I don't see any problem in making electronic music in S1. S1 is like Logic Pro. A lot of people use Logic for electronic music. I would like to see in S1 midi effects and some nice synth... But... Don't you know how to play chords and arpeggios?

Especially for electro the macros are necessary, considering the amount of effects you need to achieve to get a track sounding full, and wide. Also the sounds you hear in most electro are done with modulated FM synthesis, where each module changes accordingly. To make most of these sounds the Macro section is huge! You don't want to have to make 10 automation lines for one simple sound.

I don't know about logic, I don't exactly know if it has the macros that ableton has.

You'll find almost all the quality electro/dubstep producers use Ableton, or even fl studio, just because of this feature.

Also I realize the world doesn't revolve around EDM, however, this feature, in my eyes, would be the turning point for hundreds of producers to switch to Studio One.

I use Ableton to actually produce, and then I use Studio One to mix.

The ability to work fast in Studio One is AMAZING, it sucks in Ableton. However, Ableton is way more precise when it comes to creating intricate sounds which really make electronic music great.

I'm making suggestions that I wish people would've told me a while back.

Back in the old days (80's) when we wanted to produce a lot of sound at once we invested in the hardware synthesisers to do the job. The same still applies these days. You need to invest into some serious software instruments. I see the bundled instruments a good basic starter kit to get going. Dont limit yourself to them. But to really create some incredible sounds you need incredible virtual instruments. It certainly helps.

They all work perfectly in Studio One for me so therefore Studio One can do anything in terms of electronic music. I have 70 plus virtual instruments now and that makes for great palette options. Some of them are very complex like Alchemy. Prism etc.. They all have a very different sonic signature, similar to hardware synths.

I like the approach of them giving you a solid framework and they allow you to build the setups you want and need. By adding precise choices for effects and software instruments.

What you say is not untrue. EDM is not S1's strong suit ... but for someone like me who only uses MIDI some of the time, what's on offer works great. Some of us are hoping for enhancements in the MIDI area.

There is also the not insignificant reality that S1's MIDI timing is fantastic. And a feeling of robustness about the MIDI capabilities that are presently onboard.

While a program like Cubase will offer a lot of exotic MIDI functions, it will also feel bloated and it will not be as easy to fly around the program.

Studio One works fine for me.
I typically (for now) use 4-8 tracks for Alchemy and 8-12 for Presence.
A track for EZDrummer and 3 or 4 audio tracks for effect drenched guitar.
The "Automation" within the tracks is the key feature for me.

It also depends on what your used to doing in music creation and what your workflow is... and if you can adapt and change with what's available.

I kind of agree with the OP, but that doesn't make me like S1 any less. It's kind of horses for courses. S1 is brilliant for recording and mixing music, but for using a DAW as an instrument itself, Ableton and Bitwig (and other software like FL I'm not familiar with) just offer more.

But there's nothing wrong with that. I love S1 for what it is.

Also, to be fair, there was electronic music LOOOONG before Ableton or Fruity Loops or whatever.

I agree with Beauvais, S1 is truly outstanding when it comes mixing/mastering. For production, using midi, it the only feature I see missing, is the instrument/midi/audio effects racks(the macros). If S1 had this, no doubt hundreds of electronic music producers would switch on the fly.

As a user of FL Studio, Ableton live, and S1. I can say the inclusion of the racks in Ableton, blows the others out of the park. However, S1's overall workflow simply cannot be beaten. Also, Ableton doesn't include VST3 which totally sucks, rendering all my waves plugins useless.(hence why I produce in Ableton then mix in s1).

If S1 included the macro sections, I would honestly never again use Ableton. (unless I'm doing something live with it's session page, but i don't think having a session page on S1 is necessary...)

Although I have a large virtual instrument setup I also have a powerful hardware setup connected to Studio One. Via a midi interface that connects to the serial port. I have 8 powerful hardware instruments. 2 Kurzweil sampling workstations and a third EMU sampler from the peak of that 80-90's period. All with massive libraries. I also run a Kawai K5000 (additive synth)and a Roland JD800 (Digital synth) and a Roland JV 30 (General Midi synth) As well as two computers that can just boot up and both be stunning virtual insturments. I have got great interfaces on those, they sound great and offer low latency too.

Although each port can handle 16 midi channels most of the time I keep it to one.

I find all the external hardware midi recording and playback very fast, easy and reliable. And the timing is excellent all the time, even if the audio side of the program is working hard. For me all the external midi timing remains intact. I find I can edit lots of the data in many ways as well as arrangement editing. I find it all works perfectly in this mode.

This is an area that is hard to compare in some ways. Other DAW's handle midi timing differently. I play drums so I am over sensitive to it. It all feels good to me in Studio One. The main reason I chose it too. You can do lots while recording on the fly, looping over a section and jumping around midi tracks. It handles all this seamlessly and without any glitching.

I agree midi effects would be good but JoseDrums may not know that Studio One handles what is called VST Midi effects. I did not know this myself until recently. I have Sonar and have installed Franks Midi Plugins into that but that is a different format I think. There are VST midi effects processors and some are free as well. I tried downloading and installing some and they do work. The midi data stream can be processed before it hits the virtual instrument. (there may be a reference to this in the old forum. It may need to be investigated. See below)

I have got FL Studio as well and like it a lot. I enjoy working with the step sequencer. I think it rules when it comes to step sequencers. I like the whole pattern concept too. Like a pattern could be a single kick sound playing a phrase or 20 synths all doing a large dense layer. It is interesting to compose with. They have some nice synths too. I have got most of those working inside Studio One though so I can still use them and play them from there.

I can only imagine Ableton being very different again. When I saw Tangerine Dream live this last week (twice in fact) I noticed they were using Ableton controlled by Novation Push a lot for the drum and percussion stuff that is. (as well as 2 x Roland TR8)

I have just done a quick search of the old froum for 'midi effects' Here is what turned up. As you read these posts you will get the idea in setting up VST midi effects.

http://forumsarchive.presonus.com/jforu ... di+effects

Thanks for the reply Jemusic, and one again, S1's workflow can't be beat. Also a lot of people produce on different Daws yet use Ableton for live settings because of it's session view page. So you can't really be sure that Ableton is their go to DAW. To sum it up, having the macro section(Instrument rack, Audio effects rack, Midi Effects rack) on S1 would blow every DAW out of the park. I do enjoy producing in Ableton though, it may take a bit longer than S1, the good thing is that it forces you to really be delicate with every parameter, and every automation.

I can easily say that I would reach for S1 first and more often if it had the easy to set up midi effects and mapping capabilities of Live. Device chains in S1 are awesome but having a set of dedicated controls like on Live's racks would be huge workflow boost for me.

I typically sketch in Maschine/Ableton and finalize in S1 but that's just because I feel the programs sort of lend themselves to that approach, so it works for me. I make Lo-fi and techno mainly.

i don't know everything but I would be surprised if the next major update doesn't include a feature like that since that is a "new school" paradigm I would imagine the developers would want to catch up with. There are only so many "ok, we'll do it too" features they'll want to add but that one makes a lot of sense from a marketing perspective.

I am having a ton of trouble understanding S1 and I'd like to make electropop, dance, indie kind of stuff. Should I move on to trying something else then?

crystalcloud wroteI am having a ton of trouble understanding S1 and I'd like to make electropop, dance, indie kind of stuff. Should I move on to trying something else then?

Did you check Bitwig Studio, version 1.1 has added some additional very cool features.

I really don't know very much. It has been quite a struggle. I'll check it out when I have time. It looks like there is a nice demo available.

crystalcloud wroteI really don't know very much. It has been quite a struggle. I'll check it out when I have time. It looks like there is a nice demo available.

I make everything from rock/metal to electropop and i couldn't be happier. It's for me the easiest most intuitive DAW i've tried. I've used Reaper, Cubase, Logic and demoed Bitwig and Live. What is it you're not getting?

Have you tried seeking out all the tutorial videos? theres tons. I personally enjoy the groove 3 tutorials. I pay the 10 bucks a month for unlimited streaming of all their videos. good stuff.