PreSonus is shipping Progression 3, an upgrade to its composing software for guitar, bass and drums. Sonos says this new version makes it easier than ever to write your ideas quickly and includes an enhanced chord library, new effects from PreSonus Studio One, a Capo feature and many notation and publishing improvements. Progression and its sibling product Notion are the only composing and notation applications that let you create and edit with, and exchange files between, Mac, Windows and iPad.

This is the first update since Progression joined the PreSonus family and it shows. The user interface has been redesigned to more resemble Studio One and other PreSonus software, and Progression 3 adds PreSonus Native Effects Limiter, Compressor and EQ plug-ins.

Notation improvements make Progression even faster and easier to use, including an enharmonic spelling tool, cross-staff notation, layout improvements, and a new international shortcut sets. You also get an enhanced chord library with more library chords, user-created chords, and recent-chord recall. The new Capo feature will be especially welcome for guitarists. Progression 3 also adds Mac Retina display support and Windows 8 touchscreen optimization.

While adding these new features and many more, Progression continues to deliver a fast and intuitive workflow, featuring drag-and-drop functionality and an interactive fretboard. Users can create guitar, bass and drum tab; lead sheets; and standard sheet music. The program is well known for playback with high-quality guitar samples performed by Neil Zaza, bass samples by Victor Wooten, and drums by Roy “Futureman” Wooten, all recorded at top studios. It also offers a fine Steinway piano, electric piano and Clavinet.

Progression 3 is available in English (U.S. and UK), French, German, Japanese and Spanish (Latin American) and will list for $49. Here are all the details.