I think I can get Cubase right now for 200 and something (I think).

Based on how I make music, that is - in a more classical way, lots of MIDI editing, orchestral work etc., Cubase should be the obvious choice (on Win). Also, I used Cubase years ago. But I felt totally uninspired by the recent versions of it and since my music shifted towards more hybrid stuff I started using Ableton + Reaper and the combo is working well..

It was only recently that I had to make a mock-up for an orchestral piece for a conductor. I managed to finish it with Reaper (and the notation in Finale), but I felt like I would need Cubase for that job.

TL;DR
Should I grab Cubase for 200+€ (I can afford that, but rather not if unnecessary..)
Does Steinberg have these sales every year?
What are the fuckeries with licensing and future versions. (I am sure Steinberg will somehow try to rob me in the future.. lol)
Should I just shut up, use the R2R version for a year and see if it really fits..

Thank you in advance for any insight/thoughts

 

Yes Sir!




(P.S.:because if its about inspiration as you said before, facts do not count. So why even asking for facts?)

 

I’ve owned both Cubase and Nuendo. Sold both because of R2R.

 

I had a feeling that the answer to my whining could be that straightforward.. ;)

Right. For inspiration. But I also said, for straight orchestral standard Cubase might be better tool -> workflow

Hey, that's my guy! (I already have a feeling I'll be spending that cash on something else..;)

I mostly own what I use.. but R2R is usually there to help me see, whether I'll really use something (for a DAW, that's at least 6 months testing)

 

I actually like cubase very much for mixing and advertisement stuff. One feature that makes my life so much easier is "cycle marker export"

 

Depends what kind of guy you are.
It could help with working, excluding thinking about what kind of daw to use, for years to come.
But if you are always into the newest thing then stick with with our Japanese trendsetters.
+ it will stop you from moaning over 50 bucks a year

the 200 bucks is a good deal, that will certainly be repeated over the coming years/months.

another thing to keep in the back of your mind, sounds a bit like you might get into Pro work.
If that is so, it will (could) leave a bad mark on your name, unlicensed Soft- or Sound-ware can
Potentially lead to trouble.

If its for private use it doesn't matter.

 

Thanx for your thoughts @dondada

Ammm.. quite the opposite. I was in pro A/V environments, now more of a freelancer which gives me more freedom.
As said I own most of what I use for two reasons:
- less is more; my creativity goes down with every non-essential tool.
- I can fire up my PC and have a screen sharing meeting with a dev., if I'm working on a project for them..

I also own licenses to all samples, libraries, recordings that I publish anyway.. I wouldn't be scared to use a cracked eq or comp offline. Also, I am a "composer" (producer, nowadays?). I don't really know how to use an eq/comp properly

Yeah, I know Cubase (not the latest versions, tho). I would still use Ableton for certain stuff (as much as I hate it, lol..)

I am more interested in this kind of info . What happens next.. how will they milk me further.

So it's not a once in a lifetime occasion, I suppose..;) I don't know how things go now that they changed licensing.

 

Not so much of lactation...

Its enough to update every now and then (three or four years for me) when there is a feature you like, you can update.
But most of the time there are sales, where you can update really old versions for a few bucks.

 

Every subsequent version of Cubase is paid, they aren't "free updates" (v11 to v12, for instance, with the occasional x.5 release, which they haven't done in a while)

 

I think R2R says try before you buy so If you are going to use it as your main DAW I would say yes to support the developers. $200 is a good price. I own Cubase 7 and 8 I purchased it way back and have not used it since I dumped it for Reaper. Yes I bought Reaper. I am not going to get into a long story as to why, but I hated the dongle ( which Is gone now ) and the consent nickel and dimming me for updates that were really bug fixes.

Good luck on your decision.

 

I will always support this kind of messages and this should be a best answer.
If you can afford it, buy it it is worth any cent you give.
Nowadays Steinberg is more than generous with their offers, so you can use it up to 3 machines, so you can go mac Windows etc.
As alternative owning license you can use Team R2R because of overall performance. Only that, no cracker group will say for a bit fair company like Steinberg, we screwed you and have break your protection for no reason.
Good luck

 

If you're into scoring/orchestral/midi, nothing beats Cubase Pro, apart from Nuendo. There's no way you can achieve this in Reaper, not even worth mentioning Ableton. The logical editor and Project Logical Editor are unparalleled, as is the Cubase automation.

Edit: There are always sales on up(gr)(d)a(d)(t)es, at least once a year, and yes maybe try the R2R version, but nothing beats a legit version, stability wise.

 

DO NOT buy cubase if you think its going to make your orchestral workflow better.
Only things it has as an advantage over the other daws is expression maps, logical editor (i barely use it), and people mention its got better midi handling. I dont see a lot of advantages though. Definitely go for the R2R version and try to make the same compositions with other daws of choice. The expression maps feel like a gimmick, i still end up using keyswitches (i dont do a lot of orchestral though so idk maybe im wrong here).

I have cubase 10, updated to 12 and sold it when r2r dropped. Still use 10 lol cause i dont feel the need to use 12 yet. I always tell people to go for ableton, i wish i had.

 

I have the legit Cubase Pro 8.5; however, I'm not planning to upgrade and use the legit one, because their update policies suck.

 

Last edited: Mar 27, 2023

Thanks for the thumbs up on this. $200 seems way more generous than the earlier years. I thought hard and long about purchasing Reaper also.
Since I could have easily gotten a cracked version or just lived with the 10 sec nag screen.
I was migrating to Reaper from Cubase so I used the trial past the trial period. Thank GOD Reaper only has a 10 sec nag screen then went to full mode. After I felt I could manage Reaper confidently I purchased the license. To add to my decision on the purchase Justin from Reaper was very generous with the trial and also only the 10 sec nag screen after the trail ended. I said if the developers were that generous to let me thoroughly demo Reaper it was worth my purchase.

 

Thank you all for your precious opinions . Let's get one thing out of the way: I always buy what I use, period.
So there will only be two options: 1.) Buy it now because is such an occasion and see if it fits.. 2.) Test the r2r version as a relaxed, prolonged trial, and then buy it on next sale

I would argue you can't really test a DAW in say, a month.

Something like this was my way of testing things. I simply make a hefty project with a DAW/library/.. and I can see whether it works for me. I already worked with Cubase, so it should be even easier to see the technical..

I 100% agree with both of you. Just a sidenote: who are we really supporting? A lot of really good SW projects turned into a money-grabbing 3-5 year turnaround (private equity) schemes. And then nobody cares about original developers or the future of the projects. That's why we see so many great SW titles non-updated, abandoned.. this is for another topic, but yes, my question is mainly:

In what "condition" is Steinberg? How do you find their policy with regard to customers. Worth "investing" in their SW?

$200+ is really no that much for Cubase (that's the price when you already own a DAW). That is - from my pow(!) I know we have ppl on this forum that will find this sum ridiculously small ..or a small fortune ..and I have respect for all.

 

You wouldn't have this attitude if you were working with a 500-1000 track template, as Cubase is superior in organizational functionality for all of those tracks, all the group tracks and routing you're going to need, the extensive audio export options for printing stems from all those tracks, to say nothing of the effortless multi-channel output options if your project calls for it.

Reaper can keep up with Cubase in a lot of this although I don't care for how it is visually represented in Reaper ignoring how most of its functionality is provided by 3rd party scripts, but IMO it would be a nightmare in Ableton Live.

 

You spelled Studio One wrong.

 

Now I know that you from Russia

 

People can be forgiven for questioning any purchase in software, because we now live in a world where almost any application with very few exceptions, has had its protection removed by somebody.

I still believe people should own their DAW or the workstation they do the most of their creations on. Notsomuch because of any misguided ideology about why buy it when it has been cracked? More because of the support network the purchaser has hopefully researched prior to purchasing. If Steniberg never went to the online authentication model, you would have no choice but to buy Cubase Pro because nobody successfully cracked every aspect of the elicenser dongle for Cubase Pro.

The support I figure is what you pay for with any application you purchase. Applications of worth always continue development or new features.
Pick the DAW that suits you and support it because it is probable they will support you when you have problems, instead running to cracked forums that may or may not have any possible solution.

This is always a great question to ask. The only true answer in my opinion, is to find the DAW that suits you the best, and before purchasing, as mentioned above, research their support and forum networks.

 

Last edited: Mar 27, 2023