Studio One 7 Virtual Instruments Tier List: Which Ones to Use & Why

When Studio One Pro 7  launched, it brought some exciting updates and new tools for producers everywhere, including some new virtual instruments. Since we all work differently, l wanted to make a tier list of these VSTa, ranked by how often they find a spot in my production workflow.

Before we dive in, a quick look at the tiers:

 1. Don’t Do a Session Without It 🏆

 2. Use It Often 🔁

 3. Take It or Leave It 🤷

 4. Never Use It 🚫

 5. Need to Use It More 👀

Sample One XT 🥇 – Don’t Do a Session Without It

Overview: Sample One XT is a versatile sampler that lets you load in any sound, map it across your keyboard, and play it as if it were an instrument. It’s straightforward but powerful, with controls for pitch, filter, amplitude, and even LFO and envelope adjustments.

Why It’s a Favorite: I use it all the time, especially for 808s, kicks, and other drum sounds. I love that you can pitch sounds up or down just by moving notes in the piano roll, making it perfect for melodic or percussive elements. Plus, the flexibility of stacking sounds and setting specific key ranges is an added bonus.

Room for Improvement: A small complaint: it lacks a fade-in function, which feels like a miss for a sampler. But overall, Sample One XT is an essential tool for me, especially in hip-hop and pop production.

Impact XT 🥈 – Use It Often

Overview: Impact XT is the built-in drum sequencer in Studio One 7. It has a 4x4 grid of pads, much like an MPC, which makes it perfect for loading and triggering drum samples.

Why I Use It Often: While I prefer Sample One XT for certain workflows, Impact XT shines when I want to tap in drum patterns or layer sounds for a more complex beat. The added control for choke groups, quantization, and trigger modes is great, and it integrates well with external MIDI controllers like the ATOM.

What Could Make It Better: The ability to chop samples directly in Impact XT or to create fade-ins would elevate it to a higher tier. And imagine if it functioned like Logic’s Drum Machine Designer, where each pad could be a separate sampler! That level of control would be a game-changer.

Lead Architect 🎨 – Take It or Leave It

Overview: Lead Architect has been around for a while but is now available to all Studio One users. It’s a sample-based instrument with various presets that allow you to blend and manipulate sounds.

Why It’s Just Okay: Lead Architect has its strengths, but it doesn’t grab me. I prefer more customizable sound design options, like wavetable or oscillator-based synthesis. While the built-in effects, arpeggiator, and repeater are nice touches, it feels a bit limited compared to other synths out there.

Bottom Line: I’ll keep it in my library, but it’s definitely not an essential.

CV Instrument ⚡ – Need to Use It More

Overview: The CV Instrument is a unique addition that lets you control analog synths directly from within Studio One. Think of it as a bridge between your DAW and external hardware.

Why It’s Not Rated Higher: Since I don’t have any analog synths on hand to test it out, I haven’t been able to dig into it. But the concept is fantastic, and if it performs well, it could be a must-have for those with hybrid setups.

Final Verdict: For now, it’s on my “need to use it more” list, but I could see it becoming a core tool in certain setups.

Presence XT 🎹 – Use It Often

Overview: Presence XT is a sample-based instrument, which means it features real recordings of instruments (think guitars, keyboards, and more) that you can play in Studio One.

Why I Use It: The sounds in Presence XT are solid, making it a good starting point for those who are just getting into production and don’t want to invest in extra VSTs right away. It includes a wide range of patches, and the interface offers control over LFOs, filters, and basic modulation.

Minor Drawback: While it’s not always my go-to, it’s reliable and has decent sound quality. Plus, with the latest update, you can access the Presence XT editor to create custom patches, which is a great perk for those interested in sound design.

Multi-Instrument 🚀 – Need to Use It More

Overview: While it’s not a traditional instrument, Multi-Instrument lets you layer multiple instruments together to create rich, complex sounds. Want to blend a pad with a piano? Multi-Instrument can do it seamlessly.

Why It’s Underrated: It’s an incredibly powerful tool for crafting unique sounds, and the ability to mix and layer VSTs (even third-party ones) makes it super versatile. Studio One also includes presets for multi-instrument setups, making it easier to get started.

Why I Should Use It More: I forget about it sometimes, but it’s a great tool to keep in mind for sound design and creating signature textures in a mix.

Mai Tai 🌴 – Need to Use It More

Overview: Mai Tai is an analog modeling synthesizer that offers a lot of control over sound shaping. It includes two oscillators, filters, LFOs, and amplitude envelopes, with a good variety of presets.

Why It’s Worth Exploring: I enjoy Mai Tai for its flexibility in shaping sounds, especially with its character section that adds extra flavor. The presets, though somewhat limited, are good starting points for further tweaking.

Room for Improvement: Some people might be put off by the limited presets. Having more high-quality, modern presets would definitely make it a more appealing choice for beginners and advanced users alike.

Mojito 🍹 – Never Use It

Overview: Mojito is a simple subtractive synthesizer in Studio One, designed with a single oscillator and basic sound-shaping controls.

Why It’s in the “Never Use” Category: Mojito feels redundant compared to Mai Tai, which offers much more flexibility and capability. Its limited features don’t add anything significant to my workflow, and if I’m looking for a simple synth, there are better options in my library.

Deep Flight One ✈️ – Take It or Leave It

Overview: Deep Flight One was originally a Presence XT patch library, but it’s now been developed into its own instrument. It’s another sample-based virtual instrument with an interface similar to Lead Architect.

Why It’s a “Take It or Leave It”: While it’s a nice addition, it doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking. If I’m in a specific mood or need an airy or pad-like sound, it can be helpful, but it’s far from essential in my production setup.

Final Thoughts 💬

This tier list of Studio One 7 virtual instruments reflects how I incorporate each tool into my production. While Sample One XT and Impact XT are crucial, others like Multi-Instrument and Mai Tai show promise but don’t yet play a prominent role in my sessions. I’d love to hear from other producers using Studio One 7: which instruments are in your “must-have” list, and which ones do you skip over?