Tech

APP OF THE MONTH: FL Studio Mobile

by Sam Sutherland

This article originally appeared in the August issue of AUX Magazine. Download and subscribe for iTunes and iPhone here.

Since they gave up on the goofier Fruity Loops name in favour of the wicked-profesh “FL Studio,” Image Line’s pioneering programming software has become further entrenched in the electronic music market. It’s not just a fun toy for burgeoning nerds in their basement, but a valuable piece of musical equipment used by artists ranging from deadmau5 to Matthew Dear, and that has until now been somewhat tragically out of reach for Mac users since its inception. The introduction of FL Studio Mobile and FL Studio Mobile HD (for iPad) brings the intuitive experience to the iOS platform, creating a slimmed-down version of the powerful programming software for users on the go (or on the couch).

While a Mac-compatible version of the full-fledged FL Studio experience is still in beta testing, this light version has more than enough going on to keep you busy writing trap remixes all night long.

AUX: At what point did you decide to adapt FL Studio for iPhone and iPad?

Scott Fisher, Image Line Communications and Marketing Manager: For us the idea wasn’t new and is something we have been thinking about since the days of Windows Mobile machines. We even did a poll with a couple of fake mock-ups of what a mobile version of FL Studio would/could look like years before iOS was released. The iOS platform was the first to reach critical mass in the market, so it’s where we started.

What was the biggest roadblock in creating lighter versions of the program?

The biggest roadblock is the limited processing power of the iOS devices and the need to maintain some backward compatibility with older/smaller devices like the iPod touch.

There are currently several big-name producers who are vocal about their use of FL Studio; do you know of any artists who have released music using the mobile version?

Not that we are aware of. Quite a few of our Power Users have FL Studio Mobile, but it’s mainly for noodling around with ideas while they are on the run as far as we know. We are certainly seeing lots of activity in the social media sphere. We expect a generation of musicians are coming through/starting out using these platforms. It’s pretty exciting to watch it develop.

What feature are you most proud of succeeding in porting over from desktop to mobile?

The step-sequencer. This has an immediacy and usefulness that lends itself to all styles of music. On the other hand we are very pleased with the ability to take FL Studio Mobile projects and load them in FL Studio.

How do you cut through the noise in the App Store?

We have a very large social media presence and huge fanbase (FL Studio is downloaded over 30,000 times per day). Once we announced FL Studio Mobile was available, things took off from there. In short, the FL Studio brand did all the heavy lifting on the marketing side.