In writing our feature article “Adding MIDI to Your Shop”, we needed to get up and running with the formidable program Cubase 4, by Steinberg (www.steinberg.net). This program is both a top notch MIDI sequencer and digital recording studio in one. Obviously a lot to learn, and ramping up for this type of complex audio production is not easy. We did it in a very brief time-frame, but this would have been impossible without good educational resources guiding us.

Here is an overview of the resources we found for learning this heavyweight music application, and some of our thoughts on each.

THE MANUALS
Frequently overlooked, the manual that comes with your software/hardware is obviously the first place to look for information. The reason it is so often overlooked is simply that it is so often not very good. Well, this is NOT the case with Steinberg’s Cubase. They have put a great deal of effort into their manuals, and it shows. They are clearly written, well thought out and a top notch reference. They include the 600 page Operation Manual, Plugin Reference, Remote Control Devices, MIDI Devices & Features and Menu Reference. These come in both printed form and as PDFs. This makes the information accessible both on and away from the computer, a versatility that is helpful while learning.

We should also add that these manuals were the most complete source of information and we would frequently refer to them even after reading a related section in third-party books. The manuals had a clarity the other sources sometimes did not. However, we are admitted geeks. So many folks may find these volumes on the “dry” side, something third-party books tend to suffer less of.

THIRD-PARTY BOOKS
There are a number of books available for Cubase. Some of the most interesting looking ones were published by Thomson Course Technology (www.course.com). The two we looked at were “MIDI Editing in Cubase” by Steve Pacey (205 pages, $29.99), and “Cubase4 Power!” by Robert Guerin (518 pages, $34.99). While both books are valuable additions to a Cubase user’s library – especially the new user, they didn’t have quite the polish we have come to expect from Thomson. Polish aside, they are excellent volumes that add to the learning available from manuals alone. And they do it with far more personality, should you like that in your tech manuals.

“MIDI Editing in Cubase” is a good jump-start for the subject and we found some things better explained here than in the larger books. And since its topic is more narrow than the other books it is able to spend more time on any of its subjects. Honing it down to a concise 205 pages makes it an easy and fast read, and good for getting up to speed quickly.

On the downside, it has a decidedly beginner slant to it that can become tiresome for those who are knowledgeable about computers, but just trying to learn Cubase. Things tend to get repeated too often, as is done with many rudimentary books on computers. But it’s all this side of livable, so not to worry.

The book itself was well produced, well written and illustrated. It is an enjoyable and informative read.

“Cubase4 Power!” by comparison was certainly not intended for the rank beginner. It is a comprehensive work covering a wide range of topics. Overall it is a good book, but has some surprising problems. While the author is obviously well versed in the subject, he did not appear to be as capable a communicator as those who wrote the Steinberg manuals. So we often found ourselves leaving this book confused and needing to seek clarification in the manuals.

The other issue is that the book was typeset using a bold body face, making the text very uncomfortable to read. This is a VERY odd thing to see and we can’t really recall running into such a problem in a long time. Regardless, should you not have access to an original manual, this is the closest solution from the selection we got to sample.

DVD VIDEOS
We also got to look at the first installment of a new 3-part video series on Cubase by Ask Video (www.askvideo.com). While the whole series runs over 7 hours long, we only got to see the first couple of hours. Hosted by Cubase Guru Steve Kostrey, the content was clear and the pace kept moving along. Overall it was very informative and we would love to see the other two disks in the series. The DVDs sell for $55 each and are discounted in bundles.

DVD education has some major pluses: It is much easier than having to read, good for the lazy among us. More importantly it lets the author show what he is talking about in a way book illustrations cannot compete with. The downside is that a DVD can not contain as much information as a book can, the viewer would be overloaded if it came even close. So think of DVDs as a great way to get up and running quickly, and expect to need books when going for Guru status.

CLASSES & TUTORS
Unlike Degidesigns ProTools, classes for Cubase were harder to find. We spoke with the folks at the Institute of Audio Research (IAR, www.iar.edu) here in NYC and got an opportunity to speak with one of their MIDI instructors Sam Skafe, who is a big fan and user of Cubase and Nuendo (the big brother application to Cubase). We then got to actually sit in on a IAR class discussing MIDI options and how Cubase compared with other options. (We also got to pick up a few hard to find key commands that had been eluding us, like the zoom in/out key-command, “G” and “H”, in case you care).

The school is located in the heart of Greenwich Village, occupying a building on University Place. The class rooms are all well equipped and the school has a top-flight recording studio and a new streaming internet radio station. An impressive set up and courses.