How to install plugins to fl studio

Устанавливаем плагин для FL Studio

Многие программы для создания музыки уже имеют встроенные эффекты и различные инструменты. Однако их количество довольно ограничено и не позволяет использовать все возможности программы. Поэтому существуют сторонние плагины на любой вкус, большинство из которых вы можете купить на официальном сайте разработчиков.

Это касается и известной многим FL Studio, для которой было сделано множество различный плагинов. Давайте же рассмотрим, где найти и как установить дополнительный софт для ФЛ Студио.

Установка плагина для FL Studio

Основная масса дополнений разработана по технологии VST(Virtual Studio Technology), и собственно так и называются – VST-плагины. Их существует два типа – Инструменты и Эффекты. Благодаря инструментам вы можете генерировать звуки различными методами, а благодаря эффектам – обрабатывать те самые сгенерированные звуки. В этой статье мы и разберем принцип установки одного из таких VST.

Поиск софта

В первую очередь вам нужно найти подходящий для вас софт, который вы будете устанавливать в ФЛ Студио. Лучше всего воспользоваться официальным сайтом, где есть специальный раздел, который посвящен покупке плагинов.

Вы просто находите нужный софт, покупаете и скачиваете, после чего можно переходить к настройке программы перед установкой дополнения.

Предварительная настройка FL Studio

Все плагины необходимо устанавливать в заранее определенную папку, в которой будут располагаться весь установленный софт. Перед определением такой папки обратите внимание на то, что некоторый дополнительный софт занимает много места и для его установки не всегда подойдет системный раздел жесткого диска или накопитель типа SSD. Разработчики об этом позаботились, поэтому вы можете сами выбрать место, куда будете устанавливать все дополнения. Перейдем к выбору этой папки:

После выбора папки можно переходить к установке.

Установка плагина

Переходим к следующему шагу.

Добавление плагина

Теперь вам нужно, чтобы программа нашла новые дополнения, которые вы только что установили. Для этого нужно осуществить обновление. Просто перейдите в «Options» – «General settings» и выберите вкладку «File», где вам необходимо нажать «Refresh plugin list».

Список обновился, и вы можете найти в нем софт, который был установлен только что. Для этого в меню слева нажмите на знак в виде вилки, чтобы перейти в раздел «Plugin database». Разверните список «Installed», чтобы найти ваш плагин. Вы можете искать его по названию или же по цвету надписи. Чаще всего, после сканирования, только что обнаруженные новые VST подсвечиваются желтым цветом.

Когда вы убедились, что установка была произведена корректно, необходимо вывести плагин в специальный список, чтобы быстро получать к нему доступ. Для этого следуйте простым шагам:

На этом процесс установки и добавления закончен. Вы можете использовать только что скачанный софт для своих целей. Особое внимание уделите сортировке плагинов, ведь бывает, что их становится все больше и больше и такое распределение по разделам помогает не запутаться при работе.

Installing Plugins

Watch tutorial videos here

How to Install VST / AU Plugins (Instruments & Effects)

IMPORTANT NOTES for macOS Apple Silicon CPUs and VST Plugins:

Related Links:

What Plugin Types Are Supported & Where Are They Located?

Virtual Studio Technology (VST) Plugins (Windows and macOS)

VST is a software interface standard that allows you to load VST software synthesizer and effect ‘plugins’ in FL Studio. VST is in addition to the FL Studio ‘native’ plugin format. VST plugins generally come in two types, instruments (VSTi) that are designed to make sound and effects (VST) that are designed to process sound, although some can do both. FL Studio categorizes VST instruments as ‘Generators‘ because some also generate control or note data, rather than sound. VSTs are self-contained programs that ‘plug-in’ to FL Studio giving you access to a, virtually unlimited, source of new instruments and effects.

NOTE: VST format plugins for Windows and macOS are not compatible. Use the correct Windows or macOS installer for your operating system of choice. It is common to find free VST plugins with Windows but no macOS version.

Important notes about 32 vs 64 Bit, GUI Scaling & Plugin Names

Audio Units (macOS only)

Audio Units (AU) are an Apple standard tied to Core Audio and so only compatible with FL Studio for macOS. AU is Apple’s equivalent to VST. As there are many similarities between the two standards, you can usually find both macOS AU and VST versions of plugins.

Plugin Default Locations

If you use the plugins default installer you should not need to worry about the information below. FL Studio will find your plugin in one of the following default locations. This information is provided for installing legacy plugins, without an installer. Choose the appropriate folder based on its VST / AU specification.

NOTE: If a plugin is not located, make sure you have selected ‘Verify plugins‘ and ‘Rescan previously verified plugins‘ in addition to installing the plugin to one of the default locations below. DO NOT install plugins to the FL Studio installation folder (. \Image-Line\FL Studio\Plugins\VST). This is a special folder for legacy native FL Studio plugins.

Windows

macOS

NOTE: The /User/Library is hidden by default.

NOTE: The /User/Library is hidden by default.

How to Install VST Plugins: Windows, Mac, FL Studio, Reaper, Audacity, Ableton

Here are helpful video tutorials on how to install VST plugins on Windows, Mac, FL Studio, Audacity, Reaper, and more.

Our website has tons of free VST plugins, so we want to provide you with helpful information on how to install VST plugins to your computer and favorite music software.

How to Install VST Plugins

How to Install VST Plugins on Windows

This video is for the general installation of VST plugins on Windows computers.

Instructions to install a VST plugin on Windows:

The VST plugin folder can appear in different locations on your computer.

How to Install VST Plugins in FL Studio

How to Host Windows VST Plugins on a Mac

How to Install VST Plugins in Garageband

How to Install VST Plugins in Audacity

Audacity is an excellent audio editing software.

How to Install VST Plugins to Reaper

How to Install VST Plugins in LMMS

This video tutorial will show you how to install VST plugins in the LMMS music app.

How to Install VST Plugins in Ableton Live

Where Do I Put VST Plugins?

The most common location for VST plugins on Windows computers is C:/Program Files/VSTPlugins/ or C:/Program Files/Steinberg/VstPlugins/

Other possible locations include:
C:/Program Files/Common Files/Steinberg/Shared Components/
C:/Program Files/Common Files/VST2
C:/Program Files/Common Files/VSTPlugins/

What Is A VST Folder?

The VST folder is a common folder on your computer where music programs will scan for installed VST plugins and instruments. Your music program may create this folder by default, or you may need to create the folder. Most music programs allow you to select and change the VST folder location under the program’s settings.

Check out these free VST plugins:

We hope you find these tutorials on how to install VST plugins helpful.

Written By Mark V.
Hip Hop Makers is a music production website launched in 2008 to teach music lovers how to make music, sell beats, and make money from music.

How to Install VST Plugins in FL Studio (Step-by-Step and Tips 2022)

FL Studio comes with a lot of great plugins and effects, but you can also install third-party plugins in FL Studio to access new sounds, effects, and virtual instruments.

This guide will show you step-by-step how to install VST plugins into FL Studio, how to manage your plugins, and extra tips to make it easier for you to access and use your plugins.

Once you install some plugins, check out these guides to help you get more out of FL Studio:

Step 1: Downloading Plugins Compatible with FL Studio

There are a few different formats for plugins and you need to install the types that are compatible with FL Studio.

Make sure the plugins you want to install are compatible with FL Studio by checking the below information.

Plugin Bit Versions

VST Plugins can come in 32-bit or 64-bit versions.

If you’re using a 64-bit version of FL Studio (most people will be), try to install 64-bit plugins. 32-bit plugins will work, but the best practice is to match the plugin bit version to the bit version of your version of FL Studio.

Some plugins will automatically install both 32-bit and 64-bit plugins. That’s fine. FL Studio can combine the two versions so you don’t have them doubling up in your plugins list.

Check what version of FL Studio you’re running by going to the Help > About menu.

You’ll see either 32 bit or 64 bit on this screen.

Plugin Format

There are four different plugin formats you may find: VST, AU, AAX, RTAS. The different formats work with different DAWs.

FL Studio uses VST and VST3 format plugins. VST3 plugins are 64-bit and recommended if you have the choice.

Many plugin installers will ask you to choose which formats to install for the plugin as shown below:

If you only use FL Studio and no other DAWs, you can uncheck the other formats and only install VST formats. If you also use other DAWs such as Ableton Live, you may want to install other formats as well as explained in my Guide on Guitar Plugins.

Downloading Plugins

When downloading most plugins, they will include an installer to help you install the plugin to the correct directory. Where to install the plugin is covered in the next step.

If you download a plugin and all you get is a .dll file, don’t panic. All you need to do is move/copy that file into the correct folder as covered in the next step.

All of this will make sense after the next step.

Step 2: Finding FL Studio’s Plugins Folders

FL Studio looks for plugins in specific folders by default. If a plugin isn’t installed in one of these folders, FL Studio won’t be able to use it.

Find out where your version of FL Studio looks for plugins by going to the Options > Manage Plugins menu.

The above screenshot shows FL Studio’s Plugin Manager. This is where you can install, edit, and manage your plugins.

The directories shown on the left ‘Plugin search paths’ panel shows where FL Studio looks for plugins.

In the above screenshot, you can see that FL Studio looks for plugins in five different directories. The different directories are used for different types of plugins (eg: VST vs VST3) as well as FL Studio’s own plugins.

If you want to add a different directory to this list, click the folder + icon as shown below:

Select the directory you want to use for your plugins and it will be added to the list. If you have used other DAWs in the past, your plugins may be stored in folders created by the DAW. Adding those folders to FL Studio’s list is the easiest way to use those plugins.

Step 3: Installing Plugins to the Correct Folder

Now that you know where FL Studio looks for plugins, you can install your plugins to those folders.

In this example, I’ll show how to install one of the LePou Amps – a collection of free guitar amp simulator plugins covered in my guide on Best Guitar VST Plugins. You can follow these steps for any plugin.

First, download the plugin from the plugin’s website. This plugin gives you the option to download either Windows or Mac versions and choose between 32 and 64 bit. I’ll download the Windows 64-bit version.

Once you have downloaded your plugin, either run the installer (if it comes with one), or copy the plugin files to a folder FL Studio can scan.

The file I downloaded was a .zip file, so I need to open the file and extract the plugin file into my plugin folder, which was C:\Program Files\VstPlugins\ as shown in FL Studio’s plugin manager.

Step 4: Adding New Plugins to FL Studio

Once you have installed your plugin to one of the folders FL Studio can scan, open FL Studio.

Go to the Options > Manage Plugins menu.

There are a few scan options you may want to enable/disable such as rescanning plugins that have had errors in the past or whether you want to combine 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Click the Find More Plugins button at the top and FL Studio will scan the folders for any new plugins.

Once the scan has completed, scroll through your list to see if your plugin shows up.

The below screenshot shows that the HyBrit plugin from LePou has been found and added to the list of plugins:

Sometimes the name shown on this list doesn’t perfectly match the actual plugin name. Use the search bar at the bottom or look at the filename column to find your new plugins.

If your plugin doesn’t show up after scanning, check that it is installed in the correct folder and you have installed the correct format (covered in step 1).

Step 5: Managing Your Plugins

If your new plugin shows up in this list, you can start using it straight away. But there are a few ways to make it easier to access and use your plugins.

Depending on the edition of FL Studio you buy, you might have a long list of plugins. This can make it awkward to quickly find your most-used plugins.

Here’s how you can organize your plugins for faster access.

Click on a plugin in the Plugin Manager and click the ‘Plugin’ tab on the left:

The left panel now shows all of the options and details for the selected plugin.

You can rename the plugin if you want to something that’s easier to remember or clearer on what the plugin is. For example, the ‘HyBrit’ plugin is based on a Marshall amp, so I’ll rename the plugin to ‘HyBrit (Marshall amp)’ so in the future I can easily find it.

Favoriting Plugins

Favoriting plugins is a great way to make it easier to find and add your most-used plugins to any project.

You can add any plugin to favorites in the Plugin Manager by clicking the start next to the plugin in the list.

At any time you can add or remove plugins from favorites to clean up your list.

When you go to add a plugin to a mixer channel, you’ll see the plugins you have favorited at the top of the list (unless they are sorted into a category as explained later):

If you want to better organize your plugins, check out the tips below and learn how to create custom categories for your plugins.

FL Studio Plugins Tips and Best Practices

Here are some tips and best practices for using plugins in FL Studio:

Create Custom Categories

To use a plugin in FL Studio, go to the mixer and click one of the insert channels to highlight it as shown below:

At the far edge of the mixer panel, you will see empty slots you can use to add plugins to a channel:

Clicking a slot will bring up your list of plugins. You’ll see that FL Studio separates the plugins into categories by default:

Note: if you don’t see any categories when you open the list of plugins, make sure you have the ‘Categories’ view selected (at the end of the plugin list there are view options).

You can create custom categories to sort out your plugins as you like. If you feel like your list of favorite plugins is spiraling out of control, set up some custom categories to sort them out.

In the Plugin Manager, click a plugin, then enter a category name for that plugin on the left panel under the favorite heading.

You can see in the above screenshot that I’ve added the HyBrit amp plugin to a custom ‘Guitar Amps’ category. Click the favorite button or else the custom category won’t show in your list.

Click the ‘Apply Changes’ button to save your category.

If you now open your list of plugins, you’ll see your plugin sorted under your custom category. You can see that the HyBrit plugin now shows under the ‘Guitar Amps’ category:

Note that the custom name I set for the plugin also shows here.

Extra tip: the categories are sorted alphabetically. If you want your custom categories to show up at the start of your effects list, create custom categories that start with ‘A’ such as ‘A Guitar Amps’, ‘A Drums’, ‘A Virtual Instruments’, etc.

It’s not ideal, but that will ensure that your custom categories show at the top of the list.

Use the Plugin Picker

FL Studio has a visual tool you can use to access your plugins instead of selecting them from a list.

You can access the inbuilt plugin picker at any time by pressing F8 on your keyboard.

This might look messy, but once you get the hang of it, it can sometimes be faster than trying to find your plugin from a long list.

You can easily jump between categories by hovering your mouse over the category names at the bottom of the screen. The plugins for each category will instantly show.

You can see that when I hover over my ‘Guitar Amps’ custom category, it only shows the plugins I’ve added to that category.

Some plugins may not show thumbnails. To enable a thumbnail for any of these plugins, open the plugin in FL Studio, click the top left corner arrow and select ‘Add Plugin to Database’

Once you find a plugin you want to use, click and drag the plugin and add it to any track or mixer channel.

In the below screenshot, you can see that I have dragged the HyBrit plugin into the ‘Insert 1’ channel on the mixer. It now shows in the list of inserts on the far right of the mixer.

Sometimes you will prefer using the text list of plugins and other times you might prefer the plugin picker. Practicing using both methods to see what works best for you.

Installing Plugins in FL Studio Summary

Here is a quick step-by-step overview of how to install plugins in FL Studio:

Once you have followed the above steps, you can add your plugins to your projects as you like. How you add your plugins depends on whether you’re using a generator plugin (eg: synths and virtual instruments), and effects plugins (eg: guitar amp simulators).

Video Tutorial

Here’s a quick video tutorial walking through the above steps:

After you install some plugins, check out these guides to help you get more out of FL Studio:

How To Install VST Plugins Into FL Studio

I’m seeing lot of people asking how to install VST plugins into FL Studio so here’s a short guide showing you how to do it.

First of all, you need to have a folder for all your VST plugins somewhere in your hard drive (default is under C:\Program Files\). If you dont have one, create it and name it to ‘VSTplugins’ for example.

Now, usually VST plugins (most of the free ones at least) comes either zipped (or rar packed) package of files (.DLL file(s)) which you have to unzip or unrar to your VSTplugins folder. You need a ZIP / RAR extractor such as 7-Zip or IZArc for this.

If the plugin has its own installer (.exe file), follow the instructions given during the installation. Usually it asks the location of your VSTplugin folder.

After scanning you should see your newly installed plugin in the plugin list (in red color):

Now you can double click it to open it and if you want, tick the little box (Favourite Switch) that is in front of the plugin to make it appear in your favourites list.

NOTE that if you installed an EFFECT plugin (not a synth which is a ‘generator’, but an effect – these are two different types of plugins), you can only open it to a Mixer tracks effect slot.

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10 Comments

I know this isn’t much to do with the tutorial, but I’v got a question. I recently reinstalled fl studio 10 onto my computer and a few of my settings have changed. In piano roll, my notes I place would normally snap into a bar or whatever, but then when I reinstalled, it didn’t do that anymore. How do I change this setting?

Thanks for the video!
If you are still able to make a video about the progressions of psy trance and how to do effects

Hey Daniel, unfortenately I’m not that good at psy trance so I’m afraid I’m not able to create anything like that in the near future..

Plugin in failed to load..(?) That really puts a damper on things.

what i would recommend is to open an edison into the channel and record what you just created, sometime when you re open the project the extra VSTs wont load, so you will need to load them and configure them again, edson recording will help.