The Most Underrated Plugin In FL Studio - Fruity Convolver Tutorial

Fruity Convolver is an underrated FL Studio plugin that functions as a reverb, providing access to real acoustic spaces and sampled hardware reverbs.

Most FL Studio users don't know about the plugin or don't use it because it looks confusing at first glance, resembling an audio recorder rather than a typical reverb plugin.

Load it from the mixer by selecting a plugin on any channel. It's located at the top of the delay and reverb sections, just above Fruity Reverb 2.

Although the interface looks complicated initially, the plugin is extremely simple once you understand how it works.

Convolution works by taking a snapshot of an acoustic space or device and combining your input signal with an impulse response to recreate that environment.

• An impulse is a short, sharp broadband signal (like a click) • The response is how an acoustic space reacts to that impulse • A cathedral response creates a long, spacious reverb tail • A tiled bathroom response creates a shorter, more reflective sound

The plugin combines your vocal or instrument with the impulse response in a special way that makes it sound like you're performing in that particular space.

The same technology applies to rare or expensive hardware reverbs. You run an electronic impulse into the hardware and record the output, giving you access to vintage plate reverbs and other equipment.

• Chambers - simulated chamber spaces • Corridors - hallway and passage reverbs • Exteriors - outdoor acoustic spaces • Guitar Cabinets - amplifier cabinet simulations • Real Spaces - recorded authentic locations • Reverb Devices - sampled hardware reverbs including Eventide Cathedral

Use the wet and dry controls to blend between your original signal and the reverb effect. Turning dry all the way down leaves only the reverb signal.

Determines the stereo separation of the input signal feeding the reverb. You can control whether the reverb picks up a wide stereo signal or a mono signal.

Adjusts the stereo separation of the output reverb signal. It's recommended to keep this in the middle, as other settings can sound hazy.

Controls the time gap between your dry signal starting and the reverb beginning. Particularly useful for vocals to separate the reverb from the main signal.

Adding 50-75 milliseconds of pre-delay prevents the reverb from stepping on top of vocals and allows the main performance to sit cleanly in the mix.

Convolves the impulse response before combining with the dry signal. This can make sounds more blurred and smooth, or potentially mess them up depending on the setting.

Try adjusting self convolution to see if it works for your specific source material and desired sound character.

The stretch parameter adjusts the length of the impulse response sample. Cathedral samples are extremely long, so stretch lets you modify their duration.

Decreasing the stretch value makes the reverb tail die away quicker, useful for tighter mixes or shorter spaces.

Increasing the stretch value extends the reverb tail, making it continue much longer and creating more spacious effects.

Stretch is a very effective tool for adapting preset reverbs to match your specific tempo, mix requirements, and desired decay characteristics.

Fruity Convolver includes an integrated equalizer, one of its strongest assets. This is accessed on the Equalizer tab and lets you shape the reverb extensively.

• Left-click and drag to draw any EQ curve you want • Hold Alt while dragging to create smooth, gradual curves • Isolate frequency ranges to hear the reverb character at those frequencies

A professional technique where you roll off the low end, roll off the high end, and boost the mids. This makes the reverb sit more naturally in the mix.

You can create high-end only reverbs, low-frequency reverbs, or mid-focused reverbs. Most reverb plugins don't offer such intricate EQ control.

The Eventide Cathedral smooth preset is a well-known hardware reverb that transforms a cello recorded in a studio to sound like it's performed in a large cathedral space.

Smaller spaces like tiled bathrooms produce noticeably different reverbs with more reflections and a smaller decay, creating a completely different character.

Presets like Real Spaces cave chamber demonstrate that different impulse responses provide unique sonic qualities impossible to achieve with algorithmic reverbs like Fruity Reverb 2.

The plugin opens up many more reverb possibilities beyond traditional algorithmic reverbs, giving access to authentic acoustic and hardware characteristics.

• Load Fruity Convolver on a channel • Load your favorite reverb plugin in the middle • Load another Fruity Convolver after it, creating a sandwich arrangement

Set the bottom Convolver to record mode. Trigger an impulse at the top, which travels through your reverb plugin and gets recorded as an impulse response file.

Once captured, the impulse response in Fruity Convolver sounds nearly identical to running audio through the original reverb plugin, though without access to all the original plugin's controls.

You can drag custom impulse responses into the user presets section. Hundreds of thousands of IRs are available online from hardware units and acoustic spaces, or you can use any audio sample including drums or crashes for creative sound design.

Fruity Convolver is a fantastic tool that has been neglected by many FL Studio users despite being available for free.

All FL Studio users have access to this powerful reverb plugin but most aren't making the best use of it.

The plugin offers incredible possibilities for different sound design approaches, from traditional reverbs to experimental uses with unconventional audio samples.

Start using Fruity Convolver in your productions. A follow-up video exploring more advanced techniques may be created in the future.