Brando
Bob - thank you. That actually sounds awesome. Didn't realize you could use the chord track just for showing a chord progression, which in itself would be useful. As I mentioned above, I bought the upgrade to take advantage of the JRR sale price. Reluctant to install mostly because as I understand it, you lose access to S3 - so it's not like Cakewalk where you can simultaneously install two (or more) versions.... I really like working in S3 right now, but it might just be time to jump in and make it go..

Brando
Dub - I agree - unless you're referring to me as an idiot in which case I'll concede but add a "hey....".
LOL - jk

Brando
Thanks Bob. Good advice on Save as when moving to V4. I checked the S1 forums and it looks like Presonus are resolving the license issues to give us the option to go back to 3.5. Hopefully today(?). I have fairly basic needs with respect to midi controllers - maybe from accepting ACT and its foibles. Nice to see built in support for specific controllers though. 
Understand the fanboi comment - I would likely never have tried out S1 (or Reaper, Cubase - I trialed Digital Performer a while back and quickly bailed on it) if not for Gibson's setting Cakewalk adrift. Still a soft spot in my heart and will keep up with Cakewalk updates, etc. But Studio One, despite its several limitations, sure fits well. 
Many thanks - off to install S4

dj squarewave
 My Impression is that Studio One caught fire by appealing to existing small groupings of active musicians who already had familiarity with the brand via the use of small affordable digital mixers.
 
 The early feature set seemed like an ideal choice for ensembles that were already making music and simply wanted to record their efforts and maybe polish it up a bit in post.
 
 If Presonus continues to develop Studio One to appeal to all the people it has not previously appealed to, and does so at the expense of frustrating its existing users, it will follow a well traveled path that has been shown to result in a dissolution of interest that may ultimately equate to infrequent upgrade purchases. Existing users, regardless of why or when they become users, who are taken for granted, while features designed to attract non users are prioritized, will react with a disinterest in paying for upgrades. 
 
 Groups of musicians do not sit around one computer and play music. Even electronic music groups use a collection of instruments and jam together with their own tools so that they make adjustments on the fly without interrupting each other. Groups of musicians rarely treat one central computer as a central brain where a bunch of effects and virtual instruments are imprisoned.
 
 Live, Reason, and FL Studio have not caved and started catering to the multi track needs of a ensemble of players, and those brands seem to be doing well.
 
 Pro Tools has not caved and become a one man universe for the one man band and it seems to be doing well.
 
 The infamous digital audio workstation that has often been celebrated as the most complete universal feature set known to date has *evolved* into a milk toast freebie, and a few wanna be clones of the Swiss army knife feature set ideology seem like the wonder bread of the music business. 
 
 Studio One entered the market with a tool set that made sense to band mates who did not want to be computer geeks or Pro Tools experts. It made pressing record and getting some great sounding multi tracks as easy as getting a good mix on an existing digi mixer in an existing rehearsal space. It leveraged a skill set that existing ensembles, the musicians that are largely ignored by the the "computer music press", were already familiar and comfortable with. The result was a product that was quickly and widely adopted by the many musicians who exist outside the influence of trend and style.
 
 Presonus's success seems to reflect its recognition of the existence of a very large user group that seems invisible to the cognoscenti of the music marketing industry. Presonus has catered to the needs and interests of these existing musicians despite some parties ivory tower speculations that musicians are some sort of endangered species. The genius of Presonus's business is the realization that, all things considered, musical instruments are more affordable than ever, and more people can afford to purchase and learn to play musical instruments than ever before, in the entire history of the planet. It seems natural to realize that these musicians will enjoy recording their music and will prefer to do so with as little distraction as possible. Studio One has been serving that purpose better than any other product.  
 
 If Presonus stumbles into a dichotomy where new growth undermines retention, Studio One may find itself with less dedicated customers than it has earned to date.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Brando

TheMaartian
If for no other reason than the improvement in speed (v4 feels FAST compared to v3.5), upgrading was worth it.

I bought the S4 update when it was first available but it's sitting in my Presonus account. That's very encouraging though, but 3.5 is so efficient anyway. Did you have any of the license/activation issues John?