Short Review of Cubase 5

[Zack Uidl]

Hey everyone,

So I finally got around to buying Cubase 5 and wanted to give short review of it because I know a bunch of people here had concerns relating to it.

Basically, it is completely solid. I have no issues using it either on my MAC or PC setup. (Both with the 5.0.0 and 5.0.1 maintenance update.)

It has some incrediblely great ITB plugins and is very intuitive and for me, is a great workflow. I am in love with this application!

I have had no crashes, problems with automation, or anything. Everything is working as it should be.

Cons:

1-On my PC system, running XP, I was not able to authorize the dongle correctly. (This was before I installed in on my MAC setup. I was more concerned with using it on PC than MAC so it tried it first. I had to use my MAC to authorize the dongle properly to work with the PC.) Basically, this was an issue with the PC and the LCC (License Control Center)

2-There are a bunch of things I will most likely never use. It comes with a ton of extra things, mainly loops and stuff like that, which I see as pointless.

Other than those slight negatives, I am overwhelmingly happy with the purchase.

As I work with it more, I will let you all know if I run into any issues. Although, I can't really see that I will from my week using it exclusively.

 

[Kazrog]

Sums up my feelings about Cubase 5 pretty well. Solid on Mac and PC here also!

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

This is good to hear because I'm considering the upgrade this month.

 

[Nebulous]

This is good to hear because I will be upgrading this month.

Fixed and +1.

 

[poidaobi]

I've had mine for like 2 months and barely used it.

Farkin' work. FUCK!

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

I think I'm going to sell my free grace period upgrade haha, does anyone know if I can actually do that? it seems....wrong, haha.

 

[Black neon bob]

Well cool, thanks for the wee review.. im still considering and will probably buy the end of this month as well, i even think i can find use of the loops stuff etc.

cheers.

 

[Ermz]

Glad to hear it. I'm still wondering what to do. I have no particular love for continuing to run a dongle for the DAW and pay several hundred for what's solely a mixing station for me, so the temptation to jump over to Reaper is quite high at the moment.

 

[LeSedna]

I think you should just wait the last version of reaper coming, test it for a few days, and compare it with Cubase. Cause ther's the beta 7, but I feel it needs final enhancement (on my shitty laptop, i had a few glitches that never happen with reaper 2).

 

[Splat88]

I'm getting Cubase 5 this week after finals are over. Can't wait.

Without a doubt, the biggest feature for me is the offline processing of effects on every track in the song with the click of 1 mouse button. Sure it will probably take forever, but at least I can say goodbye to the crappy Freeze function and release some much needed CPU. CPU is my biggest bottleneck to workflow these days.

i hope it will be as stable as the previous versions have been for me. I hear about people complaining about stability issues with Cubase, but I can honestly say that I've never, ever had any problems with crashing or stability in any version of Cubase. I think that may be more of problem with each individual computer than the DAW itself.

 

[Soundlurker]

CPU is my biggest bottleneck to workflow these days.

What is your current CPU? If it is dual-core have you checked the "multi-processing" option? Why do you prefer having to rely on offline processing to upgrading your computer? Sorry if these are too many questions, I'm just surprised people still settle for computers with insufficient power. I haven't upgraded my 2-year-old CPU (~100$) and I've just recently reached it's limits.

 

[Splat88]

My computer could use an overhaul, but its not too bad and I'll definitely be building a new PC this summer. Yes I have a dual core and of course the multi-processing option is checked. More performance would certainly help, but trust me, it would not fix the root of the problem because I have tried on better systems. My drum mixes take up half of my CPU power alone, then add guadtracked guitars (but different takes totalling 8 instances of Gearbox/Wagner plus), then add two more instances of Gearbox for bass. Now add some VSTi synths plus VST effects for them, and then you've got vocals. The way I mix vocals is a HUGE strain on my PC. Some of my songs require me to mix the vocals in a completely different project with a bounce of the backing tracks. My computer can handle most of the songs I do, but I hate how it runs when its that bogged down. Plus I hate waiting 3 or 4 minutes for the song to mixdown to a .wav file to test it out in my car or something. I'm very impatient. I need the mixdowns NOW NOW NOW!!!!

 

[462studio]

Stupid question. I'm on SX 3 now. If I buy the upgrade to 5, can I rollback to SX 3 if I for some reason absolutely despise 5?

 

[Soundlurker]

^^ I see. An i7 should fix this but that would mean changing the MB as well. A 45nm quad core should be a significant improvement, especially with some overclocking.

Sorry for the OT.

 

[The Unavoidable]

Awesome, I'll be looking into getting it when I get my new comp. It's a bit pricy though, I'll see if I can get some upgrade deal or something since I'm already running Cubase LE.

 

[Splat88]

^^ I see. An i7 should fix this but that would mean changing the MB as well. A 45nm quad core should be a significant improvement, especially with some overclocking.

Oh man, an i7 would be great. Probably won't be able to go that route, but a quad core would definitely relieve some strain and at least help improve mixdown speed. Ah the toys....

 

[462studio]

I'm running a Core2 Quad 2.4 and I can go completely insane with my box in SX3 before I start having issues.

I was working on a project with ~60 tracks earlier, 5-8 compressors, delays, 6 instances of Drumagog, master bus inserts, etc.

All the while I had VMWare running another instance of WindowsXP in the background that I was actively using.

I reeeeally don't quite see the need to spend cash on the i7s....not yet.

The waiting for mixdowns does suck though. That still takes a few.

 

[Jevil]

CUBASE 5??

Oh fuck, I think it's time to update my good old Cubase.

 

[Zack Uidl]

^ haha, that is hilarious.

 

[Psych05]

Stupid question. I'm on SX 3 now. If I buy the upgrade to 5, can I rollback to SX 3 if I for some reason absolutely despise 5?

Yes, you can. After upgrade you will not have a SX3 and a C5 license like you might expect, but only one Cubase 5 license. However, the C5 license allows you to run older Versions of the programs as well (SX1 through C5, in fact).