Steinberg Cubase

In our last Cubase tutorial, we introduced you to the basics of the Score Editor. This time, we dig deeper to learn about score voices and layers.

The ability to convert MIDI notes into scored music, and vice versa, has been one of the strings to Cubase’s bow ever since the app’s inception, but there’s an awful lot more to using this feature than meets the eye.

Being just-about the longest-serving DAW out there, it’s surprising that Steinberg can still think up ways to improve the venerable Cubase. But it can and it does, so let’s see what’s new in 10.5.

The flexibility of Mid/Side processing can bring big advantages during mixing, but Cubase doesn’t have any built-in M/S capabilities. All it takes, though, is a free plug-in and a bit of clever routing.

Cubase’s stablemate, WaveLab, is designed specifically with mastering in mind, with many tools and workflows dedicated to the task. But Cubase itself is far from incapable when it comes to giving mixes a final polish.

Studio consoles typically feature EQ on every channel and the best of them include per-channel dynamics and other processing, too. There’s no need to fill up your insert slots to mimic this in Cubase, though…

Reverb is a vital weapon in a producer’s arsenal, and can play a key role in honing the sound and placement of parts within a mix, so it’s good that Cubase Pro comes with four different varieties…

Cubase Pro and Artist come bundled with the fabulous Retrologue 2 virtual instrument, which can also be purchased for use with any other DAW. So, in keeping with our synth theme this month, let’s take a look…

Last time, we looked at how Cubase’s Chord Track creates a harmonic guide track that can modify the pitching of MIDI, instrument and audio parts. Now we’re focusing on Cubase’s other chord-based tool: Chord Pads

At first glance, Chord Tracks and Chord Pads can give the impression they’re aimed at producers whose musical ideas exceed their musical skills – they are, however, powerful production tools in their own right…