Suno Aims to Enhance Its Features for a More Authentic Music Production Experience

Suno is rolling out Studio 2.0, bringing a host of upgrades that elevate it from a simple audio editor with generative AI features to something resembling a full-fledged digital audio workstation (DAW). The standout addition is MIDI support, which has been the most requested feature and is essential for any modern DAW. However, it’s worth noting that Suno Studio still doesn’t support third-party plugins or VSTs, meaning users will have to rely on its built-in synth. This synth is a basic two-oscillator wavetable plugin equipped with three envelopes and four LFOs.

The focus here is less about using your favorite vintage synth emulations and more about leveraging MIDI data as a creative prompt. You can input chords and then instruct Suno to transform that MIDI into audio, extend melodies, or generate a B-part based on your input. Another key feature being introduced in Studio 2.0 is automation, allowing you to pan or adjust the volume of individual tracks throughout your arrangement.

Suno is also integrating a chatbot into the Studio interface, enabling you to request lyrics or new guitar lines. This isn’t just a standalone generator; it’s connected to your current session and takes into account the musical context of your project. You can ask it to enhance a vocal track, and it will apply reverb, compression, and EQ accordingly. Additionally, Suno Studio now includes a range of straightforward built-in effects, such as distortion, delay, reverb, compression, and EQ.

The chat interface’s most intriguing feature is the ability to create custom effects plugins. These can include unique reverbs, brickwalled compression, or chorus effects, similar to what you’d find in Polyend’s Endless AI guitar pedal. These custom effects are saved to your account for future use.

Overall, Suno Studio 2.0 is significantly more feature-rich than its predecessor, but the beta version of the chat functionality may reduce the amount of manual work for users. In a recent demo, Suno’s Henry Phipps was seen correcting some missed notes and quantizing MIDI, remarking that he should let the chatbot handle these tasks. He also opted to let the AI decide on a vocal chain instead of manually selecting effects.

Correction August 13th: This story originally stated Suno’s built-in synth had four envelopes instead of four LFOs.