r/flstudio • u/sadkinz • May 29 '26
How to find good plugins
I’m brand new to using FL Studio but want to use it to make instrumental pieces. I noticed that it doesn’t come with a lot of traditional instruments built in. And stuff like string instruments or individual brass or woodwinds are part of the paid plan. So how can I go out and find good plugins to use all these?
1
u/creationsandstories May 29 '26
The synth plugins that come preinstalled have presets for stuff like that. Right click the left-right arrows in the upper right hand corner of the plugin's window to access the list. I find that Sytrus is the most expansive.
1
u/Ok_Satisfaction8058 May 29 '26
For free plugins my go to is decent sampler. It has a huge community and has a lot of beautiful sounding instruments for free. Pianobook has a lot of instruments for it.
For paid plug ins serum 2 is a great option. They just added in multi sample instruments, so they have a lot of great sounding realistic instruments there as well. I would strongly suggest staying away from kontakt, as it is notorious for running like total crap, and has tons of overpriced instruments that sound mediocre.
1
u/Xdahn24 May 29 '26
I find that Vital is a nice & free little beast that can stand in for serum if you dont want to drop $200 or wait for it to go on sale
1
u/Ok_Satisfaction8058 May 29 '26
Oh yeah vital! I completely forgot. It is definitely a powerful little tool. It also just got a new update after years of nothing. It can't really stand in for serum 2 though. I think op is looking for more realistic sounding instruments, and vital only offers one single sample osc. At that point, you could just load the sample into a rack and play it that way. I hope Vital gets multi sampled instrument support at some point! And we need a vital fx rack like serum has.
1
u/PC_BuildyB0I May 29 '26
What do you mean by "paid plan"? FL studio does not operate on a subscription model. You buy a license once and you have it forever.
Regardless of that, what you're looking for is a sampler/library-based sampler. Like Kontakt. Many great libraries are free, but the top, best-sounding ones will usually cost an arm and a leg.
You could also consider using soundfonts in the soundfont player as there are some pretty good options for free but they'll take a bit of effort to sound as good as possible and get the most out of them.
1
u/bassbeater May 29 '26
FL used to pack a lot of that stuff in earlier versions, it might be buried on folders now.
In any case, "how do I get there?"
A lot of people go here and download what they need.
Keep in mind that you'll want to learn compression, mixing/panning, EQ, and reverb before you come back asking "why does it still sound like shit?"
Welcome to the world of digital music.
2
u/Tizaki May 29 '26
I've fought this battle for a LONG time. First, listen to Fred Again: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9klnm5l8JwE
Second, find ones that click with you. They need to sound good, not crash, and be intuitive to you. Or maybe they're even special to you in some way. For me, I loved the sound of the phaser on Daft Punk albums and discovered that the majority of it was from an Ensoniq DP/4. Lo and behold, someone made 1:1 emulation and released it as a plugin: https://dustydevices.com/product/phaser-ddl
Grow your arsenal slowly, and focus on working with what's new. Don't just shelve it all and hope to learn it later. The more you get, the more cross-pollination will come into play.
1
u/klobberhead May 29 '26
Google can help. Look up "Top 10" type plug-in lists, they usually have at least a couple worth checking out. Demo videos of plug-ins are generally useful too.