Get a FREE fully-working copy of Steganos Security Suite 7 (worth £49.99) when you sign up to the Practical PC Newsletter. Review: Steinberg Cubase SX Part 1
We've become accustomed to seeing Steinberg churn out regular new Cubase updates but Cubase SX is a brand new sequencer. In a two-part series Ian Waugh looks at the state of the sequencer market and examines Cubase's SX appeal...
| Product | Steinberg Cubase SX Part 1 |
|---|---|
| Company | Steinberg |
| Web | www.steinberguk.com |
| Price | £529.99 Upgrades from £69.99 - £199.99 |
| We like | New automation, unlimited Undo/Redo, new Mixer, enhanced editors, good upgrade prices |
| We don't like | USB dongle |
| Rating | 9/10 |
| Requirements |
It's not everyday that a new professional sequencer hits the market. Sure, there is a continuous run of budget-priced offerings, pattern-based sequencers, DIY Dance Music construction kits and so on, and many are jolly fine pieces of software, too. But the launch of a new serious sequencer for the dedicated musician, particularly from a long-established music software developer like Steinberg, is rare news indeed.
The art of the state
To put its significance in perspective we must look at the current state of the professional sequencer market. For the PC there is Cubase and Cakewalk's Sonar, and for the Mac there is Cubase, Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer and Emagic's Logic. There are others, but these must account for 95 percent of those in professional studios and serious bedroom studios, too.
Until recently, Logic was also available for the PC but as avid industry watchers will be aware, Apple, in a surprise move, bought Logic developer Emagic and decided to stop development on the PC platform. Ouch!
The mass of disgruntled PC Logic users this created (nice to see Apple still isn't afraid to upset its customers) now have to decide whether to swap their PC for a Mac or look for a new PC sequencer. Neither is an easy decision but it does mean that there are only two pro sequencers on the PC to choose from and three on the Mac. Cakewalk and Steinberg must be rubbing their hands in glee.
Monster sequencer
Even though Apple's move came after Cubase SX had appeared, Steinberg could have continued to sell Cubase updates to the faithful. However, as most software developers know, you can only update a program so many times before it has more bits hanging off it than Frankenstein's monster, so full credit to Steinberg for this new development.
In truth, Steinberg had already paved the way for SX with its high-end Nuendo program designed for post-production and video work, and SX uses much core Nuendo code. It doesn't have all its post-production features but it has much more MIDI support. Steinberg has gone on record as saying that SX is a direct replacement for Cubase VST and other than some minor upgrades including support for VST System Link, more of which in Part 2, development on Cubase VST will cease.
So will seasoned Cubase users want to upgrade, will they have a long learning curve and will SX tempt users away from other sequencers? Let's see...
Stable mates
First things first. SX will only run on Windows XP or 2000, and on the latest version of the Mac's new OS, OS X v10.2. These Operating Systems have been proven to be more stable than their predecessors (OS X v10.2 is new but OS X has proved very stable) so if you want to upgrade, you may also have to upgrade your OS, too. It's also worth taking a very close look at the recommended machine specs. Forget the minimum requirements - if you want to do serious audio work you need some power under the hood.
Copy protection is by way of a USB dongle. This shouldn't present a problem as all PCs and Macs released in the last few years have had built-in USB. However, it does tie up a USB socket so if you want to use a USB interface, another USB device or run other software that also uses a USB dongle, you may have to fork out for a USB hub.
The first thing you notice is the stylish interface. It's neat and clean and reminiscent of Nuendo. There are enough similarities to give Cubase users a sense of deja vu but much of the system has been redesigned. You can point and click your way around a lot of it but you will want to read the docs, too.
When you first run the program you must create a (Nuendo-like) Project which specifies a folder containing the audio and edit information and so on. Already a vast improvement over Cubase where files could sprawl all over your hard disk. You can import your old Cubase songs although you might have a little tidying up to do in SX.
All the main arranging work is done, as before, in the Arrange page. And that's what we look at in Part 2 along with some of the myriad new features and enhancements.
Read Part 2
