Understanding MIDI Ports in FL Studio - How to route MIDI between plugins and/or hardware

[@bandwidth64]

Many thanks for the explanation of proper midi equipment routing. Now the different keyboards are clearly assigned to their instruments and don't get confused!

[@Andonchoto]

човеко, това със layer направо е златно :) Благодаря!

[@prismen5535]

I cant express how helpful this was, you are a legend. Thank you!

[@steevmsteevm]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@neverendingquest8398]

@@steevmsteevm I agree this video was extremely helpful. Thank you! 👍

[@steevmsteevm]

@@neverendingquest8398 You're welcome!

[@NaderTaghinia]

Excellent explanation of both MIDI IN and MIDI OUT in FL Studio. Thanks a lot :)

[@steevmsteevm]

Thanks!

[@Xavfire]

Thanks for using FL! so many other videos in other daws, i'm going to use this technique to splice sequences into individually patched layers.

[@8bitheroes86]

I have an issue, I got my input an output set to 4 and the midi out is also set to 4, so when I play a note on my keyboard it triggers the synth. However when I click in the piano roll for this midi out there is no sound :/

[@steevmsteevm]

That's weird. It would probably help if you could go into more detail as to how you have set everything up (making it clear what is set to what port, external hardware vs plugins etc.). I just did a very quick test and couldn't replicate this behaviour, and if I set both my external hardware synth and a plugin synth to the same port I can hear them both playing when I click on notes in the piano roll. That said, if your keyboard is triggering the synth in FL Studio, you don't need to use MIDI Out at all, so maybe you're overcomplicating the setup. Again, if you describe the setup in more detail (making clear what is hardware, what is software), it might be more clear what is going wrong. The only other thing I can think of is that you've set MIDI Out to send on a particular MIDI channel, and your synth isn't responding on that channel.

[@teilekind1877]

How can i send midi cc ( not midi notes) from one plugin to an other?

[@steevmsteevm]

Unfortunately, I've never found a way to do this in FL Studio directly. While there are lots of plugins that will send CC data, FL Studio isn't actually MIDI compliant and CCs output by plugins are completely ignored. This is similar to how CCs from physical hardware are completely ignored in FL Studio until you manually map them. I've never understood why it's implemented so badly when other hosts will immediately respond to CCs without any extra work, but that's life. MIDI is unfortunately an afterthought in FL Studio and despite asking for this to be fixed for decades, nothing has happened, and the IL staff seem to have trouble even understanding why it's a problem (they aren't musicians, and it really shows). Now, if you really, really need to get this functionality to work, you might be able to work around it. *I've never actually tried this though!* I'm also not sure whether it's worth the effort - that's for you to decide. What you can try is installing a MIDI loopback driver (e.g. loopMIDI, I think MIDI-OX also has virtual ports - use your favourite search engine to find more). This will allow you to create virtual MIDI ports that show up as MIDI devices in the MIDI settings in FL Studio. You can assign FL Studio port numbers to these virtual ports in the MIDI settings in FL Studio. You'll need an output that you send the MIDI CC to - this will be the output port number set in the MIDI plugin's wrapper. Then you want an input, which will takes the MIDI message received on the virutal output port, and send it back to FL Studio. This will be the MIDI input port on the plugin you want to receive the CCs. You will still need to manually map the CCs using link to controller - because, as stated above, FL Studio will otherwise completely ignore any incoming CCs. So even if you send, say CC64 (sustain pedal) to a piano plugin in FL Studio, it won't actually react to that CC unless you manually map CC64 to the plugin's MIDI CC64 input. You can find these CC inputs at the bottom of the list of parameters if you select "Browse parameters" from the wrapper menu. Right at the end, there's a whole list of all MIDI CCs. Right-click on the CC you want to use, select Link to controller, and then set Ctrl value to the value of the CC you want it to react to (i.e. the CC sent by your MIDI plugin). Side note: because FL Studio doesn't support MIDI, most native FL Studio plugins do not have any MIDI CC parameter inputs either. But you can map a CC to the parameters using Link to controller the same way, you just have to map it directly to a parameter rather than a CC. I cannot guarantee this will work, because I haven't tried it, but it *should* work in theory. Also be aware that you can often set up your own more complicated MIDI routing in these virtual drivers, essentially using them as their own MIDI patch bay. As you can see, working with MIDI in FL Studio it sub-standard at best. I've tried to link CCs output by a plugin to another plugin in Patcher in the past, but either I was doing something wrong, or it's not possible in Patcher either. If you do manage to get this working with virtual MIDI ports, it would be great if you could reply to let anyone else facing the same difficulties know how you solved it!

[@bukaglasna]

Great! And how would you send FPC drum beat to a Sampler channel or another VSTi? In Ableton this i pretty simple, you just select midi input on the channel. Thanx

[@steevmsteevm]

You wouldn't. You'd just load up a Sampler channel or different VSTi instead. I'm guessing this is related to the "MIDI Loops" you can load in FPC, but those are just MIDI files, and you can drag simply them to the piano roll from Explorer or the browser (if you've added the path to the list of Browser extra search folders in the File settings) and use them with any plugin. You can see the path when you click on the option to load a loop if you are wondering where to find them. They're not going to work well in Sampler though, because the loops have different notes triggering different drums, while Sampler can only load a single sample. So if you load a kick in Sampler, that kick is going to play the kick part in the loop, as well as the snare and hihat parts, and it'll sound terrible :D FPC isn't generating any MIDI itself that you can route to other plugins, it's just responding to the notes coming from the piano roll. Loading a MIDI loop just copies the MIDI file to the piano roll in the current pattern. This is the same as dragging the loop to the piano roll manually.

[@BBLENDER]

Thanks! 💪💪💪

[@steevmsteevm]

yw!

[@xnobox]

Hi, i have a Roland Td17 module with my electronic drumkit. How would I get a saved midi piano roll (with velocity etc.) routed to my td 17 drumkit so I could only get the kick sounds from that hardware? ( I know allready how to only get the kick sound) Im trying to separate a played beat on the drumkit to individual tracks, and im trying to route the piano roll to the module so it could play the kick where it needs to go.

[@steevmsteevm]

You'll want to use MIDI Out to send the MIDI to your external hardware. You want to set a port for the TD17's output in FL's MIDI settings, and then make sure that the MIDI Out plugin is set to transmit on that MIDI port. So if you set the TD17's Output to be Port 3 in FL Studio, you need to set the MIDI Out plugin to port 3. This is around 2:40 in the video. While I'm doing this with my Mopho, it should be pretty much the same . You presumably will have a MIDI output that is named TD-17 or something very similar as the TD-17 has USB.

[@xnobox]

@@steevmsteevm thank you very much for the reply 😁

[@Ubul3]

Thank you! Solved a long time issue of mine in a few minutes!

[@steevmsteevm]

Good to hear it helped!

[@bzoch29]

Thx for this tuto. But how to use MidiOut Knobs with internal VST ?

[@steevmsteevm]

Right-click the knob in MIDI Out, select Configure, enter the CC number

[@bzoch29]

@@steevmsteevm Yes but it does not work. Try it your self. VST need "Midi Learn" option.

[@steevmsteevm]

The VST just needs to be able to react to the CC, be that via MIDI learn or due to the CC already being mapped to something in the VST. Check the manual of the VST to see what CCs come pre-mapped. If you want to control something that isn't pre-mapped, you obviously need to map it first.@@bzoch29

[@deadbabyjokes5319]

My midi sound really quiet on fl. i dont get why. i can boost the sound but everything will be just to loud

[@jasonlopez129]

how do i play my yamaha dgx670 sounds in the fl studio? i tried finding a video how to this but no luck!

[@steevmsteevm]

See the discussion with Bad Mana in the comments here. You'll need both MIDI and audio connections to your PC to use outboard gear that makes its own sounds.

[@steevmsteevm]

If you're still stuck, try this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2mphaaBdqyAipo

[@breiskapenthouston9674]

Can i use multiple synths with only one midi out from pc using midi thru?

[@steevmsteevm]

In theory at least, yes. I've never actually set this up myself. In part, because multi-port MIDI interfaces can be picked up pretty cheaply (I've got a 4 I/O interface that cose me EUR 17 second hand) and because most modern devices now support USB anyway. I would suggest that you refer to the manuals that came with your hardware, as you may need to configure what is forwarded to the MIDI thru port or switch a port from MIDI out to MIDI thru functionality. Depending on your use case you, probably also need to configure what MIDI channels each device is responds to. You will only have 16 MIDI channels per output, so if you want each device to respond to different notes, make sure the notes are being sent on different MIDI channels. Then configure each of the devices to receive MIDI data on the corresopnding MIDI channels (and ignore MIDI data on the channels for the other instruments). If you can pick up a cheap MIDI interface with multiple ports, it'll generally make the process a lot easier because you won't need to be menu diving to get everything set up each time. Of course, most modern devices are now USB-compatible, which also reduces the need to daisy chain.

[@2timothy613]

Hello, I’m having difficulties getting my transport buttons to function in fl studio. Any tips? Thanks for the amazing content btw!!!

[@steevmsteevm]

Check the manual to see if you can set it to "MMC" mode for the transport buttons. It's probably set to something else. Another possibility is that you don't have "generic controller" selected in the MIDI settings in FL Studio and the commands are being interpreted as something else. But I'd suspect it being down to the controller not sending MMC.

[@2timothy613]

Thanks a lot!! I was able to assign some buttons to those specific functions but still not able to use the actual play stop record on the MIDI. Either way I’m satisfied. Thank you!!

[@Ra_Sharpness_]

Im having major issues with fl not playing the sound coming from my synths when im using fl's midi out plugin. It completely changes the sound and if im running a midi file in midi out and change the preset then change it back it really fast it will plays the right sound. But the moment i hit stop and hit play again it reverts back to the altered sound. Ive has this issue since fl20 came out and image line is useless. They told me to ask in the forum. I did 3 years ago. Any suggestions

[@steevmsteevm]

Your MIDI file probably has program change messages in it somewhere. This is pretty typical for multi-part MIDI files. It chooses appropriate patches from the General MIDI sound set for each of the parts (channels). These are things like pianos, e-pianos, bass, guitar, brass etc. You can see these in the Patch dropdown menu in MIDI Out. This makes sense for arranger keyboards used by hotel lobby entertainers. They just download a MIDI file, and each part is played by the intended instrument. I have never worked with imported MIDI files, but any automation should show up in the imported patterns as events. If you click on "Control" at the bottom left of the piano roll - to the left of where velocities are shown by default - you will see a list of all events in the pattern. If you see something like "MIDI Out - General MIDI patch", select that and use the delete tool to remove all the automation. The other possibility is that you have initialised controls sending program change messages. This is far less likely, unless you had Record enabled *and* you changed the patch while playing the track *and* the "Don't initialize controls automatically" option in the General Settings is off. If it is on, you need to remove all the initalised controls, as well as possibly delete any events you may have recorded. Right-click on the Patch dropdown in MIDI out, select Delete initial value, and remove any events as described above. Don't forget to change the setting in the General settings to stop this happening again in future. If that doesn't help, you will have to ask on the forums. "Where can I find the program change messages in imported MIDI files?" or something is surely a question the IL staff must know the answer to.

[@Ra_Sharpness_]

@steevmsteevm i appreciate the info i will try it out. Thank you so much

[@robert.melter]

Hey, great video! I have a plugin called Cthulhu, it's like your ToneSpace. I can route it to VST, but not to external synths. With MIDI Out I can control my external synth,but not with the nice chords and arps. Is there a way to control external synth with Cthulhu or your ToneSpace. Something like MIDI out as a MIDI Thru plugin or so? Greets, Robert :)

[@steevmsteevm]

With tonespace, I simply set an output port in the MIDI settings in FL Studio for whatever MIDI device the synth is on (roughly 3:00), then choose that port number as the output port in the plugin wrapper (5:34). Does that not work for you?

[@robert.melter]

@@steevmsteevm Thanks for the answer. No, doesn't work with Cthulhu. Only for internal VST. Maybe I try ToneSpace, seems to have the same possibilities.

[@steevmsteevm]

@@robert.melter Interesting. Haven't used Cthulhu (and to be honest, I only downloaded ToneSpace in order to make this video), so unfortunately I don't have any suggestions. In theory, if it works with plugins, it should work with hardware too. After all MIDI data is MIDI data. You might want to double check everything is set up right, in case you've set the input port instead of the output port or something.

[@sathvikbuddhavarapu7167]

How can i render out midi notes and information from the MIDI Out Plugin???

[@steevmsteevm]

Do you want to export a MIDI file (your question is unclear)? It's covered in the manual, as are all the other export options: www.image-line.com/fl-studio-learning/fl-studio-online-manual/html/fformats_save_export.htm

[@sathvikbuddhavarapu7167]

I have an arranger keyboard and I want record midi from that. I am unable to export the midi into audio. I apologize for not being able to convey my question clearly.

[@steevmsteevm]

@@sathvikbuddhavarapu7167 You need to connect the keyboard's audio output to your PC's audio interface and record that. MIDI isn't audio. It's just notes. Think of MIDI as sheet music (how it sounds depends on the instrument that plays it, the notes themselves make no sound). For audio recording: www.image-line.com/fl-studio-learning/fl-studio-online-manual/html/recording_audio.htm

[@sathvikbuddhavarapu7167]

@@steevmsteevm hey, thank you very much for your reply! I have one more question. How do I link the midi out plugin to the Mixer track??

[@steevmsteevm]

@@sathvikbuddhavarapu7167 You don't because MIDI Out doesn't generate any sound. Whatever you are using to play the notes is what gets a mixer track routing. So if the sound is coming from your keyboard, you select the mixer track when you select the audio input. You''ll have MIDI data going from MIDI Out to the keyboard; and audio going from the keyboard to the mixer (via your audio interface). You select the audio input on the mixer track you want to use. Similarly, if you are sending MIDI data from MIDI Out to another plugin in FL, then your mixer routing depends on what mixer track that plugin is set to (i.e. the one making the actual sound). So if MIDI Out is sending data to Kontakt, then the sound will be on whichever mixer track Kontakt is routed to. Remember that MIDI Out itself won't ever make any sound, it just sends notes to other instruments that make the sound.

[@ksager123]

how do you use your hradware as a vst? what cables do you need?

[@steevmsteevm]

You can't use them as a VST directly. You need a VST editor or control panel of some sort that communicates with the device - either directly (typically VST editors created by the manufacturer) or via MIDI controls. Most modern synths have MIDI over USB. Older synths, rack gear and some newer synths use DIN-5 MIDI cable that will require a MIDI interface. Then you need a way to capture the audio. That means connecting the audio output to your audio interface. What cables you need for this depends on the device (though most synths use line ins/outs) and your audio interface (most support line and/or XLR). For FX, you'll also need an audio interface that has additional outputs in order to send the signal from the PC to the hardware. And of course you need to send the processed signal back. Again, this depends on what your hardware uses. Many rack FX use XLR rather than line, some use both. Guitar pedals use line etc. Remember that anything that is stereo will need two mono channels on your audio interface (one for Left, one for Right). There's no 1 answer to this. But if you have a synth you want to integrate with FL Studio, I'd definitely suggest you take a look at this video, which goes into some of these aspects in a lot more depth: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2mphaaBdqyAipo Obviously I didn't go into the audio connections in great detail, as that is very setup-dependent. But you will hopefully understand the general idea; then you'll need to look at your gear, your audio interface, and figure out if you can hook things up with what you have or not.

[@ksager123]

@@steevmsteevm there was a video where a guy was able play his hardware synth presets on the piano roll through the midi out vst. He didn't show what cable he used though.

[@steevmsteevm]

@@ksager123 It'll be either USB or DIN-5 via a MIDI interface to send the patch change messages and notes; and then *probably* line/instrument cables connecting the synth to the audio interface so you can capture the sound on the PC. Some modern synths can function as their own audio interface and can send the audio via USB if you are using the synth as your audio interface (but you can only really use 1 interface on PC because of how ASIO works). So it depends on the synth and overall setup what exactly the connections are. What I do: Synths receive notes etc. from FL Studio via both USB and DIN-5 MIDI cables depending on whether they support USB or not (e.g. my JP-8080 and Mopho have no USB, so I use a MIDI interface and DIN-5 cables; my Summit and Behringer synths have MIDI-over-USB, so I use the USB connection with those). The synths send audio to my digital mixer. This also functions as a USB audio interface. It has both line and XLR inputs, but I'm only using line inputs for the synths - line out is pretty much standard for instruments.

[@ksager123]

@@steevmsteevm thanks

[@steevmsteevm]

@@ksager123 yw

[@badmana5768]

Stupid Question coming in... I'm New So currently I have my Synth hooked up to my Focusrite 2i2 via two Aux cables. Can I record the sounds from my synth into Fl with that? or Do I also need the midi cables hooked up? I have Korg Opsix. If I do need midi cables, Do I plug my the Aux cables in the Line1 and 2 ports on the back and the midi cables in the front? ( currently i have the aux jacks plugged into the ports on the front of my focusrite) I might be wrong in assuming but arent the midi cables just so i can use my synth as a controller for plug ins in FL? because i just want to record the sounds that are coming from my synth into FL. sorry if im not clear in my questions and thanks in advance for helping out

[@steevmsteevm]

Yes, you are right that the MIDI cables are simply for using the synth as a controller, and don't actually transmit the sound. In very simple terms, when you press down a key on the keyboard, it sends a message over MIDI saying "Key X has been pressed" and when you release the key, there's a message "Key X has been released". It's up to whatever you are sending that note to to actually make a sound. As long as the Aux inputs show up as inputs in FL Studio (just above the FX slots in the mixer, there's a drop-down where you can select the audio input for a mixer channel), you can record the sounds from your keyboard into FL. More details in the manual here: www.image-line.com/fl-studio-learning/fl-studio-online-manual/html/recording_audio.htm In practice, I'd recommend that you record any parts you want played by external hardware as MIDI first. That way, you can edit the part if necessary. Once you've captured the MIDI in FL, you can simply send the MIDI to the hardware for playback, so you can hear the part as you work on the track. Make sure you don't have any feedback loops when you do this (i.e. sending notes from the keyboard to FL then back to the keyboard) as it'll cause havoc. Then, when you've got to the point that you are happy with the part, play back the MIDI and record the audio from the synth. You'll need the audio take so that you can export the track with the synth sounds in it - it won't work if you only have MIDI in the playlist. You should also keep the MIDI in the track (mute it, but keep it accessible). Then you can always edit the MIDI and re-record the part if you need to later. You can of course simply record the audio from the synth and play the part live - without using MIDI at all - but that will stop you from being able to make any edits to what you played. I find that a little bit of nudging notes here and there can make all the difference, and if you ever hit a wrong note, it's easy to remove from the recorded MIDI. Impossible to remove from the audio if there's more than one note playing at the same time. HTH

[@badmana5768]

@@steevmsteevm I can not thank you enough for the info. Exactly what I needed to know. You are a legend! I might be back if I run into any issues 😅 again thank you. Here's my sub!!

[@badmana5768]

@@steevmsteevm okay so something weird is happening. I have my synth hooked up as a midi controller via USB. I can free play all the sounds from my synth and hear them fine. The problem is the knob to control my presets is also changing the channel I'm using in FL at the same time... And when I highlight record and press play, it tells my synth to start playing the premade demo for whatever preset I'm on and it starts recording it. I'm so confused on what I have to do.

[@steevmsteevm]

@@badmana5768 Unfortunately, FL Studio reacts to program change messages (which is what you are sending when you select a preset) by jumping to the corresponding channel in the rack. Don't ask me why they made this decision. You can avoid this by right-clicking on the channel you want to control in the rack, and linking it to your controller with the "Receive notes from" option. This will keep the controller locked to that channel even if you change the patch on the synth. But if you're trying to use the sounds on the synth, you should check if there's a VST editor (check ctrlr.org/ too if there isn't an official one for your synth, or it's paid - there may be a template available). This will allow you to bypass FL for MIDI when using the synth's sounds, and allow you to instantly recall patches when you load a project. If there's an editor for your synth, this is by far the easiest way to work. I have editors for all my synths, and it makes working with them 1000x easier and avoids problems like this. There's still a little bit of babysitting you need to do if you want to use the synth as both a sound source AND a controller for softsynths. The editors typically require you to disable the MIDI ins and outs in FL, and select them in the editor in order to interface with the synth. Then, if you want to control a softsynth with your keyboard, you'll need to disable the link to the editor, and enable MIDI in FL Studio. I avoid this by having a dedicated MIDI keyboard (no on-board sound). Obviously that requires the gear to do it. I'm guessing the demo song is playing because the synth is reacting to the transport command sent when you press play. I think you can stop this from being sent to the synth by turning off master sync. At least that's what the manual says here: www.image-line.com/fl-studio-learning/fl-studio-online-manual/html/envsettings_midi.htm You can disable it for each output individually, and there are also options in the Options menu to turn MIDI settings on/off. You might also be able to set the keyboard itself to ignore these messages - check the manual that came with it.

[@badmana5768]

@@steevmsteevm again.. you’re amazing for help. Thank you so much. I have one more question. So say I’m laying down a bass line from my synth and I want to loop it and just freestyle some keys (also from my synth) on top. Well when I change my synth sound over to keys, it changes the bass line sound as well. In other words, can I have two midi out plug ins separately playing different sounds from my synth? Or do I need to convert the first midi into an audio clip to play a different sound from my synth on top? Example- I have a loop playing of some strings playing the rhythm I put it in the playlist and it’s looping. Now I want to do the melody, but when I either change sounds or alter the sound (use pitch wheel) it effects the Rhythm as well. Is there anyway around this other than converting it to an audio file before adding another section? Thank you I’m advance!! You’ve help relieve my headaches lol

[@marcus_ohreallyus]

All great info, but you didn't cover cables. I'm just using USB into my laptoip, and while I can see that something is happening in the FL studio interface when I hit a key on my hardware synth, I don't hear any sound.

[@steevmsteevm]

If you're seeing the mote being displayed in the info area, then the MIDI messages are arriving fine. That means that whatever you are sending them to isn't responding (or you are not sending the notes to anything, because you've assigned a MIDI port that isn't in use). Bear in mind that some instruments have a range and that if you hit a key outside that range, nothing will happen.

[@redbirdsaraceno]

I don’t see anywhere in my FL that has port options . They all only say track . Did they change it innFL 20 ? I like FL but hate how overly complicated simple things in other daws are such as simply assigning 1 sound to whatever midi channel you choose . I have a hardware sequencer with 16 channels and all i want to do is assign individual drum sounds and synth sounds (plugins) to separate incoming midi channels . Ableton does this easily as do most my daws . Im not familiar enough with FL procedures but a lot of them sure seem too convoluted.

[@steevmsteevm]

This is filmed in FL 20. BUT... the native plugins that come with FL Studio don't have the port options in the wrapper settings, that's only for VST. The problem - at the fundamental level - is that FL Studio isn't remotely MIDI-compliant, and uses a hybrid that is half MIDI, half its own thing. So the native plugins pretty much all have their quirks when it comes to handling MIDI. What you can do is link the input directly to an instrument in the rack by right-clicking on the instrument and selecting "Receive notes from" and then the device and MIDI channel. It's covered in the video, though I don't think I selected a MIDI channel. That's probably worth trying if you are using a HW sequencer. If you want to route MIDI internally to native plugins (as opposed to controlling it from your hardware) , you'll need to load up the plugin in Patcher and do the routing there. Copied from another reply here: "With native plugins (Harmor, Sytrus etc.), you need to use Patcher. Add Instacomposer to Patcher + whatever plugin you want to control. Connect the notes (blue output) from Instacomposer to the target plugin (blue input). Open Instacomposer and click on the cog (Settings). Set the MIDI Output port to anything that is not "---". The notes from Instacomposer will then be played by the target instrument. Some plugins (e.g. 3xOsc) can't be loaded in Patcher. You can probably get it to work with virtual MIDI cables, but I haven't tried." So my guess is that you aren't seeing the ports because you are using FL native plugins, not VST. But they should respond if you set up the instrument to receive notes on a particular channel from a particular device, as described up top.

[@redbirdsaraceno]

@@steevmsteevm Thanks for such a quick reply . Ive been trying to figure this out for hours and it’s still not working . There is a right click on the plugin option that leads to midi channel routing options but the dam thing isn’t working . I’m literally getting drained and pissed off about something that is so easy and basic to do in ableton and bitwig . I really want to start using FL more as it loads the quickest of all my daws and seems very cpu efficient , but this type of shit is driving me crazy. ableton takes over 2 mins to load sometimes and FL is instant , but if i cant figure out basics procedures i use all the time then i wont be using much . gotta go to bed now frickin tired ! ill give it another go tomorrow. thanks for your tips ! ill try patcher tomorrow . dam gotta use a device just to connect separate midi channel inputs from an external controller !? C’mon FL Studio UPDATE THAT NONSENSE ! thats ridiculous . P.S. I did link the input directly to an instrument in the rack with receive notes from midi channel yada yada ect... nothing no go and controller works fine

[@steevmsteevm]

@@redbirdsaraceno If you're on Discord, the FL Studio server might be a better place to provide some help than the YT comments section. So if you can't get it to work, you could try joining that and posting some screenshots etc.

[@redbirdsaraceno]

@@steevmsteevm yeah i might try that if i cant figure it out . Thanks man !

[@Justmewapiano]

i want to connect it to Synthisa so that i can play and look at the nots iam laying how can i do that how can that work

[@steevmsteevm]

I'm not getting any hits for a VST with that name.

[@Kleinebombair]

Hi How can i Route a converted Sample in Midi to a Sequenzer for example. Can i Route Stock Plugins. For example Slicex to a Sequenzer? Thanks for Help and sorry for my Bad Englisch

[@steevmsteevm]

If you want to send MIDI generated by a plugin to a stock plugin, you need to do it with Patcher. As you probably noticed, you don't get to choose an input port on stock plugins, but Patcher will let you choose an input port, and you can then send that data to any plugin added in Patcher, including stock. See 3:17. While I talk about controlling the plugins from hardware, really they are just responding to the data on the selected MIDI port, so as long as you are sending the notes to that port, it'll work with plugins too. See 5:19 for info on setting up the MIDI output port for a plugin.

[@Kleinebombair]

@@steevmsteevm Thanks for your fast answering

[@steevmsteevm]

@@Kleinebombair Kein Problem!

[@Kleinebombair]

@@steevmsteevm OK dann das ganze nochmal in Deutsch 😂👍

[@steevmsteevm]

@@Kleinebombair Wenn ich die Frage direkt auf Deutsch beantworte, haben die anderen Nutzer nix davon (die evtl in Zukunft mit der gleichen Frage vorbeischauen). Sonst haette ich das eh gemacht ;)

[@mindofsinclair]

You brilliant beautiful man

[@steevmsteevm]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@perfectcell6785]

Do I have to have a USB or midi in & out cable to send midi information from FL into my synth?

[@steevmsteevm]

That depends on the synth. Most semi-modern synths support USB (as well as standard MIDI DIN-5 ports), so the easiest way to route the MIDI data from FL Studio to them is via USB. Just assign a port to the output in the MIDI settings in FL and use that to route the data. Older synths will only have DIN-5 MIDI ports, so you'll need a MIDI interface of some sort to send the data. The MIDI interface will be USB though, so at the end of the day, you will be using USB at some level. Some modern synths also come with VST editors that allow you to edit the synth directly from within FL Studio. These will give you instant recall of patches etc., which is great. One thing you need to be aware of is that they will directly interface with the MIDI connections of your synth. That means that you have to be careful about what you enable in FL Studio's MIDI settings; if you enable the input in FL Studio's MIDI settings, the port will already be in use (by FL) and you will not be able to communicate directly with the VST plugin from the synth iteself. It can be a little bit of a pain to figure out the best way of working if you are using your synth as both a sound source AND a controller in this case. There's also Ctrlr (ctrlr.org/) that has a lot of templates for synths that you can download and works much the same way. It interfaces directly with the MIDI ports you select, meaning they are unavailable to other apps. Definitely worth checking out if you have a synth that doesn't come with its own VST editor. The issues with the MIDI port needing to be available is often covered in the documentation, so make sure you give that a look too if you use Ctrlr or a VST editor. It might sound confusing, but I think if you try it out, and enable/disable the inputs in FL Studio's MIDI settings, you will get the idea of how it works and what the limitations are. Personally, I use a dedicated MIDI keyboard (no sounds) to play in notes etc. most of the time, which allows me to keep the MIDI ports on my synths free to be used with VST editors or Ctrlr. What's best for you really depends on the equipment though, so spend a little time getting to understand how it all works. It'll probably save you a lot of frustration down the line!

[@anhellehna6858]

Can I use MIDI inside FL Studio to control dmx lights? How could I set the ports then?

[@steevmsteevm]

I can't answer this with certainty, having never done so. As long as you can use MIDI messages (CCs etc.) to control the lights, it should work, at least in theory. You'd presumably just set the output port to the same port as your lighting equipment. The MIDI port determines which output device the MIDI data is sent to. If you can send CCs et al to control the lights, then you can presumably use something like MIDI Out to do so. But you'd have to try it out to be able to definitively answer this question. A quick google search also throws up results for Lightjams, which is a VST that claims to allow you to send DMX from a VST (www.lightjams.com/vst-dmx.html). Again, you'd presumably need to set the correct MIDI ports in the plugin wrapper to communicate over the correct MIDI device. It seems to be donationware, so it's probably worth giving it a shot. You might also want to take a look at Ctrlr (ctrlr.org), which you can use to create UIs to send MIDI data. I've used it to create an interface for my M300 effect processor. In this case, you need to select the input/output device directly in Ctrlr, and make sure the device is not enabled in the MIDI settings in FL Studio (as you can't share the same MIDI device). In this case, you don't need to use MIDI ports, because you are selecting the device directly from the Ctrlr interface. As with MIDI Out, sending MIDI messages is pretty easy to set up. If you do figure out how to get this to work, it'd be great if you could post a quick follow-up comment, in case anyone else with the same question ends up here.

[@steevmsteevm]

I've also noticed that there seems to be a DMX effect in ZGameVisualizer. I dunno what it does, or whether it works though. It's under "Hardware" in the list and called "DmxControl".

[@knocky3659]

Beast. Saved this video and subscribed. Thanks man.

[@brokenpoolhall]

I’ve watched the videos but I’m still a bit confused. If I create a midi sequence in fl studio, with fl keys let’s say, But I connect a Korg Modwave Synth to my laptop. How(if possible) could I play that sequence using my hardware controller, as I change waveforms, filter, etc?

[@steevmsteevm]

Don't create it with FL Keys if you want to send the data to an external synth. Use MIDI Out instead. That's what MIDI Out is for - to send MIDI out of FL. FL Keys is an instrument that makes its own sounds inside FL. www.image-line.com/fl-studio-learning/fl-studio-online-manual/html/plugins/MIDI%20Out.htm

[@brokenpoolhall]

@@steevmsteevm Ah, thank you

[@prenumenumedefamilie3418]

Hmm !Great !So as for human control (hardware)SAME PORT NUMBER IS KEY also for internal as well! What about channels? Is corect that we could say for each port conexion we have a couple of channels that been asign a certain vuale for each ?And each channel acts like a atribute !All those been in fact conexion ?

[@steevmsteevm]

If you want a particular hardware device to be linked to a specific instrument - e.g. you are using a hardware sequencer, or you want to jam live with one keyboard always controlling a particular synth, then yes, you need to pay attention to the port - you can assign one automatically when setting an instrument up to "Receive notes from" a particular device (see video). You can select the channel when you do this. For recording parts played on your keyboard etc., this doesn't matter. The currently selected instrument in the rack will receive the notes sent from hardware by default. So it's enough to simply select the target plugin in the rack if that's what you want. The MIDI ports basically help you route data once it is "inside" FL. Linking a hardware controller to a specific instrument is one use case, but routing data from MIDI generators (plugins) is another. You could set up the MIDI Out plugin to control other plugins by setting matching ports. I like to do this to control Kontakt when there are multiple instruments loaded up, each responding to a different MIDI channel. Just set the MIDI channel in the MIDI Out plugin, and make sure its port matches the MIDI in port assigned to Kontakt. The big advantage for me is that I can name each of the MIDI Out instances in the rack to know what they are controlling.

[@prenumenumedefamilie3418]

@@steevmsteevm Hae you using MIDI for controling lights show with in FL Studio? That s in fact my goal with all this discusion!And i am about learning more

[@steevmsteevm]

@@prenumenumedefamilie3418 No, but there is an effect in ZGameEditor that seems to be for sending DMX. It's called DmxControl and is listed under "Hardware".

[@prenumenumedefamilie3418]

@@steevmsteevm I know it !Maybe i should search someone has use it !I want to start developing something with FL in this side !I really get involved for all Fl users because i consider like a BIG FAMILY !

[@steevmsteevm]

@@prenumenumedefamilie3418 If you figure it out, let us know/link to a video, because you are not the first one to ask this question in the comments here...

[@TimOver-ch7pw]

I set the in and output to port 7 yet when I try it nothing happens even if I try every of the 16 channels, as you were showing in the video it detects the midi device but there is no sound... :/ If someone could try to help I would be greatfull. PS: even when I try to lock it there is no sound...

[@steevmsteevm]

The first thing I'd check is whether you can get the input from your device to work without setting a port - because it almost sounds like the device is not sending data if none of the methods work (especially the lock to channel option). If you don't set a port for your MIDI device, it will just be routed to whatever instrument is selected in the channel rack. Also check it with another plugin, just in case. You can also open up the Debug window (it's a tab in the Settings). It will list all incoming MIDI data so you can check that FL Studio is actually receiving data from the device.

[@TimOver-ch7pw]

@@steevmsteevm Ok it does work with other plugins without problems, its just this one thing that doenst work. I just downloaded Piano Plugins since thats what I wanted FL Studio for anyways (Demo). So that I could change the sound of my E- Piano, because I always use headphones. Regardless of that thank you very much for your time. :)

[@hendriamayabeats8739]

Thanks a lot !!

[@steevmsteevm]

You're welcome!

[@JohnDoe-hf5et]

Thanks !

[@steevmsteevm]

No problem!

[@Gloomer2000]

ToneSpace, gonna look that up, thanks steevm, great tut! :-)

[@steevmsteevm]

I actually only downloaded it for the vid. I know a fair number of people use chord generators etc. and have trouble with them in FL.

[@kemal_ozturk]

This video is a life saver, I will pray for you my guy :D

[@steevmsteevm]

Thanks; and sorry for the late reply!

[@PandulaB]

embodying this !

[@ShelLuser]

Fun video but with one flaw: you mention "internal" MIDI routing but fact of the matter is that this isn't internal at all: the only reason that works is through the VST wrapper. Semantics, sure, but internal would imply that you can also control Studio's own generators, and yet that's the part you ignored ;)

[@steevmsteevm]

I think you must have skipped that part then. I definitely did cover it. But you have to use Patcher or lock the MIDI port to the instrument in the rack.

[@SaidurRahman_cse]

best cheat embodying now

[@susanfernnades4335]

Hi i am not able to get my external keyboard yamaha psr s970 voices in FL studio ,,i have tried all the setting you mentioned in this tutorial ... i got a presonus audio interface connected to the PC both outs from keyboards and in to interface ...do you have personal chat or email or watsapp or messanger ? where you can guide me..? i have seen many many videos on this set up, but simply cant get through.. can you pls guide me to resolve my issue ? please reply ... Thank you

[@steevmsteevm]

Does this video help? kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2mphaaBdqyAipo It sounds like you are most of the way there if you have an audio interface. Looking at the manual, it seems you can use either USB or DIN-5 ports to send the MIDI data to/from the PC. USB option is presumably easiest. Make sure you've installed the drivers if you use the USB connection - if you aren't seeing the keyboard show up (possibly as "Yamaha USB MIDI" or something similar) in the list in FL Studio, it's because the drivers are missing. You'll also need to set up the audio connections. The fundamentals are covered in the first part of the video above. If you're still stuck after watching it, let me know if you are having trouble with the MIDI connections or the audio connections. If you send MIDI from FL to the keyboard, you should be able to hear the notes being played on the keyboard. Similarly, you should see information on the MIDI messages being sent from the keyboard to FL Studio if you've enabled the MIDI input. Use that to troubleshoot where the problem is.

[@susanfernnades4335]

@@steevmsteevm Hi I have got Yamaha psr s970 keyboard and it’s connected as midi.. but what I actually want is that . I need to play keyboard voices or tones in FL studio both midi and audio from the keyboard ..i think I am totally lost with these connections or I simply messed with the settings as it’s just not working ..or may be somewhere something is wrong ..i have seen the videos u mentioned ..but may be i can’t get in my head .. I have spent hours with this..what is the best advice u can give to resolve these issue I have ..i would appreciate if u can guide me personally either watsapp email or voice call if possible ..thanks for ur help 🎹🎸

[@seanarooni]

thank you 👍

[@steevmsteevm]

You're welcome