Nuendo (on sale now) vs. Cubase

[SamDi]

I am long waiting for getting Cubase on sale. Now Nuendo is on sale and I am asking myself, if this could be an option giving me some benefits over Cubase. I understood, that Nuendo offers most advantage for post-, movie- and game-production.

My questions are directed to people who have access and comparison two both versions:

1.) I do only music production - are there any features in Nuendo, which are also an advantage for music production?
2.) How are the release-cycles? For Cubase it's common to have a xx.5 intermediate version, for Nuendo not(?). Does it mean that Nuendo is updated with half release cycles of Cubase and then getting features much later? When is version 13 probable?
2.) I demoed once Cubase and it felt slow and unstable on my computer, while I don't have that with Nuendo now. Are there any experienced differences in stability, test-depth and maturity? Could that be related to the release cylcles? Are there any statements from Steinberg, that they use Cubase as a vehicle for rolling out new features for testing in hobbyist and semi-pro circles and then roll it out later on the full-professional path afterwards?

[zvenx]

Hi, I use both on mac and pc.
1) There was once a list, but I don't remember now what was on that list (that is Nuendo features, cubase users want for music production), I think the automation is one though.
2) I am not sure SB still follows the .5 versions.. I dont' think there was a Cubase 11.5 for instance and for sure up to now there is no 12.5... What I can say without hopefully breaking any nda's is they are tested in parallel these days. Though Cubase is released first and Nuendo a bit later as they add and test more Nuendo only features.
But yes sometimes features are introduced as Nuendo exclusive features first and then introduced in Cubase further down the road...
3) Odd that one behaves differently than the other, when they are both the identical code in the common parts.... I have them both on mac and pc like I said, and have never really noticed a performance difference.
I can't think of a feature that was first introduced in Cubase then added to Nuendo unless I am misunderstanding your last question.


This comparison which you might have already seen, may give you more insight into your first question.

https://www.steinberg.net/nuendo/compare-editions/

rsp

[osiris]

I've used both and they are not really that different.

[simmo75]

I've used both and they are not really that different.

Couldn’t be further from the truth…

You can find the comparisons on Steinbergs site.

Nuendo is much more set up for mixed media, game audio, soundtracks etc. it has batch export management, surround sound and ambisonics.

But also you can use as a simple music production DAW too.

[zvenx]

yeah but if you don't use those functions, they are not very different.
Since their new licensing system I have nuendo and cubase side by side on both mac and pc, and sometimes I am working on a project and one and don't immediately remember which one I am in.
But indeed Nuendo is all that Cubase is plus plus, if you use those features.
rsp

[lfm]

This in system requirements i found interesting
"Processors with hybrid-architecture design, such as 12th Gen Intel® Core™ or newer, are currently not supported on Windows operating systems. Running Cubase 12 on systems with hybrid-architecture CPUs can lead to audio dropouts and reduced performance."

I never saw this stated for a daw before.

Not in Cubase, but generally I had issues until I turned off E-cores and got a second usb 3 controller on PCI Express for audio. This on Windows 11. So running fine now.

E-cores are just about half speed, and these are mixed in software not aware of them and just suddenly run many threads on half speed compared to the others.

[osiris]

That's the thing. I didn't use any of those, but yes take that into consideration if you do mixed media.

[Atlatnesiti]

Good deal - buy it while you can

[magog]

Apparently, Nuendo has version control. That's interesting. Can't seem to find any information on it though.

[soulata]

Cubase in on sale every now and then. Just a while ago it was upgrades. It happens, wait for it.

The last time I could get it for 230€ roughly.

[Trensharo]

For music production, Nuendo is a waste of money in the long run as Cubase has pretty much everything you'd ever want without the higher entry (and sales) price and more costly upgrade fees.

The sale does make it seem enticing, but Cubase has similar sales and cross grade pricing, as well. Wait for a sale for Cubase. It's already Mid August, and the longest you'd have to wait is... Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

[mgw38]

Imho Steinberg has devalued Nuendo a bit by including pretty much all fundamental features, including Atmos and Ambisonics, into Cubase. What is left in Nuendo are a couple of high end, but very niche, capabilities. If you are working with 22.2 audio, need to work with the external Atmos renderer instead of the internal one, or you need to integrate into a game development project via Perforce version control, for example, Nuendo can do all that. But if you would have added benefit from Nuendo, you would already know exactly what that benefit would be.

[zvenx]

Nuendo as you know is geared towards post audio.
It has many many tools that are exceedingly helpful for that industry.
rsp

[AdvancedFollower]

For music production, Nuendo is a waste of money in the long run as Cubase has pretty much everything you'd ever want without the higher entry (and sales) price and more costly upgrade fees.

That's a good point. Every time you want to upgrade to the latest version you'll pay more for Nuendo than Cubase. Same for Cubase Pro vs Artist, so it pays off to make sure you only pay for the features you need.

[SamDi]

Hey folks, thanks so far for the answers. In the meanwhile I couldn't resist and grabbed it. As Cubase was my first DAW as a student, decades ago, with a not so legal approach, it feels like coming home. Bitwig/Ableton are still my goto-DAWs, but the mightiness of Nuendo is gorgeous