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Big news for FL Studio fans as developers Image-Line confirm that the DAW will be released as a native Mac application.

• Image Line Fl Studio 9

Image-Line, developers of the hugely popular DAW FL Studio, formerly known as Fruity Loops, have confirmed that the software will be released as a native application for Mac OS X.

The company’s Knowledge Base FAQ entry on the subject has been updated to reflect the news, with the company explaining that the development team had completed work on native OS X versions of a number of FL Studio’s built-in instruments, and have now moved on to a native version of the forthcoming FL Studio 12 application itself.

If you're unable to find your iZotope products within FL Studio, please follow the steps below to locate them: 1. In the menu bar, click on Options and select Manage Plugins. The FL Studio Plugin Manager appears. Click on Add path. Navigate to the folder containing your plug-ins and press OK. FL Studio 12.9 BETA 1 – We’re excited to start rolling out the features of the next major release of FL Studio, for Windows and Mac, including: Time Signatures, completely reworked Automatic Plugin Delay Compensation, more Mixer Tracks and with many more new features because we love your Lifetime Free Updates! Announcing the FL Studio 12 Beta 4 is now available with many bugfixes and changes as suggested by users. Read more about the FL Studio 12 Beta here as it develops. Log into your Image-Line account or create one to DOWNLOAD the Beta HERE. (.): FL Studio All Plugins Edition includes all FL Studio native format Image Line plugins offered for sale at the date of your purchase. This does not necessarily include plugins we release in future.When we release new plugins that are not included in your bundle, you will be able to purchase them (normally at a significant discount). FL Studio 12.9.2 BETA 3 is out now for Windows and macOS! We’re also happy to announce the Graph Editors are back, better than ever. Drop into Looptalk to grab it and start testing Get FL Studio 12.9.2 Beta 3 HERE!

A version of the software ‘wrapped’ using Codeweavers CrossOver was released last year as a public beta for existing FL Studio licence holders, but poor third-party plugin support always made it an unsatisfactory solution. Some users have turned to alternatives including Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop, while we’ve also heard of at least a couple of pro producers who switched to Logic or Ableton on the Mac but kept a PC around just to run FL Studio now and again.

The release of a Mac version of FL Studio 12 – expected some time in 2015 – will pitch the DAW against Propellerhead Reason, currently the closest Mac alternative.

A Windows beta version of FL Studio 12 was released for testing earlier this month.

Check out the full statement from Image-Line below:

Will there ever be a native Mac OS X release of FL Studio?

We started by testing a FL Studio Mac OS X BETA (Crossover Wrapped) version with direct installation on Mac OS X. But this is still a Windows program, running on OS X. The interest in the wrapped beta, and the problems we faced supporting 3rd party VST plugins in it, lead the team to start work on native OS X VST versions of Edison, Gross Beat, Harmless, Harmor, Maximus, Ogun, Slicex, Sytrus, Vocodex. See how to get these plugins here.

The VST plugin testing, was in fact, the start of the FL Studio native OS X compatibility development. The VST plugins use the same code-base as FL Studio itself and if we could get these working to spec on OS X, then FL Studio would likely follow soon after.

Well, the plugin testing is progressing nicely, and so the team has turned their attention to FL Studio 12 itself. It’s a long and slow process and we can’t make any promises, since we may come across unexpected and or unsolvable technical problems. But work is indeed under way. Below are some of the issues we face porting FL Studio to native Mac OS X and explains why this is taking ‘so long’:

1. Delphi:FL Studio is written in Delphi with in-line assembly for much of the DSP. This is one reason why FL Studio and its graphics are so fluid.Delphi only recently got the ability to compile to OS X. So while this is great, it’s a 1st-generation OS X compiler, it’s cranky and sometimes causes problems of its own. But, before this came along, we needed to port well over 1 million lines of code to another language. We never thought that was a good idea, and it’s why we never did it before. But, things have changed, so let’s call this progress.
2. Windows API:FL Studio is tightly bound to the Windows API that takes care of moving, minimizing, maximizing windows, detecting cursor position, drag & drop, opening windows dialogs, clipboard functions, decoding MP3s, … so a port requires all operating system dependent calls to be isolated & replaced by bi-platform dependent functions. That’s a major part of what the team are doing now.FYI, just getting all this system dependent code from Deckadance (which was created more or less with porting in mind) and replacing it with bi-platform versions took almost 6 months. FL Studio is many times the size of Deckadance, so please be patient.

Will this impact on the development of FL Studio for Windows?

No, the team working on the conversion to OS X is completely separate from the Windows development team. They talk, but don’t share any bodies that we know of, so it’s business as usual on the Microsoft side of things. Bill Gates sends his regards BTW.

The FL studio Support Team

Image Line’s FL Studio is a highly-developed digital audio workshop station. Although it’s primarily geared towards electronic music production, it’s great for any type of audio project.

Make and edit tracks

FL Studio is a powerful one-stop-shop for sound recording and music production.

FL Studio software comes in four editions, the prices of which correspond to the available function. With the better editions, you get to edit audio clips, access the full version of the DirectWave sampler, and more. With its progressing feature sets, FL Studio is worth the money, and you'll get lifetime free updates from the developer.

The vector-based interface is easy to read, scalable across displays, and supports multitouch. The Browser, Channel Rack, and the Pattern list contain all the functions from the program.

The main arranging window is the Playlist, where you can bring up the step sequencer and piano roll for closer editing.

Recording requires several clicks, and as you work, you can switch between pattern and song modes to fine tune your tracks.

FL Studio comes with included instruments, but they tend to be too simplistic. However, with some of the built-in effects, it’s possible to make them sound better.

Where can you run this program?

FL Studio runs on macOS 10.11 and Windows 8, or later versions. There are mobile options for iOS and Android, too.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, if you’re a professional, LMMS is the best choice out there. Ableton Live offers similar features to FL Studio. Ardour and AudioTool are great free alternatives.

Our take

Although the program comes with some clear limitations, it can do wonders and create complex, well-produced pieces of music from a single interface.

Should you download it?

Yes, if you have some experience with such programs already. The UI features a learning curve that’s not ideal for beginners.

Image Line Fl Studio 9

11.0.2