Is Xfer Records’ Serum 2 still the most powerful software synth you can buy?$199 introductory price for new licences ($249 from 1st June)
Free update for existing users
xferrecords.com
Serum’s diverse sonic palette and exceptionally bold sound character have made it the go-to software synth for artists and producers in a huge scope of musical styles, including EDM, Pop, and Hip-Hop for over a decade. A star-studded lineup of users includes the likes of Skrillex and Deadmau5, and Serum’s sound has dominated the electronic music landscape.

READ MORE: Can any other synth match Arturia Pigments 6’s astonishing sonic diversity?

Alongside a sound ranging from irresistible to utterly noxious, Serum endears itself to its user base through the way it allows you to dive so deeply and directly into sound design in an inadvertent and unassuming way.
The revolutionary design bred some steady competition in the form of Kilohearts Phase Plant, UVI Falcon, Vital, Arturia Pigments, and many others. So, naturally, I’d like to know if Serum 2, even with all its upgrades, stands up to the other prominent software synths of today.

What’s new in the Oscillator section?
The first thing you’ll notice when you open Serum 2, to your delight, is that it now features a third main oscillator, and each of these sound generators has five different modes – Wavetable, Multisample, Sample, Granular, and Spectral. To put things into perspective, the closest competitor, Pigments 6, has only two sound-generating engines, and although it provides a different scope of synthesis tools, there is still an advantage to having three sound layers rather than two.
Over the years, Serum has become the holy grail of wavetable synths, so you’ll be thrilled to find that Xfer Records has improved features such as the wavetable editor and wavetable creation workflow, which is now more flexible. The wavetable editor gives you quick access to all three oscillators, letting you edit harmonics, control waveform morphing behaviour over time, and even use formulaic data to save and recall wavetables. Furthermore, the ability to smooth interpolation while moving between wavetable frames allows for the creation of more organic sounds. Many features like this are hidden within right-click menus, so be sure to explore.
If you’re new to Serum, you might wonder why it doesn’t offer multiple layers of timbres like other synths. However, because the three main oscillators are such versatile sound generators with extensive modulation capabilities, it’s important to see and work with them as you would a layer on a multitimbral synth. The reason for this is that stacked layers of Serum’s synthesis engine would have staggeringly high system requirements. Being that Serum 2 is already incredibly processor-intensive, it’s fair to say this is the best way forward.
Besides the Granular and Wavetable sound sources, Serum 2 also gives you a bank of samples and the ability to use them as single or multisample patches. If you consider the impressive modulation and effects processing capabilities, Serum 2 becomes a formidable sampling instrument, whether you use the included sound content or dip into your personal stash.
However, by far one of the most exciting additions in the oscillator section is the new Spectral synthesis mode. Here, you can use a selection of tonal and non-tonal samples or Serum’s wavetables to create spectral sound sources. What’s more, you can also import samples of your own, or images in PNG format.
Once you know your way around the various oscillator types, the fun truly begins. As you browse through the patch library, you’ll notice how the patches are composed from multiple sound sources, and this is the essence of Serum’s sound design workflow. You’ll discover Granular and Spectral layers magically complementing one another to create mysterious, detailed soundscapes. Meanwhile, when you add the noise and sub-oscillator, Serum becomes a complete drum synthesis tool.
It’s important to note that the more you start to explore the excitingly animated oscillators, the more strain you put on your CPU. If you thought an Apple Silicon running 8 GB of RAM was enough to handle Serum 2, think again! I’d recommend at least 16 GB RAM, which is four times the amount listed in the System Requirements on Splice. We can only hope that an update will make it more resource friendly in future.
Serum 2 wavetable editor. Image: Press
How do I use Serum’s new arpeggiator and clip sequencer?
With four envelopes and six LFOs, there’s amazing potential for creating animated sounds, especially when you add the modulation matrix and eight macro controls. However, Serum has always been lacking in the sequencing department, so this is something the update needed to address. While the new arpeggiator and clip sequencer perform different functions, they have structural similarities in terms of their respective workflows.
Both sections are capable of launching clips, a concept that should be familiar to Ableton Live users. Each of the 12 clips in each section can be accessed with the respective ARP or CLIP keyboards and saved individually or globally as an ARP or CLIP bank. When combined with the various pattern and transpose modes, as well as the playback and retrigger functions, Serum’s arpeggiator is a flexible performance tool capable of creating far more than just retro-styled arp patterns.
The clip sequencer, on the other hand, is a complete piano roll editor, complete with real-time MIDI recording and comprehensive MPE editing. This offers an integrated composition platform as powerful as any software synth; from MIDI controller messages to note possibilities, you have all the functionality needed to create expressive performances within Serum, whether you prefer to sequence them or play them manually.
As you browse through the preset library, you’ll notice that each patch has its own stylistic clip and a unique macro modulation set-up across the eight macros. This gives you an ideal starting point for understanding how to approach each sound from a performance perspective, and also how to get under the hood as you hone your sound design skills.
Expressive sound creation capabilities are more impressive than ever, with extended modulation and effects processing options. The new Mod section now offers more advanced envelopes with BPM sync and more complex LFO routing, with Dual X/Y outputs and grid sizes for the X and Y axes. In the effects section, there are exciting new modules, like the Bode frequency shifter, the Convolve convolution processor with IR import, and Splitter modules that allow you to process different frequency ranges, or even mid and side information separately.
Serum 2 clip sequencer. Image: Press
Is Serum 2 still worth the hype?
As a software instrument, Serum has a distinctive sonic identity and a monstrous reputation in music production circles that has bred a cult following as a result. This has a fair amount of sway on potential buyers as they are buying into a brand to get “that sound” rather than objectively comparing the user experience and sound with competing options.
When one looks at the endless range of soft synths available, one could argue that Serum 2 is priced a little steep for new users. If you’re a complete beginner, $249 is pretty staggering, and if you’re a keen sound designer, you might wonder why Pigments and Phase Plant are only $199.
While the market may have moved on since Serum’s introduction in 2014, there’s no denying that it’s still very much a relevant part of the musical landscape, even though it might not be as groundbreaking as it once was.
The task will be upon Steve Duda and the Xfer team to ensure that future updates are not only timely and keep up with the Joneses, but also add value for both new and current users.
Key features

Synthesizer plugin (VST, AU, and AAX)
SFZ compatibility
Intuitive sound design workflow, now with undo/redo system
3 main oscillators with 5 modes (Wavetable, Multisample, Sample, Granular, and Spectral)
626 presets
288 wavetables
Mixer with 2 aux effects buses and main processing bus
Wealth of effects
Best-in-class clip sequencer and arpeggiator
Extensive modulation matrix and warping capabilities

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a16z backs Base Power in $200M round for home backup batteriesThe money will fund a rapid expansion, including dozens more megawatt-hours of battery storage and plans for a domestic battery factory.

Live Music Stocks Up Wednesday Exceeding Market RallyLive music stock were up Wednesday April 9, 2025, aligning with a broader market surge following President Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on many newly introduced tariffs, excluding those. Continue reading
The post Live Music Stocks Up Wednesday Exceeding Market Rally appeared first on Hypebot.

Alissia (Anderson .Paak, Mary J. Blige) gives an exclusive studio tour
Join Alissia (Anderson .Paak, Mary J. Blige) in an exclusive tour of her famous studio, The Spaceship.

Imaginando GRFX – Granular Effects GRFX – Granular Effects is a powerful new audio plugin designed to radically transform sound through the magic of granulation. GRFX takes granular processing to new creative heights—offering a flexible, expressive, and highly playable environment for sound design, experimentation, and exploration. With GRFX, users can break down ordinary audio into micro-particles and rebuild it into evolving pads and drones, glitchy rhythms, ethereal textures, or alien soundscapes. Whether sparse or dense, shimmering or chaotic, GRFX is your sandbox for bending reality—layering, modulating, and shaping sound through time and space. At the heart of GRFX is the Harmonic Triangle: an interactive, three-point control panel that morphs your sound into chords, arpeggios, and microtonal variations. This unique interface invites exploration and "happy accidents," especially when combined with the plugin's four cross-modulatable LFOs. Modulation is made effortless with drag-and-drop routing, instant amount control, and a global Modulation Panel. A probability-based routing system lets users direct grains to the two multi-effect engines, the Mixer, and dedicated Delay and Reverb sends—each with independent routing for rich, layered sonic results. Key Features: Granular engine for real-time audio deconstruction and transformation. Harmonic Triangle for tonal and microtonal transposition. 4 LFOs with cross-modulation support. Drag-and-drop modulation. Probability-based grain routing. Two multi-effect engines. Dedicated Delay and Reverb sends. Input buffer freeze, slice and size controls. https://youtu.be/_x4MFWg8wmM?si=KT8pJxETeb8cuEXk Read More

FLOSS Weekly Episode 828: Incus InceptionThis week, Jonathan Bennett and Rob Campbell talk to Stéphane Graber about LXC, Linux Containers, and Incus! Why did Incus fork from LXD, why are Fortune 500 companies embracing it, and why might it make sense for your home lab setup? Watch to find out!

https://stgraber.org
Incus: https://linuxcontainers.org/incus
Online demo: https://linuxcontainers.org/incus/try-it/
https://github.com/lxc/incus
Incus Deploy: https://github.com/lxc/incus-deploy
Incus OS: https://github.com/lxc/incus-os
Terraform Provider: https://github.com/lxc/terraform-provider-incus
Migration Manager: https://github.com/futurfusion/migration-manager

Did you know you can watch the live recording of the show right on our YouTube Channel? Have someone you’d like us to interview? Let us know, or contact the guest and have them contact us! Take a look at the schedule here.

Direct Download in DRM-free MP3.
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Theme music: “Newer Wave” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

NO FAKES Act aimed at cracking down on deepfakes reintroduced in US Congress – this time with support of Google and OpenAIGoogle and OpenAI joined the music majors and the RIAA in backing a bill that enables individuals to protect their voice and likeness against AI fakes
Source

GRAMMYs On The Hill Culminates With Introduction Of NO FAKES ActRecording Academy® leaders and members took the opportunity offered by GRAMMYs on the Hill® Advocacy Day with a press conference on Capitol Hill to take a stand on issues that arise due to the rise of A.I.Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Maria Salazar (R-FL) were also in attendance to announce the reintroduction of the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act. "Also known as the NO FAKES Act, this bipartisan, bicameral bill would advance creators’ rights by protecting their voices and likenesses from the unauthorized creation and use of digital replicas," a statement reads. "Also at today’s press conference were stakeholders from the Human Artistry Campaign – where the Academy is a founding member – along with MPA, RIAA, SAG-AFTRA, Warner Music Group, and YouTube.""The reintroduction comes as the Academy is gathering in the nation’s capital for its annual GRAMMYs on the Hill initiative, music’s biggest week in Washington, D.C. that honored country music legend and seven-time GRAMMY® winner Randy Travis, as well as Reps. Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and Ron Estes (R-KS), for their steadfast support of music creators," they continue. "The week also connected Academy leaders and members with members of Congress to advocate for incentivizing new music production through the HITS Act, protecting creators against harmful AI through the NO FAKES Act, and preserving continued federal support for the arts and cultural institutions."“The Academy is proud to represent and serve creators, and for decades, GRAMMYs on the Hill has brought music makers to our nation’s capital to elevate the policy issues affecting our industry," said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. "Today’s reintroduction of the NO FAKES Act underscores our members’ commitment to advocating for the music community, and as we enter a new era of technology, we must create guardrails around AI and ensure it enhances – not replaces – human creativity. We thank Senators Blackburn and Coons, and Representatives Dean and Salazar for their unwavering support on this issue, and we look forward to working alongside them to pass the NO FAKES Act this Congress.”The Recording Academy’s Washington, D.C.-based Advocacy team is already in existence. "Academy members and music professionals from across the country to present a powerful lobbying force that fights for music creators’ rights at the local, state and federal levels," they say.Visit grammy.com and recordingacademy.com for more info.The post GRAMMYs On The Hill Culminates With Introduction Of NO FAKES Act first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Imaginando release GRFX Granular Effects GRFX is a flexible and expressive sound-design tool that breaks down and rebuilds incoming audio, creating everything from evolving pads and drones to glitchy rhythms and alien-sounding landscapes. 

Get AmpliTube SVX by IK Multimedia for FREE for a limited time @ AudioPluginDeals
AudioPluginDeals is offering AmpliTube SVX by IK Multimedia free for a limited time if you need some vibe to that bass track. The plugin is available for macOS and Windows in VST3, AU, and AAX formats, 64-bit only. The software is usually priced at $99 and features a huge array of emulated cabs, amps, and [...]
View post: Get AmpliTube SVX by IK Multimedia for FREE for a limited time @ AudioPluginDeals

Fyre Fest 2 permit only allows for 12-hour listening party with 250 people – as a psychologist deems Billy McFarland “mentally ill”Over the past few months, Billy McFarland has been making grand promises for Fyre Fest 2. The festival founder has been making bold claim of villas, yachts and a packed 40-artist line-up – but it turns out the festival only has a permit for 250 attendees and a noise ordinance of 100 decibels max.
Earlier this month, the Mexican tourism board told The Guardian that it had “no knowledge” of the festival taking place, despite the event being set to run from 30 May to 2 June in Isla Mujeres, a tropical island off Cancún, Mexico. In a bid to prove they had ticked all the legal boxes, the festival shared some official permits. However, eagle-eyed Instagram users have noticed the terms would limit the festival drastically.

READ MORE: Former Fyre Festival investor warns of “red flags” for Billy McFarland’s 2025 reboot: “He knows how to pull people in”

The Spanish document permits 250 attendees max – way below McFarland’s initial number of 1,800 guests. The festival is limited to 12 hours of music across the weekend, with a noise limit of 100 decibels. Again, it’s going to be tricky to cram a supposed line-up of 40 artists into 12 hours.
While the documents fall short of McFarland’s promises, they suggest the Mexican tourism board were aware of the event. However, as one user points out, the documents do not necessarily confirm a festival. In fact, the terms seem to confirm permission for a club night at most.
“Those are permits from the club owners for regular beach clubs here that hold 250 people,” the user writes. “Those are NOT festival events or venues, and the government has not approved any festival of any sort. We live here and the whole city is laughing about this.”

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Considering McFarland has already served three years in prison for fraud, many may be questioning his attempts to re-ignite the Fyre Festival flame. However, it has recently come to light that the festival founder may be experiencing a neurotic episode.
According to The Sun US, psychologist Dr. Cheryl Paradis has noted that McFarland “strongly indicated” signs of an unspecified bipolar related disorder. These signs may have been further fuelled by “a substantial pattern of severe alcohol abuse”.
“[He] describes significant problems frequently associated with aspects of a manic episode at a level of severity that is uncommon even in clinical samples,” Paradis writes. “He is probably quite impulsive and unusually energetic, and most likely meets diagnostic criteria for a manic or hypomanic episode.”
Her conclusion seems to suggest that the commitment to the festival is a kind of outlet. “He is probably involved in these activities in an overcommitted and disorganised manner,” she notes.
“[His behaviours may be] marked by inflated self-esteem or grandiosity. That may range from beliefs of having exceptionally high levels of common skills, to delusional beliefs of having special and unique talents that will lead to fame and fortune.”
“His relationships with others are probably under stress due to his frustration with the inability or unwillingness of those around him to keep up with his plans and possibly unrealistic ideas,” she concluded.
Tickets for Fyre Fest 2 have previously been on sale, with prices ranging from $1,400 to $25,000. Premium packages were also being sold for as high as $1.1 million. However, following on from the news, the website has stopped ticket sales. Plenty of Instagram videos talking about festival plans have also been taken down.
Unfortunately, the festival has a pretty firm refund policy; the official terms and conditions has a strict “no refunds” clause. Even if the event is cancelled, the festival “may, at [its] sole discretion, offer to refund the base ticket price.”
The post Fyre Fest 2 permit only allows for 12-hour listening party with 250 people – as a psychologist deems Billy McFarland “mentally ill” appeared first on MusicTech.

Congress advances TICKET Act without important changesThe House Energy & Commerce Committee unanimously approved the TICKET Act Tuesday, sending it to the full U.S. House for consideration. But some music industry trade groups say the bill does not go nearly far enough.
The post Congress advances TICKET Act without important changes appeared first on Hypebot.

EastWest announce LO-FI EastWest have announced the launch of a new virtual instrument dedicated to dark, gritty textures and edgy, distorted sounds.

An Alice Cooper-branded reel-to-reel recorder is now a thing – but it’ll cost you over 20 grandShock rock extraordinaire Alice Cooper has teamed up with Revox for the launch of a reel-to-reel tape recorder, decorated with a fitting black and red aesthetic.
The machine is limited to just 25 units, and arrives alongside an Alice Cooper turntable too, of which there are only 50 available. To celebrate the exclusive collaboration, Revox is also offering buyers the chance to take part in a meet and greet with Cooper, with one event in taking place in Munich and one in the USA at the end of 2025.

READ MORE: Cre8audio’s new Assembler is a “vintage analogue mixer for the modern synth enthusiast”

The tape recorder, which is a revamped version of Revox’s MK III model, is signed and numbered by Cooper himself. It comes with a master tape of his 2018 EP, The Sound of A, and has original Revox motors, improved recording heads, a special capstan shaft with a new pressure roller, and a digital counter.
As for the T77 turntable, this has a full picture of Cooper’s face on it, and also comes with a master vinyl of The Sound of A. It’s described as a high-end record player with a unique, integrated MC phono preamplifier, and also includes a specially designed NAB adapter-shaped record weight and a Neutrik XLR/RCA adapter.
The T77 has a “highly precise” electronic PLL speed control via a non-contact optical sensor, and the tonearm is made of high-quality metals, with a carbon fiber tonearm tube. It also has an MC Ortofon Quintet Black S cartridge, which is very fancily equipped with a Nude Shibata diamond, mounted on a sapphire cantilever.
Check out the video below to hear from Cooper on the new collaboration:

“The Alice Cooper Limited Edition tape machine and turntable shine in an exclusive and extraordinary design that embodies the uniqueness of Alice Cooper’s music and performance and at the same time reflects the technological brilliance of Revox,” says the brand.
“The incomparable aura that both Alice Cooper and Revox radiate through their groundbreaking innovations is a source of great fascination. This makes each of these limited edition products an audiophile masterpiece and also a visual work of art for the music world.”
The tape recorder is priced at £23,123, while the turntable is £7,655. You can find out more over at Revox. The units will begin to ship in July.
The post An Alice Cooper-branded reel-to-reel recorder is now a thing – but it’ll cost you over 20 grand appeared first on MusicTech.

PreSonus Studio One Pro 7 wants to be your go-to DAW, but can it mix it with the big-hitters?Perpetual license: $200 / £170
Perpetual license with Pro+ Plan: $180 / £160 per year
Pro+ monthly plan: $20 / £17 per month
Upgrade from any previous version: $150 / £135
presonus.com
First appearing in 2009, Studio One is a relative newcomer to the DAW scene compared to older names — Cubase, FL Studio, and Reason, for example. But its heritage is solid, its creators having worked on developing flagship products for Steinberg, including Cubase and Nuendo.
While PreSonus’ line-up includes many studio hardware products, this software is far from an afterthought. Rather, it’s a highly capable music production suite which deserves a wider audience, despite shortcomings. But in a crowded field, does it do enough to capture your attention?

READ MORE: Why Steinberg Cubase Pro 14 is the most significant update since 1997’s VST launch

For those unfamiliar with Studio One, it’s an end-to-end music production environment that runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, and covers almost every part of the process from recording and programming to arranging, editing, mixing and mastering. Its feature set is broadly comparable with Cubase or Logic Pro, even if it approaches some tasks differently, in that it’s a more conventional DAW as opposed to, say, Ableton Live or Reason, which have their own workflows.
Studio One has a lot of ‘stuff’ in it, especially if you go for the Pro+ version with all the extra content, and this can initially feel a little overwhelming. On installation, you are asked to choose which of the various sound sets and packs to install – the DAW’s eight virtual instruments largely act as containers for sound sets in the form of samplers and drum machines, plus there are some soft synths as well. There’s not the sheer breadth of instruments you get with Logic (around 25) or the pricier Ableton Live Suite (20), but of course, third-party VST, AAX and CLAP plugins are supported as well as Audio Units (AU) on macOS.
The software helps a little by suggesting ‘essential’ and ‘full’ downloads – you can always revisit this page later, and a full basic sound set will use around 40GB on your hard drive. One nice touch is that when you load a project that requires a specific sound set you haven’t yet downloaded, the software can do this invisibly in the background and populate the project rather than requiring lots of extra steps.
Studio One Pro 7 launcher. Image: Press
There are also helpful project templates – quite a few in fact – that will get you up and running. These range from simple things like audio tracking and playing live loops to more complex surround productions and mastering a collection of tracks into an album. On this latter point, Studio One also contains integrated tools for uploading your music directly to TuneCore and SoundCloud, again removing tedious steps from this production phase.
The main interface is visually crowded, which is inevitable when apps become this multi-functional, but it can be customised. There are window layouts, showing and hiding of various sections, but you can also tweak colours and shades to your liking. Section borders can, for the most part, be freely dragged to create custom views, and by and large, it’s a fairly conventional experience with tracks, mixer channels, browsers and MIDI and audio editors all occupying similar locations as we are used to.
A newcomer to the DAW world will probably find it takes some time to work out where everything is, a byproduct of the sheer range of tools on offer. Anyone crossing over from a Cubase or a Logic will grasp the concepts more quickly, but others may have to do a little digging. PreSonus actually includes a selection of helpful tutorials in the app, and of course, there is content online to guide you too.
In terms of workflow, there’s extensive use of drag and drop, which works brilliantly, especially with the multi-tabbed Browser that can access not only all the local content on your machine quickly but also online sources like the PreSonus shop and the Splice sample and loop browser.
You get a free selection from Splice, but it does require an additional subscription for the full library since it’s a separate service. Another bonus is that Studio One comes with a specially integrated version of Melodyne Essential that can be called up to easily edit the pitch of any audio part without needing to load a separate plugin. While it offers Melodyne’s main tools for working with pitch and timing, it lacks some of the more advanced features of Cubase’s VariAudio or Logic’s Flex Pitch, like formant and vibrato control. That said, it is part of your purchase, sufficient for many users’ needs, and you do get upgrade options should you want them.
Studio One Pro 7 stems. Image: Press
Dragging and dropping any kind of content – MIDI loops, stretched audio files, sound sets, and more – into a project automatically creates the correct kind of track or instrument. This is helpful especially for users who aren’t experts on the minutiae of file formats. A live loop mode and new clip launcher are particularly fun, turning the DAW into a performance tool with drag and drop and auto-stretching of loops and passages onto pads, which you can link to a MIDI controller.
A new feature and something many DAWs now include is stem separation – AI-powered processing that can analyse a stereo track and separate out the vocals, drums, bass and ‘other’ (anything left over), to remix or extract sources from mixed tracks. Right-click and select Stems on any audio file to make it happen. It’s relatively quick even on our aging MacBook Pro, seemingly running twice as fast as real time. While swift, it doesn’t seem currently to be as effective as the separation in Logic Pro, FL Studio or something more specialised like RipX DAW. Results are best with electronic music with fewer frequency crossovers, but with dense productions like tracks from Coldplay’s newest album, vocal harmonies managed to confuse it, causing artifacts and phasing to be heard. It’s not awful but needs refining.
In addition to a full complement of audio and MIDI editing tools, automation, video support and impressive support for Dolby Atmos and spatial audio mixing, Studio One also offers an audio batch converter function, VCA-based mixer control and powerful stem export and mixdown options. For composers, Studio One offers notation and score editing and printing tools as well as interchange with the company’s Notion software (Notion is included with a Pro+ subscription). While they won’t cover everything a professional orchestrator needs to do, these tools are more than enough for the majority of people needing to generate and work with scores for collaborators or smaller groups.
Studio One Pro 7 video support. Image: Press
PreSonus has taken a sort of half-in, half-out approach to subscription pricing, providing three main options which can be perplexing. The first is to buy a perpetual license for £169, which gives you the DAW and a bunch of content, including all virtual instruments and 45 effects plugins, 20GB of loops and samples and 2500 Splice sounds. As noted, this is currently the first and only DAW to feature Splice integration for browsing, drag and drop of samples and loops directly inside a project. You get any new features, plugins and instruments that are added within a year of your purchase. After a year has passed, you can decide if and when to purchase another year of feature and content updates at a reduced update price, or keep the version you currently have.
The second option is the Pro+ subscription which, for £160 a year, gives you the DAW in perpetuity plus the Pro+ extras including the full library of over 120,000 loops and samples, new content releases every month, the add-on notation software Notion, 100GB of dedicated cloud storage for collaboration and live mix critiques with professionals. You also unlock the full MixFX collection. Thirdly, you can essentially ‘rent’ everything – the DAW and all the Pro+ content – with a £17 per month subscription.
Different developers take various approaches to pricing, and the options here seem pretty well thought-out to cater to users’ needs. The full functionality of the app, together with a decent bundle of content,t is there in the one-off purchase option. And, seriously, £169 for a DAW this powerful is an appealing price. Adding the Pro+ plan yearly subscription would start to add up in the long run – £480 over three years, as an example, but it’ll give you rolling updates and new content for the whole period. £17 a month makes more sense if you are either trying it out (though there is a free trial) or know that you’re only going to need it for a limited time. For comparison, this works out to about £200 a year, while if you commit to a year upfront, you get it for £160.
Some users may bemoan paying another £169 to restart their year of new feature updates, though this still works out to be comparable to paying to upgrade many other DAWs, with a higher purchase price, every 1.5 – 2 years. On the other hand, although the £135 upgrade to Studio One Pro 7 from any previous version is a great deal for Studio One Artist users and the like, those who have previously invested in Pro versions may well feel hard done by.
Studio One Pro 7 MIDI editor. Image: Press
While we’re on comparisons, Cubase 14 Pro, the version to which Studio One’s feature set is the closest, is £481, but it does include advanced score editing and is a one-off purchase. Logic Pro is £199 (subsidised by Apple to sell hardware) and is Mac-only. Neither company uses a subscription model on the desktop, and all point updates are free, while major new versions are paid upgrades.
Studio One doesn’t have the sheer variety and quality of instruments that some other DAWs – Logic, FL Studio, Reason, Live – arguably do. In most cases, however, the versions of those DAWs that have the biggest bundled content are generally pushing £500 to buy outright, which is significantly more than Studio One. There are some omissions like integrated score editing, and you could make the case that though efficient, it lacks the panache of some competitors with its workmanlike interface, but this isn’t a big issue for most people.
Move past those factors, though, and Studio One packs a tremendous amount of functionality into an affordable package. The core offering of tools and content is solid, and should you wish to expand the sound sets with the Pro+ subscription, you get access to a bunch more stuff – though you’ll be adding your own instruments separately. Interactive content like mix critiques might be of niche interest, but are still something that few others are offering.
One thing PreSonus has really focused on to great effect is providing an end-to-end system that lets you do everything from sketches through full productions and mastering and online distribution of your music. It may not quite have the flair of some other DAWs, but it’s a proper workhorse with a deep and powerful feature set that most users will find gives them almost everything they need. This is all without breaking the bank.

Key features

DAW for macOS, Windows and Linux
Unlimited tracks, effects channels and buses
45 native effects
8 instruments including the recent Cinematic Lights
Splice integration
Spatial audio monitoring and Dolby Atmos mixing
Clip launcher performance mode
Stem separation
VCA-controllable mixer
Video, automation and mastering support
Project Page for mastering, CD burning, DDP and digital release
Show Page for live performance
TuneCore and SoundCloud upload built in
Pro+ upgrade gives access to Notion scoring software, 120,000 loops and samples and 100GB cloud storage

The post PreSonus Studio One Pro 7 wants to be your go-to DAW, but can it mix it with the big-hitters? appeared first on MusicTech.