Filtered noise sweep tutorial.

In this tutorial we are going to make a ‘sweep’ or that wooshing sweeping noise you sometimes hear for a transition or FX in a track. We will use the FLStudio plugin 3xOsc for the noise generator (oscillators set to generate white noise only.) Also we will automate the frequency of a bandpass filter inside 3xOsc.

Here is an audio example rendered straight from the included project file to an .mp3

Okay, here we go… First, open a new project in FL Studio and add a 3xOsc.

Now we’ll send it to it’s own insert on the mixer.

This step is not actually necessary for this simple tutorial but it’s advised to do so so that you can add further control FX to the sound later. (eg, a delay plugin is a good one to use on this sound, in FLStudio try adding FL Delay2.) And now you can use the mixer fader to individually adjust the level of your sweep in your mix.

We’ll need to play a long note which will sustain for the length of the entire transition.

Add a note to be played on the step sequencer. (Or skip this and just draw one into the PianoRoll, similar to the next step which, extending our note length)

Right Click and send it to the PianoRoll.

Set your note length. The example one is eight bars long.Now we will choose the filter settings. On your 3xOsc click the INS tab. In the filter section, choose BP (BandPass) and adjust the knob positions like in the picture. The MODX knob sets the frequency of the filter, and MODY sets the width of the filter. (Q)

Now to create the motion we will link the MODX (Filter frequency) knob to an automation clip. Right click on the MODX knob and choose ‘Create Automation Clip’

You can see that we’ve added the Automation clip here, on the Step sequencer window:

And we can also see the automation clip has been added to the playlist:Currently it’s only bar long as we don’t have any patterns on the playlist. First, add pattern one to the playlist. Now that you can see it and it’s length, grab the right hand point on the automation clip, dragging it to the right until it’s length matches the length of our sustained note we drew earlier.

That’s it for this tutorial, press play and listen to your results or maybe render it to an audio file for future use.

Download the example project file here: IC_3xOsc_FLStudio_Sweep_Tutorial

You can use this concept in most any other DAW with automation of course. The basic idea is the same no matter what you use: Automate a filter’s settings to move over time to create a ‘moving’ sound. Try experimenting with different types of filters, (LP BP etc.) and also you can obviously sweep up, down, or any more complex automations you like the sound of.