PreSonus Studio One 6 Quick Start Guide

Table of Contents

• Welcome to PreSonus Studio One 6!
• Introduction
• System Requirements
• Editions
• Installation
• Creating a User Account
• Activation
• Online Activation
• Offline Activation
• Content Installation
• Installing Additional Content
• Melodyne
• Installing Melodyne
• Device Configuration
• Configuring Your Audio Device
• Configuring Your MIDI Keyboard
• Useful Tips
• New...
• Intelligent Templates
• Info View
• Reference Manual
• Keyboard Commands for Migrating Users
• Getting Additional Help and Connecting with Other Users

Welcome to PreSonus Studio One 6!

Welcome to PreSonus Studio One 6! Thank you for purchasing Studio One. We want to ensure you have a great first experience with this product, so please read the following information carefully to ensure a successful installation.

Introduction

We do our best to ensure that Studio One runs well on a wide variety of computers. Please review these specifications to determine compatibility with your system.

System Requirements

macOS

• macOS® 10.14 or higher (64-bit only)
• Intel® Core™ i3 processor or higher
• 4 GB RAM minimum (8 GB or more recommended)

Windows®

• Windows 10 (64-bit only).
• Intel® Core™ i3 / AMD A10 processor or higher.
• 4 GB RAM minimum (8 GB or more recommended)

Additional Requirements (all systems)

• Internet connection (required for installation and activation)
• Monitor with 1366 x 768 resolution (a monitor with a high DPI range is recommended)
• A multi-touch monitor is required for touch operation.
• 40 GB of hard drive space

Editions

There are three editions of Studio One 6: Prime, Artist, and Professional. Studio One uses a single installer for all editions, and the product key with which Studio One is activated determines the edition that runs. The main differences between these editions are described below.

Studio One Prime

• Unlimited audio and MIDI tracks.
• Stereo inputs and outputs.
• Basic set of plug-ins, Presence XT sampler.
• Basic set of editing features, including the Arrangement Track.
• Content browser with musical search and direct access to the PreSonus Shop.

Studio One Artist

• Unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, unlimited simultaneous recording inputs.
• Advanced editing features, including comping, transient detection and editing, pitch correction (Melodyne trial version), and much more.
• Full integration with SoundCloud™.

Studio One Professional

• Includes all features and content of the Artist version.
• Adds the Project page, an integrated mastering solution.
• Adds the Show page, an integrated environment for live performance.
• Adds the Arrangement Track and Scratch Pads.
• Adds Chord Track and harmonic editing.
• Adds a score editor based on Notion.
• Adds AAF import and Song Track.
• Adds Melodyne Essential 5 for pitch correction with a fully active license.
• Adds extended effect chains and multi-instruments.
• Adds support for third-party sampler formats (EXS, Giga, Kontakt, Bitwig).
• Adds video playback and synchronization with Global Video Track
• Adds native effect plug-ins Note FX, Vocoder, Groove Delay, Multiband Dynamics, OpenAIR, Pipeline, and IR Maker.

Installation

The method you use to install Studio One depends on how you acquired it.

In-store purchase: If you purchased Studio One in a box from a store and received a product key with it, you will need to register the key and then download Studio One, and then activate it online when you first launch the product.

Direct purchase from Shop.PreSonus.com: If you purchased the software directly from http://shop.presonus.com, the Studio One installation download is added to your user account and can be found under recent purchases on your My.PreSonus.com homepage. Activation is done online after launching the product for the first time.

Creating a User Account

If you purchased Studio One from our website, you already have a MyPreSonus user account. If you do not yet have a MyPreSonus account, you will need to create one.

Beyond being a requirement to download and activate the latest version of Studio One 6, creating a MyPreSonus account offers many advantages, such as easy access to additional documentation and other content files, access to user forums, the latest product tips and videos, and the ability to easily create a technical support ticket.

To create a user account, go to: http://my.presonus.com. On that webpage, click Create My PreSonus Account, and then complete the provided form or connect MyPreSonus to your Facebook, Google, or LinkedIn account, and click Create My PreSonus Account again to create your new account.

Once your account is created, a verification email will be automatically sent from PreSonus to the email address you provided. Click the link in the email to activate your account. You are now ready to download and install Studio One.

Activation

You should receive this email a few minutes after creating your account. If you do not receive our email, please contact support@presonus.zendesk.com to manually activate your account.

If your computer is not connected to the Internet, you can download and activate Studio One using a different computer that has Internet access, as described in the Offline Activation section below.

Register, Download, and Install Studio One

To download the Studio One installer, log in to your MyPresonus at http://my.presonus.com. Click the Register a Product button, choose Software or Add-on, and enter your Product Key. If you acquired a Studio One license or upgrade from our website, the product key will be sent to your email. If you purchased a boxed version of Studio One, the product key is included in the box.

Once your copy of Studio One is registered, you have the option to click the "View my product" button. This takes you directly to the page with the details of that product. On that page, you will find an installer download button (Mac or Windows). Click it to download the main Studio One installer. The correct installer for the operating system you are using will be downloaded automatically. If you are downloading from a different computer (i.e., Mac or PC) than the one you plan to install Studio One on and need an installer for a different operating system, click Show all systems to access the correct download. Once the installer has been downloaded, run it and follow all on-screen instructions.

Activation Process

Studio One must be activated to be used on your computer. Once you complete the installation, launch Studio One. The license agreement will appear.

Click "I Accept" to agree to the contract, and the PreSonus Login window will be displayed.

If you already have a user account, enter your MyPreSonus username and password, and press Login to access your account.

If you need to create an account and your computer is connected to the Internet, click Create My PreSonus Account. Complete your user account details and click Create PreSonus Account.

Activation Steps

Studio One Activation

In most cases, Studio One will auto-activate the first time you log in with your MyPreSonus account. In the rare case that you have multiple licenses for the same version of Studio One registered to the same MyPreSonus account, you will need to select which license to activate. If you haven't done so yet, launch Studio One and open Studio One Activation from the Studio One menu.

Online Activation

If the computer on which you installed Studio One is connected to the Internet, select the "Activate my purchased version of Studio One" option. If you have not yet entered the product key, type or paste the Product Key you received via email (or with your package, if you are using a boxed version or educational version of Studio One). Click the Activate button to finalize the activation process.

Offline Activation

If the computer on which Studio One is installed is not connected to the Internet, click "Activate offline" in the Studio One Activation window, and note the activation code shown in the instructions. You will need a USB drive, a copy of your product key, and a copy of the activation code.

Next, go to a computer connected to the Internet, visit http://my.presonus.com, and log in to your account. Click the Register a Product button, choose Software or Extensions, and enter your Product Key, as printed on the Studio One package or as provided by email. Click Register, and you will be taken to your software list.

Select the product you just registered from your Software list, and click Offline Activation on the next page. Click Activate software, and enter the activation code provided by Studio One. You can also enter your computer's name to help keep track of your five allowed activations.

Click "Activate offline" again, and then click "Download license" to download the license file for the user. Save this file to some external media (like a flash drive or a CD-R), and then copy the file to the computer where you are installing Studio One.

In Studio One, go back to the Studio One/Studio One Activation dialog, click "Activate online", and then click "Select license file" to load the user license file, activating Studio One.

Content Installation

Studio One comes with many audio loops and instruments organized into sound sets, as well as demo songs and video tutorials. The number of sound sets available for installation depends on the Studio One edition you have installed (Prime, Artist, Professional, or Sphere). To install the sound sets and demo/tutorial material, launch Studio One and open the Studio One/Studio One Installation menu.

In the Studio One installation menu, you can choose to download all selected content from your MyPreSonus account, or navigate to the downloaded content on your file system using the "Install from File" button. If you wish to install any additional content at a later time, you can always return to the installation window in Studio One/Studio One Installation to do so.

By default, all essential packages included with your Studio One edition are selected for installation in the Recommended Installation tab. You can set the "Install to" location to install anywhere on your computer using the Installation Options menu. Once you have chosen your location, click Install to continue.

After installation, you can find all installed content in the Studio One browser. Demos and tutorials can be accessed from the start page. Instrument presets are displayed under the related instrument in the browser's Instruments tab, as well as in the preset browser in the plugins window.

Installing Additional Content

If you need to install additional content that you purchased from http://shop.presonus.com along with Studio One, or as an additional content at another time, simply search for it and select it in the Studio One installation window, filtered by the "My Purchases" checkbox in the search area. You can also download content from your http://my.presonus.com account. To install the content to the user's default location, simply double-click or drag the content to the Studio One window.

If you want to save sound content to another location, place it there, and add that location in Studio One/Options/Locations (macOS: Preferences/Options/Locations). There, you can add new locations for sound sets, instruments, and third-party plug-ins.

Melodyne

We have partnered with Celemony to give you access to Melodyne, a Grammy Award-winning application, a very useful tool for pitch and timing correction and manipulation that integrates closely with Studio One. Studio One Artist comes with Celemony Melodyne in a trial version. Studio One Professional comes with a full license for Celemony Melodyne Essential.

Installing Melodyne

• In Studio One, navigate to Studio One/Studio One Installation. Depending on the Studio One edition you have activated, you will see one of the following items in the list:
  • Celemony Melodyne Trial (Artist)
  • Celemony Melodyne Essential (Professional)
• Click the checkbox next to the listed Melodyne version to select it. Then click Install to install and authorize Melodyne.

Device Configuration

Configuring Your Audio Device

Studio One automatically selects an audio input and output device from a list of devices installed on your computer. If you have a PreSonus audio interface, it will be selected automatically.

To select a different device, navigate to Studio One/Options/Audio Setup (macOS: Preferences/Options/Audio Setup) or click Configure Audio Devices in Setup on the Studio One Start Page.

Follow these steps to configure the audio device for use in Studio One:

1. Select your chosen device from the Audio Device dropdown menu in the Studio One/Options/Audio Setup (macOS: Preferences/Options/Audio Setup) menu.
2. Some devices offer a selection of configuration options. If the connected device has these controls, you can click the Control Panel button next to the device selection dropdown menu and make changes within the device's control panel. If the device does not offer these options, the Control Panel button will be grayed out.
3. Configure the device block size (and in Windows, the Internal Device Block Size) to suit your needs. Lower values minimize latency, which is useful when recording tracks. Higher values introduce more latency but will give you additional processing power for effect and instrument plug-ins.
   • macOS: Device Block Size is the audio device's buffer size, which directly impacts your audio device's performance. You can increase or decrease the Device Block Size by sliding the horizontal fader left or right. The appropriate setting depends on your specific use of Studio One.
   • Windows: The Internal Block Size can be locked to the Device Block Size by checking the lock box (checked by default). The Internal Block Size is the software buffer size, which directly impacts your computer's system and Studio One's performance.

   If not locked, the internal block size can be selected from a dropdown menu. If you are unsure of the best setting, leave the internal block size locked to the device block size.

   For effects with DSP engines and virtual instruments, such as the UAD Universal Audio system, locking the internal block size of your audio device is essential to ensure proper operation.

4. By default, Studio One's processing precision is set to Single (32-bit floating-point). If you are using Studio One Professional, you can choose Double Precision (64-bit floating-point) from the "Processing Precision" dropdown menu.
5. If the computer has multiple processors or processing cores, multiprocessing will be checked and enabled by default. Unless you experience performance issues, it is recommended that you leave this in its default setting.
6. When the aforementioned options are selected, your system's current total input and output latency, sample rate, and bit depth will be reported below the audio setup menus.

For more detailed information on Audio Device and I/O Setup, consult the Reference Manual in the Studio One Help menu.

Configuring Your MIDI Keyboard

A MIDI keyboard controller is a hardware MIDI device that is generally used to play and control other MIDI devices, virtual instruments, and software parameters. In Studio One, MIDI keyboard controllers are referred to as Keyboards. Before recording a performance with a Keyboard, the MIDI hardware controller must first be configured in Studio One. Once configured, it will be available at all times for use in Studio One.

To configure your keyboard, navigate to Studio One/Options/External Devices (macOS: Preferences/Options/External Devices) or click Configure External Devices in Setup on the Studio One Start Page and follow these steps:

1. In the External Devices section, click the Add... button.
2. Choose the device from the list of presets or "New Keyboard" if you do not see your device in the list.
3. If set to "New Keyboard," you can enter a manufacturer name and a device name in the corresponding fields. This will make it easier to identify your keyboard.
4. Specify which MIDI channels you will use to communicate with this keyboard. All MIDI channels are selected by default. If you are unsure of the appropriate MIDI channels to use, just leave this at the default setting.
5. Enable "Split Channels" if you want to create a separate instrument track input for each MIDI channel from the keyboard.
6. Specify the device to which the keyboard is sending and the device from which it is receiving through Studio One. Select the device controller name from the dropdown menu for "Receive From" and "Send To."
7. You can use this keyboard as your default virtual instrument input by checking the corresponding box. If you are using a single keyboard with Studio One, you should check this option.

Your keyboard is now ready to be used in Studio One.

For more detailed information on configuring MIDI devices, consult the Studio One Reference Manual in the Studio One Help menu.

Useful Tips

New...

From the Start Page, click New... to create a new Song, Show, or Project.

• A Song is where you can record, edit, arrange, and mix audio and note data.
• A Show is where you can perform live, using Studio One for backing tracks and more.
• A Project is where multiple songs or audio files can be arranged, mixed into a single timeline for mastering.

Intelligent Templates

Intelligent templates create a new document optimized for the type of work you want to do, with helpful interactive tutorials to help you learn Studio One.

For example, the "Create Content" Template creates a new Song file with a Video Track; two tracks for voice-over; a stereo track for Music/FX; and appropriate processing effects for podcasting already placed on the Console Channels.

There are intelligent templates for many popular creative tasks: Play Now, Record Now, Produce Beats, and more.

Info View

The "Info View" panel is accessed via the question mark icon in the song's upper toolbar and the project pages. It displays all possible actions for the selected tool, as well as possible modifiers and their related activities. Various controls in the Studio One interface and included plug-ins also display information in the Info View panel when you hover the mouse pointer over them. In Info View, you can press F1 on your keyboard to jump directly to the related sections of the Studio One Reference Manual.

Reference Manual

The Studio One Reference Manual is fully integrated into Studio One and can be accessed from the Help menu (Studio One Reference Manual) or by pressing the F1 key on your keyboard. The left column of the Help window displays a table of contents. Additionally, you will find a complete index, cross-reference links within the text, and a useful search function. The English Reference Manual is installed by default, although other languages are available for download from your My.PreSonus account.

Keyboard Commands for Users Migrating from Other Software

If you are migrating from another DAW to Studio One, you may find it useful to switch the keyboard command set to one created specifically to make the transition from another DAW easier.

Getting Additional Help and Connecting with Other Studio One Users

In the Studio One/Options/General/Keyboard Shortcuts menu (Mac OS: Preferences/Options/Keyboard Shortcuts), you will find a header called Keyboard Mapping Scheme. Here, you can select keyboard maps for various DAW applications, including Pro Tools, Cubase, and Logic; select a map, and Studio One will recognize and apply common keyboard commands for that DAW. You can then customize the keyboard commands to suit your workflow.

Keyboard commands for each DAW audio application can be viewed in the keyboard commands menu and can be exported in various file types for external viewing.

In Studio One 6, the Help and Reference Manual are both context-sensitive and will answer your questions in most cases. If you need additional assistance:

1. Please consult the online Knowledgebase at this location: http://support.presonus.com/forums
2. Ask your colleagues in the PreSonus forums: https://forums.presonus.com. The Forums are also an excellent place to connect with other Studio One users.
3. It is also possible to submit a support ticket from the link found in the Knowledgebase or knowledge base, or from within your MyPreSonus account.

We hope you enjoy Studio One!