PreSonus Studio One 5 Delivers New Capabilities, Including MPE

Studio One 5 has extensive features for scoring, live performance, and more.

PreSonus’ eagerly anticipated Studio One 5.0 for macOS and Windows is here, and it’s packed with major new features. A combination of innovative new features and users’ most requested features top the list of additions and improvements.

Studio One 5 introduces a powerful, fully integrated, live performance environment capable of running complete shows from a single computer. The Show Page combines backing-track playback with patch management for virtual and real instrument players inside a single window. You can directly export Studio One Song channel strips, mixdowns, and virtual instrument patches to the Show, simplifying setup. Rearrange and skip Setlist items on the fly. With a dedicated full-screen performance view, adaptive real-time controls and a large meter, running a show is simple and reliable, whether you’re playing with backing tracks, controlling virtual instruments, running plug-ins as a virtual effects rack, or all three at the same time.

Studio One 5 now supports note controllers for more expressive playback of musical performances using virtual instruments and orchestral libraries. Note controllers affect individual notes, in multiple dimensions if needed. This feature includes support for MIDI poly pressure and MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) with compatible MIDI hardware and virtual instruments.

Score View

Composers and arrangers will appreciate Studio One 5’s new dedicated Score View for the Note Editor. Based on PreSonus’ Notion music composition and notation software, the new Score View is available on its own or as a companion side-by-side view with the Piano and Drum Views. That allows users to enter, view, and edit notes in standard music notation.

The Score View is available per track, so you can edit note data in Score View on one track while using Piano or Drum View on other tracks. View any number of tracks simultaneously, so you can work on just one melody line or on chords over an entire orchestral section at once. Enter notes manually, in real-time or step recording modes. Studio One 5 provides a basic set of musical symbols, too. The symbols directly control playback, allowing you to add tremolos, crescendos, and more and hear it all in real time.

Native Effects

Studio One’s Native Effects plug-in set has a well-earned reputation for exceptional sound quality, and now they’re even better. With version 5, Native Effects have undergone a major revision. It adds new features and improvements for many effects, along with a new modern interface with separate dark and light themes.

All dynamics effects now have sidechain inputs. Plug-ins with a filter option now have the filter added to the sidechain input as well, enabling more control over the sidechain signal and eliminating the need to add a separate filter up front. Several plug-ins with a Drive parameter now have a State Space Modeled drive stage for natural analog-sounding saturation. The Pro EQ plug-in adds major new features, including a linear-phase low-cut filter, 12th-octave spectrum display, and input and output meters with adjustable range and peak hold. Several other plug-ins have received significant enhancements for sound quality or better handling. The Studio One plug-in suite never looked or sounded this good.

Enhanced Mixing

Producers will be delighted with the expanded mixer scenes in Studio One 5. Users can now capture snapshots of the entire mixer at any time and recall snapshots in a variety of different ways, with an assortment of recall options. In addition to limiting scene recall to specific parameters, recalling a scene may be limited to selected channels only. A dedicated Listen bus is also among the improvements to the Studio One mixer. It allows users to monitor Solo signals through a separate output channel or tune their room using advanced calibration plug-ins while leaving their main mix unaffected.

More New Features

Studio One 5 includes many more new features, such as audio Clip Gain Envelopes, which provide an additional layer of gain control applied directly on an audio clip—perfect for repairing sections of audio that are too loud or too soft without using a dynamics processor. Aux inputs now allow external audio sources to be fed directly into the mixer without requiring an associated track, so external instruments can be used like virtual instruments within Studio One. (Quantum 4848 interface owners take note: This is also great for outboard processor returns!) Version 5 also adds support for key switch articulations, chasing external timecode (MTC), MPE and MIDI Poly Pressure support, recording in 64-bit floating-point WAV format, and cross-platform support for hardware-accelerated graphics.

With version 5, Studio One Artist now has built-in support for VST and AU plug-ins, ReWire, and PreSonus’ Studio One Remote control software for iPad and Android tablets. These features were formerly available for Studio One Artist only as separate Add-ons.

PreSonus also has expanded the ways you can get Studio One 5. Studio One 5 Professional is available now for an anticipated U.S. street price of $399.95; updates from Studio One 4 Professional are $149.95. Studio One 5 Artist is available now for a U.S. street price of $99.95; updates from version 4 are $49.95. For additional upgrade and crossgrade options and educational pricing, check with your PreSonus dealer or visit the PreSonus Shop.

Introducing PreSonus Sphere Global Community

Studio One 5 Professional is also available as part of PreSonus Sphere, a global community of creative enthusiasts and respected professionals. PreSonus Sphere membership benefits provide access to PreSonus’ entire library of software, including Studio One Professional; award-winning Notion notation software; every Studio One and Notion Add-on; the complete collection of PreSonus-developed plug-ins; over 100 sample and loop libraries; cloud storage; collaboration tools; and much more.

But PreSonus Sphere is far more than a huge toolbox; it is first and foremost a creative community. Modern musicians work with talented people from all over the world. PreSonus Sphere makes it easy to share projects with other members using your PreSonus Sphere workspace. A live chat lets members communicate in real time with their global production teams to make sure everyone’s on the same page and striving toward the same goal.

Each month PreSonus Sphere members can expect something new, whether it’s exclusive content or a special surprise gift to thank them for being members—and there are no additional upgrade costs or hidden fees. PreSonus has also teamed up with partners to give PreSonus Sphere members exclusive offers throughout the year.

PreSonus Sphere membership rates are available either monthly ($14.95 U.S.) or annually ($164.95). You can find details about PreSonus Sphere here.