I hear you @dream !!! I know Pro Tools fairly well. I’m not certified in PT in any way but you are right. There are things there that are very nice and PT has come a long way since I first got it at version 11. Cubase has a lot of things though that are, as you said, light years ahead of PT and I’d really like to make Cubase my main DAW but I can’t do that as long as things are getting changed accidentally because of this issue. Being “careful” isn’t good enough for me.
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@Tom_C, welcome to the forums!
It’s not that Steinberg hasn’t acknowledged that this (the scroll-wheel I mean) is something that needs to be addressed, they have. It’s just that they can’t decide on the best way to do it. As you point out, Apple’s magic mouse is an extra complication on top.
(I hadn’t used a magic mouse up until recently, but my cousin now sports some macs. So one day I grabbed the mouse to show him something, and quickly proceeded to ruin his whole mix, because the value changes where huuuuge!!)
I also ran a poll with an insignificant sample size recently, you can have a look here:
(It seems the majority DO like being able to change values while using the mouse-wheel, albeit with a preference to use a modifier key for the “secondary” action., scrolling or changing values that is)
Apart from the one for the vertical direction, the new preference that you already discovered, I’m afraid not. For the time being, you will have to make a habit of using a specific “safe” zone for scrolling horizontally. (personally, I go for the channel name labels and the buttons just above them and never higher than that.)
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Thanks @ggmanestraki !!! I no longer use the Magic Mouse partly because of this issue but also because it was dropped one time to many and no longer works. lol…
I saw your poll and voted C. I get that people want to change values with the scroll wheel but that’s not for me at all. I would find it hard to believe that anyone changing values intentionally with the scroll wheel are NOT changing values unintentionally by trying to scroll. I’m sure there might be others where this is not an issue. I hope that makes sense.
I propose two options/preferences:
- A I want to. use the scroll wheel to change values by also holding down a modifier key (the option key on a Mac). This would indicate an intentionality in making a change to the value. I believe this would eliminate any unintentional changes on the mix console screen or the edit screen.
- B I want to use the scroll wheel for scrolling only and I don’t want to change values with it. The default scrolling behavior with the scroll wheel on my Kensington Expert Mouse trackball is to scroll up/down. I use the shift key along with the scroll wheel to scroll horizontally left/right.
These could also be used together. If you have to use a modifier key (option button on a Mac) then you are being intentional in making any change. You would then also be able to scroll freely without having to be on a certain place of the screen in order to scroll.
Any thoughts from Steinberg?
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What amazes me is the amount of crap this subject has gotten over the years and it’s still unsolved. They even acknowledge the issue in C13 with the new preference to ignore the scroll wheel for some parameters. But the main issue, avoiding accidentally changing mixer values (probably the most important settings in music production) is left unsolved. I just don’t get it…
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@OFS Yeah, I don’t understand either. I’m not sure of the process of how to get issues like this resolved but for me it’s a deal breaker. I have used Pro Tools over Cubase for the past 10 years largely due to this issue. I have Never had this issue with Pro Tools. I know that Cubase has some nice features that aren’t in Pro Tools however they have added a number of features since I first started using it. Steinberg already has my money for Cubase and multiple upgrades along with WaveLab and SpectralLayers. I’d sure like to see this resolved sooner rather than later so I can use Cubase without wondering if something got changed accidentally.
I’m not sure if anyone on this thread knows the process of where things like this get addressed within Steinberg. I’m guessing that “voting” on a topic like this “should” bring it to the attention of Steinberg but I’m not sure if 14 votes (currently) is enough to make a difference.
@Tom_C ProTools is pretty clean in this regard. Scroll wheel just scrolls (as the name suggests…). I surely prefer this option but since many people like to use the wheel for parameters, let them have it. But why not add a preference to completely disable it for those who don’t like it? It’s baffling.
Anyway, if you follow this link Cubase - Steinberg Forums
you’ll see the Cubase feature requests ordered by number of votes. The mouse wheel request, “Disable mouse fader movement in the mix console”, is in fourth (!) place and it’s still not addressed… If you wish to vote, do it on this thread, since it’s the better ranked.
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@Martin.Jirsak While it is true that something tangentially related to the topic of this thread was added to C13, it is also true that problem which this thread is about, and many related threads are about, was not solved. There shouldn’t be any doubt about this since the OP confirmed that himself.
So, with all due respect, this thread should not be marked solved.
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Yep, not solved. I still accidentally mess up my mixes when the mouse is in the wrong place and I try to scroll.
This is a really big deal if you’re trying to use Cubase professionally.
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@OFS Thanks for the link. That request was initiated in November of 2018 (That’s nearly 6 years ago) and hasn’t been addressed yet? From reading through the top 20 or so in that list it really looks like a lot of overlap there. Doesn’t the admins go through and consolidate some of these requests? SIX YEARS!!! Seriously? What’s the point in voting. The one at the top of the list has 107 votes.
I spend way to much time on projects only to “accidentally” change something and then not know what that something is to correct it. That won’t fly well with clients!!! Looks like I may as well stick with Pro Tools and hope this gets addressed in my lifetime.
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Imagine if the scroll wheel in Visual Studio changed the variable names if they weren’t “careful”…
You’re talking about the (probably) most used mouse for Mac users. I wonder if anyone at Steinberg has used the Cubase mixer with a Magic Mouse… Of course I’m being sarcastic but at this point all this talk about this subject is just ridiculous. Just add a freaking extra checkbox below the current preference that says: “Include mixer faders and panning controls”. Or better yet, “Include ALL controls”
I think you missed my point.
Uh, maybe… I was just making a joke about the mouse wheel inadvertently screwing one’s work. Like the source code in Visual Studio.
No problem. I was just saying Steinberg should start from scratch. Fat chance of that!
I wouldn’t go that far, not even close, Cubase is mostly very good 
But I think some stuff should be re-addressed.
It’s the same with all software packages - if something is a certain way for a long time, then it tends to stay that way, because of inertia, because new features is mostly what sells new versions and because of user backlash when something changes.
In this case, nothing has to change - keep the defaults as they were and give us an OPTION to disable for the many that don’t like it. A previous user wouldn’t know the difference unless they changed it on purpose in the settings.
It’s very strange to me that with the new Cubase 13 setting to protect certain ares from the mouse wheel, they decided to enable it by default, which I think is a mistake because it made people that like to use the mouse wheel to change values freak out thinking the feature was gone…
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