Cubase 10.5 Pro is the most unstable version I've used

[silhouette]

@Milkman76

For you and others it’s stable? It is not stable, and for a variety of users/profiles whose posts and comments you can see here spanning many months. 10.5 is unstable for many, glitchy for many, and steinberg isn’t doing a good job concierging, communicating, addressing, nor FIXING these issues. Thank for the note of support, though

The fact is that many more people use Cubase than post in these forums. It seems obvious that those who have an issue will post and those who don’t won’t. I am not sure that telling me Cubase is not stable on my system is helpful. I have had few issues with the present version of Cubase. In the past I have had issues and most of these were down to vst efx or instruments.

Have you tried disabling the VSTs? Sometimes a new computer can change the way things work together. I had to change my Graphics card from Nvidia because I was having issues that cause crashes. I also had issues with Kontakt causing processor overloads until I disabled Multi-processors in the Kontakt options. It might be worth checking that all the setup options in Windows 10 have been performed.

[greggybud]

@drdrdrdr

Sorry if this is obvious. You’ve no doubt tried already. But just in case, have you tried trashing preferences ?
That’s sometimes solved issues I’ve had. Then it’s been rock solid ever since (touch wood)

Also, once you have trashed preferences, (save them first somewhere else) and assuming you have a prior Cubase version i.e C10 and you are now on C10.5, consider temporarily re-naming that prior version when you re-start Cubase and it re-builds. This way, you get all factory defaults. If you don’t, then you get preferences automatically imported from your prior version which may be causing issues.

And of course always try things in safe mode with the various options.

[In_Stereo]

@Milkman76

For you and others it’s stable? It is not stable, and for a variety of users/profiles whose posts and comments you can see here spanning many months. 10.5 is unstable for many, glitchy for many, and steinberg isn’t doing a good job concierging, communicating, addressing, nor FIXING these issues. Thank for the note of support, though.

The issue (with hyperthreading, audio glitches, overloads) is that many environments suffer from the issue, and some do not, and sometimes SIMILAR ISSUES overlap and cause similar symptoms.

Those who never experience the issue have this odd tendency (here) to make their experience seem typical, I notice, despite how many people actually have the problem.

The last time a user here tried to suggest to me that this issue was localized or rare, I went ahead and found THIRTY threads on these forums involving the identical or similar issue by other users, and dumped all those links in a thread. The issue is NOT rare, steinberg ISN’T being forthcoming, and it’s quite frustrating to be stuck managing the entire thing here on these forums.

Yes. We know the environment and ecosystem are very complex. We understand the philosophy, and the product. I’ve been working with Cubase nearly 20 years, and it sounds like the OP and others also have tons of experience. That has nothing to do with clean, blank, freshly built, optimized environments crashing, glitching, etc, on 10.5 which were not exhibiting those things on prior versions, etc. I don’t know if fluctuating global economies have caught steinberg with too few QA staff or devs, or what the core issue really is, but HONESTY about these issues would help greatly.

Unfortunately forums often have a way of things getting misinterpreted, which is what happened here…no one’s fault, just the nature of the beast.

I didn’t mean ALL others, just some others (I should have written that). I’m not discounting anything you’re going through and certainly know that my experience might not be typical – just am saying that there are definitely users who don’t experience this problem, meant in an encouraging way in hopes it can be fixed. If you know my posts you’ll see I’m definitely not a pollyanna about Cubase.

I’m on a nearly brand new custom PC and the one stability problem I did run into in the very beginning was plug-in related (some Softube plugins, which they told me they’re working on). It’s a PIA to go through the plugins, but that’s what it took for me.

[YannEA]

I guess I’m lucky so far, apart from the “Kontakt Tiny GUI” issue which I resolved, it’s been great so far.

Crossed fingers

[planarchist]

@greggybud

Also, once you have trashed preferences, (save them first somewhere else) and assuming you have a prior Cubase version i.e C10 and you are now on C10.5, consider temporarily re-naming that prior version when you re-start Cubase and it re-builds. This way, you get all factory defaults. If you don’t, then you get preferences automatically imported from your prior version which may be causing issues.

+1

Renaming or moving previous preferences versions can be absolutely critical. I had major issues when I upgraded from 6 to 8 (I think, certainly a while ago). It was only when I removed the version 6 preferences from the system that my problems went away…all in one fell swoop.

[JBuck]

I am finding that 30% of the time, when I boot Cubase 10.5.20 up I get the Safe Screen. As if last time I shut it down it crashed or something.

[jimknopf]

10.5.20 quite stable here (rare problems on Windows 10Pro latest, two year old Intel Coffee Lake system with MSI mainboard and Thunderbolt audio interface) as well.

I can confirm, that deleting preferences has solved problems with version jumps here too, and more than once.
It should better work with old configuration imports, but Steinberg obviously hasn’t gotten this under control.

[ensoniq_ts10]

My Cubase 10.5 doesn’t crash that much but I get strange glitches and problems, ( see my threads topics I created on this forum about these issues )

[MusicDude]

Cubase 10.5 is fairly stable for me after the latest maintenance update. Saying that, I experience bugs in almost every session, I sometimes get the safe screen without any prior crash, beachballs and some glitches and a crash once in a while so I say ”fairly stable” in comparison to earlier versions of 10.5.

I do wish daw makers would focus on stability and bug fixes WAY before thinking about adding new features. The ongoing race for new OSes and daw features are turning daws into bug ridden glitch machines. Hardware is starting to look more and more attractive simply because it doesn’t crash.

[greggybud]

@Musicmould

I do wish daw makers would focus on stability and bug fixes WAY before thinking abiout adding new features. The ongoing race for new OSes and daw features are turning daws into bug ridden glitch machines. Hardware is starting to look more and more attractive simply because it doesn’t crash.

My guess is because DAWs in general over 20-25 years are still maturing relatively rapidly. If you follow the DAW money, it’s the hands of casual users not the professionals…however you want to define that. Casual users, especially those not having much experience, are attracted to features far beyond DAW core functionality. If one DAW releases a new cool feature, then the other DAWs aren’t far behind…even if the developer didn’t want it.

If someone did focus more on stability, (think of the variances of all components in any PC) + mac OS’s+ different interfaces, Cubase or any other DAW would cost much more, and of course then cost complaints and less units sold because of cost. I would guess every DAW developer would wish to not release so many features, but they are forced to do so to stay in business.

As far as hardware, I bet there are plenty of Open Labs Nekos for sale.

[JBuck]

@greggybud

My guess is because DAWs in general over 20-25 years are still maturing relatively rapidly. If you follow the DAW money, it’s the hands of casual users not the professionals…however you want to define that.

So I suppose this means Cubase is going to adopt Ableton’s loop triggering functionality. And eventually every DAW will be the same. Not sure if that is a good strategy or not. If every DAW is the same, why would someone pick Cubase over the rest, um…stability maybe?
Cubase already blows the comp out of the water in regards to features, bar the aforementioned loop functionality.

From a logical standpoint, it would make sense to spend a couple of years on stability and consolidating what they already have. Any new dev they take on is going to loose his flower trying to navigate a program that has grown at a rate set by the marketing department, not the engineering department.

[MusicDude]

I think Cubase has really great features but there are sooo many parts that need to be uncluttered, refined and up to date with 2020. The media hub/file handling and i/o handling needs a lot of love and the GUI consistency leaves a whole lot to desire. If these things + bugs/stability isn’t taken care of quite soon I can’t really see a huge reason not to abandon Cubase for another daw that does. I’d rather have a daw with less features that is stable and reliable than a software full of features that is unreliable and buggy. Reaper?

[MusicDude]

@J Buckingham

So I suppose this means Cubase is going to adopt Ableton’s loop triggering functionality. And eventually every DAW will be the same. Not sure if that is a good strategy or not. If every DAW is the same, why would someone pick Cubase over the rest, um…stability maybe?

My thoughts exactly.
And also, stop chasing what everyone else is doing and try to be innovative and original.

[greggybud]

@J Buckingham

So I suppose this means Cubase is going to adopt Ableton’s loop triggering functionality. And eventually every DAW will be the same. Not sure if that is a good strategy or not. If every DAW is the same, why would someone pick Cubase over the rest, um…stability maybe?
Cubase already blows the comp out of the water in regards to features, bar the aforementioned loop functionality.

When I say “cool new features” I’m addressing features that benefit any general DAW. For example, and for good reasons at the time, the developers didn’t want “unlimited undo” when every other DAW had it. Steinberg was pretty much forced to implement it due to user demand, but therefore lost another important feature due to adding “unlimited undo.” Another example iirc, Steinberg was relatively late to the game with render features…other than a basic bounce. I don’t know much about Ableton other than what I read that it’s great for loop based users. Cubase is popular among film/game composers and producers. If that functionality is something that would somehow benefit a core Cubase user base, then maybe depending on implementation cost and future development strategies. But is this loop feature really desired by enough Cubase users? Is it the same reason Ableton hasn’t added expression maps and articulations? Personally, I’m linear based, and while using loops on occasion, I have little interest in loop composition. If I did, I would probably learn Ableton.

@J Buckingham

From a logical standpoint, it would make sense to spend a couple of years on stability and consolidating what they already have. Any new dev they take on is going to loose his flower trying to navigate a program that has grown at a rate set by the marketing department, not the engineering department.

From a logical standpoint, I completely agree and wish they would do that. No new features, just fix what exists, plus complete unfinished features for example mix console history that works with automation. From a financial standpoint, I doubt it’s yet feasible. IMO, stability and consolidating, as a major upgrade, doesn’t necessarily attract a new user. Prosumer users…the ones in the DAW drivers seat for the most part…don’t care because for the majority of prosumer users, Cubase works for them. “Professional users” do care, but my guess is they are a smaller segment of the total Cubase user base, and tend to either create work-arounds or live with the shortcomings.

[MusicDude]

@greggybud

From a logical standpoint, I completely agree and wish they would do that. No new features, just fix what exists, plus complete unfinished features for example mix console history that works with automation. From a financial standpoint, I doubt it’s yet feasible. IMO, stability and consolidating, as a major upgrade, doesn’t necessarily attract a new user. Prosumer users…the ones in the DAW drivers seat for the most part…don’t care because for the majority of prosumer users, Cubase works for them. “Professional users” do care, but my guess is they are a smaller segment of the total Cubase user base, and tend to either create work-arounds or live with the shortcomings.

I’m definitely not saying no new features at all - but first focusing on tweaking the already existing functionality to perfection, from the perspective of design, ease of use and stability. When that is achieved - expand on the functionality in a way that makes sense to Cubase users. There is already an abundance of great features but too many of them are buried in really bad GUI choices and illogical layout and in some cases straight up poor implementation. If Steinberg took a good, hard look at all the features they already have in Cubase and did a major revision to make them 100% all the way - Cubase would slay!

[take3]

@Musicmould

I think Cubase has really great features but there are sooo many parts that need to be uncluttered, refined and up to date with 2020. The media hub/file handling and i/o handling needs a lot of love and the GUI consistency leaves a whole lot to desire. If these things + bugs/stability isn’t taken care of quite soon I can’t really see a huge reason not to abandon Cubase for another daw that does. I’d rather have a daw with less features that is stable and reliable than a software full of features that is unreliable and buggy. Reaper?

I agree with all of this. Cubase’s UI needs to be uncluttered and refined, including the media hub. I would rather have this than most new features I can think of. I’m eagerly awaiting Cubase 11 and hope it delivers. I have evaluated every DAW I can think of, and keep coming back to Cubase. But then I find something frustrating or counterintuitive that slows me down.

I would probably go to Studio One today otherwise, but I would rather stick with Cubase. I think it still has a stronger feature set. It’s just that I find myself banging my head against the wall at times, Googling for how to do something that should be obvious. And any instability needs to be addressed as a high priority.

[JBuck]

IMO Steinberg should start concentrating on retaining their current user base with hot fixes, more frequent feature adding updates, better support and better engagement with the Cubase community i.e polls.

Hopefully Steinberg just add the loop thing, get it out of there system, then get back on track. There does come a point when adding another plugin to the 76 already existing plugins has little if any affect on luring new customers.

[MusicDude]

@take3

Cubase’s UI needs to be uncluttered and refined, including the media hub. I would rather have this than most new features I can think of. I’m eagerly awaiting Cubase 11 and hope it delivers. I have evaluated every DAW I can think of, and keep coming back to Cubase. But then I find something frustrating or counterintuitive that slows me down.

I would probably go to Studio One today otherwise, but I would rather stick with Cubase. I think it still has a stronger feature set. It’s just that I find myself banging my head against the wall at times, Googling for how to do something that should be obvious. And any instability needs to be addressed as a high priority.

I feel exactly the same and I believe it’s no coincidence.
We’re at a point in time when the daw contenders are many and hungry.
Cubase feels somewhat sluggish, tired and labyrinthian compared to easy to navigate newcomers with fresh code.

Studio One’s intuitive and well thought out GUI and workflow sets a pretty high bar and having added expression maps with v5 is yet another nail in the coffin for Cubase. Logic Pro X has been thoroughly refreshed the last couple of years as well due to necessity. If Steinberg doesn’t put full focus on this NOW it won’t matter if they add tons of new features in the future because they simply won’t be able attract new users and on top of that - the old ones will start to drop off.

Perhaps they believe they can live off Nuendo as the best daw for post?
They have now added all of Cubase features to Nuendo but the price tag is just silly in my opinion. Maybe if they had dropped the price of Nuendo to Cubase level and included Wavelab - and of course refreshed the gui - then they would actually stand a chance. Cubendo? Nubase?

[C_Holdz]

I’ve been slowly building a home recording studio over the past year, and the last piece of my puzzle after assembling all of the hardware was the software, a DAW. I spent hours researching (reading reviews, reports, and user feedback along with YouTube comparisons) and trialing each of the major DAWs, and some of the lesser known ones [Studio One v4.6, Ableton Live 10, Bitwig 3, Pro Tools, Reaper, Reason, Garage Band, n-track, Audacity, Fruity Loops, and on the iPad Pro, Auria Pro and Garage Band, oddly I didnt get Cubasis but I will when its on sale probably], and since I am running Windows 10 x64, i7-7th@2.9Ghz, 16GB Ram, 256GB SSD, and I’m running clean, no additional programs or suites or usage besides a DAW, it seemed that Cubase 10.5 Pro, being the current version at the time, was the best way to go as I was looking for the most powerful, most complete, all inclusive, and most of all, stable, version.

Besides leaving the operating system bare, I also only purchased and installed 2 VSTs (Rayzoon Jamstix 4 Ultimate, Steinberg’s Metal Essentials VST collection for Groove Agent 5, and AIR instrument’s Strike 2). I realized running cracked/pirated software not only is risky in and of itself, but it alters databases and registries, sometimes irrevocably, as many here of been attesting to. Sometimes, the only way to ensure a clean install is having a clean OS, and in WindowS 10 terms, the refresh PC function is the best thing to hit a Windows OS since windows XP pro, really, it is the one selling point I can’t deny, which brings me to the final point:

Because of what I read, and I really feel supporting the software that you use is so vital to the music community, I bought Cubase 10.5 Pro. It is completely stable for me on an almost 3 year old laptop. I have not had one crash besides trying a questionably sourced VST for trial purposes only, and I ended up doing a complete reinstall of windows OS and redownload/reinstall Of Cubase 10.5 Pro, Jamstix and Strike, which was a simple solution but a very long and inconvenient way of getting to that stability.

From What I read and understood, Cubase 10.5 was written in and for Windows 10 (in the same way PT is written in and for a MacOS), so if you are running anything besides the DAW, and fully licensed and legitimate software, with proper procedural installs, try to do things as others have suggested, start fresh and don’t install anything questionable.

I haven’t crashed at all, and things have been running very well in terms of system resources since the new installations. Ofc, not everyone can afford to do that, especially without backups, but if all else false, give the Windows 10 refresh a shot, it works for me.

[PeteM75]

Thanks to all for the thoughts, suggestions, and insights.

I’ve tried numerous options, and the problems still exist. The best I’ve been able to do is develop several workarounds, and in some cases just deal with the ongoing frustrating issues.

To the previous poster who suggested using legit software, and not installing anything ‘questionable’… all of my software is fully licensed / legit.

It’s been really disappointing to find that ‘upgrading’ from version 7 to version 10.5 Pro (with all of the same 3rd party plugins) feels more like a ‘downgrade’ as far as performance and stability goes.

Thanks again,
Pete.