Recording - June 2021 - 48

R&R

REVIEWED &
REVISITED

PreSonus
Studio One 5.2
Over thirty new features surprise
in a free mid-cycle update
REVIEW BY BILL STUNT

I

t was only a mere nine months ago that we looked at
Studio One 5 from PreSonus. Yet here we are, with a
free mid-cycle update that largely reflects the ongoing
PreSonus commitment to honoring end user requests.
Studio One 5.2 includes new functions, enhancements,
and workflow improvements. Here I'll give you an
overview of what caught my eyes and ears.

Order, order

The Studio One Arranger track is a great tool for
experimenting with song structures-once you've marked off
your sections, you can drag them around to fine-tune or create
entirely new arrangements. You can now preview these kinds of
changes on the fly using Live Arranger. With Live Arranger, the
play head moves to the beginning of any section you double
click on. Depending on what Sync Mode you select, playback
can start immediately, or after one, two, or four bars, or at the
end of the currently playing section.
This Arranger Track function has also been added to the Show
page-the Studio One live performance vehicle. In a nutshell, Show
allows you to create and play back playlists made up of backing
tracks or song stems along with inputs and virtual instruments for
live performance. With the Arranger Track addition, Show is now
an even more responsive and spontaneous performance tool. This
arrange-on-the-fly feature opens up a host of performance options.
Engage the audience longer while talking over a repeating intro or
vamp. The keyboardist is having a great night? Instantly give them
an extra verse or two for their solo. Double or triple up that last
chorus if the crowd is loving it-you get the idea.
The selected Sync mode determines when a section will begin to play after you engage it. You can also specify the number
of repeats for each section, or set it to loop until you make another selection. You can even skip sections (don't bore us-get
to the chorus!). Virtual instrument and effects settings follow the
changes, and you can now change patches at sections within a
song-important for master keyboard-type applications.
New improvements to Studio One Remote now display
Show's Performance view so you can control these new
arrangement features from an iPad or a smartphone. This
means you could let your fellow performers control the length
of their own solos, for instance (just don't tell the bass player). 
Chord Track has been added to the Show Page as well. Having
a song's chord changes displaying along in time can be helpful
48 RECORDING June 2021

when performing new songs or working with collaborators who
may not be as familiar with the changes as you are.

Put it on my tab

The Score view has some significant upgrades, one of my
favorites being guitar tablature support. There's now a choice
of just tablature or standard notation combined with tablature
views available. There's also an option for displaying alternate
tunings for stringed instruments like ukulele and banjo.
There's a new drum notation and mapping functionality, with
the PreSonus Impact drum kits automatically mapped. Mapping third-party instruments is also quite simple. Once mapped,
they can be saved and used in other songs. The software correctly identifies and displays each part of the kit (kick, snares,
hi-hats). Other improvements include vocal scoring options that
you should check out if you're into choral music.

Sphere of influence

PreSonus Sphere is a membership-based web portal for all
things Studio One. The membership benefits are too numerous
to list here, but one of my favorites is the ability to share files with
online collaborators. PreSonus Sphere members can now access
their online workspaces directly from within the Studio One browser (under the Cloud tab), with drag and drop workflow. With your
permission, collaborators can import your files directly into Studio
One as raw .wav files or as .wav files with rendered insert effects.
You can also select an online Sphere folder as the destination for
final mixdowns. Collaborators don't need to use Studio One or
be PreSonus Sphere members; all they need do is set up a free
My.PreSonus account. Online collaboration has become a big
Recording - June 2021

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