Steinberg Cubase VST5.0

PC users have had to wait almost two years for many of the improvements which graced version 4 of Steinberg's popular sequencing package on the Mac platform. Now, however, they've leapfrogged straight to version 5, a major upgrade which incorporates all of those improvements and more. Martin Walker finds out if the wait was worthwhile.

Although new features such as 24‑bit recording, VST Instruments and ASIO 2 were added in versions 3.6 and 3.65, it's taken two years for Steinberg to bring the full specification of Cubase on the PC to the same level as the Mac version 4. The latest version 5.0, however, not only brings the two platforms into sync, but also adds a host of new features and improvements over version 4. In fact, Mac users will have to wait a short while before getting their hands on the v5.0 features, although they should be identical to those described in this review.

All three models in the new range — Cubase VST, Cubase VST Score, and the flagship Cubase VST/32 that replaces the old Cubase VST/24 — now support 24‑bit audio recording. The internal resolution is 32‑bit, but there are new dithering options for use when mastering to 16‑bit, including Apogee's acclaimed UV22 algorithm in VST/32. Both VST and Score now support up to 72 audio tracks, and VST/32 up to 128. The EQ algorithm has been improved, and a new top display resolution of 15360 ticks per quarter note allows precise positioning of audio events and virtual instruments. MIDI data can also benefit from Steinberg's new LTB (Linear Time Base) technology, which gives a timing precision as low as 300mS with suitable hardware like the new Steinberg Midex 8 MIDI interface.

There is also a new Universal Sound Module in VST Instrument format, which effectively provides a multitimbral General MIDI synth that can access up to 70Mb of samples, and a bundle of new plug‑ins. On top of all this, Cubase VST has been given a new graphic look, had all its menus streamlined, and been given a huge number of additional user preferences. A large number of the other features of Cubase 5.0 will be new to PC users, having until now only been seen in Mac v4 (reviewed SOS October '98). Since these will naturally be of interest to those thinking of upgrading — the PC version outsells the Mac one by a large margin in the UK — I'll cover these again briefly as I go. If you want more details you can refer back to the v4 review, also available in electronic form on the Sound On Sound web site.

Upgrading To Version 5

Because Cubase 5.0 uses a new dongle, Steinberg UK ask for the old one to be returned as part of the upgrade procedure, though they allow you to pre‑register on the UK web site to speed up the procedure — they say that if you do so, your upgrade will be ready to be sent out the same day they receive your old dongle. Amazingly, I could find no reference to upgrading an existing Cubase VST installation in the 5.0 printed manual or electronic documentation, but my tests confirm that Cubase 5.0 will happily co‑exist alongside an older version, so that you can run either at will.

During the Cubase 5.0 install process you get various options, including whether or not to install the Rocket Network software for interactive Internet collaborations (more on this later, although I declined the offer, since current ISP charges in the UK will prohibit most musicians from working on‑line), and Acrobat Reader to view the all‑new electronic documentation that accompanies the rewritten 360‑page Getting Started book.

After the Cubase 5.0 install had successfully completed I had a few teething troubles. For some reason my GRM Tools plug‑ins needed reinstalling, and I also needed to restore the cubase32.vxd file into the C:\Windows\System folder before my Spectral Design dongle‑protected plug‑ins would run (as reported in February's PC Notes as part of the VST 3.71 install).

Because a new selection of VST plug‑ins is bundled with version 5.0, the older bundled ones such as Autopan, Choirus, Grungelizer, and Wunderverb3 are automatically moved to a new folder named 'Earlier VST Plugins'. These still appear inside Cubase if you really want to continue using them, but you will get better audio results changing to the newer ones. For some weird reason Wunderverb3 generated an error message every time I launched Cubase 5, but this disappeared once I dragged the wunderverb3.dll file into the normal 'vstplugins' folder, and didn't return even when I dragged it back into the 'Earlier VST Plugins' folder.

I was pleased to see that although I had uninstalled Cubase 3.7r2 first, Cubase 5.0 had retained my preferences for which DirectX plug‑ins were to be displayed, and my MIDI driver preferences in SetupMME, as well as my settings and previously saved presets for the MME Multimedia drivers. Before upgrading I'd backed up every file from my old version that might later prove valuable, including various INI files containing my favourite settings, Studio Module devices and data, and my def.all song file. By subsequently dragging across my old INI files into the new Modules folder, I retained my preferences for settings relating to (for example) the MIDI Effect Processor and SMPTE Display, and by dragging across the old Studio.dat and Studio.inf folders into the new Cubase folder I also kept all my synth settings intact.

A New Look

Folder Tracks can save a lot of screen space — here's the same MIDI Orchestra track in both hidden (grey strips) and shown modes (displaying contents), along with a view of the new Audio automation editing in the Controller editor, and the choice of quick‑change Window Sets.

The first thing that strikes you is the new colour scheme and simplified graphic design: Cubase has undergone a complete makeover for version 5.0. Gone are the mid‑grey backgrounds and black lettering, in favour of mean and moody dark grey windows with white lettering. The Send Effects and Master Effects panels have lost their 'rack' look for a new streamlined and more compact design, and the new VST Instruments panel uses exactly the same design, which makes activating and launching instrument editors much easier. The Mixer panels have darkened, but they now contrast better against the Arrange page, and even the Transport bar has been revamped: it can be resized to show more or fewer buttons, its buttons have been reorganised, and dedicated buttons to jump to beginning and end have been added to its position slider.

Some people have commented that the new look is reminiscent of Logic Audio 4, and this feeling is reinforced by the fact that the new bundled plug‑ins incorporate graphic waveform displays which reflect the position of their controls. Sadly, the similarity is extended to their proprietary nature: they only work in Cubase 5.0, which rather goes against the openness of the VST standard.

New Arrangements

The new EQ is far easier to set up, while peak hold on the meters helps you when setting up levels. Here you can also see the common panel to the left of each mixer, and the Apogee UV22 dither and TrueTape options available in VST/32.

The most obvious new features are in the Arrange page where, as in version 4.0 for the Mac, you can now zoom track heights individually, have up to 26 characters in the track and part names, and view the contents of both MIDI and Audio parts as Names, Events, or both. However, this has been further enhanced in version 5, in that MIDI parts now display note pitch and duration, while controller information is displayed on the bottom half of each part display.

The number of Track column options has been greatly expanded — the Inspector will now display for every track any of the controls which you could previously only view one at a time. If the appropriate columns are active, you can click and drag tiny slider controls to set MIDI volume and pan, and click on a tiny keyboard to set transpose values. The audio tracks also have level and pan sliders, which mirror the VST mixer settings. You can even control the Name/Event display appearance of each track individually if you wish. You can individually hide and reorder these track columns and adjust their width, as well as saving them as a Track View for instant recall: this is handy, since the number of options could otherwise fill the entire screen!

Window Sets, also introduced in Mac version 4, allow you to save and recall, at will, the position, status, and magnification factor of every window. Window Sets are saved as part of your global Preferences, and are therefore available to each and every song. You can save as many Sets as you need, which means you can switch instantly between different setups optimised for tasks such as arranging, MIDI editing, and mixing.

The Inspector includes lots of new options. Audio tracks now show the current Pan and Volume values, and both MIDI and Audio tracks show Start and End values if a part has been selected. MIDI tracks now have an Extended section that lets you send the same track to multiple outputs (each with its own Inspector panel) for more complex sounds, as well as adding real‑time randomisation to any two parameters chosen from position, pitch, velocity, and length, and two more relating to dynamic control of velocity and note range.

It's now far easier to choose patches on your sound modules from inside Cubase using banks full of names rather than sets of meaningless program change numbers. First you set up an Instrument with a unique MIDI output and channel(s), and then choose a Patch Name Source from the following options: SoundFonts or VST Instrument if the sound source is suitably compatible, the Studio Module if you have set this up and have patch names loaded in from a bank file, or the new option Patch Name Script. This refers to text files stored in the 'Patchnames' folder in the new 'Scripts' folder. About 80 such files are shipped with Cubase.

Folders, also first seen in Mac version 4, are a new class of Track that contain other tracks. You can either drag and drop other tracks into them individually, or select a group of them with the mouse and then use the 'Move Track to Folder' option from the Structure menu. Once inside you can hide or show folder contents using their ± icon, enabling you to gather together related tracks and tuck them out of the way to gain more working space on the screen, but still get at the parts inside on demand.

Another previously Mac‑only feature is the Marker Track, in which you can add informative text annotations to your songs such as '1st verse' or 'Chorus'. Once you create a Marker Part with the pencil tool you can edit it in much the same way as any other part using the other tools. Marker parts are also useful for navigation: a single click on one moves the Song Position Pointer to its start, while a double click opens up a text window for any further notes you might like to type in.

One new MIDI‑only feature, that I've wanted for years, isn't mentioned at all in the electronic documentation, and I only came across it by accident in the Getting Started manual. Cycle Recording has a new Add Mode that lets you record multiple takes while in Cycle mode, and then choose the best ones afterwards. A folder track is created, and each new take appears as an extra track inside it. All but the most recent are automatically muted, which makes subsequent auditioning easier as well.

There is now a huge number of Preferences available in six categories covering General, MIDI, Audio, Score, Part Background, and Key Commands. The latter lets you define a keyboard shortcut for virtually any Cubase command in 12 separate categories, and you can also add shortcut Icons that appear on the new Toolbar if you prefer, so that you have one‑click access to any desired commands and functions.

New Tools

Here you can see the extended Inspector, the improved display of events within MIDI tracks, along with individual track zooming, the Marker Track, Controller Editor, and another of the five sizes of Transport Bar.

First seen in Mac version 4.0 is the Selection Range Tool, which lets you draw a box round any area of your arrangement and then cut, copy, move or otherwise edit it without worrying about part boundaries — these are simply ignored, so that you can, for instance, easily take a small section from one part and duplicate it elsewhere. Previously, the only way to achieve the same end was to use the Cut At Locators command to separate out a section, and then glue its constituent parts back together again afterwards.

MIDI users get a new set of tools to directly change the value of volume, pan, and transposition on a part‑by‑part basis, as well as others that directly apply Groove Quantise and Logical presets. Many musicians have never bothered trying to create their own presets for the Logical Editor, since saving your own meant overwriting one of the factory ones. Thankfully you can now save and recall any number of presets, and this flexibility extends to the Groove Quantise function, which now has an easier‑to‑use Groove Control window. This lets you set up a loop and then try out different quantise settings in context before you apply them. Both Logical and Groove presets are saved in designated folders, and if you load in songs created with previous Cubase versions you get the option to move their logical presets and grooves into your central library. Steinberg even provide 150 grooves on the CD‑ROM to get you started.

You can now Mute individual notes in the Key editor, and a new Nudge tool is also provided to move any note backwards or forwards by the current Snap value. In line with the new 15360ppqn resolution, the Snap value in both the Key editor and the Arrange page can now be adjusted from a bar's length right down to a single frame. The display resolution can also be set between 384 and 15360 in the General Preferences page.

Mixing & Effects

Here are a selection of the new bundled plug‑ins — of particular note are the graphic interface of the Reverb32, the stand‑alone Dynamics module for those mixer channels that don't have one built in, and the new multi‑slider interface for plug‑ins without dedicated front panels.

The enhancements in the VST Channel Mixer are largely in line with those in Steinberg's Nuendo (reviewed last month), with new Fast and peak Hold options for the meter ballistics, and a Master button to add a copy of the stereo output section of the Master Mixer to the right‑hand end of the Channel Mixer. There is also a new File option, which lets you save and recall various combinations of Channel and Master mixer settings as a VMX‑format file.

The Channel Settings window is also very reminiscent of that of Nuendo, with a new common panel to the left which is identical to that of the main Channel Mixer, a new vertical insert strip rather than the separate windows used by Cubase 3.7, and a brand‑new EQ section. This still has four parametric bands, but uses new algorithms for better sound quality, and a much easier‑to‑use graphic curve display that you can use to click and drag a suitable frequency response. The first and fourth band can also be switched between normal parametric, shelving and low/high cut responses, and you can store and recall EQ presets.

The Dynamics window is unchanged apart from a slight graphic tweak. In the previous version, however, the VST Instrument, Group and Master channels didn't have the option of the Dynamics module: Steinberg have rectified this with one of the new bundled plug‑ins, Dynamics. This is a cutdown version of the Dynamics module featuring three sections labelled Compress, AutoGate, and Limit. These are almost identical to those in the audio mixer channels, but have the added option of a Routing switch to reorder the sections any way you fancy.

The MIDI Track Mixer panel is another Mac version 4 feature, and has similar basic facilities to the audio Channel Mixer — a volume fader and level (velocity) meter, pan, mute and solo buttons for each track, with MIDI channel, track name and output beneath. An arrow button at the top of each strip opens an extended panel, which can show various controls depending on the mode selected: there are options for controlling various parameters of GS and XG synths, and you can also create your own custom control sets. A common panel to the left of the mixer contains buttons to Mute all audio tracks, and to activate Write and Read automation in exactly the same way as audio tracks.

Automation

On the automation front, PC users can finally use the Controller Editor to directly edit automation data for each and every control moved during the Write process. Data for all the audio tracks appears in the Audio Mix track with waveforms displayed behind the controller data, and for the MIDI ones in the Track Mix track, sadly without any note data to help you orient yourself. You can also create multiple mix tracks if you want to perfect your automation in different passes and then merge them together.

Of course the Controller Editor can also be used to edit data in MIDI parts, and here you can view velocity as one of the options, so at least you can see where your notes start. Any number of multiple controls can be viewed simultaneously, and you can draw in new data directly as well. For those used to inserting controller data into MIDI parts, or drawing in dynamic events in the Audio Editor, the time has come to decide between this approach and using the dedicated data generated by moving mixer controls or drawing data directly into the automation Mix tracks. You can use both techniques simultaneously, but you'll soon get confused by the two different lots of data producing the final values.

Ins And Outs

Among the many new features are various options for getting data into and out of Cubase 5.0. You can now import WAV, AIFF, and MP3 files, the latter being decoded back to WAV format automatically, allowing them to be accessed from the Audio Pool like any other file. For those who want to expand out of the confines of their own PC, Cubase 5.0 supports Live Internet Sessions using Rocket Networks' InWire system. You can apparently sign up for free 'Internet studio access' on www.cubase.net, and work on projects jointly with other musicians world‑wide (see box below for more on this). The Universal Sound Module is provided to help with this, since it allows all collaborators to share an identical sound palette, but I wasn't very impressed with its sounds, which were dull and lifeless with short loops, even though it has up to 80Mb of data to call on.

On the output side, Cubase 5.0 can export audio in WAV, AIFF, RealAudio and MP3 formats, in a variety of bit resolutions and sample rates. When you are exporting at a lower bit resolution than the 32‑bit float used internally, you can use the new dither options to maximise sound quality; these appear on the Master mixer panel alongside the main faders. Cubase VST and VST Score have similar options to Wavelab, with two types of dithering and three noise‑shaping options, along with a choice of 8‑, 16‑, 20‑ or 24‑bit resolution. Cubase VST/32 has the special Apogee UV22 dithering algorithm discussed in the Only In VST/32 box.

Final Thoughts

PC owners have waited a long time for the Mac version 4.0 features, but this is the release that should stop any more Cubase users defecting to the Logic Audio camp. The upgrade price for existing users is a bargain £99, and the prices for those buying new are still at exactly the same price as before. With a major upgrade like this, it's almost inevitable that a few bugs should slip through the net of beta‑testing, but most musicians who have used it so far seem to have had relatively few problems, and found it very stable. Some owners of Emagic's AMT MIDI Interfaces have had some lockups, although Steinberg have already posted a temporary workaround. I've had a couple of unrepeatable crashes while exploring the depths of some new features, and spotted a few minor and inconsequential bugs. However, recording and playback still seems more stable than version 3.7, and I wouldn't go back on any account. Cubase 5.0 sounds better, is far more flexible, and has a huge number of exciting new features.