Thanks 
Yup - both too big.
I have worked with Studio One and Cubase this month and I have to say I have a very good feeling about Studio One.
I can do the known things in Cubase, I do it for years now. However in Studio One I can do the same thing without reading manauals. Studio One does have a fine “look and feel”.
I don’t jump into the deep yet, but it’s a great alernative. Studio One can get the job done easier compared to Cubase (I mean with less mouseclicks and menus). Great piece of software.
I too have both soft wares and I use SO once in a while for compatibility with the system a few of my friends use but… for some reason, to my ears, the sound quality seems better when done in Cubase. Technically I don’t see why this would be but… to me it does. And yes, this is after recording through the same hardware, same location, but different sessions. What’s up with that? Maybe an “audio illusion”. 
I don’t think so.
Studio One was my 2nd DAW, and to be honest, I feel that Cubase sounds just that little bit of a tinge sweeter & clearer to me.
Ya gotta love the company that developed VST technology - and it’s not hard to believe that their audio engine would be top notch.
In fact, I was commenting the other day to my Mrs. on just how good Q7.5 sounds.
So probably no “audio illusions” that I’d say.
I’m finding my workflow to be very fast in Cubase - and I’ve only had it since June/July, but didn’t really get into it until Dec. and especially from last month onward.
[I didn’t even have time to open any DAW between Oct. - late Dec.]
Many are happy with Studio One, and swear by it.
For me though, 3rd time’s the charm.
Q7.5 is my 3rd DAW & I’m lovin’ it!
Not all that much mouse clicking, now that I’ve got my Key Commands set up with the aid of my CMC-TP.
But you’re [OP] not insane to go for Studio One.
Many eventually try it & love it. Most seem to stay with it once the do.
I won’t go into this DAW sounds better than that DAW because (if it was true) it’s highly subjective.
You do know Studio One (first KristalLabs) is founded by the early developers of Cubase and primary author of Nuendo? Those guys also have written version 3 of the VST plugin specification.
Actually most of the Studio One team came from Steinberg.
That’s maybe why for me S1 feels like a true next gen version of Cubase. Is S1 entirely on the same level yet? I don’t think so! But S1 is clean, consistent and logical in design, functionality and workflow. Cubase’s development is going a lot faster and new(ish) features are implemented at every version. But at the cost of fine tuning or fixing existing features. I understand a part of the market asks for this kind of “rushed” development. But I guess I’m old fashioned and would rather have less fancy new features and more well thought existing features.
Well I won’t go into it either, but perhaps you missed this in my post:
.…Studio One was my 2nd DAW, and to be honest, I feel that Cubase sounds just that little bit of a tinge sweeter & clearer to me…
The ‘I feel’ part is about as subjective as I could be. Purely my feelings & my feelings alone having owned & worked with both DAWs.
Yes, I’ve been well aware of that for years now. This was discussed here recently, although with slightly different info.
But that doesn’t nullify my statement in any way.
Regardless of who went where, why & when, and what they did afterwards & for whom, they were with Steinberg at the time, [as you say - early developers], which is what my statement was referring to - the company, not necessarily the individuals involved.
Thanks for the added clarity though. I think some would be surprised to know that Studio One has been written & developed by some of the same guys.
That DAW works best for you - and after trying both, [plus Sonar], I found that this one works best for me.
To each his own.
But isn’t it great to have all these options now-a days?
Cheers!
I hear you!
It wasn’t my intention to attack or nullify your statement. Just sharing my experience with both DAW’s and giving some background information for users that read along.
Absolutely!
Have nice weekend
Thanks!
You too Niles.
Since VST3 works off of a MIDI abstraction layer such as the S1 manual is talking about, Cubase is doing the same thing (or something similar anyways). Note Expression rules! 
And no, I do not think you are insane for switching. You have to go with what fits best for your situation. Anything else would be… well… not as good, for you.
are there some crossgrade incentives from S1?
You mean from another DAW to S1?
If yes, there are (for professional). Just check the Presonus shop.
They have very nice discounts ones in a while, so if you have a little patience you can pick up S1 Professional for a very fair price.
I took this to mean crossgrading from S1 to C7.5.
yes, my bad, this is how I meant it; and thank you for the info. once I’ve finished some pending projects I shall give this studio one a good look.
I have Cubase 7.5 (and 7, 6,.5, 5, etc.), Wavelab (6, 7 & 8) and Studio One v2.6.
I do recording, mixing, mastering, composition, soundtrack, etc.
My impressions (or ‘Pros and Cons’)
Studio One v2.6 Professional positives:
In some respects, Studio One has a cleaner and more obvious workflow.
Studio One sounds a little bit better when set to 64 bit processing.
Studio One has a cleaner and lower alias SRC.
It is easier to drop in audio files to match the tempo of the song in S1 (actually Cubase 7.5 has made it easier than ever to time-stretch audio loops).
Tons of content included.
Easy but limited ‘Project’ mastering system for quick productions.
Nice & handy integrated Melodyne editing.
Cons:
You can’t easily keep more than one plug-in window open - a real hassle.
The controller implementation is terrible, regardless of PreSonus’ claims (I can’t get my Fontier Alpha Track to work, much less the CMC-PD).
Midi is more primitive than Cubase.
Lacking in deeper workflow elements and tools.
No lanes, versions, etc.
No scalable mixer - and the available mixer is to small.
These things are always a tradeoff. Do you want ease of use or extended tools and workflow options?
Of all the things I commented on, the main one is the sound quality. I did extensive tests, and have proved to my own satisfaction that the basic processing (mixing tracks and Sample Rate Conversion) sounds better in Studio One; the artifacts are 15 - 20 dB lower (using sine wave sweeps); many of the plug-ins are also very ‘clean’ as well. But we are talking -160 to -180 dB. Not a huge deal, especially when more and more people are using plugins that generate noise and harmonics (Slate VCC & VTM; UA API channel & EQ’s, UA Tapes, Waves NLS, etc.). And the new Cubase Mixer is awesome!
The only other plus for Studio One is the Melodyne Integration. It is a sweet thing to have a Melodyne window at the bottom of the project window - make it easier to keep track of location and move around.
Wavelab has been a mainstay for me since version2, but after v6, the redesign is much more icon driven and not friendly to me. I manage to get around, but I have to unlearn a lot, and I am constantly looking for the simplest of functions & tools.
With all this in mind, I tend to record and mix in Cubase (with occasional forays into S1 for soundtrack work), Master w/ automation in Studio One and assemble, touch up & burn final product in Wavelab.
- You can’t easily keep more than one plug-in window open - a real hassle.
- Midi is more primitive than Cubase.
- Lacking in deeper workflow elements and tools.
- No lanes, versions, etc.
- No scalable mixer - and the available mixer is to small.
These would be my main reasons for shelving Studio One.
Particularly #5 & #2 - MIDI is much more primitive. Just a little too primitive for me.
Just click the pin of the open VST you want to keep open and open another from the mixer (not from the open VST tabs).
There are lanes, they are called layers in S1. You can use those for comping or recording several takes to layers. No track versions like Cubase 7.5 indeed.
Why not create your own external devices through XML if it isn’t there out of the box? Or browse through the Studio One exchange to see if other users created an extension.
Blaming Presonus for not supporting the Alphatrack is a bit easy IMO. When was the latest update from Frontier Design?
The mixer is able to scale (I use it full screen), not zoom though.
I think we all agree Studio One is a bit thin on the MIDI side. But there are also some really cool things there.
Like for instance you can control any automation parameter of a VST instrument from the MIDI event’s controller lane.
And you can attach any automation track to any MIDI track.
Another neat feature is, you can transform any MIDI track to audio (even with multiple outputs to separate tracks) and back again.
Interesting notes. I didn’t delve into it all that much, so it’s good know these things.
As far as the ‘MIDI track to audio & back again’, doesn’t Cubase also do this now? Or did I read something different perhaps.