How do you create custom midis in FL Studio?

[Xe588]

Hey guys,

 

I'm working on a set of maps and I was wondering how to create custom midi files for it. I already have FL Studio on my computer because making music is a hobby of mine. The tutorials I found online either didn't go into much detail or weren't specifically about making midis. Also, if there is a way I could listen to the midi without exporting the file then it would be great to hear how it's done.

[TheBlurCafe]

In order to create a MIDI in FL Studio, first you must boot it up and load Fruity LSD into the mixer, in the "Master" section, you will see that once you load it up, there are numbers displayed next to the instruments (these indicate the channel), which will most likely be all labeled "Piano 1", you will also notice a 0 next to where it says "Roland GM/GS Sound Set" near the top, that's the "port", turn that to 1 by clicking with the left mouse button and dragging it upwards.

Then, load the "MIDI Out" on the Channel Rack from the plugins section, it should be already included; after that, click where it says "Default" at the top right of the plugin window, near the close button, select "Basic" (that's what I always do, I don't know if selecting any other preset gives the same results), once that's done, you'll notice that the plugin window also has the "port" option, turn that to 1 as well so that it matches the one in Fruity LSD, because if not, then you won't be able to hear any sound.

If all goes well, you should be able to listen to the sound of the instrument you chose.

Now, all you have to do is load more "MIDI Out" plugins and select the channel, while setting the "port" to 1, but remember, if you put the Acoustic Grand Piano on channel 1, and then you put Distortion Guitar on channel 1 as well, it will only play the guitar, since it's on the same channel as the other instrument.

For some reason, instruments have a weird echo-ey effect when I put them on channel 2, but it might just be on my end, the other channels don't give me this problem.

With that said, you should be good to go.

 

Another method could be downloading a random MIDI file off the internet, delete every single note and change the instruments to your liking, but in that case you'll have to edit the events of both the instrument (right-click on the instrument in the plugin window and press Ctrl + A to select all and then press Del to remove the "events", this assures that if you change the already existing instrument into another instrument it STAYS that way instead of reverting back to the instrument it was before) and the volume (same thing, except you have to right-click on the volume knob).

After that is said and done, rename the instruments so that you can organize yourself better -and not show that you built your track from a MIDI you used as "template" lol.

Giving the notes different color also helps, but you probably already guessed that.

When you want to save the song, click on "Export" and "MIDI File" (give it a nice name while you're at it), your instruments will remain the same, but do remember that if you decide to re-open it in FL-Studio, you'll have to do the whole "event deletion" part, should you want to change one instrument or slightly tweak the volume of one.

 

I hope this was comprehensible enough, best of luck!

Edited May 18, 2022 by TheBlurCafe
Grammar mistakes

[forgettable pyromaniac]

22 minutes ago, TheBlurCafe said:

I hope this was comprehensible enough, best of luck!

Dude, that was a lotta info, but that is probably the best explanation I've ever heard for info relating to this question. Mad respects.

 

Spoiler

Also good pfp lmao

 

[Xe588]

52 minutes ago, TheBlurCafe said:

In order to create a MIDI in FL Studio, first you must boot it up and load Fruity LSD into the mixer, in the "Master" section, you will see that once you load it up, there are numbers displayed next to the instruments, which will most likely be all labeled "Piano 1", you will also notice a 0 next to where it says "Roland GM/GS Sound Set" near the top, that's the "port", turn that to 1 by clicking with the left mous button and dragging it upwards.

Then, load the "MIDI Out" on the Channel Rack from the plugins section, it should be already included; after that, click where it says "Default" at the top right of the plugin window, near the close button, select "Basic" (that's what I always do, I don't know if selecting any other preset gives the same results), once that's done, you'll notice that the plugin window also has the "port" option, turn that to 1 as well so that it matches the one in Fruity LSD, because if not, then you won't be able to hear any sound.

If anything goes well, you should be able to listen to the sound of the instrument you chose.

Now, all you have to do is load more "MIDI Out" plugins and select the channel, while setting the "port" to 1, for instance, if you put the Acoustic Grand Piano on channel 1, but then you put Distortion Guitar on channel 1 as well, it will only play the guitar, since it's on the same channel as the other instrument.

For some reason, instruments have a weird echoey effect when I put them on channel 2, but it my just be on my end, the other channels don't give me this problem.

With that said, you should be good to go.

 

Another method could be downloading a random MIDI file off the internet, delete every single note and change the instruments to your liking, but in that case you'll have to edit the events of both the instrument (right-click on the instrument and press Ctrl + A to select all and then press Del to remove the "events", this makes sure that if you change the already existing instrument into another instrument it STAYS that way instead of reverting back to the instrument it was before) and the volume (same thing, except you have to right-click on the volume knob).

After that is said and done, rename the instruments so that you can organize yourself better -and not show that you took all the notes from a MIDI you used as "template" away lol.

Giving the notes different color also helps, but you probably already guessed that.

When you want to save the song, click on "Export" and "MIDI File" (give it a nice name while you're at it), your instruments will remain the same, but do remember that if you decide to re-open it in FL-Studio, you'll have to do the whole "event delition" part, should you want to change one instrument or slightly tweak the volume of one.

 

I hope this was comprehensible enough, best of luck!

 

Thank you so much! I don't think I could've asked for a better explanation. 

[MelonadeM]

If you're on the latest version of FL Studio, here's the template I use to write MIDI files

template.zip

[TheBlurCafe]

8 hours ago, forgettablepyromaniac said:

Dude, that was a lotta info, but that is probably the best explanation I've ever heard for info relating to this question. Mad respects.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Also good pfp lmao

 

Thanks!

That was the best I could do honestly, since I myself use template MIDIs, the other method is just too much of a hassle to handle.

 

Spoiler

Also, is that Zacharie from Off?

 

7 hours ago, Xe588 said:

 

Thank you so much! I don't think I could've asked for a better explanation. 

No need to thank me! I found myself in the same boat as you when I first started making MIDIs, as a lot of the tutorials online only talked about importing MIDIs for piano chords and whatnot, and not really "MIDI Sequencing" itself (which imo there should be A LOT more content of).

I'm glad to have helped you and I can't wait to hear what you create, hopefully my explanation wasn't too confusing.

[forgettable pyromaniac]

20 hours ago, TheBlurCafe said:

 

  Hide contents

Also, is that Zacharie from Off?

 

Spoiler

Yep, and it's something I commissioned, so shhhhhhh :)