Recording - August 2019 - 61

path choices. The upshot is, these new view options conserve
precious screen real estate-a big bonus for laptop users!

On the Side

The last mix item on the short list is the new functionality for sidechain processing. You can now hit sidechain
targets from within plugins as well as from the usual
send/cue matrix. This 'reverse' sidechain function is a
small but welcome feature. When you copy a plugin to
another channel, its sidechain assignment is copied as
well-very handy.

Ready, Set, Actions!

The MIDI actions menu in 4.5 sports a host of new creative actions all wrapped in a great new look. The actions
are organized into logical groups: global, pitch, quantize,
process, and so on. It's a joy to work with. Simple edit
and quantize functions are all right there at your fingertips.
Pitch, time and process actions are designed to make creating parts quick and fun. I particularly like the 'set scale',
'distribute', 'mirror', and 'fill with notes' actions.
All actions can be assigned to keyboard shortcuts, and
multiple shortcuts can be organized into macros. You
need to check out the expanded macro implementation-
it's deep, and customization and display options have
been improved immensely.
Version 4 introduced the concept of 'harmonic editing' to
Studio One. The 4.5 update adds 'chord audition' by popular request. Clicking on a displayed chord name will sound
the chord on the Mai Tai synth (by default), or any active instrument. This allows you to audition various chord voices on
your instruments of choice until you find the ones you want.

Smooth
Waveform

see as much as a 70% efficiency boost. Third-party instruments will
run up to 50% better. The instruments load in a snap and feel light as
a feather in terms of CPU load.

Odds and Ends

One of my favorite additions is the new plugin manager. You can
filter by plugin type or vendor. This new feature cleans up the plugin
menu and makes it much easier to find the ones you're looking for.
The waveform display has been vastly improved-I love the new
smoothed-out waveform look. A new 'snap to zero crossings' option makes it super easy to achieve click-free edits. In the failsafe
department, 'time and edit lock' functions can drop anchor on your
arrangements-toggle them on after your tracks are set in stone, and
that's where they'll stay-no more inadvertently moving or editing
the wrong track.

New Formats

Studio One has added several new audio format options for import, export and embedding. Variable rate MP3, M4A, ACC and
ALAC files are now supported. This makes it easy to import audio recorded on an IOS device, or to drag in reference tracks from iTunes.
You can also now export a mix in glorious mono!

It's a Wrap!

Wow. That's a lot of ground to cover in a short review-and I didn't
even get to mention the great new batch convertor (and about 50 or
so other things). PreSonus Studio One is on a relentless development
path, and this latest update shows the commitment. Version 4 was a
big step forward, and now 4.5 really locks it down to make it, in my
opinion, a contender for best DAW for the dollar.

Price: $399 Studio One 4 Professional,
$99 Studio One 4 Artist
More from: PreSonus,
www.presonus.com/studio-one

I/O Setup

Performance

MIDI Actions
Menu

One of the biggest improvements in our update is one
you won't see-until you take a peek at the performance
meter! PreSonus has optimized multicore functionality for
virtual instruments. When working with combined Studio
One instruments (including the freshly optimized Presence
XT and Mai Tai instruments) in a Multi-Instrument, you'll
RECORDING August 2019

http://www.presonus.com/studio-one

Recording - August 2019

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