DAW GUIDE

MIDISketch in Studio Pro

Fender Studio Pro is the new name for PreSonus Studio One. MIDISketch loads in it as a VST3 instrument: drop it on a track, host your synth inside, and draw per-note pitch curves. The same steps work in Studio One 5 and later.

Getting Started

Download & Install

Download the installer for your platform. Windows uses an .exe, macOS uses a .pkg that installs VST3, AU, and CLAP. Studio Pro runs on Windows and macOS.

Download MIDISketch →

Load in Studio Pro

1. Open the Browser on the right and pick the Instruments tab.
2. Sort by Vendor and open Eliotonic. MIDISketch is listed there (on a Mac you will see it twice, the VST3 and the AU; use the VST3).
3. Drag MIDISketch into the empty space of the arrange view. Studio Pro makes an instrument track for it and opens the plugin window.

Hosting Synths

The simplest setup: load your synth inside MIDISketch, so the notes, bends and expression you draw reach it directly, with no routing in Studio Pro.

1. Click the Synth button in MIDISketch's toolbar to open the plugin browser.
2. Load any VST3 synth, Serum, Vital, Phase Plant, Pigments, Surge XT, or anything installed.
3. Inside the hosted synth, enable MPE mode and set pitch bend range to 48 semitones.
   VitalSerum 2

   Vital

   On the Advanced tab, turn on MPE (bottom left) and set the bend range (bottom right) to 48.

   

   Serum 2

   Serum 2 ships with MPE on and a bend range of 48. To check, open its menu: MPE Enabled should be ticked and the MPE bend range at 48. To keep MPE on in every new Serum 2, tick MPE enabled by default under Global settings › MPE.

   

   Another synth? Setup for every synth MIDISketch knows →

   Most synths default to a pitch bend range of 2. Bends will sound barely audible until you change this to 48. Alternatively, match MIDISketch's pitch bend range to your synth: settings gear → MIDI Settings... → MPE & PITCH → PITCH BEND (MPE Bend Range in MPE mode, Bend Range in Pitch Wheel mode), or click the MPE: 48st pill in the header, which opens that tab directly.
4. Not sure of the synth's MPE settings? With it loaded, the strip under the synth shows a green ? with that synth's MPE steps (general tips if there is no guide for it) and Check MPE, which tests a hidden copy of the synth: is MPE on, does its bend range match MIDISketch's, does it react to pressure and slide. If a synth is missing from the browser, Scan for all VSTs... in its menu finds every installed plugin; the scan doesn't run on its own.
5. Place notes in MIDISketch's piano roll. Double-click to add pitch points, drag to create bends and glides.
6. Press play in Studio Pro. Everything plays through the hosted synth in real time, in time with the song.

Good to know

• Drawing works with the transport stopped: piano-key preview plays while Studio Pro is not running
• Arm the track to play MIDISketch from your keyboard or record into it
• Trigger mode lets clips on Studio Pro's timeline start each part of your sketch
• Export MIDI or audio from MIDISketch and drag it into the song
• Works on Windows and macOS

Guides for other DAWs

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