well I just tried the dark side - I had PT sessions coming in and for opening them I installed the 30 days PT11 demo…
… I have to say - it ain’t that dark on that side… Beside the fact that I was not understanding much in that application during my first minutes I immediately stepped over a handful of features which I painfully miss in Nuendo/Cubase.
One of them:
I am just IMPRESSED about the automation… for example with that supertool thing I can edit automation in a very straight and forward way.
I can highlight a “range” and then just edit - without creating nodes first… I tried this in Nuendo for ages but was not able to find out how I could do this - when I - for example - want to rise the volume of a part - I can just highlight that part (with activated grid) and drag the volume as I like… In Nuendo I have to create 4 (!) nodes first, grab/click/select them with the mouse, fiddle around…
Look this video:
How is this possible in Nuendo?
…
Ohh man and I can access all my inserts and sends etc on the left side of the project window… all at once… basically makes it not necessary any more to constantly switch between project window and the mixer… most of the work can be done directly in the project window… I mean, without clicking the inspector a couple of times first to then see ONE parameter of ONE track… I can see and access ALL tracks, ALL parameters… want that!!
Maybe I have to purchase PT do use it for mixing work… :-/
Use the line tool for automation for this task. You can also use the square wave tool (make sure snap is disabled) and then use a modifier (ctrl + shift on my system) to have a horizontally constrained line.
I much prefer mixing in Nuendo compared to PT - lots of things like control room, channel phase/gain/eq etc which make it a faster experience.
Another “great” automation feature in PT is the missing undo for automation
Nuendo has multiple undo branches for automation passes. There is the automation preference “Use Undo Branches” and “Activate Automation Passes” button.
In my opinion PT automation is definitely ahead compared to N, Nuendo has a great idea with this passes/branches-thing, but as long as the very basic and simple operations are not as easy and reliable, PT is the way to go for mixing.
I mean editing of automation, the way of getting all automation lanes on top of the audiotracks with a simple shortcut and without doubling the visible track amount, the way of copying automation data, and finally, also, the look of automation lanes seems so much more precise (I still cannot believe this hugh white and thick automation dots and lines…).
I’ve nearly worked exclusively on N for about 10 years, but after mixing my first full feature in PT it all seemed so much easier and more reliable. I still prefer N for TV-Downmixes due to its implemented R128, and prefer N for sound design purpose.
I’ve actually had less “issues” with Nuendo’s automation I have to say. There are certain things that we can do by setting up key-commands/macros in Nuendo that allows me to do some things faster than in PT, so I find that it evens out after adjusting the workflow somewhat. For example; I might want to apply an EQ setting to an event and by hitting one key (already selected event) a range is set, preview is set, loop is set, playback starts, fill-to-loop is set, and I can start tweaking. Next key command punches in and resets parameters.
But I agree; some things are certainly easier in PT.