PreSonus One folks, 4.1 Update

[ElmerJFudd]

"PreSonus is now shipping Studio One version 4.1, a major update to its popular music production software (DAW) for Mac and Windows. The version 4.1 update includes both Studio One 4 Artist and Studio One 4 Professional and is free to registered users. Here's the full details direct from Presonus..."

 

 

https://sonicstate.com/news/2018/09/14/presonus-delivers-major-studio-one-41-update/

 

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Also available for their free "lite" edition, Studio One 4 Prime.

[TomKittel]

The most important new feature for me is that the GUI size of VST instruments is scalable now. The GUIs of some of my favorite VSTis like OP-X were way too small and nearly unusable before on my 4k monitor screen

[ElmerJFudd]

4.5 Update Out - lots of new features and dramatically better CPU performance.

 

[video:youtube]

[RandyFF]

Thanks for bring this to our attention Mr Fudd!

 

So... help to sort some of this out would be appreciated! Sorry if its long, but advice wouldn't be that helpful without this background.

 

- I see that the Artist version is $99 by itself, but is free if you buy the $99 AudioBox USB 96 or the $149 AudioBox iTwo USB Audio Interface. I'll obviously need an interface for mics, guitars and keyboards, but know little about the options out there that'd best fit my needs.

 

- To get the kind of performance I need, I'd need to upgrade the Artist version with their $99 expansion, which gives you VST, AU and Rewire support, as well as 4 other expansions. So a minimum of $200 invested (their interface plus the expansion).

 

- This would be my first DAW in 15 years, and as I adhere to KISS, and am reluctantly willing to get involved with computers in music (not counting iPad, which is easier). I wanted the Casio MZ-X500 to fill this role without a computer, what with its 256MB of sample memory and great feeling pads that do alot, but alas, apparently its not up for the job (asked on the Casio forum) and only other keyboard that I know of that could possibly do it is the Kronos, which for various reasons I don't want, so that leaves me with a DAW

 

- As you can see in my sig, I'm running a Win10 laptop with 8MB/500MB/i7.

 

- I've got over 600 jams that have been recorded, and besides basic EQ/cut-paste/clean-up (which I was planning on using a Windows DAW for), I'd also like to add drums, bass, keys on some of them, which is why I was hoping to use a keyboard once the track has been cleaned-up to add those keyboard parts, preferably with a sequencer.

 

- Of course I can buy 3d party VSTs, but would appreciate alot of sounds built into the program, keep my price low and try to avoid the addiction of buying endless numbers of VSTs.

 

- As someone who doesn't want to get lost down the rabbit hole of endless complexity (I get frustrated and impatient pretty easily using computers) and would prefer to pick the right DAW for my needs and operate within its limits.

 

- I would be willing to pay more to get into an eco system like NI and their Mk2 controllers, or Arturia or whoever- I'd just like to pick the right fit for myself the first time and stick to it. NI and Arturia seem intriguing for the number and quality of sounds available, and I love it that their controller boards are streamlined for their software.

 

 

So, is the Artist version a good fit for myself? With all the options out there, what is the appeal of the Studio One DAW, beyond using a free DAW that came with your equipment purchase?

 

Thanks!

Randy

[SeaGtGruff]

Apparently some people find that Studio One is not the DAW for them, so even though I happen to like it myself, Ill mention a few things Im aware of that might potentially be an issue for you.

 

First and perhaps foremost for some people is the fact that Studio One does not support SysEx messages. Neither does Ableton Live, so if youve used Live and its lack of SysEx support was never an issue for you, presumably it shouldnt be an issue for you with Studio One, either. But if you need to be able to transmit MIDI to a DAW and have it record everything as is, or import and edit and export MIDI files, or sequence MIDI data from the DAW to your keyboards, without any SysEx messages getting stripped out of the data by the DAW, then Studio One probably wont be able to meet your needs.

 

Aside from the lack of SysEx support, Studio One requires you to configure your external MIDI devices with it. In particular, you need to add a setup for each of your MIDI devices in Studio One, and you might even need to set up a given device multiple times depending on how you plan to use it.

 

A keyboard that you plan to use as a controller (or MIDI input device) for playing virtual instruments in Studio One, or for recording the Note messages and other data to MIDI tracks, must be set up as a keyboard, and each MIDI channel that you want to receive from that device must be enabled in that setup that is, the filter for which channels you want to accept or reject is applied within the device setup, not on the individual MIDI tracks. Unless I just never figured out the right way to do it, this means you might need to define multiple keyboard setups for a given device, such as if you want to use one channel or zone for playing one virtual instrument, and use another channel or zone for playing another virtual instrument, etc., since (unless Ive missed it) there is no way to filter a devices channels on the individual MIDI tracks.

 

A keyboard that you plan to use as an external sound module (or MIDI output device) must be set up as an instrument again, with all of the MIDI channels that you want to send to it being enabled in the filter settings within the setup.

 

And if the keyboard has buttons that can be used for controlling features within the DAW itself such as play, record, mute, etc. then I believe it must be set up as a controller. I havent actually used that, myself, so Im sketchy on it and might be mistaken about it.

 

As far as the channel filtering being located within the device setups rather than on each individual MIDI track (again, unless Ive missed something), it really isnt a problem, because its simple to just add another setup on the fly as needed; its just that it might confound you at first, until you figure out what you need to do.

 

Anyway, there are some things about Studio One that I really like, although it isnt my main DAW, and Ive only ever used the free Studio One Prime edition. If you are curious about it but arent sure whether it would meet your needs, you can try the full edition as a free trial, or else take the free edition for a longer and more leisurely spin if the free trial period isnt long enough. You might even want to start with the free edition so you can get your head wrapped around its workflow first, then give the free trial a spin when youre ready to give it a vigorous testing.

[Mark Schmieder]

Interesting timing, as I was just about to put my license up for sale.

 

This is a pretty major update, and plug-in scanning is both quicker and more reliable now. That was one of my biggest gripes before, so I have mostly used S1 as my quarantine for new plug-ins and updates before risking corruption of a DP project.

 

Maybe I didn't pay much attention to 4.1, as I haven't used it much, but the rendering seems sharper to me in 4.5 tonight.

[RandyFF]

Thanks for the input!

 

I need to compose my own thread with the above questions, but in a broader sense. I'm leaning towards Native Instruments S61 Mk2, and NI only supports a handful of DAWs. But who knows, perhaps others will have suggestions. I'd also be happy with a user-friendly DAW that has a ton of instruments included that could be used by any controller.