Now that Cubase 6 has been released, I want to purchase Cubase 5.
I’m currently using Cubase 4, and want to move up to the latest version of Cubase 5, before I make the leap to Cubase 6.
Does anyone know if Cubase 5 can still be purchased, and where?
And can both C4 and C5 exist on the same hard drive, so that I could open my C4 songs in either version?
Thanks in advance.
I don’t believe you can purchase C5. You could upgrade to C6 and that would enable you to run C5 (The C6 license is good for C5, C4, etc.). The trick would be locating the install disks for C5. If you know someone with C5 you could borrow the disks for the install.
Ron
Cubase 5 upgrades are still about
Thank you, Quietly, for the link.
May I ask, is this update any different than buying the full version of Cubase 5? This is what I’m looking for; not a stripped down version, such as Cubase 5 Essential or Studio.
Am I right in assuming that an update version is less expensive than a full version, but is otherwise the same, and only works if you have the previous version of the program? As I said, I have the last version of Cubase 4, and would like to go with Cubase 5, before taking the plunge on Cubase 6.
Also, I’m in the U.S.
Thanks again.
That link looks like the full version to me. And yes the upgrade is only good for registered users of SX3 and C4 and is the same as the “full” version (not sure about printed mauals though - the full version may have manuals not included in the upgrade)
Keep in mind that for less money (based on the couple prices I saw online) you could upgrade to the full version of C6, which allows you to run the full version of C5. The trick (as I mentioned above) would be getting your hands on the C5 install disks.
Ron
A couple more questions:
I originally wanted to have Cubase 4 and Cubase 5 installed on my hard disk, in case I had a problem with C4 projects playing back in C5. (For example, if some of the C4 effects or VST instruments were missing in C5.)
Does anyone know if this could be an issue?
After installing a C5 update, I’m assuming C4 is replaced by C5, and C4 would cease to exist. Yes?
Thanks for your input.
No, both can co-exist. Problem is backwards compatability. Once C4 projects are saved as C5 there could be issues trying to open in C4 again. Best to use copies of C4 projects in 5 to see how it goes.
Thanks for the reply.
To be a little more clear on my first question:
Are same effects, VST instruments, etc., that were included in C4 still available in C5? (I’m assuming there would be new ones as well.)
The reason I ask, if I go with a C5 update (and it replaces C4), I will have lost the ability to go back.
as far as I noticed on OSX (don’t know your system):
All Cubase Versions do actually coexist well.
Even if an install of a newer Version would remove older plugins. you still could download them from the steinberg FTP site and reinstall them. If a version x can’t handle a specific plugin it will get simply blacklisted and ignored by this version.
Actually I have SX3, Cubase 4.5.2 and Cubase 5.5.3 on my MacBook and they all coexist perfectly. Older Cubase PPC-plugings were inserted manually.
At the same time, it’s obvious that you can’t use C5 plugins (as GrooveAgentOne, LoopMash, etc.) under C4.
As mashedmitten mentioned, the only caveeat is, that once you saved a C4 project in C5 you can’t use this project again under C4 (except you rename it…).
So from this point of view and my own experience, there speaks really nothing against an upgrade…
I’m currently running Cubase 4.5.2, on a MacBook Pro, OS 10.5.8.
I still haven’t installed SX3, but I plan to, so I can move some older songs (created with VST), into C4, C5 etc.
So I understand that different versions of Cubase can coexist on the same hard drive, but just to be clear, if I install the C5 Update (as opposed to the higher priced, stand alone version of C5), wouldn’t this “overwrite” my version of C4? In other words, C4 wouldn’t be available anymore?
For the last time, no. You can run any previous version with the C5 license. You could install them all on your system, if desired. The issue is backwards compatibility, as state before.
I got that about the license, but specifically, my question is: wouldn’t installing the C5 UPDATE change my existing version of C4 into C5? In other words, if I wanted to open a project in C4 after installing the update, I would need to install C4 again from the original disks?
Because if I understand this right, that’s why an update is less expensive than buying the full version by itself. The update takes the previous version and makes the necessary changes /additions to update it to the next version. Whereas the more expensive stand alone version doesn’t need a previous version to work.
Yes?
Steinberg’s update policy is as follows:
If you’re a licensed owner of a (let’s say ) C4 version, you can buy (as an existing user) the C5 update for a cheaper price. That’s marketing policy to help existing users to update to the newest versions, by this making a better userbase for the new Cubase (which helps improving it, is important for prestige AND helps that users stick to one program and don’t get tempted to check for other offers for the same price; imagine lots of users/studios would stuck on C4 just because they don’t want to update to C5 because of the full-price, or that users begin to use logic or ProTools just because the update price is the same as buying a new version); at the same time it can also be seen as a kind of politeness to existing users, to offer the update at a cheaper price (though reasons are rudely marketing/strategical).
Notice that you can’t buy the update if you can’t show that you have a license of an older product.
That’s the trade-off for steinberg.
In other words, if you buy an upgrade, you get the full-version, which is installed as a new Version and will reside on your system besides your old versions and the installation programm won’t remove anything (not like an upgrade which overwrites an existing program with newer code).
P.S:
Because if I understand this right, that’s why an update is less expensive than buying the full version by itself. The update takes the previous version and makes the necessary changes /additions to update it to the next version. Whereas the more expensive stand alone version doesn’t need a previous version to work.
That’s what normally a upgrade does. Updates sometimes require the old version to be removed. In the case of cubase it isn’t. Mainly because Steinberg is aware, that features are sometimes taken away so you wouldn’t be able to open existing projects. So the update is just a naming issue. You get the full-version but, as mentioned, can buy it cheaper as an existing user because of the reasons explained above…
Hope everything’s clear now…
No, Cubase upGRADES are NEWER versions, completely, of your current license. They upGRADE the Cubase 4 license over to the Cubase 5, enabling you to use Cubase 5, 4, SX… All will be their OWN separate programs. You can then run them side by side. Cubase 4 will NOT be affected. UpDATES add TO the version being upDATED. What program you choose to open ALL the Cubase projects is a diff story. You may have to right click on projects to open in the Cubase version it was made in. Unless you want them ALL to open in DEFAULT Cubase 5. As they dont open in their OWN Cubase version, individually. Hope this helps.
Above post beat me to it by 2 minutes.
but you added correctly that the license is upgraded, the rest is updated 
Thank you, erdwandler, and everyone, for the clarifications.
Much appreciated.