REWIRE SUPPORT

Host Mode

NOTE: ReWire was discontinued by Propellerheads / Reason Studios in 2020. Consequently, FL Studio as a ReWire device is also now deprecated in FL Studio. Official support ended with FL Studio 20.7. Please use FL Studio as a VST/AU to use it in other DAWs.

FL Studio can function as a ReWire host for installed ReWire clients. The host functionality is implemented via the ReWired plugin. Each instance of the plugin lets you host one ReWire device (to use multiple devices, simply add multiple instances of the plugin to your project).

The ReWire client sends its audio output to the ReWired plugin. The client will also synchronize with the FL Studio transport controls (playback/stop, song position) and provides ability to transmit MIDI to and from the ReWire client.

Parameters

  • Client - Select the ReWire client to be hosted in FL Studio.
  • Show Panel - After selecting a client, click here to launch the client application. Note that some ReWire clients may not launch from this button (ReBirth for example). In this case simply use their Start Menu shortcut. The ReWire client will detect the FL Studio host automatically at startup.
  • Online Device Information ("?" button) - Click this button to open your default browser and see more information about the ReWire client currently set in the Client menu box. You need to be on-line to use this feature.
  • Multi Outputs - Normally the complete audio from the ReWire client will be sent to the ReWired plugin. If the ReWire client has multiple audio outputs you can enable this option to send each ReWire output to an individual mixer track. For example, if ReWired was linked to track 10, output 1 will be sent to track 10, output 2 to track 11, output 3 to track 12, etc.
  • MIDI Options - This button launches the MIDI output dialog where you can map ReWire MIDI busses (input and output) to standard FL Studio MIDI ports. For more information, see "MIDI Connectivity" below.

General Use

In most cases you need to follow these steps to connect a ReWire client to FL Studio:

  1. Add an instance of the ReWired plugin.
  2. Select a ReWire device from the Client combo box. If the device is not listed, ensure the ReWire client is registered/installed correctly.
  3. Click the Show Panel button to launch the ReWire client. This function may not work properly with some clients, in which case launch the application manually from the Start Menu shortcut (only after you have selected the client in the ReWired plugin).
  4. The client is now connected to FL Studio. The audio output will be streamed into the ReWired plugin and the playback and song position will be synchronized.

After you have completed this setup you can also access the MIDI connectivity features of ReWire (if the client supports it). See MIDI Connectivity below.

MIDI Connectivity

ReWire allows the host (FL Studio) to send and receive MIDI data from the client by mapping the ReWire input/output MIDI busses to regular FL Studio MIDI ports. To adjust the MIDI mapping settings, click the MIDI Options button in the ReWired plugin. For this functionality to work, the client needs to make use of the MIDI connectivity features of ReWire, otherwise the controls in this window will be empty/disabled.

  • Mappings - Displays any existing mappings you have created for this ReWire client.
  • Map - Lets you select Input or Output port to map. Input port sends MIDI data from FL Studio to the client, output port maps MIDI data coming from the client to FL Studio MIDI port.
  • Port - Lets you select the FL Studio MIDI port to map.
  • To - Lets you select the ReWire MIDI bus the port will be mapped to.
  • Add/Change - Adds mapping defined in the Map/Port/To control to the Mappings list.
  • Delete - Deletes the selected mapping from the Mappings list.
  • Always send notes to bus - Notes and other MIDI events on the ReWired channel will be sent to the bus (showing 'Reason') and channel (showing '4') of the currently loaded ReWire device.
  • Channels - The list displays the synths/controls that are linked to each of the channels for the currently selected ReWire MIDI bus (selected by the "To" combo box). The list is informative, you can not edit the assignments.

You can perform several operations with the MIDI connectivity provided by ReWired:

Control the client via MIDI

To control the client and its synths from a MIDI Out channel, you can map an input port to a ReWire MIDI bus. To do this:

  1. Via the MIDI Options of the ReWired plugin, map an input port to a ReWire MIDI bus.
  2. In a MIDI Out channel, set the same port as an output port.
  3. In the MIDI Out channel, select the MIDI channel to use (refer to the Channels list in the Options window for channel assignments).
Control a VST plugin from a client
  1. Via the MIDI Options dialog of the ReWired plugin, map an output port to a ReWire MIDI bus.
  2. Make sure the client is set up properly to send MIDI data to the same ReWire MIDI bus.
  3. In a VST Channel, set the same port as an input port.
You can use similar setups to control a ReWire client from another ReWire client or send MIDI data from a VST plugin to a ReWire client.

NOTE: Even if no mapping exists for a ReWired plugin, adding a sequence for it (events, notes, etc.) automatically sends the generated MIDI data to the default ReWire bus. It is recommended to use MIDI Out channels for greater control over the MIDI data mapping.