Ronald Jenkees » music

How I use the Motif XS with FL Studio

Ronald Jenkees — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:05:11 +0000

People often ask how I'm getting my keyboard sounds hooked up to FL Studio. Unfortunately, I don't truly get the sounds working in FL Studio. What I'm actually doing is just recording into another program and importing those wave files into FL. The process isn't as seamless as I would like it to be. The Motif XS series comes with a version of Cubase that "syncs" better with the Motif, but I don't prefer to use Cubase, nor do I want to run FL Studio as a plugin (VSTi/DXi2) in Cubase. So my method is neither the smart or efficient way of going about this, but since folks ask, I thought I would share my old school method of recording stuff from my Motif XS8 and getting those recordings into FL.

Basically, I just record a .WAV file from my "live" playing from the Motif into Adobe Audition 1.0. Version 1.0 is old, but lighter than their new versions and it does what I need it to. Check out Audacity for an open-source and free alternative. I then trim up the wave file, save it with my patch number in the file name (gotta remember what sound I used), then drag and drop that file into the lower part of the playlist in FL. When I drag and drop the wave file, it's not in time with the beat yet, so I turn the Snap (to edges) to "NONE", and line carefully line it up. Don't forget to turn Snap back on to "LINE" or whatever you used before. FL also comes with some built-in recording and wave editing capabilities (Edison), but I have always found it easier to work outside of FL to trim up my wave files and record them fast.

There are a whole host of problems with doing it like this, so if you haven't created any habits yet, I would suggest doing some research on how to get Cubase working with the Motif XS (check out the quick setup guides on the MOTIFATOR site). The main thing is it a little too time consuming and you don't want technology to slow you down while you're trying to make music. I don't intend on doing it like this forever, but until I can find the time to get good at a method that works for me, this is how I'll do it for now.

Edit: I've learned that in FL 8, Edison can shoot the stuff you record over to the playlist with the click of a shortcut. Looking forward to experimenting with this. I'll give an update on that as soon as I try it.

Hope I helped!!

PSSSSSSST! Here's a small clip of a new beat I'm working on (just started it). Just click the little blue play button.
Throwing Fire

Remix to a Remix + Malcolm Kelly Freestyle Rap

Ronald Jenkees — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 09:15:35 +0000

My friend and old roommate Daniel accidentally figured out that Malcolm Kelly's (Oklahoma football player) freestyle rap went perfectly with my beat "Remix to a Remix". Didn't even have to change the tempo! So he helped me cue everything up in the video and it's actually fun. I even threw in some fake applause at the end. ROFL.

Remix to a Remix - Featuring Malcolm Kelly (3.4 MB)

Click here to watch the video on the tubes. Or click here if you're interested in checking out my other tunes.

Halloween Theme Remix 2007

Ronald Jenkees — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 07:27:15 +0000

For you loyal RSS-subscribed blog readers, I thought I would thank you by temporarily releasing this track that kept me up all night this past Monday. It's fun to get in a groove like that where time slips by. It's a lot like reading a good book.

Anywho, I LOVE John Carpenter's original Halloween theme. In my opinion, nothing will compare to his original composition, but it was lot of fun putting a "dirty south" feel to it. Hopefully he won't mind that I posted this - it's really a compliment to him.

Downoad: Jenkees Halloween Theme Remix (5.4 MB MP3)
(to download: right click, save as)

Digg This (thanks Eric!)

Thanks a million for all of the album purchases, folks! I'm slowly but surely working on album #2.

PS. I'm featured in the November issue of Paste Magazine that hits newsstands this week (Ryan Adams is on the cover). A few close friends tell me that Paste is a very highly regarded music magazine so I'm thrilled about this!! Big huge thanks to freelance writer Paul Williams. Here's a video on their site if you're interested.

Buy Ronald Jenkees MP3s!

Ronald Jenkees — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:17:09 +0000

For those interested in downloading my beats as MP3 files (192K - DRM free), feel free to head over to the Ronald Jenkees Digital Download Store!! For those of you who would rather have a physical CD, it's on it's way too. Maybe a few of you will like to get that too. It's coming in digipack form, so it's more snazzy than your average jewel case.

Â»Â» I'm ready, just take me to the store please! LOL

How the instant download store works:

Choose what you want to buy (the whole album or just a few MP3's)
Pay using PayPal (it's a secure purchase and you don't have to have a PayPal account)
You'll get an E-Mail with a personal link to your downloads
Download your music!

FYI:
- The "Whole CD" option comes in a ZIP file. To unzip a the album, right-click the file, and then click Extract on the shortcut menu. Click here for more help with zip files.
- The "Best Value" button is kindof a joke, but kinda not. LOL.
- I have obtained a mechanical license to sell my Rocky Remix song

Thanks everyone for helping me get this done - all of the encouragement has been awesome. If you have any problems with the store, don't hesitate to get in touch: ronaldjenkees@gmail.com