PreSonus Studio One 3 Professional Review

Overview

Studio One 2 was such a success that once the Studio One 3 came out, people were wondering if it was really worth it to switch over. If something isn't broken, why fix it? However, the upgrades Studio One 3 Professional brought to the table were too good to ignore. PreSonus definitely delivered once again, giving us a digital audio workstation that is currently one of the best tools for recording and editing audio.

Features

Everything about Studio One 3 Professional's user interface is geared toward uninterrupted and efficient work flow. It's a drag and drop system that may take some time getting used to, but once you figure how everything works, you will understand why Studio One 3 Professional's UI is currently one of the best on the market. The software itself is very solid and robust. It is completely capable of being used for the most complex production and will deliver professional grade results.

One of the main highlights is the unlimited amount of audio/midi tracks, virtual instruments, buses and FX channels that can be used. It supports 64-bit audio processing and is compatible with VST, VST2, and VST3 plug-ins. The amount of new features in Studio One 3 Professional is extensive, but one of the most interesting things we came upon is the arranger track and scratch pads. Using these, you can construct and rearrange songs surprisingly easily. Having such an option gives you ability to quickly put your ideas to the test, and see what sounds good.

On the similar note, you can also create custom sounds by stacking FX and VSTs, although this has turned out to be a bit tricky. The main problem with this is the latency that appears once you chain a certain number of effects and instruments together. If this problem gets resolved, this feature will be one of the main selling points for Studio One 3 Professional. One more annoying issue is the fact that Studio One 3 Professional requires high resolution displays if you want to have a sharp view of your UI. On low resolution panels the interface may appear fuzzy and blurry, which can be really annoying if you are trying to get some work done.

Conclusion

PreSonus Studio One 3 is by far one of the best DAWs currently on the market. It offers a lot of performance and almost unparalleled versatility. It has it's problems that definitely need to be ironed out before we can say that this is an A+ product, but so far it has really shown that it is capable of producing professional results.