Once the hardware was all chosen and installed we turned our attention to Cubase. Installing the program was reasonably smooth until we came to their hardware keys and found out the drivers were problematic. Doing some research online we found we were not the only ones having issues so we contacted support line for the hardware key. Support was responsive and helpful but our hearts sank when we were given the old standby of “try the latest version of the licensing software”. Low and behold, that actually did the trick.

Another problem we encountered, or almost did, was the realization that Cubase does not officially support Windows x64 (“never did, never will” said one of their support staff in their forums). Well that threw us for a loop as we test on an x64 box. But reading further we saw that plenty of people are running it without issue on that platform. We can confirm that we have been using it for months now and all is working well.

We encountered two other minor items worth noting. First is that the Cubase “splash screen” appears on our second monitor instead of our main one. No other application has ever done this, it’s odd, but doesn’t interfere with anything. Second problem was a that a VST plugin was not loading correctly, specifically Steinberg’s own HALion Symphonic Orchestra. Try as we might, things were not working correctly. We read and re-read the instructions but nadda. Finally we once again contacted support and were told to download a patch. Again, everything began to work as expected.

The Cubase nay-sayers we met had complained that this program liked to do things its own way and it was hard to learn. While there may certainly be easier applications out there, few are as powerful as Cubase. There is no question that learning the entire program will take months, however we were able to get up and running and actually begin recording tracks in just a few hours. This wasn’t bad at all. (Note that we did make some mistakes early on which needed to be corrected later when we became smarter. The fact that Cubase allowed these corrections later without great penalty is tribute to is versatile design.)

The latest version of Cubase, version 4, adds a new track called the “Instrument Track” which is a hybrid of both a MIDI and VST channel. While it supposedly sacrifices a few items of flexibility, it more than makes up for it with ease of use. Adding any type of track is as easy as right-clicking into the timeline’s track name column to the left. Choose from traditional MIDI tracks, new Instrument tracks, Audio tracks for analog recording or input data, even video tracks and many more. Once a track is added, loading up its MIDI instrumentation is fairly easy. Either do it at the time the track is created, or later using the track’s “Inspector” panel along the far left.

The Inspector panel also houses the MIDI input selection, which in our case was three: the E-MU X 25, E-MU 0404, or the E-MU MIDI 1×1 input cable (to which we had the large keyboard attached). The Easiest option is to leave the setting at its “All MIDI Inputs” option. However, if you have multiple musicians playing different input devices, or as Michael Valenti did, play two keyboards at once, then specific inputs can be channeled to individual tracks/virtual instruments.

Other tabs in the inspector panel include all sends and effects, equalizers, Channel (mix-style slider control) and even a notepad function. These options can be selectively hidden or displayed to customize your workspace.

One of the few items of fault in Cubase is the lack of parity between different types of content and their available controls. Sometimes this is simply part of the intrinsic makeup of the content, but we found some cases where this was not the case. This means that your workflow needs to change for different content.

For example, there is a nifty feature on analog audio clips where you can click-drag the start or end corner to create a tapered fade in or out. This is a nice and fast way to accomplish a very common task, however MIDI clips do not have this feature. Why? Or how about the fact that both analog and Instrument tracks have their slider-volume under the “Channel” panel tab, but MIDI tracks call the same tab the “MIDI Fader”. (Note that there are other volume controls in easier to reach locations as well.)

Another example was the difference between using the older MIDI tracks to access a VST instrument versus using the newer Instrument track alternative. When we wanted to add some reverb we found the effect was available on the Instrument track’s Inspector panel (though surprisingly buried for such a common need). For the MIDI track however there was no such access and we had to instead find the effect buried in its accompanying VST Instruments track/folder. We are glad for the new Instrument Track’s simplification.

After learning some of Cubase’s idiosyncrasies we were able to start recording. The process was very straightforward and the casting to memory of a few keyboard commands (record, stop, etc.) allowed us to be very productive. Like with some other audio applications designed for recording, Cubase’ primary interface uses a horizontal/timeline motif. This will be a very comfortable interface for those used to working with video editors and compositing programs. You can also opt to work in the more traditional recording studio format of vertical faders and patch bays if you prefer. Most users will probably find a workable mix between the two interfaces, depending upon the task at hand.

For those new to MIDI work and instead used to perils of analog material, working this way is a real pleasure. A term not heard so much in audio but oft found in graphic circles is “non-destructive editing”, which is what you get with MIDI. Swap out samples, change them around any way you want, do this time and again and its all still good. Nothing gets destroyed in the process.

Getting comfortable with MIDI, we started to use the MIDI editing window and tools a lot. We quickly learned when it would be easier to redo a take, or better to simply open the editor and slide the notes over a bit. Or shorten/lengthen them, change their octave, etc. Even better is the “edit in place” feature that pops open an in-place editor that offers most of the functionality of the MIDI Editor window.

For the final mix-downs I tended towards not using the traditional faders except for the easiest of moves, like final fade-outs. Instead I found the visual responsiveness of the volume automation tracks to be more satisfying. This is certainly due to my visual background.

Surprisingly enough though, after kidding me about not using the faders for a while, Michael started liking the graphing abilities of the automation track as well and began using it too. Given its appeal, we would like to see Steinberg make the tools for this section more intuitive, like those found in After Effects and others.

Like real-world recording studios of the past, Cubase works on the theory of music material (data) being passed from one section to the next. This is done through “buses” and end in either Mono, Stereo or Surround Sound options. Each track will need to have its instruments placed along the stereo (or other) spectrum. This too is done from within a tab on the Inspector panel.

The final step is exporting the mix to a non-Cubase format using the “Audio Mixdown”. Choose between AIF, WAV, MPEG and other formats to bring a mixed version of your work into other multimedia applications, of for burning to a CD. While files can be exported in stereo and 5.1 formats, the channels can also be split and exported to separate files. This can give more control later on.