Dear Cubase
I am glad the that the propellerhead team and other daws have finally given the cubase team something to think about in terms of functionality. The new ability to use VSTs within reason 9.5 really show the potential to get creative and build modules of effects together as a form of sound design, and music composition. Especially the ability to route sequencing modules such as arpeggiators as a side-chain input to drive the frequency of an EQ as a good example. But what they don’t have is the wave editing freedom of cubase.
Cubase for me has always had the best of strength in audio editing and workflow; Especially in the ability to very quickly make fades to waves, crossfades, time-stretches and more. This is the only program I know of with the freedom and easy access to the features that enables seriously quick editing which is inducive to creativity.
So what happens when you want to build a creative processing chain on top of that wonderful wave editing? This is where I feel Cubase really needs to find a way to tie all of its features together;
What I feel is missing:
*The ability to freely route any devices output value (midi or audio) to any devices input value (midi or audio)
*A central and comprehensive set of easy to use pattern drivers such as arpeggiators.
*An importable effect chain equivalent with advanced routing options saved with it. (you can save effect chains as track exports, but there is currently a bug in this, and limited functionality.
Look at what the other daws are doing:
Studio 1: Advanced audio routing and splitting options within a track
Ableton Live: Max Msp Integration
Reason: Advanced Plugin routing and sequencing options t tie any parameter to any input
*
Cubase: Currently very limited functionality.
Lets say I edit a wave and splice it together with another one perfectly, but then want to add a modulating distortion built from several of my own plugins, which is keyed from a central arpeggiating device mapped to the tempo of the project: You can just about do this within a track in cubase, but lets say I want to use the same arpeggiator to drive a different effect chain in parallel on another track: not so easy! No is it easy to cross the bounds of midi output driving effect parameters. Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to link Midi track 1 velocity to Audio Track Plugin E.Q frequency?
How could this be done? I would preffer through a max MSP interface. Cubase could be opening them selves up to the strengths of other pieces of software, rather than closing away from them: Imagine this:
*Cubase with its current functionally, opened up by the ability to route anything to anything via any method through MAX MSP;
It would just tie everything together right?
Thanks
Rob
P.S
*further more, you could connect seamlessly with the best scoring software on the planet (Dorico), enabling multiple Dorico flows to be freely inserted to anywhere within a cubase project. Its the same company.
*Tie it altogether with a central hub that enables any one part of any cubase project to be freely inserted in to another, dynamically updating the resulting material whenever the original project is changed.
*Visually represent this point above as a sipder diagram of projects (A bit like MAX MSPs visually programming language, but for projects rather than audio or midi)
*Further enable the editing of waves with the Melodyne via ARA integration
That would be a creative music hub! 