Feature Regression
Subject: Cubase 14: Active (top) waveform is fully opaque when editing overlays—prevents visual alignment
Product & Version: Cubase Pro 14.0.32 (Build 342, Apple Silicon)
OS & Version: macOS 14.6.1 (Apple M1 Max, 16" MacBook Pro, 32 GB RAM)
Audio Interface & Driver: Universal Audio Apollo Quad Firewire (Thunderbolt upgrade), UAD Driver v11.7.1
Reproducibility: 100%
Summary
When editing overlaid waveforms in the Sample Editor (e.g., VariAudio or standard audio editing), the active/top waveform renders fully opaque while the background waveform has some transparency. This makes it difficult to visually align the top event to the background. In previous Cubase versions, the active waveform displayed with some transparency, making alignment practical.
Steps to reproduce
-
Create or open a project with two audio takes that should be visually aligned.
-
Open one take in the Sample Editor so its waveform is on top; enable an overlay/reference so the other waveform is visible behind it.
-
Attempt to align by eye (e.g., transient-to-transient) while editing the top/active waveform.
Expected result
The top/active waveform retains partial transparency (as in earlier Cubase versions), allowing the underlying waveform to remain clearly visible so alignment is straightforward.
Actual result
The top/active waveform renders fully opaque, obscuring the underlying waveform and making alignment difficult/imprecise.
Impact
This is a workflow regression that slows editing and makes precise visual alignment significantly harder, particularly for vocal comping, ADR, and transient-based edits.
Tried/Notes
-
Preferences → Event Display → Audio (Waveform Brightness/Outline) only affect events in the Project window, not the Sample Editor overlay behavior.
-
Occurs with a clean preferences profile.
-
Occurs regardless of color scheme, HiDPI settings, or display scaling.
Attachments
Request
Please confirm whether this is an intentional change or a regression. If intentional, kindly consider restoring (or providing a preference for) top-waveform transparency in the editor to enable accurate visual alignment.