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Fender has announced the launch of Fender Studio, a “connected music ecosystem” that comprises both software and hardware, launching several new products while bringing a number of existing PreSonus products under the Fender Studio name.

The headline here is that Fender is rebranding PreSonus Studio One Pro as Fender Studio Pro 8 and relaunching the DAW with new native amp and effects plugins, a revamped interface and much more.

Fender Studio Pro 8 keeps the essence of PreSonus’ well-established DAW intact while integrating a variety of new features and enhancements. The new Fender Mustang Guitar and Rumble Bass plugins offer guitarists an extensive selection of 39 guitar amps and 18 bass amps alongside 125 modelled effects pedals.

The DAW’s interface has been given a significant refresh, with a new Arrangement Overview providing a complete bird’s-eye view of every session and allowing users to navigate arrangements with zoom, pan and highlight tools. This is joined by Channel Overview, a view that combines key parameters of a mixer channel in a single horizontal interface.

Studio Pro 8’s new reverb effect, Studio Verb, combines a broad range of rooms, chambers, halls and spaces with an intuitive spectral display. The Impact drum sampler and Sample One sampler plugins have also been updated with new fade-in/out controls, slicing tools, tempo options and a new modulation matrix.

Alongside this, Studio Pro 8 features Chord Assistant, an intelligent songwriting tool that offers chord recommendations based on existing progressions, while a new AI-powered conversion tool transforms audio files into editable MIDI notes for creative rearrangement.

In addition to the Studio Pro launch, Fender has announced that PreSonus’ Quantum HD and AudioBox Go audio interface lines will also be rebranded under the Fender Studio banner, bringing the existing PreSonus designs into Fender’s newly-launched ecosystem with a few minor tweaks, such as new Fender-designed instrument inputs.

Alongside the rebranded interfaces, Fender has also announced the launch of Fender Motion, a MIDI controller designed to integrate tightly with Fender Studio Pro that’s compatible with any DAW.

Two models have been unveiled, Motion 16 and Motion 32, both of which feature RGB polyphonic FATAR® pads, illuminated encoders and touch strips, along with timeline navigation and session controls. Fender 32 has 32 pads arranged in a keyboard-style layout with a larger screen, while Fender 16 is a more affordable option with a 4×4 grid of pads.

Additionally, Fender has also unveiled an update to Fender Studio, its free entry-level recording app launched back in May last year, that introduces seamless cross-platform compatibility between Fender Studio and Fender Studio Pro.

“For more than a decade, Studio One Pro has set the standard for modern music production,” said Max Gutnik, Chief Product Officer at FMIC in a press release.

“Its balance of power, creativity and ease of use has inspired countless artists and shaped how music is made today. With Fender Studio Pro, we are taking those celebrated features and enhancing them with a modernized interface, Fender’s award-winning amp and effects models and new intuitive workflows and capabilities that make creating music faster, more inspiring and more connected than ever.”

Fender Studio Pro is available now and priced at $199.99/£169.99 for a perpetual license, or $19.99/£19.99 for a monthly subscription. Upgrade options are available for existing users.

Fender Motion 16 is priced at $269.99/£279 and Fender Motion 32 is priced at $329.99/£369, and both will be available in Spring 2026.

Find out more on Fender website.

Dialr takes the headache out of MIDI mapping with “world’s first” AI-powered plugin controller.

At their best, MIDI controllers make using a DAW faster, more efficient and more intuitive, empowering us to ditch the mouse and keyboard and enjoy hands-on control over our plugins and devices via knobs, faders, pads and buttons.

That’s all well and good, but reaching that point often requires us to manually map each parameter we’d like to tweak to a corresponding knob on our controller, a time-consuming process that typically needs to be undertaken every time that we want to control a new plugin or device, nudging us out of that all-important creative flow.

While some DAWs offer auto-mapping functionality, this isn’t always consistently reliable, especially when using third-party plugins – and Native Instruments’ recently-expanded NKS protocol also offers a potential solution, but only if you’re working with NKS-compatible plugins and controllers.

Danish company Producely believes it has the answer: Dialr. A new controller that the brand is calling “the world’s first AI-powered controller for audio plugins”, Dialr uses an AI-based auto-mapping engine to take the headache out of parameter mapping – simply open up any VST3/AU plugin and Dialr will instantly map its most essential parameters to its 12 analogue knobs, Producely says.

Producely’s cloud-based platform uses AI to analyze plugin architectures and build custom mapping profiles for all of your instruments and effects; these are then downloaded to the device and stored locally. Equipped with 12 analogue potentiometers, two clickable step encoders and three buttons, Dialr’s controls are centred around a 7″ LCD touch-screen that displays plugin names, parameter values and more.

Dialr is designed to help users build muscle memory and work more efficiently – its knobs come in three different sizes to make them easier to identify at a glance, and the software auto-maps common parameters like Wet/Dry, Frequency or Input Gain to the same positions on the controller each time to help you work faster.

Dialr supports more than 100,000 VST3/AU plugins out of the box, but the manufacturer notes that some vendors such as Native Instruments, Spectrasonics and Waves use custom wrapper layers that “require special handling”. The company says they’re actively working to expand compatibility with these brands.

Parameter mapping kills creativity – we all hate it. That’s really where Dialr started,” says Producely CEO Morten Søderquist. “I wanted to sit down, open any plugin, and just start turning knobs. No setup, no learning curve. Auto-mapping should feel like you have an assistant who already knows every plugin in your collection. That’s what Dialr’s AI cloud gives you – great mappings, always ready.”

Dialr runs on macOS and Windows, but is currently only compatible with Ableton Live and Cubase. Producely says more DAWs are coming soon. It’s priced at €749 but there’s an introductory price of €649 available right now.

Find out more on Producely website.

Bitwig‘s first hardware product introduced at NAMM this year is out now: Bitwig Connect 4/12.

More than an audio interface, Bitwig Connect 4/12 is a class-compliant, 4-in/12-out CV and MIDI-enabled audio interface with monitor- and DAW-control functionalities and a unique Bitwig Mode. As a bridge between software and external gear, Bitwig Connect is the perfect device to mark our debut into hardware.

Key Features:

The Ultimate Studio Sidekick.
Bitwig Connect is a three-in-one audio/MIDI interface, monitor and DAW controller. Six mode buttons allow its 360-degree, touch-sensitive dial to adjust interface parameters or control software. It can set input gain, regulate the volume levels for two sets of monitors and a pair of headphones, or even move the playhead and control any Bitwig Studio parameter with exceptional resolution.

The front panel gives the user immediate visual feedback, with accurate input and output meters and a ring of 32 RGB LEDs around the dial to visualize parameter values and automation data. Plus, gain settings are accessible and saved within Bitwig Studio, to pick up right where you left off next time you open it.

Bring Bitwig Studio to Life.
Connect’s unique Bitwig Mode puts Bitwig Studio at your fingertips with DAW controller functionalities. Seamless integration makes writing automation, fine-tuning settings, and navigating the timeline in Bitwig Studio with Connect’s main dial intuitive and precise. Get quick access to any control with the high-resolution dial by hovering over it with your cursor, and lock a selected parameter to Bitwig Connect by double-tapping. The LED ring indicates its current task by matching the color of the parameter or track in Bitwig Studio so you’ll never get lost.

CV Connects the Best of Both Worlds.
With two DC-coupled inputs and four outputs easily accessible via 3.5 mm minijacks directly on the front panel, Bitwig Connect is a superior choice for musicians with CV-enabled hardware. That means it goes both ways: To external devices from Bitwig Studio or other programs, and from hardware sequencers and modulation signals into the software realm.

Thanks to factory calibration, Bitwig Connect plays pitch-perfect and without offset with Bitwig Studio right out of the box. And since jacks can also be used for audio signals, they can act as additional ins and outs for line-level signals, making them useful to all types of users.

Audio Quality at the Top of Its Class.
The hardware inside ensures pristine recordings with every take. Bitwig Connect uses balanced connections, a premium mic preamp, and high-quality instrument/line inputs feeding into tried-and-true AKM converters capable of up to 192kHz, 24-bit resolution. That means the user can capture any source with ultra-low noise floors.

Ready To Go.
Connect’s robust steel chassis is built to endure travel and performance. USB-2 bus powering with the USB-C connector means there’s no external power supply needed, so it can accompany you from the studio to the stage. With hardware this tough, you have a companion for life.

The Story Behind Bitwig Connect 4/12.
The concept behind Bitwig Connect was driven by two key goals: to create an audio interface that seamlessly integrates hardware and software, and to offer a way to physically interact with Bitwig Studio.

Bitwig Connect bridges the user’s hardware devices, like synths and modular systems, and Bitwig Studio’s comprehensive Hardware Out tools (CV in/out, Analog Clock, MIDI CC, etc.). Its bidirectional CV capabilities extend Bitwig Studio’s unique modulation system and The Grid to your hardware, and vice versa. Bitwig Connect makes this connectivity seemingly effortless with plug-and-play simplicity and visual feedback.