Having used FL Studio on Windows for music production quite a while (and still owning a life-long download license), I was curious when I learned that FL Studio now is also available on iOS devices and an Android version is currently in the making (see this announcement). I played around with it a bit at the weekend, and here’s a short review. In summary, it’s a nice app, and especially if you are familiar with the production approach of the desktop version of FL Studio, you get familiar with the usage quite quickly – watching the 10 min introduction video on the announcement page helps, though. However, the number of instruments, drum sets or loops is rather limited, getting hold of exported files is quite cumbersome (the usual iTunes way, e-mail or soundcloud upload directly from the app would have been nice…), and complex productions can soon become confusing. So I think the app is more suited for quickly keeping hold of new ideas, and for that the app is a bit overpriced – the introduction price is 4 times the price of Garage Band on iPad, the latter having better look&feel, higher quality instruments and a broad set of innovative controller interfaces, but lacking a possibility to edit the recorded tracks. I don’t regret to have bought the app for the introduction price, since I expect updates and extensions in the future. See below a few screenshots working on a short demo loop.

Pros:

  • FL Studio look&feel and production approach
  • Quick learning curve, intuitive way of keeping hold of ideas

Cons:

  • High price
  • Small number of instruments, not extendible at the moment
  • Not suited for “real” projects

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