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Steinberg Cubase 4 £649
As expected, Cubase sets the bar far higher than anyone else with aplomb.
The MusicRadar Team, Tue 23 Oct 2007, 12:05 pm UTC
You can control all of your monitoring without bringing an external mixer into play.
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That's Cubase 4's major new features covered - Control Room, MediaBay, Instrument Tracks and the new synthesizer collection - but there are actually bucketloads of minor tweaks and improvements throughout the program. There are 30 new audio effect plug-ins (bringing the total to 66), more flexible customisation of the user interface, and better organisation of the many parameters and settings that relate to score writing.
Glitches
This being the first release of a major update, it's perhaps unsurprising that we found glitches in some of the new features. In the past, though, Steinberg have tended to jump on
bugs pretty quickly, so we're prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt for now and assume that they'll sort out Cubase 4's soon enough. What we have here is a very significant, sophisticated upgrade for hardcore Cubase users, and one that also ticks all the right boxes if you're buying a DAW for the first time.
The new synths make Cubase 4 a powerful, self-contained music production environment, while the MediaBay takes the software closer to 'high productivity' and easy-to-use composing tools such as Ableton Live. If that high price tag is still bugging you, just think again about what you're getting: No less than six top-class synths (and no duds among them); a large sample library; an instant-access, multiformat multimedia librarian; perhaps the most sophisticated and well-thought-out signal routing of any professional audio application; and an interface that's been honed by years of development. Cubase 4 sets the bar higher than ever before, and other DAW developers might feel that they're now playing catch-up
Verdict
With its practical new features and impressive plug-ins, Steinberg’s update is spot on. Cubase 4 could be the most powerful and flexible cross-platform DAW around.
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User comments (3)
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I'm new to Cubase and I love it. It's quick to learn if you do tutorials and read the manual!! Sound quality is fantastic as is the quality of the VST's. The GUI is easy on the eye for those long sessions. I'm on Cubase 4.5 now and the updates have been good one's with the addition of sidechaining etc. Its been very stable for me and I am really enjoying the learning curve. Again 5 stars (all my products on my profile have 5 stars! I can't help it, I luv 'em all!!) :-)
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Pros:
Lots of features, including synths, effects and cataloging of media (similar to NI Kore's idea, but inclusive of all Cubase content types and very helpful for auditioning synth patches for included synth plugins). Dongle copy protection (good for selling your copy legally or moving from machine to machine at convenience).
Cons:
HalionOne sucks (CPU). Not all plugins are Universal Binary on Mac version. The media cataloging browser is a great idea but the GUI is annoying and there are lots of crashes with this feature. Lousy GUI organization and behavior, crash prone, even on version 4.1 on a MacBook Pro, compatibility issues with 3rd party VSTs (which is ironic since Steinberg are the creators of the VST technology) and the general state of user community impression of Steinberg's support: i hear of MANY complaints about a "less than friendly" support reputation. Price is high compared to similar products like Cakewalk Sonar 7. Dongle copy protection (bad if you lose it, if it dies, if you break it, etc., since Steinberg will not replace it for you - it IS the product you paid so much money for).
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MusicRadar rating
Pros
The most sophisticated DAW out there. Advanced new monitor signal routing. Four innovative new synthesizers. Independent headphone mix buses for artists. 30 new plug-in effects. Cleaner and crisper GUI. Significantly improved channel equalisers
Cons
There’s an awful lot to learn! One or two bugs need to be ironed out.
Verdict
With its practical new features and impressive plug-ins, Steinberg’s update is spot on. Cubase 4 could be the most powerful and flexible cross-platform DAW around.
Review Policy
All MusicRadar’s reviews are by independent product specialists, who are not aligned to any gear manufacturer or retailer. Our experts also write for renowned magazines such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Computer Music, Future Music and Rhythm. All are part of Future PLC, the biggest publisher of music making magazines in the world.
User rating
Specification Show
Cubase 4
- Price:
- £649
- Description:
- Digital audio workstation.
- Min Processor Speed (GHz) (GHz):
- 1.5
- OS Requirements:
- Apple Mac OS X 10.4 or later, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional
- Platform:
- MacOS/Windows
- Processor Type Required:
- Intel, Pentium, Power Mac G4 or higher
- Ram Required (MB) (MB):
- 512
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Knarly1
Sun 9 Nov 2008, 6:20 pm UTC
User rating 5 of 5