Presonus have announced an update to Studio One, their still-young entry to the DAW market.Version 1.5 addresses some of the issues identified in SOS's review of the program's first incarnation, most notably the lack of support for video and REX files, and incorporates numerous other enhancements designed to further improve the DAW's already streamlined user experience.
In his review, Robin Bigwood praised the program for its intuitive and extensive drag-and-drop functionality, and this has been built upon in the update so that, in addition to being able to drag audio and MIDI files into a session, Audio Events and Instrument Parts within projects can now be rendered to new audio files and MIDI files, respectively, by simply dragging them into the Browser pane. What's more, presets for plug-in effects and virtual instruments can be created and recalled in exactly the same way, negating the need to navigate menus within the plug-in window.
Support for MOV and REX files has also been added, and these can imported into sessions in exactly the same way. MOV support looks well implemented, with adjustable offset time, a resizable playback window, and the option to export the MOV file's audio to a new track in the sequencer.
REX files, meanwhile, can be dragged and dropped either in their entirety or slice-by-slice into a project, or sent to a new instance of the program's Sample One instrument, whereupon a new Instrument Track is created.
Another neat feature in the latest version is the ability to draw automation waveforms: a selection of waveforms (including square, triangle, sine and saw) can be selected and dragged into an automation lane, after which the waveforms can be scaled, stretched and moved, and their amplitudes and offsets modified.
And finally, once you've finished your project, the new built-in SoundCloud client will allow you to upload your tracks directly to the popular audio-file-hosting web site.
Presonus Studio One Pro costs £359, and the update to version 1.5 is free to existing users. Check this site soon for a video demonstration of the new features.
