PreSonus released Studio One Prime, a free digital audio workstation based on the flagship Studio One music production software.
What is Studio One Prime
Studio One Prime is the freeware, feature-limited version of PreSonus Studio One.
I often recommend Studio One Prime as the best free music production tool for beginners. Its biggest drawback is the lack of support for VST or AU plugins.
What sets Studio One Prime apart is that it operates like a complete product, not a demo. You won’t encounter nag screens, time-outs, or track number limitations.
Although it has fewer features compared to the commercial versions of Studio One, these limitations won’t disrupt your workflow or pressure you to upgrade.
Instead, Studio One Prime provides a solid platform for recording and mixing music, podcasts, and other audio projects.
So, what are the limitations of Studio One Prime?
First, there’s no support for third-party VST/AU plugins, so you’re limited to the nine built-in effects and the Presence sampler for software instruments and effects. However, you can record any number of hardware instruments and effects through the audio input.
Additionally, Studio One Prime lacks features like groove extraction, transient detection, macros, and several other advanced tools introduced in Studio One 3.
On the positive side, you get unlimited tracks and automation lanes, a valuable collection of effects (including a channel strip, distortion unit, chorus, reverb, delay, etc.), multi-track comping, 1.5 GB of high-quality sample content, an excellent sample player, high-resolution audio processing, and all the other core features of Studio One.
If that’s not enough and you need VST plugin support, check out the paid versions of Studio One or consider some popular freeware options like Cakewalk or LUNA.
While Studio One Prime isn’t a full-featured DAW like Cakewalk or LUNA, it offers a fantastic all-in-one toolbox, making it an excellent choice for beginners or even experienced musicians looking for a free solution to record and mix their music.
However, because it doesn’t support third-party plugins, it may not suit those who rely heavily on virtual instruments and effects.
How to download Studio One Prime
Installing Studio One Prime can be tricky if you’re new to PreSonus software, mainly because the free Prime version isn’t available as a standalone download.
Instead, you’ll need to download the Demo version of Studio One first, then activate the Prime mode after installation.
Follow these steps to install Studio One Prime on your computer:
- Visit the PreSonus page using the link provided below.
- Register for a PreSonus account or sign in if you already have one.
- Download and install Studio One on your computer.
- Launch the software and choose the option to run the free Prime version.
And that’s it! If you’re interested, you can also try out the full version of Studio One with a 30-day free trial.
Studio One 4 Prime is free to download at PreSonus (135 MB download size, EXE installer, 64-bit software for Windows & macOS).
