PreSonus Studio One Pro
Version 7.2.3 · PreSonus · Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) · ranked #176 in the library
A digital audio workstation where tracking, comping, editing, mixing and mastering all live in one window, and almost everything you want to do is a drag from the browser onto the thing you want it to affect.
Read the installation section below before you start. The order of the steps matters on this release.
About this release
Overview
Studio One is a full music production environment built around a single document. The Song page holds the arrangement, the console, the editors and the browser at once, and the Project page holds the mastering session for the finished record, with a live link between them so a mix revision updates the master without exporting anything by hand. That arrangement is unusual among workstations and it removes an entire class of file shuffling from the end of a project.
The workflow is drag driven throughout. Pull an effect from the browser onto a track to insert it, onto the track header to replace what is there, or onto an empty area of the console to create a bus with it already loaded. Drag an instrument in and it arrives with a track. Drag an audio file onto an empty track and it is imported, tempo detected and stretched to the session if you want it to be. Nothing here needs a menu dive, and once it is in your hands the speed difference over a session is substantial.
For recording it covers what a working session needs: unlimited audio and instrument tracks, layered takes with comping across a folder of playlists, punch recording with pre-roll, groove extraction from a performance, chord track that conforms both audio and MIDI to a progression, and an arranger track for moving whole sections of a song around with everything inside them. Mixing gets a console with unlimited buses and FX channels, VCA faders, a full plugin set including channel strip, compressors, tape saturation, reverbs and a mastering suite, plus support for third party VST3 and VST2 plugins alongside the bundled ones.
What it does
Feature breakdown
Single window Song and Project pages
Arrangement, console, editors and browser share one window, and the mastering Project page stays linked to the songs feeding it so a mix change propagates into the master.
Drag and drop everywhere
Effects, instruments, presets, loops, samples and files are all dragged from the browser onto whatever should receive them. Creating a bus, a send or a new track is the same gesture.
Comping and take management
Record layered takes into a folder, then swipe across the waveform to build a composite from the best moments, with crossfades placed automatically at every junction.
Chord track and harmonic editing
Define a progression once and conform both MIDI parts and audio material to it, including changing the key of a recorded guitar part without re-recording it.
Full mixing and mastering chain
Unlimited buses, FX channels and VCA groups, with a bundled plugin set covering dynamics, EQ, saturation, modulation, reverb and metering to broadcast and streaming loudness targets.
Third party plugin and hardware support
VST3, VST2 and ReWire alongside the native format, with low latency monitoring, hardware insert routing and control surface mapping for the common desks and controllers.
Changed in this build
Version 7.2.3
- Lower round trip latency on interfaces with well behaved drivers, noticeable when monitoring through plugins while tracking.
- Improved audio stretching quality on polyphonic material at large tempo changes, with fewer artefacts on sustained chords.
- Console redraw performance improved on sessions with several hundred channels and heavy metering.
- Chord track conforming extended to more source material types, including double stopped and layered guitar parts.
- Bundled instrument and loop library expanded, with the whole content set now installed locally rather than streamed on demand.
Installation
Follow these in order
- Go offline before you start. The installer will otherwise try to reach the content servers repeatedly.
- Extract the archive to a local drive with plenty of headroom, the content library is most of the size.
- Disable real time protection until the install is finished.
- Run the installer as administrator and choose which content packs you want placed on disk.
- Let the content installation complete before closing anything, it runs after the main application step.
- Launch Studio One once, set your audio device and buffer size in the options, then re-enable protection.
Release notes
From whoever packed it
- Set the sample rate and buffer size before you start a session. Changing them halfway through forces every plugin to reinitialise.
- Block the application in your firewall. An online check restores the demo restrictions on the bundled instruments.
- Songs saved in this version will not open in an older build. Export stems or a mixdown if you need to move work backwards.
System requirements
Minimum and recommended
| Operating system | Windows 10 version 1909 or newer, or Windows 11, 64-bit only |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 or better, higher single core clock matters more than core count |
| Memory | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB recommended, 32 GB for sample heavy orchestral sessions |
| Audio hardware | Any ASIO capable interface. The generic driver works but adds latency, so a real ASIO driver is strongly recommended |
| Storage | 40 GB of free space for the application and the full bundled content library, SSD recommended |
Questions about this release
Answered before you ask
- Does it load my existing plugins?
- Yes. VST3 and VST2 folders are scanned on first launch and can be added manually from the locations page afterwards.
- Is the bundled content included in the archive?
- Yes, the full instrument, loop and sample library is in this package and installs locally with no connection needed.
- Can I import a project from another workstation?
- Through stems, AAF or an OMF export, yes. Native project files from other workstations do not open directly.
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