Hey everybody

I updated to Cubase 13 a while ago and I'm mostly pleased with lots of new things they introduced. Still one thing (among a few others) is bothering the crap out of me and it's driving me absolutely nuts:

It seems there is no easy way to manually calculate the tempo of an audio event that is a perfect loop anymore.
Literally every producer I know procedes as follows, when wanting to calculate the tempo of a looped sample:
He imports an audio track and cuts/trims a perfect loop, then tells his sampler/DAW how many beats/bars this event is, then the sampler/DAW shows the tempo, which you can then transfer or export to your host project. In Cubase 8 (and every earlier one), this was literally done in seconds, super easy, just by the command Project-->Calculate Tempo...

Apparently this can't be done in Cubase 13 anymore. Instead now, it seems that I have to:
1) first chop my loop, then
2) convert this audio event into a single audio file first (!!!, wtf???, why?), then
3) doubleclick into this newly created audio file to open the audio editor where under "Definition" I can then finally
4) enter the length of my loop.
But even then, there is no command there to directly export the tempo to my project session from the audio editor window (why???), instead this command is completely hidden somewhere under
5) Audio-->Extras-->Extract tempo from event (in the project window).

This workaround procedure is unnecessarily complicated and hence completely idiotic and it's absolutely killing my workflow here. I just can't believe Steinberg did this. Why on earth would you take such a basic well working function out of a DAW and replace it with a chain of horrendously complicated and extremely hard to find commands??? This just makes no sense whatsoever, as far as I can see.

Or did I actually miss something here? Is there another way to do this? Since Cubase's own automatic tempo detection is so terribly bad (it literally didn't succeed a single time when I tried it with all kinds of audio material!), that this necessarily has to be done manually, so how do you guys do this? There must be a simpler way, right?

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2025 at 3:13 PM

Maybe you're more of an Ableton or FL guy? Cubase seems to be used by a lot of traditional producers and orchestral musicians, it seems to be their core demographic. I've used most of the big DAWs and you do get a sense of their target user. I'm not throwing stones, every DAW has its strong points and weak points. Does Cubase suit your workflow apart from this issue?

 

There IS a way of getting a tempo map but it can be a bit clunky.
First set a rough tempo and then use your midi keyboard (I use side stick on channel 10) with a percussive sound and play along with the audio track at whatever interval you want (once a bar - every beat etc) but it always has to be the same rhythm. After the MIDItrack has been created use the 'Calculate tempo from MIDI' under the functions option. Hope this helps.

PS. Line up the first audio event to be smack on the first beat before you start. Re: Crinklebumps - i AM one of those 'traditional producers' - sounds much better than being called an old fart! LOL

 

I'm a 25+ years cubase user, so changing DAW is not really an option. As I said, I'm pleased with a lot of things in Cubase 13 and 14, but how on earth could they only miss, that manually calculating the tempo of a loop is a crucial core feature of any DAW? Every Cubase version before had it (even the very first one, Cubase VST32, back in 1998 or so). This is just totally absurd. Ridiculous!

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2025 at 3:17 PM

I know you can manually tap the tempo, of course, but that doesn't get you a completely accurate BPM value in mlliseconds (which is really what you need in this scenario), even if you're a world class fingerdrummer... Thanks anyway!

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM

I'm not into Cubase, but I'm just curious. Isn't it better to use Melodyne or any other audio-to-midi conversion tool and then use the midi output to calculate the tempo as you suggest? This would give the OP the millisecond precision they're after.

 

While your method might certainly work, it doesn't strike me as simpler than my workaround, quite the opposite... Let me be clear, my workaround (that I discribed in my original post above) works perfectly accurately, and once you know it, it doesn't really take THAT much longer than the old way through Project-->Calculate Tempo... (and then input the beats of the audio event and click on "insert tempo at beginning of the track"), a function that every Cubase version had for decades up until version 13. It's just really annoying to go through all the now newly necessary steps (especially steps 2 and 5 in my description) compared to how it used to be all one function in one place up until at least Cubase 10 (not quite sure when this actually changed)...

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2025 at 3:23 PM

I pasted your question into Copilot with this response:

'I can understand your frustration. It seems like the removal of the Beat Calculator in Cubase 13 has made a simple task unnecessarily complicated. Many users have expressed similar concerns on forums.'

[SOLVED] Beat Calculator Gone? - Cubase - Steinberg Forums

Where has beat calculator gone? - Cubase - Steinberg Forums

 

Thanks, bro . It really looks like my workaround is the best way to do it now. And this crazyness seems to go on in Cubase 14. Wow, that's actually pretty bad. Every cubase user in the world working with looped samples is certainly gonna be pissed by this. I know I am. That nonsense is just beyond my comprehension. Steinberg should really rethink this lunacy.

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM