So I’ve parked my music production for a number of years and finally got the bug back so bought an 8th gen i7, 256 ssd, 2TB hhd, 16gb DDR4 RAM Desktop computer. I was one of the original Cubase users and so had upgraded from the first iteration to Cubase 3 and lastly Cubase 5 so have invested a bit of cash through the years. Being that Cubase 5 can run as 64 bit I installed Cubase 5 (64 bit), updated my Sampletank2 to Sampletank3 (64bit), got some new tools like Isotope Vocal Synth and Nectar2 Suite, and some other mastering software etc. all 64 bit.
I was relieved that Cubase 5 ran in 64 bit as, having read a few posts in regards to it, many say it is still an amazing program even though it isn’t supported by Steinberg anymore. So finally got everything together and running on a 64 bit platform (midi controller, audio interface etc.) and was excited to kick some ass with this new, incredibly powerful computer. Watched videos on the Isotope products and saw producers with their pro-tools rigs on youtube just realtime blowing through all the powerful features of these products with massive amounts of tracks without so much as a hickup. So I start laying down some Sampletank tracks and low and behold…Cubase can barely keep up with even 3 tracks of sampletank. Add a vocal track to a basic drum, piano and bass tracks and try to play with Vocal Synth and the performance is pathetic. Can barely play through a short 15 second passage without it sounding like a hacked digital mess. My old computer using Windows SX and a whopping 2 GB RAM (laugh) operated without a hitch. I cut a whole CD with it using Sample Tank2 as well as multiple live instrument tracks and a massive amount of vocal tracks.
So the question is, what gives?? Do I really have to upgrade to the new 9.5 to be able to have Cubase function in this new environment even though it’s running 64 bit? The thing is, this is a hobby and have already shelled out app. $1400 and did not anticipate having to shell out another $500 to just get a working DAW after already having shelled out so much in the past and having a working 64 bit version available. Of course, the worst outcome of which I would anticipate happening is to bite the bullet for 9.5 and have it still not handle worth a crap in the box. Can anyone enlighten me on why a 64 bit version is running worse on the this current rig than 32 bit version on a dinosaur machine? Any info would be incredibly helpful as I’m really dejected in regards to this. Talk about having my expectations and anticipation to create shredded.
Hello mrkeys!
You do not mention a soundcard. So: what kind of a soundcard do you use? And what drivers, do you use ASIO-drivers?
I just set up a new PC with an Core i5 8600, SSD, 16Gig RAM and a very old but still supportet Delta LT1010 soundcard. When i add track after track, as long as i dont use more then 20 audiotracks, i do not even see the first element of the VST-performance-meter. I think, you need a decent soundcard with ASIO-drivers.
Cheers!
And your OS is?
These plugins are much more demanding than anything you used in the past. Your ASIO latency is likely set way too low. In most of these videos, the latency is set to a high value to avoid audio glitches while they’re being recorded.
Cubase 9.5 runs considerably better than Cubase 5, thanks to ASIO Guard and several optimizations for current OSes. 9.5 also improves the graphics performance compared to previous versions.
Thanks all for the replies. I saw on message boards about Reaper and so gave that a shot. Unfortunately, that program gave me even worse results,especially with midi issues in record mode. So I’m back today trying to get Cubase back up. Using a Behringer UMC404HD now for interface. So, this is a Dell XPS 8930 computer. Was running a 256 gb ssd (just changed the ssd to a 512gb today), now 32 gb RAM, Windows 10 inside the box. Got the UMC404HD setup in Cubase 5 so have sound coming through the Behringer now. ST3 is working so back to where I was when I wrote this initial post. So just listening to it the first issue is everything has an incredible amount of digital pixelization. Even when just noodling around with ST3 without laying the track it’s making a tremendous amount of digital noise. As far as a sound card as I noticed one of the posts mentioning, why does a sound card have anything to do with Cubase’s performance? I’m running it through an interface to a set of headphones and not sure how a sound card even plays into that. Not saying it doesn’t, just don’t understand how it would. Have not tried to lay any additional tracks down today and am running out of time so have to pack it in today. But the extreme digital noise is over every track from vocal to midi. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Sounds like a buffering problem