I think a DAW has arrived when Sound on Sound has articles on tips and tricks for it.Yes, it's worth it. Reaper is super Cheap and works on both Mac and PC for the same license.
UPGRADE CUBASE 5 PRO
Up until recently I used an AKAI DPS 24 to record and port tracks because it was an easy-peasy setup, but sold that and go direct PC Reaper now to Mix on a Macbook Pro more because it's mobile and I can do some stuff at work. Or use MIDI in Reaper directly for drums from packages like Superior Drummer, and then track everything else directly as well. So typically I either use Acid Pro to get up my pre-recorded drum loops (drums on demand) and import the WAV to Reaper. It's lightweight, takes up very little CPU, and pretty robust. I read it's not top notch professional for MIDI yet, so if you need that, go with others. Since then they've expanded it A LOT and it's got a lot more to remember and so is closer to the other big DAW's now.īut I use it for everything from learning (slowing down tracks to hear solo's) to cutting up WAV files, etc. Not Ableton Live "fun" but it made sense to me. When I went to Reaper a few years ago, It was FUN to use. Haven't tried Logic on my Mac, but I tend to actually record on my PC and then mix on my Mac. I've played with Cubase in the past plus some cheaper DAWs. Learn how the things you want to do get done in your DAW instead of looking/shopping around all the time. What I didn't like to this day is the dongle which IMO slows down the DAW and is an annoyance.Īfter dealing with different DAW's over the years my best recommendation would be: The factory plugins nowadays are very good as well (that was the Cubase's weakest part back in the days when Logic on PC was a direct contender, still Logic's plugins are better IMO) It can be complex and clumsy, but if you configure it according to your work flow it can feel very streamlined, too.
UPGRADE CUBASE 5 FULL
It's a full fledged and very developped, mature DAW which has been around for ages and will stay around at least as long. That said, you cannot say a lot of bad things about Cubase. And I also own full licences of Ableton Live 9 which is a completely different DAW (and which I therefore have a soft spot for) and studio One V2 which at this point isn't mature enough and lacks features. Imho, Cubase is a solid and powerful foundation for everything you'll ever run into.Ĭhanged to Logic since switching to Macs a couple of years ago because anybody on Mac not working on Logic misses out greatly IMO. That being said, I don't qualify to compare different products and/or companies, I'll leave that to others.
UPGRADE CUBASE 5 SOFTWARE
Get a solid piece of software that offers more than you need and you'll save money and time in the long run. Nothing is worse than jumping ship every year as your demands grow. In my experience it has proven best to get products that offer more flexibility than you think you'll ever need. It's been a love-hate relationship at times, but nowadays I'm pretty happy with it. If I would switch to another DAW? No, I've been using Cubase and its predecessor Pro-24 since almost 25 years. Cubase is an amazing beast and it is best to get some video workshop to learn the basics and the advanced stuff.
no switching back and forth, I can always see everything that matters to me. First screen is project (track) view and second screen is mixer view. At least I couldn't do without 2 screens anymore. to be honest, I think you need a pretty good computer incl.
But more features, more versatility, more complexity. Upgrading from Cubase 5 Essential to the "real thing" is a good idea, of course. The newest edition is Cubase 7.5 (on sale since yesterday).
UPGRADE CUBASE 5 UPGRADE
First question concerning the above, is it a good idea to upgrade cubase to the newest edition (7).