I’m a uge cubase’s score-editor user since the very beginning. I love the freedom i have to put symbols and sign everywhere, even if i need to be very meticulous and accurate : the price of the freedom maybe.
So, i was very excited to see finally a very big update to the score editor.
Actually, i would like to share my thoughts, because, i think you’ll need update very soon (and i think you planed it). Here is some very simple task i can’t do, or i don’t found :
• I need to set up my page header and footer like i want (and not like Cubase impose to me). I would like to center the composer name, change the size of the fonts, put the page number in the footer etc. in short, i need the “Page Text” i had before.
• I need to change the font size of every kind of text : lyrics specifically, but all the other too - musical indications etc.
• I need a clearer “note options” : why head-notes changes are in the “score”-menu ? I think it could become a section like “Keys” and “Signature” etc. How do i set my accidental in parentheses ? (not the note). In short, I need the “note proprieties” much clearer and centralized.
• Since Cubase SX2, I used A LOT the “Other Symbols” option, to place anything I want anywhere. I cannot do that anymore. I used the “Symbol editor” too.
It looks like with this “integrated - Dorico” in Cubase, i lost freedom, but, i really want to let a chance to this editor because it looks more precise. I just need to found back these simple options.
The new Score Editor currently only offers a single page template (in Dorico terms). We will consider how we can offer a bit more flexibility in future, but it’s likely that your needs are best met in Dorico, if you need precise control over the header and footer items.
Regarding changes of font size, we will provide some more control over font styles in a future update. It may not be quite as detailed as offered in Dorico, but should go in that direction.
I agree, we should also provide further note properties. Accidentals in brackets are not currently available in the Score Editor.
Other symbols are actually available already. Enter a new text or system text item, set the Character style (first dropdown on the left of the inline editor) to “Music Text”. You can paste any symbol from the smufl glyph table directly.
Thank you for the “other symbols” fix, i didn’t think about this way of thinking, i’ll try it very soon.
But, for all the other things : are you trying to tell me that, now i bought my 99€ update from Cubase 13 pro to 14 pro, i have LESS options than the old one, and now, I need to buy a 579€ software to have access to these very simple options of header and footer ?
The Cubase 14 Score Editor has been rebuilt entirely, and uses a different approach to Cubase 13. The main goal was to get beautiful and readable scores very quickly, but that comes at the cost of reduced flexibility. The Cubase 14 license does allow you to keep using Cubase 13 though, so you can continue using it if required.
You can also explore using Dorico SE or LE in combination with Cubase. You can export Dorico files directly from Cubase 14 now, and tweak the Score in any Dorico version.
Your editor are the only one to let me do all this manually very easily : bar adjustment for each system, personal clusters, free ligature, free voicing from a stave to another with the only silents i want to see, 3rd pedal line, loops, etc. Of course, you can argue my “Ped” symbols are not very well placed, and the slurs between system kind of strange, but, that’s my bad, it’s very easy to adjust them.
Unfortunately, i may will. Maybe i’m a niche contemporary composer. It looks like i’m not your target audience anymore. I feel like a motherless child.
@Khalimaroth you’re not a niche composer. I have published hundreds of pages of music using Cubase’s Score Editor for over 30 years. The previous Score Editors had SO MUCH MORE flexibility and functionality. And there are bugs, some of which I just submitted today through phone support. One step forward, three steps back. But hopefully Steinberg will listen and get this Dorico system in Cubase up to what it should be.
I think what most of us are worried about is Steinbergs willingness to dedicate time continue to develop new features after they’re released. I always assume the first iteration of anything will be missing key features (for me not being able to name score staffs by track names is a massive, massive workflow killer) but if, say, development goes the same way as midi remote, it may be YEARS before we see feature requests added in.
Hopefully I’m wrong, but I think we’re all presuming based on Steinberg’s track record that if an advanced feature isn’t there day 1, the likelihood of it ever appearing is so small that we have to find other options.
Based on the forum posts about the new Score Editor, I don’t have the impression that that’s what most users are worried about. However, if you do feel like that, see Daniel’s blog post about how and why we built it, or just look at the release notes of the very first patch release that is public, which should give evidence to the fact that we care about the product, and continue to improve it even in patch releases.
Thanks Stefan, and please excuse my frustrations. I realize we all have our pet feature requests, and I do hope the score editor continues to get improved as it has tremendous potential. It’s a truly beautiful upgrade, already ahead of every other DAW.
Yes, I hope you are wrong. This score editor is lacking tremendously and anyone who’s used it thoroughly in the past would realize it quickly. Upon purchase of CB14, I received an email with a product survey. Did you? If so, let them know how you feel. I did. And the more of us that speak up, the better the chance that Steinberg will listen and act quickly to re-implement all/most of the features it shouldn’t have lost in the first place.
Reality check - the team have indicated, clearly and on several occasions, that the new Score Editor developed as it is from the ground up, can never attain the full feature set of the old Score Editor. Just technically not possible. You’re wasting energy continually wishing/hoping for otherwise.
Your previous Cubase edition will continue to work of course, just as you’ve been used to.
If you’ve found nothing of other value for you in the rest of C14 (you didn’t try the Trial first before spending money.?), then it’s time to cut your losses, accept the situation (new Score Editor will gradually improve over time) and find a happier workflow/route through life.
I don’t think you’re going to find that any DAW has a score editor quite as full featured as the old Cubase one. But I wouldn’t panic. Dorico is the most advanced scoring software available. You’ll see the score editor in Cubase improve, but for some more complex functionality it would have to be moved to Dorico. Hopefully Steinberg might be able to look at a crossgrade option for users.
No, no… Never.! I’m a fan. That’s not my advice… I can’t imagine I’m qualified enough to make recommendations for you/your skillset.
The bigger point I wanted to contribute to the thread, was we need to deal/work with what’s in front of us - its fruitless living on dreams alone, wishing how much better our lives would be if only SB could add this, that or the other to Cubase. In this case, the old Score Editor has reached ‘end-of-life’ and going forward exists only as it did in Cubase prior to C14 - it’s not coming back.
Ok, I’m not a professional Cubase user; my livelihood doesn’t depend on it. I’m more an ‘audio’ guy/hobbyist. All of which skews the demands I have of the tools I buy/use, or any jeopardy I may face relying on only one or two ‘solutions’…
I wanted to support the team, so bought into Dorico (Elements) which is used only occasionally. So that’s already there as an option for me. In reality, I don’t need it - was happy with Cubase’s Score Editor.
Anyway, good luck whatever you decide - plenty of options out there…
Of course, I also have the clear intention of working with the new editor. But after a few statements from the Steinberg team, I don’t think they will develop the new editor that would make it a good functional replacement for the old one. It is supposed to be a solution that automatically creates nice-looking music pages at the touch of a button, without you being able to change everything. Due to the complexity and the specific use cases, I doubt that you will never have to intervene manually with music notes.
Of course I also want to support the team.
Unfortunately, Dorico is not a DAW like Cubase. I don’t actually need a music score publishing solution, just a practical editor to create simple, musically readable, compact music score pages for playing music.
What also surprises me is that the Dorico-based editor in Cubase lacks some practical musical things. Is Dorico even used by musicians who work in practice?
I’m a fan. That’s not my advice… I can’t imagine I’m qualified enough to make recommendations for you/your skillset.