Studio One 6.6 Released

[Bapu]

43 minutes ago, fret_man said:

Oomph! No PayPal? That sucks...

"It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine"

[Tim Smith]

In years past I just habitually bought updates to all my DAW software. If it's new it must be better right?  SO was no exception, and I would do that not even knowing what was new.

I must already have like 10 subscriptions to various services and I'm finding I don't use most of it. We really don't 'own' software in the sense of true ownership. Gone are the days of having that disk there on my desk that felt to me as if I would have it for life, and yes  we still have those disks, but many generations of it have followed it. We sort of gave up that  "it's mine for life" idea before subscriptions. It was even fun to buy the new stuff. Not a chore. It's fun to build a new computer too, so it all kind of goes together and then you think. I'm going to kill it now lol. I think it's a part of the hobby for those with GAS.

But for me, I'm beginning to watch things more closely and sure I'll update still but I am more reluctant to do so if the new features really aren't something I see myself using, and which would not be the same for everyone. I might wait two or three generations of a product now.  TBH most of us are loaded to the gills for pretty much anything with what we already have, so I think there is a "shiney new thing" factor in all of this or we would just wait until the next computer OS or major update to consider it. And sure they could miff us all by making the old version unfunctional after two years.

That's really where I see subscriptions eventually ending up. It's fun if I WANT it, but if you tell me I am forced because if I don't you'll take my goodies away that's different. 

We aren't there yet, but getting close. I guess some of that GAS has worn off. I'm like meh. Sorry, but my tude is changing probably because A. New stuff doesn't ever make better music and B. The novelty is wearing off. When has anyone ever said "Oh no, I am still on version 5, I can't make music"? 

So there it is, what there is of it. Call me passive to the max. 

There is surely some consideration as to the learning curve coming into or out of anything else. None of that has ever held me back or I wouldn't have like five DAWS. In fact I encourage at least trying demo versions of others to see what fits you. I found one I like, so it's going to take a lot for me to buy an update so I can stare at it and say I updated.  Or at my funeral noone is going to say, " Well at least he upgraded to 6.6" If we do it, it's for us, and if you enjoy it I will be the last to try and steal that or suggest anything negative.

It really a way of rewarding the devs for their hard work and continuing to help the industry. That's how I sorta seen it.  I say that tongue in cheek because I don't think any of us will get thank you letters. Probably not a good reason to buy anything you use on a regular basis. You have to like using it. Maybe similar to my garage which is littered with stuff I thought I might use lol.

 

 

 

[Doug Rintoul]

3 hours ago, Tim Smith said:

Or at my funeral noone is going to say, " Well at least he upgraded to 6.6"

I want that on my gravestone...🤪.

[Starship Krupa]

9 hours ago, CSistine said:

You describe here only the positive side IMHO!

Well, that is what "silver lining" means, innit?🙂

[bjornpdx]

Studio One 6.6 hangs when I open a project with Diva so I had to roll back SO to previous version.  Apparently Scaler doesn't work either per Presonus forum discussion.

U-He has updated version of Diva. I haven't tried it  yet.

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=603439

Edited April 5 by bjornpdx
Correction

[John Maar]

1 hour ago, bjornpdx said:

Studio One 6.6 hangs when I open a project with Diva so I had to roll back SO to previous version.  Apparently Scaler doesn't work either per Presonus forum discussion.

U-He has updated version of Diva. I haven't tried it  yet.

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=603439

Thanks for the heads-up on the Diva update. I installed it, and it worked fine in SO v6.6 in a new song with just a single track with Diva on it.

[mettelus]

8 hours ago, bjornpdx said:

Apparently Scaler doesn't work either per Presonus forum discussion.

I do not own Diva, but I opened a project quick with Scaler 2 in it and can confirm the issues posted in this thread. The simplest check is clicking the settings/gear icon in the upper right and that it is unresponsive, but the other noted issues exist as well.

Quick Edit: One post sums it up on there. "Studio One v6.6 features the very latest updated VST SDK and is now exposing a number of existing plugins out there that either do not conform OR need some TLC - OR Studio One v6.6 needs some TLC as well." I am not sure what other VSTs are affected, but guess I need to roll this one back. Just makes me think of the folks who onboarded with Studio One+ Hybrid into this... surprise!

Edited April 5 by mettelus

[John Maar]

I verified the issues with the VST3 version of Scaler 2 in SO v6.6. The VST2 version worked just fine, so there's the workaround for the time being.

I dislike having to remember that Scaler 2 is an instrument in the Plugin Boutique folder. PITA, when you don't use it often in SO.

The VST3 version of a plugin is listed first, followed by the VST2. With Scaler 2, the VST3 version is "Scaler 2" and the VST2 version is "Scaler2". Go figure.

[mettelus]

I admit it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. There have been numerous instances over the years where the VST3 fails, but the VST2 works. Perhaps this is PreSonus' way of holding the developers' feet to the fire (who knows)... I can only imagine a host developer's nightmare of having to "accommodate" VST3s that don't conform to spec (Noel has invested a lot of time troubleshooting 3rd party VSTs over the years). It has been over a decade already, yet still some still shoehorn a VST2 into a VST3 package and assume it works until the bug reports start streaming in.

[kitekrazy]

On 4/4/2024 at 8:08 AM, fret_man said:

Oomph! No PayPal? That sucks...

That's because cancelling a sub on PayPal is easier.  I wonder how many subs out there where people forget to cancel.   They even have apps to track your subs.  

[Heath Row]

It looks like things could be turning, or perhaps were originally meant to be that way but poorly communicated, I'll go with the former.

With regards to Studio One addons, they wont be available only to subscribers, they will be available to all but not through the PreSonus shop, for non subscribers they will be made available via 3rd party means.

 

I have withdrawn my knee jerk reaction to dump Studio One, and will stick it out and see how things pan out, there are just to many things I don't want to leave behind, many of which can't be found elsewhere and/or in the way they are implemented in Studio One, and the workflow is just unmatched imo.

[Heath Row]

and now it appears a new store is in the works, but apparently not ready yet, and the 3rd party bit was a stop gap measure, whatever . . .

[antler]

1 hour ago, Heath Row said:

With regards to Studio One addons, they wont be available only to subscribers, they will be available to all but not through the PreSonus shop, for non subscribers they will be made available via 3rd party means.

Where did you find this information from? Is there a thread on the Presonus forum?

[Kirean]

1 hour ago, Heath Row said:

and now it appears a new store is in the works, but apparently not ready yet, and the 3rd party bit was a stop gap measure, whatever . . .

The last sentence is pretty vague since it could mean "until they run out of keys".

[Heath Row]

It's practically all there, and available at other 3rd party vendors,

https://www.jrrshop.com/presonus?dir=desc&order=special_from_date

 it's as you were for us perpetual License people, it is all good on the home front 👍

[Heath Row]

On 4/4/2024 at 11:44 AM, Starship Krupa said:

Could you elaborate on that? My understanding only goes about as far as Craig's.

I'm just a lowly Studio One Artist license holder, but I'm interested in what's bothering the faithful.

Is it that they see it as a slippery slope? A disturbing trend?

Locking products behind a sub wall is dewsh enough for me....

I've been going mad trying to find this post where the dude puts it better than I could, but I was looking on the wrong site, I was looking and looking, going off my tree, then the penny dropped

It's a little long, and I guess in 'jibba jabba' territory, but seeing as it's not actually me, I'm fine

Quote

Quote:

Originally Posted by x445r6 ➡️

Is this cryfest about a new synth that probably few people need?

No, this is NOT a cryfest over a dumb synth. This about the fact that Presonus is changing the licensing model significantly, in a way that in essence pushes people into a subscription model, even though Presonus says they aren't really doing that to customers.

However, they are not being entirely honest with their marketing copy and responses thus far. They have devised a "hybrid" model that will co-exist along side the old perpetual licensing system, which would be just fine if that's all it did, however, it now restricts all "add-ons" to be exclusive to Studio One+ members as can be seen on the website's shop, at least as of today. Perhaps they will change this for the better. But as of now, this includes things that were previously available to buy separately, even workhorse tools that were commonly purchased by Studio One Pro power users like the XT editor. That's a big deal.

So now if you want things like that, which in some cases is essential functionality to some people, you MUST be part of Studio One+ because the XT Editor (and all other Add-ons) are "Only Available in Studio One+" according to their own website. The new synth that they released, called Lead Architect, is also only available to Studio One+ members. You cannot buy it separately.

So while it's true there are a few people who are "crying" about not getting the synth for free (it doesn't sound that great IMO), that is NOT the larger point. The point is that even if you WANT it, you can't buy it separately. But more importantly than that, by far, is the fact that they have moved other much more important add-ons to exclusive status. In other words, the "old" pro license owners who do NOT want to subscribe, are now basically demoted to a lesser status and cannot buy licenses to other more important add-ons. And Presonus just doesn't get this point so far, and they keep responding as if people think that perpetual licenses are being discontinued. Again, perpetual licenses are NOT being discontinued, but the EFFECTIVE result that Presonus has introduced here, is that you are essentially forced into a subscription if you want all the other add-ons.

Now there are some people who have stated that you can still buy those add-ons directly through the Studio One app, however this flies in the face of the big banner on the actual Presonus online store and the items' listings, which state, specifically, that the add-ons are exclusively part of Studio One+. Take that for what you will. If that's because of innocent oversight, error, incompetence, or even duplicitous marketing tactics, I don't know what to make of that other than it adds to the confusion on top of a terrible roll out of this new model. Again, not a good thing.

In any case, it's clear that after promises that perpetual licenses would not be going away after the Fender acquisition, Presonus has actually doubled down on the whole subscription concept, while "technically" still allowing perpetual licenses, yet at the same time restricting some nice features/add-ons to the Studio One+ subscription. This is disingenuous at best, and deceitful at worst.

So it's not about crying about a new synth. It's about demoting the class of customer that actually built the company's success.

Some people are indeed taking this further, for example, by expecting that they get the synth for free, which is NOT the big issue. It's that you can't get the new synth even if you wanted it -- along with many other add-ons that are more important -- without becoming a subscriber.

In other words, IMO it is a de-facto forced subscription if you want all the best tools for Studio One. But they have used different language, wrapped it up in a "hybrid" model so people who do NOT want a subscription will perhaps take the bitter pill more easily. I don't like to be cynical, but it's easy to see that someone might take that as basically insulting. Again, it's NOT about the fact there is a subscription option, that's fine if people want to subscribe. It's about the fact that you MUST become a subscriber in essence if you want any of the add-ons, some of which are very useful tools. Again, Presonus can reverse course, which I hope they do.

Now people can cry about a dumb synth all they want, but some people are seeing this as the sad end to an era, and some speculate this is a result of Fender's pressure on Presonus to increase subscription numbers. However, whatever the truth is, Presonus is handling this very poorly, and they are alienating some of their long-time loyal user base. Is it a surprise that some of them think, what's next? What other tool or feature arbitrarily tagged as an "add-on" will be made exclusive to Studio One+? At what point do you run into problems collaborating with someone who is subscribed and uses all the add-ons, but you do NOT subscribe and therefore don't have access to those add-ons so you can't collaborate? You can't even BUY them if you want to. And again, this just shows that traditional pro users with the old model are not treated the same as subscribers now. It's a two-tiered system. And that rubs some people the wrong way.

On top of that, there are still numerous doubts about how the "hybrid" model handles add-ons in general over time, adding more uncertainty to users. For example, what happens to people who buy the hybrid membership, then cancel it, then revert to a perpetual license, and then what happens to their now-essential add-ons? Will they keep them? Will their old projects still work 100%? Will the add-ons only be active or updated when you are back in the subscription? It's just not a good thing all around. Again, the uncertainty is also part of the problem, with poor communication TBH. And it basically means they didn't think this through IMO and yet they are pushing VERY hard so people subscribe, one way or another.

So if you see someone b!tching about any of that, and then you see the tone-deaf responses (so far) of Presonus, then you can see why some people are considering dumping Studio One and moving to another DAW.

Finally, on a positive note, it's possible Presonus will change directions after reading all this feedback, which would be a really good thing. Waves did it. Bitwig did it. Maybe Presonus will do it?

It was all sparked off by the 'cryfest' comment, but the dude is far better than me with words, and covers it mostly.

https://gearspace.com/board/showpost.php?p=16968211&postcount=72

Edited April 6 by Heath Row

[swijaya]

10 hours ago, antler said:

Where did you find this information from? Is there a thread on the Presonus forum?

https://www.facebook.com/PreSonus/posts/pfbid0UBZiheB9zRZ43eQDWbjyWgZ7k7MTuWBMC1qtWAPSSBWwkMn2JH5W4H4nCRUPqcw9l?comment_id=2135868856775831&reply_comment_id=7775259385896171&__cft__[0]=AZU1cVNP2uvPr8iPsgGVF4aUsLntfXcBsU2PuyZpMS3NFYB1fHNPdn11lSS5I_P5nNSQpsmfQCvIDxV6s73nuuZAmZbcO3f_OqgnHoW8Jk5HlUSkz8ta2OjJgpdAVE4TnzRDWxtAOkGrT5LX9_xyjhG_yzUu5xT6tg7B-Ale_xXYxoG17y5X_yKAnlDqTmzyNMI&__tn__=R]-R

[Starship Krupa]

6 hours ago, Heath Row said:

I've been going mad trying to find this post where the dude puts it better than I could, but I was looking on the wrong site, I was looking and looking, going off my tree, then the penny dropped

It's a little long, and I guess in 'jibba jabba' territory, but seeing as it's not actually me, I'm fine

As you know, I don't mind me a bit of the j-j.

Thanks, that's kind of what I was thinking: it appeared that they were taking part of their product line and making it subscription-only. If that's not the case, then no foul. I'm happy to hear that all that fear was premature (at least I think it was?)

Shoot, dropping $180 and getting a full license for Studio One Pro along with an entire year to play with the add-ons is a pretty damn good deal. Whether you continue the Studio One+ sub at the end of the year or pick and choose which of the extras you want is up to you (as long as perpetuals are still going to be available for the other products).

Marketing-wise, it's a smart way to let wary people try out the subscription: maybe they'll think all of the extra stuff is worth it. And if they don't, they aren't risking their license. For me, I have too many plug-ins already, including a couple of huge bundles.

[Milan]

30% of of Hybrid+ with code DONTMISSOUT30

[cclarry]

1 hour ago, Milan said:

30% of of Hybrid+ with code DONTMISSOUT30

That makes it $134 and they don't take Paypal.
Thomann has it for $145 without the discount code

https://www.thomannmusic.com/presonus_sphere_annual_membership.htm?listPosition=0&ref=search_rslt_studio%2Bone%2Bhybrid_497322_0_89f9c0cd-d663-4a0e-bdff-206504b61f1d&type=quickSearch