PreSonus is shipping Studio One 5 Professional version 5.2, the second feature update to its digital audio workstation software for macOS and Windows, adding more than 30 new features and improvements, many of which are based on user requests.
Studio One 5.2’s new Sound Variations are designed to handle complex virtual instruments and orchestral libraries that are essential for modern composers. The core of the new Sound Variations system is a mapping editor that provides tools for managing complex articulation maps. Each Sound Variation can be customized with its own name and color and can be dragged-and-dropped in any order and placed into custom folders.
Sound Variations can be triggered by key switches as well as from remote commands, including hardware controllers, keyboard shortcuts, custom macros, and more. The Paint Tool can be used to enter Sound Variations directly into the associated automation lane inside the Note Editor or select any number of notes and assign a Sound Variation from a convenient right-click popup menu.
In addition, the new API allows third-party developers to enable their VST2 and VST3 instruments’ articulations to be queried by Studio One so that Sound Variation maps are automatically generated. Currently, all Synchron-enabled Vienna Symphonic Instruments, as well as instruments from UJAM, support dynamic Sound Variations mapping with Studio One.
The Score View received another update with the addition of drum notation and tablature. Users can choose between viewing standard notation with tablature or select tablature only to print lead sheets and more. The new drum-map interface lets users add both the drum and note names to a corresponding notated pitch. A General MIDI map is included for quick setup.
Further, new symbols in the Score View allow open/closed/half-open techniques to be added as well. A new Voices icon allows up to four voices per staff to be created. Select the desired voice, then enter notes and rests as normal; Studio One will automatically handle stem direction and rest positions. Notes can be entered into multiple voices for a single instrument; up to four voices can be created per staff.
With version 5.2, Studio One’s Arranger Track has been added to the Show Page, letting users experiment with new arrangements. Each Arranger section in every Setlist item has five playback mode options: Continue, Stop at End, Skip, Loop, or Loop and Continue; the latter lets users repeat any section for a specific number of times before playback continues to the next Arranger Section.
The new Arranger Track also supports patch changes mid-song, making the Studio One Show Page the ultimate live and streaming performance rig. Live Arranging in real-time is available on both the Song Page and the Show Page, with an updated Performance View.
An imminent update to Studio One Remote will accommodate mobile devices as master controllers for live performances. Multiple devices can connect to the same computer running Studio One, so each player has control over their own patches at their fingertips.
Version 5.2 adds a number of other features, including the ability to create multiple clip versions, allowing the user to apply clip-based edits in Gain Envelopes or Melodyne independently to Events sharing the same audio; a new “Smart” tool for editing Note Events in the Piano Roll editor; and deeper integration with both ATOM SQ and FaderPort-series controllers.
PreSonus Sphere workspaces are also now available directly from the Studio One Browser for easier bidirectional file transfer. And Studio One is now officially supported for Apple Silicon ARM processors in Rosetta 2 compatibility mode.
Studio One 5.2 is a free update to all registered Studio One 5 customers and is also available free to PreSonus Sphere members. Go here for more information.
