Some Love for Studio One

[Emanresu]

Does Studio One have a proper tempo mapping system yet?
That and can you change the color scheme and expand the mixer?

Last time I used studio one (earlier this year) it still seemed a few years behind in features and gave very little to innovation.

[decalogue]

I've been using Studio One Professional since its launch in 2009, it's an awesome DAW for recording and editing audio files, especially with the Melodyne ARA integration - however, it's not my main DAW since I need more advanced "MIDI" editing and sequencing features than Studio One offers.

Today it's easy for me to sum up the current status of this software:

- It's generally very appealing to people who found Cubase, Logic, et al "too complicated" and "bloated". Which translates to: "I don't need advanced MIDI features because I just want to record my voice and guitars." Result: Lots and lots of Studio One users are the kind of people who want everything to be "easy".

- Since Presonus is foremost a hardware company, selling their own audio gear, most of the customers seem to be live musicians and performers. Studio One integrates more and more with such a focus as well.

- Audio engineers love Studio One because it saves time with the workflow, also lots of the "I want my DAW to be easy" kind of people who switch to Studio One will eventually seek out professional mixing and mastering assistance when they're done recording. Thus, more clients.

- The heavy focus on audio recording and editing have created a de facto consensus among Studio One users to dwarf anyone who suggests that the DAW needs more MIDI-centric workflow features. So, in conclusion, Studio One might overall be the worst DAW on the planet to invest in if you're composing in the box rather than recording external audio sources. Although it's an excellent choice if you need simple pianoroll editing and if you're a beginner producer.

[lfm]

Does Studio One have a proper tempo mapping system yet?
That and can you change the color scheme and expand the mixer?

Last time I used studio one (earlier this year) it still seemed a few years behind in features and gave very little to innovation.

I don't know what you mean by proper tempo mapping - but on top toolbar is a clock that toggle show of tempotrack. But that was there beginning of this year.

Or are you talking about ability to sync audio to tempo and stuff?

There are some settings regarding saving tempo into recorded clip or not - to be able to stretch audio correctly when later changing tempo.

I got it at 2.5 and later the 2.6 update - I not having history when that arrived.

[murnau]

it's a very young DAW and i'm pretty sure (since everything else working well) they will adress the midi "issues" : better missing features, (and its not that you cant finish your work in midi of course) in the next updates to v3.

then cubase will kiss S1 a**!

[lfm]

it's a very young DAW and i'm pretty sure (since everything else working well) they will adress the midi "issues" (better missing features) in the next updates to v3.

I think we got 2.6 as a tranquillizer until 3.0 arrive before summer.

Most likely with notation as well.

[decalogue]

What I'd like to see is some kind of scripting engine for Studio One, which enables the user to have total control over everything inside the box. Not macros, I mean real programming scripting stuff either by an integrated internal scripting engine (Lua is free) or some kind of API for more heavy C++ stuff. And then some kind of "appstore" where users could sell their scripting plugins for Studio One, similar to what Propellerheads did with Reason and the RE extension.

THIS would be awesome. Imagine what you could do with some midi clip when you had total access to all the inner workings and could manipulate the data according to whatever needs you had.

Presonus did everything right with the ARA technology - they just need to open up the possibilities for everybody to code their own Studio One plugins.

[kev2525]

Any tips for getting the most out of openair? It never seems to sit really nicely in the mix for me. I am using it as a send effect to create a little bit of air and space in my mixes.

Like any verb, tweak it, eq it, shape it.

Even though it has it's own EQ controls I have a personal habit of using a track EQ plugin before or after verbs, I rarely use any built in EQ on verb plugs. But the other controls there, envelope, processing, ER level,etc, etc,... tweak them to shape the verb to your liking.

You might also try (something I do) with shared verbs, putting a bus in-between some individual tracks and the shared verb to modify the apparent pre-delay times, which helps (imo) with the illusion of space. That bus will be a pre-fader unity send with a delay on it, and have it's channel fader at infinity, just passing the channel send along while delaying it a little differently from other signals hitting the verb. So, I might have a hall verb that multiple signals are sharing but maybe the brass and strings sends are being individually delayed that way by 20 & 35 ms respectively.

Another common method with vocals (because some plate verbs can be bright and accentuate sibilant vocal sounds, but you don't want to EQ away the good part of the verb brightness) is to put a de-esser plugin before the verb plugin, on the FX bus or pre-FX bus.

Also, some of Open Air's large and medium Halls and Plates have pretty long decays so a little touch or some tweaking of the decay and ER times goes a long way.

Hope some of that helps.

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for the suggestions. I had to read that twice before I truly understood what you meant. I'll have to give the delay trick a go. What is the best way to put a delay on the bus?

Do you use the supplied IR's or have you found some that better suit your needs? I know there are a few out there and some of them are quite good.

Thanks...

[hibidy]

- The heavy focus on audio recording and editing have created a de facto consensus among Studio One users to dwarf anyone who suggests that the DAW needs more MIDI-centric workflow features. So, in conclusion, Studio One might overall be the worst DAW on the planet to invest in if you're composing in the box rather than recording external audio sources. Although it's an excellent choice if you need simple pianoroll editing and if you're a beginner producer.

Er, I've had all of the daws and I don't find this to be true at all. I mean, it's like every other host, it has good things and some things I'd like to be changed, but I don't agree here.

[hibidy]

At "openair"

I'm still getting my head around it but I go back and forth on the IR's. Some are just nasty Some are just as sweet as butter One thing I do when trying them out is to "lock" the mix. If I'm using it on a bus, I'll lock it at 100%. I do think there should be an option to have it like that by default.

[murnau]

- The heavy focus on audio recording and editing have created a de facto consensus among Studio One users to dwarf anyone who suggests that the DAW needs more MIDI-centric workflow features. So, in conclusion, Studio One might overall be the worst DAW on the planet to invest in if you're composing in the box rather than recording external audio sources. Although it's an excellent choice if you need simple pianoroll editing and if you're a beginner producer.

Er, I've had all of the daws and I don't find this to be true at all. I mean, it's like every other host, it has good things and some things I'd like to be changed, but I don't agree here.

yep, complete bs.

[LawrenceF]

@kev2525: I use the Open Air impulses. No point in loading others for me with so many good ones already there. As to the delay thing, yes, you need to stage a bus between the track and before the FX bus to do that.

Our hearing is by nature highly attuned to what real space sounds like and even though digital verbs sound really good, they don't sound as good as real space. The really subtle aural cues we get from real spaces we learn from birth. Digital verb sounds good but you can still maybe enhance the illusion a little by tweaking some of those things.

One thing that is "unique" to recording is the "beat timed delay on the vocal" thing. It sounds good enough and it's become part of the modern pop sound but it doesn't sound like real ambience. You know it's fake immediately when it's right on the tempo. Real echos don't do that, unless you get really lucky.

That's why live recordings with room mics always sound so much better than multitrack recordings with digital reverb... as relates to space and depth.

P.S. Of course, all of the above is much easier said than done.

[Kalamata Kid]

My prediction (guess, wishful thinking?)
February 2014 - Studio One 3

What are the experts and non-experts saying?

I hope that some of my and others feature
requests are implemented.

[efluon]

At "openair"

I'm still getting my head around it but I go back and forth on the IR's. Some are just nasty Some are just as sweet as butter One thing I do when trying them out is to "lock" the mix. If I'm using it on a bus, I'll lock it at 100%. I do think there should be an option to have it like that by default.

if it is inserted at first position in an fx or bus channel that is what should happen.

the factory content does not have real spaces. those take quite a lot of effort to record, so those at http://www.openairlib.net are among the best free ones. there is a collection of some of those packaged for open air in the exchange, which you absolutely should get.

[bailees7irish]

I've been using Studio One Professional since its launch in 2009, it's an awesome DAW for recording and editing audio files, especially with the Melodyne ARA integration - however, it's not my main DAW since I need more advanced "MIDI" editing and sequencing features than Studio One offers.

Today it's easy for me to sum up the current status of this software:

- It's generally very appealing to people who found Cubase, Logic, et al "too complicated" and "bloated". Which translates to: "I don't need advanced MIDI features because I just want to record my voice and guitars." Result: Lots and lots of Studio One users are the kind of people who want everything to be "easy".

- Since Presonus is foremost a hardware company, selling their own audio gear, most of the customers seem to be live musicians and performers. Studio One integrates more and more with such a focus as well.

- Audio engineers love Studio One because it saves time with the workflow, also lots of the "I want my DAW to be easy" kind of people who switch to Studio One will eventually seek out professional mixing and mastering assistance when they're done recording. Thus, more clients.

- The heavy focus on audio recording and editing have created a de facto consensus among Studio One users to dwarf anyone who suggests that the DAW needs more MIDI-centric workflow features. So, in conclusion, Studio One might overall be the worst DAW on the planet to invest in if you're composing in the box rather than recording external audio sources. Although it's an excellent choice if you need simple pianoroll editing and if you're a beginner producer.

Perfectly stated.

[murnau]

I've been using Studio One Professional since its launch in 2009, it's an awesome DAW for recording and editing audio files, especially with the Melodyne ARA integration - however, it's not my main DAW since I need more advanced "MIDI" editing and sequencing features than Studio One offers.

Today it's easy for me to sum up the current status of this software:

- It's generally very appealing to people who found Cubase, Logic, et al "too complicated" and "bloated". Which translates to: "I don't need advanced MIDI features because I just want to record my voice and guitars." Result: Lots and lots of Studio One users are the kind of people who want everything to be "easy".

- Since Presonus is foremost a hardware company, selling their own audio gear, most of the customers seem to be live musicians and performers. Studio One integrates more and more with such a focus as well.

- Audio engineers love Studio One because it saves time with the workflow, also lots of the "I want my DAW to be easy" kind of people who switch to Studio One will eventually seek out professional mixing and mastering assistance when they're done recording. Thus, more clients.

- The heavy focus on audio recording and editing have created a de facto consensus among Studio One users to dwarf anyone who suggests that the DAW needs more MIDI-centric workflow features. So, in conclusion, Studio One might overall be the worst DAW on the planet to invest in if you're composing in the box rather than recording external audio sources. Although it's an excellent choice if you need simple pianoroll editing and if you're a beginner producer.

Perfectly stated.

no it's not.

i just pick out as one example this:

kind of people who switch to Studio One will eventually seek out professional mixing and mastering assistance when they're done recording. Thus, more clients.

stating this for a DAW which comes with a mastering environment is ridiculous.
and the rest of his conclusions isn't better.