Well, while I've tried Studio One 1 I have as yet to upgrade mine to the new version 2. But I really didn't find too many limiting factors in the earlier release. How are you limited? What are you missing? It certainly has a lot to do with what you deem important. I mean it's not exactly ProTools nor Cuebase, it's its own entity. Besides, I've never found a single software package that does all I want it to. That's why I have invested in thousands of dollars worth of software. No different than investing thousands of dollars in microphones, analog recorders, analog consoles, analog processing, digital processing devices. They're all the same but they're all different at the same time. Some have features others don't. Some do things others can't. You are a musical cook, a chef and you're not using hamburger helper but your experience in creating unique cuisine. And that doesn't come in a box like homebrew pizza & macaroni does. Even still, you have to prepare that accordingly to be palatable. The same is true in audio engineering. Then again some people learn by rote while other people learn by personal investigation, interpretation & experience. Not to mention some basic necessary knowledge before you begin. I'm also rather lucky in that I am a complete MIDIot so I generally only work with actual live musicians who don't screw around with computer blah blah. So I have to fully understand the art of recording rather than being proficient in playing computer games.

After I had the opportunity of flying a couple of actual multimillion dollar military flight simulators, I find computer games rather moronic, without any real purpose or function. Since I had been a student pilot as a teenager, I already understood what was actually expected of me flying Boeings new F-22 strike fighter & old-fashioned Fairchild/Grumman Warthog A-10's. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me near the F-16 simulator since it required the use of a specialized $250,000 helmet allowing the pilot to fly the plane under brain command only. Maybe they didn't allow me to fly that one since I was already missing some brain matter? But hey, at least NBC allowed me to utilize the high definition studio cameras that had specialized $250,000 lenses, & specifically chained to the cameras to prevent theft. While those were cool looking, you still had to adjust them with your hands. This Jet Fighter simulation opportunity only arose for me having done 7 straight years of Air Force Association Conventions in DC. Either way, those simulators were one of the most of the coolest experiences I've ever had in my life. Especially since this was not a isolated simulation but a simulation on the military's high-speed Internet, flying the same simulation with other officer pilot's flying the same simulation I was in, around the world, simultaneous with me. It was quite hairy when I nearly collided with an F-16 I. had been told about in my airspace. I thought this was just a game and while it was, it wasn't. Had I collided, the entire simulation would have been shut down worldwide and officers throughout the military would have been put through quite an investigative inquiry as to why it happened! OMG! It would have been particularly bad since only authorized officer pilot's were supposed to be utilizing this simulation and I was just a civilian media camera operator for the event/convention. Although I was rather amazed to have found 6 officers standing behind me observing what I was doing in the F-22. Upon completion, they asked me if I had flown F-16 or F 115's? I told them I had never flown a jet and had only flown when I was between 13-14 years of age on Piper Cherokee 140/180's and an Arrow going in and out of general aviation airstrips. They were particularly impressed when one of the 6 Silicon Graphics Onyx 2 computers glitched and failed during my simulation flight. That didn't stop me. I asked the Boeing guy if he could drop me out of the pre-programmed simulation and allow me to fly the F-22 fully manually. Which he did. Apparently he was also quite surprised I had requested that. That's what also impressed the officers that were watching me. But I'm a workaround kind of thinker. So in the end, I may have actually missed my calling?

Microsoft flight simulator is kind of equivalent to Cheetos versus fresh steamed Maine Lobster.
Capt. Remy Ann David (retired from jet flight)

You gave a great point. I've actually never looked at it like that. I am most familiar with Fl Studio 10 XXL and audacity (I'm on a tight budget). What i have been looking for is a combination of the two. But i can never find a DAW that Hosts my vst's and step sequences quite like FL does. Studio one was great for recording but i feel that the built in sounds and effects are very under powered. It also would glitch and force close because it couldn't handle my vst's.

I am in the same boat as you, looking for a software that combines those aspects. I LOVE tracking in fruity loops, especially using my VSTs for drums and stuff. If I need to edit audio, I do it in adobe audition. Unfortunately, my favorite guitar program, guitar rig 3, has some strange errors with FL and will no longer work :(. That program to me was better than all the newer versions...

I must admit that my workflow and what and how I do it for location recording is quite a bit different than what most people here are trying to do at home. But I still believe that some folks work entirely within ProTools and/or have multiple programs running that are designed to integrate with one another. So that's where one is going to have to especially have a master clock by which to synchronize/clock everything together as opposed to individual programs running individually. So more expense should be expected. So how did people in recent years complete both MIDI production & analog mixing all together at once? I don't even know that answer.

I think I just shouldn't reply to things I don't do. When folks have come to me with their MIDI stuff, I'll usually just play out their MIDI stuff to available record tracks and work from there. My reason for doing that is that I don't go out and buy new computers every time a more powerful one is introduced. I don't buy new cars every 2 years either. But I still get to where I want to go even if my car is 10 years old, not included with On-Star nor GPS directional devices. It's all in the preproduction that counts most.

Official MIDIdiot
Mx. Remy Ann David

I have not tried it yet, but the big thing (to me) about Studio One 2 is that it's the first DAW to incorporate Melodyne ARA. For Melodyne users this could be a huge workflow advantage.

I have a feeling PreSonus it gaining ground and 2012 might really kick in for them. Their staff and the way they think is cutting edge.

And the build quality I've seen from them tells me, their stuff is built to last.

I've got my eye on their new 24 input unit for myself. Unfortunately, I don't have the budget for that one yet until I get rid of some of this awful sounding, all discrete transistor, Neve stuff.

What was that I said??? I don't think my mouse is connected to my brain plopperly?
RAD