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

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

Impact XT is an extremely powerful and easy to use Virtual Instrument that ships with PreSonus Studio One. Although this “style” of PAD based instrument is most often associatewd with Hip-Hop & Pop based productions, I personally find that it’s useful for multiple Genres.

It’s worth mentioning that in addition to being used for traditional Drum and Percussion based productions, Impact XT can also trigger Loops in all sorts of different ways, and can also be used for Live Performances as well.

However the focus of today’s article is to build upon last weeks video, which was specifically to do with the different Layer Modes that can be utilized in Impact XT when mapping multiple samples to a single Pad.

In this 2nd Part of a 2 Part video series, I pick up from where we left off with our Layer Modes, and demonstrate how (and when) to use the "Stack" Layer Mode in Impact XT - in addition to the "Edit Sample Offset" function in PreSonus Studio One 4.

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

Cheers, Marcus

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

Impact XT is an extremely powerful and easy to use Virtual Instrument that ships with PreSonus Studio One. Although this “style” of PAD based instrument is most often associatewd with Hip-Hop & Pop based productions, I personally find that it’s useful for multiple Genres.

It’s worth mentioning that in addition to being used for traditional Drum and Percussion based productions, Impact XT can also trigger Loops in all sorts of different ways, and can also be used for Live Performances as well.

However the focus of today’s article is specifically to do with the different Layer Modes that can be utilized in Impact XT when mapping multiple samples to a single Pad.

In this 1st video of a 2 Part series, I demonstrate 3 of the 4 Layer Modes in Impact XT - more specifically what each of them do, and when to use them.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Combining Instrument Parts With Pattern Parts In PreSonus Studio One

Working With Pattern Parts

If you've ever used Pattern Parts in Studio One, you'll know that they are an extremely useful tool for quickly building basic drum Grooves - but there's one area where they fall a little short, and that is when needing to add a different Rhythmic pattern for a given element / lane.

So for example, although we have the simple option to add repeats and offset the probability percentage - this is still limited to the resolution and amount of steps within a given lane. And obviously the global amount of steps in the Pattern Part. This is where traditional MIDI editing is still king when needing to vary the programmed sequence.

In this video I demonstrate how (and why) to combine Instrument Parts (Midi Regions) with Pattern Parts, in PreSonus Studio One.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Workflow Tip - Manual Drum Editing Using Fill Gaps In PreSonus Studio One

For anyone who has ever done any manual editing inside a DAW - they’ll understand how useful “back-filling” gaps (where audio has been split) can be.

This is especially true when working with sources like multi-track drums, and / or percussion tracks where manual editing or a slicing workflow is preferred over time compression / expansion style quantizing.

In this video I demonstrate how the Fill Gaps command can be used when Manual Editing in PreSonus Studio One. An extremely useful command when editing sources like multi-track drums.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Working With The Splitter In PreSonus Studio One

Last week I had the great pleasure of attending Summer NAMM in Nashville. Having been there a few times before, I ran into some new friends that I’ve made, and naturally a lot of the conversations steered to Studio One rather quickly.

One thing that came up was working with the Splitter - a fascinating feature that was introduced in Version 3. Although I have done some content on the Splitter in the past, I though it was time for an updated video!

In this video, I thought I'd go over the basics of how to use the Splitter in PreSonus Studio One. An incredibly powerful tool that offer's a SIMPLE alternate approach to creating complex FX Chains in Studio One.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Using The Macro Controls In PreSonus Studio One

Have you ever clicked the Channel Editor icon in Studio One, and wondered what it’s all about? If you have, you’ll note that it opens up a floating window with a Console Fader on the left, in addition to 8 Knobs and Buttons. (X/Y Axis below).

I will be the first to admit that I slept on this feature for a while, but it really only wasn’t until somewhat recently (within the last year or 2) that I started using this feature.

In this video I demonstrate the basics on how to go about mapping out and using the Macro Controls (The Knobs and Buttons) in the Channel Editor in PreSonus Studio One.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Workflow Tip - Building A Mix Template In PreSonus Studio One

In last week’s video, we took a look at my basic workflow I like to use when setting up a Mix in Studio One. If you haven’t had the opportunity to check it out yet, you can do so by clicking here.

One of things I mentioned, was using the Import Song Data feature, to bring in different elements from other Studio One Songs, into your existing Song. So I thought it would be good to expand upon that concept a bit for those in need. More specifically - How to go about it.

In this video, I demonstrate the basic concept of creating a Mixing template which can be used to import FX Returns, Bus Channel's and Sub Groups when working in PreSonus Studio One Version 4.0 and above.

In addition, we will also cover a few extra bit’s of information with respect to session organization, Gain Staging, and Automation Preferences.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Workflow Tip - Setting Up a Mix In PreSonus Studio One

Although I love all aspects of Music Production, I must say that Mixing is by far one of my favourite tasks. Especially when I’m given great material from talented artist’s, producer’s, or composers.

That being said, my experience over the past 10-15 years has been that it’s a really good habit to get into properly setting up you Mixing session ahead of time, in order to streamline the mixing process. I found that I’m far more productive when everything is set up and ready to go - vs trying to record, edit, produce, and mix simultaneously.

Now full disclosure - I often will do all the above at the same time if it’s something that I’m working on myself - but when I receive files from someone else for the purpose of mixing - I have a very meticulous workflow that I like to employ.

In this video, I demonstrate my basic workflow for setting up a Mix in PreSonus Studio One - Including Importing Files, Tempo Map, Markers, Time Signature, as well as Colour Coding, Grouping, and Gain Staging.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Drum Slicing Tip - How To Simulate Beat Detectives Trigger Pad Setting In Studio One

One of the biggest questions I get from former / current Pro Tools users with respect to Drum Slicing in Studio One, would be "Is there an equivalent to the 'Trigger Pad' setting when using the Slicing mode for quantizing Multi-track Drums?"

The short answer is no, BUT - I have come up with a simple workaround that I have begun using and just thought I would share it for those who may be interested. :)

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

Cheers, Marcus

How To Render Multiple Event FX In PreSonus Studio One

I love using Event FX in Studio One. Whether it’s a simple EQ change that needs to be applied across just one phrase - or working with tools such as Melodyne, Revoice Pro, and VocAlign - Event FX give user’s a way to quickly apply processing to specific Audio Events as needed.

That being said, I think there’s still something to be said about committing to a decision and rendering specific processing once you are happy. This of course leads me back to why I love Event FX so much, because a user is able to “restore” just as easy as Render.

But have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had multiple Audio Events - say, a vocal track for example, and you wanted to select ALL the Audio Events on the track, and Render ALL of the Event FX at the same time?

In this video I demonstrate a few different methods that can be used to Render Event FX across multiple Audio Events in PreSonus Studio One.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Processing and Converting Samples Using The PreSonus Audio Batch Converter

Working in a DAW such as Studio One gives users an enormous amount of flexibility and control over audio. But having said that, there are cases where someone may need to achieve a specific workflow that would be better off being done in a separate application. A great example of this would be when needing to convert or process a large amount of audio files.

In the case of working with multiple audio files, It’s often preferable to work with the actual files on a 1:1 basis vs having them laid out on a single track.

That being said, Studio does have various different options for converting, and processing multiple files, but its not quite the same as a stand alone application that’s specifically designed to batch process files.

If we take a few basic examples like increasing, or decreasing the gain of multiple files, or potentially normalizing to a specific loudness value, as well as processing them through a custom FX Chain - this becomes evident. In addition, there’s also the fie type to take into account. What happens if you need to export a specific format?

Studio One’s export Mixdown options do offer quite a few choices, but they don’t necessarily work well for processing the actual audio events (the files). They are designed to render an actual “Mixdown” of multiple files based on a specific duration of time.

We have some basic control over what types of files are rendered by adjusting the sample rate and bit depth of our song when using drag & drop workflows with Audio Events to the Studio One browser - but again, still not quite the same thing.

This is where an audio batch Converter comes in really handy. And it’s design factor is perfectly fit for purpose for the above tasks. :)

In this video I demonstrate how to use the PreSonus Audio Batch Converter to Process and Convert Samples in PreSonus Studio One 4.5 and above.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Studio One 4.5 - Activate Previous and Next Layer Key Commands

No need for a drawn out written explanation on this one - Here’s a simple one that some of you may find useful. :)

I love it when new Key Commands are added, especially when it's something I use. In this video, I demonstrate the Activate Previous / Next Layer Key Commands that were added in Studio One 4.5 - more specifically what they do, and when one might consider using them.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Exploring The Music Creation Macro Toolbar In Studio One 4.5 - Chord Up and Chord Down

At the time that I am writing this article, we have just seen a major update to Studio One (being Version 4.5) As I am primarily an “Audio Guy” - I tend to take a bit of time to fully explore new MIDI related features in Studio One. But one thing is for certain, is that I always find that with each update (especially the bigger one’s) I always find a handful of features that seem to resonate with the way I like to work.

One thing to point out is that we now have 2 new Macro Toolbar’s that specially have to do with working with MIDI. They are Music Editing, and Music Creation.

Needless to say, I've been exploring the both of them, and in the above video, I demonstrate the Chord Up & Chord Down Macro Button's. More specifically, what they do, and when you might consider using them.

Also worth noting that I plan to do some content on specific features in both of these Toolbar’s that I find useful, with respect to how they can be incorporated into one’s workflow. But in the meantime, Here are a few other Video’s from my good friend Lukas that showcase some of the New MIDI Macro’s in action.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Hidden Gems In Studio One 4.5

New Feature’s and improvement's on existing feature's are always appreciated in an update - but sometimes it’s the little miscellaneous improvements that "squeeze through the cracks" that can really make a huge difference in one’s workflow.

In this video, I take a look at a few of the “not so obvious” features that were added in PreSonus Studio One Version 4.5.

Global Automation View vs Track Based Automation View In PreSonus Studio One

If you’ve migrated over from a different DAW such as Pro Tools or Logic Pro - there’s a good chanced you may be accustomed to working with Automation in a certain way. The great news is that Studio One is really flexible in terms of how it allows users to view (and edit) their automation.

In addition to creating weekly content here on this site, and working my day job as a Producer, Mixer, Engineer - I also do some training clinics for Studio One from time to time.

In the audience is usually a mix of people who have used either Pro Tools or Logic Pro - and each “group” of people will always ask me to explain how Studio One handles Automation views in general. So I thought this might make a good video.

In this video I demonstrate the basic differences and approaches for using a Global Automation View vs a Track based Automation view when working in PreSonus Studio One.

Working With Musicloop's In PreSonus Studio One

The Musicloop File Format In Studio One

When I first began to dip my toe’s in the ‘Studio One’ water’s - One of the first things I noticed when scrolling through the included content in the Browser was Musicloop’s. My first initial thought was - “oh, ok - these are MIDI loops” But they are actually so much deeper than that. Because the minute you drag and drop a Musicloop File to your timeline, you’ll note that a Virtual Instrument get’s loaded, the Preset used to create the Musicloop is loaded, and in addition, any plug-ins used to help create the “sound” of the loop get loaded as well.

In addition, you may also note that when selecting a Musicloop from within the Broswer, Studio One also has the ability to play an Audio Preview of the Musicloop without having to load the Instrument and FX Chain. This of course can also be auditioned at the BPM of your current Song in the case where the Tempo is different.

More Than Meets The Eye

The reason for this is because Musicloops are actually an encapsulated file format that contains multiple pieces of information under the hood so to speak. For example, if a user wanted to use the Musicloop in it’s entirety - they could simply drag it in, and everything need to re-constitute that “sound” would load. Or perhap’s, they just want the Note Data (MIDI) from that file, so that they could trigger another Virtual Instrument in their current song. Or maybe you just want to drag in a consolidated audio file of the Musicloop into your current song - again, entirely doable. Lastly, let’s say that you really like the FX Chain / plug-in’s used in a Musicloop - yep, that’s accessible too.

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Right Clicking a Musicloop in the browser and clicking “Show Package Contents”

A Slight Refresh - Musicloops and Pattern Parts

It’s also worth mentioning that something not shown in the video, is that as of the launch of Studio One Version 4 - Musicloop’s got an update. For example, not only is it possible to create Musicloops from instrument Parts, (AKA MIDI Regions/Events) but we can also do the same with Patterns! So take a moment to think about how powerful this aspect can be… As you know, Patterns, can hold Multiple variations, all contained within a single Pattern. So essentially a simple Drag & Drop has the ability to load a preset, and FX Chain, a Pattern with Variations, and in addition - in the cases where you’re working with Virtual Instruments that support Multi-Out configurations (ie: Impact XT), we can also have Custom Named channels.

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Take a look at how Musicloops can work with Patterns! It includes, it’s an incredibly powerful tool - all this information is contained in ONE FILE.

In the video I demonstrate the basic's of working with Musicloop's in PreSonus Studio One. More specifically - what they are, what's included in the Musicloop file format, and how they can be used in productions.

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

Cheers, Marcus

Working With Instrument+FX Presets In PreSonus Studio One

Working With Presets

Working with presets is a great way to speed up the creative process and enhance your workflow when working in the studio. The obvious reason being that “some” of the heavy lifting is already done, and essentially there’s no need to start from Ground Zero. A simple analogy that comes to mind would be doing some prep work before cooking. Having everything “ready to go” makes the whole process go a lot smoother.

My guess is that many of you are already doing this, and have your favourite plug-ins set up with a handful of useful presets that can act as a great “starting point” to build upon. But this doesn’t just apply to plug-ins.. Having some basic Instrument’s that are set up and ready to go is also extremely useful. But in this case, we not only have to consider the preset within the V.I. - but also any additional FX processing that we’d like to add in our DAW.

Working With Virtual Instrument Presets

One question that I get asked a lot by colleagues and some of my viewers is “what’s the difference between Storing/Exporting a Preset vs Storing/Exporting an Instrument+FX Preset?”

Well - Here’s the simple answer. Most Virtual Instruments offer built in effects such as EQ, Reverb, and Delay. So these would obviously be recalled when storing a preset. But in certain cases, it may be preferable to utilize additional plug-ins and FX chains. An example of this would be using either 3rd Party plug-ins, or Native Studio One plug-ins for the above tasks.

Furthermore, if we take a look at Multi-Out V.I.’s then there are other aspects to take into consideration as well, such as the multi-Out routing, Channel names, etc.

In this regard, using Instrument+FX Preset’s can REALLY come in handy.

In this video I demonstrate how (and why) to work with Instrument+FX Presets in PreSonus Studio One. More specifically, how they differ from using traditional Presets.

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

Cheers, Marcus