Presonus Studio One

[boingy]

This came up in another thread but how many of you good folk use Presonus Studio One? What are the good and bad bits?

For me it's been a bit under the radar but in the last few weeks it seems to be popping up everywhere.

I was going to install their free version but then I discovered that it does not support VSTs and that even the next edition up ("Artist") does not support VSt unless you buy a pricey add-on.

[bxbrkrz]

Cheaper to stay with Reason then.

[antic604]

It's great if you need "tape machine" workflow but can't stomach the complexity and clunkiness of say Cubase. In 4 it got revamped sampler and drum machine, they've added pattern sequencer so they're trying to cater to newer, beat-making crowd as well. Compared to Cubase I really like scratch pads (alternate versions of your arrangement, a bit like Blocks but not quite), their extended FX chains and multi-instruments (like Combinator, but again not quite), chord track. I also hear Rason rewires well into S1, but I never tried it.

I think there's 30-days trial, so give it a go!

Also, it's quite easy to get a license for cheap - they do discounts often, there's Splice's rent-to-own thing, there's competitive crossgrade option and also it pops up frequently on the 2nd hand market. Actually I got my S1 4 Pro license just yesterday for $160, after I sold one earlier this year for $200

[Oquasec]

It's Cubase without notion built in.

[reggie1979]

This came up in another thread but how many of you good folk use Presonus Studio One? What are the good and bad bits?

For me it's been a bit under the radar but in the last few weeks it seems to be popping up everywhere.

I was going to install their free version but then I discovered that it does not support VSTs and that even the next edition up ("Artist") does not support VSt unless you buy a pricey add-on.

I did the splice sub for a little while. It's ace, no doubt about it. I also bought a faderport 2018 and an ATOM. But ultimately, I make more music in Reason and just spend all my time learning studio one. So I sold the two hardware units (you really need a faderport 8 or 16 because it does tons more) and quit the sub because I felt like I was wasting money.

The one thing I miss is Impact XT. I'm not into rap at all but I like hip hop elements and that little beauty is the best chopper/slicer/etc I've ever used. That's why I keep batch about Kong, it's time for an update for sure!

[reggie1979]

BTW, I highly recommend the sub. You can demo it, then cancel or continue on for 17 bucks a month. Now, you can cancel at any time and find S1 dirt-cheap on like KVR with the only way you'd want to continue is that all the updates are included in the sub (5, etc)

It's a terrific option to really make sure you like it.

[EdGrip]

The free version is a great tape machine to have on your system for when you're working with audio and don't want to use Reason to do that. It's better at it.

I'm always low-level shopping for a 2nd DAW as an alternative way of thinking and playing than Reason, and S1 is on the list, but in truth it will probably end up being Live or Bitwig (or even non-linear Digital Performer!)

Digital Performer has me wondering how many companies are looking into adding non-linear workflow modes to their DAWs.

[antic604]

I'm always low-level shopping for a 2nd DAW as an alternative way of thinking and playing than Reason, and S1 is on the list, but in truth it will probably end up being Live or Bitwig (or even non-linear Digital Performer!)

Go Bitwig! It's a perfect mix between what makes Live and Reason great in their own right (check the tutorial in my signature, if you're interested)

[QVprod]

Digital Performer has me wondering how many companies are looking into adding non-linear workflow modes to their DAWs.

I suppose they decided to add the performer part of their name.

[gdm41]

Just downloaded the demo. I like it so far. Reason is a audio playground and sandbox for me. I always had the problem with arranging whole songs inside reason. And of course the UI from reason is outdated, besides that, the players introduced a new spot inside reason where i have to look to. So in big and complex projects i switch between the mix, rack and sequencer and waste a lot of time. Studio one looks very intuitive and has a one window workflow. I ll do some more tests and maybe give up reason and switch completely to Studio one. Will wait till reason update 11, if they do GUI overhaul and implement some nice midi/workflow features, ill stick with reason.

[tumar]

Go Bitwig! It's a perfect mix between what makes Live and Reason great in their own right (check the tutorial in my signature, if you're interested)

Does it have rewire? Studio One works with Reason very well.

[reggie1979]

No, it doesn't. My issue with bitwig is Dom is a dork. He purposefully pushes people away and comes across as nuts. Other than that, it's fine. But I can't support them.

@Studio One: I know this is an older thread but I was "all in" at one point. I had an ATOM (which I didn't like) and faderport 2018 (which I liked but it was incomplete compared to the 8 or the 16) Everything integrated nicely, it wasn't buggy, it has a ton of features I wish Reason had and Impact XT is second to none and blows Kong out of the water.

But I never made any music on it. I spent all my time trying to figure out how to use it and as cool as it was, I decided to sell everything off, quit the sub* and just stick with Reason. Frankly, I'm happier and feel more focused. But I'm a band in a box guy, I do guitar/bass/synths/drums, all of it myself. That's just the flow that works for me.

*I highly recommend the sub with splice. It allows you to try and get comfortable w/o breaking the bank. You can quit at anytime and if you decide it's for you, you can cancel and pick it up at KVR for a song. Easy Peasy.

[ltbrunt00]

I use studio One quite often but sadly all of my inspiration comes from using reason. Out of the 25-30hrs a week using reason I probably spend around 5 to 8 hrs a week in studio one. Some of that time is exporting stems and midi out and importing into reason to continue ideas. Studio One does handle my VST instruments a tad better than Reason. Unfortunately I am addicted to Reason's SSL Mixer. I can't go to long without using it.

I haven't been using Bitwig much this year.

[reggie1979]

And that is the problem with flirting with mistresses You can't/or don't want to give them equal billing.

[koshal]

Over the years I've tried/owned so many DAWs (Logic, Ableton, Bitwig, FL Studio, Cubase, Pro Tools, Reaper, Maschine) but as of last year the two DAWs I've officially "landed" on for good are Reason and Studio One. Funny enough they are two of the DAWs I've owned the longest and started both of them their respective 2.5 versions. For Reason that was around ~2004 and Studio One ~2012.

My story is I grew up in the closed Reason world for many years (with a more than a few dabbles along the way with other DAWs ) but finally demo'ed S1 2.5 and shocked how I found it so intuitive. The motivation to look elsewhere was the lack of support for VST in Reason at the time (among other things) esp for the mixdown phase. I quickly fell in love with Studio One for mixing and audio editing and it came by defacto go to for that.

Over the years S1 though has gotten surprisingly good for arranging composing too (arranger, scratch pad, chord track, impact XT, awesome macro system, customization of keyboard shortcuts etc) but it still lacks some of the really awesome fun, creative routing and sound design features of Reason (and no S1's multi-intruments don't cut it).

You see I LOVE Reasons rack and everything about it but I do not like its sequencer and as other DAWs get better and better in that dept its more and more painful to actual sequence in Reason, which is making me gravitate more to S1 for both arranging/composing AND mixing/master despite it not being as good in the sound design / creativity / routing dept. It's a really tough call to not use Reason for that and a sacrifice I struggle with.

I still love Reason and do still use it as a sketchpad and sometimes rewire inside S1 (although rewire is quite painful). If Reason improves it sequencer I could easily go back to it as my primary composing/writing DAW because it has such unique strengths and is so much damn fun. I keep both around cause I really em love both for different reasons.

All the other daws though.... they can take a hike...

[Boombastix]

I still love Reason and do still use it as a sketchpad and sometimes rewire inside S1 (although rewire is quite painful). If Reason improves it sequencer I could easily go back to it as my primary composing/writing DAW because it has such unique strengths and is so much damn fun. I keep both around cause I really em love both for different reasons.

A lot of us have been pushing PH to realize that sequencer update is vital for their future (and something users want), so hopefully they are on board with that. Since they communicate like a bunch of clams around the requested sequencer updates we do not know what will happen.
For S1, I believe it will cost a bit extra, if I'm correct, to get up to full standard, since you need to buy Melodyne to get decent pitch shifting in the sequencer, so that is another $249 on top of the $399 (minus sale discount). Even if they are still catching up a little, it seems very good now, and they have the benefit of adopting best in class features that has been proven in Cubase, Protools and so on.

Cost wise though the recent Cubase cross grade was just a crazy deal.

So a Reason 10 license + a "Rigs 4" is pretty good value for someone shopping for their first DAW.
Hopefully we are close to VST midi out and more sequencer features.

[antic604]

No, it doesn't. My issue with bitwig is Dom is a dork. He purposefully pushes people away and comes across as nuts. Other than that, it's fine. But I can't support them.

I'm interested to hear more about it

[madmacman]

I must confess, Reason has lost me for roughly 8 weeks now. As a registered Prime user, Presonus made me an offer I couldn't refuse!

I bought Reason ca. seven years ago when I moved to another city for a new job and had neither time nor space for all my hardware gear. The "all-in-one" approach was great for having a tool to make music at least every now and then.

But times have changed. Before Reason I've been a long time user of Cubase and later Logic. So I kinda like the "conservative" approach. The following two aspects brought me back to buying another DAW:

1. I no longer see my focus of making music "in the rack". The central part for me is now the arranger / sequencer window. And here (as others surely will agree) Reason lacks functionality.

2. The DAW is not only a music recording tool, but also serves as central control room for Midi/Audio of my hardware synthesizers. Another topic where Reason is way behind competition.

No, I haven't uninstalled Reason. I still enjoy it as creative sound tool, and sometimes as Rewire device. But sometimes it's ok to move on...

[reggie1979]

No, it doesn't. My issue with bitwig is Dom is a dork. He purposefully pushes people away and comes across as nuts. Other than that, it's fine. But I can't support them.

I'm interested to hear more about it

Go over to KVR and try and post something negative about the product. You'll get a fanboi serenade and a ban from Dom.

[antic604]

I'm interested to hear more about it

Go over to KVR and try and post something negative about the product. You'll get a fanboi serenade and a ban from Dom.

I've posted a lot of negative things (about Bitwig, obviously), but always in a constructive and polite manner - and never had any problems.

[boingy]

...

1. I no longer see my focus of making music "in the rack". The central part for me is now the arranger / sequencer window. And here (as others surely will agree) Reason lacks functionality.

...

Yeah, I'm kinda the same. For me the rack is just somewhere the instruments live. All of that modular-style CV wiring flexibility stuff leaves me cold and I think it might even put off potential new users. Weirdly, given Reason's history, the thing it is best at for me is comping vocals! This week I'll be doing a rough mix of a Cubase song, pulling it into Reason, recording and comping the vocals then exporting it back into Cubase. No rewiring, just WAV files.

Reason will always be there but may end up as my sketchpad and vocal recorder rather than my main tool.

[josiah]

I bought Studio One for Melodyne and VST around the time of Reason 8, however, now that Reason has a pitch editor and VST I have not had much reason to use it. Reason's sequencer is fine for me, the only thing I really want is "score view" or "score editor" (like Nuendo has had for 15+ years). Honestly squinting my eyes at MIDI I wrote years ago trying to see what notes they are is not fun.

That said, I love the rack and CV in Reason. I'm not a sound designer, but it's so easy to get interesting, personal, creative sounds, happy accidents. Not terribly useful if you are trying to make club tracks and copy "that" sound, but for the type of music I make, even just for an intro or outro, helps me feel more personal ownership of the creative process.

The one thing sometimes I wish I had another DAW for are colab sites. But I abhor Apple (for their business policies) and try as I may to get Ableton to "click" for me, it never does. Studio One is my favorite non-Reason DAW, but it isn't super popular on colab sites, so doesn't help there either.

[reggie1979]

Go over to KVR and try and post something negative about the product. You'll get a fanboi serenade and a ban from Dom.

I've posted a lot of negative things (about Bitwig, obviously), but always in a constructive and polite manner - and never had any problems.

He plays favorites. Anyways, good luck! (I didn't have it)

[xylyx]

For S1, I believe it will cost a bit extra, if I'm correct, to get up to full standard, since you need to buy Melodyne to get decent pitch shifting in the sequencer, so that is another $249 on top of the $399 (minus sale discount).

You get Melodyne Essentials included with the Pro version, so unless you need the polyphonic detection of the full on version, then you are pretty much on a par with the other DAWs for the price of entry. They are also doing a crossgrade deal at the moment, someone posted it on KvR.

If they aren't going to do anything with the sequencer in Reason, my next hope would be for a Combinator VST that would allow me to use all my REs natively in another sequencer.

[miscend]

Studio One has a cross grade sale at the moment for $199. Cheaper at JRRshop with a code. I’m not getting it because I already have Logic and recently got Cubase.