Seeking DAW/Studio One definitions

[TurboDave37]

Hello. I'm experienced in recording but brand new to DAWs and Studio One 7. Some terms confuse me and I'm looking for a list of definitions and/or examples. For example, what is the difference between a rack and a track. Like, is the rack the top section of a tracks channel strip? Things like this confuse me because I just don't know what they mean. I just got the huge book of Studio one tips and tricks so maybe this will help. But if there is a list of definitions anyone can point me to it would be much appreciated. Rock on, and be excellent to each other!

 

[Gerran]

This might be a bit of a lame answer but I don't intend it to be so. I highly recommend the online reference manual. It is written with a hands on practicality in mind. If you come across a term, just search it in the manual, it gives fantastic info...

https://s1manual.presonus.com/en/StudioOneReferenceManual.htm

 

[SwitchBack]

For this type of start-up questions it would be great if that screen image on the opening page of the reference manual were interactive: Hover your mouse over a portion of the image and it highlights that portion (or does a slight zoom) and displays the name as used in the manual (plus maybe the default shortcut). It is the most logical place to put such information, for starters and also for searching the Manual for further details on that particular element/area.

 

[Craig Anderton]

There's also AI search, it's great. You can just type "In Studio One, what's the difference between a track and a rack?" and you'll have an answer in seconds. Most of the time it will be right.

I work with multiple DAWs because they need to be represented in my books, so I need to use the right terms for how they describe functions. I use ChatGPT and Gemini a lot to answer questions like "what does Cubase call the window where you work with clips, not the mixer? And what's it called in Digital Performer and Bitwig?"

Once you understand how to phrase a question to get the right answer, AI search almost eliminates the need for manuals.

 

[daw stew]

Hope this helps.
A track in studio one is displayed in the arrangement view (that's where you see the visual waveform display). A track can be audio or midi.
The mixer in Studio One is called the Console. The tracks that you see in the arrangement view are known as Channels in the Console. They can be a direct 1 to 1 relationship with an audio track but not always a 1 to 1 relationship with instrument tracks.
Studio One refers to a collection of tracks routed to one output as a bus. In Pro Tools I think they call a bus track an Aux track. Essentially a destination for the output of multiple tracks.
A send and return channel is known as an FX channel.
A VCA is no different than a VCA in Cubase or Pro Tools

 

[TurboDave37]

This might be a bit of a lame answer but I don't intend it to be so. I highly recommend the online reference manual. It is written with a hands on practicality in mind. If you come across a term, just search it in the manual, it gives fantastic info...

https://s1manual.presonus.com/en/StudioOneReferenceManual.htm

No not a lame answer. I appreciate it. And I do that if I actually have Studio One open, but I wasn't aware that I could get the manual online. That's very helpful! I have also had some results from asking Meta AI in WhatsApp lol

 

[Gerran]

No not a lame answer. I appreciate it. And I do that if I actually have Studio One open, ...

With Studio One open, [F1] will open the manual at the section corresponding to where you are in focus, a very neat function as well!
The Info View is also extremely helpful in getting around. You open it with the [?] icon in the top toolbar. Below the toolbar will appear the Info View with information on nearly every GUI aspect you hover your mouse over. It also gives information about what modifier keys give access to what action, in my opinion an absolute genius help tool..

 

[TurboDave37]

With Studio One open, [F1] will open the manual at the section corresponding to where you are in focus, a very neat function as well!
The Info View is also extremely helpful in getting around. You open it with the [?] icon in the top toolbar. Below the toolbar will appear the Info View with information on nearly every GUI aspect you hover your mouse over. It also gives information about what modifier keys give access to what action, in my opinion an absolute genius help tool..

Oh that's great to know. I can't wait to try it (at work at the moment), So just F1? No option key or anything? I've seen you tubers mention the questionmark [?] but I never see it at the top. Do I have to be in a particular (mix, edit etc). I know F3 is supposed to pull something up but it pulls something else on mine. Can't remember at the moment (it's 2am lol).
Thanks for the help. I'll try these in the morning

 

[daw stew]

Oh that's great to know. I can't wait to try it (at work at the moment), So just F1? No option key or anything? I've seen you tubers mention the questionmark [?] but I never see it at the top. Do I have to be in a particular (mix, edit etc). I know F3 is supposed to pull something up but it pulls something else on mine. Can't remember at the moment (it's 2am lol).
Thanks for the help. I'll try these in the morning

F3 is the console shortcut. The console has different views depending on how you work. You can detach it, you can narrow it or you can minimise it to just the faders.

 

[Gerran]

So just F1? No option key or anything?

Yep, just [F1]. Mind you, modern keyboards tend to need you to press [fn] to access the function keys, otherwise they're used for screen illumination, volume, play, ... and those sort of things.

I've seen you tubers mention the questionmark [?] but I never see it at the top.

It's right there at the right of the top toolbar if you didn't alter it. Otherwise a right click will let you customize it (and check "Info view" to make it appear.

 

[Stuart Welwood]

Hello. I'm experienced in recording but brand new to DAWs and Studio One 7. Some terms confuse me and I'm looking for a list of definitions and/or examples. For example, what is the difference between a rack and a track. Like, is the rack the top section of a tracks channel strip? Things like this confuse me because I just don't know what they mean. I just got the huge book of Studio one tips and tricks so maybe this will help. But if there is a list of definitions anyone can point me to it would be much appreciated. Rock on, and be excellent to each other!

I was where you are now about a year ago. Likewise, I felt that I was lacking definitions for the things I was reading about. One thing in particular I was confused about was the use of the terms Arrange View and Arranger. The Arrange View is the area where the tracks and their contents are displayed. The Arranger is a global track (a single track that applies to all others) that provides for labeling and manipulation of sections of the song. It is accessed by clicking on the icon that is lit up on this image:

Learning the different types of tracks (found in the Arrange View) and the different types of channels (found in the Console) got me a long way toward my goal of being an effective user.

The four track types are:

The four channel types are:

The former is accessed by the plus icon in the first image. The latter is from the context menu that is accessed by right clicking (Windows) in an open area of the Console.

If you look these up in the manual (F1), that should help clear up some things you're probably wondering about. Have fun; you're at the beginning of a wonderful musical journey!

 

[Stuart Welwood]

Since the F1 help window is always on top of S1's main window, I also found the online manual to be useful.

 

[ttinuk]

There's also AI search, it's great. You can just type "In Studio One, what's the difference between a track and a rack?" and you'll have an answer in seconds. Most of the time it will be right.

I work with multiple DAWs because they need to be represented in my books, so I need to use the right terms for how they describe functions. I use ChatGPT and Gemini a lot to answer questions like "what does Cubase call the window where you work with clips, not the mixer? And what's it called in Digital Performer and Bitwig?"

Once you understand how to phrase a question to get the right answer, AI search almost eliminates the need for manuals.

I also find ChatGPT etc really useful for quick answers to 'bite-size' queries. One thing I've discovered is that unless you specify your particular version of the software, you can often get misleading answers that relate to earlier versions of the program that may use slightly different options for menus/keystrokes. So it's worth being specific - ie " In PreSonus Studio One version 7 how do I ..."