Set Up Your Audio Device
Studio One automatically selects an audio device to use for audio input and output, pulling from a list of devices currently installed on your computer. If you have a PreSonus audio interface, it is selected automatically.
To select a different device, navigate to Studio One/Options/Audio Setup (Mac OS X: Preferences/Audio Setup).
Then follow these steps to configure your audio device for use in Studio One:
Select your chosen device from the Audio Device drop-down menu under the (Mac OS X:
- Select your chosen device from the Audio Device drop-down menu under the Studio One/Options/Audio Setup (Mac OS X:
Preferences/Audio Setup) menu.
- Some devices offer a selection of configuration options. If your connected device has those controls, you can click on the [Control Panel] button next to the device selection drop-down menu and make your changes within the device’s control panel. If your device does not offer these options, the Control Panel button is greyed out.
- Set Device Block Size (and on Windows, Internal Device Block Size as well) to fit your needs. Lower settings minimize latency, which is useful when tracking. Higher settings bring more latency, but give you additional processing power, for effects and instrument plug-ins.
◦ Mac OS X: Device Block Size is the audio device’s buffer size, which has a direct impact on your audio device’s performance. You can increase or decrease the Device Block Size by sliding the horizontal fader left or right. The appropriate setting depends upon your specific use of Studio One. For more on this refer to the Maximizing Computer Processing Power section of the manual.
◦ Windows:Internal Block Size can be locked to the Device Block Size by checking the Lock box (checked by default). The Internal Block Size is the software buffer size, which has a direct impact on your computer system and on Studio One’s performance. For more on this refer the Maximizing Computer Processing Power section of the manual.
▪ If unlocked, the Internal Block Size can be selected from a drop-down menu. If you are unsure of the best setting, leave Internal Block Size locked to Device Block Size.
▪ For DSP-powered effects and virtual instruments, such as the Universal Audio UAD system, locking the Internal Block Size of your Audio Device is critical to ensure proper operation.
- By default, Studio One’s process precision is set at Single (32-bit). If using Studio One Professional, you may choose double precision (64-bit) from the Process Precision drop-down menu.
- If your computer has multiple processors or processing cores, Enable Multi-Processing is checked by default. Unless you experience performance issues, it is recommended you leave this at the default setting for best performance.
- When the aforementioned settings are selected, your system’s current total input and output latency, sample rate, and bit depth is reported below the Audio Setup menus.
Supported Devices
Studio One supports most audio devices, including ASIO, Core Audio (Mac OS X), and WASAPI (Windows) devices.
When using a WASAPI audio device in Windows, note that WASAPI offers Exclusive and Shared modes of operation. In Exclusive mode, lower latency can be achieved, but other applications (such as Windows Media Player) cannot use the audio device at the same time.
Refer to the Windows Control Panel/Hardware and Sound/Sound to configure the options for your WASAPI device.
Performance Monitor
When setting up your audio device (specifically when determining appropriate Internal or Device Block Size, or selecting Single or Double Process Precision), you should take into account the related performance demands on your computer.
Open the Performance Monitor by selecting it from the View menu, or by clicking on the [Performance] button in the Transport. This monitor displays the current relative overall CPU and disk performance, as well as the performance of instruments and automation.
When these meters approach or reach the top of their range, you may need to consider altering your audio device settings (or changing the Song or Project) to avoid audible clicks and pops or possible instability. For instance, it is common to lower the Device and/or Internal Block Size while recording to keep monitoring latency low but then to increase Block Size while mixing to provide as much CPU headroom as possible for effects processing.
If any playback issues are encountered with third-party virtual instrument or effect plug-ins that have their own multiprocessor support implementation (e.g., NI Kontakt, FL Studio), it is recommended that this support be disabled in the plug-ins. In this case, Studio One manages all processor scheduling.