Just thought to write this post to share my opinions about new version of cubase coming out almost every year and giving some conflicts while moving cubase projects to and fro few studios.
Scenario 1:
I know all studios won’t have same virtual instruments or plugins as I have, so I bounce them back in the project in exact timeline. Then save it as a new cubase project. If I bring this project folder to another studio where they use Cubase old version, (as they shifted to protools), it won’t open or the volume and pan settings are messed.
Scenario 2:
I export all tracks from 0 bar to the end of the project and bring only the audio tracks to a studio who use only old version of Cubase. Now creating new project and importing the tracks went well. Did couple of edits, panning, volume changes, etc etc. Now I had to edit some percussion or vocals tuning, which I prefer to do at my home studio with newer version of cubase than that of the studio uses, to save some studio hiring charges. I brought the whole project folder. The project opens, and I complete the edits etc and saved. Now if I bring this same project folder to studio, all the volume and pan settings changed to -00 infinity. Messed up.
For everytime I must bring back and forth to each studios, I must keep exporting those tracks and import them in older versions.
Why can’t Steinberg just make it compatible for any versions of cubase to load any projects be it newer or older?
I know anyways the plugins or vsts won’t load if it is absent in other versions, and some features like a vocal track where ‘vari audio’ is active. But the faders, pans should be same so that you don’t have to re-work or re-export back from other studio.
I agree completely! I’d love to be able to open my new 80-track Cubase Pro 8.5 projects with all their native plugins on my old Atari ST on Cubase version 3.
Hopefully, this highlights the problem. At any stage of revision or update on new software, new functionality is introduced, and that functionality involves new code in the project files, which would, put simply, break older versions, because that code isn’t recognised by the older version. Even being able to open older files in newer versions constitutes a compromise, so there comes a point where that backwards compatibility must be sacrificed or progress halts. That’s why, for example, if you want to open up any projects older than SX3, you need to convert them using SX3 so that you have a project file that the newer revisions can read.
What you’re requesting simply isn’t practical, unless you want Cubase’s progress to stagnate, and nobody wants that.
I should point out that the general advice in this is always to finish your projects in a single revision of Cubase.
No, I have said obviously new plugins or vsts won’t load. So I’m not expecting that Reymobius.
Like you said SX3 was used to convert older project files, there could be a save as older project file which is compatible with and for older versions without the need for plugins, vsts, or eqs.
Atari you were comparing… What can I say about 20+ years old version while talking about 3 years time. One cannot keep updating all his softwares every year.
For your information, Pro Tools has this feature and I don’t think Pro tools’s progress has stopped. Not only that, many other programs.
It’s easy to criticize some one’s suggestion. Such option won’t stagnate cubase’s progress but on contrary, no need to worry about incompatibility makes updating decisions easier.