Fender Studio Pro 8 - Discussion Thread

[Ari]

Dear community,

here it is: the new major update for Studio One. - Wait a minute, what's that? What is “Fender Studio Pro 8”?
That's right, Fender Studio Pro 8 is the successor to PreSonus Studio One 7!
Same code base, same team, different name.

So what's new here? In short:
- Channel and Arrangement Overviews
- Redesigned user interface, plug-ins and instruments
- Updated Sample One and Impact samplers
- AI-powered audio-to-note conversion
- New Studio Verb plug-in
- Drum Metronome
- Chord Assistant
- Video support on Show Page
- Seamless integration with Fender Studio
- New Fender-branded guitar and bass amp plug-ins

For a complete list of all features and improvements, please refer to the release notes for this version.
Users are as diverse as their wishes and needs. That is why this version also has some personal highlights for me. One of them is definitely the new Studio Verb. It gives the DAW a very convincing room simulation, suitable both for natural spaces and for more fantastic, creative environments. Check it out!

What are your favorites?
Happy exploring the new version & happy discussion!

Ari

Fender Studio Pro 8 - Website

 

[Vocalpoint]

Ari

Congrats once again on the new release. All the best in 2026!

VP

 

[Sombreuil]

I kind of like the new UI overall (minus those faders in the mixer. Why...). That being said, am I the only one who thinks that it looks more and more like Cubase?

 

[sintil8]

Ari,
All the best...you having a busy morning.
I like the look of the new bottom line channel Tab, very accessible having the inserts visible.

Kindest of regards

 

[Vocalpoint]

Can anyone out there (Ari?) confirm that if one "purchases" the upgrade (vs getting it via a "plan") one receives two years worth of updates vs just one?

Seeing some interesting observations from a few users on other forums saying their new expiry date in their accounts is now Jan 13, 2028

VP

 

[madFloyd]

????

 

[Craig Anderton]

Congratulations to Ari and the team! I'm looking forward to checking it out (but not to re-drawing all the screenshots for the book ).

 

[BCnSTL]

Just one guy here but I'm kind of put-off by this rebranding but I knew it was inevitable. Not a "Fender" person at all.

 

[Azu]

The guitar and amp plugins seem like they are not developed for desktop but for touch devices.
Amp/effects selection, removal and replacement is weird.

 

[Sombreuil]

Reviews are already out: https://fr.audiofanzine.com/sequenc...torial/tests/test-de-fender-studio-pro-8.html

 

[Housemus]

Note extraction is cool (skips the melodyne part). The Sample one and Impact updates are usefull. Chord track editing updates are nice and the chord assistant is promising. The overview at the top is nice. The channel strip view is a bit competing with the floating channel strip view we had since version 6. It's oke to go Ableton style. Maybe we get modulators someday in the channel view . Feature request: hide the console parts at the bottom when the channel view is in focus. It is just ugly atm. Use the space for something else. Just push F3 for the console view.

It is good to see the back and forward options of both samplers. I have seen the 'send to Sample one', but I miss the 'send to Impact' in Sample One. And make the "mini view" for Impact in the pattern editor also available for Sample one.

On a serious note. I am very dissapointed that we didn't get a rompler!!! But instead we got 2 new Amp Sims from Fender. I don't mind the new GUI at all. It is the most obvious way to rebrand a product. I was expecting it. Less blue and more red. And also more candy colors for default tracks. At the end of the day it is not realy a big update because of the GUI change. It more like a 7.3 update with a lot of GUI changes. But the foundation is still solid. My fear was that they would dumb down the software, and that has not happened. I hope when the GUI polishing is done the focus comes more on refining the software. Otherwise, I have to go to clickfest Cubase/Nuendo. That would be back to barn. ...

 

[Crossinger]

Poor @Craig Anderton Has to update all the screenshots for his books.

 

[madFloyd]

Just installed and loaded up my current project.

Everything looks good to me, zero complaints visually.

I'm happy to see STUDIO PRO as the name of the app. Somehow 'Fender' just feels wrong, almost offensive. It's weird because I'm a guitar guy and definitely a Fender guy (strats, teles, jazz bass, precision...) guy first and foremost. I guess the takeover just represents a threat and I have to get past it.

I LOVE that a single click opens a plugin and double click for the micro view!

 

[wdkbeats]

Hate the new mixer... And the GUI changes overall.

A few instances of Slate Digital VTM causes audio distortion followed by crash of the app. The same session works fine in S1 7.2.3. Hard pass for me, for now at least.

 

[Crescendo]

Nice gimmicks. But they are mostly gimmicks.

I want a better way to organize instruments for instrument tracks. Switching between tracks with instruments open takes too long and the row of tiny tabs make it cumbersome to work with.

Also, we still can't have MIDI effects??

I am also longing for improvements for Sound Variations - to include negative track delay per articulation please!

I think last year Fender has already delivered much less than what they promised. I would not complain about this at all if they hadn't set the expectations.

I know... MIDI functionality and other workflow improvements don't make for a flashy announcement video. But it is those little things that make a DAW infinitely better. Not a new plug-in.

Granted, the track overview is nice to have for larger projects...

 

[Crossinger]

Would be interesting to learn under which exact conditions some users are getting extended 2y coverage or a license as free gift. Right now it seems to be totally random.

 

[marrybanilow]

Hate the new mixer... And the GUI changes overall.

A few instances of Slate Digital VTM causes audio distortion followed by crash of the app. The same session works fine in S1 7.2.3. Hard pass for me, for now at least.

Same experience here. All sessions tested bugging out completely in 8, but are perfectly fine in 7.2.3

 

[audioworksHU]

Mojito bug: AMP Envelope adjustment is not possible. The ADSR pots works fine, but moving the AMP envelope points horizontally in the GUI always resets the value to 0.

 

[darren]

Does anybody have a link to the release notes mentioned by Ari above? I’ve had a look at the videos from Gregor and Lukas and also the product page and I couldn’t be less interested in this. But maybe there are some useful changes which haven’t made it to the headlines so I’d be curious to see the list.

 

[Vocalpoint]

Would be interesting to learn under which exact conditions some users are getting extended 2y coverage or a license as free gift. Right now it seems to be totally random.

Could be a grace period thing for some. Like their "plan" ended on Dec 14, 2025.

Extended coverage is another thing altogether. Just saw a post on Reddit where a guy screencapped his MyFender area around Studio Pro and niw it shows 3 years of coverage (Jan 13, 2029).

Sounds to me like there are ghosts in the machine over there and not actual "extra" years of updates.

VP