Cubase

[Song80s]

I am planning on moving over to this recording platform. Settling on the Steinberg UR44 for interface.

 

I know I am some yrs behind the curve as I have relied 100% on the Kronos SEQ for my songs. without a doubt I like the quality and work flow using the SEQ.

 

But there are limits, such as 16 midi tracks, using the SEQ and the workarounds are cumbersome. Plus its time to add more instruments such as Omnis/MS, etc to my material.

 

Interested in hearing from folks that have experience with Cubase.

 

Thanks !

[Doerfler]

hey Greg -

Greg Ondo (Field Marketing Manager Steinberg North America) has a bunch of tutorials on You Tube that you should find very helpful. He has been with Steinberg for over 20 years. Very knowledgeable cat.

[llatham]

I prefer Cubase.

 

One over-riding consideration for me has been that Cubase has supported (and I hope they still do) "Patch Scripts" which is something you use to select sounds on external hardware synths.

 

This means you can pull up a list on your tracks of all the sounds for any given device - internal VST, external synthesizer and so on.

 

There are many available for common models, but they're not too hard to make (just time-consuming) if your model is not supported.

 

Secondly, I was teaching a class and was looking for software to use and I found that Cubase just seemed to be the most intuitive for a person who does a lot of MIDI Sequencing and still uses external hardware synths.

 

Logic supports external instruments but the availability of patch scripts is low and creating one is an absolute nightmare and no on an any forum seems to be of any help, nor is Apple. Basically, if you need anything beyond the most basic functions with Logic, you're kind of out of luck. Someone online once said "Logic is the only DAW that makes me want to bang my head against the wall" and that's true for me. Another person said "it takes too many clicks" and that's true as well - I wanted to just simply reverse a copy of an audio clip. Can't do it. You have to first save it as a new audio clip. There's a keystroke for it, but it involves multiple keys and remembering the key stroke. Why not have the function just work like normal for every other DAW...(at least those I've used).

 

But you know, if you're not going to use external synths, that part is a moot point.

 

I tried REAPER which is free to try for 60 days and then a home license is only 60 bucks (and you can cheat and keep dismissing the "buy now" message but I paid for it).

 

It does support external hardware synths but it takes a few additional clicks to get to your sounds and it's a bit more cumbersome to set up.

 

One of my students had Studio One and swore by it, but then started using Cubase in our class and totally changed his mind.

 

It seems like it's more popular in Europe than in the US. I've got so many students who are so far up Pro Tools' ass that unless it's Pro Tools, they think it automatically sucks.

 

If I'm doing digital audio recording, I'm going to Pro Tools.

 

If I'm "composing" with MIDI and synths, I'm going to Cubase.

 

If I need to do a little of both, I'd still go with Cubase, though I can tolerate Logic.

 

I stopped using Reaper becuase it's so non-standard it's useless to me. Like Logic, there was a very simple and common function I wanted to use and it couldn't even do it. So I gave up on it. If I was doing primarily audio and I couldn't afford Pro Tools (which I can't) then it would be a no-brainer to use Reaper - it really seems to be designed primarily as an alternative to PT, rather than as a more MIDI-based DAW (though it works for this too).

 

I've not used Digital Performer (in recent years) or Studio One, or Ableton Live (tried once, couldn't even figure it out).

 

But really it all depends on your workflow and what you need to accomplish. Are you going to be doing more traditional MIDI Sequencing or more Audio work? Are you just recording "like a tape recorder" or are you doing tons of editing?

 

Are you going to be playing with loops rather than making your own parts?

 

Are you going to need something for live performance as well?

 

How good does the notation need to be?

 

Do the virtual instruments that come with appeal to you?

 

Feature set, etc...

 

It also depends on what you get used to - people who start on Reaper and stick with it probably never really realize how non-standard it is and don't care.

 

But I came from Performer (before it was Digital Performer) and Hardware Sequencers and Hardware Synthesizers so for me, Cubase makes the most sense to me, has the features I need and a workflow I like, and it also does all the modern stuff too.

 

I'm sure power users can nitpick things about it, but that's going to be true about all software.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

[Song80s]

Outstanding advice. Logic was also a consideration , a distant 2nd.

 

It appears that Cubase would be a good fit. Thank you !

 

Will D/L AI to get started on learning curve plus YT ( thanks, Dave )

 

 

[Rod S]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I had used Cakewalk Pro then SONAR on PC, then stayed off computers for a few years. I started working with Logic last year and realize some of the midi stuff was more difficult as compared to SONAR. I do 80% midi and 20% audio, I'd say. 70% external synths and 30% soft synths, right now.

 

I may give Cubase a shot next year. I did install Cubasis in my iPad and from screenshots the workflow seems similar.

[xKnuckles]

Hi Greg, I am a fan of cubase. I started with one of their very early versions and now have one of the latest versions. I don't know if it is because I have a lot of history with the programme, but I do find it really intuitive and enjoyable to use. i mostly use it to make recordings. It seems incredibly stable these days and with my surface pro 4 there seems to be pretty well no latency. It is a great programme and I would highly recommend it.

 

The only thing which I don't like about it is that it comes with a little usb stick which has to be plugged in in order for the programme to operate. The thing is a PITA, especially if you are travelling, but it is unavoidable. I ended up buying a little hub so I can keep it permanently plugged into my surface (which has only 1 usb input).

[Song80s]

Hi Greg, I am a fan of cubase. I started with one of their very early versions and now have one of the latest versions. I don't know if it is because I have a lot of history with the programme, but I do find it really intuitive and enjoyable to use. i mostly use it to make recordings. It seems incredibly stable these days and with my surface pro 4 there seems to be pretty well no latency. It is a great programme and I would highly recommend it.

 

The only thing which I don't like about it is that it comes with a little usb stick which has to be plugged in in order for the programme to operate. The thing is a PITA, especially if you are travelling, but it is unavoidable. I ended up buying a little hub so I can keep it permanently plugged into my surface (which has only 1 usb input).

 

Thanks for your post. I noticed that the USB thingie has to be purchased separately for cubase.

 

I should have mentioned this, would expect Cubase will recognize Omnisphere

[Theo Verelst]

I don't know about what VST(3) and Asio and such can run, and I only use the AI version. In fact, I had the very first "Pro 24" from Steinberg on the Atary ST halfway the 80s, it was alright and later versions were crafty for the time. I've used some older version which came with my Lexicon Omega interface, and because some Linux (which I use almost exclusively) doesn't understand the fine timing of that interface it seems I might have to do sample-tight digital audio interfacing on a machine with the licence to what is it Cubase4 or so. The AI came with a Yamaha mixer, and has a lot of project examples I'd never use. It's alright but either my taste went highr or the digital stuff they built in gets "different", but I have no intention of doing a (hobby) project on it, even though it interests me the manual states it does sample accurate processing, which I applaude.

 

T

[Jim Alfredson]

Cubase is very intuitive. It is my preferred DAW for tracking, editing, and mixing. The MIDI implementation is second to none.

 

I have ProTools as well because I have to but I enjoy working in Cubase far more.

[Theo Verelst]

It's a shame these software packages don't come with standardized and open DSP processing for good materials, and tools for standard sampling and mixing related jobs. Probably computers are strong enough for such idea to be easily integrated in a standard, general purpose User Interface controlled program.

 

T.