Fender Studio Pro 8: How I Reamp Guitars for a Thicker Mix
By David Vignola, Home Recording Made Easy
Watch the full video: Fender Studio Pro 8 Re-Amping Secret for Thicker Guitar Tone
Quick answer: yes. If you record guitar or bass, Fender Studio Pro 8 is worth the upgrade, mainly because of two new plugins: Rumble for bass and Mustang for guitar. They replace the old, weaker Ampire plugin and let you reamp a DI track right inside Fender Studio Pro 8, no outboard gear or reamp box required.
Do you have Fender Studio Pro 8 and want to know how to reamp guitars and bass the right way? That's exactly what I'm covering today. If you record guitars or bass at home and you've never touched reamping, you're leaving a lot of tone on the table. Fender Studio Pro 8 just made that easier to fix than it's ever been.
Since Fender Studio Pro 8 dropped, I've gotten dozens of emails from students asking some version of the same question. "I've got PreSonus Studio One 6 or 7. Do I really need to upgrade to Fender Studio Pro 8?" I answered that in my first impressions video a while back, but after spending real time mixing a full song inside Fender Studio Pro 8 for my newest course, I want to answer it again, in more detail, with actual audio examples. Short version: if you record guitar or bass, this upgrade pays for itself.
New here? Grab my free mixing course. Head to the top of homerecordingmadeeasy.com and click "Free Mixing Class!" No strings attached, it's a $100 value, and it goes straight to your inbox.
What's Actually New in Fender Studio Pro 8
When PreSonus Studio One became Fender Studio Pro 8, most of the conversation was about the rebrand and the new Studio Reverb. Those are nice. But here's the real upgrade, the one that actually changes how you mix: two amp-sim plugins built into Fender Studio Pro 8 itself, Rumble for bass and Mustang for guitar.
Before Fender Studio Pro 8, your only stock option for guitar and bass amp modeling was Ampire, and honestly, it was one of the weaker stock guitar and bass plugins on the market. Rumble and Mustang aren't a small step up. They're a completely different tier. You still have access to the old Ampire plugin inside Fender Studio Pro 8 if you want it, but once you hear Rumble and Mustang next to it, you won't go back.
If you're still running an older version of PreSonus Studio One and wondering whether Fender Studio Pro 8 is worth the switch, this is your answer. Just for these two plugins alone, I'd tell you to upgrade.
The Reamping Technique I Use in Almost Every Mix
Here's the core idea, and it's simpler than people expect. Whenever I get a DI track alongside a recorded amp track, bass or guitar, I don't throw the DI away. I blend it back in using Rumble or Mustang inside Fender Studio Pro 8 to shape and reinforce the tone that's already there.
Why bother? Because a DI track gives you total control after the fact. You're not locked into whatever amp, mic, and room the original performer used. If the amp track is a little thin, a little dark, or just not sitting right in the mix, the DI is your insurance policy. Fender Studio Pro 8's Rumble and Mustang plugins are what let you cash it in, without any complicated re-routing through outboard gear or your interface.
I built out this exact workflow, start to finish, in real time, using a full song with real multitracks in my brand new Mixing in Fender Studio Pro course. But here's a taste of how it works.
Reamping Bass With Rumble
For the bass on this track, a song called "There's a Feeling" by James D. Cooler (he was kind enough to let me use his multitracks), I had both a recorded bass amp and a DI track.
The bass amp on its own sounded good, with a nice top end. But when I soloed the DI track and ran it through Rumble, I got exactly what I wanted out of the low end. I cycled through a bunch of amp models inside Rumble, everything from vintage low-end warmth to crazy high-gain tones, and settled on the Bassman TV model through a 210 cabinet, with a touch of small room reverb on top.
The DI-through-Rumble track handled the low end. The original amp track handled the top end. Blended together, the bass sat in the mix in a way neither track could on its own. That's the whole trick: you're not choosing between the DI and the amp track, you're combining them. Fender Studio Pro 8 makes that blend fast because Rumble is right there in your plugin browser. No external hardware. No reamp box. No extra interface routing.
Reamping Guitars With Mustang
The Mustang plugin got the same treatment on guitar, and this is where Fender Studio Pro 8 really shows off.
I had two rhythm guitars recorded through an amp already. On guitar one, I ran the DI through Mustang using the British '60s (AC30 style) model, added a little compression and spring reverb, and panned it hard left. Bright on its own, but it cuts through beautifully once it's sitting in a full mix. On guitar two, I mirrored the same idea on the right side using the High Watt (British Watts) model with a 412 V30 cabinet, which cleaned up a slightly muddy amp take and added just enough extra dirt to blend with everything else.
Then I did something most people don't think to try. I reamped a track that was already recorded through an amp. Normally I wouldn't recommend that, especially on a high-gain part, but on this low-gain, cleaner guitar it worked great. The Mustang plugin added just enough character that it locked in with the rest of the guitars instead of fighting them.
With all four guitars blended (two original DI-through-Mustang tracks and two reamped amp tracks), the difference compared to any single guitar on its own was massive.
That before and after moment, hearing all four guitars snap together, is exactly the kind of thing that's hard to explain in text and much easier to just hear. That's why I walk through the full comparison inside the course.
Is the Upgrade to Fender Studio Pro 8 Worth It?
I get this question constantly, so let's address it directly. Yes, if you record guitar or bass at home, Fender Studio Pro 8 is worth the upgrade, largely because of Rumble and Mustang.
On pricing and licensing: as I understand it (always double check current terms on Fender's site, since this can change), if you already had an active PreSonus Studio One subscription, the update to Fender Studio Pro 8 didn't cost you anything extra. And even if you cancel your subscription later, you keep a perpetual license to the version you had. You don't lose the software. So if you're subscription-averse, you can sign up for a year, get Fender Studio Pro 8, learn it, and cancel afterward without losing what you built.
The Studio Reverb is a nice addition. The Red Light distortion revamp is fun too. But Rumble and Mustang are the reason to move. For anyone recording and mixing guitar-driven or bass-driven music, that's the whole ballgame.
One Habit That Makes All of This Possible
If you take one practical tip from this post, make it this: always record a DI track alongside your amp track.
It costs you nothing extra at tracking time. Most interfaces and guitar cables make it trivial. And it gives you total flexibility later. Without a DI, you're stuck with whatever tone got captured in the room that day. With a DI, you can reamp through Rumble or Mustang in Fender Studio Pro 8 any time you want, months after the session, without touching a single cable or piece of outboard gear.
Want to Learn Fender Studio Pro 8 Like This, Step by Step?
Everything above is a small preview of what's inside my full Mixing in Fender Studio Pro course, nearly 5 hours of training where I mix "There's a Feeling" from absolute start to finish, in real time, inside Fender Studio Pro 8. You get the full multitracks, you watch every decision I make with Rumble, Mustang, and the rest of the stock Fender Studio Pro 8 plugin set, and you see exactly how a complete mix comes together, not just a pile of isolated tricks.
It's built for anyone new to mixing or with less than a couple of years of experience, and it works whether you're on Fender Studio Pro 8 or still running PreSonus Studio One versions 5 through 7.
Use code YOUTUBE25 for 25% off at checkout. It's good on this course and anything else at homerecordingmadeeasy.com.
And if you're earlier in the journey (brand new to the software itself, or you haven't recorded your first session in Fender Studio Pro 8 yet), start with the Fender Studio Pro 8 Beginners Guide to get comfortable with the interface, then move into Recording in Fender Studio Pro before you tackle mixing. All three courses are built to work together. Get comfortable with Fender Studio Pro 8, record it right (DI tracks included), then mix it like a pro with Rumble and Mustang doing the heavy lifting. You can browse the full Fender Studio Pro 8 course lineup anytime from the Training Courses page at homerecordingmadeeasy.com.
Have you upgraded to Fender Studio Pro 8 yet? Have you tried reamping with Rumble or Mustang? Drop a comment and let me know what you think. I read every one.
