Advanced Options

Studio One Pro offers the following ways to customize your workflow. Click on each tab in the Studio One/Options/Advanced (macOS: Preferences/Advanced) menu to access these options.

Many of the following options that pertain to editing in Arrange view can be accessed and toggled on or off by clicking the Options button in the Arrange view toolbar.

Editing

Click on the Editing tab to access the following options:

  • Enable Crosshair Cursor for Tools: This option is engaged by default. It enables a large, white, vertical-and-horizontal crosshair in the Arrange view that aids in displaying the exact position of the various mouse tools.
  • Locate When Clicked in Empty Space: This option is disengaged by default. When engaged, it allows the timeline cursor to be located based on clicking in empty space or clicking where there are no Events.
  • Expand Layers After Recording Takes: This is engaged by default. When this and the Record Takes To Layers options are both engaged, the layers of each recording take are shown as soon as recording stops. If you prefer for this not to happen, disengage this feature.
  • Track/Channel names follow active Layer: This option is disengaged by default. When engaged, the name of the active Layer is displayed instead of the track name in the Track Header and corresponding Channel.
  • Apply Folder Track Color to Content: This option is disengaged by default. When engaged, it causes all content contained in a Folder Track to be color-coded with the same color you choose for the Folder Track.
  • Colorize Track Controls: This option is disengaged by default, and in that state, the color you choose for each Track is shown in a small area in its controls in Arrange view. When Colorize Track Controls is engaged, it causes the whole control area of each Track to be color-coded with assigned color, for better visibility.
  • Auto-colorize Tracks and Layers: This option is engaged by default. This option applies to importing files, when tracks are created without using the “Add Tracks” dialog.
  • Show Channel Numbers in Tracks: This option is disengaged by default. Some Tracks do not have corresponding Channels in the Console (and vice versa). Because of this, Tracks and Channels are assigned numbers separately to avoid gaps in Track or Channel numbering. This means that in some cases, a Track and its corresponding Channel may be numbered differently. If this bothers you, enable the Show Channel Numbers in Tracks option to mark each Track with its corresponding Channel number, avoiding this mismatch.
  • No Overlap When Editing Events: This option is disengaged by default. When engaged, moving or pasting an Event over another Event deletes whatever is buried beneath, so there is no overlapping data (only the audio crossfades are preserved). If the range being copied includes data outside an Event, the range selection is treated as if it were part of the Event. So when the range selection is pasted, it overwrites the identical range at the destination.
    Note that the "No overlap" setting only works for note data if "Cut long notes at part end" is enabled at Studio One/Options/Advanced/MIDI (macOS: Preferences/Advanced/MIDI).
  • Show Event Names: This shows the name labels inside each Event in the Arrangement view. This is purely an aesthetic difference and does not change any functions.
  • Show Envelopes on Instrument Parts: This overlays a graphic representation of controller activity (volume, sustain, etc.). This does not change any functions. Disengage this to display only the notes.
  • Show Chords on Events: This adds an overlay to Audio Events in the Arrangement showing detected chords. This requires the track height to be set to Small or higher.
  • Show Grid on Events: This option is disengaged by default. It enables the Timeline grid in the Arrange and Edit view to be seen on Events. Seeing the grid may help with various editing tasks.

Automation

Click on the Automation tab to access the following options:

  • Automation Follows Events: This is engaged by default. This means that automation envelopes lock to Events so that moving an Event with automation “under” it also moves the automation.
  • Disable Events Under Automation Envelopes: This is also engaged by default. This makes Events unavailable to the mouse tools while viewing an automation envelope, which helps prevent you from unintentionally editing underlying Events while editing automation.
  • Automatically Create Automation Tracks for Channels: This is disabled by default. Engaging this option automatically adds an automation Track for every new FX Channel, Bus, or VCA Channel that you create in the Console. This helps to retain parity between the structure of Tracks in Arrange view, versus Channels in the Console.
  • Automatically Add Envelopes for all Touched Parameters: This is enabled by default. Engaging this option adds an automation envelope for any automation-friendly parameter when you touch its control.
  • Reduction Level: This option allows you to control the density of new automation data as it is written. This helps reduce the CPU load during playback. Since Note Data Reduction also applies to MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) data, some MIDI recording may sound different with reduced data. To avoid this issue, make sure the Reduction Level is set to 0%. Note that this setting has no effect on existing automation envelopes.
  • The Default Envelopes for new Audio Tracks selectors let you specify which types of automation envelopes are created for each new track by default. You can enable or disable Volume, Pan, and Mute.

Audio

Click on the Audio tab to access the following options:

  • Enable "Play Overlaps" for New Audio Tracks: This is disengaged by default. When engaged, the "Play Overlaps" feature will be enabled automatically for every audio track you create. For more information, see the Track Inspector section of the Editing chapter.
  • Enable "Layers Follow Events for New Tracks": This is engaged by default. New Tracks will default to having the audio on underlying Layers follow the related Event above when moved along the timeline. When disabled, moving an Event with one or more Layers beneath it detaches that Event from the layers below, making it a permanent part of the primary Layer. This feature can also be enabled/disabled on a per-Track basis via the Inspector.
  • Use Cache for Timestretched Audio Files: This is engaged by default. It is described in depth in the Using Timestretch Cache section of the Editing chapter.
  • Record Tempo Information to Audio Files: This is engaged by default. When engaged, this option enables tempo tagging for any audio file recorded in Studio One Pro. The Song tempo at the time position of the recording is saved with the file, so that automatic timestretching can be accomplished. If another application has issues reading audio files from Studio One Pro, try disabling this option.
  • Use Dithering for Playback and Audio File Export: This is engaged by default, and means that PreSonus’ triangular dithering is applied when the audio signal’s bit depth is reduced from a higher bit depth by a device or during file export. Turn this off if you would like to use a third-party dithering solution, such as a limiter Insert effect on the Main Output that has built-in dithering with characteristics you prefer.
  • Use Realtime Processing to Update Mastering Files: This option ensures that real-time processing is used when the mastering file for a given Song is automatically updated. This is necessary when Songs utilize certain devices, such as External Instruments, that require a real-time mixdown in order to be included in the mix.
  • Pre-record Audio Input: This option creates a buffer of a length you can specify, which records continuously, even when the transport is stopped. This saves the audio you create before recording begins. Once recording concludes, the number of seconds of audio you've specified are available before the point at which recording started.
    • The recorded data is collected in the Input Channels as long as physical inputs are connected. After recording with Pre-Record enabled, you can reveal the pre-recorded data by pulling the Event-start handle to the left.
    • If recording restarts on the same Track, the Pre-Record data is limited to the last recording’s end, so that data is not repeated and a seamless join between the two recordings is possible.
  • Record Offset: This allows you to input a value, in samples, by which any recorded audio should be offset in the arrangement, thereby compensating for device/driver latency.
  • Ignore Audio Device Timestamps (Windows only): Studio One Pro uses the system clock by default because some ASIO drivers have incorrect timestamps. This setting can be disengaged, but if you experience erratic behavior such as a jumping playback cursor, re-enable this setting.

MIDI

Click on the MIDI tab to access the following options:

  • Timecode Follows Loop: This option is engaged by default and allows MIDI Timecode to remain in sync when Loop is active in a Song, Project or Show. With this disengaged, MIDI Timecode continues to run linearly (counting up) while Studio One Pro's transport is looping.
  • Reveal Precount Notes: This option is disengaged by default. Engage this option to retain any MIDI notes played during the count-in when Precount is enabled. This can be helpful when playing in parts that start just before the downbeat.
  • Chase Long Notes: This is engaged by default. When engaged, if playback starts after a note start, the note is played as though its start time were at the position at which playback started. For instance, if a synth pad note starts at bar 1 and lasts through bar 8, and playback is started at bar 4, the note plays from bar 4 as it would normally from bar 1. With this option disengaged, in the above example, the note would not play at all.
  • Cut Long Notes at Part End: This option is not engaged by default. When engaged, this means that notes are cut at the end of a Part where it would otherwise extend beyond the Part end. This effectively places the note-off at the Part End.
  • Enable Retrospective Recording: This is engaged by default. When engaged, all incoming MIDI data is captured for each Track, even when not recording. This buffer can be recalled and placed at the desired location in the Song.
  • Record Offset: This option allows you to input a value, in milliseconds, by which any recorded musical performance should be offset in the arrangement, thereby compensating for device/driver latency.

Console

Click on the Console tab to access the following options:

  • Enable Undo: Enable this option to allow undo for changes in the Console, such as fader moves and channel mutes.
  • Colorize Channel Strips: Enable this option to apply channel color coding to full channel strips in the Console. Normally the color only shows on the channel labels. This sort of enhanced visual reference can be helpful when trying to navigate large Songs.
  • Colorize Plug-in Header: Enable this option to apply channel color coding to the open editor window of a plug-in. This is handy when the same plug-in is being used for several Console Channels (the PreSonus Compressor, for example).
  • Auto-expand Selected Channel: When enabled, this option makes it easier to view expanded Channels in the Console one at a time. Double-click the first Channel to expand it, and when the next Channel is selected, two things happen: The currently selected channel auto-expands, and the previously selected channel collapses. If you hold [Alt]/[Option] and click the second Channel, the previous Channel does not collapse.
  • Automatically create buses for multi-out instruments: If this option is enabled, an Instrument Bus is created automatically when instruments like Impact are inserted to a song. This option is enabled by default.
  • Fader Mode: This sets the mouse behavior for channel faders in the Console. Choose Touch to require clicking on the fader handle itself before dragging it to the desired position. Choose Jump to allow clicking anywhere on the travel of the fader to set its position.
  • Plug-In Menu: This changes the style of the local Plug-In menus everywhere in the Console, the Inspector and the Channel Editor. Choose Basic for a simplified list of Plug-Ins sorted by folder (including custom user folders). Choose Advanced for an expanded browser-style view with search and sort options (similar to the Plug-Ins tab of the Browser). Changing this option changes the appearance of all local Plug-In menus throughout the Console.
  • Audio Input follows Selection:Enable this option to automatically engage Record and Monitor mode for any Audio Track you select.
  • Instrument Input follows Selection: Enable this option to automatically engage Record and Monitor mode for any Instrument Track you select.
  • Solo Follows Selection: With this option enabled, once a track is soloed, selecting a different track causes the newly selected track to be soloed. When this option is disabled, tracks stay soloed until solo is disengaged.
  • Channel Editor follows Selection: This option is engaged by default and causes currently viewable channel devices, such as virtual effects or instruments, to automatically switch when a Channel is selected. This ensures you are only viewing the devices related to the selected Channel.
  • If you would like Audio or Instrument Track monitoring to be enabled automatically when recording is enabled on a Track, engage the Audio Track Monitoring Follows Record and Instrument Track Monitoring Follows Record options.
  • Audio Track Monitoring Mutes Playback (Tape Style): This option mutes playback of any pre-existing audio on Audio Tracks that have monitoring enabled.
  • Cue Mix Mute Follows Channel: Enable this option to mute all other tracks within a Cue Mix when a channel in that mix is soloed. Disable this option to cause other channels in the Cue Mix to continue playing when a channel within that mix is soloed.
    • Note: When this option is disabled, Cue Mix sends are not available in busses and FX channels. In this state, Cue Mix sends on channels are routed directly to the Cue Mix output

Synchronization

Click on the Synchronization tab to access the following options:

  • Sync to External Devices: Click this box to make Studio One Pro follow incoming MIDI Time Code (MTC). Note that some MIDI devices only transmit MIDI clock data, not MTC. Studio One Pro requires a greater degree of accuracy than a simple MIDI clock can provide. For conversion from SMPTE, an outboard synchronizer is required. For additional accuracy, using an external word clock (master) is recommended.
  • MIDI Time Code: Select the device that will receive MIDI Time Code (MTC). The gray field to the right of the device name indicates the current status of MTC transmission.
  • MIDI Machine Control: Select the device that will receive MIDI Machine Control (MMC).

Ableton Link

Ableton Link synchronizes musical beat, tempo, and phase across multiple applications running on one or more devices. When running Studio One Pro and one or more other Ableton Link peers in the local network, all peers can play in sync and optionally start/stop at the same time. When starting playback from a Link peer’s device (not Studio One Pro), tempo in Studio One Pro is synchronized to other peers, and the tempo track is disabled.

Activate Ableton Link Click this box to activate Ableton Link.

Synchronize Start/Stop Click this box to synchronize start or stop transport with other peers who also have the feature enabled. Start/stop state changes only follow user actions.

Once synchronized, there will be a blue circle spinning around the On/Off button within the Transport Controls:

Services

Studio One Pro gives you the ability to selectively enable and disable particular services, or modules, that enable specific features. This may be helpful when troubleshooting. For instance, if an ARA plug-in seems to be causing a problem, you can disable the ARA service to see if that resolves the issue. This kind of troubleshooting enables the technical-support team to quickly locate and resolve specific issues with your computer system and to identify any previously unknown problems in the program.

All services are enabled by default. To disable any service, click on the Services tab in the Studio One/Options/Advanced menu (macOS: Preferences/Advanced) and click on the confirmation button, paying special attention to the disclaimer message. Then click on any service in the list and click on the Disable button to disable that service. You must restart Studio One Pro for these changes to take effect.

If a service has been disabled, follow the instructions above, and click on the Enable button for the service in order to re-enable it. Again, Studio One Pro needs to be restarted for any of these changes to take effect.

Video

Click on the Video tab to access the following options:

  • Set song frame rate to video frame rate when importing video file is an especially helpful option when you want to compose a soundtrack while viewing the video.

  • Automatically create audio track for sound from video gives you the option to edit the video audio like any other audio event in the arranger window. Otherwise, the video’s audio file is restricted within the Audio Sub-Track.