PreSonus releases Studio One 2.5 with nearly 100 enhancements (plus free Softube Saturation Knob plug-in)

PreSonus has announced the release of Studio One 2.5, a major update to the company's Studio One 2 DAW. This free (to Studio One 2 users) update adds nearly 100 enhancements and features, as well as many bug fixes. All versions of Studio One 2 have been updated, including Studio One Artist, Producer, Professional, and Free.

Although the update adds some entirely new features, it mostly builds on existing Studio One 2 features, completing and enhancing functionality based on PreSonus' original vision and on user feedback.

New features and enhancements of particular interest include:

• Comping Improvements. Single-swipe comping with automatic beaming into parts makes comping much faster and more powerful.
• Folder Track Editing. Edit directly on the Folder Track, with a waveform preview for all tracks in the folder. This simplifies workflow with large track counts.
• Track Transform Improvements. Multitrack transform for virtual instruments. Now you can instantly turn complex multi-output virtual instruments into audio tracks and back.
• Ampire XT has been completely overhauled. All-new cabinet impulse responses, matched with reworked amp models, results in a significant improvement in sound quality.
• Automation Enhancements. Easier and faster editing of automation envelopes.
• Audio Export Enhancements. Rendering multiple outputs at once results in much faster exports-a huge timesaver.
• Re-recording from Buses. This is a completely new feature that enables you to use the output of virtual instrument or bus channels as the input to an audio track. In this way, you can print from buses or instruments to new audio tracks in real time.
• Drag-and-drop Event Effects. Drag-and-drop workflow is even faster with a new modifier key that lets you do things like drag-and-drop effects directly onto events in the arrangement.
• Wet/Dry Mix and Mix Lock for Effects. Built-in parallel processing on PreSonus Native Effects. For example, you can drop a compressor on a drum bus, crank the ratio, and drop the threshold to squash the drums mercilessly, and then only mix that squashed sound 20% with the original, unprocessed sound.
• Legato and Overlap Correction (MIDI). Instantly apply or remove legato from MIDI tracks quickly and simply-a huge time-saver.

For a complete list of Studio One 2.5 enhancements and new features, click here.

Studio One 2.5 is available immediately and is free to all users.

In addition, all Studio One Producer and Professional users can now download a free copy of Softube's Saturation Knob plug-in. The plug-in is provided in a Studio One Extension, and it is not necessary to create a Softube account or authorize the plug-in.