Picking a one-time purchase or joining Studio One+
The choice between core versions of Studio One is fairly straightforward. Now let’s take a deep dive into Studio One+, which brings many more features to the table, and see whether it is the right choice for you.
Studio One+ (formerly known as Sphere) is a subscription-based model that gives you access to Studio One Pro and almost every other kind of software developed by PreSonus. This includes Notion, a powerful music notation program that tightly integrates with Studio One, as well as a huge list of sound effects, virtual instruments, Sound Sets, and loops that are not available when you purchase Studio One Pro “normally.”
Since the inception of Studio One+ and its predecessor, Sphere, PreSonus has really beefed up the package to make it more attractive. Thus, a subscription will get you extra goodies, such as access to exclusive online events and educational materials, cloud storage, cloud exchange and collaboration tools, live streams, and so on.
Studio One+ brings in a lot of extras to sweeten the deal, but how about the price? At the time of writing, the cost of an annual subscription to Studio One+ is half the cost of purchasing a regular license for Studio One Pro. In other words, it’s like purchasing a new license for Studio One Pro every other year. If you like the majority of the additional content and plugins and they match your style, this is definitely a good investment. But keep in mind that you can purchase Studio One Pro as a one-off and selectively purchase any extra content further down the line.
Verdict: Give yourself a couple of days to check out the extra content and listen to the demos on PreSonus’ website. If you think you would use at least 30% of the extra content in your productions, go with a Studio One+ subscription. If not, purchase selectively.
The best way to decide whether a Studio One+ subscription is the right choice for you is to take a close look at all the extras that come with it and see whether they will be useful for your production. We will examine the main ingredients of this package in the following section. Be sure to also visit PreSonus’ website to listen to the demos and hear them in action.