How to Master in FL Studio | Beginner Guide

FL Studio is a professional digital audio workstation (DAW) used for music production. Many artists rely on it to produce high-quality mixing and mastering. This article will share some basics and provide beginners with guidance on how to use FL Studio to master a song.

What is Mastering

Mastering is like giving a finished mixed song its "final polish" to make it sound professional and ready to be heard. I will explain it using a simple analogy.

Think of it this way: Mixing is like cooking separate dishes (instrumentals, vocals) with their flavors. Mastering is arranging all those dishes into a complete meal, adjusting each dish's taste so they work well together, making the whole meal look nice, and getting it ready to serve to others.

Specifically, it does things like ensuring the song's volume remains consistent, with no sudden loud or quiet parts, making the sound clearer and more powerful, and ensuring the song sounds good on various devices, whether headphones, speakers, or phones.

Previous Preparation

EQ (Equalizer): It lets you adjust the volume of different frequency ranges in your music, like bass, mids, and treble. In mastering, EQ is used to:

• Balance the frequencies like fixing muddy bass, brightening dull highs, and cleaning up cluttered mids.
• Make the song sound consistent, and ensure the track translates well on all speakers.
• Enhance clarity & professional tone, for example, a small boost at 10KHz+ can add "air" and openness, and cutting around 200-500Hz can reduce "Boxiness."

Compressor: It helps control the dynamic range of your audio, meaning it reduces the loud parts and increases the volume of the quiet parts, creating a more balanced and polished sound. In mastering, a compressor is used to:

• Smooths out volume spikes.
• Make quiet details more noticeable.
• Adds punch or sustain.

Limiter: It is like a volume wall that stops your audio from getting too loud and distorting. It is an extreme version of a compressor designed to prevent clipping while making your track sound louder and more polished. Limiter is used in mastering to:

• Prevent peaks from clipping.
• Make the track louder.
• Ensure your track meets streaming loudness standards.

Exciter/Saturator: It adds harmonics to your audio, making it sound warmer, brighter, or more "alive." In mastering, it is used to:

• Restore lost brightness.
• Add warmth and depth.
• Glue the mix together.

Stereo Enhancer: It makes your music sound wider, more spacious, and immersive by adjusting the stereo image. It's like turning a narrow hallway into a grand convert hall. In mastering, it is used to:

• Widen the stereo field.
• Fix mono compatibility.
• Add depth and air.

How to Master in FL Studio Manually

You could use those tools we listed to master a song. The core tools (EQ, compressor, and limiter) are often sufficient for achieving a good master. You need to learn the fundamentals of these core tools and then experiment to see what works best for each song. The following steps show you the process of mastering a song.

Step 1. Open FL Studio, and drag your exported mix into the playlist.

Step 2. Open the "Mixer" and click on the Master Track. Then, insert the "Fruity parametric EQ 2" to clean the frequencies.

Step 3. Go to "Mixer" and choose the "Virtual Tape Machine" tool. You need to adjust the "input" and "ouptput" knob, and start subtle.

Step 4. Use "Fruity Stereo Enhancer." Please don't use this too much. You could reference this page.

Step 5. Use a limiter.

📺You could watch the video tutorial to learn more details.

3:13 Saturation
5:21 Stereo Enhancement
7:06 Analog EQ
10:52 Fresh Air
12:41 Loudness Meter
13:31 Limiter

How to Master in FL Studio with AI

The most significant benefit of its AI-powered mastering feature is that it offers several presets for different genres and optimizes loudness for various platforms.

Step 1. Open the "Mastering" window from the "File" menu. The mastering window looks similar to the export dialog. Final masters are always saved as 16-bit WAV files.

Step 2. In the mastering section, you need to select a loudness target and adjust genre references.

Step 3. Once settings are ready, click "Start" to render your master. A small analysis file is sent online. After processing, compare the results.

Step 4. When satisfied, click "Select" to locate your mastered file. You can open its folder directly from the dialog.

FL Studio's AI Mastering Alternative: EaseUS AI Mastering

For beginners, mastering a song requires knowledge of EQ, compression, limiting, and stereo imaging. It also requires trial and error to find the optimal settings for loudness, dynamics, and tonal balance. Thanks to its AI Mastering, beginners can use it first, then lightly tweak with EQ and limiting if needed.

If you are unfamiliar with mastering, we recommend starting with EaseUS AI Mastering. It simplifies the mastering process and offers you six presets. It also allows you to upload a reference song and apply its style to your song. Additionally, it allows for adjusting the loudness and exporting in multiple formats.

EaseUS Online Vocal Remover100% music and voice separation

Powered by Advanced AI

To conclude

Mastering a song can be challenging for beginners. With FL Studio's tools, it has become easier with practice. However, mastering is not achieved overnight, and it requires a good ear, technical knowledge, and a proper tool like FL Studio. We recommend that you practice with AI mastering, such as using the EaseUS AI Mastering tool, and then fine-tune manually.

FAQs on How to Master in FL Studio

Keep reading to learn more about mastering a song in FL Studio.

1. Can you master in FL Studio?

Yes, you can master manually with tools like EQ, compressor, and stereo enhancer. Alternatively, start with its AI Master tool.

2. How long does it take to master FL Studio?

It takes 1-3 months to create simple beats using patterns or basic mixing, and 6-12 months to master advanced automation, sound design, and plugins like Harmor. To do industry-level mixing and mastering, it might take 1-3 years.

3. Do professional rappers use FL Studio?

Yes, many top artists and producers rely on FL Studio, like Travis Scott, Drake, and Kanye West.