 

Am I the only one digging flex?

 

@LV4-26 Bro you just gave a "nasty" to @Marcsal only because he said "Am I the only one digging Flex?" What is "nasty" about that? Im digging it too.

 

I think that is retaliation for a nadty I gave him for the comment he or she made about @r4e in the kontakt thread.he is going to all my comments and giving me negative ratings.

 

Last edited: Jun 5, 2019