FL studio should come without bundled presets and samples.

so when i first used fl studio back when it was still called fruity loops i used to only use the preset sounds but i was always like "maaaan this doesn't ever sound like i want it to and it really just sounds like what everyone else is doing!"

when i upgraded i got a cracked version of FL 4 hut like none of the pre-packaged samples worked at all so i had to go find my own on the internet. after a while i downloaded a demo version to use the in-built samples and they were actually totally shit compared to the ones i found anyway...

i think what i'm trying to say is that the first thing you should do when you get FL is to find a dickload more samples and instruments. with that in mind here is some stuff you might like:

SAMPLES:
http://machines.hyperreal.org/samples.
html
http://sampleswap.org/
http://www.mhat.com/phatdrumloops/
http://www.findsounds.com/
VSTS:
http://www.xoxos.net
http://www.tweekbench.net
http://www.sadglad.com/freevstplugins6 .html
http://www.digitalfishphones.com
http://www.smartelectronix.com

if you need anything more specific then google is your friend! we're all friends! hooray!

cool story, me.

Comments

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Madanimation 2011-02-12 07:34:13

I've been looking for some samples for a very long time! Thanks for sharing <3

Kajenx 2011-02-12 14:50:37

Or use the synths and make your own sounds! :P

I actually really like the drum samples in FLStudio, though. I haven't found any better, really.

midimachine 2011-02-12 14:50:37

they've gotten waaaay better in the newer versions but they're still kinda lacking imo, especially in the acoustic department.

synthesizing percussion sounds with the built in generators is a lot of fun though!

Xyresic 2011-02-12 17:27:05

Above story is true. There are still only 1 or 2 good kick samples prepacked with FL even now. I used to have to tweak 1 fucking kick sample to sound like a new one every time. Now I have over 80 different kick samples :P.

Also on the VST list you didn't add KVR. They have a massive VST database with commercial, freeware and unreleased VSTs for Mac and PC, etc.

midimachine 2011-02-12 17:27:05

yeaaa i used to find KVR really annoyin to navigate and they haven't really streamlined the design in years so idk i guess i didn't want any newbies to feel the same frustration i did

layering kick drums is always a good idea, though. even with the default samples you can get a pretty good result if you put a few samples in a layer. even layering different sorts of percussion with the kick drum can help get a more cuttin sound, like rimshot and hi-hat samples with a really short delay just to get the attack to pop through everythin or to really kick a sidechain compressor.

Shmi 2011-02-12 19:13:40

first of all i wanna say thanks for sharing, but after looking at all the sites it came to my attiention that most of the sites are incredibally outdated.
for instance digitalfishfones has its last news entry on april 09, 2009.. also sadglad looks like it was made in 1999... i dunno maybe its just me nitpicking, but i didnt find the links very usefull..

oh and by the way, you forgot to mention the best sample site of them all: freesound!!!

midimachine 2011-02-12 19:13:40

my mindset is that old and out-dated plugins that nobody uses anymore are still great to have for that exact reason: if hardly anyone else uses it then your tracks can stand out easier if you use them. this is especially true for compressor/limiter plugins which each affect the sound in slightly different ways. digitalfishphones plugins are *amazing* and still sound good after nearly 10 years, trust! :)

actually speakin of compressors i like to run a couple different compressor plugins at once on my kick drums to give them a unique character, first with one compressor actually compressing and then another one just slightly touching the wave... you can use any old nasty compressor for the second one ;)