There is always something interesting about a new arrival in the DAW arena, especially when the manufacturer concerned is better know for hardware than software. This is all the more surprising when the software is targeted specifically to compete with the likes of the 'big boys' such as Steinberg's Cubase and Apple Logic Pro. This brings us to Studio One Pro from PreSonus, the big brother of their new DAW offering.

PreSonus is best know to many as a serious player in the audio interface market, but their roots are in analogue outboard, and they now have a wide range of analogue and digital products aimed at the recording and mixing end of the technology spectrum.

Given their expertise in audio interface design, it becomes a little more understandable why they might choose to undertake development of a DAW that matches their hardware and workflow philosophy more directly. However, for the not inconsiderable task of producing a DAW from scratch, PreSonus turned to KristalLabs in Hamburg who were already working on Capture, recording software for their top-flight digital mixer. PreSonus ultimately took over KristalLabs and with it, the development of Studio One. Perhaps more importantly it also brought with it the expertise of Wolfgang Kundrus and Matthias Juwan, both ex-Steinberg employees, and big hitters in the world of Cubase and Nuendo.

Studio One comes in two flavors the Pro version we're taking a look at here, and Studio One Artist (bundled with all PreSonus FireStudio audio interfaces), that lacks a few of the more advanced features of its big brother. The important question though is whether Studio One has enough bang for its buck to survive on it's own in the commercial jungle.

So what does Studio One offer? At its core, Studio One Pro is a variation on the standard DAW theme of offering an integrated environment capable of recording, editing and mixing audio, MIDI and virtual instrument sources. The design team have stated that when approaching the interface, they wanted to build a piece of software that was easy to use and put functions visibly within easy reach, rather than buried in numerous menus and sub windows.

This ethos of ease-of-use throughout the creative process appears to extend from song setup on the Start page to the Project window where you can analyze and master your final track (or tracks) and burn a CD or create a 'Digital Release'.

The Studio One box includes two installation DVDs, a Quick Reference and Quick Start Guide. I always like to see a printed manual, especially when confronted with new software, but no such luck here.

Of course, the danger is that a printed manual can go out of date quite quickly, but its presence would have been welcome nonetheless. Installation was simple and fast, with the core software installed as standard, and additional buttons to install the optional content. There is no dongle-based copy protection, although online activation is required. It is worth pointing out that the software runs on both Windows and Mac systems, and the bundled installation DVDs cater for both platforms.

Running Studio One for the first time allows the software to scan for existing plug-ins - it is faster on second and concurrent boots - and then presents the user with a Start page. This is the the jump-off point for starting a song or project, but also allows you to configure audio and MIDI devices. The only thing I had to do was add USB MIDI keyboard as an External Device, and everything was ready to go. One particularly useful feature is the News Feed (for updates and other relevant news), and the Demos and Tutorials section, where you will find a very useful introductory guide to the software.

The software itself is split into the Start, Song and Project pages, with each addressing a particular part of the track and album creation process.

Having pressed 'Create a New Song' on the Start page, we come to the Song View. This is where most of the creative magic happens. Like most modern DAWs you will find a main workspace (With a timeline along the top) to which tracks can be added. There is also a button to add and view Marker and Tempo tracks. To the left of the track display is an optional Inspector area that displays extra information for each selected track or event - volume, output, tempo, time-stretch, transpose, delay and event layer information among others. At the top of the main window is the usual set of command drop-down menus (although many of the functions contained here are accessible in some way from the buttons in the main window). Below this you'll find an editing toolicon box, snap and quantize options, and buttons for navigating to the Start or Project pages. At the bottom of the screen sits the transport and locator bar, to the right of which are the three important buttons. 'Edit' brings up the MIDI/Audio editing window in the lower half of the main display for more detailed event work. 'Mix' displays the main mixer window, that can also be detached from the main display and shown as a separate window. Finally, 'Browse' allows you to access Instruments, Effects, Sounds, Files and the Pool (audio currently in use), from a resizable window to the right of the main interface. There's nothing radical here, but all the elements are easily accessible and clearly laid out. As a Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools and Live user, I felt at home. In fact Studio One feels like an amalgam of Logic and Cubase in many ways.

One feature that does make Studio One really stand out is its Project View, where it is possible to bring together a selection of songs for mastering and distribution. This process is aided by a some great visual analysis tools. The icing on the cake though is the way that the software keeps track of your mixdowns and ensures they are up-to-date before mastering. This does turn Studio One into a great. self-contained system.

Of course Studio One comes with a decent selection of its own plug-ins and can host others. It also has good automation writing, reading and editing features, and a very strong system of integration with external controllers- it also provides features for integrating external processing hardware into the signal flow. Sidechain processing is well-supported, the interface is responsive and the mix engine can be configured to work at 64-bit. On the down-side, although the overall interface design is smart, I feel color could have been used more extensively. Also, despite offering most of the everyday features that one would want, it lacks the advanced functionality of some of it's competitors, particularly in the area of editing and audio manipulation. This then begs the question that the price might be an issue for some. I can't help but feel that at a lower price point (below $300) it could become a 'killer app for the masses' and see quite wide adoption. However, from a business perspective this is clearly not something to be taken lightly. I really enjoyed working with Studio One, and found it extremely intuitive and enjoyable to use. PreSonus have done themselves proud with this new software, but it remains to be seen if they can carve out their own niche.

Price: $399.95