One pro audio company I totally respect is PreSonus. These guys make quality studio gear at reasonable prices and have created a company culture that is motivated by and saturated with making music.
Last year’s launching of their first DAW, Studio One, was a big deal. More than a year later (version 1.6), it seems that the buzz is growing with this new kid on the block. I thought it might be helpful to take a brief look at some of the intruiging features for some of you who are in the market for a good DAW.
So What’s The Big Deal
Studio One was built from the ground up with fresh code. It runs at both 32 and 64 bit. The biggest thing they are pushing is the snappiness of the software along with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality for practically everything in the program. Want a new instrument track? Simply find the instrument in the browser on the right and drag it into the edit window. It instantly creates a new instrument track, drops that VI plugin on said track, arms it and you are ready to go. Effects, sends, loops, can all be dragged and dropped. From what I’ve seen of it, this works really well.
The other big feature is the built in mastering software (in the Pro version only). Basically Studio One has a “Song” page where you record, edit, and mix your songs (like a session file in Pro Tools). But there is also a “Project” page where you can master multiple songs. With built in pro mastering effects and tools and the ability to make adjustments in the multi-track song only to have the mastered stereo file automatically updated in your “Project” page, this feature alone seems worth the look.
Works Seamlessly With PreSonus Hardware
Of coure if you purchase one of PreSonus’ popular audio interfaces you not only get seamless integration with Studio One, but you get a free copy of Studio One Artist bundled with it! This “limited” version has no 64 bit processing, no third party plugin support, and no mastering page. However it is unlimited tracks and you get all the VIs and PreSonus plugins and loops bundled in. So you basically get a free DAW with PreSonus hardware. You can always upgrade to the Pro version for $199.
And with one click templates in Studio One for the PreSonus hardware of your choice, you will save a lot of time creating tracks and labeling inputs. Plus you get zero-latency software monitoring built right into Studio One to run multiple headphone mixes, which is nice.
Updates Look Promising
In its first year of life, Studio One has had two major updates with tons of new features added. These were almost all user feature requests (which means PreSonus is listening!) and the updates are free for registered users. How awesome is that?! It seems that PreSonus is taking Studio One seriously and this new addition to the DAW world is moving in the right direction.
There are a ton of videos on Studio One over at PreSonus’ YouTube channel, so check them out for yourself. If you already have an use Studio One (and I know some of you do) why not leave a comment and let us know your thoughts, good or bad on this new DAW.
Comments
I’ve been a Sonar user for years, but this looks very intriguing. I like the presonus hardware.
As a side note, sweetwater.com is offering a presonus fire studio mobile interface and Studio One Pro for free with the.purchase of the Waves Gold plug-in suite. Seems like a great deal if you’re in the market.
Great deal indeed. Thanks for pointing that out for those looking into some Waves.
Groove3 just released video training for Studio One in two volumes. Studio One Explained and Studio One Advanced. It’s become my favorite DAW!
I have been using Studio One now since it came out and have completely my home studio to (pretty much) all presonus gear and software. Coming from the Cubase world, the transition was extremely easy and now, NOT having to flip thru a bunch of menus just to create a send or a bus channel, I can get my songs recorded in less time than ever.
That’s what seems to be great about S1, more intuitive and streamlined workflow. Glad you’re digging it!
I have been teaching clients how to use it as well and have done a video or 2 related to certain issues for a few folks. As good as it is now, I can only imagine how it’s gonna grow.
I switched to Studio One Pro when I invested in new Presonus hardware. Coming from Cubase, my workflow improved immediately. Its fast and simple to setup a session and start recording ideas. I have been amazed at the speed and quality of the updates and I agree that the integration into my interfaces and faderport make the experience more about making music than about DAW customizations. It also looks and feels professional across the board. If you’re a home studio enthusiast, seriously give it a look.
[...] interfaces, mic pres, and live mixing consoles and have recently had some great success with their launch of Studio One, their very own DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) recording software. In 2010 they began releasing a [...]