# Learning Cubase (from Logic) tips



## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

Hello, I have been a Logic user but picked up Cubase yesterday. Was hoping I could ask a few questions as Google searches didn't really help.

I am looking for the Cubase equivalent of this link icon in Logic, so that whatever track I select will switch to that Instrument, so I can just have the instrument always showing. Clicking the "edit instrument" button in Cubase every time is annoying, there must be an easier way?


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## Simon Lee (Jul 27, 2020)

I don’t know the answer but welcome back mate 😊


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## funnybear (Jul 27, 2020)

If you mean to have a single instrument window that follows the currently selected track, that can't be done in Cubase at the moment unfortunately. Has been on my wish list forever.


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## brek (Jul 27, 2020)

Assign a key command to "Edit VST Instrument". This won't replicate what you are looking for, but sure beats clicking the edit instrument button. The same key command will also close the window - which is useful if you don't want 50 open instrument windows.


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## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

funnybear said:


> If you mean to have a single instrument window that follows the currently selected track, that can't be done in Cubase at the moment unfortunately. Has been on my wish list forever.



Wow, pretty shocked it can't be done, that's going to mean a lot of key presses of "Edit VST instrument." I guess at least I'll get track folders within folder though. Win some, lose some.


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## Ozinga (Jul 27, 2020)

I have FR for that at Steinberg forum. You can +1 that 









Steinberg Forums


A place to discuss and assist with Steinberg products and services.




www.steinberg.net


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## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

Ozinga said:


> I have FR for that at Steinberg forum. You can +1 that
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you, done!


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## Traz (Jul 27, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Wow, pretty shocked it can't be done, that's going to mean a lot of key presses of "Edit VST instrument." I guess at least I'll get track folders within folder though. Win some, lose some.


I also recently jumped from Logic to Cubase about a month and a half ago and have found some things that I feel Logic is better at, although there are a lot of things Cubase does that Logic doesn't or at least do as well as Cubase. 

Speaking of being able to have folders within folders, since jumping to Cubase I've finally been able to setup my template the way I kept wishing I could in Logic, where I have folders within folders within folders ..within folders. I just wish I could still do summing stacks like in Logic.

Also I find it annoying how Cubase handles all the backup saves. Logic has a cleaner filing system.


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## LudovicVDP (Jul 27, 2020)

I have a shortcut to close all the VST and effects showing on the screen.
And another one to open the VST of the selected channel.

But that would be a nice feature to have.


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## Ozinga (Jul 27, 2020)

Great thank you!


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## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

Is there a way to route an aux send to another aux send? It seems to only want to send an aux to one of the hardware outputs. Basically I'm trying to send Woodwind tracks to an aux, then send that aux to a Woodwinds reverb, and send both of those to a Woodwind stem track. That way my Woodwind stem has reverb in it.


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## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

Another question, where's the track enable/disable switch? I only see a right click dialog box for disable/enable. 

For huge orchestral templates, I liked in Logic how it doesn't load the an Instrument instance unless you click on the track. What's the equivalent in Cubase? Do you have to disable all your tracks and then enable the ones you want to use as needed? Or does it do this automatically like in Logic?


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## Traz (Jul 27, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Another question, where's the track enable/disable switch? I only see a right click dialog box for disable/enable.
> 
> Do you have to disable all your tracks and then enable the ones you want to use as needed?


As far as I know that is how you'll have to do it, I'm sure you can add a key command to enable and disable tracks as well.

My template is setup so every track is disabled and I just right click and choose to enable the tracks as I need them.


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## ALittleNightMusic (Jul 27, 2020)

Btw, Cubase is nice - but I do believe there's a trick right now to get nested folders in Logic (search this forum for it). Hopefully Apple officially supports that in an upcoming update.


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## MNelsonRizzo (Jul 27, 2020)

David Kudell. Welcome to the Cubase family. I've been a Cubase user since SX1 but used everything from Logic, PT, AKAI MPCs, DP, Live, etc. Prefer Cubase. I'm not at my rig but Cubase does have a ton of features in Preferences and on the individual screen views. 1) Don't recall about having "Edit Inst" open upon track select. At the worst, I'd just setup a KeyCommand as I'm sure you know. 2) Has extensive routing features. Never did the aux thing you are talking of but yes, I'd bet you can end up w the result you want. I know these DAWs each have a "way" of doing something that is usually just "different" in another. 3) This may be Freeze in Cubase? But yes u can disable/enable per track(s). // Happy to do a zoom w you later today/nite or this week. Good luck either way!


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## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

ALittleNightMusic said:


> Btw, Cubase is nice - but I do believe there's a trick right now to get nested folders in Logic (search this forum for it). Hopefully Apple officially supports that in an upcoming update.


Yes, I did utilize this trick for a while (hide a summing folder) but there's a problem in that it's easy for tracks to randomly get moved and 'disappear' in other folders. It because a headache.

I'm mostly learning Cubase because it's used by a lot of composers.


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## brek (Jul 27, 2020)

Traz said:


> As far as I know that is how you'll have to do it, I'm sure you can add a key command to enable and disable tracks as well.
> 
> My template is setup so every track is disabled and I just right click and choose to enable the tracks as I need them.




Yep, use key commands for enable/disable tracks. You can do this on multiple tracks at a time too - just shift+click or ctrl/cmd+click to select the tracks you want to enable/disable.


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## wickedw (Jul 27, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Is there a way to route an aux send to another aux send? It seems to only want to send an aux to one of the hardware outputs. Basically I'm trying to send Woodwind tracks to an aux, then send that aux to a Woodwinds reverb, and send both of those to a Woodwind stem track. That way my Woodwind stem has reverb in it.



I believe you want to look at groups. From my setup: SSW flute -> spitfire ww group: this group has a send to a reverb fx channel and is routed to another group called woodwinds stem. The reverb channel is routed into another group called ww reverb which inturn also routes into the same woodwinds stem group.

This way you can print the stems separately incase youd need it.

Edit: the videos of junkie xl on his cubase template (especially season 1) is quite a useful resource regarding this.


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## MattBlostein (Jul 27, 2020)

Hi David, Aux tracks (Logic) in Cubase are either Effect (FX) tracks (for sends) or Group tracks (for summing), and you can send or output to any combination of them.


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## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

wickedw said:


> I believe you want to look at groups. From my setup: SSW flute -> spitfire ww group: this group has a send to a reverb fx channel and is routed to another group called woodwinds stem. The reverb channel is routed into another group called ww reverb which inturn also routes into the same woodwinds stem group.
> 
> This way you can print the stems separately incase youd need it.
> 
> Edit: the videos of junkie xl on his cubase template (especially season 1) is quite a useful resource regarding this.


Ok perfect! This is a huge help, so instead of busses, I need to be looking at group tracks and effect tracks. Since I'm recreating my template in Cubase, I want to make sure I set it up for stems from the get go.

Yeah, I need to check out JXL's stuff, especially now that I'm in Cubase it will be more directly applicable.


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## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

MattBlostein said:


> Hi David, Aux tracks (Logic) in Cubase are either Effect (FX) tracks (for sends) or Group tracks (for summing), and you can send or output to any combination of them.


Thanks! I love how helpful everyone is here!


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## ka00 (Jul 27, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Yeah, I need to check out JXL's stuff, especially now that I'm in Cubase it will be more directly applicable.



Also check out Mihkel Zilmer, Jason Graves, Todd K Edwards, and Jef Gibbons. Very helpful channels.


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## ka00 (Jul 27, 2020)

Also, a lot of the Cubase tutorials out there have an old icon set, which was confusing for a Cubase newbie like myself. So here's a legend I made comparing the old icons to the new ones (so you know what's what). The current icons are on the left, the ye olde icons are on the right.


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## MattBlostein (Jul 27, 2020)

ka00 said:


> Also check out Mihkel Zilmer, Jason Graves, Todd K Edwards, and Jef Gibbons. Very helpful channels.



Also Trevor Morris on his YouTube channel has a few videos on his Cubase template and he is about to release a series of videos on bussing/stems in Cubase.


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## Kent (Jul 27, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> I'm mostly learning Cubase because it's used by a lot of composers.


So is Logic


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## David Kudell (Jul 27, 2020)

kmaster said:


> So is Logic


Definitely! Just want to kind of know both DAWs in case I need to collaborate with other composers.


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## David Kudell (Aug 14, 2020)

Having fun building my new template in Cubase.

Stem question: Do you classify toms as Low Perc or mid/high perc?


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## José Herring (Aug 14, 2020)

MattBlostein said:


> Also Trevor Morris on his YouTube channel has a few videos on his Cubase template and he is about to release a series of videos on bussing/stems in Cubase.


Thx for the heads up. This has always been my Achilles heal.


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## dylanmixer (Aug 14, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Having fun building my new template in Cubase.
> 
> Stem question: Do you classify toms as Low Perc or mid/high perc?



Depends how low the toms are, but typically they would exist in the mid range, with bass drums & taikos etc in the low.


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## David Kudell (Aug 15, 2020)

Is there a way to force instruments to always load on the secondary monitor? It seems to load on the secondary monitor when I show/hide instrument. BUT, once I disable and then enable the track, it always wants to load the instrument on the primary monitor again.


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## José Herring (Aug 20, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Is there a way to force instruments to always load on the secondary monitor? It seems to load on the secondary monitor when I show/hide instrument. BUT, once I disable and then enable the track, it always wants to load the instrument on the primary monitor again.


Never really came across this problem, but if you right click on the boarder of the window then select "always on top" you can place it were you like and for me it always comes back up in the same spot there after. 

I'll test it out now and see if that's the case. 

Also, don't forget you can set up "workspaces" in Cubase. Cubase is one of the more customizable daws in terms of being able to lay it out the way you like.


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## David Kudell (Aug 20, 2020)

José Herring said:


> Never really came across this problem, but if you right click on the boarder of the window then select "always on top" you can place it were you like and for me it always comes back up in the same spot there after.
> 
> I'll test it out now and see if that's the case.
> 
> Also, don't forget you can set up "workspaces" in Cubase. Cubase is one of the more customizable daws in terms of being able to lay it out the way you like.



Thanks Jose. I do get it to come back when I show/hide the instrument. The issue is when you disable the track (as you would in a big Orchestral template). When you re-enable the track and reload the instrument, it loads on the primary monitor again (in the way of your main composing window which necessitates having to move it to the second monitor every time).


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## José Herring (Aug 20, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Thanks Jose. I do get it to come back when I show/hide the instrument. The issue is when you disable the track (as you would in a big Orchestral template). When you re-enable the track and reload the instrument, it loads on the primary monitor again (in the way of your main composing window which necessitates having to move it to the second monitor every time).


I tried that as well and it works the same for me. I'm still on Cubase 9.5 though so maybe it's a C10 bug. 

What instrument specifically are you have problems with or is it all of them?


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## David Kudell (Aug 28, 2020)

So I copied a MIDI region and pasted it, and now any change I make in one gets made in the other. Pretty cool, except I don't want it to do that. How do I turn off this mirroring/linking feature for a region?


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## wickedw (Aug 29, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> So I copied a MIDI region and pasted it, and now any change I make in one gets made in the other. Pretty cool, except I don't want it to do that. How do I turn off this mirroring/linking feature for a region?



Sounds like you created a shared copy of the midi event. To copy midi events in cubase you can use ALT (CMD) and drag the mouse from on top of the event to where you want to copy it. 

You can also use CTRL + D. that will duplicate the event (but not shared) and insert it behind the currently selected event. 

You can also select an event, hold down ALT and then hover the mouse around the bottom corner of the event, if you then click and drag you can make a series of copies for as long as you drag the mouse.

CTRL + C and CTRL + V also just works. 

If you want to convert your current shared copy you can go to EDIT -> Functions -> Convert to real copy


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## David Kudell (Aug 29, 2020)

wickedw said:


> Sounds like you created a shared copy of the midi event. To copy midi events in cubase you can use ALT (CMD) and drag the mouse from on top of the event to where you want to copy it.
> 
> You can also use CTRL + D. that will duplicate the event (but not shared) and insert it behind the currently selected event.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for the helpful explanation. I searched the manual but couldn’t find it. I really like this feature, now that you’ve explained how to activate it. I was indeed cmd dragging new copies, so now I’ll know to use Ctrl+D.


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## Traz (Aug 29, 2020)

Weird, I Alt+click and drag everything but I haven't experienced the problem David is having. Is this a setting I would need to turn on to make it work like that for me? 

The only way I know how to make changes to multiple midi regions is to select all the ones I want to edit and double click on any of them to open the midi editor.

This seems like a sometimes useful feature like right now in my current project where I have a few instruments playing the same thing which I Alt+dragged the parts. 

It would be pretty nice to not need to scroll all the way to the top of the session and select one region then scroll all the way back down and find the other region or regions
if it is possible to just open the one midi region and have them all make the same changes.

Not that it's a huge deal, just could save a little bit of time while working on a project, but this doesn't seem to happen for me.


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## David Kudell (Aug 29, 2020)

Traz said:


> Weird, I Alt+click and drag everything but I haven't experienced the problem David is having. Is this a setting I would need to turn on to make it work like that for me?
> 
> The only way I know how to make changes to multiple midi regions is to select all the ones I want to edit and double click on any of them to open the midi editor.
> 
> ...


Hmmm, are you on the latest version? I noticed the regions that do this have a small equal sign in the top right corner. I’m not sure how to enable or disable it.


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## scherzo (Aug 29, 2020)

Alt+drag makes a regular copy, alt+shift+drag makes a shared copy.


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## Traz (Aug 30, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Hmmm, are you on the latest version? I noticed the regions that do this have a small equal sign in the top right corner. I’m not sure how to enable or disable it.


I'm on 10.5.20, that's the latest version right?



scherzo said:


> Alt+drag makes a regular copy, alt+shift+drag makes a shared copy.


Oooooohhh ok, good to know, thank's!

Is that how you were doing it David? maybe that helps you out too!


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## wickedw (Aug 30, 2020)

Yeah I also don't have the same behavior as David has when just using alt + drag, I'm assuming it's a setting somewhere perhaps.


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## olvra (Aug 30, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> So I copied a MIDI region and pasted it, and now any change I make in one gets made in the other. Pretty cool, except I don't want it to do that. How do I turn off this mirroring/linking feature for a region?



David, since you shared-copied by default maybe you'd want to change the keys to toggle it 

Preferences > Editing > Tool Modifiers > Drag & Drop


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## David Kudell (Aug 30, 2020)

olvra said:


> David, since you shared-copied by default maybe you'd want to change the keys to toggle it
> 
> Preferences > Editing > Tool Modifiers > Drag & Drop


Perfect, yes I will check this setting and see what works best. Thanks!


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## Traz (Oct 8, 2020)

ka00 said:


> There’s that delightful guy who makes Logic power tips videos. The guy who starts every video saying “Hellooo composers!” and then give me you 14 tips in a row with no fluff. I have yet to find a channel like that for Cubase.
> 
> If anyone know of one that would be awesome.


There is Dom Sigalas, Chris Selim, and of course Greg Ondo. Those are my go to people for all the tips and tricks.


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## Traz (Oct 9, 2020)

For all the the Cubase users on Mac, have you had to do any optimizing to get Cubase to run smoothly on Mac?

I recently switched back to a Mac after having been on pc for a while and I've been having issues with Cubase 10.5.20.

I got a Mac Mini i7 6-core, 64gb ram, Catalina 10.15.7.

I've gone back to Logic in the meantime, but is there anything I should do to help Cubase work better?


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## sourcefor (Oct 9, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Yes, I did utilize this trick for a while (hide a summing folder) but there's a problem in that it's easy for tracks to randomly get moved and 'disappear' in other folders. It because a headache.
> 
> I'm mostly learning Cubase because it's used by a lot of composers.


So is logic!


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## sourcefor (Oct 9, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> Definitely! Just want to kind of know both DAWs in case I need to collaborate with other composers.


I am doing the same,lol


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## Hywel (Oct 10, 2020)

scherzo said:


> Alt+drag makes a regular copy, alt+shift+drag makes a shared copy.


Thank you all for reintroducing me to this Cubase feature. I have been using Cubase for years (since before it was called Cubase actually). I was used to using a feature that they called "aliases" which some years ago disappeared and I must never have cottoned on to the fact that they just morphed into "shared copies". I am so glad I came across this thread.


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## IFM (Oct 10, 2020)

Traz said:


> For all the the Cubase users on Mac, have you had to do any optimizing to get Cubase to run smoothly on Mac?
> 
> I recently switched back to a Mac after having been on pc for a while and I've been having issues with Cubase 10.5.20.
> 
> ...


What sort of issues? If you set aSIO guard to high that’s the same as the normal setting in LPX So in theory you should be able to playback a similar amount of tracks.


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## Traz (Oct 10, 2020)

IFM said:


> What sort of issues? If you set aSIO guard to high that’s the same as the normal setting in LPX So in theory you should be able to playback a similar amount of tracks.


Mainly the CPU is just constantly pegged all the way even when nothing is happening. All the other problems I've experienced I assume are because of that as well, like one time all the samples just stopped working after while and nothing would play back.

I'll try out your suggestion!


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## Traz (Oct 10, 2020)

ka00 said:


> I was experiencing CPU spikes on 10.5 on a Mac and switched back to the latest version 10 release at the advice of some more experienced users. Has been fine since doing that.


This has pretty much been my issue as well except the CPU is always hitting up to 100% constantly.


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## Traz (Oct 10, 2020)

@IFM I changed the asio guard to high and it certainly helped a bit but the CPU meter is still floating around 80% now. My pc was lower spec than this Mac Mini and it didn't really ever go past maybe 40%, mostly saw it stay around 10-20%.

Really strange since I don't have any issues in Logic so it must not be the Mac Mini being the issue I assume?


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## mscp (Oct 10, 2020)

@David Kudell - out of sheer curiosity, why the switch? I’m a Cubase user but that’s because I’m on a PC.


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## IFM (Oct 10, 2020)

Traz said:


> @IFM I changed the asio guard to high and it certainly helped a bit but the CPU meter is still floating around 80% now. My pc was lower spec than this Mac Mini and it didn't really ever go past maybe 40%, mostly saw it stay around 10-20%.
> 
> Really strange since I don't have any issues in Logic so it must not be the Mac Mini being the issue I assume?


What's your ASIO buffer set for and have you changed your audio interface as well? The ASIO meter does pick up on other processes that LPX does not. If you open the CPU meter in Activity Monitor that's more telling (mainly when playing back). 
You could also be spiking if you have some high CPU plugins always running.


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## Traz (Oct 11, 2020)

IFM said:


> What's your ASIO buffer set for and have you changed your audio interface as well? The ASIO meter does pick up on other processes that LPX does not. If you open the CPU meter in Activity Monitor that's more telling (mainly when playing back).
> You could also be spiking if you have some high CPU plugins always running.


Ok, I think it's all good now! Not experiencing constant CPU spikes any more. When nothing is playing it sits around 25-30% and during playback it gets up to 70-80% which is still higher then I remember it getting on my pc, but I am able to get through a 
session with out dropouts or anything now. In a completely clean new session with nothing on or in, aside from a few reverbs, the meter sits at about 10% which again is still more than on my pc where it was basically 0% until I had a few tracks enabled, but it's
working fine otherwise so far.

I think changing the ASIO guard is what did the trick mostly. Buffer size was at 512, I'm still using the same interface and I was working in the same session I was working on with the pc. 

I really appreciate you helping me out!


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## ALittleNightMusic (Nov 27, 2020)

So @David Kudell , how’s the transition going? Miss much from Logic?


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## IFM (Feb 3, 2021)

I know this is a few months old now but @David Kudell and I did have an of-forum chat about it. I appreciate this thread as I too have moved to using Cubase as the full-time composing rig now. I wasn't new to Cubase having had Cubase Score 1.0 back in the day and various versions since then, but it hadn't been a full-time DAW since I started using Logic version 7. 

Here is a tip, at least from A CPU standpoint. If you are coming from Logic, set the ASIO guard to high to mimic the medium setting in Logic. I did some tests with Kontakt and Omnisphere and unarmed tracks both maxed the CPU at about the same exact count.


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## ALittleNightMusic (Feb 3, 2021)

IFM said:


> I know this is a few months old now but @David Kudell and I did have an of-forum chat about it. I appreciate this thread as I too have moved to using Cubase as the full-time composing rig now. I wasn't new to Cubase having had Cubase Score 1.0 back in the day and various versions since then, but it hadn't been a full-time DAW since I started using Logic version 7.
> 
> Here is a tip, at least from A CPU standpoint. If you are coming from Logic, set the ASIO guard to high to mimic the medium setting in Logic. I did some tests with Kontakt and Omnisphere and unarmed tracks both maxed the CPU at about the same exact count.


I too moved over to Cubase and did an Omnisphere test. Logic did end up getting ~8% more tracks but overall Cubase did well. I’ve committed to a disabled track template after trying local VEP, which was worse for performance surprisingly.


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## IFM (Feb 4, 2021)

ALittleNightMusic said:


> I too moved over to Cubase and did an Omnisphere test. Logic did end up getting ~8% more tracks but overall Cubase did well. I’ve committed to a disabled track template after trying local VEP, which was worse for performance surprisingly.


i forgot to mention I’m on a 12 core MP6,1. I actually got more Omnisphere tracks in Cubase than Logic but only by 2 or 3. Kontakt was about the same result.


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## David Kudell (Feb 13, 2021)

OK, what's the key command to trip the right side of this region to the locator point. I have scoured the manual and can't seem to find it! I don't mean the trim tool, which splices it and makes two regions, I mean just trim this one region. There should be one for the left side and right side. I have this in video edit software, surely this exists in Cubase?


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## David Kudell (Feb 13, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> OK, what's the key command to trip the right side of this region to the locator point. I have scoured the manual and can't seem to find it! I don't mean the trim tool, which splices it and makes two regions, I mean just trim this one region. There should be one for the left side and right side. I have this in video edit software, surely this exists in Cubase?


Found it, cut head and cut tail.


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## IFM (Feb 20, 2021)

Is there a way to prevent Cubase from resetting to the 1st entry in an expression map when pressing play? For example, I'm trying to write a Pizz line that's the 3rd articulation and every time I hit play or record I have to select the articulation again.


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## Crossroads (Feb 20, 2021)

IFM said:


> Is there a way to prevent Cubase from resetting to the 1st entry in an expression map when pressing play? For example, I'm trying to write a Pizz line that's the 3rd articulation and every time I hit play or record I have to select the articulation again.


Nope.


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## IFM (Feb 20, 2021)

Crossroads said:


> Nope.


Well that’s a bummer.


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## studioj (Feb 20, 2021)

IFM said:


> Is there a way to prevent Cubase from resetting to the 1st entry in an expression map when pressing play? For example, I'm trying to write a Pizz line that's the 3rd articulation and every time I hit play or record I have to select the articulation again.


I VERY much prefer Logic’s handling of this workflow...and it’s one reason I’m not in Cubase much.


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## IFM (Feb 20, 2021)

The one negative of Logic’s version is you cannot see visually what articulation you are set to unless you have the VI open.


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## Kent (Feb 20, 2021)

IFM said:


> The one negative of Logic’s version is you cannot see visually what articulation you are set to unless you have the VI open.


That’s not exactly true; you can see it in the piano roll (via color coding), in the piano roll’s articulation select menu, or (IIRC) your key switch keyboard display (if you have that set up).


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## IFM (Feb 20, 2021)

kmaster said:


> That’s not exactly true; you can see it in the piano roll (via color coding), in the piano roll’s articulation select menu, or (IIRC) your key switch keyboard display (if you have that set up).


Hmm never seen a color coding for this. But, isn't that only after you have recorded the notes? I'm looking for something like what displays at the top of the VI but in it's own window or in the key editor. I use OSC for articulation selections.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Feb 22, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Hello, I have been a Logic user but picked up Cubase yesterday.


David, what’s your verdict so far?


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## David Kudell (Feb 22, 2021)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> David, what’s your verdict so far?


My verdict is that Cubase is the one for me. Not that Logic is bad, there are a couple things I miss, but those are far outweighed by what I like about Cubase. The stems exporting alone is worth it for me, much more advanced than Logic's offering. Working in the key editor (piano roll) is also much better in my opinion. I will say the interface takes some getting used to, and there are seemingly endless ways to do something, but that also means if you want to do something with a shortcut or key command there's probably a way to do it.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Feb 22, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> I will say the interface takes some getting used to,


It does! Coming from Logic, it looks like it was designed by Fisher-Price Lol. I love using both Logic and Cubase, both are really great.


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## ALittleNightMusic (Feb 22, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> My verdict is that Cubase is the one for me. Not that Logic is bad, there are a couple things I miss, but those are far outweighed by what I like about Cubase. The stems exporting alone is worth it for me, much more advanced than Logic's offering. Working in the key editor (piano roll) is also much better in my opinion. I will say the interface takes some getting used to, and there are seemingly endless ways to do something, but that also means if you want to do something with a shortcut or key command there's probably a way to do it.


Even though I questioned your switch earlier in this thread, I've made the switch myself and concur with your assessment. Cubase has a lot going for it for sure (also since I use Console1, the full integration Cubase has makes mixing a breeze too).


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## Crossroads (Feb 23, 2021)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> It does! Coming from Logic, it looks like it was designed by Fisher-Price Lol. I love using both Logic and Cubase, both are really great.


That used to be one of my biggest complaints, but I have to say, it looks really, really good since they finally redesigned everything. Doesn't feel like a clash of 5/6 different design schools now, and honestly, I think it looks better than most DAWs nowadays.


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## IFM (Feb 23, 2021)

you are the one that inspired me to look at using it as my full time DAW and now it’s what I prefer for similar reasons. 

I‘m still trying to see where the problem is between Eucon and Cubase. Enabling and sometimes disabling a track causes the handshake to break. Sometimes I get it back by restarting Eucon and sometimes I have to restart Cubase. Since it happens right away in a session I end up giving up. I suspect it’s on Avid’s side as there is a different problem in Logic.


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## David Kudell (Feb 23, 2021)

I spent the last couple weeks slimming my Cubase template down from 1700 tracks to 1000. That’s also going from mostly multi instruments to single articulation per track and inputting negative track delays for every instrument. 

My save time went down from 8 seconds to about 2secs. I feel like there’s a threshold at around the 1500 track level or so where the save time suddenly gets really slow. So I’m happy with where I’m at now. 

I used to have the philosophy of needing to have every instrument in my template. Now I have the main stuff and can load in anything else. I am also realizing I had too many ensemble patches, which aren’t going to be as useful when things are going to be recorded by live players.


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## IFM (Feb 23, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> I am also realizing I had too many ensemble patches, which aren’t going to be as useful when things are going to be recorded by live players.


I've actually been adding more ensemble patches, especially with AR1 as the main project I'm working on tends to start with those then I can break them down if needed. Although my template also is not nearly that large, probably about half, but I can see it growing.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Feb 23, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> I spent the last couple weeks slimming my Cubase template down from 1700 tracks to 1000. That’s also going from mostly multi instruments to single articulation per track and inputting negative track delays for every instrument.
> 
> My save time went down from 8 seconds to about 2secs. I feel like there’s a threshold at around the 1500 track level or so where the save time suddenly gets really slow. So I’m happy with where I’m at now.
> 
> I used to have the philosophy of needing to have every instrument in my template. Now I have the main stuff and can load in anything else. I am also realizing I had too many ensemble patches, which aren’t going to be as useful when things are going to be recorded by live players.


Impressive! Are you still running on Mac?


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## Pablocrespo (Feb 23, 2021)

I think the saving times sometimes is related to specific kontakt instruments, for example action strikes is a heavy one


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## David Kudell (Feb 23, 2021)

Jeremy Spencer said:


> Impressive! Are you still running on Mac?


Yes iMac Pro.


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## David Kudell (Aug 13, 2021)

Question - in the key editor controller layouts, I have a couple different controller presets (1 with velocity, 1 with CC1 and CC11, etc). But is there a way to make a default controller display? Because it seems like half the time I click on a MIDI region I get a completely different set of controls displayed, with different sizing. I'd like it to just stay the same, ideally on 1 of my presets.


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## mscp (Aug 13, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> I spent the last couple weeks slimming my Cubase template down from 1700 tracks to 1000. That’s also going from mostly multi instruments to single articulation per track and inputting negative track delays for every instrument.
> 
> My save time went down from 8 seconds to about 2secs. I feel like there’s a threshold at around the 1500 track level or so where the save time suddenly gets really slow. So I’m happy with where I’m at now.
> 
> I used to have the philosophy of needing to have every instrument in my template. Now I have the main stuff and can load in anything else. I am also realizing I had too many ensemble patches, which aren’t going to be as useful when things are going to be recorded by live players.


All purged samples?


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## David Kudell (Aug 13, 2021)

Phil81 said:


> All purged samples?


Yep for the most part. A few patches I don't purge because they take forever to load when purged, such as the string repetitions from Time Micro or the adaptive sync ones from Project Sam Pandora.

BTW, I started adding stuff back to my template and I'm back to 1700 tracks again, so my save time has gone back up a bunch. Time for some more tough choices!


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## mscp (Aug 13, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Yep for the most part. A few patches I don't purge because they take forever to load when purged, such as the string repetitions from Time Micro or the adaptive sync ones from Project Sam Pandora.
> 
> BTW, I started adding stuff back to my template and I'm back to 1700 tracks again, so my save time has gone back up a bunch. Time for some more tough choices!


And you're doing this from a single machine or do you have a spare one on ethernet? My OT template alone is 24GB all purged. lol. I can't never imagine how it is to have thousands of tracks in a single rig.


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## LudovicVDP (Aug 13, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Question - in the key editor controller layouts, I have a couple different controller presets (1 with velocity, 1 with CC1 and CC11, etc). But is there a way to make a default controller display? Because it seems like half the time I click on a MIDI region I get a completely different set of controls displayed, with different sizing. I'd like it to just stay the same, ideally on 1 of my presets.


From what I have noticed, it seems that it opens the same way it was when you last opened that track.

So if you open "track X" with CC1 and CC11 visible, then you go elsewhere and modify other CC's on other tracks, when you come back to that "track X", you will see CC1 and CC11 again.
(Maybe I'm wrong though...)

I also spend some time changing what I want to see under a track. So I like your question


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## David Kudell (Aug 13, 2021)

LudovicVDP said:


> From what I have noticed, it seems that it opens the same way it was when you last opened that track.
> 
> So if you open "track X" with CC1 and CC11 visible, then you go elsewhere and modify other CC's on other tracks, when you come back to that "track X", you will see CC1 and CC11 again.
> (Maybe I'm wrong though...)
> ...


Yes you’re right it goes by track, so what someone just told me is basically set a key command for your favorite profile. 😀


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## jononotbono (Aug 13, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Yes you’re right it goes by track, so what someone just told me is basically set a key command for your favorite profile. 😀


Cubase allows for 16 Config lane Setup Configuration presets. I have all of them mapped on my touch screen so it's as simple as just pressing what I want to see. I'm not aware that you can have Cubase have a "default" state to show the same lanes. Having these presets accessible to anything you can quickly press (touchscreen, Streamdeck, anything you can trigger a key command off) is the fastest way (that I know of) of showing what I want. Of course, you could painstakingly go through all your tracks and Cubase will just remember the last viewed lanes but yeah, that's a pain when you have... a few thousand tracks 😂


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## David Kudell (Aug 13, 2021)

Phil81 said:


> And you're doing this from a single machine or do you have a spare one on ethernet? My OT template alone is 24GB all purged. lol. I can't never imagine how it is to have thousands of tracks in a single rig.


Single machine with 128GB of RAM. It has its pros and cons as opposed to VEP. I think VEP could be a good option once I have my go-to libraries figured out but it’s only been a year since I’ve been doing this professionally so I’m still figuring out what goes in the template and what doesn’t. 

I also like the simplicity of this workflow, one track per instrument. Volume automation on every track for every instrument. Throw a plugin on any single instrument I want. Having multi-timbral instances and MIDI tracks and VST returns makes my head hurt. But of course having 1GB session files sucks too. Luckily I have plenty of drive space to make that a non-issue.


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## jononotbono (Aug 13, 2021)

Also having the two Cubase Commands "Show Used CCs" and "Show/Hide CC Lanes" are excellent to have instant access to.


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## ALittleNightMusic (Aug 13, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Single machine with 128GB of RAM. It has its pros and cons as opposed to VEP. I think VEP could be a good option once I have my go-to libraries figured out but it’s only been a year since I’ve been doing this professionally so I’m still figuring out what goes in the template and what doesn’t.
> 
> I also like the simplicity of this workflow, one track per instrument. Volume automation on every track for every instrument. Throw a plugin on any single instrument I want. Having multi-timbral instances and MIDI tracks and VST returns makes my head hurt. But of course having 1GB session files sucks too. Luckily I have plenty of drive space to make that a non-issue.


I had setup a VEP template, but found a disabled track one to work just as well if not better. The workflow has a lot of benefits as you mentioned. Granted, I have half your RAM and only ~550 tracks.


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## mscp (Aug 13, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Single machine with 128GB of RAM. It has its pros and cons as opposed to VEP. I think VEP could be a good option once I have my go-to libraries figured out but it’s only been a year since I’ve been doing this professionally so I’m still figuring out what goes in the template and what doesn’t.


Right. So you ditched VEP and are loading everything straight to CB.

I'm running VEP in the same machine as my Nuendo template for the exclusive benefit of not having wait for every project to load up.



David Kudell said:


> I also like the simplicity of this workflow, one track per instrument. Volume automation on every track for every instrument. Throw a plugin on any single instrument I want. Having multi-timbral instances and MIDI tracks and VST returns makes my head hurt. But of course having 1GB session files sucks too. Luckily I have plenty of drive space to make that a non-issue.


1 track per instrument or 1 track per articulation?


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## ravez (Aug 15, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Hello, I have been a Logic user but picked up Cubase yesterday. Was hoping I could ask a few questions as Google searches didn't really help.
> 
> I am looking for the Cubase equivalent of this link icon in Logic, so that whatever track I select will switch to that Instrument, so I can just have the instrument always showing. Clicking the "edit instrument" button in Cubase every time is annoying, there must be an easier way?


You can achieve this using Keyboard Maestro. The way i use it i point my mouse at whatever track i want to open a vst instrument window for and just click my preferred keyboard shortcut ( i use W). This will close any open vst window and open the vst window of the track my mouse pointer is currently on.


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## David Kudell (Aug 18, 2021)

Is there a shortcut to have all the existing MIDI regions get their names from the track name? I know you can do 1 track at a time by selecting the track name and holding SHIFT down to rename that track's regions. But this takes a long time for a whole session - is there a way to do a bunch of tracks or the whole session?


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## jbuhler (Aug 18, 2021)

You can select all regions (Command-A) in the main track window, then control click and apply "Name Regions By Track" (or if you have Logic default key commands (option-shift-N).


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## David Kudell (Aug 18, 2021)

jbuhler said:


> You can select all regions (Command-A) in the main track window, then control click and apply "Name Regions By Track" (or if you have Logic default key commands (option-shift-N).


Thanks for your reply! So when I control click this is the menu that pops up, I don't see that option. Here's what I get:


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## mscp (Aug 18, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Thanks for your reply! So when I control click this is the menu that pops up, I don't see that option. Here's what I get:


I've never really had to do this because I use the "parts get track names" feature. It's under preferences > editing.

Meaning...if you move your parts to another track, it will automatically rename them.


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## David Kudell (Aug 18, 2021)

Phil81 said:


> I've never really had to do this because I use the "parts get track names" feature. It's under preferences > editing.
> 
> Meaning...if you move your parts to another track, it will automatically rename them.


Ok, "parts get track names" - that just made my day. Whoa, thank you sir!!


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## David Kudell (Aug 18, 2021)

Ok another random one - any way to have Grid snapping in the key editor work on notes, but NOT when drawing in CC automation? It's so often that I go to draw in a CC ramp and I get the broken up line caused from having snapping turned on. It'd be nice if the CC snapping could be independent.


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## jononotbono (Aug 18, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Ok another random one - any way to have Grid snapping in the key editor work on notes, but NOT when drawing in CC automation? It's so often that I go to draw in a CC ramp and I get the broken up line caused from having snapping turned on. It'd be nice if the CC snapping could be independent.


I'm afraid you'll have to put some elbow grease into this one and press the letter J to turn snapping off whilst drawing. Unless of course you have reassign Snap to something else. No matter, press that button when you wanna be free. 😂

Actually, thinking about this, if you want to minimise the "jump" when snap is on, flick the quantize to 128th and the steps will be much smaller. Still not the answer you're hoping for though.


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## David Kudell (Aug 18, 2021)

jononotbono said:


> I'm afraid you'll have to put some elbow grease into this one and press the letter J to turn snapping off whilst drawing. Unless of course you have reassign Snap to something else. No matter, press that button when you wanna be free. 😂
> 
> Actually, thinking about this, if you want to minimise the "jump" when snap is on, flick the quantize to 128th and the steps will be much smaller. Still not the answer you're hoping for though.


Ah Cubase, the software with 9,999 ways to do something, yet still always feels like it needs that 10,000th option.


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## jononotbono (Aug 18, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Ah Cubase, the software with 9,999 ways to do something, yet still always feels like it needs that 10,000th option.


This has nothing to do with what you're asking but I feel like saying this as well (just in case you aren't aware of these options (in preferences).

So, when you cut a midi event, in order to make sure midi notes and controller data also cuts on the cut turn these on...

Split Midi Events
Split Midi Controllers





This is extremely useful when cutting stuff and you wanna combine it with other Midi events and not mess up your perfectly painstakingly drawn midi data. Or just want to create quick loops that don't have first notes and data missing).

If you don't turn these on, the cut will miss notes at the beginning of bars and the first point of CC data (typically when playing actual music with your fingers - unheard of these days I know) so it's something I always have on for speed.

Anyway, you probably know this so I apologise for teaching how to suck an Egg. 😂


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## David Kudell (Aug 18, 2021)

jononotbono said:


> This has nothing to do with what you're asking but I feel like saying this as well (just in case you aren't aware of these options (in preferences).
> 
> So, when you cut a midi event, in order to make sure midi notes and controller data also cuts on the cut turn these on...
> 
> ...


Mr. jononotbono, this is life-changing stuff, seriously. I had both those boxes off and have been constantly fixing incomplete cc automation when splitting up regions. So thank you so much for mentioning this. On the movie I'm working on as an additional writer, I've been spending a ton of time importing various themes from the composer and taking a measure here, a measure there....this created a ton of these kinds of problems and I think turning on the splitting MIDI option just saved my life! Thanks!


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## jononotbono (Aug 18, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Mr. jononotbono, this is life-changing stuff, seriously. I had both those boxes off and have been constantly fixing incomplete cc automation when splitting up regions. So thank you so much for mentioning this. On the movie I'm working on as an additional writer, I've been spending a ton of time importing various themes from the composer and taking a measure here, a measure there....this created a ton of these kinds of problems and I think turning on the splitting MIDI option just saved my life! Thanks!


Haha, man. I went through a lot of this pain quite a while ago and discovering those two functions are quite the delight. Even when you just wanna quickly loop something you've played in, feel the pain no more when you actually have a starting note. 

There are loads of little features like this man. I think I'll make a Cubase Tricks and Drunken Tips You Tube video soon, as I often see people making Cubase videos but rarely do they cover stuff anyone actually ever needs. Bitchy 😂


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## David Kudell (Aug 18, 2021)

jononotbono said:


> Haha, man. I went through a lot of this pain quite a while ago and discovering those two functions are quite the delight. Even when you just wanna quickly loop something you've played in, feel the pain no more when you actually have a starting note.
> 
> There are loads of little features like this man. I think I'll make a Cubase Tricks and Drunken Tips You Tube video soon, as I often see people making Cubase videos but rarely do they cover stuff anyone actually ever needs. Bitchy 😂


That‘d be great!


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## IFM (Aug 19, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Ok, "parts get track names" - that just made my day. Whoa, thank you sir!!


You can also double click the track name to edit it, but then shift+enter and all parts on that track will get the track name.


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## David Kudell (Aug 20, 2021)

Anyone use any of the patch browsing features in Cubase? I miss this feature in Logic as a way to quickly load an instrument. This was great for stuff you don’t always need as a track in your template but could load with 1 click. 

Currently I just use the import track from archive feature which is ok, but not elegant. The track presets in Cubase seem to be the way to go, but the browser seems to be cluttered and hard to sort through. Any tips on organizing it to be faster?


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## jonathanwright (Aug 20, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Anyone use any of the patch browsing features in Cubase? I miss this feature in Logic as a way to quickly load an instrument. This was great for stuff you don’t always need as a track in your template but could load with 1 click.
> 
> Currently I just use the import track from archive feature which is ok, but not elegant. The track presets in Cubase seem to be the way to go, but the browser seems to be cluttered and hard to sort through. Any tips on organizing it to be faster?


This is one of the things that sent me back to Logic. The preset system in Cubase is very clunky.

I prefer working without a massive template these days, and like being able to add instruments from presets. I like the way Logic does that, and being able to organise patches into folders. Cubase is a bit of a mess in this regard.


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## Crossroads (Aug 20, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Anyone use any of the patch browsing features in Cubase? I miss this feature in Logic as a way to quickly load an instrument. This was great for stuff you don’t always need as a track in your template but could load with 1 click.
> 
> Currently I just use the import track from archive feature which is ok, but not elegant. The track presets in Cubase seem to be the way to go, but the browser seems to be cluttered and hard to sort through. Any tips on organizing it to be faster?



One word: Mediabay.

Learn it, organize it, love it. It's worth it, trust me. It takes a while to grasp, but it's actually the best organizing tool I ever saw in a DAW to date. It's really amazing... That is... Once it clicks.

You have to understand how it works truly, though, and that might take a while as with many things inside Cubase.


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## IFM (Aug 21, 2021)

I've got one...how on earth can I lock a mixer? What I mean by this is Mixer 2 is only supposed to be for Groups & Busses.

I have the preference unchecked to "sync project and mixer" and only show selected channels, but any new activated track still ends up showing in this mixer.

There was one point where I thought I had successfully fixed this but I may have been mistaken. Is there a way to lock the mixer view state?


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## Germain B (Aug 21, 2021)

IFM said:


> I've got one...how on earth can I lock a mixer? What I mean by this is Mixer 2 is only supposed to be for Groups & Busses.
> 
> I have the preference unchecked to "sync project and mixer" and only show selected channels, but any new activated track still ends up showing in this mixer.
> 
> There was one point where I thought I had successfully fixed this but I may have been mistaken. Is there a way to lock the mixer view state?


You can choose what type of track you want it to show.
If you select just Group and Fx tracks, you should not be bother by any new audio or instrument track poppin' in.

Click the yellow button on the right of the word "Configuration" in the toolbar.
https://steinberg.help/cubase_pro/v...ixconsole/mixconsole_mixconsole_window_r.html


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## IFM (Aug 21, 2021)

Germain B said:


> You can to choose what type of track you want it to show.
> If you select just Group and Fx tracks, you should not be bother by any new audio or instrument track poppin' in.
> 
> Click the yellow button on the right of the word "Configuration" in the toolbar.
> https://steinberg.help/cubase_pro/v...ixconsole/mixconsole_mixconsole_window_r.html


I’ll try that again but that’s how it is set (configuration) thinking it would just keep it that one way yet it still kept showing newly added or activated tracks. Will report back.

UPDATE: Ah I see where I have been misunderstanding. The button in question is called "Set Channel Type Filter" and is not a global setting luckily. Finally solved!


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## snattack (Sep 21, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> Ok another random one - any way to have Grid snapping in the key editor work on notes, but NOT when drawing in CC automation? It's so often that I go to draw in a CC ramp and I get the broken up line caused from having snapping turned on. It'd be nice if the CC snapping could be independent.


I had the same issue, just transitioning from Logic.

I've implemented Keyboard Maestro extensively into my workflow. I've created a Logic-style Pop-up toolbox. 

In this, I did a macro that first selects the Pencil Tool and then exec "Snap On" key command. All other tools are macros that first select the respective tool and exec "Snap Off".

Here's a screenshot of how this looks in Keyboard Maestro:


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## David Kudell (Sep 21, 2021)

Wow, a really smart idea and way to do it! Thank you for sharing, I'm going to set this up and try it out soon!


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## blaggins (Sep 23, 2021)

jononotbono said:


> I think I'll make a Cubase Tricks and Drunken Tips You Tube video soon, as I often see people making Cubase videos but rarely do they cover stuff anyone actually ever needs. Bitchy 😂


Uh, yes please.


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## David Kudell (Nov 3, 2021)

Is there a way to name a marker without having to use the markers panel? ie just rename it in the Marker track?


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## MattBlostein (Nov 3, 2021)

You can name them in the Description field on the Info Line


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## David Kudell (Nov 3, 2021)

MattBlostein said:


> You can name them in the Description field on the Info Line


Thank you Matt! I had the info line hidden.


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