“Stutter”? “Flutter”? Hmm, this sound has a lot of names.
However, it is definitely a sound that adds character to any song.
The Stutter effect is used on a bunch of different musical elements If you tune in to an Electronic Dance Music playlist on Spotify:
- Vocals
- Synth pads
- Pianos
- Leads, etc.
In my opinion, the Stutter (or Flutter) effect is really great at turning long sustained sounds into a dancefloor-banging rhythm.
And the best part: it's pretty easy to make in FL Studio.
Let me show you!
Create a Stutter effect with Gross Beat
Let’s cut to the case.
In FL Studio, there is a really nifty plugin called Gross Beat.
We can use this plugin to generate a quick and nice Stutter effect.
For this blog post, we will use a synth pad as an example.
Listen to the synth pad:
Now, head over to the mixer track where your synth pad is routed. Click on one of the empty effect slots and select Gross Beat from the list of plugins. Ta-da! You've now got Gross Beat ready to work its magic.
In Gross Beat, we will utilize its capabilities of drawing some volume envelope shapes.
Alright, time for the main event! Let's create a custom stutter effect that'll make your listeners go "Wow, what just happened there?!".
1. Clear the playing field
Click on the down arrow again and select Empty under the Presets menu. This will give you a clean slate to work with.
Set the TRIG SYNC to 4 beats and set the grid to 1/4.
2. Enter the Volume Zone
In Gross Beat, you can create stutter effects using the Volume and Time sections. For our purposes, we'll be focusing on the Volume section. Click on the Volume tab to bring up the volume envelope editor.
3. Draw your stutter
Now, let your inner artist shine! Use your mouse to draw a stutter pattern in the volume envelope editor. You can create short, sharp stutters or longer, more rhythmic ones – the choice is yours! Just remember to keep it fun and interesting.
Check out the image below for some inspiration on how your stutter pattern could look like.
4. Fine-tune your masterpiece
Adjust the tension and curve of the lines in your stutter pattern by right-clicking on the points and selecting Tension. You can also adjust the snap settings by right-clicking on the background of the editor and selecting Snap. This will help you create smoother or more abrupt transitions between the stutters.
5. Loop it up
To make your stutter effect loop seamlessly, make sure the last point in your pattern connects back to the first point. This will ensure that your stutter keeps on stuttering for as long as you want it to.
Listen to the finished result:
Now that you've crafted the perfect stutter effect, it's time to let it loose on your track! Hit play in FL Studio and listen to your stutter effect in action. You can adjust the Mix Level knob in Gross Beat to control the intensity of the effect.
And if you want to experiment further, try automating the mix level or even the stutter pattern itself. It’s completely up to you.
This effect will add so much awesome character to your tracks. Believe me!
Wrapping up
Congratulations, you've just created a mind-blowing stutter effect using Gross Beat in FL Studio!
Give yourself a pat on the back and keep on making those amazing tracks.
I hope this guide showed you how easily you can make your own Stutter/Flutter effect in FL Studio using Gross Beat.
Now you are ready to step up your sound design game with this effect.
Happy producing 😄
[Also read]: How to make LoFi House Drums