PreSonus, makers of excellent audio hardware, jumped into the digital audio workstation (DAW) market the middle of  last year.

They took  a look at the market at large, and found most products are bloated and ridiculously complex in work-flow.  So they decided to work with German developers Wolfgang Kundrus and Matthias Juwan, people who have a long history making professional DAW’s. (Cubase and Nuendo)  … and so, Studio One was created – a sleek product for both OSX and Windows with uncompromising speed and simplicity.

There are two editions, Artist and Pro with 32-bit and 64-bit audio engines respectively.  The interface is limited to a few screens, keeping you focused – not digging through windows.  Like all good DAWs, it supports both samples and MIDI notation.  Depending on the chosen platform, it supports 3rd party VST2  VST3 and AU plug-ins and effects as well as Rewire support.  There is real-time re-sampling and stretching functionality.  It has some of the simplest mixing support I’ve come across.  Drag-and-drop is well thought out and you can accomplish much with only two clicks.  One of my favorite features is the Control Link function for mapping MIDI controllers to any function in the application or 3rd party plug-in. It just works and makes me want to mess with synth functions more!  They don’t stop there however – The Pro edition also includes a mastering suite on a separate page and even includes the ability Publish to create and burn your CD, or MP3s to send to an online site like Beatport.  All to speed the process of getting your music out to the masses!

Check out the product site, the detailed Guided Tour, the videos, the blog for more videos, and the forums for some useful user videos.

It’s just squeaking out the door, not even a year old yet, and as of yet only a few updates.  But the updates have been feature-full.  Shortly, we should see a 1.1 release which will add a large list of new additions.

I am really taken by this new DAW.  I have tested all the major packages and found many to be entrenched in old ideas, creeping-featurism, or just excessive system resource allocation.  I am very excited to see where PreSonus goes in future developments with this application!