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PreSonus launches Studio One 6: DAW update includes smart recording templates, a customisable interface and lyric support

PreSonus has released Studio One 6, the first major update to its DAW since the company was acquired by Fender in 2021. And you can see some signs of change in Studio One 6.

New Smart Templates are designed to make it easy to get started on a specific task right away. These comprise preconfigured tracks and channels with a customised interface and automatic download of required content, with options for basic recording, beatmaking, mixing stems, mastering an album, setting up for a live show and more. There’s a drop zone for importing audio, video and MIDI files, and interactive tutorials with instructions and links to related video content.

The Customisation Editor enables you to show or hide almost all of Studio One 6’s tools and functions, so you can streamline the interface to suit your workflow and for the job at hand. Beginners can strip things back to the essentials, while more experienced users can put power features right under their fingertips.

Customised interfaces can be saved and recalled, and again, there are preset options that can be used as jumping-off points.

Songwriters might also appreciate the new lyric support – you can now add lyrics to a project via a dedicated editor. In Score and Piano views, lyrics can be attached to notes word by word or syllable by syllable, leaving no room for confusion.

On a multimedia tip, there’s now a Global Video Track. Clips can be added by dragging them on to the timeline, and the track can hold an unlimited number of clips. Thumbnails are generated automatically, and there’s a dedicated sub-track for embedded audio to use as a reference. This includes a mixer channel, plugin processing and output routing options.

You can also expect deeper integration with PreSonus Sphere – specifically, its cloud-based collaboration Workspaces. There are now sharing and sync options built into the main menu, and a new installation window enables Sphere members to explore, download and install content using a variety of display, search and filter options.

Lastly, no major DAW update would be complete without some new plugins, and Studio One 6 gets some in the form of the new De-Esser and Vocoder. Improvements have been made to ProEQ, Autofilter, Mai Tai, Sample One XT and Presence XT, as well

“In this latest iteration, the team stayed focused on listening to loyal users’ needs, creating innovative solutions to boost productivity in the professional audio production space,” said Arnd Kaiser, General Manager, Software at PreSonus. “We want engineers, producers, recording musicians and creators around the world to feel supported and inspired to build their best work yet.”

“We are excited for the launch of Studio One 6 and are fully invested in supporting the continued expansion and adoption of Studio One as the total solution for professional and committed at-home creators,” said Evan Jones, Fender CMO. “The global adoption of digital creative and productivity tools continues to grow and expand across all forms of musical expression, in the hands of an even wider audience of creators, producers, mix engineers, and artists.”

Studio One 6 pricing is below. You can find out more on the PreSonus website.

• PreSonus Sphere: ($14.95/month, $164.95/year or €12.20/month/€134.10/ year) Current PreSonus SphereTM members will receive Studio OneTM 6 in their accounts at no extra cost
• Studio One 6 Professional digital audio workstation for macOS and Windows: $399.95
• Studio One 6 Artist: $99.95
• All previous Studio One Professional versions to Studio OneTM 6 Professional Upgrade: $149.95
• All previous Studio OneTM Artist versions to Studio OneTM 6 Professional Upgrade: $299.95
• All previous Studio OneTM Artist versions to Studio OneTM 6 Artist Upgrade: $49.95
• Studio OneTM Professional 30-Day Demo: Free* & Studio OneTM Prime: Free

(*Prime and 30-Day Professional Demo not available at launch.)

Pro Tools Intro: new free DAW opens up the industry-standard music production software to everyone

Avid releases Pro Tools Intro , plus, 2022.9 update adds ARA 2 Melodyne support and Aux I/O for easy audio routing to and from other software and hardware.

Available for download now, this has the advantage of being built on the same code base as the new Pro Tools 2022.9, meaning that it should be easier for the developers to keep it up to date.

When Pro Tools | First was discontinued late in 2021, Avid said that the product had become “unviable”, but with Pro Tools Intro more closely tied to its big brother, we’re hoping that this new free offering will be here to stay.

In terms of specs, Pro Tools Intro gives you eight audio tracks, eight instrument tracks and eight MIDI tracks.Pro Tools Intro uses the standard .ptx session format.

Pro Tools Intro ships with 35 Avid plugins, including a channel strip, compressor, EQ, filters, reverb and delay. You also get the AIR Xpand!2 virtual instrument, which includes more than 2.500 presets.

Other specs include four Aux tracks, one master track, four simultaneous inputs and outputs, up to 192kHz sample rate recording and playback and support for any Core Audio, ASIO or WASAPI-compatible interface.

As well as being offered as a standalone download, Pro Tools Intro also comes baked-in to all Pro Tools 2022.9 installations, meaning that, if your paid subscription or trial version of that software expires, you’ll still have a DAW that offers basic functionality. Pro Tools Intro can be installed and used without the need for an iLok.

New features in Pro Tools 2022.9, there’s now direct integration with Celemony’s Melodyone thanks to the support for the ARA 2 protocol. This means that the Melodyne interface is now docked within Pro Tools, speeding up your workflow.

ARA 2 support applies to all versions of Pro Tools, including Intro, with the Artist, Studio and Flex editions all shipping with Melodyne 5 essential, a feature-limited version of the pitch and time manipulation software. If you have a higher-level version of Melodyne already installed, this will automatically show up within Pro Tools.

The other big addition in 2022.9 is Aux I/O, a macOS-exclusive feature that enables flexible routing of audio to and from Pro Tools to other software and hardware. You can easily stream your Pro Tools audio directly to Zoom, like – great when someone needs to review a mix in realtime, remotely – or record audio in from or to another music production application. This could make Aux I/O a great addition for the increasing numbers of people who like to work across multiple DAWs.

Discussing the Pro Tools 2022.9 update, Francois Quereuil, Vice President, Product Management for Audio and Music Solutions, Avid, said: “Music creators of every skill level will heighten their artistic potential and accelerate their productivity thanks to the innovation now available inside our newest Pro Tools update.

“We’re working hard to delight the entire creative community, and this is one of our most exciting recent releases for them, with users now taking command of amazing new capabilities right inside their Pro Tools experience to push the boundaries of their music production workflows further than ever before.”

You can compare all the versions of Pro Tools now on the Avid website. The price of a subscription plan starts at $10 a month for Pro Tools Artist.

Teenage Engineering PO-80 is a $149 lo-fi vinyl cutting machine with “ultra-analogue sound quality”. The PO-80 Record Factory is a compact record cutter that lets you engrave and play back 5″ discs with “ultra-analog lo-fi sound”.

Created in collaboration with Japanese designer Yuri Suzuki, this enables you to cut your own 5-inch vinyl discs and play them back, but the sound quality is lo-fi in the extreme.

Operation is simple: to cut a disk, you simply plug in an audio device to the 3.5 mm audio input and cut your own record in an instant. And Built-in speakers allow you to listen directly from your PO-80, or connect an external speaker through the 3.5 mm audio plug. As well as being able to play back the records you cut, you can also take your existing 7-inch vinyl for a spin.

The PO-80 is supplied as a build-it-yourself kit, which contains everything you need to get started, such as a needle and discs. If you want to buy more blank vinyl records, a box of ten will set you back $30/£20, while a new cutting head costs $15/£15.

Teenage Engineering says that the PO-80 enables you to “experience the warmth of lo-fi audio” and “ultra-analogue sound quality”. You can check out the audio clips on the company’ website to hear the kind of results you can expect.

In terms of sound quality, the PO-80 sits in stark contrast to Teenage Engineering’s high-end OB-4 radio, which doubles as a “media instrument”.

To help you optimise your audio for cutting, TE has also created an online mastering tool, which enables you to apply your desired EQ curve. Created in collaboration with plugin developer Klevgrand, it’s designed to help you “achieve good lo-fi sound quality on your custom 5-inch cuts”.

Features:

• Monophonic record cutting & playback
• Recording time: 33rpm approx 4 minutes / 45rpm approx 3 minutes per disk side
• USB powered. 3.5mm mono input/output terminal
• Size: 3.54″ x 6.30″ x 5.91″. Weight: 1.26 lb / 570g
• Included in the box: PO–80 assembly kit, spare cutting needle, 6 black 5-inch blank records, USB power cable, 3.5 mm audio plug, adaptor for 7-inch records, Gakken magazine
• Online mastering tool on Teenage Engineering site powered by Klevgrand

The PO-80 Record Factory is available now for $149. Find out more about the PO-80 on the Teenage Engineering website.