Cubase has the best GUI out of all the DAWs

Cubase
1

I feel like I would hate my life if I was working in other DAWs like Logic. Logic looks just so, bland but in a weird way. ProTools is bland but in a way that it resembles some sort of clean GUI for a CNC machine or something which suits its purpose. It’s a studio tracking and editing program, it is the digital answer to a tape transport. Certainly not what I want to work in though or look at.

I tried to work in Ableton once and had a panic attack. If you are doing anything other than loop chunk based production, it feels very finnicky.

Studio One is the only that comes close but I still way prefer Cubase and direction it is headed.

Reaper lacks focus and consistency because of its open source nature.


As soon as Steinberg updates GUI in all corners of the program, it’s really good. Exciting times for Cubase users.

2

Just a few little bits of tiding up needed and attention to wasted space due to unneeded boxes in boxes, lines with curves etc. For instance, the channel strip.

3

Well, i like open source. It has many advantages. In the beginning of Linux, many people said, it is to neirdy to operate with and most of the time, you would need the command line. But things changed a lot in years, because it was open source and many people contributed and maked that OS a reasonable alternative to Windows or Mac OS X.

While a good looking GUI is nice, i still prefer that things are functioning and this should be priority number one.

4

I have been using Cubase for around 18 months now, as a hobbyist ,the Pro version a little less :slight_smile:

Really enjoying and exploring the huge range of possibilities,the tools,the great collection of stock plugins

The GUI is very nice and pleasant enough. I would like to see more custom colour choices,but no big deal

Given the pedigree of Steinberg and Cubase it has a huge amount of customers using Cubase and Steinberg products which is very reassuring

Currently I am building my own custom template,which is really exciting for me,as another step towards music production using Cubase. :smiley:

5

I’m an oddity, while it’s subjective i don’t like the GUI, and find the interface quite cumbersome (In regards to how often you have to show/hide areas it adds a lot of mouse clicking)… However, i find that i’m very productive with Cubase over many other DAWs.

So perhaps Steinberg know better than me? :slight_smile:

I’m a longterm Logic user, and i agree, while it’s very functional it is quite bland a little uninspiring at times. I experienced a real step up in creativity when swapping to Cubase, but i just put it down to a ‘change’.

6

+1

7

The Project Page = Yes

The Mixer = NO

8

Just in case you are referring to track/region colors and using it with 16 colors you can have 128 editable colors. There are also nice custom color sets around.
Project Color Settings.

9

Regarding the GUI, in my opinion it depends on what features you are using and how often. Some GUI parts of Cubase go back to Cubase SX, or maybe even before. My assumption is the only cohesive feel and fix would be a complete re-write from the ground up, and no one knows if it is, or when if ever that would happen. Studio One, is always used as a clean example. As S1 ages, will it experience the same that Cubase has experienced over 20 years?

I think the interface depends on user environment. Are you laptop, single or multiple video monitors, what size and how many? In addition, Metagrid, AutoHot key, and Steinberg custom controllers really enhance workflow addressing zones, open/closing etc. Windows focus is still a sore and unaddressed issue for myself. By the way if anyone has a Cubase CMC AI for sale I’m interested. :smiley:

Does Steinberg know better than you? While every user is unique, I would guess they group users into categories, conduct relatively extensive data research compared to competition, (this in my mind explains a few features and maintenance) and ultimately then decisions made based on their research not exceeding an annual budget.

10

Yeah, a lot is that. But then some really basic things crop up. i.e. the scroll bars and zoom tools aren’t of a ‘normal’ look and so always seem a bit cumbersome when i mouse towards them. I’ve moved from Mac+Logic whereby the trackpad could be used for two finger scrolls and zooms into the timeline, but now on a Win10 machine with a Trackball i’m having to navigate and use UI elements such as these, and they’re very small, windows doesn’t have that same OS level scroll to it, plus i’m without trackpad now!!

The difference between UI elements doesn’t concern me too much, but the expanding and collapsing of groups down the side to get to controls i want seems to command more clicking than -always- just having the Inserts in view, for example.

Also, Steinberg seem to want me to use their quick EQ controls, whereas i’d prefer to get the full EQ on my screen. So again, that’s extra clicks.

Then there’s issues whereby the low/high EQ cuts needed colour changing on my system to be more evident visually.

And other elements such as when using Groove Agent SE and you want to perform manual slicing, there’s no tool icon, and there’s no button for slicing… Instead you’re supposed to ‘know’ that you have to hold alt+click (Or is it shift? i forget lol) and select part of the waveform. That’s a big sin, and makes you wonder what else you’re missing out on when discovering such shortcuts that really should have a tool.

And one other thing, i always get lost looking for Quantising note lengths (Which i rarely use), it’s not in the MIDI menu but somewhere else and always trips me up, i wish it was down in the piano roll editor.

I think the interface depends on user environment. Are you laptop, single or multiple video monitors, what size and how many?

I run on twin 1080p screens on a tower PC, have a 2012 Mac Pro on the same display and 1080p 120hz MSI laptop. So i do feel jealous when i see Cubase on a Higher Def display, are you saying it’s a better experience on hidpi? :slight_smile:

Does Steinberg know better than you? While every user is unique, I would guess they group users into categories, conduct relatively extensive data research compared to competition

Honestly, I just presume it’s due to the German influenced design philosophies, whereby things are very functional with ‘prettiness’ being a secondary concern. I’m hugely productive with Cubase, by a considerable margin vs other DAWs.

As above, it’s not a design i’m fond of, so leaves me scratching my head how it yields me great results. I think Cubase encourages you to be very deliberate in how you approach tasks, and that maybe has a knock-on affect on my music in a zen like fashion? lol. I really don’t know. haha.

11

Unless I misunderstand you, the low cut and high cut filters plus the EQ frequency line is all color customizable…User Interface>mix console rack colors, then choose colors for Pre Filters and Equalizers. Choose a color for low cut and high cut, and Equalizers. Its visual in Edit Channel Settings or Mix Console Set Up Window Layout and check the Equalizer curve.
Tool.

Quantizing note length is at the top of the Key Editor Tool bar (assuming you have allowed it to be shown using the Set Up Tool Bar button) make sure Length Quantize is visible, and all those can be set to Key Commands if desirable.

I don’t know. I don’t use hi DPI. With multiple 34-inch screens that are ultra-wide format (2560x1080) and with eye to screen distance I’m quite content.

12

The Ultra-Wide format screens are great, have an LG, not HDPi. The extra-width puts my mind at ease without making the screen overly big and the size of everything is great. Sometimes too big isn’t a good thing, it makes you look more and feel scattered.

13

Thanks for the tips, Greggybug, appreciate those. One thing tho…

That function seems like it defines lengths of notes that you draw on the key editor. I can’t seem to use that to quantize note lengths for already recorded MIDI notes, which is what i wanted. You’d hope something like that would be logically within the ‘e’ of the quantize area, so my next place to look is in the MIDI menus, but, no it’s hidden in Edit > Advanced Quantize.

As i don’t use it a great deal, it gets me every time! grrr.

14

Thanks for that ,will take a look :slight_smile:

15

Going by memory, if you highlight a note or highlight any group of notes, then quantize they should all be the same lengths.

Or are you talking about auto quantize when recording midi, and the notes dont get recorded at the same length?

16

Keycommand Q for Quantize, then Shift Q for Quantize length, that’s how i have things set. I think you’ll need to change the quantize link for note length. now i use 1-9 for the different lengths (not tools), 3 being triplets toggle, 5 being dotted (what ever that’s called) toggle.

17

Haha, strangely enough that’s what i ended up doing last night. Can’t remember what the default mapping was for shift+Q but i never use it, so put this in it’s place. :slight_smile: Thanks.

18

I don’t know. I don’t use hi DPI. With multiple 34-inch screens that are ultra-wide format (2560x1080) and with eye to screen distance I’m quite content.
[/quote]

Don’t try HiDPI yet until it is fixed, 3rd party plugins do not scale properly and lots of things like videos are cut off. And dragging from one screen to another in a different resolution has odd behavior to say the least.

I am actually having to downgrade my two 4K monitors to 1080P or 1440p if V11 doesn’t fix this… :imp:

While at the same time I am upgrading my video recording to 8k! I pray they catch up with resolutions soon…

-V

19

I’m exactly the same. Interested to know your thoughts as a cubase user what you think of the new logic 10.5 update. It actually seems like it’s lost that blandness you referred to. Looks like a whole heap of fun now ?

20

IMHO HiDPI is useless for DAW users. It’s great for video and photography but has no benefit for music production. But it causes major headaches and probably always will.