Studio One wins MusicTech Gear of the Year/DAW of 2020 - Cakewalk gets Highly Recommended Honor

[paulo]

19 hours ago, Marshall said:

For those of you who know both these days, how would you rank CbB now vs. Studio One Pro? Are there features that you prefer in CbB?

I like the eye candy browser in S1 and the synths, but I never use it because I just don't like having to look at it and the control bar being at the bottom of the screen does my head in.

[Bapu]

20 hours ago, Marshall said:

For those of you who know both these days, how would you rank CbB now vs. Studio One Pro?

Studio One Pro ranks higher for me. I prefer the Arranger approach over CbB. The full featured Chord track is already there so that's a plus too. I prefer the fluid approach to the mixer window WRT buses (they don't have to be separated from their tracks if you desire). Integrated Notion is a plus.

CbB has a better approach to multi-out synths/drum samplers IMO. To be fair, I'm using drum samplers less and less these days so that need is not really there for me.
 

[Bapu]

21 hours ago, Marshall said:

using it with my FaderPort 16. Also love being able to chop up audio and drag the gain up or down on individual clips. 

Yes sir, these are also some pluses for me too.

Too many gyrations on the FP16 to use it in CbB.

FYI: Reaper has automatic use of FP16 after a one time setup. Mixbus 32C has a simple setup to use the FP16 also.

 

[Marshall]

20 minutes ago, Bapu said:

Yes sir, these are also some pluses for me too.

Too many gyrations on the FP16 to use it in CbB.

FYI: Reaper has automatic use of FP16 after a one time setup. Mixbus 32C has a simple setup to use the FP16 also.

 

Interesting re Reaper and Mixbus...having invested in PreSonus hardware, it precludes doing serious work in DAWs that don’t make integration with the FP16 a breeze. Thanks! 

[Tezza]

I've only got Studio One 3 and have thought about upgrading but when I run 3 I don't really like it. Sounds thin and sterile to me and won't play the end notes of midi which is a bit of a workflow killer for me, along with other stuff that they might have fixed by now.

If I take a midi file of 4 chords, each with 4 or 5 notes, major sevenths and extended etc, rich sounding chords and play that file in Cubase with NI's grandeur, I get a sound that is loud, deep and rich with nice harmonics. If I take that exact same midi file, use the same piano, same preset, same volume and play it in Studio one 3, it sounds softer and thinner, like the bass is reduced, it has a more metallic sounding midrange and the upper frequencies contain a high frequency distortion.

On closer listening the distortion appears to be coming from the ringing of the strings which sounds ok in Cubase but presents as a noticeable distortion in Studio one. It's not just volume either, If I turn up the volume then I just get a louder version of what I've previously described. In electronic music, it wouldn't be such an issue but in a sparse production with just vocals and a piano and acoustic bass or something, the difference is noticeable.

The metallic sounding midrange is not unpleasant and gives a different, even nice sheen to the piano, a different sound, but like I have said before many times, different DAW's sound completely different to me, nothing like the same. I'm sure you could fatten it up with eq etc and get the same sound out of each of them but out of the box with the same settings, they sound noticeably different to me.

I don't know if 4 and 5 are the same or whether they've changed things. 3 wont play the last half or so of a midi file if the transport is started halfway through the midi notes in the chord, something I find really annoying, I like to hear the preceding chord or what is left of it before the rest of the passage, don't know if it still does this, maybe there is a setting somewhere.

 

[antler]

27 minutes ago, Tezza said:

I don't know if 4 and 5 are the same or whether they've changed things. 3 wont play the last half or so of a midi file if the transport is started halfway through the midi notes in the chord, something I find really annoying, I like to hear the preceding chord or what is left of it before the rest of the passage, don't know if it still does this, maybe there is a setting somewhere.

There definitely is an option to play midi notes from part-way through. I can't remember when it appeared though, as I've used 3, 4, and 5. There's a demo you can try as well.

[Zo]

On 1/1/2021 at 10:08 PM, Marshall said:

So, like many here I “left” Sonar Platinum three years ago and have used Studio One Pro ever since. When I started using SO, within a week I preferred it to Sonar, even though I’d used the latter for years.

For those of you who know both these days, how would you rank CbB now vs. Studio One Pro? Are there features that you prefer in CbB? I’m sure there have been many improvements since the Sonar days. Above all, is it rock solid from a stability viewpoint? Like many here, I have stacks of external plugins so I’m not bothered about an extensive list of onboard FX and instruments.
 

Two of the things I love about Studio One  - Melodyne ARA integration, and using it with my FaderPort 16. Also love being able to chop up audio and drag the gain up or down on individual clips. 

Missing stuff in studio one that i really used to use in sonar : 

1) oversampling option per plugin 

2) plugin menu layout customisation

3) ability to put a plugin several times in folders ... ( like an eq in both eq and drive like the soundoys radiator for exmple)

4) doking

5) vu customisation 

6) most important: cpu optimisation when it comes to plugins handling , wayy more solid and less hungry.

[Max Arwood]

3 hours ago, Zo said:

Missing stuff in studio one that i really used to use in sonar : 

1) oversampling option per plugin 

2) plugin menu layout customisation

3) ability to put a plugin several times in folders ... ( like an eq in both eq and drive like the soundoys radiator for exmple)

4) doking

5) vu customisation 

6) most important: cpu optimisation when it comes to plugins handling , wayy more solid and less hungry.

Rewind on Stop! Export Mix downs where I want then to be - and other things like this I've just taken for granted all these years.

[hbarton]

Not sure if CbB has this, but Studio One Pro ranks high for me too due to the Project Page. My workflow involves adding ruff song ideas onto the timeline and then jumping back into each song to develope it. It helps me get a better flow of where the songs are going and cleaner transistions between them. The one button "remaster" makes it like having an assistant to make sure you have everything updated on the timeline after a number of hours jumping around from song to song.

[Marshall]

5 hours ago, Max Arwood said:

Rewind on Stop! Export Mix downs where I want then to be - and other things like this I've just taken for granted all these years.

You can optionally have Stop rewind to where play started, or stop and not rewind. You can also create a macro which creates a button so you have both options in the transport bar. Create pause button

I have to say I prefer the plugin management and layout options in CbB.

[Marshall]

10 hours ago, Tezza said:

I've only got Studio One 3 and have thought about upgrading but when I run 3 I don't really like it. Sounds thin and sterile to me and won't play the end notes of midi which is a bit of a workflow killer for me, along with other stuff that they might have fixed by now.

If I take a midi file of 4 chords, each with 4 or 5 notes, major sevenths and extended etc, rich sounding chords and play that file in Cubase with NI's grandeur, I get a sound that is loud, deep and rich with nice harmonics. If I take that exact same midi file, use the same piano, same preset, same volume and play it in Studio one 3, it sounds softer and thinner, like the bass is reduced, it has a more metallic sounding midrange and the upper frequencies contain a high frequency distortion.

On closer listening the distortion appears to be coming from the ringing of the strings which sounds ok in Cubase but presents as a noticeable distortion in Studio one. It's not just volume either, If I turn up the volume then I just get a louder version of what I've previously described. In electronic music, it wouldn't be such an issue but in a sparse production with just vocals and a piano and acoustic bass or something, the difference is noticeable.

The metallic sounding midrange is not unpleasant and gives a different, even nice sheen to the piano, a different sound, but like I have said before many times, different DAW's sound completely different to me, nothing like the same. I'm sure you could fatten it up with eq etc and get the same sound out of each of them but out of the box with the same settings, they sound noticeably different to me.

I don't know if 4 and 5 are the same or whether they've changed things. 3 wont play the last half or so of a midi file if the transport is started halfway through the midi notes in the chord, something I find really annoying, I like to hear the preceding chord or what is left of it before the rest of the passage, don't know if it still does this, maybe there is a setting somewhere.

 

There is a settings option in Version 4 called “chase long notes” which will do what you want in your last paragraph. Don’t know if it’s there in version 3. 

[abacab]

I would suggest finding a demo of S1 5, or signing up for one month of PreSonus Sphere for one month at $14.95 on the monthly plan, which gives you unlimited access to all of their software. Just be sure to cancel before it renews for another month!

Try it out and see if the v3 issues are resolved... just make sure to make a copy of any projects tested in v5, because any that you save there cannot be opened again with an earlier version of Studio One.

Edited January 3, 2021 by abacab

[LasWaltz]

I was one of the few smart ones that fell for the "lifetime upgrades" of the old incarnation. When it fell down I took the chance of crossgrading to Cubase for a fraction of its price. Now sometimes I wonder if S1 is truly that more intuitive, but old Cubase seems to cover it well. Still, I miss the Cake vibe very often. I used for more than 10 years...

[Marshall]

It’s funny how you can become nostalgic about software. I opened up CbB today and there were several “ah, I remember that” moments! Simplest of things like a single click opens a plugin in the FX bin. Nice! Who needs a double click PreSonus? ?. Also love still the Pro Channel...

[Bapu]

On 1/2/2021 at 9:12 AM, paulo said:

 and the control bar being at the bottom of the screen does my head in.

Apparently you can (from the "create pause button" tutorial listed earlier):

1. Create a custom tool bar

2. Create custom buttons and tie them to macros

This guy put his custom Transport buttons in his custom tool bar at the top of the page.

 

Granted it kills some real estate (and leaves the standard transport controls at the bottom of the page), 

 

However for me, things like position of the Transport Controls are not a deal breaker, I just adapt in like 5 seconds by using my FP16 condole. ? 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Bapu

[Patrick Derbidge]

On 1/1/2021 at 11:28 AM, jude77 said:

So true.  One thing I love about CW is it's fully pro looking interface.   I love S1, but I wish it didn't look so much like a box of gummy bears.

When it comes to a DAW I'm looking for fast, usable, stable, and functional not a trophy wife.  If there was a contest for the most updates, Reaper would win hands down.  Not for everyone but I'll take stable over pretty.

Edited January 4, 2021 by Patrick Derbidge

[paulo]

On 1/3/2021 at 7:32 PM, Bapu said:

Something about a not even half-assed workaround......

Immediately after reading it Paulo said:

Meh.

But he appreciates the effort.?

 

[Starship Krupa]

On 1/1/2021 at 1:08 PM, Marshall said:

I’m sure there have been many improvements since the Sonar days. Above all, is it rock solid from a stability viewpoint?

I don't have Studio One, but I can vouch for major improvements in stability and performance since the SONAR days. I've been using CbB since the very first issue, and 3 years ago, that program had some issues. Crashing, lots of having to restart the audio engine, but that stuff is long gone. Lots of under the hood optimizations have happened in addition to the new features. The new features seem focused on usability rather than license grubbing, which makes sense given the licensing model. There is ARA2 support for tight integration with Melodyne and whatever other software uses it.

Hardware integration seems to be behind the curve, according to what I read in the forum.

As it is now, I would choose it even if it weren't freeware, but I wouldn't have said that back in 2018. It looks and sound great, and it isn't lacking in any features I can't Rewire in. I love the way I can float and reconfigure all the windows on my 2 monitors.

I'm a believer in keeping proficient in at least 2 DAW's (my other one is Mixcraft), I saw what you all went through when Gibson pulled the plug. Download it, keep it around just in case. See what your old buddy is up to these days.

[Tezza]

On 1/3/2021 at 9:26 AM, antler said:

There definitely is an option to play midi notes from part-way through. I can't remember when it appeared though, as I've used 3, 4, and 5. There's a demo you can try as well.

Yes, thanks, switching the chase long notes on fixes that problem, there is a setting in S1 ver 3. However, the timeline doesn't play back smoothly when I am looping a midi part and cutting/moving notes around while it cycles. Keeps stuttering. I don't think there is a setting for that. Maybe the new version is smoother, don't know.

[Tezza]

On 1/3/2021 at 7:33 PM, Marshall said:

There is a settings option in Version 4 called “chase long notes” which will do what you want in your last paragraph. Don’t know if it’s there in version 3. 

Yes thanks, Antler also told me about this. In version 4 can you continuously cycle a looped midi part smoothly while cutting/moving/pasting notes?