I started a trial of Dorico Pro a couple weeks ago and am surprised how much I’m enjoying it. I’ve done a bit of searching online and mainly find older posts about Dorico verses the Score Editor in Cubase. I saw the Cubase 14 Dorico-ness in the Score Editor in the presentation video and I wonder if users are happy with score editor or if Dorico is a must? It kind of seems like two different camps for these products.
I tried the Score Editor in Cubase 13 and it wasn’t much fun compared with Dorico 6. So I wonder which is the better play: Cubase 15 or Dorico? I’m no serious arranger, I could probably get along fine with Dorico Elements. Is the Score Editor more like Elements? Or even more stripped down?
I will probably trial them all first, I just wonder where users’ are at with this notation in Cubase or not viewpoint.
The new score editor in Cubase is based on the Dorico engine and, in my opinion, is significantly better than the old one. Comparing Dorico Elements to Cubase Pro, there’s practically no difference in workflow or output (score, print). Dorico offers slightly more extensive settings, but Cubase already integrates the notation component into a comprehensive DAW. I think which application is preferable also depends on personal workflow—specifically, whether one prefers using a sequencer or entering scores at the beginning of the creative process.
At a somewhat cursory glance, it seems like the score editor in Cubase (even in LE) has the Notation options that you’d need Dorico Elements to access. Plus, you don’t have the 8 instrument limitation that you’d have in Dorico SE.
(Just how often would you need something in Dorico Elements that Cubase LE doesn’t give you?)
Aside from specific engraving features that are different, I would say that Dorico has some speed advantages at the moment when it comes to shortcuts etc to be able to create notation quickly. If you’re a notation-first composer, you will likely be able to produce that score more quickly in Dorico than in Cubase.
On the other hand, if you just want to take what you’ve done in the piano roll already and get nice notation out of it, that’s where Cubase comes in nicely.
