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Move MIDI and stems between DAWs: FL Studio, Logic Pro, Ableton Live and monody

What MIDI files, stems and project files carry between DAWs, the FL Studio and Logic Pro export steps, and how a part written in monody leaves as a .mid.

By monody11 min read

The short answer. Between FL Studio and Logic Pro, move work in two kinds of file. A MIDI file (.mid) carries notes, timing and tempo, so you can keep editing the part. A stem (WAV) carries the sound as rendered, so you hear it exactly but can't change a note. Export both, match the tempo, start everything at bar 1, and rebuild the sounds and the mix. Whole-project bridges exist, but only in some DAWs: Bitwig Studio imports Ableton Live and FL Studio projects, DAWproject carries projects between the DAWs that support it, and monody opens Live 12 sets. None of those is a route between FL Studio and Logic Pro, and monody doesn't open .flp or .logicx projects or use DAWproject.

People search "FL Studio to Logic" or "convert my project". Neither manual describes opening the other's project, so the documented route is smaller and dependable. Below: what each file type carries, how project bridges differ, the steps in FL Studio and Logic Pro from their own manuals, and how a part written in monody leaves as a MIDI file. The Ableton Live route has its own guide, How to move an Ableton project to another DAW.

What each file carries

MIDI file (.mid) Stem (WAV) Project file
Notes and velocities Yes No, they're baked into sound Yes, in its own DAW
Tempo Yes, as a tempo map Only if the app writes it in Yes
The sound of the instrument No Yes, as rendered Yes, in its own DAW
Effects and plugin settings No Baked into the audio Yes, in its own DAW
Editable afterwards Notes, yes Audio only Yes, in its own DAW
Opens in another DAW Yes Yes Only where that DAW has an importer, or both support DAWproject

Apple describes what a Standard MIDI file holds: MIDI events with time positions and channel assignments, track names, marker names and positions, tempo changes and copyright marks. It comes in two formats: Format 0 puts everything in one track and Format 1 holds several. Image-Line's manual says the same thing in one line: "MIDI is not an audio format." A MIDI file has no instrument in it. The receiving DAW plays the notes on whatever instrument you give them.

Standard files and project bridges

MIDI and WAV are widely supported standards, as long as the receiving DAW reads them, and they carry notes or sound, not the session. A project bridge carries more, but only between the DAWs that implement it:

  • Direct import. Bitwig says its Ableton Live import keeps audio, MIDI and group tracks and their routing, plus VST plug-ins with their settings and automation, and converts stock Ableton devices to Bitwig equivalents. Its FL Studio import brings patterns and audio events in as clips, but native FL devices aren't transferred and automation is lost.
  • DAWproject. An interchange format for whole projects. In Bitwig's user guide, exporting saves "all of your generic project data into a file, which can be opened by any other music software that supports the format". Bitwig's article lists Bitwig Studio, Studio One, Cubase 14 and later, and REAPER through a tool. FL Studio and Logic Pro aren't on that list, so check their manuals before counting on it. DAWproject, MIDI files and stems goes through who documents it, what gets lost and a handoff checklist.
  • monody. It opens Ableton Live 12 sets and exports a Live project folder (the Ableton page). It doesn't read or write .flp, .logicx or DAWproject files.

Before you export anything

  1. Write down the tempo and the time signature. Set the same tempo in the new project before you import. Apple's guide places an imported MIDI file at the playhead, rounded to bars, and FL Studio's import dialog has its own options, so start from an empty bar 1.
  2. Decide what each part is for. Keep editing it as notes: send MIDI and give it a new instrument. Keep its sound exactly: send a stem.
  3. Save a copy. FL Studio's project-wide MIDI export changes your channels (below), and a copy costs nothing.
  4. Send both for the parts that matter. The MIDI is for editing and the stem is the reference you check the rebuild against.

From FL Studio

MIDI. FL Studio saves the contents of the Step Sequencer and Piano roll. In the manual's words: for one channel, use the Piano roll menu's "Export as MIDI file". For the whole project, save it first, run the Prepare for MIDI export macro on the Tools menu, choose MIDI in the export dialog and press Start. The macro "replaces all Channels with auto-configured MIDI Out plugins", and the manual's warning is blunt: don't save your project in that state or you lose the original channel settings. Save a new project instead.

Stems. Choose WAV in the same export dialog and turn on Split mixer tracks: each Mixer track is exported as a separate .wav. The manual also describes an "Export all Playlist tracks" feature that splits by Playlist track instead and says to consider which suits your project, and Image-Line's knowledge base explains why: Playlist tracks aren't tied to one instrument, so if you think in Playlist tracks, build the project so each one's clips feed a single Mixer track. Split tracks bypass the Master, so master-bus effects aren't in them. If stems start late or early against each other, check the Trim PDC silence option, which decides whether plugin delay is rendered. Save tempo information writes the project tempo into the .wav's metadata for programs that read it.

Into FL Studio. Import a MIDI file from the File menu, from the Piano roll menu, or by dragging it from the Browser onto the Channel Rack or the Piano roll. FL Studio imports .mid, not .midi, so rename a .midi file first. The dialog lets you choose which MIDI tracks and channels to bring in. Sustain-pedal and other controller data must be loaded separately, per the manual.

From Logic Pro

MIDI. Apple's export guide says to prepare the regions first: apply region parameters and quantization permanently, convert aliases to copies, convert loops to regions, join the regions on each track, and insert the instrument's MIDI settings as events. Then select the regions and choose File, Export, Selection as MIDI File. Several regions save as a Format 1 file. To export a single region as Format 0, turn on the matching option in Settings, General, Project Handling.

If the part came from a Session Player, convert it first. Apple's guide says the Session Player Editor changes style and pattern, not specific notes, so Control-click the region and choose Convert, Convert to MIDI Region before you export or edit notes.

Stems. Choose File, Export, All Tracks as Audio Files, or 1 Track as Audio File for the selected track. Useful options: Bypass Effect Plug-ins, Include Audio Tail, Include Volume/Pan Automation and Include Tempo Information (on by default). Apple's note matters here: for files you will mix in an external app, exporting without volume and pan automation is generally desirable.

Into Logic Pro. Apple lists three ways in. File, Import, MIDI File places the file at the playhead, rounded to bars. Dragging a MIDI file into the Tracks area places it at the pointer, rounded to the nearest bar. File, Open loads the file as a new project that includes its tempo changes and markers.

From monody

monody exports one MIDI clip or one MIDI track as a .mid.

  • How. Open a clip in the piano roll and use its export button, or select a MIDI track and run "Export the selected track as MIDI…" from the command palette. In monody's own window the file is saved to an Exports folder inside your monody projects folder and shown in Finder.
  • Clip or track. A clip exports starting at its own first bar, so it drops in at bar 1 of the new DAW. A track exports with its clips in the places they have in the project, and keeps the tempo changes.
  • What's in the file. Notes, velocities, lengths, the track name and the tempo, in a Format 1 file with 480 ticks per beat. Notes stop at the end of their clip, as they do when monody plays them.
  • What isn't. The sound (the instrument and its preset), effects, automation, and controller data such as the sustain pedal. There is no full-song MIDI export: one clip or one track per file.
  • Stems. Export can write the mix, a folder of stems, or both, as WAV, FLAC or AAC. Use stems for the sound and the .mid for the notes.

Into monody. Import a .mid with the file picker in MIDI settings or by dragging it in. Each part in the file becomes a new MIDI track with a fitting sound and one clip. The project keeps its own tempo, and monody tells you when the file was written at another one. A file with no notes is refused, and tracks count toward your plan's limit (Free allows 8). Controller data isn't read.

Verified: monody's MIDI export and import were checked locally in monody. The FL Studio and Logic Pro steps come from their manuals, and we haven't tested a round trip through either. A note written in monody is a standard note in a standard file, but check your first transfer by ear.

A worked route: a part from monody into FL Studio or Logic Pro

  1. In monody, ask the assistant for a part ("start me a bassline that follows the kick", as in Four requests, one real session) and edit the notes until you like them. AI basslines you can edit has the 32 notes from that request as a .mid, to try this route with a known file.
  2. Open the clip in the piano roll and export it as a .mid. Note the project's tempo.
  3. In the other DAW, set the same tempo, then import the file at bar 1 (FL Studio: File menu or drag onto the Channel Rack; Logic Pro: File, Import, MIDI File).
  4. Put an instrument on the track. The notes arrive without a sound.
  5. If the sound matters more than the notes, export a stem from monody as well and import the WAV at bar 1 next to it.

When it doesn't line up

  • Notes land on the wrong bar. The import point isn't bar 1, or the tempo differs. Set the tempo first, then import at the start of bar 1.
  • Parts sound like a piano or nothing. A MIDI file has no instrument. Load one.
  • Drums come in as the wrong sounds. In General MIDI, channel 10 is drums. The file's channels and your drum plugin's mapping have to agree. Check which MIDI channel the part uses.
  • Stems drift against each other. Check plugin delay compensation options (FL Studio's Trim PDC silence) and import every stem at the same position.

What neither route carries

Plugin settings, instrument patches, automation, routing and the exact mixer are not in a MIDI file or a stem. In FL Studio, controller automation needs its own import. In Logic, exporting stems with automation applied bakes it into the audio. Plan on rebuilding the mix. monody doesn't open or write .flp or .logicx files. For Ableton Live, monody opens Live 12 sets directly, which is a separate route with its own limits.

Other DAWs

Any DAW that reads Standard MIDI Files and WAV can take the same two files. This guide gives steps for FL Studio and Logic Pro. For the others we have separate guides, each from that maker's own documentation:

Audio that came from an AI music service has its own steps: From a Suno, Udio or ACE Studio track to an editable session.

Sources

FL Studio is a trademark of Image-Line Software. Logic Pro is a trademark of Apple Inc. Ableton Live is a trademark of Ableton AG. monody is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

Checked against the manuals on 4 October 2026.

Questions

How do I export MIDI from FL Studio?
For one channel, open its Piano roll and use the Piano roll menu's "Export as MIDI file". For several channels at once, Image-Line's manual says to save your project, run Tools, Macros, Prepare for MIDI export, then choose MIDI in File, Export, and save under a new name, because the macro replaces your channel instruments with MIDI Out plugins.
How do I export MIDI from Logic Pro?
Select the MIDI regions and choose File, Export, Selection as MIDI File. Apple's guide asks you to prepare the regions first (apply parameters and quantization permanently, convert aliases and loops, join regions per track). Several regions save as a Format 1 file; a single region can save as Format 0 if you turn that option on in Settings.
How do I export stems from FL Studio?
Export WAV from the File menu and turn on "Split mixer tracks". Each Mixer track is saved as its own .wav file. The manual also lists an "Export all Playlist tracks" feature that splits each Playlist track instead, so pick the one that matches how you built the project.
How do I export stems from Logic Pro?
Choose File, Export, All Tracks as Audio Files, or 1 Track as Audio File for a selected track. That gives one file per track. For files you will mix in another app, Apple notes that exporting without volume and pan automation is generally desirable.
Can I convert an FL Studio project to Logic Pro, or the other way?
Not by opening one in the other. Neither manual describes reading the other's project file, and neither DAW is on Bitwig's published list of DAWproject-capable DAWs. The documented route is MIDI files for notes and WAV stems for sound, then rebuilding the mixer and instruments by hand. Bitwig Studio is the exception to know about: it imports Ableton Live and FL Studio projects directly.
Can monody export a whole song as one MIDI file?
No. monody exports one MIDI clip or one MIDI track as a .mid. Each export carries notes, velocities, the track name and the tempo, not the sound, effects or automation.

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