Studio One vs Other DAWs...initial thoughts from my first few days

jkuehlin

New member
So first impressions on studio one remain pretty good. After the first several days of playing with it in little bits of free time I'm still finding it to be stable, organized, and easy to use.

Some quick notes: The layout is very logic like, but the folder and file system with searchable plugins acts more like Reaper and Nuendo which I think is a good thing. Being able to favorite and create folders is a feature I feel is badly lacking in Pro Tools. Two non-negotiable must have's for me are the 1176 and LA2A emulators, and I like both of the better than the stock Logic ones. The BF blackface in Pro Tools is horrible.

The first thing I did when I installed Studio One Pro 4 was find the key commands and load the Pro Tools mappings which are conveniently included in the software. I still had to modify a number of key commands to get it to match Pro Tools closer.

Studio One's workflow editing and navigation commands are not as deep as those in Pro Tools HD. The tools are simplified for ease of use. I'm ok with this, and I was well aware of it ahead of time. So I didn't waste too much effort trying to get Studio One to operate on the same level in that regard.

I can't find any references to S1 having a node based design Midi design GUI like Logics environment, or Max for Live. I'm also not going to bother trying to get S1 to perform any film or video related functions. I'm looking forward to checking out some of the arranging tools, but I'm not expecting much from the score editor here.

I did get some of the VI's up and running. It took me a minute to figure out the drag-and-drop to instantiate stuff. But I kind of like it. Reminded me of Reason in some ways. Over the next few days I'll be messing around with VI's and midi recording, and seeing how the vocal/guitar take comping works. Another of the big questions I have is how it will compare to Logics audio editor engines. In other words....how capable is this DAW when you isolate a clip within a track, in terms of tuning, warping, time stretching, processing that isolated clip.
 
Good post. It's the only DAW I've ever used, and I bought it since it came with the AudioBox USB at the time, maybe it still does? But with that bundle, and the synths, and a Melodyne license, I couldn't turn it down. Super good value for the price.

Let me know if you ever need any tips or help. If there's something I can't figure out, I'll usually ask [MENTION=182238]SeaGtGruff[/MENTION]

You're about to start editing? I find it very easy, especially with the "event" setup, and being able to "merge events". Be careful between "bounce" and "bounce to new track" as the latter will include any inserts without explicitly stating so.
 
...Indie Recording Depot...

That site is strange...I remember when it first started, I checked it out for a bit, but the layout and navigation gave me a headache, so I never followed up.
I hate pages that keep filling in from the bottom as you try to scroll down... :D ...if you're looking for something older, you can't just go to the bottom and look, you have to keep waiting for the content to pop-up.

I kinda forgot about that place. Do you hang there regularly? Is it kind of a small crowd still...?
It's like those guys all grew up together or went to the same grammer school...and their still hanging out 20 years later. They seem to all have the same view on most everything...like a collective. :)
Maybe it's different now.

Anyway...don't mean to detour the Studio One discussion...just caught my eye that you mentioned the place.
 
Let me know if you ever need any tips or help. If there's something I can't figure out, I'll usually ask [MENTION=182238]SeaGtGruff[/MENTION]
Have you had any problems with the stability of Professional 4? One of the writers guys I got this thing so I could work with made the upgrade so I could transfer files since v3 files aren't forward compatible. He says its crashing quite a bit more. I've had ZERO crash problems in the week I've been working with it. Yours is super stable too...isn't it?

You're about to start editing? I find it very easy, especially with the "event" setup, and being able to "merge events". Be careful between "bounce" and "bounce to new track" as the latter will include any inserts without explicitly stating so.

I'm gonna try the take comping today...or what you'd call 'compositing' in pro tools. Basically picking and choosing from a several vocal takes. I'm also curious to explore how S1 handles MIDI tracking :) I'll jot some notes later this evening.
 
Have you had any problems with the stability of Professional 4? One of the writers guys I got this thing so I could work with made the upgrade so I could transfer files since v3 files aren't forward compatible. He says its crashing quite a bit more. I've had ZERO crash problems in the week I've been working with it. Yours is super stable too...isn't it?
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I've had Pro 4 since it came out - there have been probably 2 crashes, one where the autosave saved me, and one where it didn't. I usually save very, very frequently. After every move I make, while listening to the playback, I click save, but I guess one time I did not, and of course that's the time I really needed to.

Hope you realize your projects and needs are far greater than mine. At the most, I have 20 mono tracks, 3 stereo tracks, a MIDI drums channel, 2 instrument channels, and master bus processing - that's all my needs really require. I haven't ventured into video or anything else.
 
Hope you realize your projects and needs are far greater than mine. At the most, I have 20 mono tracks, 3 stereo tracks, a MIDI drums channel, 2 instrument channels, and master bus processing - that's all my needs really require. I haven't ventured into video or anything else.

My project needs for S1 are actually really really simple. The true need here was compatibility with two clients that are going to need a LOT of mixing on a regular basis (in addition to about 5 other home studios in my area) are all running S1. All 7 of those guys would love to get projects in here for access to my plugin library and my monitoring, but its cost prohibitive (and downright annoying) to have to bounce stems out to protools. And then after its in ProTools, they have to call me and pay me if they want the guitar turned up 2db in the bridge. Its really inconvenient for both of us. With S1 they can dropbox me the sessions ahead of time, I'll open them, fix a bunch of things that I think need to get changed, then if I have to use a plugin they don't have, I commit it into a new wave file then shoot it right back onto their hard drive. Or they can come into my facility and collaborate with me on the mix downs, and I either export the revised session to their hard drive or dump it strait back in dropbox.

I texted everyone who's been wanting to do projects here and they were SOOoooo excited that I was gonna pick up a copy of this program. But all them are home studio guys, so I don't think the project needs are any more complex than most. I have to say though, its a lot of fun working with guys that aren't doing this for a full time living because they seem to enjoy it so much more and they're SO MUCH less nitpicky about stupid irrelevant things! And they seem to appreciate the collaboration aspect more too. And believe me, working with peoples original music is a lot more fun for me than babysitting volume levels for some dumbass political speech or a church sermon going to broadcast.
 
I like Studio One a lot. It's a lot like Cubase. Only reason I chose Cubase was the midi editing is a bit better. Science says this isn't possible, but I swear the summing/export sounds better in Cubase, too. Overall I give it a solid B+ and it seems to be on a fast upward trajectory.
 
When I first got my PT HD license in 2010 I could have sworn on my mothers grave that tracking sounded better than Logic and Ableton though the same converter, same pres, same mic, and same monitors. I really have nothing to back that up with though, and some people that know far more than I do about DA conversion and the code for DAWs will take that to the mat in debates. So I try not to look like an idiot by talking out of my depth. I generally try and accept good science unless there's more science that challenges or disproves something. I don't think there's anything wrong with saying 'it seems to sound different, but I couldn't begin to tell you why'. What you're saying about the summing doesn't sound crazy or bizarre to me at all.
 
I love studio one! I was a pro tools user for about 15 years and switched over about 2 years ago. I still use Pro Tools quite a bit because a lot of client files come in that way, but if I get stems, I use studio one. I have had some crash issues, but I've found it's usually a plugin that's making things bug out. You have to read the crash report to find out which one. Then simply switching from using the au to the vst or vice versa will fix the issue.
 
When I first got my PT HD license in 2010 I could have sworn on my mothers grave that tracking sounded better than Logic and Ableton though the same converter, same pres, same mic, and same monitors. I really have nothing to back that up with though, and some people that know far more than I do about DA conversion and the code for DAWs will take that to the mat in debates. So I try not to look like an idiot by talking out of my depth. I generally try and accept good science unless there's more science that challenges or disproves something. I don't think there's anything wrong with saying 'it seems to sound different, but I couldn't begin to tell you why'. What you're saying about the summing doesn't sound crazy or bizarre to me at all.

Yeah it almost sounded like Studio One was imparting a saturation or darkness to the export whereas Cubase sounded completely transparent. I wonder if it's possible it was an interaction with the plugin during summing. That would make some sense since summing should always be the same, yet how plugins interact with a DAW might not be.

It's also possible Studio One does something like Harrison Mix Bus where they are adding something.
 
Let me know if you ever need any tips or help. If there's something I can't figure out, I'll usually ask [MENTION=182238]SeaGtGruff[/MENTION]

Been mixing with this for a several hours and so far so good. I started with a choir and orchestra I've been working with, but since there isn't any complicated video sync involved, I took a 70-ish track session and went ahead and gave it a go in studio one. I have an extra day or two to get this in, so I figured I'd go through the growing pains of setting up a session and building a mix from scratch.

So the most complicated things to figure out are STILL the things that S1 has simplified. I just sent 15 min trying to figure out what the mouse modifier was to duplicate an EQ insert to another channel. You simply drag it and drop it (of course), where as in Logic and PT its option + click/drag. I couldn't figure out how to define the bus routes (Nuendo makes you declare these in advance). You're supposed to sort of create them on the spot. But how? Why not right click and send to new bus of course?? It took me forever to figure out how to put an insert on a track. I would have NEVER thought to just drag drop them in. That's just too damn easy. I was digging through all kinds of documentation trying to figure out who to get the plugin from the effects window of the browser onto the track. Holy shit... I can't believe the stuff they thought of simplifying. Its almost confusing to someone thats used to unnecessarily difficult workflows lol.
 
Hey Andrushkiwt, I'm having a little bit of trouble with the groups. I figured out how to create them and rename them. What I'm having trouble with is I can't find the clutch. There should be a command in a menu somewhere to deactivate all groups at once so you can toggle them on an off. I'm used to a list (either floating or docked) that lets you see which groups are engaged at any given time. Can you point me to the command or menu location?
 
Hey Andrushkiwt, I'm having a little bit of trouble with the groups. I figured out how to create them and rename them. What I'm having trouble with is I can't find the clutch. There should be a command in a menu somewhere to deactivate all groups at once so you can toggle them on an off. I'm used to a list (either floating or docked) that lets you see which groups are engaged at any given time. Can you point me to the command or menu location?

I do not use commands, much at all. You can select a row of channels (they should all be in the same bus anyway, if they're lined up) by clicking an outermost channel, holding shift, then selecting the last channel. That should highlight all the channels. Then try right-clicking and see what options come up. Or just right click those channels bus and see. I'm assuming mute and deactivate are different? Sorry, that's not an option I use. But try right clicking the bus or the entire group, as highlighted.
 
...a group clutch is a global 'bypass all groups' function that allows you to turn the grouping on and off without having to dissolve groups. It temporarily deactivates all groups so you can make individual adjustments to certain channels or tracks without having to think about activating/deactivating multiple groups while editing.

For example in Pro Tools, my kick is part of a drum group, but also part of a kick/bass group. Its also a part of an 'all group' which is part of an instrument group. That group becomes part of a non-diegetic group (which means all audible sources that are not accounted for by a visible object in the movie scene). The non-diegetic group is a hierarchy child of the 'MX print' or music group. (Because you keep your dialogue, sound effects, and score all on different submixes).

So if I need to make an adjustment to the kick/bass guitar relationship in one place in one scene, I can just turn everything off instead of going ok...first we bypass this group, then make sure this other one is off, then we have to turn this off too but make sure this is soloed. If it was just an issue of faders, it I could probably manage it from a VCA, but I need that clutch when I'm editing too. I won't attempt any films with S1 but thats an example of how some of us have gotten really used to the feature in other DAWs.

Part of this is that I'm still really new to S1...I'm sure there's a way people are working around this, I just have to figure out how.
 
...That group becomes part of a non-diegetic group (which means all audible sources that are not accounted for by a visible object in the movie scene). The non-diegetic group is a hierarchy child of the 'MX print' or music group. (Because you keep your dialogue, sound effects, and score all on different submixes).
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Far beyond my simple needs. Sorry dude :cool:
 
Ooooh! I finally crashed haha. I made Studio One crash for the first time. But I pulled the crash report and it looks like an Izotope plugin caused it...so it wasn't even its fault. Happened while I tried to change the target LUFS metering range on Insight. A quick (and overdue) Izotope update took care of that. I found out that the autosave works nicely lol ;)
 
Ooooh! I finally crashed haha. I made Studio One crash for the first time. But I pulled the crash report and it looks like an Izotope plugin caused it...so it wasn't even its fault. Happened while I tried to change the target LUFS metering range on Insight. A quick (and overdue) Izotope update took care of that. I found out that the autosave works nicely lol ;)

I've had a few "666" errors - where the master out displays those numbers and turns red. Usually some plugin causes that problem. I'll laod the last save, turn off all the plugins, reengage one by one, and see what causes the issue again. If there is a report that saves that step for you, I was unaware.

I knew it wouldn't be long until you were teaching me. :)
 
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