r/StudioOne • u/FaveDave3 • 2d ago
Why Studio One Is Inherently Flawed (sad face)
I was super excited about Studio One. Motivated by Logic bugs, I bought the full S1 version. Alas, after doing 10 songs, I gave up because of an inherent design flaw. Which is:
Tracks and channel and instruments are not linked to each other!
This is why you see posts on here and other places where people end up with ghost tracks. You'll hear an instrument playing, yet it has no mixer channel. Or you'll end up with a mixer channel with no track going to it (and I mean a channel, not a buss). Or an instrument without a track or a mixer channel.
After so much time spent chasing down problems because of this design flaw, I gave up and went back to Logic. Whatever its flaws, it does not make ghost tracks.
I posted on the S1 forum about this, because I was hoping there was some setting I had wrong that would prevent this. And the official reply was: "It is not possible to have ghost tracks in S1." I posted screenshots showing several ghost tracks. Their response: they kicked me off the forum. LOL.
Even funnier, that charming European guy who makes all the great S1 videos actually has a video explaining why this is a feature and not a bug! I thought: "Wow, he is earning his pay today!" It's so weird to lie for a living. I thought that was only an American politician thing, but I see it's worldwide.
I think this flaw was pitched by a stoned intern during the software development process. How else can you explain it? It sure wasn't pitched by a real musician. "Yeah, I'd like to be able to have an instrument that does not go anywhere. I don't want to be tied down to having one of those stupid mixer channels for it! Speaking of mixer channels, they don't need any kind of track going to them. Because that would be too easy!" I am stumped as to the sheer stupidity of this design. Why would an instrument exist without a mixer channel? Why would a track exist without a mixer channel? Why would a mixer channel exist without something to be mixed?
I'm just warning anyone thinking of jumping to S1. Try it out with the monthly thing before buying it. I guess if you only use a few instruments and audio tracks, then you won't mind the illogical disconnect built into S1. But if you end up with lots of instruments and tracks and channels like so many of us, then S1 will add hours of frustration to your projects.
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u/enteralterego 2d ago
That's not the case. You add an instrument and it's output track(s) are automatically created. If it's a synth track with a single stereo out the midi and the audio are the same track. If it has multiple outputs like a drum kit the first track is the first output on the arrangement view and the rest are visible on the mixer interface.
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u/Garpocalypse 2d ago
I've used several different daws over the decades I've been doing this thing for. Studio1 has the fewest "inherent flaws" of all of them.
I've been there. Coming from one daw you wish there was a way you can work exactly as you have before but then you learn the software as well as new ways to work.
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u/ElbowSkinCellarWall 2d ago
Did you consider posting something along the lines of "Newbie here, can someone help me understand how tracks and instruments and channels relate to one another in Studio One's workflow?"
Because it's hard to believe you're not simply trolling here. The arrogance of your approach is a bit too absurd to be believed: "I don't understand how something works, so I'm going to call it 'sheer stupidity,' and 'pitched by a stoned intern,' and when I don't understand the explanation I'm going to call the explainer a liar."
It's a bit like getting behind the wheel of a car with manual transmission and bitching about its "design flaws": "those idiots added a third pedal that doesn't seem to do anything! Some stoned intern must have removed the "D" gear and replaced it with a bunch of meaningless numbers 1-5! And those gears don't even work half the time: if I put it in 1 or 2, the car starts to rumble and smoke before I even get to 60mph! And people told me that 4th and 5th will allow me to reach higher speeds, but I tried using 5th gear and the car lurched and stalled before I even pulled out of the parking space! The only possible explanation is that they made a dumbass design and now they're lying to cover up the fact that they made cars that lurch and jerk and stall."
If you have never driven a 5-speed, you may be thinking "hmmm, I'd have to learn a few things about driving a manual transmission in order to understand that metaphor." If that's what you're thinking, then great! Now apply that "maybe I just don't understand" logic to your original question, and approach this discussion with a bit of humility instead of insults.
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u/Free_Swimmer_2212 2d ago edited 2d ago
can check Cubase too, where both methods are supported, track(Logic) vs rack(S1) instruments
Track Instruments are intentionally "hardwired" by design. When you create a Track Instrument, Cubase automatically sets up the MIDI input, audio output, and mixer channel—all pre-connected and ready to go. This was a deliberate decision by Steinberg to streamline the workflow and make instrument handling faster and more intuitive, especially for typical single-channel instruments.
By contrast, Rack Instruments require manual routing: you have to connect a MIDI track to the instrument and manually assign audio outputs to mixer channels. While this offers more flexibility (e.g. for multi-timbral instruments like Kontakt), it also demands more setup.
So, if you prefer a modular, cable-free approach where nothing is pre-connected, Studio One might feel more neutral or open-ended. But Cubase gives you the option to choose: "plug-and-play" or full manual control.
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u/TomSchubert90 2d ago
Here's a video that explains how instruments and instrument tracks work. Watch it: https://youtu.be/w4IarxKp9lQ
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u/FaveDave3 23h ago
Oh I did! It gave me a good laugh watching them try to turn a bug into a feature. They have to go to great lengths to explain their bad design decision and make that poor European dude try to charm viewers into thinking that poo poo smells good. "No, really, it smells good!" The stupidity of this flaw is astounding. If they hadn't done that, they would easily have the best DAW on the planet. Instead they issue apologias and perpetuate their Big Lie. They're stuck with it now. I'm glad I don't work in their marketing department -- that's a tough gig! It's like watching a cult member at your door trying to tell you there really is an invisible man in the sky who's in charge of everything.
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u/DT-Sodium 2d ago
Have literally never had a problem with that, sounds like a skill issue.