Ability to modify middle c definition from C3 to C4?

Is this possible to change the note name from c3 to c4?

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No, it is not standardized. That is I guess a good reason for it to be changeable.

this appears to be a topic brought up from time to time:

https://forums.steinberg.net/search?q=%22middle%20c%22%20category%3A6

So, no is the answer… I don’t understand why they don’t make it moveable. Simple fix

That would be so much logical for musicians. Middle C is C4 in piano.

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Exactly. However some people think middle c is c3… Many programs and pianos have it programmed that way. But it’s very annoying. It should be a preference. Not sure why the Germans chose it that way. It’s literally the 4th octave on the piano

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Still no way to correct this absurdity ?

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After a few exchanges with tech support they confirmed this is Yamaha’s standard enforcement. the only way to let people choose if they want the musical (C4) or Yamaha’s (C3) standard for middle C is through this forum.
The option is available in Dorico so why not in Cubase ?

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When MIDI became a thing, there were two schools, Yamaha with C3, Roland with C4. Cubase’s Middle C has always been C3, as are most of the old school sample libraries and synths. MIDI instruments have almost always hovered around C3, Roland was always the odd one ‘back in the day’ with it at C4. Can’t recall where the middle was on my Juno 106 though.

Logic lets you switch between the two, but Cubase was always C3, which matches up with all my hardware here (except my Roland XV3080 haha)… It’s still the same note (Note 60) just different notation.

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@Matthias_Quellmann is it possible to add this option in the future ?

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It’s not only about ‘‘what’s the standard’’. People have their own lives with years and years of academic education relying on these definitions. I have studied orchestration for years at university and everyone there talks about it with middle c being C4 because from a pianist’s point of view it makes sense.

Doesn’t Steinberg realize how much of a hurdle in workflow and composing it is to have to constantly read the wrong number on the screen? How I know that an Oboe reaches this particular note and has this particular sound but now it’s the wrong octave so it just interferes with my knowledge and personal experience?
Why is it so much to ask to let us choose what Middle C is like Dorico (also from Steinberg) does?

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It would be nice to set an offset like some other DAWs let you.

If it annoys you enough, you could probably build a template with an octave transpose on the actual track. It’s a hack, sure.

I don’t see why this would have to be a technical limitation. If there was some challenge (that Dorico somehow overcame but Cubase could not) surely there could be an option to at least change the text in a purely visual way; even if behind the scenes it’s labeled as C3 or something.

They could make the note display names more flexible. It seems currently the names are hardcoded.
With a more flexible approach they could not only allow C3 = C4 but also have the note names displayed according to the currently used scale, ie. if you work in a flat scale none of the notes would be sharp.

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