10.5 Artist EE dongle question

Cubase
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1

I’m planning to migrate my son’s DAW from Ableton to Cubase as that’s what he’s using in school. I was originally planning on buying 10.5 Elements but saw the EE version of Artist really isn’t all that much more. However on Steinberg’s site, I see a USB dongle is requirement for Artist. On the websites where I’ve seen Artist EE available for purchase (such as guitar center), they say they are downloadable software, not a hard product. Is there no dongle required for the EE version?

There’s no difference between EE and non EE versions, correct?

I don’t think it matters, but he’s using NI Komplete Kontrol and an S88 midi controller. Looks like this is all supported. He’s running on a Windows 7 laptop which I intend to upgrade to Windows 10 as it appears that’s a Cubase 10.5 requirement.

Thanks for any info I might need before I spend my $$$.

2

All the software is downloadable, whether a dongle is required or not. AI, LE and Elements do not require hardware key, Artist and Pro do.

The sole difference between academic versions and retail are the price and the eula. Academic versions are sold at a lower price, and when a paid update is purchased, such as from Cubase Pro 10 to Cubase Pro 10.5 they become full retail licenses. Academic versions are supposed to be used for non-commercial endeavors.

All other aspects are identical, and you’re correct about Windows 10.

3

Thanks for the quick follow up and clarifications.

So I need to check with Guitar Center or another online site to ask how I get the dongle if I purchase the Artist EE version it sounds like.

4

The dongle is sold separately, eg., Steinberg License Key | Guitar Center

I think you can also buy it direct from the Steinberg site, though I did not check that just now.

5

Sweetwater.com also is a distributer Steinberg USB-eLicenser Software Authorization Key | Sweetwater

6

ah ha! thanks, i called guitar center before I saw your reply and they told me they don’t offer it. LIES!! :smiley: appreciate the help. looks like i’m good to go.

7

Guitar Center has the eLicenser also. Online (I just checked, it says in stock) and I have seen them in stores recently. Perhaps the particular store you talked to was out of them?

8

i ordered it yesterday, just the person i spoke with on the phone apparently wasn’t familiar you had to or could buy the dongle separately. she said steinberg offered packages with and without the dongle and GC only sold the one without. so dongle will be here saturday, upgraded the laptop to windows 10 last night, once i get the dongle i’ll buy cubase artist and spend the weekend getting it installed and integrating NI KK. hopefully it will go much more easily than ableton did. that was a nightmare and a 2 week process due to slow support from NI. used a cashback portal with GC for 5% off.

9

Oh OK. I think I misunderstood. I thought Guitar Center said they didn’t have the dongle but I think you were saying they didn’t have the Cubase version including the dongle. My bad.
Glad you got what you needed.