How to Master in FL Studio (Stock Plugins)

Updated August 2026 · by Loopin

Mastering in FL Studio doesn’t need paid plugins — the stock chain on the Master mixer track (Fruity Parametric EQ 2 → Fruity Multiband Compressor or Maximus → Fruity Limiter or Soundgoodizer) gets you there. Set the limiter ceiling to −1 dB and aim for about −14 LUFS for streaming. If you’d rather skip the setup, Loopin’s free browser masterer hits those targets in a couple of clicks.

The FL Studio stock mastering chain

Everything happens on the Master mixer track. The idea is corrective EQ first, then glue and multiband control, then loudness and a safety ceiling last — the same order a pro chain follows, just with FL’s own devices.

Load these in order, top to bottom, in the Master track’s effect slots:

Fruity Parametric EQ 2 — corrective EQ and a high-pass to clear sub-rumble.
Fruity Multiband Compressor or Maximus — glue and per-band control.
Fruity Limiter or Soundgoodizer — loudness and the true-peak ceiling.

Step 1 — Corrective EQ with Parametric EQ 2

Start by fixing problems, not adding flavour. Drop a high-pass filter to remove sub-rumble and DC energy that eats headroom, then make narrow cuts where the mix is harsh or boomy. Keep boosts wide and gentle.

This is subtractive work — if a whole master needs big EQ moves, the fix usually belongs back in the mix.

High-pass to clear rumble below the lowest musical content
Narrow cuts for resonances (harsh 2–4 kHz, boxy 300–500 Hz)
Wide, small boosts only — a dB or two at most
A/B with the bypass button so you don’t fool yourself

Step 2 — Glue with Multiband Compressor or Maximus

Next, tighten the dynamics so the master feels cohesive. Fruity Multiband Compressor and Maximus both split the signal into bands so you can control the low end independently from the mids and highs — keeping the bass steady without pumping the whole track.

Aim for light gain reduction. A couple of dB of movement on the loudest hits is glue; heavy reduction is a mixing problem in disguise.

Use slow-ish attack so transients still punch through
Control the low band on its own to keep bass tight
Target roughly 1–3 dB of gain reduction, not a squash
Match input and output level so louder doesn’t trick you into ‘better’

Step 3 — Loudness & ceiling with Fruity Limiter

The last device sets loudness and protects your peaks. In Fruity Limiter, set the ceiling to −1 dB (true peak) and raise the gain until you’re near your loudness target. Soundgoodizer is the quick one-knob alternative built on the same Maximus engine.

Because FL Studio historically has no built-in LUFS meter, you’ll want a metering plugin to actually read integrated loudness rather than guessing from the peak meters.

Ceiling: −1 dB true peak
Target: about −14 LUFS integrated for streaming
Meter: add a LUFS metering plugin — FL has none by default
Push gain gradually and stop when it stops sounding better

Reading loudness without a stock LUFS meter

This trips up a lot of FL users: the stock peak meters show dB, not LUFS, so you can’t see streaming loudness directly. Integrated LUFS is a full-song average of perceived loudness — the number Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube use to normalize playback — so it’s the one to master toward.

Install any free LUFS/loudness metering plugin on the Master track (after the limiter), play the whole song, and read the integrated value. Adjust the limiter gain until it lands around −14 LUFS.

How to master a track in FL Studio

Here’s the full flow from finished project to exported master:

Turn off any limiter or heavy processing on the Master while you mix; leave headroom (peaks near −6 dB).
On the Master track, add Parametric EQ 2 and make corrective cuts plus a high-pass.
Add Fruity Multiband Compressor or Maximus for gentle glue, controlling the low band separately.
Add Fruity Limiter (or Soundgoodizer) and set the ceiling to −1 dB.
Add a LUFS metering plugin and raise limiter gain until integrated reads about −14 LUFS.
Export → WAV at full quality. Or drop your unmastered WAV into Loopin’s free masterer and let it hit −14 LUFS at −1 dBTP automatically.

Common mistakes

Mastering on a squashed mix — if the Master is already clipping, no chain can fix it; re-bounce with headroom.
Judging loudness by the peak meter — peaks aren’t LUFS; add a loudness meter to see the real number.
Cranking Soundgoodizer to the max — the loud settings distort fast; a hotter master just gets turned down by streaming anyway.
Skipping the −1 dB ceiling — without it, inter-sample peaks can clip after lossy encoding.
Big corrective EQ on the master — large moves mean the mix needs the fix, not the master.

Or master it free in your browser

If the stock chain feels fiddly — especially the missing LUFS meter — Loopin’s online mastering does the whole job free. It runs corrective EQ, multiband compression (bass kept independent), saturation and stereo work, then two-pass loudness targeting to about −14 LUFS and a true-peak limiter at −1 dBTP.

It’s 100% in-browser (nothing uploaded), no signup, no watermark, and exports a 16-bit WAV with dither. Bounce your FL mix, drop it in, A/B against the original, and download a streaming-ready master.

Frequently asked questions

What LUFS should I master to in FL Studio?

Aim for about −14 LUFS integrated for streaming, with your Fruity Limiter ceiling set to −1 dB true peak. Because FL Studio has no stock LUFS meter, add a metering plugin so you can read integrated loudness instead of guessing from the peak meters.

Which FL Studio stock plugins do I use to master?

On the Master mixer track: Fruity Parametric EQ 2 for corrective EQ and a high-pass, Fruity Multiband Compressor or Maximus for glue and multiband control, then Fruity Limiter or Soundgoodizer for loudness and a −1 dB ceiling.

Does FL Studio have a LUFS meter?

Historically no — FL Studio’s stock meters read peak level in dB, not LUFS. To master to about −14 LUFS you’ll need a separate loudness metering plugin on the Master track, or use a tool that targets LUFS for you.

What should the limiter ceiling be?

Set the Fruity Limiter (or Soundgoodizer) ceiling to −1 dB true peak. That 1 dB of headroom stops inter-sample peaks from clipping when streaming services re-encode your master into a lossy format.

Can I master an FL Studio track without plugins?

Yes — bounce your mix to WAV with headroom and run it through Loopin’s free browser masterer. It targets about −14 LUFS with a −1 dBTP ceiling, runs entirely in your browser with nothing uploaded, and exports a 16-bit WAV.