What’s new in Cubase 11?

Steinberg’s well-loved DAW gets an upgrade, but what features are worth shouting about?

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Steinberg Cubase 11

Image: youtube.com/cubase

It appears that DAW makers have held off until this week to reveal the latest updates to their software. Steinberg’s Cubase 11 has arrived hot on the heels of Ableton Live 11 and a teaser video from Avid that says big news is coming on 12 November. Before we get over-excited and start trialling all of the updates, though, let’s find out what Cubase 11 has in store for us.

Cubase 11 Pro at a glance

  • Upgrades to Sampler Track
  • SuperVision audio analyser
  • Streamlined stem export
  • Key Editor and Score Editor improvements
  • Frequency 2 dynamic EQ
  • Squasher multiband compressor
  • Imager utility effect
  • SpectraLayers One
  • New sample sets
  • Various performance upgrades

Cubase 11 Pro comes with a host of new features and plug-ins. Happily, both Cubase 11 Artist and Elements are equipped with many of the same additions. We’ll stick to Cubase 11 Pro’s new features for the sake of simplicity here.

New plug-ins

Five new plug-ins are available in the latest iteration of Cubase: SuperVision, SpectraLayers One, Imager, Squasher and Frequency 2. These all seem like great utility tools to ensure your audio is clean, punchy and professional.

Frequency 2 is a precise eight-band dynamic EQ, with each band capable of being set to Dynamic mode for precise mixing. You can also have a different sidechain for each band to get really creative. SuperVision is also a great tool for checking in on frequencies, offering multimeter audio analysis. It is capable of displaying level, spectral, phase and waveform analysis with nine module slots to create your own custom modules.

Going deeper into audio editing is made easier with SpectraLayers One, which is essentially a lite version of Steinberg’s comprehensive SpectraLayers software. The tool will let you clean up audio signals and remix your favourite tracks by isolating the vocals and adding your own parts over the top.

Imager will allow you to enhance the stereo width of your project with multiband capabilities. This lets you place audio tracks at certain places in the stereo fields independently. Squasher is primed for EDM and other high energy music, again offering compression over multiple bands.

Editing enhancements

Key Editor and Score Editor both get an upgrade in Cubase 11. Key Editor will now display the Global Track to provide a visual reference on tempo changes and markers. You can also automate the pitch bend lanes.

Score Editor now features a Properties tab offering swift access to notation and note editing. A new Note Editing Overlay makes this even easier, along with support for the Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL) font format to bring some of Dorico’s fonts into Cubase.

Stems and samples

Cubase 11’s Sampler Track makes chopping up audio a breeze with automatic slicing. This function will be familiar to those who have worked with Akai MPC samplers, letting you slice a loop with just a few clicks. The sample engine also allows you to add a vintage touch or cut samples at the highest sample rate. New features like mono legato glide and two global LFOs let you push your creativity to the edge.

Stem exporting is streamlined in the new Cubase, with improved synchronisation and the ability to create and recall file format presets. You can export the full signal path with master bus processing, too, for a precise representation of your mix.

Cubase 11 comes with a whole host of other performance improvements, which Steinberg has put into a quick video. Check it out below.

Cubase Pro 11 is available now at £499, with Artist 11 priced at £284 and Elements 11at £85. Upgrade options are available for current users of Steinberg products.

Find out more at steinberg.net

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