kind of a novice question, but where can i find the link to just the upgrade file for 8.5 t 9? Don’t want to download the entire Cubase pro 9 10 GB file.
Raphie - that doesn’t address any of the issues that many of us long time users have with the development of Cubase. There was little to no sense on that Open Letter thread of people wanting Cubase to change direction - they just wanted the features that were there to work better.
It’s interesting reading around the reaction to 9. Its pretty divisive, I think it’s fair to say. Stentinal seems to be worthwhile, though it threw up so many standard plugins for me it will take time to investigate (iZotope, NI etc). The rack resizing and mixer undo are both highly worthwhile. But that’s about where the unqualified praise ends.
The Lower Zone - I’m willing to bet that the people who like it are at least 80% users of large single screens. That’s where it makes sense. I was hoping to use it on the laptop, but the height restrictions on the main window and the lower zone are too severe. It doesn’t really apply to multi screen users, so that headline feature is just going to be switched off for an awful lot of users.
The Sampler. My issues are - doesn’t add a track under where you dragged the sample from but rather at the bottom of the project; drags the entire parent file not the clip; doesn’t intelligently route the sample track to the same destination as the source and - most important one - the algorithm for time stretching is dreadful. A nice idea, badly let down in execution, but maybe a future update will make it more useful.
The Transport Bar. I’ll confess I’m perplexed by the excitement for this. On my MBP, I have the OS toolbar on a pop up at the bottom of the screen, so every time I go to use the new transport bar, it gets hidden - and there’s no way to move it. With the original pop up bar, you can place it under the main window if you want, or above, or anywhere. I like the reduced height of the new version, but to be of any use to me on the MBP it would have to be placed top. Which it can’t. So another feature that is of no use in practice to me.
The jury is still out on performance gains. There have been several benchmarks posted on boot up times / ASIO performance that have shown no difference, and none has been claimed.
Again, for me the lack of bug fixes and smaller improvements is the biggest disappointment after the fallout that spawned last year’s poll. It’s not about wanting Cubase to change direction Raphie, it’s about making what’s there work properly and most beneficially. Disabled Tracks was a killer new feature introduced in V8, but it was rather bug ridden. It still is, 2 years on, and lots of suggested small improvements (eg an option to simply click on a disabled track to enable it) have been ignored. What goes for this one example could be repeated 100 times.
This is a hugely disappointing update, doubly so given the promises made last year.
It does not really seem like there are many people too happy at the moment.
I would really be interested in seeing their stats on their ‘gloss-ware-marketing’ hype, re:
- "we listened to our users to give ‘the people’ what they mostly wanted "
maybe, steinberg-users that are not too happy, could/should create like a faceBook page, so as to gather potential subscribing users for an alternate DAW.
Then approach the other DAW vendor, asking the other daw.vendor nicely, re a bulk “competitive cross grade deal” if possible … ie imagine if there were 1000 users, that wanted cross-grade to DAW-brand-X 
The other “DAW.vendor” gets some interesting marketing from the exercise, the subscribers/adopters also get a new DAW too
[ Im a long time CB user, - since 1.0 - , this C9 pseudo-update , … well I’m embarrassed for them to be honest ]
I downloaded Presonus Studio One and so far I am very happy. Think I’ll be using it side by side Cubase for a while and then make up my mind, but Studio One seem to answer all I missed in Cubase, or most at least. I also have Logic, but I never felt right comfortable with it. Studio One has a cross grade price so they take off approx 1/3 if you are converting from another DAW.
Yet i don’t recognize any of your points in my setup:
- I use a single screen 30" but “lower” is eating to much screen estate to my taste as well, guess I just like a full screen arrangement window.
- I use keyboard shortcuts, I work on Windows though, this means my mouse never hovers over the new transport, hence my taskbar does not pop up unintentionally.
- I just drag a random sample, drop it and the sample is mapped, I don’t understand what you try to achieve below?
- ASIO has improved from me as for multipe other users, increased track count, better load distribution, more realistic ASIO reporting (no more spikes at 5% load)
- the GUI has massively improved, Again I’m on Windows 2560 * 1600, Cubase has never looked this good. I’ve read about RETINA gripes, but can’t comment on that, As I don’t use Cubase on my MBP.
Not sure what you mean with the other smaller improvements? I did find a lot of value in this update.
What remaining bugs are you talking about? or are you talking about not honored feature requests?
Hi,
Although I feel that Cubase Pro 9 didn’t have the BIG WOW effect on me (I was expecting more new good stuff). but… anyways, I will upgrade to Cubase Pro 9 form 8.5 around mid-January. I’m taking a nice long vacation for the Holidays away from all DAWs. 
I’m also looking forward to Studio One Pro 4 . Loving the workflow, and cool features in Studio One Pro v3.
Cheers,
Muziksculp
You can already do that, for years now You just have to make sure that the fx track is not used as a send in your group, which is logical ; otherwise you create a loop.
Lower Zone - well indeed, some on larger single screens may not like it too - makes it even more disappointing really, doesn’t it? This was the Steinberg response to the “improved windows handling” let’s not forget. Seems to work for very very few.
Transport Bar - if you’re using keyboard shortcuts for everything, it really doesn’t matter what or where you use it, does it? And for EVERYTHING? Setting locators / metronone on/off etc? My brain has too many shortcuts from too many DAWs to hold that many, It’s another example of the inflexibility of the UI. It’s the simplest thought in the world to be able to place the transport bar top or bottom, yet it is denied. A feature is only as good as its weakest link, and for any mac user who uses the OS’s pop up toolbar, the inflexibility of placement makes it pretty useless.
Sampler Track. The stated purpose is to use something that is in the session, and play with it a little. In the promo video, the example was for a bass player who left the building, so let’s go with that. So you want to add a couple of bass notes. You need to take just one note - easy - and drag it to the sampler. Oop, but when you do, it takes the entire bass part seemingly, not just the note you clipped. And rather than adding the new sampler track logically below the bass part, it throws it right to the end of the session. so they might be 100 tracks apart. And doesn’t route it to the bass group like the bass channel was, but to the main stereo out. And if you timestretch it, it sounds awful. All of which - apart from the quality - is fixable, but the whole selling point is quick and intuitive. So… not very well developed imo.
While we’re on the subject - if they fixed the placement and routing, they could also add the finishing touch and auto-name the track Sampler Track Bass Instrument (or whatever the track name you dragged it from was). And one more - for those (many) of us not using the Lower Zone, have a new right click option to send to Sampler. Now with all those fixes we’d have a useful, genuinely integrated feature.
ASIO. If this is indeed an improvement for everyone, then there’s the big reason to upgrade. I’m not yet convinced, but I’ll be watching these reports closely.
GUI looks very similar to me, but it is a shade sharper on the MBP. Still no bloody useable scroll bars though, after two year’s worth of protests.
Bug fixes and performance improvements - both still sadly wanting. I gave you but one example, check out the issues / ideas threads for thousands more. Of course there will always be a limit on what can realistically be done in any given year, which is why the mood last year was for more, smaller fixes and core improvements. This does not seem to have happened.
So, after a few days use I’m left pretty underwhelmed. I’ve removed the docked transport bar and ruled out using the lower zone. A full screen, full featured mixer with different mix views is essential for my work, as are full screen editors. So no benefit to me! I don’t use stock plug-ins, and the mixer history is half-baked if I can’t undo just 1 event in the history without wiping everything else that followed.
Stability wise, I’ve had 3 crashed when tinkering with the new sampler. So, I won’t be using that!
What I really hoped for was improvements to existing features and bug fixes, but the bugs that annoy me the most are still there.
Over and out!
Ridiculous, right?!
On that IS (another) missed opportunity. I’ve only tried 9 on Elements so far and very underwhelmed, and it lacks mixer history. Mixer undo is undeniably useful, but as you say being able to undo an individual item in the list would seem trivial given that they have - and show you - the entire record. Different snapshots would be the next logical evolution too.
Pretty much every new feature seems to have missed its potential. The Lower Zone should be The Tabbed Zone, sizeable, dockable and moveable at will and able to contain a full mixer. The Sampler Track needs to sort its default placement, routing, importing (just the clip, not the whole parent file) and naming options, and get a workable time stretch algorithm like Vari Audio. Transport Bar has to be moveable to the top not fixed at the bottom for any mac or windows OS user who uses the app bar pop up at bottom convention. And Mixer history you’ve highlighted.
I think they got the VST window resizing right though…
Sheesh.
Yea, but they charge 100 bucks for that. 
And for USB hotplug
And freqEQ
And a new transport
And a new GUI
And improved ASIO performance
And a Sampler track
And…
And…
It’s much more
- You got me wrong. The point is that SB was that lazy so did not complete even make-up for their plug-ins.
- If that plug-ins make-up takes a lot of resources then shoot me.
I think the new features are great. The one window set up is the right direction for sure. However this all comes at a time that cubase isn’t performing well on Mac for me…poor jittery graphics are limiting my use for the program. Where as Logic X runs smoothly. Shame really as I do like the new features 9 has to offer.
Sure!
And freqEQ
I have FabFilter Pro-Q2 and Izotope Neutrino. Many people use 3rd party plugins, which are much better then the stock ones. This is why I rather see Steinberg focusing their development on the main functions of a DAW.
And a new transport
And a new GUI
And improved ASIO performance
And a Sampler track
And…
And…It’s much more
Have you been listening? Maybe you have developed the same listening issue (selective listening) Steinberg has, lol.
Cubase is the only daw that lags. Poorly optimize for Mac it seems. Pro tools 12 and logic x run smooth with no lagging on my Mac Pro.
I too was disappointed,Ialso wanted a master edit tool like ProTools, or Studio One, for those editing a lot of audio, also editing automation is very clumsy compared to ProTools this would have been a very much needed upgrade, all the other stuff I don’t need, except I do like the mixer undo…but hey I love Cubase,it’s not the update feature I was looking for that is all.
For those complaining of sound quality issues, are you able to select Elastique v3 for both the realtime and offline timestretch algorithms in the preferences? Can someone from Steinberg verify which one is used by the new sampler in 9?
Lower zone concept takes up too much screen real estate. I’ve already disabled it. In my opinion it was an enormous amount of software engineering for no workflow advantage. Why do we need the mixer at the bottom of the screen. We have the mixer and we has inspector for getting at one fader. Now a 3rd mixer area in Lower Zone to manage?!?
I still can’t believe the Import from audio track feature, which looked like a work in progress step in right direction in 8.5 has not been enhanced and expanded to read in group, fx and instrument tracks from a project. As a mixer this is a huge void in cubase for me.