By Craig Anderton
Announcement: The 2nd Edition of The Huge Book of Studio One Tips and Tricks is now available as a free download for owners of previous versions. The new edition includes more tips, improves older ones, adds Artist versions for many Studio One Pro tips, and has been rewritten to help address newer users as well as veterans. For new buyers, the eBook is available only from Sweetwater. However, PreSonus will honor updates for those who purchased the book while it was being carried in the PreSonus online shop.
Keyswitching: Potential vs. Reality
Key Switch keys, usually located at the keyboard's lowest octave, choose different virtual instrument articulations. For example, hitting C0 might add tremolo on a string preset, while hitting D0 adds glisses.
However, presets with Key Switching often require at least a 5-octave keyboard. With a 4-octave keyboard, you usually have two choices: transpose down to cover the notes (which sacrifices the Key Switches), or transpose up to keep the Key Switches but give up some notes. Fortunately, PresenceXT and Studio One deal with this issue in a clever, practical way.
Studio One's Keyswitch Solution
With PresenceXT, regardless of how you transpose the notes, the Key Switches can always occupy the same position on the keyboard. You can also map Key Switches as desired, and to free up more keys for notes, use only a subset of Key Switches.
To map Key Switches:
1. Open a note event's Note Editor.
2. Open the Sound Variations panel (click on the Wrench icon at the bottom of the Note Editor's vertical keyboard).
3. The Action menu (fig. 1) provides multiple shortcuts for altering Key Switch assignments:
Reload the instrument's native Key Switch map.
Assign default Key Switches.
Assign Key Switches to successive chromatic keys.
Assign Key Switches to successive white keys.
Shift (transpose) Key Switches by 1 octave, 1 octave, 1 note, or -1 note. This function shifts only the Key Switches, so notes remain on the keyboard as assigned.
Clear all Key Switches.
Figure 1: Click on Action (orange outline) to choose various ways to assign Key Switches.
A Practical Example
The PresenceXT Trumpet Full preset's notes cover the range C2 through C6 (and even higher). The Key Switches cover the white keys from C0 to B0. You can't fit 6 octaves of notes on a 4-octave keyboard, so here's the solution:
1. There are no trumpet notes between C1 and B1. So, shifting the Key Switches to cover the range C1 to B1 avoids overlapping any notes.
2. From the Sound Variations panel, choose Action > Shift Key Switches > 1 octave. Now, the Key Switches cover the range from C1 to B1, with trumpet notes starting at C2 (fig. 2). This gives us three octaves of notes, and all the Key Switches. Compare this to fig. 1, which has different Input notes, and shows the Key Switches mapped from C0 to B0.
Figure 2: A four-octave keyboard can cover three octaves of notes and all the preset's keyswitches.
3. If you instead want a higher range of trumpet notes that starts at C3, transpose the keyboard up an octave. Then, choose Action > Shift Key Switches > 1 octave again. Now the Key Switches cover the range from C2 to B2, with trumpet notes starting at C3.
Other Cool Key Switch Features
Some prefer having Key Switches on all white keys, because they're easier targets to hit. Others prefer Key Switches on successive chromatic keys, so more keys are available for musical notes. The Action menu lets you choose either option. Furthermore, you can delete Key Switches simply by deleting the corresponding Input note in the list of Key Switch note assignments.
Note that both VSL and EastWest support Studio One Sound Variations natively, so they work the same way as PresenceXT. In addition to the features described above, when you load a preset, these instruments automatically transmit their Key Switch mapping (including names and symbols) to Studio One. This makes the process of using Studio One's Key Switching talents even easier.
What About Other Instruments with Key Switches?
Some companies' instruments (e.g., Kontakt, SampleTank) don't support the Key Switching protocol that's part of Studio One's Sound Variations. But Studio One has a clever way to handle those instruments too-stay tuned for a future tip about this topic.
Finally, Sound Variations are about much more than just simplified Key Switching. To find out more, check out the clear, concise YouTube video by Lukas Ruschitzka.
North America Stories
19/05/2026
Champaign, IL - March 16, 2026 Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufa...
19/05/2026
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. April 16, 2026 - Cobalt Digital today announced a partnership ...
19/05/2026
Las Vegas - April 18, 2026 Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufactur...
19/05/2026
LAS VEGAS April 18, 2026 - Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Cobalt Digital are ...
19/05/2026
LAS VEGAS - May 4, 2026 - Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear initiativ...
19/05/2026
London - 11 May 2026 Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Grass Valley has entered into a three-year enterprise agreement with Phoenix Broadcast Solutions as the Singapore-based company expands its live production oper...
19/05/2026
Clear-Com supported Musikal Perahu Kertas, a large-scale musical theater production in Indonesia adapted from the acclaimed novel by Dee Lestari, through the d...
19/05/2026
Actus Digital, a LiveU company, and a leading provider of intelligent media monitoring and broadcast compliance platforms, announced today that METEO CONSULT ha...
19/05/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of managed services for the broadcast and media industry, today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Singapore fa...
19/05/2026
Following a major upgrade to its Connecticut remote production centre with the installation of three 60-fader Argo S consoles in 2023, RPS has switched one of t...
19/05/2026
PlayBox Technology today announced the launch of Celebro Play, a browser-based media orchestration platform designed specifically for broadcast facilities and p...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...
19/05/2026
Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...
19/05/2026
Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand
Me...
19/05/2026
Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Agentic AI inference at one-tenth the cost per token with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL7...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
By Craig Anderton
