How to Insert Native Instruments Plug-ins in FL Studio 11 (or Earlier Versions)

This article explains how to insert Native Instruments plug-ins in FL Studio 11 (or earlier), including:

  • Inserting an instrument plug-in (e.g. Massive, Kontakt, etc.) in a plug-in channel.
  • Inserting an effect plug-in (e.g. Guitar Rig 5, Supercharger, etc.) in an effect insert slot and routing an audio signal to the corresponding Mixer insert track.

    Note: some NI products can be inserted both as instruments or effect plug-ins (e.g. Absynth 5 / Absynth 5 FX, etc.).

Note: If you are using FL Studio 12, read this article.

Inserting a NI Instrument Plug-in

  1. Open a project in FL Studio.
  2. Add a VST plug-in channel by clicking on the Channels menu and selecting Add one > More.
  3. Locate the NI product you wish to load in the list of plug-ins and click on the entry to load it.
  4. A Fruity Wrapper containing the plug-in will be created.
    • You can access the plug-in panel via the Step Sequencer (F6).
    • The Fruity Wrapper containing the plug-in will automatically be routed to FL Studio's Master Bus.

Inserting a NI Effect Plug-in

VST effects can be loaded either as insert or send effects. This example will demonstrate how to load an insert effect.

  1. Open the Mixer (F9).
  2. Select an insert track (in this case it is Insert 1). You can route any of your instruments to this insert track in order to process them with the chosen effect.
  3. On the right-hand side of the mixer, click the drop-down menu to open up the insert effects list.
  4. Select More and browse to the NI plug-in of your choice.
  5. Click on the NI plug-in you want to load into the insert slot. A maximum of 8 inserts can be loaded per insert channel.