Muteomatic - A Must Have Free Plug-In For Anyone Tracking In PreSonus Studio One

One thing is for certain, communication is KEY when it comes to the recording process - More specifically, being able to communicate with an artist as he/she is recording. If you’re working in a home studio, or small environment, this may be quite simple. ie: It might be as easy as having a conversation within ear shot of eachother. But the minute, you introduce any degree of separation, closed back headphones, or a Control Room / Live Room scenario - you need to set up a Talkback Mic.

The concept is simple - A Microphone that’s patched into the artists headphone Mix that allows them to hear you. Conversely, depending on the type of signal you are recording, this may also mean a additional Microphone set up for the artist / Band that’s used to clearly pickup any communication that’s happening in the live room.

Quite often, when working with Talkback Mic’s, it’s preferable that they’re not always “open” or active. For example, If a vocalist is about to cut some intimate vocals, the last thing they most likely want to hear is the engineer shuffling around in a squeaky chair or sipping on a Coffee. Also it can be awkward to have a conversation with a Large Plate Reverb and Ping Pong delay firing away over a conversation.

So, for this reason, we have the ability to toggle a talkback switch, and mute FX returns as needed. But wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to worry about any of those tasks?
Well, thankfully - we don’t - thanks to the FREE Muteomatic by SoundRadix.

In this video, I demonstrate one on my favourite FREE plug-ins - Muteomatic by SoundRadix, in use in PreSonus Studio One. An incredibly useful utility plug-in that aims to simplify / automate the "Talkback Mic" workflow when tracking in a modern day DAW.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

3 Tips For Working With Layers In PreSonus Studio One

Amongst the many comforts afforded by working in a modern day DAW - the ability to work with multiple “Layers” with a given track is definitely one of the top features in my opinion. They may go by a different name from DAW to DAW, but in the end, the concept is pretty simple. One track can contain multiple Layers that can be utilized for anything from lightning fast comping, to archiving un-edited versions of performances.

That being said, there’s also a few other areas in terms of workflow, that can really benefit from incorporating Layers as well.

In this video I demonstrate 3 simple tips that can be used when working with Layers in PreSonus Studio One.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

Workflow Tip - Transferring Your Studio One Song To Pro Tools - In Minutes

In addition to running my Music Production business, and creating content, I also do some work on behalf of PreSonus as a freelance Studio One clinician. Whenever I do any seminars, there are always a handful of Pro Tools users in the audience. And to be honest, the response I usually get is always the same. I’m paraphrasing here, but it goes a little something like this:

“I would love to use Studio One - and I do use it for my own production, but for certain projects, I have to work in Pro Tools - or at the very least, deliver a Pro Tools session. For this reason, I don’t use Studio One as much as I would like to.”

To which my reply is - In my humble opinion, Studio One has the best AAF Export workflow (with Pro Tools) that I have personally ever seen in a DAW. Meaning that I can get my whole entire Studio One Song - Over to Pro Tools, in minutes, no matter how complex it is, and whether I’m using Virtual Instruments or need to “Freeze” or “render” FX Plug-ins (such as Software Amp Simulators). It’s a really elegant solution.

Before I go any further, let’s address a few things quickly:

1. AAF is NOT a perfect translation - there is always something that needs to be taken into account.. This could be that it splits up stereo files to dual mono, or maybe the panning doesn’t always come across, or that it changes equal power Fades to linear. One BIG area for me, is that most AAF’s do not properly translate clip/region/event based gain - So your whole entire Gain staging could be off. This is just the way it is. And it has always been like this since I first starting using AAF’s. But In some cases, certain programs may handle one thing really nicely - but then they fail in other areas. But in all my time, I have never seen another DAW that can “hand off” an AAF to Pro Tools, and when it gets put back together - it’s not a complete disaster.

2. This is NOT about “DAW WARS” - I use Studio One because (for me) it’s the perfect fit, and I can work faster than I ever could in Pro Tools even when my Pro Tools chops were razor sharp. This is about a relatively painless workflow that can be used to get your Studio One Song over to Pro Tools when you need to! It’s also worth mentioning that I have done this (on the spot) in the middle of a session on more than one occasion when the situation called for it. ie: I was not able to track with my own interface, or computer, and had to use the Studio’s Computer / Pro Tools setup.

3. You don’t always need to deliver an AAF! - In fact, it may not be the best option. Before I create an AAF export, My first thought would probably be to Export Stems. This is a fantastic way to work, that’s used extensively in the industry. It’s super easy in Studio One, and there are also tons of different options in terms of exporting exactly what you need to deliver. If stems weren’t a good fit, then my next immediate thought would be to Export Raw Audio Files/Regions. In some cases, this may in fact be preferable. For example, If you were hired to deliver basic files, that are going to be mixed by someone else in another DAW all together. “Raw” audio Files consolidated to Bar 1 are great. BUT - When a song is in it’s production phase, where all the options are still on the table, and edits are not yet set in stone - nothing beats the flexibility of an AAF.

If this is something that seems like a familiar scenario, or you are someone that’s dabbling in Studio One, but still needs to deliver a Pro Tools session for your productions - then I hope this article / video helps!!

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

How To Use the IR Maker In PreSonus Studio One

If you’ve ever searched through the different categories of plug-ins within Studio One, there’s a good chance you may have come across the IR Maker. The “IR Maker” is a Native FX plug-in developed by PreSonus that essentially allows Studio One users to capture their own custom Impulse Responses for both Open Air, and Ampire.

Although it sounds a bit confusing - The concept of an IR (Impulse Response) is actually quite simple. You record the sonic finger print a piece of hardware. ie- the way that hardware reacts to a sound…

Whether it’s a Reverb preset from an external effects processor, or a Guitar Cab - by passing a “sweep” (frequency based) through the hardware, and recording the resulting file, we can essentially recall that “sound” for use in future productions. Without the need for having the hardware connected.

In this video, I demonstrate how to properly set up and use the IR Maker utility plug-in that ships with PreSonus Studio One, to record an Impulse Response of a Reverb in an External Hardware Effects Processor.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

Adding Tags To Your Custom Sound Set In PreSonus Studio One

In last weeks article - we took a deep dive into the world of creating Sound Sets in PreSonus Studio One. If this is something that interests you, and you haven’t check out the 2 part video series yet. You can find it by clicking here.

Although we covered a lot - there is one small area that I forgot to speak about, and that is with respect to adding tags or “tagging” your content.

Why use tags you ask? well, it’s actually pretty simply. Tagging your content, whether it’s presets, one-shots, Audio loops, or Musicloops gives the end user a way of seeing your content pop in in their search results.

Don’t get me wrong, nothing beats a properly named file, for basic browsing when it comes to trying to determine what something sounds like, but tags can offer a further level of refinement when it comes to searching.

Just imagine trying to fine an electronic, aggressive, wet, snare, one shot, suitable for the rock genre based on filename alone!

Picking up from where we left off last week - In this video I demonstrate how to add Tags to your custom Sound Sets made by using the Sound Set Builder in PreSonus Studio One.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

Working With The Sound Set Builder In PreSonus Studio One - Video Series

First off, let me say this.. I have wanted to do this particular video series for a long time now. At least 1 year or more. BUT - this particular topic can become really complex, because Studio One offers so many different options in terms of the way we can store and recall presets and content.

That being said, I made a point to slowly cover all of these different formats in my weekly content, so that when the time came (today is the day) I could finally do a video series on the mystical Sound Set Builder in PreSonus Studio One.

I wanted to split this up, into a 2 Part series, with the 1st video being more of an overview on how to install the Soundset Builder, some general tips on folder structure / organization, and the basic “rules” to follow. We will also deal with some simple points, such as creating a basic Impact XT Kit - from One-Shots located in the Soundset Folder structure, and also generating a Musicloop (in the form of a Pattern with 2 variations) that was created with our custom Impact XT Preset.

The 2nd video will dive a little dive a little deeper - focusing on how to deal with Packing (Exporting) Soundx files, when working with Presence XT instruments & the Presence XT Editor Add-On, and how to use the Soundx File to create Presets of your Presence XT Instruments. And lastly, we will talk about how to finalize and “Pack” your Soundset, so that it can be tested & shared with colleagues or the PreSonus Studio One User Community.

One thing that I realized that I forgot to cover, is how to use the “Tagging” system when working with the Soundset Builder, and more specifically how it works and what it does, so this is something that I’m going to cover next week, and I will insert that video on this landing page, so that there will be ONE URL that covers literally everything you need to know.

Lastly - Here is a list of some companion Videos / articles that might come in handy - because as was stated in the video - Soundset’s can contain multiple file formats (some that are unique to Studio One). So if you REALLY want to take advantage, it’s worth knowing all the different way in which we can create content:

• Exporting Stems (this is useful for Construction Kits)

• Audioloops

• Instrument + Fx Presets

• Musicloops

• Working with One-Shots

• Presence XT Editor Add On (Overview)

• Presence XT - Adding Keyswitches

• Working With Soundx/Sampler/Multisample Files

• Batch Processing Files Using The Audio Batch Converter

• The Splitter (useful for creating unique FX Chains that can be recalled with Instrument + FX Presets)

• Macro Controls (recalled with Instrument + FX Presets)

• Impact XT Layer Modes Part 1 - Velocity - Round Robin and Random

• Impact XT Layer Modes Part 2 - Stack Mode and Edit Sample Offsets

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably interested in checking out the videos, which you will find below:

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

Adding Key-Switches to Custom Instruments in Presence XT

Before I get into the topic of today’s video, I just want to take a moment to point out one thing. In order to create custom Presence XT Instruments in PreSonus Studio One - You will first need to purchase (and install) the Presence XT Editor Add-On from the PreSonus shop, so that you can access the EDIT tab in Presence XT. That being said, if you enjoy creating custom sample libraries for your own personal use, or have any desire to create libraries to be sold - than this purchase is 100% worth the cost of entry.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about articulations in Sample Libraries. If you’ve ever accidentally triggered some keys on the lower range of an instrument, and found yourself swimming through a bunch of odd sounding Samples, or Sound FX - then there’s a good chance that you know exactly what I’m talking about.

When playing a Virtual Instrument, it’s often preferable to be able to trigger different playing styles with the same range of keys, without having to load a new instrument preset. This allows you to be able to have one preset, that can cover a lot of different ground. A great example of this would be an Orchestral String Library. Within a single patch or preset - we have the ability to load multiple different playing styles or articulations such as: Sustain, Pizzicato, Tremelo, Trill (Half Steps & Whole Steps) Staccato, etc, etc.

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In the above example we can see the different articulations in the centre of the Presence XT GUI dropdown section, as well as being indicated with a red horizontal bar over top of the notes in the keyboard.

So needless to say, having keyswitches on your custom instruments can really help add value to the playability factor. In some sampler instruments, this task can be rather convoluted, and may involve complex scripting. But one of the things I love about Presence XT, is how easy this can be accomplished.

In this video I demonstrate how to add Key-Switches to your Custom Sample Library instruments created in Presence XT.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

MIDI Workflow Tip - Aligning Sweeps and FX In PreSonus Studio One

I personally love working with transitional FX such as sweeps, Reverse Cymbals / Vocal FX, Risers, and Impact hits when it’s appropriate for the genre. When I have the time (and budget) I will often try to make my own, by pulling from content within the production, and layering / adding Spatial effects to taste. That being said, I’m not opposed to using samples / Virtual Instruments as well.

But one of the issues that comes up with these types of FX, is that they’re not necessarily linked to a specific BPM. If they are an Audio Sample, this is fairly easy to combat, but (for obvious reasons) it can be a little difficult to align them perfectly when working with MIDI.

In this video, I demonstrate a workflow tip that can be used to help align Sweeps & FX when working with content generated by Virtual Instruments in PreSonus Studio One.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

How To Extract Groove Templates From Audio Files In PreSonus Studio One

In last week’s article / Video - we took a look at how we can create custom Groove Templates when working with MIDI Files in Studio One. If you haven’t checked it out already, you can do so by clicking here.

Although having MIDI files is a great way to create Groove Templates, let’s be honest, this isn’t always the case. In fact, I’d say that it is much more likely that one would have access to an Audio Loop (in some file format such as Wav, MP3, or Aiff, etc) vs an actual MIDI file of a performance.

Luckily, Studio One is able to perform a similar task when working with Audio. That being said, there are a few things that one needs to be aware of, in terms of how Studio One performs this task, and more specifically some things that user’s can do to help the process go a little smoother.

Audio vs MIDI

When working with MIDI files - things are pretty simple. We have Musical Data that gets translated to a Musical Performance. Hence, the concept of extracting a Groove Template from a MIDI File (or an “Instrument Part” in Studio One terminology) is relatively straight forward. The Note Data within the instrument part, and more specifically it’s timing, and Velocity become MIDI “triggers”.

Given that when working with drums in particular, each of these triggers, will be triggering an audio sample of some sort, there is a 1:1 relationship between each MIDI trigger and the Audio Sample that’s set to play on each pitch. Providing each sample is cut close to the first Zero Crossing point - this results in a very tight performance - where the Audio “should” follow the MIDI timing extremely well. But when it comes to audio, things are slightly different.

Timing is in the Transient Detection

When it comes to audio, and more specifically creating MIDI Triggers that are accurate and reliable, it’s all about the transients. This becomes a little more complex when we take into account that most of these loops are stereo Mixdown’s that have all of the elements of the drums rendered into a single File. But the great part is that Studio One has some tools to help streamline this process, and the actual workflow of extracting the Groove From a file (after the transient detection has been completed) couldn’t be easier.

In this video, I demonstrate how to extract an accurate Groove Template from Audio Files in PreSonus Studio One. In addition, we will also take a look at how to Quantize other Audio Loops and MIDI Files to the Groove Template - Covering everything you need to know from Beginner level to Advanced.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

How To Create Groove Templates From MIDI Files In PreSonus Studio One

Groove

It’s the thing that makes you bob your head a certain way when listening to a track. The thing that can make you feel a certain emotion, and the driving force of any great song. Also referred to as the pocket, soul, feel, or vibe - A good Groove is hard to beat.

Over the last 3 or 4 weeks, I have been spending a lot of time working on my programming chops across multiple genres, and during this period, I’ve been studying some of my favourite Grooves in an effort to quantify what it is about a Groove that makes it feel so great. The short answer is that it’s tough to define.

Perfection In The Imperfections

If I had to sum it up, I’d say that the perfection of a good Groove lies within the imperfections. This may seem like a cheesy answer, but it’s true. It’s truly amazing what the subtle nuances of timing ‘in between the beats’ can add.

I mean let’s face it, we live in a world of click tracks and quantized performances, and in many ways, our ears have become accustomed to listening to this type of material, but no matter who you are, what genre you listen to, everyone knows a good Groove when they hear it.

The Grid

Working in a Grid based DAW timeline is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it affords the benefits of flawless editing, reliable timing, and in general - a fine-tuned workflow for music production. But on the other hand, it has the ability to strip away the soul of a good Groove if you’re not careful.

So in a world of Quantizing, click tracks, and Grid based music production - how do we inject a little Soul back into our tracks? Well, there’s a number of different way’s to approach this. One of the best options (just my personal opinion of course) is actually “playing” or “performing” vs programming. But this is much easier said than done. Another one that comes to mind is going through the process of “Humanizing” our MIDI tracks - either by adding random (automated) deviations in timing and Velocity, or manual editing. But in the end, getting a Groove to “feel” right can still be difficult.

MIDI Groove Templates

Thankfully there are other ways we can approach this as well, with respect to programming or sequencing. One of which is actually quite a simple concept. “Borrowing” the timing (and potentially the variations in Velocity) of a performance - and applying it to your own productions. MIDI affords us the ability to translate musical performances into musical Data, and it just so happens that the Data extracted from a performance can be stored AND applied to other files, such as Audio and MIDI.

So with all these MIDI Files available - it’s just a matter of importing, and extracting. There are those who say that an MPC has a certain type of Swing, that’s unique to the unit. The same can be said for various pieces of hardware. Quantizing your performances to a Groove extracted from MIDI (from these devices) may be just the ticket. And having the ability to store those Grooves for instant recall at a later date, is super convenient.

In this video, I demonstrate how to create & store Groove Templates from external MIDI Files in PreSonus Studio One.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus