Or: A brief time travel from cubase SX 1997 to Cubase elements 2107

Just I can't believe it after so many years (from 1994 my first cubase to 2018 now):
The same old story and the same freak out in 2018 ...
- Plugins are crashing with no further explanation, and I cannot exclude their path
- Cannot exclude the default system plugin folder, cubase still scans the folder on startup and loads all
- Startup freeze when finds information for a card that has been removed (asio driver info in registry)
- All the information in Kontakt 5 for the instruments is lost (every time the project is loaded I have to rebuild the information of the folders that contain the samples)
- From time to time a message "a serious problem is detected" appears ... With no further information
I know the end of story and all the excuses: This does not happen if you have legal versions... I don't believe them. I end up with one conclusion: Programs like this are good for housewives but not for guys like me.
All these "Bells and whistles", ready templates, functions, logical presets... And yes, there was always midi functions since the ancient days, quantize, snap, transpose, etc. This not the point, there are a lot of free open source programs out there with similar or even better options. The whole situation looks to me like buying a new expensive car and the only thing to keep in mind is to turn on the key and never open the car hood. The Good Company (or God Company ...) has everything ready to go for you, you can find a mastering suite, a lot of virtual instruments groove agents, samplers, drum loops ... I say no, I do not want a brand PC nor a ready windows installation, no "Bells and whistles", no "obey the market" rules. All I want is a stable program with a good midi editor, a good VST bridge for my instruments and a good audio rendering for mix down. And again no, I have noticed audible differences in a audio reddening. Samplitude for example sounds better (phase shift is the cause? may be. Stereo image in Cubase is more "narrow" and sound is more saturated).
My method is straight forward: I have an empty sheet with empty staves in front of me to fill. No loops no coda, no special notation etc ..., just music notes and tone colors in my mind. Personal conclusion:
There is no good midi-notation program with a good VST interface out there (may be I am wrong but Sibelius for example is a joke ...). You can of course change the scale of the game and buy Sequoia (by far the most stable and most organized program. If you have 3000 euros to pay or you are a millionaire it's OK...)
I think the only thing that most companies keep in mind is the average musician that all he wants is ready templates to start recording his performances. He has probably a good carrier as musician to take care and computer music is the last part in the story .... And yes, he will be happy, he will never touch windows deeper than the desktop and the shortcuts in it and for a any problem he can find a technician to fix it.
I know several guys of this kind out there, but I will never share with them the same feeling about computer music. For me computer music is an extension of the inner fantasy, a vision. There is no studio, post-production, session musicians or manager, just the sound and you. You discover the sound and the sound discovers you, and this is a complete different story!!
Conclusion: If you have a complicated installation with a lot of music programs you will spend a LOT of time for debugging. An is not your fault. A travel in the music has no end, our fantasy too. You will always discover new software and new capabilities.
On the other hand there is a lot of garbage out there (and expensive) with one goal: to spend your time
pheeew...

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This will definitely be an unpopular response, but ... try Digital Performer. I assume you have a Windoze computer? I have no idea what the differences may be between the OS X and Windoze versions, but the notation features on the Mac side are pretty decent. I have no idea how well it handles VSTs, as I've always used it with Audio Units and VST is a recent addition for it. Finale might also be an option -- cheaper than Sibelius, at any rate. You may also want to consider Pro Tools, as that has built-in Sibelius features, though you'd need a container to load your VSTs, like Blue Cat's Patchwork on the Mac, or DDMF (or, if you have all legit plugs and VIs, you already have working AAX versions of everything)..

 

... you really should summarize your ranting into a question.

I am not sure if you are having problems with Cubase, are looking for a notation program, or just want to express your frustration with how today's music has devolved into utter garbage, and software catering to musicians is being dumbed down so that people lacking any musicality can create "music".