Ridiculously compact, the Fruity Limiter is still one of the most-used limiter plugins among FL Studio users. The Limiter has become the go-to plugin for most beginners doing side-chaining. While it may experience some troubles dealing with sound with lots of artifacts, the Fruity Limiter is reliable for most kinds of audio signal. Heavy weaponry for the loudness war. Maximus will quickly become one of the most rewarding tools in your recording and mixing arsenal. Maximus applies level maximization via compression and/or limiting across three frequency bands, to enhance and improve the final track.
Let’s take a look at some mastering tips for FL Studio users. There are two primary ways of mastering. You can either apply mastering to your song on the mastering output, orr you can export out your song and then pull it back into FL Studio as an audio track and then master the stereo audio track. I’ll leave this method up to you, but the latter is a better way to go as you'll be less inclined to make changes to the mix while you master.
1—Cut Your Lows for Headroom
Try adding a low cut and cut everything below 40 Hz. This cuts out any inaudible frequencies that the human ear can’t hear and take up valuable headroom in the mix. So add a Fruity Parametric EQ 2 and then apply a low cut.
2—Use a Multiband Compressor
You have two multiband compressor options in FL Studio. The Fruity Multiband Compressor, or Maximus. I would recommend using Maximus as its features are more advanced. How Maximus works is that you have three bands (Low, Mid, High) where you can set the frequency range for each, and then also a single band master compressor on the effect. This gives you added control over your audio through the frequency range, plus you can gel the bands together with the single band master compressor.
For example, you could apply a heavier compression setting over the 0–200 Hz region where you bass and kick usually sit, and this won’t affect elements in the higher registers like the cymbals and hats. So decide where you want the band splits to be by soloing each band and then moving over to the right view to adjust the frequency amount.
And then you can see the result of the compression on each band by switching to the monitor view. So tailor the amount of gain for each band, plus the Attack and release times. What I find really cool is that you can even draw in unique threshold curves in the graph. It’s actually very easy setting the threshold this way on the graph.
I like to apply a harder compression on the Low band and increase this slightly. Then I apply slightly less compression to the Mid band. And then for the High band, I don't apply compression, just gain for a bit more high-end detail in the track.
With the Master band, you use this as a single band compressor to gel all the bands together. Just apply a subtle compression here to help even out the compression on the track.
3—Adding in Saturation
With Maximus, you can also add in some slight saturation per band, also known as harmonic exciting. With the threshold, you have two modes: Mode A or Mode B: and you can choose what percentage of the mode you want to add by moving the dial left or right from the center. With the ceiling dial, when you start decreasing this you’ll hear it imparts the saturation on the band.
4—How About Another EQ
After the multiband compression, you might want to make some EQ adjustments. If so, then add another Fruity Parametric EQ2. I sometimes find a slightly high EQ boost can help bring back some of the high-end detail that got removed through the compression. But this isn’t always necessary. So only use this if you find you need to do some EQ adjustments after the compression.
5—Some Reverb
What also helps to gel the elements together and give your track a sense of a space that it belongs in is to add some reverb. You can either use the algorithmic Fruity Reeverb2, or the convolution Fruity Convolver reverb if you want to use a real space. Less is more here. Too much and the song will become muddy. So drop the Wet dial to about 10% or less.
6—Hard Limiter
The last effect to add to your mastering chain is the Fruity Limiter. This will maximize the perceived volume of the whole mix, plus help prevent any clipping on your master output. Set the output to -0.1dB to stop it from going over 0 dB, and then increase the Gain to maximize the overall perceived level of your song.
7—Mixer States
What’s great about FL Studio is that you can save different Mixer states, and re-use them in other songs. So, for example, let’s say you’re mixing a whole album and want to apply the same mastering settings across the album, then you can use this technique. What you do is you go to the drop-down arrow on the top left of the Mixer window, then go to File > Open > Save Mixer State as…
Then when you go to a different song, you can navigate to the same menu and choose open Mixer state. This loads your master output state to the new song. You can also drag and drop these presets from the browser onto the master output channel.
8—Dither and Export
When you’re happy with your mastering, make sure to apply dither to your exported song Go to File > Export. Choose your format. Probably the best is to choose a lossless format such as WAV. Then give the file a name and click save. A Rendering dialog box will launch. Expand the quality section, and make sure to enable Dithering and HQ (High Quality) for all plugins to get the best audio results.
Conclusion
Those are a few handy techniques to use to get the best out of mastering your songs in FL Studio. Try them out in your next mastering sessions.
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Last Updated on January 4, 2021.
Good mastering plugins can be hard to come by, and they candefinitely be expensive!
This is why I created this list of the best free mastering plugins which should help you get your mixes to a new level while not spending anything!
let’s start things off with a bundle of free plugins that will already cover all your needs;
Noiz-Lab LE Mastering Bundle
Noiz-Lab LE is a collection of five free mastering plugins developed by homestudiomastering.com.
Basically, you can get them for free as well as a detailed e-book guide on how to master a song, and the included plugins are;
- Monomizer (adjusts the processed audio’s stereo width)
- Equalizer
- Compressor
- Convolver
- Limiter
Note: These plugins are designed to be used as a learning tool for beginners, and while they may be very good, they do have their shortcomings.
All of these plugins are very intuitive and easy to use and straight to the point, with no extra fluff, which is absolutely ideal for beginners.
I’d recommend you download all of them as well as the guide.
You can Download it here.
Youlean Loudness Meter 2
Youlean Loudness Meter 2 is a free loudness metering pluginthat features four metering modes; LUFS, LRA, DR and true peak.
It’s one of the most accurate loudness metering plugins out there, even when compared to other premium ones, and a vast number of producers use it during the mastering phase.
Even though you can get it for free, it does have a Proversion which comes with additional features.
This is an essential tool for any producer, especially if budget is an issue, since it will help you determine the proper amount of loudness without sacrificing quality or dynamics.
Because of it’s exceptionally visual interface, you can not only hear- but see what is going on, which can help beginners to better understand what is going on in the mix.
Not only this, but it includes loads of presets so you canmake sure to sound great on all the streaming platforms like Spotify, YouTube,etc.
You can download it here.
Related: Are you looking for free reverb plugins? Here’s a list of 14 of them!
mvMeter 2 by TBProAudio
mvMeter 2 is a multivariable meter including RMS, EBUR128, VU and PPM measurement.
Additionally, it has multi-channel metering, which means that you can see what’s happening on the stereo, left, right, mid, or side channels.
You can even choose between five different themes, if you don’t like the look of a particular one.
Here are some of the features;
- single and dual meter display
- adjustable reference level for all meter modes
- adjustable meter delay
- preset management
You can download it here.
Related: If you’re looking for a free DAW, then here’s anarticle for you on that exact topic.
SPAN by Voxengo
SPAN is a free spectrum analyzer plugin that is absolutely essential to have for mastering if you want your mixes to end up sounding loud but not crushed.
It has a fairly simple Interface, which makes it easy to use, and it’s very accurate and useful, plus it’s compatible with almost any DAW available right now.
Not only is Span a spectrum analyzer plugin, but it can also do K-system metering.
It comes loaded with features such as being able to routemultiple tracks into SPAN and then comparing their frequency content.
You can download it here.
LoudMax by Thomas Mundt
LoudMax is a Loudness Maximizer Plugin that is designed to retain the original character of the music as much as possible, even at high compression levels.
It’s a very simple yet powerful tool that has two sliders, which are: Threshold and output.
LoudMax is a plugin that I’d recommend to beginners since its simplicity will better help you understand how to properly use a limiter.
But, even though it’s extremely simple, it’s still a greatplugin!
You can download it here.
Interested in free Synth vst plugins? Here’s an entire post on that topic.
Limiter №6 by Vladg Sound
Remember I said that LoudMax is a very simple plugin with just two controls? Well, Limiter №6 is far more complicated to use, with the advantage of being a lot more versatile as well.
It offers more control than LoudMax, meaning that it allows you to do more detailed tweaking, and it has five modules which include: RMS compressor, peak limiter, high-frequency limiter, clipper, true peak limiter.
And just as a note, even some premium plugins don’t come with such features included.
So, definitely give it a try!
You can download it here.
Looking for free guitar VST plugins? Here are the 15 best ones.
TDR Nova EQ (Windows, Mac)
Nova is a parallel dynamic EQ that offers four bands which also include a fully-featured dynamic section each, and this means that the EQ can cover a huge variety of applications.
It may look intimidating and hard to use at first, but in reality, its interface and layout are quite intuitive and easy to navigate, which is why it’s easy to recommend even for beginners.
The interface provides an easy drag and drop display paired with a classic “knob” interface which allows for quick and smooth access to the various parameters that Nova EQ offers.
Additionally, it also comes with an additional high-pass and low-pass filter sections.
All in all, Nova EQ is very easy to recommend since it could easily be a premium plugin.
You can download it here.
Voxengo Marvel GEQ
Having a good EQ is essential for any mixing and mastering engineer, especially one like the Marvel GEQ since it comes with a “undo/redo” function, which is something that not many plugins offer, especially free ones.
Marvel GEQ offers extensive internal channel routingcapabilities, and supports mid/side channel processing.
Supporting mid/side channels is a fantastic feature since it allows you to treat the information in the center channel in a different way than the information on the sides, and this can end up yielding a much cleaner stereo spread.
The Marvel GEQ deserves a spot on this list not just for it’s great sound quality, but mainly because it can treat the mid and side channels differently, and because of the redo/undo function, which will prevent a lot of headaches!
You can download it here.
Related: Looking for free compression plugins? Then here’s a list I wrote just about that topic.
TDR Kotelnikov (Windows, Mac)
Contrary to most compressor plugins in existence, this one doesn’t try to emulate any existing hardware compressors, quite the opposite in fact.
Named in honor of Vladimir Kotelnikov, who was a pioneer of digital sampling techniques, this plugin is purely digital and uses complex algorithms to provide the best control possible over the dynamics with minimum added color.
You have access to two different versions of the plugin; the free one and the “Gentlemen’s Edition”, which costs $44.
What sets Kotelnikov apart from most other compressors is its “Frequency Dependent Ratio”, which allows you to set a different compression ratio depending on the frequency (not available in the free version).
A similar feature is the “Low Freq Relax” that allows you to configure a high-pass filter for the side chain, which makes the compressor react less to those lower frequencies such as kick and bass, and this one can be found both on the free and premium versions of the plugin.
In other words, when using the “Low Freq Relax” feature, you are effectively lowering the threshold on the lower frequencies.
Another feature are the Ying and Yang controls, which add harmonics to the lower and higher frequencies respectively.
Lastly, when processing stereo channels, you also have the option to only process the Sum or Difference channels, otherwise known as the Middle or Side, and you can even use two instances of this plugin to compress the Mid and Side independently.
This plugin clearly does a hell of a lot of things, but it does them right, and for only $44, or even free, I honestly don’t find a reason not to recommend it.
Find out more here: TDR Kotelnikov.
Stereo Buss by Minimal System Group
This is a free compression plugin designed specifically for Master Bus compression.
Compression helps glue all the tracks together to create that sense of congruency in the mix, and this plugin does a great job at that!
Basically, if you’re looking to add some finishing touches toyour mixes, then Stereo Buss might be the compression plugin you need!
Tip: Try introducing the Stereo Buss Compressor early in the mixing process, some people find this to be a better way of doing things.
You can download it here.
Stereo Tool v3 by Flux
StereoTool is a free plugin that offers precise control over the input gain and individual pan for left and right channels.
It also comes with an accurate visual feedback, reflectingthe content with;
A vector scope, PPM meters for inputs/outputs, phasecorrelation meter permanently monitoring the signal and individual left andright polarity reversal.
Free Mastering Vst Plugins For Fl Studio
Stereo Tool v3 is a fantastic plugin if you need to solve some problems with the balance of your stereo image, or if you’re having phase issues.
You can download it here.
Interested in free Auto-Tune VST plugins? Here’s a post about the best ones.
A1Stereo Control by Alex Hilton
Often times you’d want to give your mixes a wider and expansive sound, and this is where A1Stereo Control comes in.
Not only is this plugin great at enhancing the stereo field, but it also features the “Safe Bass” algorithm which centers everything below a user-configurable value.
This gives your tracks the solidity and definition you want whilepreserving maximum transparency and sharpness.
Simply turn on “Safe Bass” and adjust the frequency if needed and that’s it.
You can download it here.
Wider by Polyverse Music
This is a simple free plugin that widens your stereo signal without causing any phasing issues because the widened signal will always remain in phase.
It’s extremely easy to use because you can only control oneparameter; the width.
And that’s it!
It creates a much wider stereo feel and it doesn’t mess withthe phase at all!
This is an excellent plugin that I absolutely recommend!
You can download it here.
IVGI by Klanghelm
I love Klanghelm plugins; I use a couple of their compressors and they all work amazingly well!
Best Free Fl Studio Plugins
So, it’s no surprise that this saturation and distortion plugin is also worth mentioning!
Adding a bit of saturation to your final mix can completely change the way it sounds, and this is where IVGI comes in;
Not only can IVGI add warmth, but it can also be used to completely distort tracks, as well as letting you alter the frequency dependency of the saturation with the RESPONSE control.
If your mix is lacking warmth, use IVGI to subtlety add some!
You can download it here.
Conclusion
I hope I was able to provide the information you neededhere.
I believe that all of the plugins on this list areabsolutely amazing considering that they are free!
Wider is fantastic, and I also love Youlean Loudness Meterand mvMeter 2.
Give them a try and see how you like them!
Have a great day!