Steinberg Made Easy
The legends behind Cubase bring us a tool that´s bound to kick-start a new music making generation
Steinberg have recently released their new ‘fully-loaded´ software studio, Sequel for PC and Mac. Similar to Apple´s GarageBand, this is directed towards consumer use, boasting a GUI that is incredibly straightforward, and sequencing possibilities that can help a novice compose a track within minutes. An unlimited number of audio tracks (or however much your CPU can handle) can be used in one project and up to eight audio tracks can be recorded to simultaneously. The provided sample library is packed with over 5,000 loops of different genres. By using the media library, the search for the right category, instrument, genre and character means you can locate and isolate the loops you are looking for extremely quickly. The project will automatically set its keynote and tempo to the first sample you place on the arrangement, but this can be changed at any point by using the simple functions on the transport.
The interface is designed to make the program as easy to navigate as possible. Every section of the program is neatly packed into one window All of the tool parameters are accessible in the MultiZone at the bottom of the window, so moving from one ‘zone´ (as each section is known) to another, means whatever is in your arrangement will not be blocked from view. There are even tools that make playback possibilities more functional. Up to 16 sections of a project arrangement can be assigned to Cue Pads, giving you control over which parts are played when by punching each section in, which can be very handy when sequencing or remixing in real time. Over 600 virtual instruments and over 20 built-in effects are included, including 3-band EQ, a fixed compressor in each channel, and event effects (arpeggiator and chorder) for instrument channels. VST and DXi are not supported however, but Steinberg have announced a Cubase update for the summer that will allow you to import Sequel projects.
All typical file formats are supported on import, as well as OggVorbis and WMA Pro, and projects can be exported as WAV, AIFF, AIFC and WAV64. Projects can also be uniquely exported to iTunes. You can buy it now priced at £79.
