Cubase 13 In The House

[CHarrell]

We've known this was coming, but now Cubase 13 is officially available for purchase!

 

https://www.steinberg.net/cubase/new-features/

 

Cubasers in the house, what do y'all think? I've been using Cubase since 9.5, and this is the most exciting update since I started.

[David Emm]

I'd recommend giving Cubasis a try if you're semi-new to DAWs. Its the Garageband-like counterpart to the full version of Cubase. It'll give you a good starter feel for the design ethic. If you're already a user, you scare me as a Logic adherent. 😬 Cubase is like the giant robot you get when all of the others link up. IIRC, Johannes Schmoelling is a long-time user, so there's one solid vote for its merits.   

 

I'm sure we can all "smell" a certain overall aroma in things, where you wonder how the creative sensibilities of the coders line up with the nuts & bolts results. Example: After years of playing them, I can smell the teamwork behind Korg or AAS releases. (Mmm, freshly baked synth croissants....)

 

Its a bit like trying on a coat and having it quickly hang on your frame in a winning fashion. Its one of the unique pleasures of e-music, because its so abstract, it has its own effect on your work. Mine, anyway. That's part of how I excuse my GAS.    

[Nathanael_I]

I found the transition from Logic to Cubase easy around v8.5. It was so nice to ditch the Environment. Both are about equally complex. Cubase has its own evolution, with some releases taking a step backward in performance, othered pushing ahead. For max stability, I normally install the .20 release some months after it comes out. All the major bugs are fixed by then, and the community has useful feedback. 

[kelp]

I'm always very excited by a new Cubase release but usually wait for at least one maintenance update before taking the plunge. The new channel tab might be worth the price of admission alone. I haven't made up my mind on the new mixer look yet. I usually get a "I must have this!" feeling. It's not as strong this time.

 

@CHarrell, what's exciting for you?

[jazzpiano88]

I will probably go for it.   I don't record much or use a DAW but whenever I try to do something basic in Logic, like editing audio tracks I need to work with, I failed because nothing was intuitive, and I'd need to search for an instructional video to perform a kindergarten task.

 

 

[zephonic]

Been on Cubase all my life, know it like the back of my hand. Currently on 12 Pro.

 

That said, I’m leaning more and more towards Logic these days. Main reason is MIDI timing, beats feel tighter and punchier. It has other great features like ‘Bounce In Place’, but Cubase is just second nature to me and hard to unlearn.

 

Right now I have adopted a hybrid workflow, where I do the rhythm in Logic but audio and MIDI editing in Cubase.

 

I hope Steinberg takes a good look at their MIDI time protocol and revises it. 

[ElmerJFudd]

I got into Cubase around v2 and used it exclusively until about 5.1r2 which was amazingly stable for the time period.  I moved to Logic when OSX came out which is about the time that Steinberg was asking for a lot of dough to get over to Cubase SX.  About what it would cost to give Logic a go.  

[D. Gauss]

I used to use Nuendo (big brother to Cubase) up until version 2 maybe. Right about then Reaper came out (2006 perhaps), and since i was sooo frustrated, i tried it and i haven't looked back.  Steinberg was so sloow on updating stuff, especially for what it costs, plus the bad attitude of them even asking, "why would you want to do that?" when you complained about a missing/broken feature turned me right off.   I'm sure the Steinberg stuff is better now than it was, but Reaper is waaay cheaper, and works for what i do. (Record Production)

[Nathanael_I]

I upgraded to Nuendo on a special during COVID.  It’s been a good experience. It’s slightly behind Cubase on shiny features that come when mature), but ahead on things like immersive audio.

[CHarrell]

3 hours ago, kelp said:

I'm always very excited by a new Cubase release but usually wait for at least one maintenance update before taking the plunge. The new channel tab might be worth the price of admission alone. I haven't made up my mind on the new mixer look yet. I usually get a "I must have this!" feeling. It's not as strong this time.

 

@CHarrell, what's exciting for you?

 

Huge thing for me are the MIDI editor improvements, slight as they may seem. Looks like they actually learnt from Studio One a little, which is what I was gravitating towards for the last two years because of Steinberg's leisurely pace and piecemeal approach to updating certain components of the DAW. I love the new visibility tool that allows you to easily and quickly toggle parts to edit (like S1), and the new step editing features, such as on the fly note length editing--something I loved in Ableton--is gonna be such a great improvement to my workflow (the polyphonic feature is really cool too).

 

Great that they updated their pack-in orchestral library, and I don't remember off the top of my head what exactly they were, but I saw something about the video track performance being enhanced which is HUGE for me...last year I wanted to grab Cubase by the scruff of its chin hairs and throw it onto a car because of the grief that was giving me, especially when S1's (far more rudimentary admittedly)video tracks played without a hitch for me at all. 

 

There's other cool stuff, but to really sum it up, the additions and changes they implemented in 13 look to address so many issues I had with Cubase, ones that led me to try other paths to migrate to.

[CyberGene]

Switched from Cubase to Logic a few years ago. Never looked back. 

[felis]

I'll be updating.

[CHarrell]

6 hours ago, CyberGene said:

Switched from Cubase to Logic a few years ago. Never looked back. 

 

If I had Mac I'd probably have gone the Logic route.

[felis]

10 hours ago, CyberGene said:

Switched from Cubase to Logic a few years ago. Never looked back. 

 

I used Logic for a while until it wouldn't run on a pc anymore.  I think I still have the floppies in a drawer somewhere.

Even then though, I still liked Cubase better.

[ElmerJFudd]

What did you all use for midi sequencing software before we had audio tracks in the computer?   I used Passport’s Master Trax Pro on an Amiga 500 with  smpte code recorded to track 8 of a Tascam 388 (this machine actually had a Dolby noise reduction defeat switch for the 8th track exactly for this purpose).  I recall it being about 1988 or so.  I’ve very fond memories of this time in my life in general and the music technology explosion is a big part of that. 

[felis]

2 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

What did you all use for midi sequencing software before we had audio tracks in the computer?   I used Passport’s Master Trax Pro on an Amiga 500 with  smpte code recorded to track 8 of a Tascam 388 (this machine actually had a Dolby noise reduction defeat switch for the 8th track exactly for this purpose).  I recall it being about 1988 or so.  I’ve very fond memories of this time in my life in general and the music technology explosion is a big part of that. 

 

Cubase on Atari.  But before that I started out with a Yamaha CX5M with cartridges.

[Canoehead]

4 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

What did you all use for midi sequencing software before we had audio tracks in the computer?   I used Passport’s Master Trax Pro on an Amiga 500 with  smpte code recorded to track 8 of a Tascam 388 (this machine actually had a Dolby noise reduction defeat switch for the 8th track exactly for this purpose).  I recall it being about 1988 or so.  I’ve very fond memories of this time in my life in general and the music technology explosion is a big part of that. 

If memory serves; Cakewalk Apprentice followed soon after by Cakewalk Pro 4.0 for MS-DOS.  Used an Anatek Pocket Sync to lock it up to a Vesta Fire 4-track cassette recorder.  I think I still have the Pocket Sync somewhere!

[D. Gauss]

4 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

What did you all use for midi sequencing software before we had audio tracks in the computer?   I used Passport’s Master Trax Pro on an Amiga 500 with  smpte code recorded to track 8 of a Tascam 388 (this machine actually had a Dolby noise reduction defeat switch for the 8th track exactly for this purpose). 

I had a commodore 64 and some kinda sequencer software, but it was easier (and more fun) to just play the parts onto tape. Had Fostex 8 track reel and a Tascam 4 track reel and would just do "beatle" bounces from one machine to the other.

[Bill W]

Voyetra Sequencer Plus Gold on an Intel 286 PC.

[CyberGene]

I started with Cakewalk for Windows 3.11 on an Intel 386 PC. 

[ElmerJFudd]

4 hours ago, CyberGene said:

I started with Cakewalk for Windows 3.11 on an Intel 386 PC. 

Interesting how it’s Cakewalk again - at least in name.  And free for the time being.  It’s quite impressive what Band Lab is offering just for signing up.  

[TommyBoy]

20 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

What did you all use for midi sequencing software before we had audio tracks in the computer?   I used Passport’s Master Trax Pro on an Amiga 500 with  smpte code recorded to track 8 of a Tascam 388 (this machine actually had a Dolby noise reduction defeat switch for the 8th track exactly for this purpose).  I recall it being about 1988 or so.  I’ve very fond memories of this time in my life in general and the music technology explosion is a big part of that. 

My Senior Project in college was the design and construction of a MIDI interface for my Amiga 500 computer. Connected it to my Ensoniq Mirage. Good times.

[Jose EB5AGV]

Getting back to the Cubase 13 update, I would say that Steinberg has a 99€ annual Cubase subscription. The good thing is that you can skip the annual fee and keep what you have. But next year you are due double. The only way to save cash is to skip three or more versions. Just look at the upgrade options to understand this 😉

I am debating if upgrading from 12 Pro to 13 Pro 🤔

[felis]

I updated to C13.  I knew I would do it eventually, so why wait.  Still getting used to it.  The same, but different.

 

I used to skip versions quite often.  But if you skip too many, you fall off the map, and have to start from scratch again.

Right now, you can update to 13 from as far back as Cubase 4.  But beyond that, you're out of luck.

[ElmerJFudd]

35 minutes ago, Jose EB5AGV said:

Getting back to the Cubase 13 update, I would say that Steinberg has a 99€ annual Cubase subscription. The good thing is that you can skip the annual fee and keep what you have. But next year you are due double. The only way to save cash is to skip three or more versions. Just look at the upgrade options to understand this 😉

I am debating if upgrading from 12 Pro to 13 Pro 🤔

It would be nice if they had subscriptions that went toward a perpetual license.  Or a payment plan, rent to own, something like that. 

[zephonic]

20 minutes ago, Jose EB5AGV said:

Getting back to the Cubase 13 update, I would say that Steinberg has a 99€ annual Cubase subscription. The good thing is that you can skip the annual fee and keep what you have. But next year you are due double. The only way to save cash is to skip three or more versions. Just look at the upgrade options to understand this 😉

I am debating if upgrading from 12 Pro to 13 Pro 🤔

 

Been saying this for years, it's a covert subscription scheme. I'll keep 12 Pro running as long as it goes, meanwhile trying to get up to speed with Logic. 

[ElmerJFudd]

There has been some commentary on gearslutz about Cubase 13 not being as efficient in spreading out tasks across all CPU cores.  
 

 

[Hernán Vallejos]

I'm excited about Cubase 13 finally being out; I've been looking forward to it for the new mixing and editing features. I've been using Cubase since version 9.5, and this update feels like a big deal. The latest Channel Tab is awesome because it lets me tweak mix settings without switching screens, making everything faster for me. Plus, the updated MixConsole looks cleaner and has some cool new things to play with, making mixing easier. The Range Tool in the Key and Drum Editors is also handy for working with MIDI, which significantly helps with my music projects.

 

The new stuff for working with vocals is excellent, too. The Steinberg Vocoder, EQ p1a, EQ M5, and Vox Comp plugins make my songs sound better and more professional. I learned about all these updates from https://faqaudio.com/t/cubase-13/30. That site did a great job explaining the new features like the Channel Tab and the nicer MixConsole, which convinced me this update was worth getting.