What’s this mess when it comes to User Content in Cubase?
I’d like to express my annoyance on how messy is the User Content management experience in Cubase. Whenever you save a Preset (FX Chain Preset, Strip Preset, Retrologue Preset) or a MIDI Loop etc… it gets saved somewhere. And MediaBay does a great job showing you where they are.
But is this the best way?
Why can’t we set a specific location of where all the user content gets saved? We are the user after all, how is it labeled user content but the user doesn’t have a say where it’s saved? Going to system folders and what not to grab what we’ve made is not the most efficient way to say the least. Especially if you’re like me and you wanna backup and also move to another studio, also keep track of what you’re creating.
Here’s the directories where Cubase saves the User Content in the Alphabetical order (MediaBay Order).
What is this mess? I couldn’t believe my eyes? How are we supposed to keep track? How are we supposed to back up and move things?! I’m sure many of you are scared to even look at this?!
Cubase must allow us to set the directory of where User Content gets saved. That’s not acceptable and totally inconvenient!
Now on how to approach to solve this, is by simply having a dialog in Cubase preferences where we set the location of the User Content. No need for the ability to set directories for each.
Thank you and sorry for the long post!
Sweet week!
By the way, Groove agent also use VST3 Presets folder appointed by cubase to where it saves the kits you make! I nearly deleted that amdist cleaning my files just now! This User Content mess is really mind boggling! I hope this gets addressed the soonest!
How? When you save a midi loop for example Export Midi loop. It doesn’t ask you where you want to save the midi loop. Same for saving Strip presets, and FX Chain presets… All same dialog no choice where to save them. I’m not on my studio computer to take screenshots.
AppData\Roaming\Steinberg is not a directory dedicated to user content it’s a directory where settings is saved, and it’s full of other directories this is inconvenient.
And having access to user content in system directories is not the best way this should be addressed. As a user I need to have a choice where this gets saved it’s my content after all and things I save as a user. It’s called User Content. and Cubase right now saves MY user content in inconvenient places.
I’ll wait for @st10ss to explain to me how I can use my own folder struture to save what I created right from cubase.
Yes VST Presets are settings, so according to your definition they are supposed to be saved with settings in AppData\Roaming\Steinberg right? but they are not they are in Documents\VST3 Presets! There’s inconsistency in where things are saved and spread in folders here and there. You clearly don’t use the user content library, and have your own way of working. Good for you. What I’m pointing in this post is something that needs addressing from steinberg side. By suggesting Libraries you showed me that you clearly didn’t understand my post.
The post is about User Content It’s automatically saved by cubase in predefined locations that can’t be changed by the end-user. My request is the ability to change it.
I went though all this when I had corrupt setting and just wanted an organised reference
Its a lot deeper than that.
It would be much easier with all the files being chunk based like an IFF file structure; more like a repository where any info can be pushed/pulled on a global/local/user/persistent context…like they did on the amiga in 1984 then apple tried to copy and botched it.
Then the files can be human read all as xml (a lot are) and kept consistent (eg logical editor)
And ultimately this is all the same issue
Siltation and lack of handover for devs…lack of discipline etc
This is not simply related to steiny either…its everywhere where I work, management (ime) NEVER pay any heed to actually managing handover as its ‘not their problem’
Yes, a user defined directory makes absolute sense, remember the VST pictures. When working with more than one machine we have to create VST pictures on every machine.
Or keycommands.
Or presets within the mediabay. By the way … we can “move” presets within the MediaBay to a location e.g. a DropBox folder, but it’s not moved, it’s copied. This is an old bug.
I’m setting up a 4 year old MacBook Pro as a secondary “portable” studio at the moment and copying all my desired settings, presets and other user content across has been giving me migraines…
Definitely agree. It would be nice to just have ALL different kinds of user presets in the entire Cubase to just be saved into our own folder location. It’ll also be much easier migrating to Cubase updates as well.
I couldn’t have said it any better than the above posts! Thank you guys posting about this! it’s really a mess when it comes to moving preferences and user content in Cubase. All other music software are just DAWs but Cubase is a mothership.
Yes I already use that ! Isn’t it amazing?! but unfortunatly it doesn’t cover the user content area, actually Profile Manager is one of best things about the mothership!