It took me a moment to figure out how to cut audio in FL Studio, mostly because I’m used to using GarageBand and Logic. Thankfully, it’s just as easy as I assumed.
To cut audio in FL Studio
1) Hold Command/Control and then Scroll to zoom in
2) Press “C” on your keyboard or select the razor icon in the Tool Bar
3) Select the area to cut out along a grid line
4) Do it one more time, then press “B” to exit the Slice tool
5) Right-click to delete the region

(Turn the phone sideways for a closer look if you’re using a mobile device)
How to Cut Audio in FL Studio Using the Playlist
Cutting and editing audio in FL Studio isn’t rocket science once you’ve figured it out. The GIF and brief summary I’ve shared with you above should be enough for most people.
However, I’m going to show you the step-by-step process in more detail down here that way I can share some other tips and other things I’d like to tell you about the process. So let’s start with the first step.
1) Drag the Pointer to the Area Where You Want to Cut

I like to drag the pointer to the area I want to cut first because then when you zoom in on the region, it’ll zoom right to the area where you need to be. If you don’t select the area first, the zoom effect will take you to some other part of the grid.
2) Use Command/Control + Scroll to Zoom In and Out on the Area

The Zoom tool is obviously super useful because you want to be as hyper-specific for editing purposes as you can possibly be. You can probably guess that the closer you’re zoomed in, the easier it is to get the part of the recording that you’d like to delete.
3) Hit “C” or Select the Razor Icon to Enable the Slice Tool

Personally, I’d much rather use the keyboard shortcuts available to us than the buttons in the toolbar. The reason is they’re just way faster and easier to use. One of these days, I’ll definitely share a keyboard shortcut guide.
4) Snap A Cutting Line Along the Grid Around the Problem Area

This part is tricky because you can cut along the grid on an angle, rather than right down the center.
Additionally, it’s important to note that you don’t have to have the snap-to-grid function on (which I’ve written about in more detail here). In other words, you can disable it and then make your cuts more manual, or in between grid lines.
5) Press “B” to Exit the Slice Tool, then Right-Click the Area to Delete It

One of the annoying things about learning software is there are often navigational roadblocks that come as a consequence of just how the interface works.
For instance, after you’ve engaged the slice tool, you’ll have to disengage it in order for the right-click delete function – for lack of a better term – to work.

6) Repeat the Process as Often As You Need
Continue cutting and editing until you’re all finished. But there are other ways of doing this too, including with samplers like the Edison.
How to Cut Audio in the FL Studio Edison Sampler

This is a suitable method because while you’re editing, you can normalize it, remove background noise, time stretch, fade in/out, add reverb, slow it down, speed it up, and many other things too.
However, one thing I’ve noticed about cutting audio in the Edison is that it doesn’t create a space where the audio used to be.
Instead, it eliminates the space where the old audio used to be entirely, essentially merging the remaining two sides of the audio clip. I’m sure there is a way to change this, but at the moment, it isn’t clear to me.
1) Click the Top Left Side of the Audio Clip to Open the Edison > Choose “Edit sample”

As I explained in this article about removing background noise, you can bring up the sampler of any audio clip in the playlist by clicking on it, and then choosing the option, “Edit sample.”
(You can also drag and drop your audio file into Edison or record directly into it).
2) Zoom In On the Region By Scrolling On Your Mouse

I scroll forward with my finger to zoom in on the grid, and then zoom out by scrolling backward. Use the orange playhead arrow to designate where exactly you’d like to zoom in and out.
Additionally, if you want to move around on the sample, you can pull the bar on the bottom to the left and right.
It’s barely visible in the image above because I’ve zoomed in so much. If you zoom out, it’s much larger because there is less room to move from side to side on the audio clip.
3) Highlight the Section You’d Like to Cut or Alter

4) Click the Scissors Icon or Use Command/Control + X to Cut the Clip

(You can then paste this section to another location using Command/Control + V).
5) Drag the New Altered Sample Into the Playlist


And that’s pretty much it for editing samples. Again, the Edison isn’t as good as the traditional cutting tool for the reason I mentioned earlier, but it’s useful for many other purposes.
If you have any questions, you can contact me on my contact page, reach out to me on social media, or sign up for the forum to talk shop with other like-minded people.
I just built the forum the other day, so it’s not quite ready yet, but it will be before the end of 2023. Enjoy 🙂
Other Articles You May Be Interested In
- How to Snap to Grid in FL Studio + (7 QUICK Tips)
- How to Slow Down Audio in FL Studio [3 Simple Ways]
- Why Are My Songs So Quiet in FL Studio? +7 REAL Solutions
- How to Import/Export Audio To & From FL Studio (MP3s & More)
