Is Cubase the most frustrating DAW ever created?

[dlandis]

This is another entirely subjective discussion that I suspect is going to net no positive result.....

I'll say Cubase is the most straightforward and logic host I've interacted with.

But different brains click with different workflows and processes. So there isn't really a 'bad' system, there are just different systems in this case. Again purely subjective discussion. I wouldn't worry too much about it and just make music with what works for you.

I respectfully beg to disagree with your very first comment as your post is in itself actually a great example of a very positive addition to the discussion. And I think it very neatly sums up the issue.

We all have different brains and learning styles. As you said so well, no one DAW is going to suit everyone's needs or preferences (or perhaps even more broadly, this speaks to music software generally; personally, I think notation programs tend to be even more idiosyncratic than DAWs.) I recently bought Cubase after shying away from it for several years (though I'm honestly not sure why I did this.) Oddly, I too find it very straightforward so far.

But this discussion, I think, isn't so much "subjective" as "personal" in that, while we have our different proclivities, they are rooted in processes that are in practice fairly concrete and shape our perceptions in very definite ways. Again, your comment is very helpful, reminding us of these realities. As long as the discussion remains removed from a "party spirit," there can be growth in this thread. From one perspective, every major DAW commercially available offers something of value and has a target demographic. Hopefully, what we're getting at here via discussion may help others in sorting themselves into the correct audience for the appropriate DAW without some of the frustration and financial expense that a number of us have experienced.

Thanks for your comment.

That you ChatGPT?

Not at all. I really write this way (and I pretty much always have.)

I do certainly, however, understand why you might suspect otherwise.

[martinjuenke]

Thank you for your thoughtful response! I truly appreciate the respectful disagreement and the points you’ve made, which help deepen the conversation. I think you’re absolutely right in highlighting that individual preferences for DAWs (or music software in general) stem from a more personal space rather than purely subjective. Our learning styles, workflows, and experiences shape the way we interact with these tools in concrete ways.

The fact that you, too, found Cubase straightforward after some initial hesitation speaks to how our perceptions and experiences evolve over time, even with software we once avoided. And yes, you're spot on—this discussion goes beyond simple opinions. It’s about understanding those concrete factors that influence how each of us connects with a DAW.

It’s also refreshing to see the emphasis on avoiding a "party spirit" and recognizing that every major DAW has something valuable to offer. I couldn’t agree more that conversations like this can help others navigate their choices with fewer frustrations and unnecessary costs. Thank you again for your perspective—it's a great addition to the discussion!

[dlandis]

YES! It literally has invisible buttons that only appear if you mouse over them. I’ve been doing this since Studio Vision Pro, and I’ve yet to be as stumped by a DAW than I am while trying to learn this mess. I hope it’s worth it.

Please forgive me if your question has already been answered and I missed it, but have you checked moving the three little dots to make some of those invisible buttons appear (again, forgive me if I'm extrapolating in error; it is often difficult to envision exactly to what one is referring from an internet post.)

Here's an example: next to the Transport Bar, there are three very small dots. Clicking and dragging on them will bring into visibility in the interface several other buttons for the Transport. Is this the type of issue about which you have a question?

[audiouser720]

This is another entirely subjective discussion that I suspect is going to net no positive result.....

I'll say Cubase is the most straightforward and logic host I've interacted with.

But different brains click with different workflows and processes. So there isn't really a 'bad' system, there are just different systems in this case. Again purely subjective discussion. I wouldn't worry too much about it and just make music with what works for you.

I respectfully beg to disagree with your very first comment as your post is in itself actually a great example of a very positive addition to the discussion. And I think it very neatly sums up the issue.

We all have different brains and learning styles. As you said so well, no one DAW is going to suit everyone's needs or preferences (or perhaps even more broadly, this speaks to music software generally; personally, I think notation programs tend to be even more idiosyncratic than DAWs.) I recently bought Cubase after shying away from it for several years (though I'm honestly not sure why I did this.) Oddly, I too find it very straightforward so far.

But this discussion, I think, isn't so much "subjective" as "personal" in that, while we have our different proclivities, they are rooted in processes that are in practice fairly concrete and shape our perceptions in very definite ways. Again, your comment is very helpful, reminding us of these realities. As long as the discussion remains removed from a "party spirit," there can be growth in this thread. From one perspective, every major DAW commercially available offers something of value and has a target demographic. Hopefully, what we're getting at here via discussion may help others in sorting themselves into the correct audience for the appropriate DAW without some of the frustration and financial expense that a number of us have experienced.

Thanks for your comment.

That you ChatGPT?

Not at all. I really write this way (and I pretty much always have.)

I do certainly, however, understand why you might suspect otherwise.

It seems that there was a bit of a mix-up. Your writing style is undoubtedly unique and engaging, and it’s clear that you possess a genuine flair for expression that stands apart from any automated assistance. I sincerely apologise for any misunderstanding this may have caused.

It’s always a fine line between creative expression and the modern conveniences of technology, isn’t it? I suppose we should all be grateful that we live in an age where our prose can spark such curiosity—even if it does lead to a few wild assumptions!

Thank you once again for your candidness. I look forward to reading more of your insightful contributions in the future.

[VOODOO U]

Do you all need a f**king beer? This "all proper" and "polite" shit is too corny.
And stupid.

[dlandis]

This is another entirely subjective discussion that I suspect is going to net no positive result.....

I'll say Cubase is the most straightforward and logic host I've interacted with.

But different brains click with different workflows and processes. So there isn't really a 'bad' system, there are just different systems in this case. Again purely subjective discussion. I wouldn't worry too much about it and just make music with what works for you.

I respectfully beg to disagree with your very first comment as your post is in itself actually a great example of a very positive addition to the discussion. And I think it very neatly sums up the issue.

We all have different brains and learning styles. As you said so well, no one DAW is going to suit everyone's needs or preferences (or perhaps even more broadly, this speaks to music software generally; personally, I think notation programs tend to be even more idiosyncratic than DAWs.) I recently bought Cubase after shying away from it for several years (though I'm honestly not sure why I did this.) Oddly, I too find it very straightforward so far.

But this discussion, I think, isn't so much "subjective" as "personal" in that, while we have our different proclivities, they are rooted in processes that are in practice fairly concrete and shape our perceptions in very definite ways. Again, your comment is very helpful, reminding us of these realities. As long as the discussion remains removed from a "party spirit," there can be growth in this thread. From one perspective, every major DAW commercially available offers something of value and has a target demographic. Hopefully, what we're getting at here via discussion may help others in sorting themselves into the correct audience for the appropriate DAW without some of the frustration and financial expense that a number of us have experienced.

Thanks for your comment.

That you ChatGPT?

Not at all. I really write this way (and I pretty much always have.)

I do certainly, however, understand why you might suspect otherwise.

It seems that there was a bit of a mix-up. Your writing style is undoubtedly unique and engaging, and it’s clear that you possess a genuine flair for expression that stands apart from any automated assistance. I sincerely apologise for any misunderstanding this may have caused.

It’s always a fine line between creative expression and the modern conveniences of technology, isn’t it? I suppose we should all be grateful that we live in an age where our prose can spark such curiosity—even if it does lead to a few wild assumptions!

Thank you once again for your candidness. I look forward to reading more of your insightful contributions in the future.

Please do not apologize for your comment; I was genuinely amused by your response, and it gave me a chuckle. I was not offended in the least. I am also glad that my writing style was not off-putting. I have occasionally had that response as well.

You are totally correct in your observations regarding the use of AI and communication on message boards and the like. Unfortunately, I cannot claim that all the influences on my expressiveness were positive. I had a supervisor at one point many years ago who delighted in utilizing vague language when drawing up evaluations. He intended, with his imprecision, to escape being questioned by the employees for which he was responsible (who would almost invariably assume the comments were positive,) but, in my case, the result was his having to deal with my rebuttals requesting clarification. The superintendent of the district told me one day how entertaining she found the rejoinders I wrote, but my intent wasn't to be obstreperous: I seriously wanted to get to the heart of what was intended by the language in the evaluations.

Thank you for your reply! Please do forgive me if my comments fit into the category of "TMI."

[dlandis]

Thank you for your thoughtful response! I truly appreciate the respectful disagreement and the points you’ve made, which help deepen the conversation. I think you’re absolutely right in highlighting that individual preferences for DAWs (or music software in general) stem from a more personal space rather than purely subjective. Our learning styles, workflows, and experiences shape the way we interact with these tools in concrete ways.

The fact that you, too, found Cubase straightforward after some initial hesitation speaks to how our perceptions and experiences evolve over time, even with software we once avoided. And yes, you're spot on—this discussion goes beyond simple opinions. It’s about understanding those concrete factors that influence how each of us connects with a DAW.

It’s also refreshing to see the emphasis on avoiding a "party spirit" and recognizing that every major DAW has something valuable to offer. I couldn’t agree more that conversations like this can help others navigate their choices with fewer frustrations and unnecessary costs. Thank you again for your perspective—it's a great addition to the discussion!

Thanks for your kind comments.

One thing for which I am endlessly grateful is the fact that we do have so many choices in the music technology world. There really is a wealth of variety and the options, from the perspective of even fifty years ago, seem comparatively endless.

Interestingly, two things I do remember about the first encounter I had with Cubase many years ago are, first, the edition I tried was a very stripped-down free edition, and second, I had some catastrophic crashes with it. (If memory serves, the free version was distributed on one 3.5 floppy.) I was primarily using Cakewalk at the time and was pretty pleased with it overall, so I just stayed put. When Cakewalk went bust around 2018, I felt the need to explore a bit. Again, strangely (and after using a few other platforms,) Cubase feels very much a piece with my past experience. Also, whatever stability problems existed for me previously with the software are nonexistent. So, I especially appreciate your observation about how perceptions change over time.

Again, many thanks.

[machinesworking]

One thing that happens though in these threads is people forget what defending a DAW should look like, i.e. the last two pages were glowing hot air. What is it that makes Cubase better to you than other DAWs? It seems like people forget that part of the whole routine? if you're defending the accusation that it's frustrating, give us more than simple praise.

For one I know that Cubase's articulation mapping is pretty straightforward, compared to Logic for instance. Mostly because DP has the same type more or less.

We know that Bitwig has plugin sandboxing and well thought out commands.

Reaper is super user definable, customizable to the nth degree.

DP is a "do everything" DAW, that does songs within songs.

Logic has amazing AI drummers, bass players, a great step sequencer etc.



All I know about Cubase's supposed superiority is it always has the latest tech, although it's not a clip luanching DAW.

[Alexander_D]

Cubase 14 will be released very soon. We will see... maybe it will be the next step!..

[mataya]

I work in Cubase for over 20 years and instead of listing what's good or bad about it...the fact that I made a lot of work in it professionally and was rarely "frustrated" by it, say's a lot.
It has what I need for my job...if it doesn't, I use something else.

[yoursoul]

Do you all need a f**king beer? This "all proper" and "polite" shit is too corny.
And stupid.

Hey, I get where you're coming from! Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, and that's totally cool. Some folks just feel more comfortable being polite, but it doesn’t mean they’re not being real. It’s all about finding a balance that works for everyone, right? We’re all here to share our thoughts, so hopefully we can vibe with different styles and keep the conversation flowing. Cheers and thanks for contributing!

[EfreetiSultan]

Damn it looks like two chat gpt talking with eachother in here lmao

[EfreetiSultan]

Do you all need a f**king beer? This "all proper" and "polite" shit is too corny.
And stupid.

Hey, I get where you're coming from! Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, and that's totally cool. Some folks just feel more comfortable being polite, but it doesn’t mean they’re not being real. It’s all about finding a balance that works for everyone, right? We’re all here to share our thoughts, so hopefully we can vibe with different styles and keep the conversation flowing. Cheers and thanks for contributing!

Bro this is 100% chatgpt

[yoursoul]

Do you all need a f**king beer? This "all proper" and "polite" shit is too corny.
And stupid.

Hey, I get where you're coming from! Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, and that's totally cool. Some folks just feel more comfortable being polite, but it doesn’t mean they’re not being real. It’s all about finding a balance that works for everyone, right? We’re all here to share our thoughts, so hopefully we can vibe with different styles and keep the conversation flowing. Cheers and thanks for contributing!

Bro this is 100% chatgpt

Haha, I can see why you’d say that! Just trying to keep things respectful and light. We’re all here for a good conversation, and a little positivity never hurts, right? Let’s keep it chill and have some fun with it!

[EfreetiSultan]

Lol that's exactly what chatgpt would say