As a new Cubase user, but at the same time as a user who has been through all major daw in the last few months, I have to say that I think the Cubase freezing function is, by far, the worst that I’ve seen.
A frozen track is completely untouchable like never seen in other daws.
In normal usage, in the frozen track you should be able to place new inserts (as any daw does) move the items (as many daws allow), freeze until a certain plugin (as many daws do), unfreeze by leaving the items untouched (as studio one does).
In fact, I think that the freezing function should be indeed brought to a completely new level with much higher flexibility. It is not that difficult I guess, and the following one is just the simplest system I can imagine that already overpasses all the existing freezing function of the daws I know.
For instance, you freeze a track with some plugins (Cubase creates snapshot n.1 with a frozen file n.1). Now you think that the track needs some distortion and so you open another plugin, as it is very demanding you freeze it again (Cubase in the background create a snapshot with a frozen file 2). Then you make some edit and also copy to different positions the track’s item. By doing so, you feel like the mids are too present, therefore, you open a plugin to dip the frequency.
Listening the whole mix you realize that at the second step was applied too much distortion, hence, you would like to go back to fix it, but, by doing so you would lose almost anything you’ve done later that step (with the actual Cubase, in fact, all this is already impossible as you are forced at step 2 to render the track and disable and hide the old one creating a lot of mess in your session).
So, you press unfreeze to be able to reduce the distortion, a popup menu asks you whether you want to leave the track items the way they actually are, you answer yes. It also asks you whether you want to keep the actual inserts (the eq for the mids) and you answer yes.
Then shows you a screenshot of freezing 1 and 2 status to let you see what was inserted in any snapshot. You choose to have live screenshot n.2.
So in the background, Cubase applies snapshot 1 to the new track items (as per your answers in the popup menu), open in the first slot the distortion as per snapshot 2 that you asked to have live, and move the actual eq in the second slot (in any case at the end of the chain).
With one move you are now with the new editing, the dip on the mids and can lower the distortion and maybe tweaks the mids again.
You press freeze and create status N. 4
Now, while mixing, you realized that in step 1 you applied too much compression.
Easy, press unfreeze, flag not to change the actual items tracks, flag to leave the open insert untouched. and choose to bring alive the first snapshot. Cubase in the background , without touching the items track open the plugin in as per freezing 1, moves the distortion at the end of the chain, moves the eq at the end of the chain and as per magic, you are back at the beginning with all your chain in line to edit whatever you want. Neat, no rendering, no disabling tracks, no mess in the session, maximum flexibility, no CPU power. Is it so difficult?