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Published on 10/31/11 at 07:36
Newer audio interfaces which I, by the way, really need to get around to reviewing, often bundle themselves with Steinberg with the venerable Cubase suite of software. In keeping with using only the previous version of the current professional version, the current budget audio interfaces come bundled with Cubase 5 Essential, a program that can get you started in ten minutes if you have used Cubase before, or maybe half a day if you have not. Let me get into my gripe with Cubase, Steinberg needs to make it easier and more accessible to get started, instead of burying it underneath a sea of features geared toward professionals, which, by the way, are largely stripped away in the lite version. Routing audio and setting up inputs and outputs is a pain in the butt if you have never used this program before.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
On the subject of performance, while I have found that every version of Cubase, save for the latest version, tends to be a little bit uncooperative on my computer with me. So let me start this section off by saying that I was strangely surprised with how well this performed. Unlike the full version of Cubase 5, this was not as bloated, so I am going to assume that Cubase 5 Essential just does not come with everything that I complained about in the full professional version. Wait. That is a problem. Cubase never in history won any points for the general way it functioned and flowed. It won points for its comprehensive features, especially in midi manipulation, which, being an essential and lighter version, this particular instance of Cubase seems to not have. So, considering the fact that Cubase 5 Essential lacks what makes Steinberg's software special, it is hard to recommend it. It, however, performed well enough for me to consider it an acceptable digital audio workstation.
OVERALL OPINION
Steinberg is staying afloat because it seems to own the rights to a million different features that professionals nowadays claim to not be able to live without. Of course, when these features get stripped away in an essential version, the simple truth is there is nothing terribly appealing about Cubase 5 Essential, or any of the non comprehensive professional full versions, for that matter. In the end, if the digital audio workstation is the fulcrum on which you are making your decision, you are best sticking with another.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
On the subject of performance, while I have found that every version of Cubase, save for the latest version, tends to be a little bit uncooperative on my computer with me. So let me start this section off by saying that I was strangely surprised with how well this performed. Unlike the full version of Cubase 5, this was not as bloated, so I am going to assume that Cubase 5 Essential just does not come with everything that I complained about in the full professional version. Wait. That is a problem. Cubase never in history won any points for the general way it functioned and flowed. It won points for its comprehensive features, especially in midi manipulation, which, being an essential and lighter version, this particular instance of Cubase seems to not have. So, considering the fact that Cubase 5 Essential lacks what makes Steinberg's software special, it is hard to recommend it. It, however, performed well enough for me to consider it an acceptable digital audio workstation.
OVERALL OPINION
Steinberg is staying afloat because it seems to own the rights to a million different features that professionals nowadays claim to not be able to live without. Of course, when these features get stripped away in an essential version, the simple truth is there is nothing terribly appealing about Cubase 5 Essential, or any of the non comprehensive professional full versions, for that matter. In the end, if the digital audio workstation is the fulcrum on which you are making your decision, you are best sticking with another.