Backup function not saving Freeze folder (SOLVED)

I’ve got a dilemma that has recently crept up since upgrading to MacOS Sierra and Cubase 9 that I can’t solve.

Here’s the scenario

-I work on a project at my home studio with VST’s and audio. I freeze the VST’s and choose File->Backup Project and save a copy to Dropbox. All folders (Audio, Freeze, Images, Track Pictures) are as they should be with the proper files in each.

-At my recording studio I copy the project folder from dropbox to my session drive. When I open it, it gives me the dialog that the file has been moved (it didn’t used to do this) and do I want to use the new or old location for files. I choose the new.

-I proceed with my session and my Engineer mixes the project. He then chooses File->Backup Project and saves the file to a finished folder on Dropbox. NOW HOWEVER the Freeze folder is missing and all the Freeze files are in the Audio Folder!!!

This causes some real issues when I open the file back at my home studio.

Any guesses at why Cubase at my recording studio is deleting the Freeze folder on backup and moving the freeze files to audio folder?

I’m using Sierra 10.12.2 and Cubase Pro 9.0.1 at both locations.

Hi,

I wonder about the dialog on the studio side. Does it mean, you already had this project on the Computer in the different location?

Are you sure, the track was frozen on the studio computer? Did these tracks play back from the frozen source?

In this case, I would probably use Render in Place instead of Freeze.

Thanks for the response!
Your suggestion to use RIP instead of Freeze is appreciated, but they accomplish 2 very different things. I need to have the VSTi’s go to a studio without the plugs…be able to be heard and mixed…and then come back to my studio and unfrozen for addtl. tweaking. That’s not accomplishable with RIP.

Here’s hopefully a more clear presentation of the issue(s)

I am using dropbox to sync files between the two places.
Workflow goes like this: (HS=Home Studio RS=Recording Studio)

(HS)Freeze all VSTi’s (Freeze folder correct)
(HS)File->Save Project locally (Freeze folder correct)
(HS)File->Backup Project to Dropbox folder (Freeze folder correct)
(RS)Copy Project folders from Dropbox to local disk (Freeze folder correct)
(RS)Open Project from local disk
***This is where I now get the warning in the attached img–didn’t happen with CP8.5 and OS X 10.11


(RS)Select “New” (Freeze folder correct)
(RS)Record live instruments (Freeze folder correct)
(RS)File->Save Project locally (Freeze folder correct)
(RS)File->Backup Project to Dropbox Folder (New Master Folder for Recordings. Not the same folder as above)
Freeze folder does NOT backupAll freeze files are found in the Audio Folder now
(HS)Copy Project folders from Dropbox to local disk (No Freeze folder)
(HS)Open Project from local disk
***I get the same warning as mentioned above
(HS)Select “New”
(HS)File opens and everything is ok…UNTIL I delete the project in my dropbox folder. Then, when I open the project, it says it can’t find the freeze files and unfreezes all instruments.

So there are apparently 2 bugs here.

  1. Cubase at my RS doesn’t backup the Freeze folder correctly
  2. Cubase at my HS is not actually reading the freeze files from the “New” directory even though I click on the “New” button when asked.

I personally wouldn’t rely on Freeze for anything other than improve CPU situations… I don’t think it’s really meant for what you are suggesting. Eventually this will probably become a back-ground feature.

I would argue a RIP is better in this situation as it ‘prints’ the audio to a more tangible medium, which is what is used for final mixes. If you want to make tweaks you simply do that, all will be the same as before pre-rip/freeze.

That’s often the recommendation I get. I think mostly because the majority of Cubase users aren’t dealing with huge amounts of VSTi’s and dozens of VEPro inputs from various slave computers. The thing to realize is that there are some fundamental differences between the 2 functions that make RIP not suitable in certain situations. There are many of us who have for a long time and continue to rely on the unique benefits the freeze gives.

Freeze is an essential feature to a lot of people’s workflow. It definitely isn’t going away. The main difference is that a track that is frozen can be mixed/eq’d/plugs/automated at one studio and then brought back to the original studio and unfrozen with all the mix/eq/plugs/automation still intact and inline to have alterations made to the performance MIDI with all that still in place on the track.

RIP can’t do that as you are actually creating a second track. The original won’t have the same treatment after the mixing process. Yes you can copy plugs/automation/etc back to the VSTi track, edit MIDI, and redo the RIP,…but at 30+VSTi’s per project and 20ish projects per episode, you can quickly see the futility in that. RIP is great for certain things, but freeze is much better for portability and collaboration.

CP9 is the first iteration since I started with Cubase years ago that has had this freeze issue. Just trying to figure out what’s going on and if there is a workaround or a bug fix in the works.

As a follow up to anyone who is interested. I finally solved the issue. It’s not in the “backup” feature. The bug is in the “old-new” dialog warning. Apparently even though I was clicking “new” it was still reading the files from the old location and then somehow messed things up when they were copied via “backup”.

The workaround I found was either deleting or renaming the folder on Dropbox that I was copying files FROM. When I did this, Cubase didn’t give me the “old-new” warning and everything worked as expected.

Something to look into though if any Steiny folks actually read this. Clicking “New” on the “old-new” dialog doesn’t actually end up making the project read from the new path.

This sounds very serious to me, I will check this.

I tested it, and it works as expected here.

Test:

  1. Make a project with Sine signal. Save it to the Documents.
  2. Copy the project to Desktop, exchange the Sine.wav by another file (WhiteNoise), but change the name of the file back to the Sine.wav.
  3. Open the project from Desktop (new location).
  4. The “old-new” dialog apperars.
  5. Select “New”
    => WhiteNoise is played back, and Desktop folder is set as the Project Folder, which you can confirm in the Pool (the “old-new” dialog is about the project folder).
  6. Close the project, don’t save.
  7. Reopen the project (from Desktop), and select “Old”, in the “old-new” dialog.
    => WhiteNoise is played back, and Documents is set as the Project Folder (confirm in the Pool).
  8. Close the project, don’t save.
  9. Open the project from the old location (Documents).
    => Sine is played back, as expected.

Cool. Glad it’s ok. Not sure what was causing my issues, but I have a workaround now that requires minimal effort. Thanks for looking into it!

For what it’s worth, my Dropbox is located on a separate disk from my Session Drive. Dunno if that has any effect or not.

Did a quick test with the same procedure Martin provided and audio files on audio tracks are fine. The issue comes up with files in the Freeze folder.
-If a project is copied from its original location AND both projects are still present on the system, CP9 will give the “Old-New” prompt.
-Upon selecting “New” Cubase will read audio files from the new location, but Freeze files from the old.
-This further complicated if you use “Backup” on the NEW file. CP9 will then move all Freeze files to the Audio Folder in the new backup location.

Simply making sure that the “Old” folder is either deleted or had it’s name/path changed before opening from the “New” folder makes it so that CP9 does not give the “old-new” dialog and all files are handled correctly.