Cubase 15 Color Management

Cubase
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1

My apologies that there are a couple of existing topics concerning color.

  1. The way to pick colors differs depending on whether attempting to select in the Preferences User Interface area or using the Project Colors Setup option.
  2. In Project Colors Setup, the manual entry for colors only allows H, S, V. The values for R, G, B are shown but are greyed out and not selectable.
  3. Given that HSV is the only manual fields, I cross-reference from a color chart to obtain the HSV values and enter them manually. Upon a save, the HSV values are changed from what was entered. The resulting color(s) are close but obviously not the same as entered.
  4. When using the Presets tab of Project Color Setup; there seems to be some limitations on the algorithm to generate The Basic Colors and Color Tints. For example: if I select 32 colors and 4 tints. The result appears to be a set of colors with the tints so close they are difficult to discern from each other.

I am working through a manual process to attempt to get a set of colors I can work with. While inconvenient, at least I can end up with close approximations of colors I’m attempting.

I am at a total loss why any color picker approach would not be consistent across the program and include a common paradigm, regardless of what colors are being adjusted.

The most concerning symptom is yet another instance where programming a setting/preference changes the manual value from the stored one.

So, I’m attempting to understand why such a fundamental feature would be implemented in different ways, implemented incorrectly, and once again, question why system acceptance and regression tests are not catching/preventing these sorts of problems.

While extremely inconvenient, I am working through setting the HSV values manually in the Project Color Settings. It leaves open the question of what direction the future of color picking is going, and why it is not implemented consistently and correctly in all cases?

I hate for yet another “rant” about Cubase ad nauseum for such obviously inconsistent approaches across the program.

PLEASE, work across project teams to unify HOW and WHY changes are being made and what program features require additional system and regression testing! It’s taking longer to type this post than it took to realize the inconsistencies.

I’m a relatively casual user and hobbyist. I can only imagine how more serious users struggle to ensure that their time is spent on billable work, rather than workarounds to changes in incomplete/incorrect core functionality.

2

My big color gripe (myself, and at least six others have brought this up since the update) is the loss of contrast in the background of an active midi part, in the key editor, under the loop-cycle ruler. This background used to be dark, so that you could easily tell the range of your midi part while in the key editor. Now, the background to the active midi part is the same as the rest of the key editor (under the loop ruler) with only the black key lines being slightly darker than the rest. It’s really hard to see now, especially for those of us with older eyes. This is claimed to be a “bug fix” but I have yet to comprehend what bug this was a fix for!

Screenshot 2026-04-03 165657
Screenshot 2026-04-03 165657563Ă—505 18.3 KB

3

I don’t like it either, but it seems the decision has finally been made in favor of the HCL (LCh) color space (approximately), at least in most areas of Cubase. I guess we’ll just have to live with that…

LCH Color Picker & Converter

4

Could potentially result in more intuitive color selection. Reserving judgement.

Honestly, I don’t know that I care, provided it’s implemented consistently, properly handles presets, and is tested thouroughly.

5

This change is simply tragic.

It is supposed to match the selection view in the arrangement window but the result is awful. I hope they’ll revert this decision because it’s simply wrong.

6

Or at minimum, they could give us a preference to turn that on or off!