Cubase 4

Steinberg’s flagship sequencing and recording software has undergone major changes in its newest version, Cubase 4.

Review by Kevin Cameron

I’ve been a huge fan of Cubase since first using SX2 a few years ago, so I’ve been anticipating this latest update for a while, and was impressed with it when it finally came out. The wait between Cubase SX 3 and Cubase 4 was long, well over a year, but offers a new look, new effects, new instruments, new track types, and some huge new ways to actually use Cubase to make better music.

Cubase 4 has taken a step towards Logic’s approach by including more instruments and effects that are actually very usable. Most share a new simplified look of dark blue, turquoise and brushed metal knobs. Great new effects like AmpSimulator give much better distortion and tone than either Tube or Overdrive in SX 3. Combine this with the new well-designed multiband compressor and one of the three new EQs to make everything from vintage-sounding loops to grimy leads. Other new effects include a delay plug-in with low and high filters, a wah-wah, a tuner, a new compressor, just to name a few. All in all, there are 33 new effects, and 4 new instruments; Mystic, Prologue, Spector and the very useful HALionOne. The first three are synths that put shame to those in SX 3, and HALionOne is a sample player complete with all the essential, standard sounds.

Cubase 4 also offers a huge number of quality presets for all bundled plug-ins, along with an innovative way of managing them; SoundFrame. You can now search instrument and effect presets easier than ever by using descriptive terms like, “bass”, “mechanical”, “classical”, etc. You can also browse and search complete channel presets, including a combination of different effects, instruments or both. But the SoundFrame system is much more than just a preset browser: audio files, MIDI files, video files, and even entire Cubase projects can be retrieved this same way. Audio clips and instruments can be previewed in the context of your song. Ultimately, SoundFrame amounts to huge time savings, and handles the technical details while you focus on being more creative.

This new way to find sounds is put to good use with the new track type, the Instrument Track. Similar to Logic, this is a new way to create and use instruments. A single track in your arrange window will contain a virtual instrument, a stereo out, and can function as the MIDI track. This is another huge time saver from the standard method of having a VST Instruments window and a separate MIDI track (which is still needed for multi-timbral instruments). When creating a new Instrument Track, you will have the option to choose an instrument or browse presets. If you select Browse, you can hunt down the sound you are looking for regardless of which virtual instrument it is, and even play the patch on a MIDI keyboard before actually creating an instrument.

Graphically, Cubase has always had a nice appearance, but has looked somewhat busy since the SX series. With this latest version, Cubase 4 has eliminated the interesting gradients and textures that previously made the interface look visually bulky, and is now clearer and cleaner than ever before. This flatter look is similar to Ableton Live with less outlines and shading, and simpler shapes and colors. This is especially apparent in the mixer and the new instruments and effects.

I’ve never liked the mixer window in Cubase. It’s always seemed bulky, leading to me to use the Inspector instead. The mixer in Cubase 4 is functionally the same but slimmer, simpler and far less heavy. With fewer edges and gradients, it’s become a lot nicer to look at for 10+ hour work sessions. It’s also a lot easier to find the right channel in the mixer, as the entire strip takes on the color of the track in the arrange, not just a small line by the fader.

There is one giant new section in the Mixer; the Control Room. This is the innovative monitoring system that was previously only in Nuendo, Steinberg’s $2,000 professional / post-production sequencer. This feature isn’t for those working alone in their studio, but for people recording multiple musicians or other sources. It works somewhat similar to the master section of a large-format console. Create a talkback mic, outputs for different monitors, different reference inputs, Studio Outs for artists’ headphones, and an engineer headphone out. You have a lot of control over these channels with the Control Room Mixer, but it might take a little time to work out. Just set up key commands for all the features you use frequently and it’s very handy.

Updated Score Editor, drag-and-drop insert effects ordering, VST 3.0, and Universal Binary are just some of the additional features of Cubase 4. This is a huge update giving you far more useable features, and fewer gimmicks. This is also the reason for the price jump, which carries a price tag closer to $1,000, up from $800. However, Cubase 4 Studio is a lightweight version reminiscent of Cubase SL with fewer plug-ins, physical inputs and outputs, and no Control Room, selling for approximately $500. No doubt about it, software these days is expensive. For those that pay for it, bravo. For those that aren’t yet, well, you better be making some damn good music then.