PreSonus Studio One Review

Are you looking for a good DAW Software program? Many people want to know what is the best DAW Software. This is a good question to ask yourself. The DAW software that you choose will become part of your production process so It’s important to choose wisely. Today we are going to do a PreSonus Studio One Review.

Let’s jump in and see what PreSonus Studio One Professional has to offer.

PreSonus Studio One Review – What Is PreSonus Studio One?

Studio One is a DAW software developed by PreSonus. Daw software is used to record your instruments, vocals, midi, and virtual instruments so you can combine all of your musical tracks together for a final mix.

Studio One Professional is the PreSonus flagship DAW Software.

How Does PreSonus Studio One Work?

You can purchase Studio One via a download option and install it on your Mac or PC instantly. Once the software is installed on your computer of choice you are ready to start creating your own professional quality productions.

You will need a good audio interface to plug your instruments, microphones, or midi workstation into. The audio interface is an important part of the input chain because it feeds your inputs, (Instruments, microphone, midi), into your DAW software.

Let’s say you have an electric guitar part that you want to record to get your song started. Simply plug your guitar into your audio interface and set a good recording level (gain) that is not clipping on the input meters.

Your audio interface will feed the guitars signal into your computer and then on into your DAW Software. (PreSonus Studio One Professional In This Case.)

Simply hit record inside Studio One Professional and you can capture your incoming guitar signal. Once you have your guitar track laid you can add some bass, piano, drums, etc.

Next thing you know, you have all the instrument and vocal tracks laid and you’re ready to start dialing in your mix.

Once you have your mix the way you like it, it’s time to master your tracks. Mastering simply means you are getting your main mix radio ready.

The cool thing about Studio One Professional is that you can take your songs from start to finish, including mastering, with Studio One Professional.

Can You Make Good Mixes With PreSonus Studio One?

Absolutely, you can create professional quality mixes with Presonus Studio One Professional. Some great tools come with Studio One Professional to help get you started. Awesome tutorials are available so you can learn as you go.

Another very cool and intuitive feature is everything is drag and drop. If you need to incorporate a virtual instrument into your mix set-up, simply drag the VST instrument into a track and Studio One will instantly set up all of your sends, inputs, and outputs.

Need to create a bus? Simply select create a bus and Studio One Professional will set everything up for you. PreSonus Studio One makes everything super simple for you.

The drag-and-drop functionality inside Studio One is a great feature. I know you want to spend your time making music and not reading tech manuals all day. Been there done that!

Can You Edit Midi With PreSonus Studio One?

Yes, You have full control over all the super cool midi functions inside of Studio One Professional version.

If you are new to midi you may be asking; What cool midi functions is he talking about? Well, you have the more familiar functions like the piano roll, or the matrix view where you can create drum tracks in sequencer fashion.

But, The really cool midi functions come into play when you start using Virtual Instruments.

Let’s say you want to create cinematic style music or create compositions using a full orchestra. You can edit the midi functions like modulation, expression, articulations, and key switches to give your violins, cellos, basses, French horns, etc. the true sound and emotion of real instruments.

I think this is super cool and something you might be interested in. Even if you are producing pop, rock, urban, or country music.. There is something very powerful about a string section or an orchestra that can add that extra touch to your productions.

What Versions Of PreSonus Studio One Are Available?

Currently PreSonus has three different versions of Studio one available and an online monthly subscription available.

Studio One Prime

Studio one Prime is PreSonus free version of Studio One. This is a scaled down model of Studio One but will allow you to get your feet wet and see what Studio One is all about. Studio One Prime will run on Mac or PC.

Studio One Artist

Studio One Artist is a good place to get started. This is a paid version of Studio One and has a lot of cool features available for you to try out. Studio One Artist will run on Mac or PC.

Studio One Professional

Studio One Professional is the full version of Studio One. You get all the bells and whistles, full midi editing, all the awesome plug-ins, virtual instruments, award winning notation, mastering suite, unlimited tracks, and much, much more.

I highly recommend you start with Studio One Professional. It may be the easiest DAW software to learn and the drag and drop features make everything very easy to get started creating your own music.

Another thing I like about Studio One Professional is that you can use it for your live performances if you are a gigging musician. Take all those cool effects and edits with you on stage and wow your crowd. Create set list and organize your music.

PreSonus Sphere

PreSonus Sphere is an online monthly or yearly subscription to Studio One Professional. If you know you like using Studio One Professional then you may like PreSonus Sphere. You get full access to Studio One Professional, exclusive collaboration tools, access to all of Studio One’s plug-ins, and access to master class training videos.

System Requirements For PreSonus Studio One

Studio One is a modern, cross-platform DAW that is capable of operating on a 64-bit application.

Windows

• Windows 10 (64 bit only)
• Intel Core i3 /AMD A10 processor or better
• Minimum 4GB RAM / Recommended 8GB or better
• Internet Connection (needed for installation, activation, cloud storage, shopping, and Exchange integration)
• 40GB free hard drive space for Studio One Professional
• 20GB free hard drive space for Studio One Artist
• Multi-touch enabled monitor needed for touch operation
• Monitor with 1366 x 768 resolution (high dpi-monitor recommended)

MacOS

• macOS 10.13 or higher (64 bit only)
• Intel Core i3 or better
• Apple M1 processer supported with Rosetta 2
• 4GB or RAM (8GB or better recommended)
• 40GB of free hard drive space for Studio One Professional
• 20GB of free hard drive space for Studio One Artist
• Internet connection (needed for installation, activation, cloud storage, shopping, and Exchange integration)
• Multi-touch enabled monitor needed for touch operation
• Monitor with 1366 x 768 resolution (high dpi-monitor recommended)

Studio One Remote For iPad

• iPad Pro, iPad Air2, iPad Air, iPad mini 4, iPad mini with Retina display, 4th generation iPad
• iPad OS 10 or later

Studio One Remote For Android

• Android tablet running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) or higher.
• Minimum screen resolution of 1024 x 768

Studio One Remote For Windows

• Microsoft Surface 3 and higher
• Microsoft Surface Pro 2 and higher
• Windows 10 or later (Windows RT not supported)
• 2GB RAM minimum (4GB RAM or more recommended)
• Tablet must be x86 compatible (Not arm-based)

PreSonus Studio One Features And Benefits

PreSonus Studio One comes with some great features that I will list here. I will also try and give you some benefits to give you a better understanding.

Drag And Drop Everything: Drag and drop for easy setup of virtual instruments, audio loops, plug-in effects, and pre-sets. You can also drag and drop effects from one channel to another for quick workflow. Convert MIDI to audio or audio to Midi by using Drag and Drop.

Perfect Harmony: Currently the only DAW with harmonic editing for both audio and MIDI. Studio One Professional has a built in chord track that allows you to quickly set up your chord structure. Drag and drop your MIDI or audio tracks into the session and audition different chord progressions until you find the perfect chord structure for your songs. Your audio and MIDI tracks will follow your chord changes.

Inspiring Plug-Ins: A complete suite of effects plug-ins to super charge your mix. From modeled guitar amps, rich reverb, and polyrhythmic delays. Studio One Professional has all the plug-ins you need to take your mix to the next level.

Analog Mixing With Digital Ease: Studio One Professional has proprietary Mix Engine FX Plug-Ins to provide State Space Models of classic analog consoles that can process your mix across channels on any bus, collectively. Need a classic analog sound? You got it!

Produce Without Limits: Audition new arrangement ideas on the fly with a simple click of your mouse. Forget about tedious transposition, cutting, pasting and moving parts around the old fashioned way. Speed up your work flow and increase your artistic flow.

Edit Audio And Midi Fast: Clip gain envelopes allow you to edit sections of a track that may be too loud or quiet without changing the rest of the track.

Inspiring Virtual Instruments: Awesome virtual instruments and multi-instruments allow you to combine as many instrument as you want to create your own unique sounds. Studio One Professional has the virtual instrument sounds to help you create your best sounds. As a side note, you can also add your own virtual instruments like East West Sounds, Spitfire Audio, and UJAM.

Award Winning Notation: Modern composers need tools that will allow them to incorporate electronic elements with traditional scoring. The new score view in Studio One merges PreSonus’ award winning notation software called Notion. If you like traditional scoring Studio One Professional has got you covered. Drum notation and guitar tablature is also included.

From Studio To Stage To Streaming: The new Show Page allows you to create a setlist using songs you have already created in Studio One. Incorporate a mix of live instruments on stage with pre-recorded tracks in Studio One and virtual instruments in Studio One.

Mastering Suite: Studio One Professional is currently the only DAW software that allows you to link songs and stems with finished, mastered projects. Transfer your mixes or mixed stems to the Project Page for mastering. The Project Page makes it easy to obtain consistent levels and tonal balance with a collection of songs. Get your album radio ready.

Pros

• Great Price
• Excellent DAW Software
• Lots of Useful Tools
• Easy To Use

Cons

• I have not found a Con as of yet.

I have been looking for a true con and not a petty complaint. I use Studio One Professional and honestly can not think of a Con.

I will say all DAW software takes a little time to learn and can be a little frustrating. Studio One Professional is the easiest DAW software to use on the market in my humble opinion.

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Be Aware That

Studio One Prime is a free download and is not a full version of Studio One Professional. Many of the functions will not be available. This is a good way to try out Studio One at no cost to you.

Studio One Artist is a mini version of Studio One Professional and will not have the full function access of PreSonus Studio One Professional.

Is Presonus Studio One Legit?

Yes, Studio One Professional is very legit. It is a great DAW software with more functions, and ease of use than some of the other DAW software packages on the market. It also has a great price.

Conclusion

In conclusion, PreSonus Studio One Professional will be a good choice for you if you are looking for excellent DAW software. Studio One Professional will give you more features and functionality than most other DAW software packages on the market today. Especially in this price range.

If you are new to using DAW software you will want to be aware of the learning curve. All DAW software takes a little time to learn and master the functions. Just enjoy the process and learn all you can about whichever DAW software you choose.

We talked some today about audio interfaces. If you want to learn more about how to choose a good audio interface then check out my article: The Best Audio Interface For A Home Studio.

I hope this review was helpful to you. Let me know what you think about PreSonus Studio One.