Just a simple export with about 10 tracks using cubase 14.
Playback is smooth from end to end no dropouts but after export cubase just closes and the exported file is empty.
Tried on cubase 13 same problem.
Only VST instruments are Halion, ezdrummer, ezbass and stock effects
plus amplitude 5.
Used the same export settings as usual i.e. wave export 44.100 32 bit float interleaved stereo bus using locators.
Disabled the external plugins, then export completed but obviously no good for me…
Tried the export with all plugins etc on as a Real Time export: export is OK!
Any thoughts?
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It’s interesting you bring this up. My mixing template is quite complex, and I’ve noticed that selecting “Import After Bounce” (or the equivalent option) always causes Cubase to crash. I had attributed this issue to the template’s complexity—essentially blaming myself for not simplifying it. 
In my setup, I push the limits with VCAs, groups, and FX tracks fully utilized, along with extensive use of direct routing. Yet, even creating a new audio track within this template can cause Cubase to crash, even if no other tracks are present within the session.
As a workaround, I create a parallel, empty session without any bus assignments for input or output. I then return to my main mixing session and import tracks from the secondary session. This approach avoids the crash.
It’s possible that this behavior is linked to the issue you’re encountering?
Out of curiosity, if you bounce the track without the “Import After Bounce” option and then manually import it from the saved location, does this also cause Cubase to crash?
New to cubase from cakewalk so I am keeping things simple, and this is a quite a sparse arrangement . After export I select the “Do Nothing” option .
The export process goes to 100% and when about to create the output file,
it just “gasps” and exits. I use the same plug-ins freely in other projects without any export problems. Seems to be specific to this project.
@Leckj , @dream : Could both of you please send me a crash dump of the export crash as DM? A plugin report (see Plugin Manager, button at bottom) would also be great. Thank you!
In my case, this has occurred maybe 10-15 times since this morning but I see a single dump file for today. I am not even sure this is for the export problem but here it is anyway:
Cubase 14.0.5 64bit2024.11.8 5.03.30.389.dmp (1.4 MB).
But cubase does flag a crash event when restarting each time after the program just closes by itself, so how does it know?
When the crash report window appears on start-up, but there is no crash dump to report, this usually means that the crash happended in a plugin.
If you’d like to get those crashes dumped as well, you can install “Procdump” from microsoft. They provide the instruction, too:
I’ll have a look into your attached dump and see if I can provide you with any hints.
Also when I disabled the external plug-ins, export was o.k.
I’ll try to narrow it down.
Any idea why it would play from end to end without any problems, and also when exporting Real Time, but fails otherwise. What is the difference?
Not sure if I’m understanding you correctly.
Are you trying to export the project offline (= non-real time), with the external FX enabled? This should not crash, but will not work. Real time export means, that the export can receive live input from your MIDI - or your external FX. External FX can only bounce in real time, because they work just like any other live input (you wouldn’t “export” live vocals “offline” ;)).
When exporting offline, audio processing is done as fast as possible.
So, if you disable the external FX, offline export should work. I’ll have a look if your dump reveals more details.
This dump has indeed nothing to do with audio export. Seems to have crashed while selecting a plugin or editing the plugin manager. Does the path to your VST3 plugins contain special characters (Ö, Ä, §, …)?
used the same plug-ins in other projects without any problems exporting.
VST3 paths have no special chars. in my case no external FX at all. simple project. will try ProcDump, Interesting. Thanks.
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Hey Chriss, thanks so much for following up.
I’m sending the plugin report for you.
It seems I can’t get Cubase 14 to crash anymore; however, Cubase 13 still does. If I select “Import After Bounce” in Cubase 14, the new track is created immediately. But, if I select “Create a New Empty Track”, Cubase hangs for a few minutes before finally creating the track.
Any thoughts on what could be causing this, and what steps we can take?
Also, bounce is super fast with this complicated template on my M2 Ultra, but freezing tracks takes forever, life 3/4 hours for few tracks, when bounce is just seconds.
If you suspect your system is getting overloaded, which would cause the results that you’re experiencing, you might try freezing your tracks before exporting. That reduces the load of the plugins, especially from effects.
Thanks for your comment. 
My issue is the freeze.
The M2 Ultra handle quite intense sessions without dropouts, and the bounce works great and is fast.
In the same heavy session, if I bounce let’s say a single track the process is lightening fast, but the issue is the freeze: the same track takes hours to freeze, Cubase hangs for a long time and it seems to be about to crash, but then it goes through the process. What can it be?
Hi @dream,
regarding freeze vs. bounce duration:
There is an unfortunate difference between bouncing and freezing. Bouncing exports a range of the project (usually between the two locators) to your disk. Freezing a track bounces the complete track between its first clip and last clip, even if there is just silence inbetween. I’m not aware that we changed anything here in C14, so this is already slow in earlier versions of Cubase.
To speed freezing up, you can clean up the respective track before freezing, by removing any unused Midi or audio from the track, or by moving it to another track which you don’t intend to freeze. I hope this helps - thanks for reporting.
I’ve filed a bug report, as you are not the only one running into this issue.
Hey @Chriss,
Thank you so much for following up and for keeping this issue on your radar. I also appreciate your detailed explanation of the difference between bounce and freeze—very helpful.
To confirm, I’m experiencing the same issue on Cubase 13 on my system. I’ve conducted additional testing with Cubase 14, which narrows down the root cause, reducing the freeze time from hours down to seconds or minutes. I hope this is helpful for your bug report.
The session I’m testing is quite demanding, nearly maxing out group channels, FX channels, and VCA. It’s as streamlined as possible, with no MIDI tracks, instrument tracks, or samplers—just about 300-400 audio tracks, pre-edited in another session and imported into this clean mixing session, which is approximately four minutes long.
There’s a considerable number of plugins in the session, and here’s what I tested to reduce the freeze time:
- I removed 100% of the plugins, including those in the Control Room. This didn’t have any impact; freeze time remained in the range of hours.
- I removed all 64 FX tracks (which also automatically removed a significant number of sends). This led to a noticeable improvement in freeze time.
- I removed around 30 group tracks and simplified some of the routing, which provided further improvement.
- Finally, I removed all direct routing on the groups (leaving only the first slot assignment). I extensively use direct routing, with some groups using all seven slots. After this adjustment, the freeze time became much more responsive and fast—while not instantaneous as in an empty session, it now only hangs for one or two seconds before quickly completing the freeze process.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly which of these adjustments had the biggest impact, but the combination of all three drastically reduced the freeze time from 3-4 hours for a few tracks to just seconds or minutes for a much larger batch.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can test or clarify.
Thanks so much!
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