One of the first struggles that many people run into when they start getting into music production is dealing with MIDI recording. It was very difficult for me to figure out how a lot of these issues with FL Studio 8, and I was almost ready to give up after running into the additional complications that resulted from me using a Windows Vista 32-bit operating system. The following guide should get you working with MIDI error-free and with ease.
The following advice is catered towards people running on the following:
-any generic MIDI controller (currently using an Alesis QS8)
-any audio interface(currently using the M-Audio Uno USB/Midi Cable)
-FL Studio any version
-Windows Vista
-PC Desktop/Laptop
(currently running a Toshiba Satellite U405 w/ 1.86 gHz and 4 gig memory)
You can probably apply it to your situation if it differs; you'll most likely just have an easier time.
Part 1: Latency and ASIO4ALL
At this point I am assuming you have all the cables wired correctly and are able to operate your MIDI controller and have it play notes out. However, the problem that typically arises is that there is significant lag between when you press a key and a sound actually playing/recorded. This is called latency. Unless your computer is a beast and you have an overtly powerful audio interface, it will be too much for you to make using MIDI worthwhile.
The cure for this is called ASIO4ALL. I'm not sure about the technical aspects of this, but I do know that it allows you to drop your latency to a minuscule amount.
This program can be found easily by searching for "ASIO4ALL" in Google.
After installing it:
-Open FLStudio
-Click the "Options" tab
-Go to "Audio Settings"
-Under the "Input/Output" section, click the drop-down menu and change it to "ASIO4ALL v2"
This should do the trick. My latency dropped from like 50 ms to around 11 ms after this (it is measured by the "Buffer Length" in the "Audio Settings").
Most likely at this point you aren't done. When I first implemented ASIO4ALL, I noticed that I was getting very negligible lag time in my MIDI controller from the visual monitors in FLStudio, but there was no audio output. The following steps will get you your sound back without losing any of the benefits that came with installing ASIO4ALL.
Part 2: ASIO4ALL and Getting Your Sound Back
The first step is to make sure that there are no programs running that could be generating sounds besides FL Studio. If this is not the case, you will get no sound while ASIO4ALL is in use. Make sure your iTunes is off, and that no open browsers have any YouTube instances or embed media. When in doubt, click the Speaker icon on the very far right of your Windows Taskbar next to the clock, and click "Mixer". This will help you identify what program is still hogging the sound.
Second, go into FL Studio. Get to the ASIO4ALL Panel by doing the following:
-Click on "Options"
-Click on "Audio Settings"
-Click "Show ASIO panel"
-Click the icon of a Wrench so that there is no X showing and you can see all settings
If there are any red X's in the panel, then there is still a program hogging the sound from FL Studio musted be turned off.
If you're still not getting sound in FL Studio even with no red X's present, then click the blue power buttons so that the Digital Out and the Headphones are OFF.
If all of these steps were followed correctly, you should now be able to hear sound in FL Studio while running ASIO4ALL on Windows Vista.
Part 3: The Opposite of Latency
For most, this will solve any woes you may have with introducing MIDI recording to your FL Studio set up. However, there are a small group of people (me included) who ran into an additional problem after going through this process: "earlency", or the opposite of latency. Whenever I would record via MIDI my notes would be recorded slightly early, as if there was some kind of latency compensation that would push my notes back. Sadly, there was no documentation on the internet of any kind regarding how to deal with when it occurs in FL Studio (but i did find some instances of people with the same problem). The issue was significant enough to keep me from recording anything via MIDI for a period of time.
What fixed this for me was to uninstall and re-install the drivers for my MIDI interface (the M-Audio Uno Midi/USB). So simple.
Hopefully this series has dealt with any issues you have ran into when it comes to MIDI and FL Studio. It's a whole new world once everything is set up.
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