Presonus Studio One Pro and Studio One Artist — New DAW on the block wants to be your one and only
As a journalist, the one business I wouldn’t be starting right now is a newspaper, and as a musician, the area I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot USB stick would be digital audio workstation software. In the cases of both newspapers and DAW programs, there seems to be neither the demand nor the profit potential for new entries. But hey, maybe there’s a reason I’m not a successful entrepreneur.
Studio One Interface with compressor window
The one young, successful “newspaper” I can think of would be the Huffington Post, which is kind of like a newspaper except that it’s all online. So maybe there’s room for a new DAW as well if the creator makes some radical, game-changing distinctions between it and its competition. Presonus is attempting to do just that with Studio One, which was announced in April and just started shipping this week.
Presonus will hope to hook you onto the idea of using Studio One Pro ($499 MSRP/$399 MAP) to take your music from conception through recording, mixing, mastering and finished Red Book audio CD burning and/or digital file distribution all by itself. It may be considered the most complete DAW in terms of being able to handle all those tasks, and to enhance its appeal, Presonus touts the “ridiculously simple” workflow that Studio One makes possible. Everything happens in a single window, with separate launch, song, project (mastering) and publishing pages, as well as a file browser that lets you drag and drop audio files, instruments and effects into tracks.
Studio One switches between 64-bit and 32-bit operation depending on the software device being used, and offers a Control Link MIDI mapping system that lets you create a “focus map” for each plug-in and instrument you use. Then, when that plug-in is selected, your MIDI controller will command it. You can also save effects chains as recallable settings in the file browser, and Studio One comes stocked with more than 30 plug-ins covering the basses of effects, dynamics and basic virtual instruments.
You can watch many explanatory and how-to videos, as well as download the Studio One demo on the Presonus Studio One page. There is also a “light” version available, Studio One Artist, for $249 MSRP/$199 MAP.
There’s no doubt that Studio One offers a powerful feature set in a package that may very well hit the sweet spot for ease of use and sound quality. However, all of the major DAWs have made significant progress towards those very same goals over the last few years — some more than others. For those who don’t already have a DAW they like or are moving up from basic programs such as GarageBand, Steinberg Sequel and others, Studio One will look very good.
Also, because Presonus makes very well-respected audio interface hardware and will package its interfaces with Studio One Artist, musicians should be able to look forward to excellent hardware/software integration and discounts on upgrading to Studio One Pro if they buy Presonus hardware. However, I see it being a tough sell to convince people to switch from software setups they already know and enjoy. It’s a case of not paying for another all-you-can eat buffet when your pantry is already overflowing.