Review - Cubase 5 from Steinberg

Introduction

The release of Cubase version 5 offers it's users more options than ever before for production, recording, mixing, and mastering. Starting at the framework, C5 offers 64 bit computing on Windows systems (with support for older 32 bit plug ins), while paving the road for future 64 bit computing under the Mac OS by rewriting the code to operate in the cocoa framework, as opposed to older versions that operated in the older carbon framework of the Mac OS.

Along with a more cohesive overall look to both the DAW and it's plug-ins, Steinberg has packed this release with a number of new instruments, effect, and midi plug-ins, a new concept called VST Expressions, Variaudio to edit pitch and timing of monophonic vocal recordings, a whole new workflow for automation handling, multiple source audio exporting, and ruler based consolidation.

VST Instruments

Loopmash

Lets jump right in with Loopmash, a brand new technique to working with loops. Once initiated Loopmash allows you to load 8 separate audio files into its 8 tracks. When importing an audio track into Loopmash it is analyzed, "perceptual descriptors" are generated, and the file is sliced into eighth notes. These "perceptual descriptors" assign a rhythmic pattern to each audio file, and by selecting any one track in Loopmash to act as the master track, that rhythmic pattern is adhered to while any other imported audio files' slices then replace the master track's slices depending on how similar each slice is to that of the master track.

Since you have the ability to have up to 7 supplementary tracks, contributing their slices to the 8th master track, you are given the option of adjusting the amount of precedence that any one supplementary track is given over the rest in contributing it's slices to the overall sound. This is done by adjusting the "similarity" fader located on the left side of each track, and to set a track as the master track, a button directly in front of each fader must be activated (only one master track can be selected at a time). To independently transpose each track's pitch, one must select a positive or negative value in semitones, with a range of one octave, from the drop down box located on the right side of each track.

Keeping in mind that no single supplementary track can be exactly identical to the master track's rhythmic pattern, chances are it will contribute to the slice replacement procedure, unless the supplementary track's similarity fader is completely at zero. This new technique of loop creation ends with varying as well as interesting results. To aid with the visual representation of how Loopmash is operating, a realtime update of which slice is being analyzed and replaced (on the master track) is indicated by a bar located above and below the given slice. The degree of the slices' illumination indicates the degree of it's similarity to the master slice being analyzed/ replaced, and this is also indicated by the representation of a realtime bar that appears on the similarity fader, the further it is to the right the more similar the slice is. The controls located at the bottom of Loopmash are pretty self explanatory, and I will refrain from covering them as there are other topics to review. One final note, however, once you switch Loopmash from "edit" into "perform" mode the sliders located at the bottom of the device disappear and you are confronted with 12 pads, which can be triggered from a midi keyboard, that represent 12 states or settings within one Loopmash instance.

Groove Agent One

Groove Agent One is a useful and powerful sample player, despite it's size. This sample player will let you import MPC format files, as well as WAV and AIFF. There can be as many as 8 groups or kits in a given instance of Groove Agent One, and each group will support as many as 16 pads. Each pad is capable of 8 layers of samples (by simply dragging and dropping it onto the pad), with control over each layer's velocity, volume, as well as fine and coarse tune. One has control over playback mode, coarse and fine tune, mute groups, trigger mode and output into Cubase on any one pad. Further, each pad has one filter with control over type (HP/BP/LP), Q, frequency, and mod amount (frequency affected by velocity). Finally each pad has an amplifier section where one can adjust pan, attack, release, amplifier mod, and attack mod (both mods are also affected by velocity).

Midi Plug-Ins

Beat Designer

This midi plug in is a step sequencer that ranges anywhere from 1 to 64 steps, 1/2 note to 1/128 note step resolution, and will allow you control of up to 128 lanes (each lane can be assigned to a midi note number). One instance of this midi plug in will allow the user to create 4 banks with 12 patterns in each bank (each pattern can also be assigned to a midi note number). In the bottom right hand corner of the plug in there are two global swing faders, ranging from -1 to 1, and each lane will allow you to select which of the two global swing amounts it will be affected by. How much of the swing is applied to any given lane is achieved by adjusting the fader located on the right side of each lane. To enter a step, simply click on the it and it will fill up with a rectangular orange box. By clicking on the orange box and moving the mouse up or down, you change the velocity of the given step as well as its color from yellow to red. Hovering your mouse over the lower part of any given step will reveal three empty miniature circles, corresponding to the type of flam applied to each step. Since Beat Designer has 3 global independent flam settings, located in the bottom left hand corner of the plug in, one may choose which flam setting to apply by clicking on the step's miniature circles, thus greying them out and indicating which of the 3 flam settings is being applied.

Midi Monitor

For trouble shooting Steinberg has also included the midi monitor plug in that will analyze incoming data as well as playback data being sent to or received from the track it is instantiated on. This is a welcomed tool that I would occasionally reach for in the past, however it would always be a third party application that was external to Cubase's environment.

Pitch Correction

Variaudio

Past versions of Cubase restricted you to transposing all the information in a vocal recording by one single value, and any detailed editing involved separating the audio file into smaller events, however with Variaudio editing has become much easier. Once you open the sample editor and activate the Variaudio function on the right side of the screen, the file goes through an offline analysis process. Once the analysis has completed, segments representing the different pitches in the file appear along a piano roll to help with the visualization. The segments contain curves that indicate the performances' micro pitches. If you zoom in enough on the segments and scroll over one with your mouse the note name, or its pitch, is indicated as well as a positive or negative percentage of fine tuning, in 100ths of a semitone. Now you can independently control the time and pitch of the varying segments of a sample without having to separate it. You also have the option to straighten any segments micro pitches by a certain percentage, as well as remove any fine tuning on the segment by quantizing it's pitch.

Overall

Though a couple of major updates were covered in this review there are a few that should be given some recognition. REVerence is a convolution based reverb plug in that offers an EQ as well as control over reverse, pre-delay, time scaling, size, level, ER Tail Split & Mix, and rear. Further, Expression Maps are performance articulations saved as presets, or maps, with all the pertinent midi data, that can be activated on any midi track's new VST Expressions function. An extremely time saving option to bounce multiple outputs simultaneously has been added, and ruler based consolidation now links the editor window and edit window automation lane to reflect each other graphically.

Finally, the new automation window allows the user to select the mode of automation when writing, which parameter it is applied to, which parameters should be viewed, and if any automation should be suspended on tracks selected in the project.