What is wrong with Cubase?

[robotmonkey]

On the other I feel like it deters producers away because you need to spend 30-40$ on a USB drive and unlike ILOK you dont even have much use for it other then Cubase...

WTF are you talking about? You don't need to spend a dime, It's offered to you when you buy Cubase.

... and it's NOT a USB drive - it's a USB "key".

And you can use it for several things besides Cubase. Currently, I have in there licenses for Steinberg, VSL, Xils-Lab, and I still have some Waldorf licenses (although Waldorf left eLicenser in the latest versions).

Never understood either why would anyone pay 40$ + 25$ for shipping for a shitty usb stick that costs probably 5$ just to run software. If any developer want's to use that kind of protection they should provide it free with free shipping and a spare for emergencies included.

[Ah_Dziz]

Not much wrong with it at all. I’ve been using it for 24 years. I use it for all my scoring work. Sometimes it’s fun to play around with something like Bitwig or Maschine, but all my serious work gets done in Cubase. It’s also handy to keep a protools rig on hand (even though it is my least favorite DAW by far) for trading sessions with other studios.
Lots of people get free copies of ableton lite and such with hardware purchases and then there are all the warez users. Also Logic is a crazy good deal for the money, but being Mac only keeps it from getting a good chunk of the market locked down.

[lotus2035]

What is wrong with Cubase?

Absolutely nothing.
Many professionals are using it for actual work and don't spend any time whatsoever talking about it on YouTube or the likes of KVR.
Not everything has to be a popularity contest.

[jonljacobi]

About the only thing you could legitimately criticize is the interface, but you can do just about anything with it so really, nothing.

[chk071]

On the other I feel like it deters producers away because you need to spend 30-40$ on a USB drive and unlike ILOK you dont even have much use for it other then Cubase...

WTF are you talking about? You don't need to spend a dime, It's offered to you when you buy Cubase.

... and it's NOT a USB drive - it's a USB "key".

And you can use it for several things besides Cubase. Currently, I have in there licenses for Steinberg, VSL, Xils-Lab, and I still have some Waldorf licenses (although Waldorf left eLicenser in the latest versions).

Never understood either why would anyone pay 40$ + 25$ for shipping for a shitty usb stick that costs probably 5$ just to run software. If any developer want's to use that kind of protection they should provide it free with free shipping and a spare for emergencies included.

How good then that it only costs 22 €, and, that it's even included when you buy Cubase Pro or Artist.

[fmr]

Never understood either why would anyone pay 40$ + 25$ for shipping for a shitty usb stick that costs probably 5$ just to run software. If any developer want's to use that kind of protection they should provide it free with free shipping and a spare for emergencies included.

I never paid a dime for eLicensers. And I never needed to replace any of those I have.

But I have paid more than once for iLOKs.

[chimp_spanner]

I don't really have a concept of how popular Cubase is. I know for a while it was considered 'unprofessional', but they've definitely turned that around. I've got 10.5 Pro (long time user, since version 2 in the 90s). And it is amazing. Also a bit daunting? I mean I've been making music for most of my 36 years and even now, sometimes I load up Cubase and I see all the stuff it can do and I'm just sat there with no ideas feeling like it's judging me haha.

I own a few other DAWs too; Maschine, FL Studio 20, Studio One 4 Pro, Reason 11 Suite and Ableton Live 10 Suite. With all of these (with the exception of Studio One) I feel like they encourage you to just experiment and explore more. In Reason it's like I'm opening a huge toy chest, and just seeing what happens when I plug different things in (the addition of MIDI FX is super powerful in this regard generative drum machines, novel sequencers, note processors, etc.).

Same with Live - I'm very new to it but I love the way you can just capture random ideas into clips and then chuck it all together on the fly and see what works.

With Cubase, I dunno. It's more like I need to know what I'm gonna write going into it. Odd because I never *used* to have that problem. I guess also it's been a while since they added anything really new or inspiring. It does what it's always done, and it does it super well. Maybe I'm just burnt out But right now, I'm leaning more towards programs that embrace the idea of 'playing'. I know it's common for people to refer to things perceived as unprofessional as toys but play and fun should be part of the creative process right?

Also if I was a new user, the included sounds would be a big turn off. I know it might be a moot point for those of us who have a stack of sounds, but if you're coming into this fresh the sound set of something like Live is super appealing. Cubase's library is pretty dated tbh.

And the dongle...is an issue. I can't see why it's necessary in 2020. I mean right now, I've got the Mac on my lap. Talking about Cubase makes me wanna load it up and just have a fiddle but I gotta dig out a USB-C adapter so I can use the dongle and open the program. What if I wasn't at home? Makes no sense to me that if inspiration strikes and I don't have either of those things, I *have* to use something else. It needs online authentication.

[fmr]

Talking about Cubase makes me wanna load it up and just have a fiddle but I gotta dig out a USB-C adapter so I can use the dongle and open the program.

That's a Mac problem, not a Cubase problem. Pretty much any other laptop has a regular USB connector (at least - usually more). Blame Apple, not Steinberg.

[chimp_spanner]

Talking about Cubase makes me wanna load it up and just have a fiddle but I gotta dig out a USB-C adapter so I can use the dongle and open the program.

That's a Mac problem, not a Cubase problem. Pretty much any other laptop has a regular USB connector (at least - usually more). Blame Apple, not Steinberg.

I didn’t like it when I was on PC either. I just think there should be more than one hardware based method to access work. Dongles can get damaged or lost or left in the studio. I know a couple of people who that happened to on tour and they were using Cubase to drive their backing tracks and patch changes. Nightmare!

[chk071]

Actually, the USB-C is a good point... at some point, all computers will only have USB-C ports, so, either Steinberg manufactures a new USB-C dongle, or drops eLicenser completely.

[dellboy]

Would a bluetooth dongle be possible ?

Or some sort of device that activated the Cubase licence within a certain physical proximity of a few feet or so ?

Something that could live on a fob with the house and car keys ?

Or is there a technical reason stopping this ?

[fmr]

Would a bluetooth dongle be possible ?

Or some sort of device that activated the Cubase licence within a certain physical proximity of a few feet or so ?

Something that could live on a fob with the house and car keys ?

Or is there a technical reason stopping this ?

I'0d guess there is a practical reason - a bkuetooth device could probably validate Cubase to run on several computers at the same time, which is NOT what Steinberg wants

[chimp_spanner]

Would a bluetooth dongle be possible ?

Or some sort of device that activated the Cubase licence within a certain physical proximity of a few feet or so ?

Something that could live on a fob with the house and car keys ?

Or is there a technical reason stopping this ?

I don't know if that's even been tried before? But really it's just a variation on the same problem; lose the fob (or it runs out of charge); no music for you. Computer authorisation and online authentication have been done now. It definitely works! I know there are still problems like in some situations changing hardware changes the computer ID and you have to report the old one as stolen/lost and re-auth, and then you run into lifetime activation issues. Internet can drop out. But I think if we had these three methods then the dongle could end up being an insurance policy against the other two failing. The fact that it's the only one right now just seems weird to me.

[fmr]

Actually, the USB-C is a good point... at some point, all computers will only have USB-C ports, so, either Steinberg manufactures a new USB-C dongle, or drops eLicenser completely.

I doubt. Regular USB still has a lot to offer and the PC platform is known for its conservative approach and backwards compatibility. And you would probably still be able to reach USB hubs (my USB keys are all in a small 4-port hub).

But if that time comes (which is yet to be seen), Steinberg will probably offer some kind of key replacement. I wouldn't be surprised to see a USB-C key appearing in the next couple of years.

[chk071]

Actually, the USB-C is a good point... at some point, all computers will only have USB-C ports, so, either Steinberg manufactures a new USB-C dongle, or drops eLicenser completely.

I doubt. Regular USB still has a lot to offer and the PC platform is known for its conservative approach and backwards compatibility. And you would probably still be able to reach USB hubs (my USB keys are all in a small 4-port hub).

Same here, actually, that's the reason I bought it. Very handy for bluetooth dongles, or wireless mouse or keyboard dongles as well though.