Anyone else recently migrated to Cubase 9.5?

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I've been using FL Studio for a while, didn't find it was fully meeting my needs. Been sitting on the fence about getting Ableton 10 or Cubase 9.5, but having spent the past few weeks in their demos I felt more at home with Cubase so I went with that. Quite a steep learning curve and expecting a reasonable adjustment period to get my workflow to a level where I can get stuck into creating again.
Was wondering whether anyone else recently migrated and we can have a chat about things we discover along the way. :tu:

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I recently migrated from Sonar to Cubase and it has some familiar aspects of work flow, but it does differ greatly. It's a bit like visiting someone else's house and not knowing where they keep the utensils...

Establishing a fast workflow will depend on learning the interface and Cubase has what I call "Cubase Hieroglyphics" - lots of little symbols that do very obvious things. I've found that more often than not, the option that I'm looking for is right in front of me. Yes, it can be complicated, but it seems to have every tool you'd ever need.

Best advice is to read and watch as many tutorials as you can, and take notes. Create a small word doc with your own tips, and copy and paste "how-to" stuff from sites into it. If I have any questions, I load the document and everything is there for me to CRTL+F search through. Also, learn or create your own key commands - probably one of the best things to do really.

Groove3, AskAudio and other technique sites offer some decent tutorials that'll get you up to speed fairly quickly, so it might be worth looking into them.

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Hey cool, what version of Cubase did you get?

I was considering Artist but having looked at everything I went for Pro. It's things like being able to set up my control room directly with the Scarlett 18i20 instead of getting a hardware control room box because my old one literally got worn out.

I've been going through the heaps of content on YouTube to get me up to speed with the basics.

I've run an AskAudio membership before on music theory and production really enjoyed the experience. I've thought about looking for Cubase Pro 9.5 classes when I'm done with the free stuff on YT, so if you have suggestions let me know.

I'm finding a good workflow so far, I have my growing list of keyboard shortcuts to memorise, I have a gaming mouse with loads of buttons that I'm working on assigning functions to. That text file is getting very long now :lol:

I had a 50% discount offer on Groove Agent 4 that I purchased which is nice, so I've got my head stuck in that PDF as there's not a lot of tutorials for that going around that I can find.

Have you done much work with samples in Cubase yet?
That's my next subject to learn. I'm somewhat apprehensive about it, wondering whether I'll be able to get the results I want from within the DAW or need an external editor.
At the basic level I need to layer stuff, mix it, apply processing FX etc.

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I went for the Pro version as it just seemed like a better idea and more cost effective in the long run.

As for tutorials, I got a temporary Groove3 membership and it was worth it. If you go for a learning platform like that I very much recommend watching the older tutorials about Cubase 6, 7 and 8, as there's a lot of information that is still relevant in them. Get a month or two of membership and just blast your way through videos taking notes.

I also recommend watching the "Club Cubase" video's on YouTube with Greg Ondo. Someone divides up the relevant segments in the comments section so you can click through to the important parts.

Samples are a bit different in Cubase, especially looping. Loops don't 'roll out' like other DAWs. You just duplicate the clip and it works the same. Takes some getting used to for sure, but one added benefit is it allows you more freedom when editing the sample. Just click a clip and used CTRL+D and hammer out a sequence (or CTRL+K). One important tip is changing the pitch of a sample - it can be quickly done through the infobar at the top (a tip I learned here at KVR).

Musical Mode is more or less what you'll want for samples in order to beat/tempo match them. Also, I find quantizing by 'beat' to be sufficient for most things. Once you have a sliced up bunch of samples on a the same track you can highlight them and use the 'Glue' tool to create a part (or clip, whatever they refer to it as). It makes juggling cut up samples much easier as it treats it like one big block (which you can undo at any time).

I'm definitely not an expert with Cubase yet, and I'm sure someone will correct me on one of the above, but so far I'm working way faster in Cubase than I did in Sonar, plus it's less buggy.

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I've also been working my way through Greg Ondo's Club Cubase videos. They're a good reference to keep hold of too, I've made a searchable list of the topics.

In addition to loops, I want to create one shot samples for use in risers, drops, fills, accents, drones, glitches, and stuff like that. I need to apply transient processing like filter and EQ envelopes over time. Chopping up and layering several different sources together.
I'm wondering what's going to be the best way to do that?

Use separate audio tracks to start with, then bounce it all down when done to save CPU.
I'll probably try messing about with that later today see what I figure out :D

So far I'm also finding the workflow a lot smoother and quicker on Cubase (than FL Studio). I've been setting up my songwriting template. Getting the foundation of a rhythm section and bass instrumentation into channels with a set of plugins all ready to go. And then saving all that as a template - man that's really going to save time when starting new songs. On top of that I can keep on updating that template as time goes on.

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I'm demoing it right now and contemplating it. Just might...
MacPro 5,1 12core x 3.46ghz-96gb MacOS 12.2 (opencore), X32+AES16e-50

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Dewdman42 wrote:I'm demoing it right now and contemplating it. Just might...
What have you been using, ie where are you coming from?


PERFORMANCE ISSUES

I've been tuning my system and pushing the Cubase sound engine to it's limits in my recent project to get a feel for the size of the CPU work space I have with this. I produce mostly with analogue VST synths ie Arturia V collection, u-he etc which put a huge demand on the CPU.

Coming from FL Studio it's so nice to have one click track freezing, offline editing and easy bouncing workflow solutions in Cubase. I found that workflow was a logistical nightmare in FL Studio, it made it impossible to manage large projects. In the end it was the main reason I decided to move over to Cubase.

Not only that, I'm finding the Cubase engine way more efficient. I'm not having to Freeze things as much and I'm working in 96Khz 32bit float 1024 samples with zero glitching, it just gets on with it and loads up all the CPU cores as it needs to. Compared to FL Studio it's like day and night.

I'm running a four year old 4 core i7 system, it's not bleeding edge but it's no slouch either. I was originally thinking I'll have to upgrade but with Cubase actually making full use of the system resources I'm not going to upgrade my DAW computer for a while and that's really good news.

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You have to be careful in pushing things to the edge resource-wise - my last project (Cubase 9.5 Pro) used every last drop and I couldn't export the finished track!
It wouldn't let me render in place either but fortunately I could freeze some instruments. Once I'd done that it exported ok.
Sounds simple now but it took a day to figure out what to do with quite a bit of blind panicking involved :D.

Grum.

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Grumbleweed wrote:Sounds simple now but it took a day to figure out what to do with quite a bit of blind panicking involved :D
Yeah that would have worried the hell out of me too.
I guess I'm at the point now in my current project where I should start to freeze sections to free up resources.

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I made the jump from FL Studio 7 to Cubase 5 back in the day, FL's workflow suited me so well before they revamped the playlist, now I can't get my head around it at all, it became useless to me.

So I made the switch, the change was massive, suddenly working a lot more in Audio, but the superior engine, timestretching algorithms, audio editing (Variaudio is awesome), Midi editing is better, but the biggest flaw in Cubase (Probably fixed in newer versions) was automation editing, absolute rubbish in V6.5 , I think they've worked on it since, someone can confirm that.

I am very glad I made the switch, FL Studio was great in the time I spent with it, but for me, the way it works now is arse backwards. Cubase gives you everything you need.

I tried Ableton 8, and literally hated it from the offset, never known a more awkward workflow. But I know loads love it, but it's not for me. So my advice, demo Cubase, spend the total time you get to try it, then make your decision.
Don't trust those with words of weakness, they are the most aggressive

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LeVzi wrote:but the biggest flaw in Cubase (Probably fixed in newer versions) was automation editing, absolute rubbish in V6.5 , I think they've worked on it since, someone can confirm that.
The automation seems ok in 9.5. They added curves this revision.
LeVzi wrote:suddenly working a lot more in Audio, but the superior engine, timestretching algorithms, audio editing (Variaudio is awesome),
I think the audio engine is just amazing, it's very clean. Maybe it's the 64bit resolution providing the clarity? by comparison I thought FL Studio sounded woolly, even the 96/24 exported audio is like that.

I didn't get along with Ableton either - Totally different workflow to what I'm into.

I have used previous versions of Cubase over the years, first with Pro 12/24 on the Atari, then Cubase 1.1 and 3.5, and now 9.5. They've come along really well.

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I've found the automation to be very intuitive and quick in Cubase (latest version 9.5.2). Adjusting individual clip volume is simple as dragging the the top 'dot' at the top down in a clip - you can even use the mousewheel which saves tons of time. Drawing in volume, panning, filtering and other automation data is very quick and there's pre-made shapes that you can apply as well, such as sine/triangle/etc.

Over the years I've demoed or had the opportunity to try various DAWs and while they are all impressive in their own right, I always found myself unable to get anything done in FL or Ableton, but that's more of how I work rather than the programs themselves, as everyone seems to be very productive with them. Cubase has a nice balanced workflow that suits how I think and its seems to have much in common with Logic, Sonar, ProTools, and Reaper. Its a fairly traditional workflow that's very robust and streamlined. I find myself using the Render in Place function constantly, and it's always something that I wished Sonar had as it's a massive time saver and a creative tool in its own right. The sampler track is simple but hugely effective and I use it constantly.

The only thing with Cubase is that there are so many features and options that it's easy to overlook them or not know what a certain button is meant for. With each recent update it appears that Cubase is simplifying and consolidating its interface which is a very good idea. I hope they also add more modular abilities such as Bitwig and Ableton, which are some of the nicest capabilities of those DAWs.

Also, the sound quality is top notch. Sonar's was good but at least to my ears it was very 'bright' and almost 'crispy', which is fine, just different. Cubase has a depth to its sound that is hard to describe; deep and smooth come to mind I suppose. I've run into some CPU spikes, and I have a fairly similar system to FlyingNoodle, (Core i7, about 4 years old, with 16 gigs of ram), but I run some admittedly CPU intensive plugins - Lush 101, Iris 2, Geist, etc. Render in Place is invaluable, as well as track freeze (which is way more reliable than Sonars). I know Junkie XL and Solar Fields use Cubase and they mention having 200 plus tracks going which is totally insane, but apparently, possible, with track freeze and rending.

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I have been demoing Cubase9, considering "adding" it to my arsenal as an alternative to LPX, DP and Reaper. Mainly I am currently using LPX. So far there are a few things about Cubase that made me say..hmm..maybe, that's kinda cool. But I have to say I'm also a bit underwhelmed compared to LPX and to a certain extent DP. I guess everyone has their favorites. I'm not sure I will be able to justify the cost of adding Cubase, but we'll see, I still have 15 days or so left on my trial period. I haven't truly pushed Cubase to get into it very deep, mostly just noodling around for a few hours at a time. I would appreciate any nudges by folks to check some certain feature out in particular.

Some things I ran into so far that I didn't like:
  1. Regions aren't loop-able. I haven't figured out any easy way to have a "repeat" at all actually. Maybe someone knows a way beyond copy and paste?
  2. The included instruments are ok, but pale in comparison to LPX by a long shot.
  3. Not sure if I like the GUI or not. Its growing on me but feels a bit like a theme park funhouse.
  4. No scripter plugin or equivalent, I use this A LOT in LPX.
  5. MIDI FX slots can't use VST/AU midi plugins. LPX can, either directly with AU-MFX or VST's inside a wrapper like patchworks or PlogueBidule. Using midi plugins in Cubase is a bit cumbersome, they have to be routed through the rack.
  6. I don't like the mixer so much...its ok. I like the mixer in logic and DP way more.
  7. I like LPX score editor more, but don't use it often anyway.
  8. LPX has ability to copy paste regions as aliases. Can Cubase do anything like that?
  9. I found myself opening and closing windows more often and moving them around. LPX has some great "link" features that once you tune into it is really smooth workflow.
  10. Ran into a bug already where I found that if an IAC bus is used as the input source, Cubase doesn't record properly. I'm not sure why, it places all the notes recorded into the region at the first beat. Strange. Looking at their forum I found people complaining about this for 4 years so far. Not a good sign.
  11. Dongle. Nuf said.
Some things I like:
  1. Properly supports VST3 multi ports, which is extremely useful for VEP
  2. Easier in general then LPX to route midi around. LPX is a cluster-f___
  3. Nested track folders are way better then LPX.
  4. Logical Editor
  5. Expression Maps and Note Expressions. I haven't spent much time with them, but I can see they would be useful.
  6. Chord Track, seems on the surface interesting, I need to mess with it more.
  7. no track limits, can create extremely large orchestral templates easily, LPX can be somewhat limited in this regard.
Stuff I need to look into more for comparison to LPX:
  1. pitch correction, beat correction, flex time, etc..
  2. Film scoring duties, hit point calculation and tempo adjustments, smpte markers, etc.
  3. Automation
  4. Track and project versioning
  5. Track Take methods and comping them, both midi and audio
  6. Really dig into Cubase midi editor to find out what all the fanfare is about as to why its supposedly so great as a midi editor.
MacPro 5,1 12core x 3.46ghz-96gb MacOS 12.2 (opencore), X32+AES16e-50

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Dewdman42 wrote:Regions aren't loop-able. I haven't figured out any easy way to have a "repeat" at all actually. Maybe someone knows a way beyond copy and paste?
If I think I understand what you mean you can create a marker track and set loop regions.

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FlyingNoodle wrote:
Dewdman42 wrote:Regions aren't loop-able. I haven't figured out any easy way to have a "repeat" at all actually. Maybe someone knows a way beyond copy and paste?
If I think I understand what you mean you can create a marker track and set loop regions.
I will investigate that, thanks for pointing it out!
MacPro 5,1 12core x 3.46ghz-96gb MacOS 12.2 (opencore), X32+AES16e-50

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