Today, you will learn how to install sample packs in FL Studio or how to use samples in FL Studio.
If you’re new to FL Studio, start first with the FL Studio Beginner’s Guide.
Have your sample pack in a folder
When you download a sample pack, it’s typically “packed” as a .ZIP file and stored somewhere on your hard drive. To use a .ZIP file, you first need to extract its content. To extract its content, you need to have an app that can do this, like WinRAR for example.
If you have WinRAR, simply click the right mouse button on the folder and press “Extract Here”. The content of the .ZIP file will unpack. You can now delete the .ZIP file if you want. The folder and files that came out of the .ZIP file are now ready to use.
So, go to the folder of your downloaded sample pack and extract its content. Now let’s see how to use the samples in FL Studio.
How to install sample pack in FL Studio
There are 2 very simple ways how to “install” a sample pack in FL Studio.
How to use samples in FL Studio – Method 1
For the first method, find the sample pack on your hard drive. We’re going to use this location on the hard drive to tell FL Studio where the samples are located.
In FL Studio go to “Options” and then “File settings”. A window will appear where we need to look at the “Browser extra search folder” section. Now find the location of your sample pack or music library. Select the folder and click “OK”. After you’ve clicked “OK”, the full location path will be displayed. This is good. FL Studio now recognizes this folder.
To access your samples go to “View” and then “Browser”. The browser will appear. And when you look closely, you’ll see the new samples folder. You can now browse your sample pack, find the samples you want to use and of course, add them to your song. Either drag and drop a sample in your Channel Rack (or Playlist) or click the right mouse button and select “Open in new channel”.
Piece of cake!
How to use samples in FL Studio – Method 2
Let’s go to the second method. The second method is very similar.
Also here: find the location of your sample pack on your hard drive in Windows. Leave the folder open and go to FL Studio. Go to “View” and then “Browser”. The browser already has a folder called “User”.
So, you can simply use this folder as your music library. Click right on this “User” folder and select “Open”. A Windows window will appear. Now simply copy the original sample pack folder and paste it in the new opened “User” folder. You could also just drag and drop the folder from one location to the other.
When we go back to FL Studio, look in the browser and select the “User” folder. We can see our just copied sample pack, ready to use. Now it’s just a matter of browsing through the samples, finding the ones we like and adding them to the Channel Rack or Playlist.
Another piece of cake!
Get my free hardstyle sample pack
In the video, I’ve used my own hardstyle sample pack as an example. You can download it for free by clicking the link.
And again, if you’re new to FL Studio, I highly recommend getting the FL Studio Beginner’s Guide. This well-received guide will bypass all complexity, so you can start making your own epic songs immediately. Don’t miss it and click the link to start now.