PreSonus Blog

Click here to check them out at shop.presonus.com

PreSonus Symphonic Orchestra is more than just another sample library. It combines a complete symphonic orchestra instrument library with ready-to-use Studio One Musicloops for lightning-fast arranging and production in an attractively-priced bundle. The instruments not only comprise a full symphony orchestra, but also a contemporary strings library that has a different ambient character to choose from. More than 1,200 Musicloops allow for creating full arrangements on the fly while retaining complete control over tempo, key, chords and sound character. Tight integration with Studio One makes production work fun again. PreSonus Symphonic Orchestra is compatible with Studio One Prime, Artist and Professional (version 3.3.4 or higher), making it an ideal combination for aspiring composers and arrangers, as well as anyone learning or teaching music theory.

With more than 1,200 royalty-free loops from 29 unique Construction Kits, PreSonus Symphonic Orchestra is a powerful composition and arranging tool even for someone who doesn’t have classical training or doesn’t play a keyboard instrument. Produced by professional orchestral composers, these Construction Kits cover a wide range of styles and instrument arrangements: Classical, Soundtrack, Jazz, Pop, Hip-Hop, House, Disco, and more.

Click here to check it out at shop.presonus.com! 

Highlights:

• More than 14 GB of samples with over 300 instrument presets
• Includes more than 1,200 royalty-free Musicloops for quick and easy arranging
• Multiple key-switch articulations per instrument
• Expression control and custom legato scripting
• Deep integration with Studio One: key-switch articulation names in Music Editor; searchable preset database in Instrument Browser, new Construction Kit category in Loop Browser.

Three Sound Sets contain PresenceXT instruments, Studio One Musicloops and audio demos. 

• PSO Classic Orchestra (6 GB)
• PSO Contemporary Strings (6.44 GB)
• PSO Musicloops (1.9 GB)

Classic Orchestra Instruments: Cello, Cello Section, Double Bass Section, Harp, Viola, Viola Section, Violin, Violin Section, French Horn, French Horn Section, Orchestral Tuba, Piccolo Trumpet, Tenor Trombone, Trombone Section, Trumpet, Trumpet Section, Alto Flute, Bass Clarinet, Bass Flute, Bassoon, Clarinet, Clarinet Section, Contrabassoon, English Horn, Flute, Flute Section, Oboe, Piccolo, Classic Choir (multiple articulations and fx), Marimba, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Bamboo-Chimes, Cowbell, Crotales, Glockenspiel, Shellchimes, Triangle, Tubular Bells, Windchimes, Cymbals (Set), Japanese Bowls, Orchestral Gongs, Thai Gongs, Castanets, Claves, Tambourine, Temple Blocks, Gran Cassa, Snare, Timpani, Orchestral Effects (multiple instruments)

Contemporary Strings Instruments: Violin Section, Viola Section, Cello Section, Bass Section, Big String Section ((all: KS and single articulation Presets)

Articulations (availability and mapping varies across instruments)

Strings: Sustained Notes f & p, Con Sordino, Short detaché 2x, Pizzicato 2x, Col Legno 2x, Tremolo f, Tremolo pp, Crescendo, Cresc. Tremolo, Trill, Glissando, Grace Notes, Short chords, Arpeggios.

Brass: Sustained Notes f & p, Staccato 2x, Half & Whole Tone Trill, Crescendo, Runs.

Woodwinds: Sustained Notes f & p, Staccato 2x, Grace Notes.

Percussion: Single Strokes, Tremolo, long/medium/short Cresc., Glissando.

Harp: Glissandi – long, medium, short / major, minor.

[We recently came across a great story—three different producers, all of whom use different DAWs, needed to collaborate on a single project. They decided that Studio One offered them the best of all three worlds, and chose it for their collaborative effort. Details below courtesy of Roger Hooper, Robert Holmes, and George Napier.]

George Napier’s Studio

George Napier kicks things off by describing the task at hand, as well as the backgrounds of the collaborators.

“Robert, Roger, and I took a group of 11 executives from a 75-person tech startup into Studio A of Omega Studios for two days of team building. We needed to prepare backing tracks and beds for them to play against. Roger is a film composer, former Logic guy and current Mac-based Cubase user. Robert is a musician and games music composer and a 20 year die hard Digital Performer user who switched to Windows on DP and was not liking the experience,” says George. “I’m a composer/sound designer and a bit of a serial monogamist when it comes to DAWs. I’ve used Studio One since version 1, left it for Logic/Cubase at 2.6, and came back to try it out with the release of 3 (all on Mac). FYI: We all work together on projects for each other’s companies. This particular project was done under Robert’s company ResonantClarity.

 

Roger Hooper is a longtime Cubase and Logic user who was new to Studio One for this collaboration. His impressions and description of the collaborative workflow follow.

Roger Hooper’s Studio

 

Robert Holmes is a long-time Digital Performer user who made the switch to Studio One after a 20-year commitment to DP. He’s a self-proclaimed “old pop/rock studio guy from LA who ended up doing game scores in the golden age of adventure games.”

Robert Holmes’ Studio

Get Studio One 3 Professional when you buy a StudioLive CS18AI

There’s no rebate forms or any of that mess—just register your CS18AI at my.presonus.com and Studio One Professional will be available in your my.presonus.com account for download!

Equipped with 100 mm, touch-sensitive, widely popular motorized faders and AVB networking, the  StudioLive CS18AI control surface provides a compact, intuitive mixing solution for PreSonus StudioLive RM16AI and RM32AI rack-mount digital mixers and Studio One 3. The CS18AI connects to your network with a CAT5e or CAT6 Ethernet cable, eliminating the need for cumbersome analog or digital snakes and stage boxes, and offers a host of other useful features. It adds up to a powerful mix control system with a fast, intuitive workflow and the latest networking technology.

“Our StudioLive Active Integration mixing systems are the only solutions that allow you to customize your mixing experience to fit your individual needs. With a StudioLive RM as the mix core, you can choose to work with physical motorized faders, portable wireless iPad, a large Windows 8 touch screen, or a combination of them all.”

—Ray Tantzen, PreSonus Senior Product Manager

• Click here to find a dealer in the USA

• Click here to find a dealer outside the USA

Take a detailed look at the CS18AI with Rick Naqvi here!

Notion 6.1.1 Maintenance Update—click “Check for updates” in Notion to download and install 6.1.1!

New:

• Notion now recognizes whether touch is finger/capacitive stylus or digitizer stylus (Windows)
  
• Microsoft Surface Pen now brings up context menu with button
• When importing MIDI drum files, Notion uses GM mapping to put the notation in the expected place
• When using the onscreen drum pad, Notion now writes cymbals with cross-head note heads
• Studio One launcher added to the ‘Send to Studio One’ dialog
• Use cursor arrow keys to position articulations (and shift+arrow for fine tuning)
• The enharmonic tool (Shift+E) now also works with attached chord symbols
• Score>Dynamic Parts is now current score order, not order of creation
• End key now navigates to end of score (as Home does, to the start of a score)
• Notion now has the facility for network installs to copy preferences from a system level – this saves a lot of time in the classroom every time a new user logs on to particular machine. For more information about PreSonus’ Unlimited Site Licenses for education, contact musiceducation@presonus.com

Fixes:

Sounds

• Harpsichord sound is now fixed
• Organ and Chorus sounds retuned. (Download the keyboard installer from your my.presonus.com account and install. Restart Notion. You may also need to force Notion to rescan the folder – go to Preferences>Audio>Locate and reselect the sounds folder)
  Release sound working better for short notes (an issue particularly noticeable with organ staccati)
• Drumset with unmeasured tremolo now responds to hairpins

Studio One interop

• Fix when exporting keyswitch data from Notion to Studio One – go to Tools>Use Rules and setup a rule with Keyswitches set to “Automatically send note-offs”
• Studio One launcher has been added to Send to Studio One dialog
• User is prompted to save, if closing after Studio One file transfer and no other changes have been   made
• More space for text in Studio One dialog when in German
• Note durations now reflect articulation (e.g. staccato) when sending note data to Studio One

MIDI / MusicXML

• Verse number is now being properly recognized when importing MusicXML
• Fix occasional issue on MusicXML Export with hairpins
• User is prompted to save, if closing after MusicXML or MIDI file import and no other changes have been made
• Note durations now reflect articulation when exporting as MIDI
• Changing MIDI channel in Change Instrument dialog now works as expected
• Sequencer staff controller data now outputs on expected channel, not just channel 1
• When MIDI recording in with multi channel VSTi’s, sequencer staff now does not reset all events to Channel 1
• MIDI note length and velocity shortcuts now work if sequencer overlay is enabled

Rules Editor

• Fix when using Duration Change in Rules
• Rules Editor dialog size now persistent when closing/reopening (Mac and Win)
• If having issues with smooth playback when using expression on external VSTi’s or MIDI ReWire, choose a different expression channel to the Notion hairpin map in the Rules Editor. For VSTi’s without velocity crossfade, you can also use the hairpin anchor in the Rules Editor – see Hairpin Anchor in the User Guide

Video

• Video window on Mac no longer blank when re-shown
• Fix show/hide video during playback on Mac

Notation

• Bb and Eb instruments now go to the correct enharmonic key if in C#minor
  If Transpose MIDI is checked then Bb and Eb instruments are now spelling as correctly in step time
• Option added to Staff Settings, to show circles around whole/half notes in tablature (default is off)
• Electric Bass now does not convert to treble clef when tab is turned off / standard notation shown again
• Flags now show on unbeamed cross-staff notes
• Fix stems not lining up on cross-staff chords
• Fix accidentals sometimes hiding on cross-staff notes
• When changing stem direction of beamed notes, it now does not affect the entire measure
• Measures now lay out as expected when empty
• Fix adding unwanted 11^th and 13^th notes to chord, when using chord type-in tool

General

• Clear Special now does not now remove Rules sets or harp tuning diagrams
• Adding interval below with Ctrl+Numpad, now fixed on Windows
• Scrolling in continuous view with a Windows tablet now redraws correctly
• Continuous view margin now does not clear when top staff is only partially visible
• Mixer window size now persistent when closing/reopening (Win only)
• Text better formatted and images fixed in MIDI Device Commands window
• More space in Preferences window (Windows only)

[This just in from James F. Reynolds, pop and dance music’s “secret weapon.” He has mixed and produced a wide range of acts including Ellie Goulding, Emeli Sande, Years and Years, Tinie Tempah, and The Saturdays. Last year he made the switch to Studio One and was kind enough to share his insights with us.] 

• For what applications are you using Studio One Pro? (Example: for recording, composing, sound design, and so on; in a commercial studio, project studio, for live recording, etc.)
I use Studio One 3 Professional for mixing, production, and recording.

James F. Reynolds

• What led you to choose Studio One? Was it the company’s reputation, audio quality, ease of use, specific features, price, other factors?
I spent many years using a combination of Logic, Pro Tools, and Ableton Live, as they all have strengths in different areas. I had been searching for a while for a DAW that has the best of all these platforms, for example:

1. The creative speed of Ableton
2. The accuracy and mixing ability of Pro Tools
3. The lay out and ease of use of Logic.

Last year I had quite a few producers in my studio talking about Studio One and decided to investigate further. After taking some time to get to know the program, it became apparent that this was a program that has been thought out really well and ticks the box of being a one stop shop for mixing/production and writing.

• Having used Studio One, what do you like most about it?
I have used it consistently for 5 months now and it has sped up my mixing and overall workflow. One of the best features is being able to set up a series of commands using Macros. It’s also very stable.

• What Studio One features have proven particularly useful and why?
The arranger track is very handy, as often when I am mixing a song, the label wants extended versions. The Arranger and also to try out different structures within the arrangement. This is very easy to do using the arranger as it can copy any section with all the automation related to it.

• Any user tips or tricks or interesting stories based on your experience with Studio One?
My tip is this: if you are trying Studio One out, stick with it. It’s always very difficult switching from a platform that you use day in day out for many years as everything is second nature. It takes a while to get back to this speed on a new platform but if you persevere it pays off !

• Please give me some basic background info on your career and current projects, credits, and so on.
I am mainly known as a mixer. I am currently mixing Emeli Sande and before that was mixing Ellie Goulding “Still falling for you” (U.S.A radio mix) and Kelly Clarkson. I also mix for a K Pop band called B.T.S who’s album last year broke records. I co wrote “Drinking from the bottle” with Mark Knight and Calvin Harris and Tinie Tempah. For more info, check out www.jamesfreynoldsmixing.com

• Any final comments about PreSonus and Studio One?
I am really excited about the future of Studio One and have been really encouraged by a development team that actually take on board feedback from mixers and producers and often implement ideas if they are good. This was a big frustration with other DAWs, as feedback was not listened to or acted on.

• James F. Reynolds’ Site
• James on Wikipedia

These new interfaces from PreSonus offer 192 kHz recording, MIDI I/O, Studio One Artist, and the sturdy build quality PreSonus customers have come to expect.

Learn more about them here.

The latest addition to the StudioLive Series III Family: Meet StudioLive 16.

Looking for an all-in-one solution for studio and stage? We’ve never had the StudioLive AI mixers available at a lower price than this for customers in the USA. Check it out:

• StudioLive 32.4.2 AI: $1,999 (down from $2,299)
• StudioLive 24.4.2 AI: $ 1,699 (down from $1,899)
• StudioLive 16.4.2 AI $1,399 (down from $1,599)

The above pricing is effective in the USA only. Pricing outside the US will vary by dealer and region.

If you’ve been considering a digital mixer but haven’t checked in on StudioLive AI for a while, it’s worth mentioning that the entire StudioLive line won the Musical Merchandise Review (MMR) Dealer Choice Award for Recording Equipment Line of the Year for 2015. Furthermore, recent firmware updates now allow the StudioLive AI Console Mixers to connect to StudioLive RM- and RML-series rack mixers in Stage Box Mode. And of course, StudioLive AI still offers the always-improving remote iPad control options that helped make them such a hit. All StudioLive mixers also include Studio One 3 Artist, our award-winning digital audio workstation.

But hey, don’t take it from us. Here’s what some StudioLive AI reviewers had to say. Click any of the quotes below to read the full review.

• “I can’t think of any digital mixer whose basic mix functions are as obvious or accessible.” -Sound on Sound
• “PreSonus packed a lot into the 16.4.2AI. While it is equally at home with live and studio work, it makes an excellent recording interface.” -Electronic Musician
• “…you could pay less for a 32-channel live board, but I think you’d be hard pressed to match the power and versatility of the StudioLive 32.4.2AI at this price.” – FOH Online

Interested in having an award-winning mixer suitable for stage or studio?
Interested in saving money?

If so, click these links to find a dealer in the US:

• StudioLive 32.4.2AI
• 24.4.2AI
• 16.4.2.AI

Need some more inputs in your studio? Check out the DP88, which is currently enjoying a reduced price. The exact amount will vary by location, but customers in the US will receive $100 off at the register.

The DigiMax DP88 is the latest innovation in the DigiMax line, offering digitally controlled analog preamps, unparalleled connectivity, flexibility, and professional sound quality to make it a perfect fit in any studio environment.

The DigiMax DP88 is equipped with audiophile-grade, Burr-Brown processors to deliver top-quality digital conversion up to 96 kHz. These converters provide 118 dB of dynamic range and are backed by a boast-worthy clock with sub-50 picosecond jitter to capture complex musical harmonics smoothly and naturally. You’ll hear every breath, transient, and detail of a performance in your recordings.

• Click here to find a dealer in the USA
• Click here to find a dealer outside the USA